Cross-cultural training,expatriate self-efficacy,and adjustments to overseas assignments: An empirical investigation of managers in Asia

This paper presents the findings of an empirical study that investigated the relationship between cross-cultural training (CCT) effectiveness, self-efficacy, and adjustment of expatriate managers in Asia. Responses of 169 managers from four different national backgrounds, all currently on overseas assignments in Asia, indicate that the relationship between CCT effectiveness and adjustment is mediated by an increase in self-efficacy. Implications of the findings for professional practice and for future research are discussed.     

Boundary-Work in the Health Research Field: Biomedical and Clinician Scientists’ Perceptions of Social Science Research

Funding agencies in Canada are attempting to break down the organizational boundaries between disciplines to promote interdisciplinary research and foster the integration of the social sciences into the health research field. This paper explores the extent to which biomedical and clinician scientists’ perceptions of social science research operate as a cultural boundary to the inclusion of social scientists into this field. Results indicated that cultural boundaries may impede social scientists’ entry into the health research field through three modalities: (1) biomedical and clinician scientists’ unfavourable and ambivalent posture towards social science research; (2) their opposition to a resource increase for the social sciences; and (3) clinician scientists procedural assessment criteria for social science. The paper also discusses the merits and limitations of Tom Gieryn’s concept of boundary-work for studying social dynamics within the field of science.

Job burnout and the school psychologist

School psychologists participating in a workshop on burnout completed Freudenberger's Burnout Questionnaire (1980), identified major job-related stressors, and responded to a list of suggested supervisory, individual, and organizational strategies for prevention. Slightly less than half of the participants appeared on the questionnaire to have burnout problems. Age, years of experience, and sex were not significantly related to the burnout score. Major identified stressors included excessive caseloads, lack of time, and lack of support or appreciation. Reactions to the strategies were positive and hopeful. Implications for training were drawn.     

Some concerns about the estimation of learning potential from the system of multicultural pluralistic assessment

After considering how an estimate of learning potential (ELP) is derived from the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment, it was shown that most of the characteristics of ELP deemed to be important are generated by statistical artifacts. It was also noted that the fundamental assumption underlying ELP is without supportive evidence. ELP should not be used to make judgements about individual children or other educational decisions.     

长枞水电大坝的热弹性与渗漏分析

This paper deals with the temperature and displacement fields of the top mid-block of south transition at Long Spruce Generating Station, in the North of Manitoba, Canada. According to the experimental results of Manitoba Hydro in the past two years, the top mid-block is assumed to be a rectangular one that has two supposed temperature distributions at its boundary sides. Then, the temperature fields for the top mid-block are obtained from the analytical solutions by separation of variables. By using the analytical solution of temperature field, the displacement behavior of the top block in various temperature fields is discussed in details. The numerical results are given to show the causes of the leakage between the top mid-block and the dam. Finally, the repair methods for leakage are discussed for practical leaking repair and its engineering applications.     

Youth on the street: Abuse and neglect in the eighties

This paper discusses the findings of a study of runaways and homeless youth who were interviewed on the street the last week of every month on five week nights from late afternoon until 2 a.m. over a period of one year. The data derived from 489 interviews provided some interesting insights. Two distinct groups emerged from the analysis, generating a tentative hypothesis that the true "runners" tend to leave their homes with the intention of not returning and thus their runs are extended; the second group, designated "in and outers," use the run as a temporary coping mechanism. Their runs tend to be impulsive and of short duration. The study found that runaways (in particular the runners) are at great risk of being drawn into illegal activities. Major factors affecting this risk are distance from home and length of time on the run. A significant proportion of the youth interviewed had run from substitute care arrangements, and a disturbing implication emerging from the research is that adolescents in our society suffer from systemic abuse and neglect. One outcome of this piece of research was the opening of a safe house for early runners in January 1987. The operation of the house includes careful compilation of data to further advance understanding of the runaway population and its needs.