The role of communication in managing reductions in work force

Reductions in work force (downsizing, delayering, resizing, outplacement, layoffs, demassing) are used by organizations to achieve desired economic goals and ensure survival. However, these reductions often negatively affect the work behaviors and attitudes of continuing employees and thus, may detract from the success of the reduction in work force. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the effects of multiple workforce reductions on survivors by extending Brockner's (1988) model and outlining the role of communication in the process so that researchers and practitioners can better predict and control for the effects of workforce reductions. In pursuit of this goal, a causal model of effects on survivors was developed and then tested with data collected in a large, midwestern insurance company that implemented two workforce reductions.

The hypothesized model was inconsistent with the data and subsequently was rejected. A revised model was then tested and found to fit at three time periods. The revised model demonstrates survivor reactions to reductions are complex and change over time and in response to multiple reductions. The main conclusion was that managers can influence survivor information deprivation, career future uncertainty, work satisfaction, and propensity for turnover by paying attention to, and if possible controlling, organizational identification, financial rewards, work team communication support, and manager communication support. The results also suggest that survivor reactions to prior organizational interventions may influence the success of current interventions.     

An Examination of the Research Objectives of Recent Citation Analysis Studies

This work attempts to assess the variations and similarities in the stated research objectives of recent citation analysis studies. Eighty-eight citation studies published between January 1995 and March 2008 were categorized and selected examples of specific types were reviewed.     

Using Structural Equation Modeling to Examine Group Differences in Assessment Booklet Designs with Sparse Data

The current research demonstrates the effectiveness of using structural equation modeling (SEM) for the investigation of subgroup differences with sparse data designs where not every student takes every item. Simulations were conducted that reflected missing data structures like those encountered in large survey assessment programs (e.g., National Assessment of Educational Progress). A maximum likelihood method of estimation was implemented that allowed all data to be used without performing any imputation. A multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model was used to examine group differences. There was no detriment to the estimation of the MIMIC model parameters under sparse data design conditions when compared to the design without missing data. The overall size of samples had more influence on the variability of estimates than did the data design.     

Examining dominant discourses of sexuality in sexuality education research

This article is concerned with some of the theoretical and methodological complexities of collecting young people's preferences for sexuality education content and using them to inform educational practice. Data are drawn from focus groups and questionnaires undertaken by 16–19‐year‐olds. Participants' suggestions often reflect dominant discourses of sexuality circulating in wider society, providing insight into social norms and cultural contexts in which they live. Suggestions do not reflect dominant discourses in any simple way, but involve a complex interplay of these and subordinate meanings of sexuality. When working within a methodological framework that values and centres young people's perspectives, these proposals can be problematic. As dominant discourses of sexuality often reinforce social inequalities, programme implementation of young people's suggestions may perpetuate these. How to reconcile a commitment to a methodological paradigm that prioritises young people's perspectives with the creation of sexuality education which promotes social justice is discussed.     

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

Abstract This article examines the historic character and mission of the REA with a view toward the role of this journal in the life of the Association. Early social influences are explored in relation to the Association's unfolding vision of “a democracy of God” in which religion would be a central enterprise of an educated citizenry. George Albert Coe, Harrison Elliott, Herman Wornom, and Randolph C. Miller are discussed as primary shapers of the REA and the field through the mid-twentieth century. The author concludes with challenges to rediscover or renegotiate the relevance of the REA's historic mission in the midst of contemporary opportunities and pressures of economic globalization, geo-political turmoil, and religious and cultural diversity.     

TRAINING CHURCH YOUNG PEOPLE FOR LAY SERVICE

In this article, the emerging field of youth ministry research is presented and interpreted through the lens of practical theology. International developments are described and compared as local responses to the ongoing global dynamics of youth culture. After an overview of four different contexts in which youth ministry research can be situated, the article discusses four thematic dimensions of this research: globalization, vulnerability, politics, and interreligious encounter. In the third part of the article these dimensions are theologically reflected in order to unravel four chances and challenges for future practical theological research.     

Becoming employable students and ‘ideal’ creative workers: exclusion and inequality in higher education work placements

In this paper we explore how the ‘employable’ student and ‘ideal’ future creative worker is prefigured, constructed and experienced through higher education work placements in the creative sector, based on a recent small-scale qualitative study. Drawing on interview data with students, staff and employers, we identify the discourses and practices through which students are produced and produce themselves as neoliberal subjects. We are particularly concerned with which students are excluded in this process. We show how normative evaluations of what makes a ‘successful’ and ‘employable’ student and ‘ideal’ creative worker are implicitly classed, raced and gendered. We argue that work placements operate as a key domain in which inequalities within both higher education and the graduate labour market are (re)produced and sustained. The paper offers some thoughts about how these inequalities might be addressed.     

A Review and Meta-Analysis Examining the Relationship of Music Content with Sex,Race, Priming,and Attitudes

This meta-analysis (k = 35, N = 11,629) examines the effect that listening to music, particularly popular music, has on consumers. Results demonstrate that listening to music generates an effect on listeners consistent with the content of the music (average r = .210, k = 35, N = 11,629). This effect was similar when considering survey research (r = .227) or experimental research (r = .265). The tenets of excitation transfer theory received some support, particularly when considering the effects of music as a priming material (r = .399), demonstrating the impact of music as a means of establishing mood, and ultimately the subsequent reactions of individuals. One conclusion is that efforts toward media literacy or education may prove far more productive than media content restrictions when attempting to curb potential undesirable media effects. Additional implications for policy and theory are discussed.