Stephanie L. Witt

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN AND WHITE UNIVERSITY FACULTY: A RESEARCH NOTE

This paper is a comparison of levels of occupational stress among African American and white college and university faculty members in U.S. institutions. Using survey data collected from a national sample of faculty, an analysis of reported occupational stress levels was undertaken to determine if issues raised in previous research regarding “extra-academic” assignments given to African American faculty limits their access to the more traditional faculty roles, creating pressure to perform in ways not expected of white faculty. To test these assertions, scales measuring stress from teaching, research, and service activities were constructed for African American and white faculty from a larger “faculty stress index.” Results of the analysis indicate that African American faculty report generally higher levels of occupational stress than their white counterparts, especially in the areas of research and service activities.

The Rural-Urban Linkage to Environmental Policy Making in the American West: A Focus on Idaho

Abstract In a contemporary and comprehensive analysis of politics and public policy in the American West, Clive Thomas makes the case that one of the most significant factors driving the policy-making process in the West is the marked rise in the intensity of conflict between urban and rural areas. More importantly, Thomas specifically links this rural-urban tension to environmental issues. He argues that environmental and quality of life issues are likely to be the most significant factors facing policy makers as the Intermountain West continues to urbanize. Using counties as the unit of analysis, we investigate this rural-urban linkage to environmental policy making in the state of Idaho. Analysis is based upon both aggregate county data and survey of government elites (county officials). Our findings suggest that critical differences remain between urban and rural areas with respect to concern for the environment.

Religion and Roll-Call Voting in Idaho: The 1990 Abortion Controversy

This research note examines the Idaho state legislatures roll call vote on the controversial abortion bill known as H625, which would have strictly limited abortion access in Idaho. The analysis exammes the relative impact of personal and constituent characteristics on the vote of individual legislators on a nonroutine and salient issue. The results indicate that personal characteristics are strong predictors of the vote on this highly emotional issue, and point as well to the impact that highly organized and vocal religious groups can have on important legislative decisions.

The Role of Capacity and Problem Severity in Adopting Voluntary Intergovernmental Partnerships The Case of Tribes, States, and Local Governments

Literature on intergovernmental partnerships suggests the importance of several factors including organizational resources, capacity, and problem severity in understanding the adoption of these partnerships. This research improves our understanding about the adoption of intergovernmental partnerships by examining tribal and nontribal governments that adopted voluntary agreements to improve the administration of justice. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, this research examines how socioeconomic conditions, problem severity, and law enforcement authority influence the adoption of partnership agreements between tribal and nontribal law enforcement. The results suggest that tribes that adopt partnerships have better socioeconomic conditions; nontribal actors have lower levels of authority and higher occurrences of violent crime. The presence of Indian gaming also increases the likelihood of adopting cooperative agreements. The results of this study provide an important insight into understanding intergovernmental cooperation in general and what drives cooperation between native and surrounding non-native communities in particular.

Book Reviews : London, Manuel (1997). Job feedback: Giving, seeking, and using feedback for performance improvement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 211pp:

Feedback efficacy depends on form as well as substance. London (38) recommends &dquo;ratingless&dquo; narrative appraisals and reward structures-that is, raises and promotions-to influence employees’ behavior. He also presents the merits of ranking employees from best to worst, self-appraisals, survey feedback and 360-degree(multi-source) feedback. How can performance be enhanced? London recommends assessment centers, computerized assessments, business games and simulations, and organizational analysis. These are non-threatening opportunities for employees to experiment with new behaviors. The author describes several corporations’ experiences with these developmental programs and offers vendor information to those who would like a contract with program facilita-

Book Reviews: William G. Lee, Mavericks in the Workplace: Harnessing the Genius of Amencan Workers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN: 0-19-511656-9,

orgamzations which face great challenges require strong, take-charge leaders.... American management schools mstill it, consulting firms encourage and sell it, management literature trumpets it, and large parts (though not all) of the mvestment commumty applaud it.... [T]here is somethmg compelting about a hero-leader chargmg forward m turbulent times to get thmgs done and make things better (pp. 6-7).

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an interesting issue, administrative adjudication in the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), from both the legal and social science perspectives. As I opened the book, I had high hopes that it would mform me not only of the basics of the law and practice in this largely unaddressed area, but also of the behaviors typical of the participants m the process. Unfortunately, the author did not seize upon that opportumty What I found was a detailed outline