Max, Thanks for your questions - I'm currently working in this area so if you have any comments or new information, I'd really appreciate information.
OSHA, based on stats from the bureau of Labor Statistics, has identified teachers as being part of a group (including taxicab drivers, late night retail workers, police officers, etc.) that is at higher risk for violence the workplace. Very likely because of their increased contact with the general public. The stats that are available come from different sources, the bureau of labor statistics, Justice bureau, insurance companies, and interest groups (i.e.. FVPF, MINCAVA). They are all slightly different based on how they collect information. And college professors would fall under the teacher/school/campus category of violence, where they might end up in threatening situations more often (aggressive students, stalking, etc.). Violence has been categorized as falling under 3 or 4 categories (depending on who is doing the categorizing and the type that most often befalls teachers is differentiated from the date/personal relationship type. Teachers (along with health care workers, police, taxi drivers, etc.) fall under, what is known as Type II violence, which occurs when people who are clients/customers become violent at the victim's workplace. Intuitively, I'd agree that level of education may have an inverse correlation with violence, but looking at effects of stress, one's unique personality and coping skills, and situational triggers (in other words, the whole picture) may be a better way to predict violence. Also, I'd have to ask, "which type of violence?" It looks like domestic violence and abuse may transcend education. For web-based information, some interesting web sites to use include: Bureau of Labor Stats. : http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm National Institute of Justice: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/ - just do a search and you'll get lots of hits This is also a good article, "A Report to the Nation," from the University of Iowa, with very helpful springboard links to 4 other pretty good articles: http://www.pmeh.uiowa.edu/iprc/NATION.PDF? Also, check the NIOSH site: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/violenpg.html Oh, and of course, there is a decent (albeit dated 1996) manual on workplace violence prevention in the federal gov't at: http://www.opm.gov/ehs/workplac/index.htm P.S. If you are doing web-based searching, its good to know that workplace violence is known as "workplace bullying" in the UK and, I think, Australia. They have tons of good, free, info on the web. Sorry if this was overkill. Just had it at the tips of my fingers! Haydee Gelpi Broward Community College Florida -----Original Message----- From: Maxwell Gwynn [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 10:12 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: RE: Help requested with an ugly legal issue Haydee: I'd be interested in finding out the basis for your statement that "campuses are know[n] for a high potential for violence." A quick google search indicated more university sites dealing with violence prevention (on campus and in the community) than with violence on campus. There may of course be a bias in the available online literature. I'm wondering if in fact violence (including date rape) is _lower_ on campus and among university students than among similarly sized organizations and industry, and similarly aged non-student populations. This is simply a hypothesis; I have no data to support this. However, I do have a hunch that predisposition towards violence is negatively related to level of education (without implying causality). I'd like to hear TIPSters' takes on this issue. -Max Gwynn On Mon, 21 Jan 2002, H. Gelpi wrote: > Here is my two cents > SNIP > Disgruntled students have been known to be violent (just to mention one: > University of Iowa, Nov. 1991 - a student, Gang Lu, killed two professors > and a student, who received a prize and stipend that Lu felt he should have > received, just after initiating a grievance on the issue), and campuses are > know for a high potential for violence. In addition, you may not know if SNIP > > Haydee Gelpi > Broward Community College > Florida > Maxwell Gwynn, PhD [EMAIL PROTECTED] Department of Psychology (519) 884-0710 ext 3854 Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 Canada --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
