Public framing organizational crisis situations: Social media versus news media

This study examines framing of organizational crises by news media and the public. Due to the rapidly evolving and escalating character of crises, this study emphasizes the initial phase of a crisis, in which public social media manifestations (tweets) play a crucial role. Moreover, this study uses automated content analysis to obtain latent frames embedded in text. Through analyzing the Dutch Moerdijk crisis, this study reveals the dynamic characteristics of public crisis framing and the media framing potential to prevent crisis escalation.     

Social and attitudinal determinants of contraceptive choice: Using the health belief model

The factors associated with choice of birth control pills or a diaphragm were examined, using concepts derived from the Health Belief Model (Rosenstock, 1974). Women who visited a suburban family planning clinic completed a self‐administered questionnaire (N— 632) indicating their contraceptive choice, attitudes about different methods of contraception, and perceived threat of pregnancy. Using discriminant function analysis, pill users were distinguished from diaphragm users by (a) their reported perception of greater support from others for using the pill, (b) their reported belief the diaphragm was more inconvenient to use and the pill more convenient, (c) expressing less concern about the pill's side effects, (d) believing they were more protected from pregnancy when using the pill and more susceptible when not using it, and (e) knowing less about contraception in general. They also were younger and more likely to be involved in a committed sexual relationship. Results are consistent with the Health Belief Model and also support the inclusion of a subjective‐norm factor into the model.     

Social gradients and participant characteristics in child behavior problem interventions

A social gradient has been found in both children's behavior problems and among the users of services that treat such problems. If low-resource families are simultaneously at higher risk of having a child with behavior problems and less inclined to use services to address such problems, healthcare inequality and social inequity could be exacerbated. I focus on social gradients in participant characteristics in two evidence-based parent training interventions that target children who display behavior problems: Parent Management Training—Oregon Model (PMTO) and Brief Parent Training. This study extends the literature on social gradients in participant characteristics by focusing on family social and economic resources independently and in an additive cumulative risk index. I investigated potential social gradients overall in a pooled sample and in separate analyses relating social gradients to more intensive treatment. The results revealed inverse social gradients among the intervention participants compared with the Norwegian general population of families with children; intervention participants had fewer social and economic resources. The inverse social gradient was partially replicated through analyses that focused on treatment intensity. Families with fewer resources were more likely to receive high-intensity treatment; however, these associations disappeared for families with > 3 cumulative risks. These results indicate that these PMTO interventions do not exacerbate social inequality by serving a high-resource population.     

Psychophysiological and subjective responses of a community sample of video lottery gamblers in gambling venues and laboratory situations

Physiological and subjective arousal in lounge and laboratory conditions were explored using heart rate (HR), skin conductance (SCL) and subjective ratings for a community sample (N=30) of video lottery terminal gamblers (14 non-pathological gamblers [NPG] and 16 probable pathological gamblers [PPG]). For all participants, mean heart rates and ratings of subjective arousal were higher in the lounge situation, while SCL did not differ between locations. SCL increased over baseline when gambling in both situations. HR initially increased over baseline in the lounge situation only, but by the end of gambling HR increased in both situations. HR, SCL and subjective reports were moderately correlated between venues. No correlations were found between subjective and physiological measures of arousal.     

Socialization factors in contraceptive attitudes: Roles of affective responses,parental attitudes,and sexual experience

Attitudes about using specific contraceptives were hypothesized to be based mainly on heterosexual or autoerotic feelings. Affective responses to two stimulus themes were correlated with attitudes toward the use of contraceptives. The prediction was confirmed, moderated by levels of sexual experience and parental attitudes reported by the college student participants. Attitudes toward the use of contraceptives which involve genital manipulation, such as the diaphragm or condom, were positively correlated with feelings about masturbation themes presented in slides. Similarly, a positive relationship was found between attitudes about non‐genitally manipulative contraceptives, such as the pill, and heterosexual themes. Having little sexual experience or reporting negative parental attitudes toward sex increased the observed frequency of several of these predicted correlations. Explanations for these results included a reinforcement interpretation of the socialization experiences determining the development of attitudes toward using the various methods of birth control.     

Social skills training and parent education programs for aggressive preschoolers and their parents in South Korea

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate social skills training and parent education programs for aggressive young children and their parents in South Korea. Participants consisted of intervention group I, which included six children and their mothers in the social skills training and parent education programs; intervention group II, which included seven children and their mothers in the social skills training; and control group, which consisted of six children and their mothers. Pre-test-post-test control group design was used. Participants in both intervention groups reported a significant decrease in aggression and on improvement in pro-social behavior, emotional regulation, and social skills, while the control group reported an increase in aggressive behavior. Mothers in the intervention group I also reported an increase in warmth/acceptance. The findings indicate that both programs are highly effective in reducing aggressive behavior among young children and in fostering positive parenting behaviors.     

Social skills of adopted Chinese girls at home and in school: Parent and teacher ratings

This study examines adopted Chinese girls' social skills at home and in school as well as the effect of pre-adoption adversity on these skills. Parent ratings of 869 girls and teacher ratings of 611 of the 869 girls were obtained using the Social Skills Rating System for parent (SSRS-P) and teacher (SSRS-T) respectively. The girls were adopted on average at 15.6 months (SD = 13.9) and were in three age groups, including preschool, elementary school, and secondary school. Data on five indicators of pre-adoption adversity (i.e., signs/symptoms, delays at adoption, initial refusal/avoidance of adoptive mothers, crying/clinging behaviors, and age at adoption) were obtained from the same adoptive parents 2 years prior. Findings suggest that both parents and teachers rated the girls as either similar to or better than US norms on the SSRS. Parent–teacher agreement on SSRS subscales was significant but modest (rs = 0.12–0.25). Two indicators of pre-adoption adversity (i.e., delays at adoption and initial refusal/avoidance of adoptive mothers) predicted poorer social skills at home; two other indicators of pre-adoption adversity (i.e., signs/symptoms and age at adoption) predicted poorer social skills in school.     

Social psychology of a learning environment and the acquisition of critical thinking skills

The research reported in this paper was designed to examine whether or not a group of mature students studying for the Higher National Certificate (Social Care) could be encouraged to acquire critical thinking skills through an attempt to create a non-oppressive teaching/learning environment. The research took place over a series of nine weekly sociology lectures; each student's written assessment at the conclusion of teaching was examined for evidence of critical thinking skills as were their client-focussed studies which required integration of theory and practice. In addition the students were interviewed regarding their experiences of the teaching environment. The focus of discussion was the oppressive nature of a classroom environment and ways in which lecturers affect that oppression. A fundamental assumption is that critical thinking skills are not best achieved in an oppressive environment. If students are encouraged to be critical thinkers, not only should they take responsibility for their own learning but for the focus and content of the curriculum as well.     

Evaluation of a group-based social skills training for children with problem behavior

This study evaluated a group-based training program in social skills targeting reduction of problem behaviors in N = 161 children between 7 and 13 years of age. The effects of the intervention were tested in a quasi-experimental study, with a follow-up assessment 12 months after an optional continuation camp. At the post-test, both the experimental and control group showed less social problems and internalizing problems, whereas only the experimental group showed a small and positive change in social anxiety. After a 12 month follow-up, a subsample of the experimental group (children who followed a continuation camp) showed large positive changes for all outcome measures, except for externalizing problems, showing a small effect.     

Assessing success and decisiveness in voting situations

In this paper we propose a simple model for measuring success or decisiveness in voting situations. For an assessment of these features two inputs are claimed to be necessary: the voting rule and the voters behavior. The voting rule specifies when a proposal is to be accepted or rejected depending on the resulting vote configuration. Voting behavior is summarized by a distribution of probability over the vote configurations. This basic model provides a clear common conceptual basis for reinterpreting different power indices and some related game theoretic notions coherently from a unified point of view.The authors would like to thank to M. Braham, M. Machover, N. Megiddo and F. Steffen, for their comments, and to J. F. Mertens for pointing out a misstatement, in all cases referring to previous versions of this paper. This research has been supported by the DGES of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Cultura under project PB96-0247, by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología under project BEC2000-0875, and by the Universidad del País Vasco under project UPV/EHU00031.321-HA-7918/2000. The first author also acknowledges the financial support from a postdoctoral grant from the Basque Government (2000–2001) and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología under the Ramón y Cajal Program.     

Social media,empathy and interpersonal skills: social work students’ reflections in the digital era

ABSTRACT

This paper examines second-year social work students’ (n = 19) reflections on empathy as part of an interpersonal skills course at a regional university in Australia. Students were asked to consider their personal, online and classroom experiences, before responding to a reflective learning prompt: ‘Online communication is killing connection: (the Facebook Like symbol) does not equal empathy’. Qualitative analysis of their responses identified tensions between students’ engagement with social media and their developing understandings of empathy. Students reported an ease and confidence in the use of social media, but were also aware of the risks associated with perceived anonymity, shifting boundaries and an absence of audial and verbal cues in establishing context and quality of communication. Their reflections also suggested that the range of stimulus material used in the interpersonal skills course—including podcasts—had increased their social media awareness and their desire to improve their online interpersonal skills. The implications for professional and pedagogical objectives, as well as curriculum design are discussed.     

Social work has a problem: A psychosocial study

This paper explores the reasons for the inferior status of social work in relation to the other major mental health professions. The problem stems primarily from most social workers' difficulty in perceiving themselves as competent mental health professionals, a perception which then causes them to behave as though they are in fact subservient to psychiatrists and psychologists. They thus ensure their treatment as second-class psychotherapists. This subservient behavior was originally adaptive and helped the profession to survive; however, it has become unnecessary and self-destructive. The time has arrived for social workers to take themselves seriously and to make a conscious effort to communicate their worth actively. Recommendations for improvement of social work's image are offered.     

Effectiveness of problem solving skills in case management on return to work for workers with injuries

The present study aims to explore the case management model by using problem solving skills in assisting workers with injuries in returning to work. A total of five workers with injuries were enrolled and there were four stages during the whole case management process including a medical rehabilitation stage (stage I), a compensation stage (stage II), a return to work stage (stage III) and a follow-up stage (stage IV) respectively. Case managers provided services by using problem solving skills to tackle the problems which workers with injuries may encounter during all four stages. Outcome measurement showed one case return to the same company same job, two returns to different companies and different jobs, the others have self employed work. This study suggested that case management using the problem solving skills of occupational rehabilitation was beneficial to workers with injuries on return to work.     

Social skills, competence, and drug refusal efficacy as predictors of adolescent alcohol use

Numerous alcohol and drug abuse prevention trials have included social resistance training as a strategy for reducing early-stage adolescent alcohol use. Evaluations of these trials has shown them to be moderately effective, although the precise impact of the resistance training in comparison to other programmatic features has not been clearly identified. The current study examined the extent to which assertiveness and related social skills, personal competence (perceived cognitive mastery), and refusal efficacy predict alcohol involvement. Males were at greater risk for poor refusal skills and reported higher alcohol involvement. Cross-sectionally, youth characterized by poor social skill development reported lower refusal efficacy, lower grades, poor competence, and more alcohol use. Poor refusal efficacy was associated with more risk-taking, lower grades, less competence, and more alcohol use. Longitudinally, both poor refusal skills and risk-taking were associated with higher alcohol use. High personal competence was associated with lower alcohol use in both the eighth and tenth grades, but had no long-term effects on alcohol use. Findings highlight the close interplay between perceived competence and refusal skill efficacy, both of which should be included as essential components of school-based prevention strategies.     

Social workers in the new human services marketplace: Trends,challenges and responses

This paper examines employment trends in social welfare occupations and challenges to the industrial and cultural recognition of professional social work in the new human services market place. Following examination of the threats posed by market reform and the crisis in public confidence in some domains of human services work, I focus on three key concerns. First, through analysis of Census data from 1996 to 2001, I compare trends in the employment of social workers, welfare workers and community workers. Second, drawing on the work of Nancy Fraser (1997), I argue that the challenges facing social workers can be understood as problems of ‘recognition’. Using this framework, I examine the external contests to the valuing of professional social work and also the internal challenges, that is, threats from within the social work profession to the industrial and cultural recognition of social work. Finally, I will consider how social workers, particularly new graduates, can respond to the challenges facing them in the new human services marketplace. I propose that social workers should claim a position as practice leaders and I outline practical strategies for achieving this goal.