People can use a variety of different strategies to perform tasks and these strategies all have two characteristics in common. First, they can be evaluated in comparison with either an absolute or a relative standard. Second, they can be used at varying levels of consistency. In the present article, the authors develop a general theory of task…

This randomized experiment examines the effects of contextual information on undergraduate college student's levels of alcohol-related incident guardianship at college parties. The research is conceptualized using routine activities theory and the theory of planned behavior. The experiment examines attitudinal variations about heavy drinking…

This study examines imagined interactions (IIs) among young adults in the United States, Thailand, and Japan. A comparison of means across cultures on II characteristics reveals that the Japanese participants have the widest variety of II partners, whereas the American participants are the most self-dominant in their IIs and demonstrate the most…

Breaching experiments involve the conscious exhibition of "unexpected" behavior, an observation of the types of social reactions such behavioral violations engender, and an analysis of the social structure that makes these social reactions possible. The conscious violation of norms can be highly fruitful for sociology students, providing insights…

Assessing the effectiveness of a leader is often a difficult exercise for many organizations. This is usually because most assessment procedures are influenced by organizational politics, they are not standard based, and the items on which a leader is assessed are undefined or poorly defined. This study presents the "Essential Behavioral…

This article discusses key issues of literacy that are important to both teachers and learners for understanding, and summarizes the function of literacy in three different groups: primary education, adult education, and communities with unwritten languages. The article investigates the scope of literacy, showing how this concept may be defined…

When students increasingly exhibited disruptive behavior at a particular school, a comprehensive multilevel discipline program was developed to respond to the students' behavior. The conceptual model and key intervention approaches used in this multilevel discipline program are described in this paper. Previous experience convinced school…

This study examined three theories which might account for the large differences between states in the incidence of homicide, and particularly the theory that stress causes homicide. The other theories are those which hold that homicide is a function of cultural norms which support violence and of a weak system of social control. The regression…

The general economic and psychological evolution in America from a producer society to a consumer society has resulted in a conflict of purposes for American educators regarding school discipline. Consequently, contemporary American educators, unlike their forerunners, have ignored the long term social goals of classroom discipline. They have,…

One in a series of core instructional materials for apprentices to use during the first or second years of apprenticeship-related subjects training, this booklet deals with working in organizations. The first section consists of an outline of the content and scope of the core materials as well as a self-assessment pretest. Covered in the three…

To examine black-white differences in the public's definitions of appropriate behavior toward a frail older parent for sons and daughters in dual earner couples, data were collected from a probability sample of 241 white and 64 black adults. Telephone interviews were used for data collection. Respondents were asked to rate the appropriateness of…

The development of public relations as an industry is traced in this document, and the need for high standards to be set and maintained is stressed. Ways to improve personal and professional standards in the public relations field include continuous reading and study on the subject, establishing a code of ethics for the profession, and taking…

Because use of the backcountry makes a physical impact on the land and an impact on the experience on other backcountry visitors, these notes summarize some of the Northwest Outward Bound School's current operating practices which seek to minimize both types of impact. The first section outlines expected student behavior in encounters with other…