The Best of the Brightest: Definitions of the Ideal Self Among Prize-Winning Students

This paper documents and explains characteristics of the ideal self rewarded by the American educational system as defined and projected by high school students who have been selected as Presidential Scholars in a national academic competition sponsored by the Department of Education and a White House Commission. Drawing on analysis of competition essays written by 119 Presidential Scholars and interviews conducted with 19 of them, we identify how these students implicitly and explicitly define the ideal self and what they do to demonstrate that they embody the characteristics of the self they perceive as rewarded by the American educational system. The data show that morality is the most salient dimension of the ideal self displayed by Scholars, and that they define it in terms of self-actualization, authenticity, and interpersonal morality; that Scholars present negative or ambivalent views concerning the importance of socioeconomic status; and that culture as a dimension of the ideal self is highlighted only by a subset of Scholars. In general, their displayed definitions of the ideal self are individualist in content but highly institutionalized in form. We explain our findings by the cultural repertoires that are made available to students and by their life experience and the broader structural characteristics of American society that lead them to draw on specific repertoires.     

Risk seeking with diminishing marginal utility in a non-expected utility model

The present work takes place in the framework of a non-expected utility model under risk: the RDEU theory (Rank Dependent Expected Utility, first initiated by Quiggin under the denomination of Anticipated Utility), where the decision maker's behavior is characterized by two functionsu andf. Our first result gives a condition under which the functionu characterizes the decision maker's attitude towards wealth. Then, defining a decision maker as risk averter (respectively risk seeker) when he always prefers to any random variable its expected value (weak definition of risk aversion), the second result states that a decision maker who has an increasing marginal utility of wealth (a convex functionu) can be risk averse, if his functionf issufficiently below his functionu, hence if he is sufficientlypessimistic. Obviously, he can also be risk seeking with a diminishing marginal utility of wealth. This result is noteworthy because with a stronger definition of risk aversion/risk seeking, based on mean-preserving spreads, Chew, Karni, and Safra have shown that the only way to be risk averse (in their sense) in RDEU theory is to have, simultaneously, a concave functionu and a convex functionf.     

Job‐related stress,social support,and work–family conflict among Mexican workers in a multinational company: A case study of a Korean‐owned,US‐branded former “sweatshop” in Mexico

Due to globalization and outsourcing of commodity production, an estimated 60 million workers are employed in the garment industry by multinational corporations, yet relatively little is known about the work–family tensions experienced by these workers. Building on role stress and job demands–resources theories, this study employed mixed methods to examine job stressors, support, and work–family conflict (WFC) in a sample of 168 Mexican workers in a multinational factory, a rarely studied and underserved population. As hypothesized, results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that workers experienced high job stress and WFC. Social support from spouses, family, and friends increased the positive association between job stress and WFC, suggesting that culturally relevant obligations increased WFC. This study highlights the need for multinational corporations to implement culturally adaptive, family‐friendly policies. Implications for social workers in multinational work organizations and for future research are discussed.     

Of hyacinths

This essay comments on the state of publishing in the field of sexuality in the years since the publication of The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader (1993), which I co-edited with Henry Abelove and David M. Halperin.     

Perceptions of Long-Term Community Adaptation of Delinquent Young Adults Who Graduated from Children’s Residential Mental Health Treatment

Purpose

This article presents results from one part of a longitudinal study into the post-discharge community adaptation of youth involved in residential mental health treatment. The focus is on young adults interviewed in Phase 3 of the research who have been identified as experiencing delinquent behaviour in their communities which brings them into contact with the law. This research is unique as young adult graduates of residential treatment were interviewed and they describe in detail how they are currently functioning in their lives.

Method

Qualitative interviews were completed with a convenience sample of 59 young adults between 18 and 25 years of age who had accessed children’s residential mental health treatment up to 10 years prior to data collection.

Results

The results demonstrate that delinquent behaviour post-discharge from residential treatment is a real concern and, for a sub-set of young adults, relates to negative outcomes in multiple domains of living, such as substance abuse, personal well-being, education and employment, and social networks and relationships.

Conclusions

The results indicate there is a need to improve long term community adaptation for this group, and that improving community living outcomes is much more a function of ongoing support and caring than short-term treatment and cure.

     

Does diversity matter? exploring workforce diversity,diversity management,and organizational performance in social enterprises

This study explores the dynamics of workforce diversity, diversity management, and organizational performance in social enterprises. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with 14 individuals working in the social enterprise sector in Los Angeles, California, including both top management and regular employees. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis rooted in grounded theory. Overall, high levels of diversity in gender, race/ethnicity, education, and sexual orientation were identified in social enterprises, while low levels of age and value diversity were found. Workforce diversity and diversity management were reported to be crucial factors that positively influence organizational performance. Although interviewees considered diversity management to play an important role in promoting organizational performance, they were less likely to implement diversity management themselves. By providing important insights into workforce diversity, diversity management, and organizational performance in social enterprises, this study contributes to an understanding of the dynamics and provides suggestions for sustainability in social enterprises.     

Aging experiences of older immigrant women in Québec (Canada): From deskilling to liberation

This article examines experiences of aging of older immigrant women. The data are based on qualitative research that was conducted in Québec, Canada with 83 elderly women from different ethnocultural backgrounds (Arab, African, Haitian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian, etc.). The results on how such immigrant women deal with material conditions of existence such as deskilling, aging alone, being more economically independent, and the combined effects of liberation from social and family norms associated with age and gender in the light of the migration route, will be presented. For the majority, migration opened up possibilities for personal development and self-affirmation. The findings demonstrated the relevance of the intersectional approach in understanding the complexity and social conditionings of women’s experiences of aging.     

How Has Bourdieu Been Good to Think With? The Case of the United States

The essay discusses the impact of Bourdieu on modern U.S. sociology. Specifically, I offer five observations about the reception and adoption of Bourdieu by U.S. sociologists from the perspective of someone who was involved in the process I describe as an active but not fully invested participant.