Radio Studies: The Sound and Vision of an Established Medium in the Digital Age

Radio has been variously described as the ‘forgotten’, ‘invisible’, ‘secondary’, ‘blind’ and even ‘Cinderella’ medium, and it has been relatively under‐theorised in media studies since the subject first appeared in the classroom in the 1930s. Media educators may have been slow to realise its potential, and radio’s survival may have been threatened by the emergence of new media, but this established, rather than old medium has reinvented itself before now and is doing so again in the age of media convergence. Digital migration may be slow because the benefits of new technology over the existing analogue transmission platforms may not be apparent to consumers, but now radio provides given pictures online and on mobile platforms through parallel broadcaster and user‐generated web content. Teaching radio studies can be both enjoyable and cost‐effective, with both academic and vocational outcomes, and radio’s place in media education seems assured by its longevity and durability. This article explores essential synergies between the development of radio as an industry that is now situated in a convergent, digital landscape, the state of the art of academic radio studies, and the practice of radio within media education.     

Stress From Daily Hassles in Couples: Its Effects on Intradyadic Stress,Relationship Satisfaction,and Physical and Psychological Well‐Being

According to the systemic‐transactional stress model (STM; G. Bodenmann, European Review of Applied Psychology, 1997; 47: 137), extradyadic stress from daily hassles can have a negative impact on the individual psychological and physical health and the couple's relationship. This study is the first one to test the STM propositions in a model that includes both partners’ individual and relational outcomes simultaneously. The model also includes actor and partner effects as well as the interdependence between partners’ processes. Cross‐sectional, self‐report data were collected from 110 community couples in Switzerland. Consistent with STM predictions, results from the path model analysis indicate that for actor effects extradyadic stress from daily hassles relates directly to lower psychological (increase in anxiety symptoms) and physical well‐being and only indirectly to lower relationship satisfaction through increased intradyadic stress from relationship problems and also through more depressive symptomatology in men. The female extradyadic stress and intradyadic stress had partner effects on the male intradyadic stress and the male relationship satisfaction, respectively. Limitations as well as research and clinical implications for marriage and family therapists are discussed.     

Robust projection indices

Loosely speaking a robust projection index is one that prefers projections involving true clusters over projections consisting of a cluster and an outlier. We introduce a mathematical definition of one-dimensional index robustness and describe a numerical experiment to measure it. We design five new indices based on measuring divergence from Student's t -distribution which are intended to be especially robust: the experiment shows that they are more robust than several established indices. The experiment also reveals more generally that the robustness of moment indices depends on the number of approximation terms, providing additional practical guidance for existing projection pursuit implementations. We investigate the theoretical properties of one new Student t -index and Hall's index and show that the new index automatically adapts its robustness to the degree of outlier contamination. We conclude by outlining the possibilities for extending our experiments to both higher dimensions and other new indices.     

Workplace bullying as predicted by non-prototypicality,group identification and norms: a self-categorisation perspective

ABSTRACT

Research and theory on deviance in work groups suggest that non-prototypical members risk devaluation and mistreatment by their peers. Drawing on the self-categorisation theory, we propose and test a contextual model to explain workplace bullying from a target perspective, using non-prototypicality as a predictor and social identification and anti-bullying norms at the work group level as two- and three-way cross-level moderators. Multilevel modelling and a sample of employees from the university sector in the Low Lands (n?=?572) was employed. In line with our first hypothesis, we found that risk of exposure to workplace bullying is particularly high for non-prototypical work group members. We also hypothesised that work group social identification would facilitate bullying of non-prototypical members, while anti-bullying norms would buffer it. Results showed, however, that both conditions acted as buffering moderators on the main association. Lastly, the combination of the two also entailed a cross-level three-way interaction effect, showing that non-prototypicality is associated with bullying only in work groups characterised by low levels on both moderators. These novel and partly unexpected results demonstrate the relevance and significance of group level explanations for workplace bullying, holding significant implications for scholars and practitioners.     

The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of France

The paper presents the findings of comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the French labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, of the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, of the roles of firms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies (preventive measures) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies (retentive measures) are examined (e.g. short-time working, temporary layoffs etc.). The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies (expulsive measures), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides an overall assessment of the French system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Union.     

Process evaluation of a diversity training program: the value of a mixed method strategy

Patients’ health and health needs are influenced by categories of difference like sex, gender, ethnic origin and socioeconomic status (SES). To enhance awareness of this diversity among patients and to provide holistic care for them, health professionals should first be aware of the relation between dimensions of diversity and patients’ health and health demands. This paper presents a formative process evaluation of a diversity sensitivity training programme for healthcare professionals. The training was implemented in three healthcare settings (mental healthcare, nursing home and hospital care). Mixed methods were used to monitor the implementation of the training and its effects after three years. Findings demonstrate that the training stimulated participants’ awareness, knowledge and critical attitudes towards diversity. Their motivation and willingness to take action regarding diversity was also enhanced. Yet these developments were less apparent among nursing home participants who felt less satisfied and did not develop a critical perspective on this issue. Qualitative data were helpful to explain differences between the settings. By means of the combination of quantitative and qualitative data, we can conclude that individual learning was not enough to guarantee a sensitive approach to diversity at the organizational level.     

Children's well-being,adult poverty,and jobs-of-last-resort

This article addresses the failure of the 1996 welfare reform act (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act [PRWORA]) as an anti-poverty program demonstrated by the fact that approximately half of all ‘welfare leavers’ have fallen back into poverty within a year or two of their exit. The proximate cause is that, because of “barriers to work” or insufficient demand, leavers end up working too few hours over the course of a year. To address this failure, we propose a program of jobs-of-last-resort, called Promise of a Job (POJ), based on an examination of the design, costs, and results for a large number of transitional-job and welfare-to-work programs. In this article, we estimate POJ's costs per participant and overall costs of implementation, as well as the impact such a program would have on reducing adult and, particularly, child poverty. We find, in examining past data, that had POJ been applied to just those Americans who were on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1996, it would have raised almost 7 million children above the poverty line. We argue that this result (and similar results from any other program) should appeal across the political spectrum, to conservatives and liberals alike, because of the documented general agreement that child poverty is inconsistent with a widely held American value: the provision of equal opportunity for all.