Approaches to develop a new understanding of academic careers are discussed. For many faculty members, a key issue is how to adjust their understanding of an ideal career to contemporary reality. During the 1970s, almost all of the professoriate saw its standard of living decline, a decline that stabilized by the early 1980s. Job mobility is…

Job stress among institutional researchers and approaches to managing or coping with stress are considered. In considering different types of stressors and stress reactions, it is noted that stress from all sources is cumulative and cannot be ignored during the workday, and that both pleasant and unpleasant happenings can result in stress. One…

Although research has documented associations between grandparenthood and grandparents' mental health, the basis of these associations has not been extensively explored. This study asked grandparents to describe their relationship with one grandchild and that grandchild's parents; the selected grandchild was the oldest grandchild in the two-parent…

The use of volunteers in special libraries is advocated in this report, which cites positive reasons for including volunteers among the library staff. (Bringing on volunteers during a budget crunch is not considered to be a positive reason.) The special library's relationship with the larger organization's volunteer department is mentioned as a…

A study illustrated an interpretive approach to investigating personal commitment during radical organizational transition by examining how people talk metaphorically about commitment and identification as a process. A questionnaire was constructed to be used in phone interviews with six employee assistance program (EAP) counselors who contract…

This manual presents an operational approach for teachers for dealing with classroom conflict. The first section discusses the dynamics of conflict including factors responsible for conflict such as differing value systems, individuals in conflict with authority, peer group disagreement, and turnover of students. The second section discusses…

Managing the multiple and often conflicting roles and responsibilities of the resident hall assistant (RA) often leads to stress. Team-building is one approach which may be used to reduce stress by increasing group cohesiveness and in turn social support among resident assistant staff members. Usually team-building involves a neutral party…

Problems affecting the profession of college teaching are considered, along with the reasons for the persistence of faculty in academia. In some fields, practically no mobility remains today. Many faculty end up teaching at a college that they would not have chosen to attend. While teaching and research may focus on important national and world…

This paper reports the results of an evaluation of a didactic-experiential program designed to improve memory functioning in healthy older adults with memory complaints, and to allay their concerns (in this case, largely unfounded) about the decline of their memory. The 7-week workshop met weekly for 2 hours, each session consisting of a lecture…

This paper presents a study of the personal variables associated with first-year teacher morale that can be identified early in the training programs of novice teachers. This study is based on data derived from 96 (76.6 percent) of the graduates teaching in Mississippi. Data were collected through the use of five special instruments: (1)…

Staff development coordinators in the Georgia school systems responded to a survey to assess their perceptions of the administrative needs of their school districts. Of the 61 needs surveyed, staff development coordinators selected staff morale and group dynamics as their most critical areas of need, followed by evaluating program effectiveness…

Recent research on organizational turnover has examined the validity of the turnover decision process, in particular, the model of employee turnover proposed by Mobley (1977). This study followed-up on a previous (Kerber and Campbell, 1986) study of new employees of a large computer company in which participants completed a questionnaire that…

An ongoing study has identified four major problems in Minnesota's public education system: (1) Minnesota schools are being asked to provide racial integration, special educational services, and other additional responsibilities at the same time that the school system is contracting as a result of demographic, political, and economic trends. (2)…

This study measured the self-esteem of 312 female elementary school teachers in the Chattagnooga area public schools, and identified their perceptions of selected job-related factors that contribute to their self-esteem. The questionnaire consisted of three parts. Part one requested demographic information. Part two consisted of the Barksdale…

This study sought to determine the primary sources of stress for 48 Alabama school teachers who attended a workshop on stress management. Survey questions were grouped into three categories: vulnerability for stress, job stressors, and current status. Tables present data on each of these categories as well as on the educational and personal…