What makes sex offenders confess? An exploratory study

This study examines correlates of offender confession in criminal sexual conduct cases involving children. The cases consist of all closed court files (N=318), spanning the last 10 years from a single jurisdiction. This jurisdiction has a community-wide protocol for handling child sexual abuse cases, a high rate of charging (69%), a high rate of confession (64%), and high rates of pleas to sex crimes (77%). To determine what factors were associated with suspect confession before adjudication, we examined characteristics of the suspect, the child, the abuse, and the system using bi-variate and multi-variate analysis. The following four variables are associated with suspect confession: (1) having the state police conducting the law enforcement part of the investigation, (2) more serious abuse, (3) younger age of the suspect, and (4) having a court appointed (as opposed to a retained) attorney.     

East‐End Warehouse: a case study of ‘organisational capture’ and cultural conflicts

This case study is about a warehouse in London’s Dockland with predominantly local staff. It stored and distributed food and drink for contractors. Its market was expanding; the site well positioned. Nonetheless, since takeover by a large shipping company, contracts went unrenewed, ‘stock shrinkage’ mounted, losses increased. The author, part of a small team of consultants, was hired ‘to study and advise’. Customer intrusions are normal in service organisations. But here conflicting and group‐based short‐term interests inhibited staff co‐ordination: serial crises involved ad hoc responses. Fieldwork entailed charting work flows, administering an attitude survey, conducting a census and assessing both the workforce’s collective East‐End culture and top management’s culture: their values conflicted. In Dockland, kinship and neighbourly obligations were strong. Obtaining and distributing pilfered goods reflected this; they celebrated group enterprise, collective support and autonomy – values evident in the warehouse that we made integral to proposals for reorganisation. This paper thus addresses intrusions: from customers – evident in disruptive work flows; two externally derived and opposed cultures and the culture of consultants.     

Genetic counseling students’ experiences with mental illness during training: An exploratory study

Mental illness is a substantive issue for graduate students. We investigated experiences of mental illness during training among genetic counseling students, a subgroup of graduate students for which little data exists on this topic. Genetic counseling students and recent graduates (n?=?227) completed an online survey, from who 11 were selected to participate in semi-structured telephone interviews. Thematic analysis and member checking were employed to interpret the interviews. An overarching theme of importance to participants’ mental health during genetic counseling training was safety, with subthemes of: trust/confidentiality, stigma and fear of labeling, developing a unique professional identity, and ability to engage in self care strategies. Our data could help genetic counseling training programs develop strategies to support students’ mental health.     

Non‐aversive intervention in public childhood masturbation: A case study

Excess public masturbation by a 4‐year‐old girl was treated by non‐aversive treatment procedures applied in the clinic, home, and school environments. When masturbation occurred, competing non‐masturbatory behaviors were prompted and were discriminative stimuli for primary and social reinforcement. Parents and teachers administered these procedures, and the excessive public masturbatory behavior ceased after 4 months. At the 12‐month and 24‐month follow‐ups, the public masturbation remained absent, while home masturbation occurred infrequently.     

A comparison of African American and white college students’ affective and attitudinal reactions to lesbian,gay, and bisexual individuals: An exploratory study

African American (n = 70) university students were compared with White students (n = 140) on their affective (homophobia) and attitudinal (homonegativity) reactions to lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. The results initially suggested that African Americans had modestly higher homophobia and homonegativity scores than Whites. However, those ethnic differences vanished after controlling for frequency of church attendance, religious commitment, and socioeconomic status. For both ethnic groups, gender and religiosity variables significantly predicted homophobia and homonegativity. Men in both ethnic groups had significantly higher homophobia and homonegativity scores than their female counterparts. Lastly, additional regression analyses revealed that one aspect of African American culture—family practices—significantly predicted homophobia, but not homonegativity, above the predictive ability of religiosity. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Asymmetric learning in a short-term,macro-oriented international students’ exchange: an exploratory study

International social work organizations’ call for a Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development emphasizes promotion of social justice-oriented policies. A major challenge for international student exchange programs, especially when the visitors are from affluent countries, is to overcome the asymmetric process of the relative lack of power, in student hosts’ in comparison to student visitors’ relationships, as well as to focus on macro-practice orientation. Through analyzing a case study of student exchange, we propose a set of pedagogical strategies that may help to overcome these challenges through using processes of mirroring to address this asymmetric situation. This exploratory research is based on a three-year assessment of a short-term, macro-oriented MSW travel study course between graduate students from two universities (in the US and in Israel) using an exchange framework. It includes a comparison of joint experiences of students using both written and arts-based data. The findings demonstrate that the use of relationship building and mirroring enables both hosts and guests to learn about their own macro-reality through the eyes of the others and helps diffuse asymmetry and create relationships not only on the micro-, but also macro-levels. Implications for teaching methods in international courses are discussed.     

Intercultural encounters as a ‘Mind Body’ experience: a case study in Jerusalem

This study presents new techniques for teaching diversity, when dealing with the challenges of multicultural society. We present a course model, which incorporates methods that have been developed by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), and continue to disclose and analyse some of the reactions and evaluations we received from the participating students. Findings revealed that the CMBM techniques contributed considerably to the intercultural atmosphere. CMBM contributed in creating added value, in improving self-efficacy and in advancing similarity perceptions in intercultural communication. Moreover, CMBM developed greater trust and emotional support among group members, thus may contribute to reach the educational goals. This study advances composite theoretical accounts into a set of conclusions for bridging intercultural encounters challenges through mind–body techniques.     

An exploratory study of subjective well-being in organizations–A mixed method research approach

ABSTRACT

Subjective well-being (SWB) has been widely found to have a profound impact on the individual, yet the process of its occurrence in public organizations remains unexplored. So the primary purpose of this paper is to explore the determining factors affecting the process of employee’s subjective well-being in public organizations using mixed methods research. Qualitative analysis using the grounded theory methodology reveals the effective factors that affect the process of employee’s subjective well-being in public organizations. Quantitative hypotheses are then developed based on a qualitative investigation. Survey data were collected from employees of public organizations in one of the provinces of Iran. Analysis of Moment Structure is used for data analysis. The results of the research revealed that both individual and organizational factors (as causal factors) influence the employees’ subjective well-being process (life satisfaction and positive affect). This phenomenon leads to the use of strategies which are affected by intervening and contextual factors. The consequences of this process are to change the attitude and behavior of individuals and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. This paper is among the first known to examine subjective well-being in public organizations using mixed methods research. The mixed methods approach offers a better insight to understanding effective factors affecting subjective well-being compared to the use of either a qualitative or quantitative method alone.     

Changing intimate relationships: An Israel—UK comparison

A first step toward understanding the association between women's attempts to change the domestic division of labour in their households and their attempts to change spousal communication in their relationships, is offered by this comparative study. The conditions under which married women in the UK and in Israel will attempt to initiate change in their intimate relationships and the relative effectiveness of those initiatives are examined within both institutional and cultural contexts. The study examines the possibility that institutional forces such as the availability of state-subsidised day care facilities and ideological forces such as familiarity with therapeutic ideas are important factors in shaping the context in which women initiate processes of change in their intimate relationships. Two compatible samples of employed, married, mostly middle-class women from Israel and the UK are compared regarding their attempts to increase their partners' participation in domestic tasks and their communicative co-operation. The findings indicate that Israeli women, who operate in a context that recognises their status as 'working mothers', tend to perceive their employment as more legitimate than do the UK women and feel more entitled to challenge existing domestic practices. The findings support the possibility that familiarity with therapeutic ideas is related to more effective attempts to change either domestic arrangements or spousal communication patterns. Cette étude comparative est un premier pas vers la compréhension de la relation entre les tentatives des femmes de modifier la répartition des tâches domestiques au foyer et celles de modifier leur communication dans leurs relations avec leur conjoint. On y examinera à la fois dans les contextes institutionnels et culturels, les conditions dans lesquelles les femmes mariées au Royaume-Uni et en Israël tentent d'initier un changement dans ces relations intimes ainsi que la relative efficacité de ces initiatives. Cette étude avance que l'existence de facteurs institutionnels tels que la présence d'institutions subventionnées par l'Etat pour la garde des enfants ainsi que des facteurs idéologiques tels que la connaissance des idées thérapeutiques, pourraient constituer des éléments importants dans la cristallisation du contexte dans lequel les femmes entreprennent de modifier leurs relations. On y compare des femmes de milieu moyen qui travaillent (en Israël et au Royaume-Uni) et qui tentent de faire prendre àleur partenaire une plus grande part dans les tâches domestiques et la coopération en termes de commutativité. Les résultats indiquent que les femmes israéliennes, fonctionnant dans un milieu reconnaissant leur qualiteéde 'mères qui travaillent', tendent à percevoir leur emploi comme plus légitime que les femmes anglaises et considèrent avoir davantage le droit de défier les pratiques domestiques existantes. Les résultats indiquent que la connaissance des idées thérapeutiques serait en relation directe avec l'efficacité des tentatives de modifier soit le 'statu-quo' domestique soit la communication entre époux.     

Life becoming body: On the ‘meaning’ of post human evolution

Abstract

In this essay I contest the view that evolution can be conceived as a cosmic entity working out a plan of increasing negentropic complexification. The problems associated with this view, characteristic of a great deal of contemporary speculation, are outlined in section I. In section II I go on to further problematise current constructions of technics and machines and provide an alternative ‘machinic’ model of the play of entropy and evolution. In section III I examine the aesthetic praxis of Stelarc as a site in which the ‘meaning’ of post‐human evolution can be productively contested and illuminated.     

Roma pupils’ attitudes towards education – a case study

When analysing the reasons behind the academic underachievement of Roma pupils, some teachers suggest that Roma people do not value education and that Roma children have negative attitudes towards school. With increasing frequency, Roma pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds are being researched and the research primarily adopts the perspectives of teachers and schools’ professional staff. The present study analyses attitudes towards education held by Roma pupils whose socio-economic status is comparable to the majority population and considers their perspective. The research was conducted with Roma pupils attending primary school in Maribor, Slovenia. To collect data, interviews were conducted. The study results suggest that the majority of Roma pupils from Maribor like attending school and value formal education; the majority indicated that they want to complete primary school and continue their education. The results also show that Roma pupils can be highly academically motivated if improved life conditions and improved education opportunities are provided to the Roma population.     

Knocking on doors: recruitment and enrichment in a qualitative interview‐based study

This paper describes the process of recruiting participants for a qualitative interview‐based study by leafleting and door knocking. It is argued that door knocking can enrich and thicken research that usually takes place ‘behind closed doors’, enabling researchers to engage their ethnographic imaginations by observing neighbourhood interactions, familiarising themselves with the places their participants inhabit and through the embodied, sensory experience of walking itself. By treating the recruitment process as data, it is suggested that the door knocking researcher can ensure his/her individual participants are understood as connected to the wider social, physical and sensory environment they inhabit. Door knocking is also seen as enabling researchers to find interest in an element of the research process often viewed as a somewhat irksome means to an end.     

Connected in Seattle? An exploratory study of student perceptions of discipline and attachments to teachers

How do students' perceptions about their treatment in school differ along racial and gender lines?     

Identifying habitat sinks: a case study of Cooper’s hawks in an urban environment

We studied a population of Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter cooperii) in Tucson, Arizona from 1994 to 2005. High rates of mortality of nestlings from an urban-related disease prompted speculation that the area represented an ecological trap and habitat sink for Cooper’s hawks. In this paper, we used estimates of survival and productivity from 11years of monitoring to develop an estimate of the rate of population change, λ, for Cooper’s hawks in the area. We used a Cormack–Jolly–Seber approach to estimate survival of breeding hawks, and a stochastic, stage-based matrix to estimate λ. Despite the urban-related disease, the estimate of λ indicated that the area does not function as a habitat sink for Cooper’s hawks (= 1.11 ± 0.047; P = 0.0073 for the null of λ ≤ 1). Because data required to reliably identify habitat sinks are extensive and difficult to acquire, we suggest that the concept of habitat sinks be applied cautiously until substantiated with reliable empirical evidence.     

Women's sexual working models: An evolutionary‐attachment perspective

In three studies, we developed and validated a self‐report measure of women's sexual working models. In a pilot study we created an initial version of the Women's Sexual Working Models Scale (WSWMS), administered it to an exploratory sample of 470 women, and identified its 5‐factor structure. Study 1 confirmed the 5‐factor structure in a new sample: (1) Fostering commitment; (2) Evaluating a sexual partner's suitability; (3) Promoting frequent sexual activity through positive affect; (4) Restricting sexuality through shamefulness; and (5) Negative emotions that signal incompatibility with relationship goals. In Study 2, 444 Israeli women completed the WSWMS. Confirmatory factor analysis provided cross‐national evidence for the generalizability of the underlying factor structure of the WSWMS.     

Polish‐Jewish Relations: An Issue of Extraordinary Complexity

Joshua D. Zimmerman (ed.), Contested Memories: Poles and Jews During the Holocaust and Its Aftermath. University of Rutgers Press, 2003, 226pp. Maps. Index. $35.00 cloth. ISBN 0–8135–3158–6     

Socio‐cultural correlates of incidence of impotence: A cross‐cultural study

Data on the social structural characteristics, sexual attitudes and sexual practices of thirty preindustrial and industrializing societies are examined in an attempt to identify some of the major sociological (as opposed to purely psychological) correlates of impotence. Results suggest two major conclusions: First, socio‐cultural characteristics are clearly related to the incidence of impotence reported across societies; second, among the variables investigated those reflecting the degree of a society's sexual restrictiveness were most predictive of incidence of impotence.