Assessing the Status of Gender-Specific Programs through the Lens of Juvenile Justice Staff

The gender-specific approach for working with offenders gained momentum during the 1990s and has since been largely accepted by academics and practitioners. Despite numerous studies demonstrating a need for gender-responsive programs and policies within both adult and juvenile correctional systems, scant research has explored whether these services are meeting the intended goals. The current study addresses this through a qualitative analysis of 1 county juvenile court using in-depth interviews with staff. Findings reveal that in spite of the court's efforts to incorporate a gender-responsive approach, much work still remains regarding training staff and meeting girls' needs. Staff identified critical gaps in services and continued to perpetuate gendered norms and stereotypes. Included is a discussion as to why it has been difficult to effectively implement gender-specific programs.     

Leave it at the gate: job stress and satisfaction in correctional staff

Though academic literature firmly establishes an inverse relationship between job stress and job satisfaction, global correctional studies fail to examine the extent of that affiliation on overall correctional job satisfaction. As such, this study uses a faceted approach to explore underlying relationships between organizational, job, and personal characteristics of correctional staff and causes of job stress and satisfaction. Using the Job Satisfaction Survey, nine aspects of job satisfaction are considered. The Work Stress Scale for Correctional Officers’ analyses of five areas of stress directly related to correctional environments. This study examines both uniform and nonuniform staff assigned to a minimum security prison. On average, staff scored well below the average American worker on the Job Satisfaction Survey. Job satisfaction was predicted exclusively by job characteristics or stressors, including the job itself, role conflict, and ambiguity, and the physical condition of the prison, while employee demographic variables and variables that measure healthy lifestyles (such as sleep and exercise) were not significant predictors. While job stress does predict a substantively significant portion of job satisfaction (21%), there is still room to improve prediction.     

At the Polls

ABSTRACT

In this study, the authors attempt to add to existing knowledge on voter psyche during elections by examining the roles of voter concern and voters' desire to “keep up to date,” both of which have hitherto not been studied in this context. The analysis of data collected during a specific election in Australia reveals significant relationships with several well known psychological factors. The authors discuss these findings in the context of political marketing and furnish directions for future research.     

努力在践行“中国梦”中展现新作为

按照习近平总书记关于实现中国梦必须焕发工人阶级历史主动性的指示精神,天津市工会管理干部学院应以发挥工会“大学校”主阵地作用为着眼点,着力激发工会干部共圆中国梦的勃勃活气,倾力培育职工群众共托中国梦的向上力量,同时悉心引导学院全体教职工成为中国梦的积极践行者.     

关于职工文化建设的几个问题

我国的职工文化建设,目前主要存在认识上有误区、行动上避重就轻、“体制”上存在障碍、制度机制不健全、活动开展深度与广度不够、管理者素质亟待提高、建设缺乏资金等问题,今后应从建立健全职工文化建设领导体制、加大经费投入力度、重视指标量化、建立激励和约束机制等方面做些切实的工作.     

努力实现职工与企业的共创共赢共享

天津物产集团有限公司注重推行“让职工在企业干好每一天、进步每一天、快乐每一天”,该做法明显增强了职工的归属感与贡献力,并有效提高了企业的发展水平。     

How Does Professional Education Impact the Job Outlook of Public Child Welfare Workers?

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine how public child welfare employees perceive their graduate social work education, whether they use the knowledge and skills gained, their work satisfaction, and their future plans. It was designed to examine the experiences of the New York City Administration on Children's Services (ACS) employees who were participants in the Professional Development Program and received support to study for their master's degrees in social work. The total number of respondents surveyed was 153, the vast majority of whom were people of color. In considering their motives for attending graduate school, 96 percent emphasized their desire to serve children and families better. These graduates were very positive about their academic and field experiences, with almost all saying they would recommend MSW training to others. There was a constant progression in their perceived knowledge and skill level over time. They expressed a mid-level of satisfaction with their current jobs, but higher satisfaction with the nature of the work itself. It was striking to note the respondents' attitudes about remaining employed at ACS. Only 13 percent of those who responded said they planned to leave within the next two years Almost a third (32.6%) said they thought they'd stay at least 5-9 years, and 39.8 percent said they would probably stay 10 years or longer. Satisfaction with the nature of the work and pay were the two strongest predictors of the length of time respondents planned to stay at ACS. These are important findings because they demonstrate that public investment in MSW education can have significant pay-off by increasing the knowledge and skills of public child welfare workers and encouraging long-term commitment to the work.     

An Exploratory Examination of a Gendered Model of the Effects of Role Stressors

A gendered model of the effects of role stressors on job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment was tested. Ordinary least squares regression analysis of survey data from correctional staff provided partial support for the proposition that men and women perceive and respond to the work environment differently. Work–family conflict was found to influence levels of job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among women but not among men. Conversely, role ambiguity, role overload, and perceived dangerousness influenced levels of job stress for men but not women. Furthermore, levels of role conflict and role ambiguity influenced levels of job satisfaction for men but not for women. These findings lend support to further development of gendered theoretical models.     

Not all election winners are equal: Satisfaction with democracy and the nature of the vote

It is well known that individuals who voted for the winning party in an election tend to be more satisfied with democracy than those who did not. However, many winners deviate from their first choice when voting. It is argued in this article that the mechanisms that engender satisfaction operate less forcefully among such winners, thereby lessening the impact of victory on satisfaction. Results show that the gap in satisfaction over electoral losers among these ‘non‐optimal winners’ is, in fact, much smaller than that of ‘optimal winners’, who voted in line with their expressed preferences. A win matters more for those who have a bigger stake in victory. The article further explores how the effect of optimal victory on satisfaction varies across electoral systems.     

论我国司法鉴定人资格制度的完善

我国司法鉴定组织体系是在司法实践中形成的部门分设体制,在鉴定机构设置的原则、布局上呈现出多元化特点,存在司法机关内部鉴定机构、具有行政权背景的鉴定机构和面向社会服务的鉴定机构等三种类型的鉴定机构,由此导致对司法鉴定人实行职业资格与执业资格制度管理方面存在不尽完善之处。为确保司法鉴定人具有较高的业务水平、执业能力和规范执业,提高鉴定质量,有必要实行复合制的鉴定准入制度、建立健全鉴定业务的经常性培训交流与考核机制、建立法官对鉴定结论的实体审查制度和建立司法鉴定专家库等。