Deinstitutionalization and vocational rehabilitation for mental health consumers in Nova Scotia since the 1950s

In this paper we explore the broader policy determinants of the de-hospitalization of mental patients in Nova Scotia between the 1950s and 1980s and trace the background to the development of occupational rehabilitation programs in the community. For employment programs, the government chose to rely on non-profit NGOs as the suppliers of services. As a case study of such an organization, we examine the evolution of LakeCity Employment Services Association as a resource for people living with mental disabilities.     

Moslem Arab Portrayal in the Australian Press and in School Textbooks

This paper surveys the overall characterization of Moslem Arabs and their culture as reflected by the press and in social science textbooks. Four widely circulated Melbourne newspapers and 15 of the most commonly used social science school textbooks formed the basis of content analysis. It has been found that the portrayal of Moslem Arabs was predominantly negative, involving overstatements, baseless charges and evaluative perceptions.     

Bolstering an Illusory Majority: The Effects of the Media's Portrayal of Death Penalty Support

Objective . Researchers have found a distinct difference between expressed support for the death penalty (which garners a majority of Americans) and expressed preference for the death penalty over other sentences (which attracts only a minority). Despite the strength of this finding in academic circles, the media tend to cover the death penalty as if it were indisputably favored by a majority of Americans. This article tests the effect of this disparity in coverage. Methods . Using an experimental design, respondents were placed in three groups: Condition 1 read a typical media portrayal depicting widespread support for the death penalty, Condition 2 read a realistic portrayal of the mix of preferences for the death penalty and an alternative sentence, and Condition 3 (the control group) read an article unrelated to the death penalty. Results . Compared to the control group and Condition 1, those who read a more realistic account of public opinion on the death penalty (Condition 2) were less supportive of capital punishment, more likely to think death penalty opponents would talk comfortably about their position, and believed the death penalty would become less prevalent in the future. Conclusions . These findings suggest that the unrealistic media portrayal of public opinion on the death penalty is bolstering a sense of inevitability about the issue.     

The Physical Abuse of Adolescents

The literature on adolescent abuse suggests that it may differ from child abuse. Issues raised in the literature focus on severity, provoking behavior by the adolescents, and community norms for discipline as crucial issues. There are several models of the dynamics of adolescent abuse in the literature. These issues and theoretical models are examined by reviewing twenty-five cases of adolescent abuse from a public welfare office in a large midwestern city. Implications of the findings for reporting injuries and planning interventions are discussed.     

The Changing Social Contexts of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Objective. This article reviews changes in the social contexts of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from the 1970s to the 1990s, moving from the household to the global level. Methods. I draw on satellite imagery, state publications, farm surveys, ethnographic field work, and policy analyses for a comparative analysis that shows how land cover, agriculture, demographics, politics, and markets have changed over time. Results. Alterations in the social contexts of deforestation appear on all levels considered, from household demographic evolution and new land use strategies to a regional demographic transition and the emergence of cattle and timber economies, to a "greening" of Brazilian development policy and changes in national land markets, to multilateral bank loans for new infrastructure and local-international alliances between grassroots and environmental organizations. Conclusions. The social contexts of deforestation are very complex and changing and call for greater attention by social scientists to land cover and land use change.     

The Changing Structure of American Gambling in the Twentieth Century

The author examines some of the factors that altered the economics and control of policy and numbers gambling, bookmaking, and casino gambling from 1900 to 1950. The factors include the emergence of black ghettoes after World War I and the consequent rise of blacks to controlling positions in numbers and policy banks; the changing ownership and activities of the national race and sports information service; the increasing use of the telephone for making sports bets; and the sudden wealth of bootleggers in the 1920's along with their growing involvement in gambling enterprises. The author concludes that these factors exercised a diverse and interrelated influence on the history of American gambling.     

The Media Environment and Media Consumption in Contemporary Russian Society

Russia is experiencing the "mediatization" of society as electronic communication technologies penetrate everyday life. This has contradictory effects since it increases the means of manipulation of and access to information at the same time that people can expand and personalize their use of media. The functioning of technical innovations in Russia is determined by social factors, by the relations of power established in society, by social and individual resources, and by the level of culture and education.     

The Changing Nature of Socialism

The wave of modernization is on the rise in the socialist part of the world and even though it has still not engulfed a number of countries, the sense of irreversibility of profound revolutionary changes is rising. It is based on the crisis in the Stalinist and Neo-Stalinist models of social order that has intensified over decades before their total hopelessness became obvious. The mounting lag behind the West in the area of technological progress, labor productivity, the standard of living, ecological disasters, inflation, the chronic shortage of many necessary goods, the uncompetitiveness of the majority of finished goods, declining economic growth rates, the increased sluggishness and bureaucratism of the state apparatus, the humble, dependent position of man in society—such are the most characteristic manifestations of the crisis that has arisen.     

受众的细分对媒体定位的作用

准确的定位是新闻媒体生存与发展的基石。在市场经济条件下 ,受众因素对媒体发展的影响越来越大。新闻媒体要做到定位准确、风格鲜明 ,就必须对受众群体做细致的分类研究 ,引用受众的细分原则 ,使其在新闻传播中发挥应有的作用     

二十世纪五六十年代农民外流心态探微

20世纪五六十年代,中华人民共和国各级政府反复禁止农民外流,但从大量史料中可以看出,农民向城市、工矿乃至新疆、关东等地的流动一直没有停止。农民普遍外流的心态主要有两种,其一是在城乡差别明显存在的情况下,怀着改善现状,闯荡未来的心态;其二是怀着摆脱窘境,开始一种全新生活的心态。其心态体现着底层民众与命运抗争的勇气,是一种水往低处流人往高处走的自然选择。