Interpersonal Communication and News Comprehension

This study examines the role of interpersonal and mass mediachannels in public awareness and comprehension of major newsstories. Unlike previous research which asks about respondentperceptions of their "main source" for news, this study attemptsto determine actual comprehension of stories that had been inthe news during the previous week. On the basis of two separateprobability samples, respondent awareness and comprehensionof a week's news was measured and related to demographic, newsmedia use, and interpersonal discussions variables. A MultipleClassification Analysis of the data indicates that conversationabout the news is a major and often overlooked correlate ofcomprehension, and that interpersonal channels may play at leastas important a role in the public's awareness and understandingof the news as exposure to the news media.     

Bayesian coverage optimization models

Finding a subset collection that provides optimal population coverage is a frequently encountered deterministic problem. A random sample is often used to formulate the optimal coverage (OC) model, which is then used to select the subsets that provide the estimated optimal population coverage. Such problems are ubiquitous and occur in both the public and private sectors; examples include media selection, placement of municipal services such as sirens and waste dumps, and reserve site selection. Conceptualizing sample elements as counts in a contingency table, we show how decision-makers can combine prior information with sample data to help formulate OC models. We consider conjugate and vague priors with classical and empirical Bayesian interpretations. We show that the predictive approach yields a common marketing exposure model that has previously been justified empirically. Finally, we demonstrate the potential importance of our results on problems generated from a well-known example from the literature.     

Ethnic Generations: Evolving Ethnic Perceptions among Dominant Groups

This study suggests that generational affiliation is significant in explaining distinctive ethnic perceptions among dominant groups. In Israel, the Ashkenazim, Jews of European descent, constitute the political, social, and economic elite. In‐depth interviews with two generations of Ashkenazim showed similarities in ethnic perceptions, but also revealed important differences among the two generations. For the older group, Ashkenaziness is both an ethnicity‐free norm of Israeliness and a product of European culture performed by both the marking and unmarking of cultural boundaries. The younger group, on the other hand, self‐identifies as Ashkenazi, but interprets Ashkenaziness as a thin ethnicity and primarily a position of social power. This evolution in ethnic perceptions is explained by the historical specific interface of three factors: dominant discursive orders of the era, state institutions and policies, and the encounter with the “other.”     

New Orleans jazz: A dialectical view

This research employs a dialectical perspective in order to trace the emergence of New Orleans jazz. The musical thesis and antithesis of jazz are identified. Also, the socio‐historical setting which supported this new music form is analyzed. Additionally some of the social functions of jazz are explored.     

Parents Differentiate Between Their Personal Values and Their Socialization Values: The Role of Adolescents' Values

This study focuses on the differentiation process, involving the emergence of a distinction between parents' own personal values and their socialization values (the values they want their children to adopt), and on the contribution of children's values to their parents' socialization values. Measures of personal and socialization values were administrated to 603 Israeli adolescents and their parents. As we hypothesized, parents differentiate between their personal values and their socialization values. Moreover, adolescents' values had a specific contribution to their parents' socialization values. These findings provide new support to the notion that the socialization process should be considered as the result of the interaction between parents and their adolescent children rather than as a unidirectional process affected by parents alone.     

Attachment‐Based Family Therapy With a 13‐Year‐Old Girl Presenting With High Risk for Suicide

This article describes the application of Attachment‐Based Family Therapy (ABFT) to the treatment of a 13‐year‐old female adolescent presenting with high risk of suicide, complicated by a history of depression and sexual trauma. The article begins with an overview of ABFT, including (a) how attachment theory guides treatment; (b) the structure of the clinical model; and (c) the data that provide empirical support. A case example is then presented that exemplifies the primary clinical procedures used to reach therapeutic goals in ABFT, including attachment repair and autonomy/competence promotion. Weekly changes in suicide ideation and depression scores are presented. The article concludes with a discussion about implications for family‐based treatment of suicidal youth.     

Looking Back as We Look Ahead: Integrating Research, Theory, and Practice on Intergroup Relations

This article looks back at the origins of intergroup relations in social psychology just over 50 years ago. Pioneers in the field—Robin Williams, Gordon Allport, and Kurt Lewin—were all deeply concerned with integrating social science and social action. We seek to re-center this mutuality of research and practice, and to expand the focus of intergroup relations from prejudice reduction to social inclusion. The articles in this issue document cutting-edge research, theory, and practice, and make substantive contributions to the future of intergroup relations. A unique feature of this issue is a set of commentaries by prominent scholars and practitioners in the fields of intergroup relations and education. Walter Stephan, James Banks, Thomas Pettigrew, and Patricia Gurin each reflect on the collection of articles through the lens of their own personal and professional biographies to help define the intersections of research, theory, and practice on intergroup relations.