Who “They” Are Matters: Immigrant Stereotypes and Assessments of the Impact of Immigration

We investigate the relationship between stereotypes of immigrants and assessments of the impact of immigration on U.S. society. Our analysis exploits a split‐ballot survey of registered voters in Ohio, who were asked to evaluate both the characteristics of one of four randomly assigned immigrant groups and perceived impacts of immigration. We find that associations between impact assessments and stereotypes of Middle Eastern, Asian, and European immigrants are weak and fully attenuated by control covariates. By contrast, this relationship for Latin American immigrants is strong and robust to controls, particularly in the areas of unemployment, schools, and crime. Our findings suggest that public views of the impacts of immigration are strongly connected to beliefs about the traits of Latin American immigrants in particular.     

Intimacy and Emotion Work in Lesbian,Gay, and Heterosexual Relationships

Knowledge about how gender shapes intimacy is dominated by a heteronormative focus on relationships involving a man and a woman. In this study, the authors shifted the focus to consider gendered meanings and experiences of intimacy in same‐sex and different‐sex relationships. They merged the gender‐as‐relational perspective—that gender is co‐constructed and enacted within relationships—with theoretical perspectives on emotion work and intimacy to frame an analysis of in‐depth interviews with 15 lesbian, 15 gay, and 20 heterosexual couples. They found that emotion work directed toward minimizing and maintaining boundaries between partners is key to understanding intimacy in long‐term relationships. Moreover, these dynamics, including the type and division of emotion work, vary for men and women depending on whether they are in a same‐sex or different‐sex relationship. These findings push thinking about diversity in long‐term relationships beyond a focus on gender difference and toward gendered relational contexts.     

Children with problematic sexualized behaviors in the child welfare system

This study assessed the utility of the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI) in a child welfare sample. In this study, 97 children from ages 10 to 12 from either foster boarding homes or a residential treatment center participated. Researchers interviewed foster parents or primary therapists about children's sexual behavior, traumatic events, clinical symptoms, and their attitudes toward the child. Findings revealed that problematic sexualized behaviors were more prevalent in the residential treatment center (RTC) sample than they were in a normative sample. The pattern of associations between sexual behavior problems, traumatic events, and clinical syndromes in both the RTC and the foster boarding home (FBH) samples was similar to what has been found in samples in which biological custodial parents were the respondents. Analyses comparing youth who met the criterion for having problematic sexualized behaviors and youth who did not meet the criterion revealed that the two groups differed on clinical symptoms, prior traumatic events, and negative reports by caregivers. Results confirm the utility of the CSBI measure for this population and highlight several important clinical and programmatic concerns for addressing problematic sexual behavior in children in the child welfare system.     

Sampling television programs for content analysis of sex on TV: how many episodes are enough?

Content analysis is widely used to analyze sexual themes and messages on television. Although researchers generally use a sampling procedure to identify programs for analysis, there is currently no gold standard for the number of episodes needed to establish a valid, representative sample. This study sought to explore how many episodes of weekly television programs should be examined for an accurate assessment of sexual content present throughout the season. Various sampling strategies were used to select episodes from programs that ran in the 1998-1999 season, and results were compared with data collected from all episodes of these programs to test representativeness. Findings suggest that to provide a representative assessment of sexual content on television programs for behavior-level variables, a random sample of five episodes of weekly television programs is sufficient, while three episodes may be acceptable if variation is minimal. A random sample of seven episodes is needed for character-based analyses.     

Participatory ergonomics intervention in a sterile processing center: a case study

The following case study describes an ergonomics intervention program, designed and implemented by an occupational therapist (OT), which included principles of participatory ergonomics, had full support of management and administration, and addressed the work, worker, and environment. The ergonomics program took place in the Sterile Processing Center (SPC) of a 398 bed, mid-western hospital. The SPC was responsible for the collection, sterilization, and reassembling of hospital surgical equipment. The 30 employees of the SPC were vulnerable to injury, having experienced 19 in only two years (of the 19 injuries, 9 were WMSD or ergonomics-related injuries). Over a two and a half year period, the OT and SPC manager conducted ergonomic evaluations, implemented employee training, designed a new SPC department, and modified work processes and equipment. In the year following the training and changes, the SPC staff experienced no injuries. Because of it's success, the program is continuing on a quarterly basis to ensure new problems are addressed quickly, new processes or equipment are evaluated, and new staff are properly trained.     

Resisting Invisibility

Nonprofit arts organizations often struggle for visibility and survival. They may meet these challenges by adopting new marketing strategies, forming administrative alliances with other organizations, or creating programming that appeals to broader audiences. Though these tactics are indeed important, arts organizations must first develop a persistent presence in their communities. This article proposes five key ingredients of persistent presence for nonprofit arts organizations and suggests that persistent presence can be consciously constructed by an organization, by an artistic discipline, and by the larger arts community. The intent of this exploratory framework for persistent presence may guide arts administrators in their work and propel future research in this area.     

Product recalls and organizational learning: ConAgra's responses to the peanut butter and pot pie crises

This study focused on ConAgra's communication strategies utilized during its peanut butter and pot pie product recalls. A content analysis revealed that ConAgra handled each recall differently, with little evidence of organizational learning. The use of strategic ambiguity during the peanut butter recall enabled ConAgra to respond more successfully to consumers than during the pot pie recall.     

A short-term, quasi-experimental evaluation of D.A.R.E.'s revised elementary school curriculum

We present the short-term results of a quasi-experimental evaluation of the revised D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) curriculum. Study outcomes examined were D.A.R.E.'s effects on three substances, namely students' lifetime and 30-day use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, as well as their school attendance and academic performance. The study comprised students in 17 urban schools, each of which served as its own control; 5th graders in the 2006-2007 school year constituted the comparison group (n = 1490), and those enrolled as 5th graders in the 2007-2008 school year constituted the intervention group (n= 1450). We found no intervention effect on students' substance use for any of the substance use outcomes assessed. We did find that students were more likely to attend school on days they received D.A.R.E. lessons and that students in the intervention group were more likely to have been suspended. Study findings provide little support for the implementation and dissemination of the revised D.A.R.E. curriculum.     

Diagnosing and treating traumatic brain injury among veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars: implications for social work

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious condition affecting many American veterans who have served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Using a biopsychosocial perspective, the authors delineate and discuss the challenges of diagnosing and treating this neurological disability among soldiers who have returned to the United States from combat theaters in the Middle East. They explain recent changes including the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma System of Care, as well as social work's role on the interdisciplinary team who promote rehabilitation and community reentry for OEF/OIF veterans with TBI.