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Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing has recently attracted a great deal of attention from marketers, especially since the emergence of social media. Three field experiments demonstrate the effects of consumer mind-set (i.e., competition versus collaboration) on narrowcasting and broadcasting intentions and actual behaviors. The results show that a collaborative mind-set promotes narrowcasting, whereas a competitive mind-set encourages broadcasting. Further, self-affirmation moderates the relationship between consumer mind-set and broadcasting. Our findings provide important insights into investment prioritization and resource allocation when managing WOM campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigates the interactions between mood (positive/negative) and information processing style (item-specific/relational/narrative processing) on responses to three types of advertising messages (ungrouped list/grouped list/narrative ads). A mood congruency effect was postulated and found to influence recall, persuasion and behavioral intention. Results supported the hypothesis that message effectiveness was moderated by mood in the direction of congruency. That is, participants in a positive mood recalled more information, were more persuaded, and were more likely to adopt the recommended behavior after exposure to advertisements with a grouped list format. Evidence regarding similarity of factors influencing relational and narrative processing is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on increasing substance abuse and mental illness knowledge of the child welfare workforce in the U.S. It is said that child maltreatment cases involve the use of alcohol and substance abuse. It is cited that the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, and the Adoption and Safe Families Act require child welfare agencies to initiate efforts to support families. However, it is mentioned that most of the social workers have no adequate academic training to address the problem.

This article examines data from a study of 146 female and 26 male graduate (96) and undergraduate (67) students designed to identify what characteristics influence students' knowledge of and interest in working with older persons. This study found a strong positive relationship between the number of a student's personal and professional experiences with older persons and his or her level of interest in working with older persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article forecasts the changes in the U.S. workplace in 1995. The civilian population aged 16 to 24 years will decline. Although this demographic shift will tend to decrease labor supply, the labor force participation of this age-group should increase as the financial incentive to accumulate additional years to education diminishes. There is every indication that female labor force participation will continue to climb. Another factor that will add to the labor supply is the continuing influx of migrants into the U.S. Computer technology is going to generate a wide variety of service jobs. Private sector competition for resources will be intense. Skill obsolescence and changing production processes will raise the need to retrain and relocate displaced workers.

This article discusses the history and evolution of the welfare system in the U.S. Half a century has elapsed since the U.S. embarked on the development of its welfare system. Driven by the devastating impacts of the Great Depression, the architects of the New Deal designed a structure that would provide a measure of economic security to all Americans. In doing so, they followed in the footsteps of other industrialized nations. Broadly defined, the American welfare system as it evolved over the years is the product of a sustained drive for greater economic security by all income groups; it is not merely a vehicle for providing assistance to the poor. Through social insurance programs, tax expenditures, and human capital investments, government aid reaches far into the ranks of middle- and upper-income U.S. Federal social welfare policies not only seek to prevent extreme deprivation among the most disadvantaged, but also attempt to cushion the impact of economic misfortune and uncertainty on more advantaged and affluent members of society. The resulting safety net has been remarkably successful in shielding diverse segments of the population from the full brunt of the vagaries and hardships implicit in a free market economy.

This articles discusses challenges in forecasting the future of employment in the U.S. Any speculation or projections about the nature of work and the labor force in the next decade involves not only assumptions about the growth of the economy and productivity, but also about family formation, education and other economic factors. Before predicting changes in work and workers, two assumptions should be made explicit: first, basic economic conditions will not differ dramatically from post-World War II trends, secondly, productivity will grow but not at the high rates experienced during the 1950s and 1960s. The changes are going to be pervasive, but the rate of change will be slower than many futurists have predicted. More young adults may decide to start their work careers at an earlier age, and college enrollments are going to decline. More workers aged 65 and older are likely to remain in the labor force.

Examines the performance of the Great Society, an organization which caters for abundancy and liberty in the U.S. Demands for poverty and racial injustice; Dramatic acceleration of the governmental effort; Implementation of laws and utilization of existing authority.

The U.S. federal response to labor market problems has encompassed a wide range of initiatives. These include preparing people for work, improving the functioning of the labor market, and preventing discrimination. Unresolved Issues in these areas are examined. They include who should be targeted for federal assistance, which levels of government can best operate programs, how public versus private efforts should be balanced, how limited resources should be distributed, and how the welfare versus work question should be resolved.

Focuses on the role of welfare system in promoting economic security in the United States. Assault on welfare system; Advantage of welfare system to the poor; Development of diverse tax and sectoral policies.

The evolution of manpower programs to aid the unemployed, unskilled, deficiently educated, and victims of racial discrimination spurred by the Great Society continued in the 1970's as the U.S. Congress and the first U.S. President Richard M. Nixon Administration committed ore funds and sparked fresh projects to cover newly recognized needs. Funds flowed from a variety of federal spigots. Despite the broad appeal of the ideas of decentralization and consolidation of manpower efforts and bi-partisan congressional support for these programs, five years elapsed between the time when manpower reform legislation was first proposed and the passage of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) of 1973. Nonetheless, five years of effort went into the making of CETA. Congressional, Administration, and academic observers agree that the experience may serve to facilitate the decentralization of other federal social programs. CETA proves that the three levels of government and private interest groups can cooperate. It offers an alternative to a system of categorical grants over which state and local officials can exercise little influence and to decentralization by revenue sharing, which limits the role of federal officials to mere suppliers of funds.

Examines the steady growth of associations of Government employees in the United States since 1960. Membership statistics; How many groups became a part of labor unions; Adoption of union tactics by others; Projected future of the association movement.

Assesses the viability of adapting foreign industrial relations practices to the U.S. Recognition of the improvement of productivity by cultural influences; Reformation of the work environment through labor-management communications; Prevention of deficient control on the quality and quantity of production.

Explores the impact of technological revolution on employment in the U.S. Use of the microprocessor to automate production functions; Growth of the service sector; Job losses; Creation of job opportunities.

Discusses the impact of the changing work role of women on the survival of the family in the United States. Influence of the economic independence of working women on their decisions whether or not to marry or have children; Relationship between the expanding female work force and reduced fertility rates; Lack of evidence for the erosion of the American family.

Discusses various aspects of the study of minimum wages in the U.S. Basic models of minimum wage investigations; Role of minimum wage in maintaining the work ethic; Role of wage rate subsidies in reducing the labor costs of an employer.

Focuses on prospects of the military as an employer in the United States. Need for U.S. Armed Forces to pay adequate wages to attract and to retain the needed work force; Transition from conscript to volunteer personnel; Training and skills requirements; Status of military labor supply.

Examines the employment difficulties of the disabled persons in the U.S. Interrelated dimensions of work disability; Rehabilitation strategies to help handicapped persons; Importance of physical, mental and socioeconomic factors in prescribing services for handicapped.

Discusses the key features of the Job Corps, a social program to reduce poverty in the U.S. in the 1960s. Range of manpower and vocational training programs for the poor youth; Enrollee population; Policy implications on improving the job market success of disadvantaged youth.

This article focuses on the use of enterprise zones to target assistance to blighted areas in the U.S. Even in the best of times, poverty and high unemployment remain the norm for blighted areas. The underlying rationale for enterprise zones is that of reduction of taxes, regulation and other government imposed barriers. Taxes play a secondary role in business investment decisions. Many believe an infusion of small businesses is needed to vitalize blighted areas. The administration of U.S. President George Bush argues that a reduction in government financial and regulatory barriers, as proposed in enterprise zones, will encourage small businesses and entrepreneurs to start new business in such zones.

The article analyzes causes of shortages in the labor force and suggests ways to increase the labor force. Media, policymakers, and analysts are predicting labor shortages and their deleterious impact upon the economy. But there are little evidence to support their worries. The impact of the baby bust and demands for increasingly skilled workers allegedly ensure that labor shortages will remain a persistent problem. Rather than labor shortages, the most likely outcome in the foreseeable future is a recession-i.e., labor surpluses. Even if labor shortages occur, the condition hardly represents a disaster. Most of the evidence cited for continuing labor shortages is surprisingly flimsy because no reliable measure of the mismatch between job seekers and vacancies exists. If persistent labor shortages emerge, economic theory and historical experience indicate a variety of possible employer responses. A few effects would generally be considered either positive or negative, but judgments of most outcomes would depend on the vantage point of the observer. Present concerns about continuing labor shortages are probably misplaced. However, the federal government should take several steps that are advisable in their own right and would also ameliorate future labor shortages if they occur.

The economy of the United States depends increasingly on a flexible work force with part-time employment as a major feature. But the consequences of this are a growing pool of low-wage labor who are unprotected by basic benefits. Part-time employment has grown at a much faster rate than full-time employment during the past two decades, and now accounts for one of every five persons at work in the United States. In addition to semi-retired persons and teenagers attending school, the part-time workforce includes a disproportionate number of females, minorities, and others who frequently encounter labor market difficulties. And for a majority of part-timers, whether voluntary or involuntary, a short schedule means low pay, few benefits, and minimal job security. Expanding the scope of compensation to include nonwage benefits exacerbates the discrepancy between part-time and full-time workers. Since taxpayers subsidize the cost of part-time work, the government has a strong financial interest, not to mention a moral responsibility, in correcting inequities.

Millions more Americans work and remain poor today than in the late 1970's. Federal policy should aid job training, raise minimum wages, and extend benefits to help the working poor escape poverty. The revived poverty debate has focused on moving recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) into gainful employment, but has neglected the problems of the already employed poor. The objective is worthy and reflects the increasing consensus that welfare recipiency should also entail a responsibility to seek and obtain employment. State welfare to work experiments across the country, from the Massachusetts Employment and Training (ET) program to California's Greater Avenues for Independence, GAIN have captured. the attention of the public, policymakers, and acronym buffs alike, showing promise as programs appealing to individuals of all political persuasions.

The article discusses the plight of those who work hard and those who are jobless. Those out of work are usually worse off than those receiving paychecks, and when unemployment rises and is prolonged, economic deprivation also increases. Yet the monthly jobless count, even in the worst of times, includes many individuals who will be only transitorily unemployed as they enter the labor force or search for better jobs. It includes laid-off workers in affluent families and those welt-protected by assets or private sources of income. The unemployment count also includes some malingerers who find dependency more amenable than work. However, the jobless count excludes many victims of labor market pathologies. Hardship occurs when an individual earns too little by acceptable minimal societal standards to clothe, feed, and shelter himself or herself and his/her dependents, if any, and when no other income compensates for deficient earnings. From this perspective, the unemployed with a few weeks of idleness but reasonable pay-checks the rest of the year, or those who live in affluent families, should be distinguished from the remainder who suffer economic deprivation.

This article focuses on the utility of combining employment and earnings data in giving more relevant picture of the condition of the labor market. It is therefore not surprising that the policymakers who designed antipoverty programs during the 1960's saw the need for measures which would consider both forced idleness and low income among the employed. Seeking support for employment and training programs in ghetto areas, the Gmat Society's Secretary of Labor, W. Willard Wirtz, encouraged the development of a measure which would dramatize the need for comprehensive manpower programs in poverty areas. The result was the preparation in 1967 of a sub-employment rate. In designing the new index, government statisticians and policy-makers were required to make recognized value judgments about the determination of "need" and the selection of the groups to be included and excluded among the subemployed. The new index was a departure from the "clean" employment and unemployment series. Its most distinctive aspect was adding employed workers whose low income reflected an employment hardship to the unemployed.

The article presents an outlined U.S. proposal that combines the key essential features of manpower reform, revenue-sharing, and public employment. The proposed reform at the federal level include adjustments to changing economic conditions, with a gradual decentralization of control to state and local levels. It cites the importance of gradualism in minimizing outright and active oppositions of vested interest groups.

The article focuses on Michael Harrington's depiction of the image of the forgotten Americans who failed to participate in the ever rising and expanding economic abundance shared by the majority of the population. He was successful in his attack on deprivation in the midst of affluence. Harrington's book "The Other America" rekindled the discontent of the poor people.

The article examines manpower programs under the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon. Nixon has consistently supported the idea that the private sector should take a more active role in manpower programs. Nixon's government reduced manpower budgets and redesigned the structure of several programs. The most significant changes during the first year of Nixon administration were the drastic curtailment of Job Corps and the expansion of Job Opportunities in the Business Sector.

The article evaluates the federal antipoverty and manpower programs under the Nixon Administration. The author cites several examples to indicate the inadequacy of the available information on the administration's programs. The article points out the conventional explanation for the maximum misunderstanding about antipoverty and welfare efforts.

The article examines the reluctance of federal officials to fight poverty with birth control programs. Majority of Americans favor birth control, which is believed to be the most effective anti-poverty tool. A study show that there is a high correlation between family size and the incidence of poverty.

The article discusses the political situation of American president Richard Nixon. The Nixon government has not developed a definitive position on the anti-poverty and manpower programs. He focused on several approaches to help the poor and the unskilled including the use of tax incentives to promote manpower and economic development.

The article discusses the potentials and limitations of the Community Self-Determination Act in the U.S., which aims to provide ghetto residents, who are mostly African Americans, control over their own destiny. The bill enables African Americans and other poor groups the right to own and manage their own businesses and control social services. The bill provides for the creation of locally organized and controlled Community Development Corporations and Community Development Banks.

The article reports on the anti-poverty works of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). VISTA is a corps of volunteers who live and work with the poor as part of the federal anti-poverty effort. Some volunteers considered their involvement in programs leading to the development of human resources among the poor, as a "charitable duty," while others stressed "good citizenship."

The article investigates the status of welfare state and public assistance programs designed to alleviate poverty in the United States. According to some academicians, the country's public assistance programs are capricious and anachronistic. The author states that the solution would be to design an income maintenance program characterized by the negative income tax principle.

The article examines the antipoverty training and job creation programs of public agencies, nonprofits and the private sector in the U.S. The Manpower Development and Training Act emphasizes on-the-job training and reimburses employers for training costs. Some employers have training programs for the poor without government subsidy. One of the legislative efforts to increase job creation and improve training opportunities is the Human Investment Bill which gives tax incentives to employers.

The article analyzes the struggle for antipoverty legislation against the background of partisan politics in the U.S. The author mentions that supporters of the Administration's Economic Opportunity Act and the Opportunity Crusade both recognize the need to coordinate antipoverty efforts. He adds the chief beneficiaries of a bipartisan approach to the federal antipoverty programs would be the disadvantaged.

The article examines the extent to which the Economic Opportunity Act has been implemented as a measure to rehabilitate the poor, leading them to economic independence in the U.S. According to the author, the original Act made explicit provision for three programs: Work Experience and Training, the Job Corps, and the Neighborhood Youth Corps. He notes that the first program serves recipients of welfare and other needy adults, while the other two are limited to youths.

The article discusses criticisms to U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act, a part of the government's war against poverty. Paul N. Ylvisaker, Director of Community Affairs for New Jersey, said that the war on poverty lacks a comprehensive national strategy. Richard W. Boone, a former official of the Community Action Program (CAP), called for limiting the Office of Economic Opportunity to the operation of CAP and overall planning and monitoring of antipoverty measures.

The article reports on the U.S. government anti-poverty strategy. A task force headed by Sargent Shriver, former chairman of the Chicago, Illinois Board of Education, was formed. Upon assumption of his new assignment, Shriver created the impression that he was looking for new innovative ideas for addressing the poverty problem in the U.S.

The article focuses on the depressed areas program known as the Area Redevelopment Act signed by the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy and was an integral part of his Administration's policy to combat unemployment. In its most elementary form, the debate focused on the question of whether aid to depressed areas was an appropriate field of action for the federal government. Adversaries of the program also feared that the program represented only the proverbial camel's nose and that once adopted it would commit the federal government to continued interference with private decision-making and substitute government financing for the free enterprise system.

Explores a procedure which links the existing measures of labor force activity into a single index of worker welfare in the United States. Measurement of the number of persons who experience difficulties in competing for gainful employment paying an adequate wage; Criteria for the index; Review of the derivation of the index from a specific set of data.

Evaluates the Public Employment Program in the United States initiated by the Emergency Employment Act of 1971. Objectives; Provisions of the law; Conformity of the implementation of the act with the pending manpower reform proposals; Provision of maximum flexibility and choice to political subdivisions by program agents. INSET: The Public Employment Program: tale of three cities.