Understanding 401(k) plans

Questions about the future of the Social Security system continue to surface. As a result, interest in employer-sponsored retirement plans and other retirement investment options increases. But the restrictions and rules associated with various defined benefit plans such as 401(k), 403 (b), and 457 plans can be confusing, and these plans have risks of their own. The authors explore these plans and explain the need to view retirement savings as only one part of a portfolio.

Dream of a common language: Developing a shared understanding of Information Literacy concepts

Librarians are an essential part of the diverse community of campus stakeholders focused on student success. Establishing a mutually understood and shared foundation of concepts is critical if we wish to collaborate successfully with these stakeholders on assessment projects and ultimately integrating Information Literacy into campus learning outcomes and student success goals. The process of developing and normalizing a collectively accepted understanding of Information Literacy between librarians, faculty and institutional research partners was more of a challenge than anticipated and required research, discussion, documentation, and patience to achieve

A Model of Women Entrepreneurs\u27 Well-being

There has been a recent surge in the growth of women entrepreneurs and particularly minority women entrepreneurs in the United States. Women owned businesses play a key role in the United States economy – they are almost 10 million in number and represent over 35% of the total number of firms (U.S. Census, 2012). As the role of women entrepreneurs, and particularly, minority women entrepreneurs, in the U.S. grows, the need to understand this group becomes ever more important. Traditionally, the entrepreneurship literature has assumed the masculine perspective, with much of the foundational theories built upon research based on male entrepreneurs (Ahl, 2006). In an effort to counter this bias, research on women entrepreneurs began to appear in the entrepreneurship literature approximately thirty years ago and has flourished in recent decades (Jennings & Brush, 2013). This study contributes to this growing women’s entrepreneurship literature. In this study, I develop and test a model of the influence of perceived ethnic discrimination on women entrepreneurs’ well-being, which is conceptualized in terms of authenticity at work (authentic living, self-alienation, and social influence), entrepreneurial work engagement (attention and absorption), and work-life balance. This model is grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2002), which suggests the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) contributes to well-being and mediates the effect of perceived ethnic discrimination on well-being. Additionally, I consider two research questions by applying social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 2001) and rejection sensitivity theory (Downey & Feldman, 1996) to explore the interactions of ethnic identity on the relationship between perceived ethnic discrimination and needs satisfaction and to examine model differences across ethnic/racial groups. Data was collected using a multi-wave online survey administered through a B2B self-employed Qualtrics online panel that targeted full-time women entrepreneurs across various races/ethnicities in the United States. The race/ethnicity of the sample consisted of 46.5% (n=60) from the majority, or White race and 53.5% (n=69) were from the minority racial/ethnic groups, which included 24.0% (n=31) Black or African American, 19.4% (n=25) Hispanic or Latina, 4.7% or (n=16) Asian, and 5.4% (n=7) American Indian or Native American. Regression analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS24 and the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2013) to assess the hypotheses and to answer the research questions. The key findings of this study include significant relationships between the satisfaction of the need for competence across almost all of the measures of well-being (authenticity at work: authentic living and self-alienation; entrepreneurial work engagement: attention and absorption; and work-family balance) with the exception of authenticity’s social influence. Next, there were significant relationships between the satisfaction of the need for autonomy and authenticity at work (self-alienation and social influence). Additionally, strong ethnic identity was found to buffer the pernicious effects of perceived ethnic discrimination on needs satisfaction. Support was not found for the relationship between perceived ethnic discrimination and needs satisfaction, the mediating role of needs satisfaction between perceived ethnic discrimination and the well-being outcomes, nor any significant differences across racial/ethnic groups. Theoretically, this study advances SDT in several ways. First, the study offers further understanding of how the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs contributes to well-being in the particular context of women entrepreneurs. Second, it sheds light on the differing roles that each need plays in this context, with the satisfaction of the need for competence playing a primary role, and autonomy playing a secondary role. Third, the lack of relationship between perceived ethnic discrimination and needs satisfaction implies support of the developing arguments for the independent role of needs frustration in the contexts of needs thwarting antecedent variables. Additionally, in the debate of the role of ethnic identity as a buffer or an exacerbator in situations of discrimination on various outcomes, this study provides evidence for ethnic identity playing not only a buffering role for the satisfaction of the need for competence, but also an enhancing role for the satisfaction of the need for relatedness on the relationship between perceived ethnic discrimination and needs satisfaction. This study’s benefits extend to practical applications as the study results can be applied to programs to promote the well-being of women entrepreneurs. For example, programs to support women entrepreneurs can be beneficial by providing additional means by which women can meet their needs for competence and autonomy in particular. The role of ethnic identity as a buffering (competence) and enhancing (relatedness) mechanism against perceived ethnic discrimination can become part of the discussions for women entrepreneurs. Educating these women about the theory and research on ethnic identity can help them make more informed decisions about their individual identity development

The impacts of commercial lease structures on landlord and tenant leasing behaviours and experiences

The commercial property market in New Zealand is characterized by two standard but distinct lease environments. In Auckland, the commercial core of the economy, net leases dominate, whereas in Wellington, the political capital, gross leases are dominant. These different lease environments have the potential to strongly influence the nature of landlord and tenant relationships in these markets. Using in-depth interviews with key industry personnel, this study examines the perceptions, behaviours, experiences and key issues confronting landlords and tenants under net and gross leases. The paper examines how different lease structures affect the behavioural and attitudinal characteristics of landlords and tenants including: landlord/tenant perceptions of a lease, the operation and maintenance procedures, landlord-tenant relationship, and ultimately, overall satisfaction

Higher Education Exchange: 2007

This annual publication serves as a forum for new ideas and dialogue between scholars and the larger public. Essays explore ways that students, administrators, and faculty can initiate and sustain an ongoing conversation about the public life they share.The Higher Education Exchange is founded on a thought articulated by Thomas Jefferson in 1820: "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."In the tradition of Jefferson, the Higher Education Exchange agrees that a central goal of higher education is to help make democracy possible by preparing citizens for public life. The Higher Education Exchange is part of a movement to strengthen higher education's democratic mission and foster a more democratic culture throughout American society.Working in this tradition, the Higher Education Exchange publishes interviews, case studies, analyses, news, and ideas about efforts within higher education to develop more democratic societies

Transforming Caregiving: African American Custodial Grandmothers and the Child Welfare System

Growing numbers of African American grandmothers are raising grandchildren under the auspices of the child welfare system; however, little is known about the manner in which child welfare policies and practices impact custodial grandparenting. Based on focus groups with African American grandmothers who are raising grandchildren as formal kinship caregivers, this study explored the ways in which the new formalized relationship between the child welfare system and African American custodial grandmothers is transforming the meanings and practices related to intergenerational caregiving in African American families. Drawing on cultural and historical traditions, grandmothers forge a transformative partnership with child welfare that embodies the inherent tensions in the grandmothers\u27 private-public role as formal kinship caregivers. Implications of an intergenerational approach to child welfare policy and practices are discussed in this paper

Weight change over eight years in relation to alcohol consumption in a cohort of continuing smokers and quitters

INTRODUCTION: Stopping smoking results in weight gain. Avoidance of alcohol is often advocated to reduce cues to smoking, but the effect of alcohol consumption on body weight is unclear. METHODS: We used regression models to examine weight change by baseline alcohol consumption in quitting and continuing smokers. Weight was measured at baseline and at 8 years, and weekly alcohol consumption was reported at baseline in participants from the Oxfordshire general practices nicotine patch/placebo trial. Of 698 smokers attempting to stop smoking, 85 were abstinent for 8 years and 613 continued to smoke. RESULTS: The association between baseline alcohol consumption and weight change depended upon smoking status (p for interaction = .019). In smokers, there was no association with weight change, 0.005 (95% CI: -0.037 to 0.056) kg per UK unit (U) (8 g of ethanol) consumed each week. This was unmodified by gender and baseline body mass index (BMI). In quitters, there was a negative association with weight change, -0.174 (95% CI: -0.315 to -0.034) kg per U consumed each week (unmodified by gender and baseline BMI). Quitters who consumed 14 U (112 g ethanol) a week weighed a mean 2.4 kg less than quitters who did not drink. CONCLUSIONS: Quitting smokers who drink more alcohol appear to gain less weight after quitting than those who do not drink. This is consistent across studies, it may be accounted for by unmeasured confounders or it may be that alcohol reduces weight gain. If alcohol reduces weight gain, the advice for quitting smokers must balance the benefits and hazards of alcohol consumption. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to advise quitters who drink little or no alcohol to increase consumption

Different behavioral effects of neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions placed under either isoflurane or propofol anesthesia

Anesthetic protocols for behavioral neuroscience experiments are evolving as new anesthetics are developed and surgical procedures are refined to improve animal welfare. We tested whether neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions produced under two different anesthetic protocols would have different behavioral and/or histo-pathological effects. Rats were anesthetized with either propofol, an intravenous anesthetic, or isoflurane, a gaseous anesthetic, and multiple injections of an excitotoxin (N-methyl-d-aspartate) were stereotaxically placed in the dorsal hippocampus bilaterally. Intraoperative physiological parameters were similar in the two surgical groups, as were the volumes of the lesions, although the profile of postoperative impairment in a spatial learning task differed between the lesion groups depending on the anesthetic regimen used. These results show that the choice of anesthetic protocol is a critical variable in designing behavioral neuroscience experiments using neurosurgical procedures. This factor should be considered carefully in experimental design and in cross-study comparisons of lesion effects on behavior. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Strategically using public housing assets could transform our middle suburbs

‘Greyfields’ in the Australian context have been defined as those ageing but occupied tracts of inner and middle ring suburbia that are physically, technologically and environmentally failing. The research sought to test the potential of an innovative design based approach to create coordinated precincts in these suburbs involving the coordinated redevelopment of multiple, non-contiguous public housing lots (rather than relying on the ‘default’ option of incremental market based development of in-fill housing and piecemeal selling off of public housing properties). Recent public housing investments (under the Social Housing Initiative) were typically planned with job creation in mind rather than innovative housing outcomes, but innovations were still apparent. Innovations were generally simple such as improvements to parking arrangements and interfaces of private dwellings with common areas and public spaces and arrangements for tenancy mix and social diversity. Innovations were often more apparent when governments partnered with Community Housing Organisations who could access alternative land and funding sources, offer design and delivery expertise and facilitate mixed tenancy outcomes. Innovation also was more likely when there was a ‘champion’ for design quality, relaxation of selected planning controls, and project alignment with existing urban renewal strategies. The Department of Human Services (Victorian Government) was found to have existing housing assets in sufficient number (more than 6500 DHS properties) in well-located areas of Melbourne’s middle suburbs that were clustered in ways broadly suitable for coordinated precinct redevelopment. Preliminary investigations suggest the same in Sydney and Brisbane. The coordinated precinct approach could offer an effective model for redeveloping dispersed public housing assets. Integrated redevelopment can achieve substantial increases in dwelling yield—design scenarios developed in this study delivered two to four times the number of dwellings when compared to business-as-usual dual occupancy outcomes. A precinct design approach is potentially more efficient because it allows for non-uniform, flexible siting of higher density buildings, effective program mixes, efficient parking arrangements and a variety of households and tenure types to be accommodated across a neighbourhood. Preliminary discussions with key stakeholders—municipal authorities, community housing organisations and local community members—showed real interest in the benefits of a coordinated precinct-based development approach. - See more at: http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/p52012#sthash.wTtz4itu.dpu