为人生修剪

破晓时分,一名年轻的园丁在修剪园内的树木灌丛。他种了一棵特优品种的醋栗,但这灌木猛长枝干,越来越粗壮。园丁担心它会因此减产甚至不产醋栗果。     

母女情结

我和我母亲之间有着非比寻常的默契和相互感应，这使我们牢固地联系在一起。14年前，我住在印第安纳州埃文斯维尔市，离我母亲——我的知己，我最好的朋友——800英里。一天早上，当我在静静地沉思默想时，突然感到急需给母亲打个电话，问问她是否安好。开始我有所犹豫，因为我母亲教小学四年级，清晨七点一刻去电话会打破她的常规，使她上班迟到。可是有种说不清的东西迫使我给她打电话。我们聊了三分钟．她叫我放心。她安然无恙。     

难忘那壶浓浓的香茗

在威瑟斯家老它的拍卖会上，主持这个拍卖会的女士微笑着向我点点头：“你上阁楼去看看吧，”她建议我说，“那儿有很多过时的的化妆品。”     

MBA招生标准的评估——MBA入学前工作经验和毕业后职业成就之间的关系

当前，美国商学院一般都要求那些有潜力的学生在申请MBA课程前有工作经验。但是这个招生标准的作用还没有被充分的论证过。本篇文章揭示了MBA入学前的工作经验和毕业后职业成就之间的关系。研究中以货币补偿、职业满意度、升迁的次数和为MBA毕业后为第一个雇主服务的意愿四个方面来衡量职业成就。研究结果表明，入学前工作经验和毕业后的成就没有明显的相关关系。而且入学前没有工作经验的MBA比入学前有工作经验的MBA的职业满意度更高、升迁更频繁、货币补偿更多。这个结果值得商学院和负责招生的管理者进行进一步研究讨论。     

The construct of resilience: a critical evaluation and guidelines for future work

This paper presents a critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite experiences of significant adversity. As empirical research on resilience has burgeoned in recent years, criticisms have been levied at work in this area. These critiques have generally focused on ambiguities in definitions and central terminology; heterogeneity in risks experienced and competence achieved by individuals viewed as resilient; instability of the phenomenon of resilience; and concerns regarding the usefulness of resilience as a theoretical construct. We address each identified criticism in turn, proposing solutions for those we view as legitimate and clarifying misunderstandings surrounding those we believe to be less valid. We conclude that work on resilience possesses substantial potential for augmenting the understanding of processes affecting at-risk individuals. Realization of the potential embodied by this construct, however, will remain constrained without continued scientific attention to some of the serious conceptual and methodological pitfalls that have been noted by skeptics and proponents alike.     

神秘的乘客

每一种挫折或不利的突变,是带着同样或较大的有利的种子。很多年以前,当我还是个小伙子时,我每天上下班都是坐火车。由于没有家室,我每天总是工作到很晚,常深夜乘车回家。一天深夜,我乘车回家。在同车厢的人中,有一位小个子老太太,手里拿着一个很大的购物袋。我一看到她上车,就蓦地想,她一定是那种很健谈的人,也就是一路上没完没了与你说个不停的那种人。“千万别坐在我身边!千万别!”我心想。她的确没有坐到我身边,她坐在了我的对面。火车每站都停,但每次都是下车的人多,上车的人少。小个子老太太环顾周围,看着人们上上下下,然后朝我笑笑。…     

Layers of reading intervention in kindergarten through third grade: changes in teaching and student outcomes

In this study, students and their teachers participated in a layered approach to reading intervention in kindergarten through third grade that included professional development for teachers in scientifically based reading instruction, ongoing measurement of reading progress, and additional small-group or individual instruction for students whose progress was insufficient to maintain grade-level reading achievement. Reading outcomes were compared with historical control groups of students in the same schools. The findings revealed overall improvements in reading, improved reading for students who began the study in high-risk categories, and decreases in the incidence of reading disability at the end of third grade. Implications for scaling up are discussed.     

Work-based antipoverty programs for parents can enhance the school performance and social behavior of children

We assess the impact of the New Hope Project, an antipoverty program tested in a random assignment experimental design, on family functioning and developmental outcomes for preschool- and school-aged children (N = 913). New Hope offered wage supplements sufficient to raise family income above the poverty threshold and subsidies for child care and health insurance to adults who worked full-time. New Hope had strong positive effects on boys' academic achievement, classroom behavior skills, positive social behavior, and problem behaviors, as reported by teachers, and on boys' own expectations for advanced education and occupational aspirations. There were not corresponding program effects for girls. The child outcomes may have resulted from a combination of the following: Children in New Hope families spent more time in formal child care programs and other structured activities away from home than did children in control families. New Hope parents were employed more, had more material resources, reported more social support, and expressed less stress and more optimism about achieving their goals than did parents in the control sample. The results suggest that an anti-poverty program that provides support for combining work and family responsibilities can have beneficial effects on the development of school-age children.