No abstract

Studies have found procrastination to affect most undergraduate students regardless of ethnicity, age, or gender (e.g., Kachgal et al. 2001). Though procrastination may relieve stress in the short-term, it also causes stress. Students worry about their own procrastination, and are left feeling anxious, guilty, and even more pressured (Pychyl et al. 2000). Procrastination can lead to serious consequences because it compromises one's ability to set and achieve personal, academic, and career goals.Burka and Yuen (1990) characterized procrastination as a way of expressing internal conflict and protecting a vulnerable sense of self-esteem. A wide range of behavioral, affective, and cognitive factors have been identified as contributing to procrastination, including lack of motivation, deficient self-regulation, external locus of control, perfectionism, trait and state anxiety, fear of failure, low self-efficacy, and low selfconfidence (cf Haycock et al. 1998). Solomon and Roth blum (1984) found that students' explanations for their own procrastination were related to fear of failure, taking on such specific forms as performance anxiety, perfectionism, and lack of self-confidence.In contrast to previous research which has focused on personal factors associated with procrastination, the study reported in this paper focuses on characteristics of a task or assignment that might influence procrastination. Selected assignment and course characteristics suggested by Paden and Stell (1997) were examined. Specifically, the study compared the characteristics of a particular critical incident assignment chosen by individual students based on whether each student reported more or less procrastination on the assignment.Students in marketing courses were asked to think about an important assignment they had completed during the previous semester. They were then asked to fill out a questionnaire about procrastination on the assignment and about various assignment-related variables. Altogether 159 students participated, resulting in 155 usable questionnaires.

There is an increasing number of severely mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system. This article first discusses the criminalization of persons with severe mental illness and its causes, the role of the police and mental health, and the treatment of mentally ill offenders and its difficulties. The authors then offer recommendations to reduce criminalization by increased coordination between police and mental health professionals, to increase mental health training for police officers, to enhance mental health services after arrest, and to develop more and better community treatment of mentally ill offenders. The necessary components of such treatment are having a treatment philosophy of both theory and practice; having clear goals of treatment; establishing a close liaison between treatment staff and the justice system; understanding the need for structure; having a focus on managing violence; and appreciating the crucial role of case management, appropriate living arrangements, and the role of family members.

This study examines consumer knowledge of privacy-related laws and practices, and consumer awareness and use of strategies that may protect the consumer's privacy. Consumers were found to have very little knowledge of direct marketing practices and regulations. While consumers were fairly well informed on privacy-protection strategies, their use of these strategies was quite low. This study also investigates whether several consumer traits, namely gender, age, telephone number listing status, and desire to receive direct marketing solicitations, had any relationship to the consumer's awareness and use of privacy-protection strategies. It was found that males and young people were more likely than their counterparts to be aware of privacy-protection strategies. Those most likely to use privacy-protection strategies were young people and people who disliked receiving direct marketing solicitations.

Undergraduate business students tend to focus on the past strategies of firms, with less thought given to anticipating and adjusting to marketplace changes. Although both educators and employers are concerned about this disconnect, little is known about the extent and form of efforts made by instructors to address it. Interviews with marketing instructors found most incorporating some future orientation into assignments. However, obstacles such as student sloth and time demands on both students and faculty were observed. Survey data collected from instructors, students, and employers found agreement that assignments designed to develop future-oriented thinking and prepare for marketplace change are important.