Wisdom principles as a meta-theoretical basis for evaluating leadership

This article responds to calls in the management and leadership literature to articulate a role for wisdom. While many talk about the role of wisdom, few people have attempted to articulate what it consists of. We suggest five principles that define wise leadership. We then position wisdom in a complex world, both within the transformational, authentic and spiritual leadership literature and the knowledge based view of organizations, and suggest how leaders should be evaluated. Finally, we suggest the need for future research directions and practical application.     

Street Youth Labour Market Experiences and Crime*

Dans le cadre de notre recherche, nous étudions la façon dont les expériences dans le marché du travail des jeunes sans‐abri et l'inter‐prétation qu'ils font du chômage sont liées à leur comportement criminel. À partir d'entretiens réalisés auprès d'un échantillon de 200 jeunes homines vivant dans la rue, les données recueillies indiquent que ces jeunes se sentent exclus du marché du travail du fait des expériences négatives qu'ils ont vécues. Ce phénomène est exacerbé par le chômage à long terme, qui détruit la motivation et conduit les jeunes à rechercher d'autres exutoires matériels. En outre, les jeunes en viennent à considérer le système social comme injuste et se sen‐tent inaptes à l'emploi, ce qui augmente le risque qu'ils participent à des activités criminelles. Les jeunes qui restent lies à la société tradi‐tionnelle et continuent de croire à l'idéologie dominante du mérite réagissent par la dépression ou la culpabilité menant à une fuite passive et favorisant le comportement criminel. En revanche, les jeunes qui refusent l'idéologie font étant d'un affect négatif minimal et met‐tent en valeur la supérioritý matérielle et sociale qu'ils accordent aux activités criminelles par rapport à l'emploi qu'ils ont pu occuper avant et qui leur était offert. Les conclusions de cet article s'appuient sur les théories de la contrainte, du contrôle et de la sous‐culture. The research explores how homeless street youths' labour market experiences and interpretations of unemployment are linked to criminal behavior. Using interviews with a sample of 200 male street youth, the data suggest that these youths become alienated from the labour market because of negative experiences in their jobs. This is exacerbated by long‐term unemployment that destroys motivation and leaves the youths looking for other material opportunities. Further, the youths come to see the social system as unfair and themselves as unemployable, making it more likely they will become involved in criminal activities. Those youths who remain bonded to the conventional society and continue to believe in the dominant meritocratic ideology respond with depression and guilt, which lead to a passive withdrawal and inhibit criminal behavior. In contrast, those youth who dismiss the ideology display minimal negative affect and reveal that criminal activities are superior both materially and socially to previous and available employment. Findings are discussed in terms of strain, control and subcultural theories.     

Models of social mobility

Properties of measures and models of social mobility are analyzed in relation to the conceptualization of mobility. Two main objectives of mobility research are identified. One is the study of determinants of occupational achievement, the other is the study of mobility as a characteristic of social systems. It is shown that the realization of both objectives is hindered by a failure of commonly used models and measures of mobility to separate out the various individual and structural factors responsible for mobility.     

Alternate test statistics for a functional errors-in-variables model

Some test statistics for the structural coefficients of simultaneous equations model often referred to as the multivariate linear functional relationship model are proposed in this article. The following cases are considered: the covariance matrix of errors is either unknown, known up to a proportionality factor, or completely known. The exact and approximate distributions of the proposed test statistics, as well as those of some that are known, are also given.     

First Person Accounts and Sociological Explanations of Delinquency*

Cinquante‐six garçons du secondaire ont expliqué pourquoi ils avaient perpétré ou non certains actes de délinquance (combat, vandalisme, vol à l'étalage, usage de drogues). Ils ont aussi ciblé des théories sociologiques de la délinquance qui s'appliquent à leur comportement. Leurs réponses montrent que les deux types de données se recoupent beaucoup. L'effort, la théorie gánérate, les pairs, le contrôle social, les techniques de neutralisation et la prévention sont importants, mais non l'étiquetage ni l'imitation des médias. Une théorie de contingence de la délinquance est proposée. Fifty‐six high school boys were asked to explain in their own words why they had engaged in or refrained from certain delinquencies: fighting, vandalism, petty theft, truancy and drug use. They were also given the opportunity, via a checklist, to tell whether selected sociological theories applied to their behaviour. Their responses revealed considerable overlap in the two forms of data. Strain, general theory, peers, social control, techniques of neutralization and deterrence are important in varying combinations. Labelling and media imitation are not. A contingency theory of delinquency is proposed.     

The nature, extent and determinants of violence against psychiatric personnel

Violence against psychiatric staff seems to be on the increase. Such abuse can lead to mental health consequences for the staff and a reluctance to be closely involved with patients. Few Swedish investigations have examined violence against mental nurses and psychiatrists, or undertaken comparative studies between them. In this study we examined the extent, nature and determinants (i.e. risk factors) of violence against psychiatric nurses (n = 731) and psychiatrists (n = 320) working in the eight health care districts of Stockholm. These caregivers were assessed cross-sectionally by means of a questionnaire covering various areas (e.g. violence and work environment). The majority of the participants (85%) reported having been exposed to violence during their careers, with 57% being victimized in the past 12 months. Physical violence was common, and factors such as negative attitudes to work and diminished sense of autonomy were associated with an increased vulnerability to violence. Nurses and psychiatrists did not differ in violence variables. In spite of the weaknesses of the design (cross-sectional self-selecting sample), this study corroborates previous findings and identifies personal factors associated with violence that have received little attention in the literature (e.g. lack of respect for the organization of care).