A Critical Review of Relocation Research Specific to Separation and Divorce

Relocation, as an issue in the context of family law, typically involves the proposed move of a separated or divorced parent with a child to a new residence a substantial distance away from the non-moving parent. Based on a comprehensive review of the empirical evidence, 11 studies that focused on relocation within the context of separation and divorce were located, retrieved and appraised based on a common standard for assessing the methodological quality of the studies. Results of the critical appraisal found that the majority of social science research studies on relocation are of poor quality. Overall, the project’s findings demonstrate the need to move away from oversimplified considerations for relocation and to embrace a more comprehensive approach to fully capture the various factors that are relevant when considering the strengths and limitations of relocation.     

Transforming the public sphere: the case of Moscow’s city libraries

ABSTRACT

This article aims to explore the link between civil society and the public sphere in present-day Russia by studying a recent library reform project in Moscow. In 2013, a comprehensive reconstruction of Moscow's network of 448 public libraries was initiated by a group of intellectuals, architects and urbanists. The project team aimed at modernizing Moscow's city libraries by making them more accessible and appealing to the public. The reconstruction gained support from the city administration that sought to strengthen the function of public libraries as cultural and educational institutions and, at the same time, improve the city's image in the eyes of its citizens. The article poses the question of whether this reform has been successful in making Moscow's city libraries more open, accessible and inviting for the public, and whether the reform has contributed to the development of a public sphere in the city by providing new spaces for participation and civic engagement. The article explores the reform process based on interviews with key informants and document analysis. It looks into the project objectives, its implementation process and its legacy. The analysis of the library reform project revealed contradictory results, as the reform did not develop beyond the pilot phase, but was stopped due to fading support from the city administration. Overall, the library reform thus remained an unfinished process. For developing the public sphere, the legacy of the reform project is ambivalent. On the one hand, the project has proved that creating new public spaces in Moscow is possible. On the other hand, it showed that the public sphere remains limited in today's Russia, as civic initiatives cannot develop beyond a cultural niche project. Due to a lack of political support for societal pluralism, a true autonomous public sphere remains beyond reach in present-day Russia.     

Social Explanations of Lottery Play: New Evidence Based on National Survey Data

This study examines the social contexts of gambling and analyzes social motivations for playing the lottery. We test three sociological approaches simultaneously: network effects, consumption theory, and strain theory. The data used (SOEP-IS, N = 5868 individuals) has several advantages beyond being a large-scale representative sample of the German population. With information on households, we can analyze social network effects while avoiding the problems of egocentric network data. Another benefit of the SOEP-IS is the panel structure. We use the panel structure to improve measurements of strain theory by using the decline in income over time as a measure for it. Our results suggest that the three theories explain different aspects of lottery play. Networks seem to have an influence on lottery play. Having another person in the household playing the lottery is positively associated with both the probability of playing (regularly) and expenditures on lottery tickets. Daydreams and the belief in good luck are positively associated with lottery play as well. Strain theory is confirmed insofar as we find that a decline in income is significantly related to expenditures but not to the probability of playing the lottery. Overall, this study suggests that people play the lottery depending on their social surroundings, their desire to participate in a world normally out of their reach, and the tensions they feel from the distance between their aspirations and their actual social position.     

Predictors of Safer Sex on the College Campus: A Social Cognitive Theory Analysis

Abstract

In April and May 1989, the authors surveyed a sample of students enrolled on four college campuses in New Jersey (N ? 923) concerning their HIV transmission-related behavior, knowledge, and a variety of conceptual variables taken primarily from social cognitive theory that were thought to be potentially predictive of safer sexual behavior. Analyses of sexually active, unmarried students' responses indicated that men expected more negative outcomes of condom use and were more likely to have sexual intercourse while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, whereas women reported higher perceived self-efficacy to practice safer sex. Regression analyses indicated that, among the factors assessed, stronger perceptions of self-efficacy to engage in safer behavior, expecting fewer negative outcomes of condom use, and less frequency of sex in conjuction with alcohol or other drug use significantly predicted safer sexual behavior. Enhanced self-efficacy to discuss personal history with a new partner was associated with a greater number of risky encounters. Implications of these findings for intervention efforts with students are discussed.     

“I am a cheerleader,but secretly I deal drugs” Authenticity through Concealment and Disclosure

Authenticity requires a balance between being true to others and being true to the self. People keep and disclose secrets in order to maintain authenticity contextually within relationships, as well as across contexts through self‐reflexive evaluations. Based upon a content and discourse analysis of 1600 submissions to the PostSecret mail‐art project, this study explores how secrets are used to manage disparate social, role, and personal identities to sustain coherent selves in some contexts and incoherent selves in others. Secrets are revealed anonymously through the PostSecret mail‐art project, which allows for a cathartic release without disrupting their performances in front of significant others. This project analyzes the attempts made to maintain or achieve authenticity through the dialectical acts of concealment and disclosure.     

“Keeping It Real”: An Evaluation Audit of Five Years of Youth-Led Program Evaluation

Youth are increasingly seen as competent in participating in research and program evaluation, two activities previously reserved for adults. This article is a report of the findings from an evaluation audit of Stand Up! Help Out!, a participatory action after-school youth leadership development program for disadvantaged urban youth that utilized youth evaluations to develop a best practices service model. The youths' feedback assisted providers in improving services so that youth engagement in the program was 99% (by comparison with national highs of 79%). Here, the authors describe an important aspect of the process of youth-led program evaluation leading to such high youth engagement: how youth interviewed each other so as to optimize the authenticity of their program evaluations and contributions to program design. Drawing from over 5 years of program evaluation data collected by youth, the authors report on the youths' experiences as informants and coresearchers, consider strategies used to help youth best describe their experiences in the program, and describe implications for other settings looking to incorporate youth-led program evaluation. Youth-led program evaluation has considerable promise for helping service providers make programs more meaningful for disadvantaged youth.     

Logistic Game™: learning by doing and knowledge-sharing

The aim of this article is to define a new simulation game in operation management called Logistic Game?. The main objectives are to introduce a new simulation game approach in solving the different correlated subsystems based on ‘visual interactive learning’ and to verify its positive effects on the learning process with respect to the usual simulation games. The game is based on an inside plant virtual supply chain simulation and copes with the educational challenges of teaching Industrial Logistics in a new, effective way. By applying a visual interactive simulation package, the game creates a virtual dynamic scenario directly visible by participants, with an improvement of experimentation and conceptualisation phases, and offers several logistic decisions and their strategic links from a holistic point of view. The challenge goes beyond a pure theoretical setting and students learn strategies and gain experience directly by operating in a virtual supply chain and sharing knowledge. The Logistic Game has been used to train more then 300 students since December 2006 in three different Italian workshops and has been designed to encourage the employment selection process by the companies involved.     

Interkulturelle Kommunikation als Voraussetzung für interkulturelles Coaching unter Berücksichtigung der rumänischen Kultur

Professional coaching in intercultural contexts requires adapting the “tool” of coaching to this specific focus. Coaching in intercultural contexts is based on a thorough understanding of intercultural communication. History, and specifically social history, of cultures and nations are essential to understanding intercultural processes. The intercultural coach also needs to possess advanced foreign language competence in order to communicate meanings in the target language.