学做服务工：中国都市青年、职业学校和新阶层的形成

中国职业学校学生的命运究竟如何？本文根据南京市两所职业学校为期一年（2007-2008年）的民族志研究,借由韦伯的分析路径,描述了职业学校学生学习生活以及最终由半技术工人进入新型服务经济领域的过程。研究表明,在今天的中国城市中,职业学校是一个产生新社会阶层的优选场所。首先,职业学校从结构和意识层面上生产一个独立的年轻人阶层群体;其次,职业学校打造的相似学生背景和共同生活空间有助于催生一种新的社会阶层和文化;再次,职业学校构建的新文化积极作用于学生的选择和生活方式,促使他们流向服务行业,成为半技术工人。总之,职业学校学生正处于一个新社会阶层初级阶段：共享着相似的生活方式、生活机遇、市场地位和有限的社会流动。     

Commitment of Private and Public Agency Workers to Child Welfare: How Long Do They Plan to Stay?

ABSTRACT

Method: Child welfare professionals completing training to work in foster care were asked about reasons for taking their child welfare position, commitment to their agencies, and commitment to child welfare. Analyses compared responses from new public agency foster care workers (N = 100), public agency workers making lateral transfers to foster care (N = 64), and new private foster care workers (N = 105).

Results: Private agency foster care workers were less committed to their agencies and to child welfare and more likely to have taken the position because it was the only one available.

Conclusions: The practice by public child welfare of outsourcing foster care services to private agencies needs to be evaluated. This practice may not benefit children in care and may create organizational problems for agencies.     

写作教学与创造性思维的培养

分析写作和创造性思维的相互促进的关系，结合实际探讨怎样通过写作教学提高学生的写作能力和思维创新能力。     

Differentiating Contemporary Racial Prejudice from Old-Fashioned Racial Prejudice

The present study addresses the distinction between contemporary and old-fashioned prejudice using survey data from a national sample (n = 600) of self-identified whites living in the United States and interviewed by telephone in 2001. First, we examine associations among indicators of contemporary and old-fashioned prejudice. Consistent with the literature, contemporary and old-fashioned prejudice indicators represent two distinct but correlated common factors. Second, we examine whether belief in genetic race differences uniformly predicts both types of prejudice. As might be expected, belief in genetic race differences predicts old-fashioned prejudice but contrary to recent theorizing, it also predicts contemporary prejudice.     

Beliefs about the etiology of homosexuality and about the ramifications of discovering its possible genetic origin

Homosexuality is viewed by many as a social problem. As such, there is a keen interest in elucidating the origins of homosexuality among many scholars, from anthropologists to zoologists, from psychologists to theologians. Research has shown that those who believe sexual orientation is inborn are more likely to have tolerant attitudes toward gay men and lesbians, whereas those who believe it is a choice have less tolerant attitudes. The current qualitative study used in-depth, open-ended telephone interviews with 42 White and 44 Black Americans to gain insight into the public's beliefs about the possible genetic origins of homosexuality. Along with etiological beliefs (and the sources of information used to develop these beliefs), we asked respondents to describe the benefits and dangers of scientists discovering the possible genetic basis for homosexuality. We found that although limited understanding and biased perspectives likely led to simplistic reasoning concerning the origins and genetic basis of homosexuality, many individuals appreciated the complex and interactive etiological perspectives. These interactive perspectives often included recognition of some type of inherent aspect, such as a genetic factor(s), that served as an underlying predisposition that would be manifested after being influenced by other factors such as choice or environmental exposures. We also found that beliefs in a genetic basis for homosexuality could be used to support very diverse opinions including those in accordance with negative eugenic agendas.     

全球化背景下云南多样性民族文化的碰撞与发展

文化多样性对人类来讲就像生物多样性对维持生物平衡那样必不可少,它是人类持续和谐发展的根本保证.云南是一个多民族的边疆省份,民族的多样性决定了其文化的多样性.经济全球化的发展为云南各民族不同文化之间的交流和交融提供了新的历史机遇,同时也加剧了各民族文化之间的碰撞.在此背景下,我们必须努力做到"文化自觉",尊重文化个性,加强文化的调适,推进文化整合,这样才能实现保护、传承和发展云南民族文化多样性的目标.     

Global healthy backpack initiatives

Schoolbag use by children is a global common concern.. Children carry school books and other amenities in their school bags. Global evidence indicates that daily load carried by school children may have negative health implications. Backpack as a school bag model, is the healthiest way of load carriage for school children. Several initiatives have been launched world over to minimize unhealthy consequences resulting from schoolbags. Based on a situation analysis, Sri Lanka implemented a national healthy schoolbag campaign by joint efforts of Ministries of Health and Education. Actions were contemplated on; strategies for bag weight reduction, introduction of an ergonomically modeled schoolbag and bag behaviour change. New strategies were introduced with awareness campaigns to policy makers, bag manufacturers, parents, teachers and children. Four million schoolchildren benefitted. In 2000, the backpack strategy of "Pack it Light, Wear it Right" was started as a public health initiative in the United States by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Over the last eleven years, thousands of occupational therapy practitioners and students participated in educational programs and outreach activities. In 2004, modeled after the success AOTA initiative, the Icelandic Occupational Therapy Association launched a national backpack awareness initiative. This article shares examples of practices that could be implemented in any context to the promote health of children.     

Ergonomic considerations in school environments - the need for widening the scope

Behaviour patterns specific to children pose them at greater risk of environmental hazards than adults. Ergonomics is the science of matching human interaction with the proximate environment. Conventionally ergonomic principles were applied on adult work places to ensure safety of the working environment. With emerging scientific evidence, school environments are being a focus to apply ergonomic principles. Children spend more time within schools during critical developmental stages of their life. Everybody feels that the schools are safe places, but they are not. A multitude of ergonomic hazards have been identified in school settings. Widespread mismatches between anthropometry and school furniture, heavy schoolbag carriage and unhealthy bag behaviour are significant. Negative effects range from general tiredness, musculoskeletal pains, spinal deviations, shoulder level shifts, injuries and psychological disturbances. There are fragmented efforts to widen ergonomic concepts to health care professionals and other stakeholders of child health. Addressing ergonomic issues will ensure that children, the future productive generation contributing to economic growth and development of a country, are provided with opportunities in a healthy environment. This paper emphasizes the need for a concerted effort on widening the scope of ergonomics to cater for the evolving demand.     

Job satisfaction and retention of social workers in public agencies, non-profit agencies, and private practice: the impact of workplace conditions and motivators

The authors examine a selected array of agency-influenced work and employment conditions and assess their impact upon social workers' job satisfaction, motivation, and intention to seek new employment. The study makes correlations with past empirical studies on job satisfaction and retention, with staff development concerns as stated in social work administration textbooks, and with conditions subject to administrators' influence. Some specified motivational issues included are salary, fringe benefits, job security, physical surroundings, and safety. The analysis demonstrates the contribution of certain contextual and motivational factors to a prediction of job satisfaction or of intent to leave the organization.