The Role of Media in Reporting Child Abuse

ABSTRACT

This study looks at the short-term impact that the media coverage of children in need of protection had on the number of cases reported to child protection agencies. The number of reports (N = 11,646) made to these agencies in Canada was tallied each week during a 24-month period. During the same period, a content analysis of print media was conducted regarding child maltreatment and/or child protection services (CPS) to identify and count the number of articles published (N = 1,211) and single out media frenzy events. Results show a statistically significant relationship between media coverage and the number of cases reported to child protection agencies.     

Parent Involvement Practices in Child Protection: A Matter of Know-How and Attitude

Modern view of child protection services implies that to help young people, simply intervening on their behalf is not sufficient. It suggests that involving parents in the assistance process is essential in order to ensure that they are most likely to play their role as parents to their children in the fullest possible way. Although several articles have dealt with the issue of parent involvement, very few have attempted to document the practices used by practitioners to encourage such involvement. This article presents the findings of a study on child protection practices for involving parents in a child protection context. It is exploratory in nature, and uses a qualitative methodology. The study population is made up of 38 child protection service workers. An analysis of the practitioners’ discourse reveals that the behaviour and attitudes used by them to encourage parent involvement are very diverse. There also appear to be key moments in securing their involvement, that is, making contact, setting objectives and means of action, and applying the case plan. In addition to corroborating earlier studies on the issue of parent involvement, our findings indicate that the majority of the caseworkers interviewed practice an approach that aims to empower clients.Funding of this project was provided by le Fonds Richelieu de recherche sur l’enfance.Marie-Christine Saint-Jacques, Geneviève Lessard, and André Beaudoin are affiliated with School of Social Work, Laval University, Quebec, Canada. Sylvie Drapeau is affiliated with Department of Foundations and Practices in Education, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.     

Competing for Coffee Space: Development‐Induced Displacement in the Central Highlands of Vietnam*

Abstract Vietnam has emerged as the world's second largest producer of coffee. The benefits of this expanding coffee economy are substantial but not universal; their distribution follows ethnic lines despite government commitment to equalize welfare. Focusing on Dak Lak Province in Vietnam's Central Highlands, we investigate this commercial transformation and the “competition for coffee space” that it has occasioned. Combined ethno‐history and household income analyses suggest markedly different benefits between native and non‐native ethnic groups, despite generally larger landholdings among the former. We interpret these finding through the conceptual lens of in‐situ development‐induced displacement.     

Exploring information technology governance and control of web site content: a comparative case study

Information technology (IT) governance is a key component of corporate governance. Effective IT governance can support web-based strategic initiatives such as the dissemination of information on corporate web sites. However, the IT governance literature does not provide insights about the role of IT governance in controlling this information. There is also a lack of research in the web-based reporting literature on the important issue of control of web site content. This comparative case study aims to explore the relationships between IT governance and the control of web site content. In doing so, IT governance structures, processes and relational capabilities, as well as web site content control, are first described for each of four cases. Then, profiles of relationships between IT governance and web site content control are identified and key attributes characterizing the profiles are outlined. Findings suggest that IT governance within firms is more developed than the control of web site content. Moreover, IT governance structures, processes and relational capabilities can be related to control of web site content processes. IT governance structures can also be related to control of web site content structures and relational capabilities. This study contributes to the governance, control and web-based reporting literatures as an exploratory step before building a theory of relationships between IT governance and web site content control. Further, the study has practical implications as it enhances the understanding of the role of Boards of Directors, senior executives and internal auditors in IT governance and the control of web site content.     

Social processes among mothers in centres for children and parents in three countries

Professionally run centres have been created in a number of countries over the past few decades to provide a place for parents and their young children to meet. They provide children with play opportunities and social contacts with peers, but they are also intended to tackle the potential negative consequences of mother–child isolation in modern societies by providing mothers with some social support. Many mothers find their participation in the centres to be supportive. This study uses ethnographic observations of mothers′ social experience in centres in France, Italy and Japan with the aim of better understanding the potential beneficial effects of attending the centres. Beyond organizational and cultural differences in the centres across countries, this joint analysis of observations highlighted important similarities in the social processes occurring among mothers in the centres and supported the hypothesis that positive social experiences are the basic potential source of psychological benefits that the centres provide to mothers.     

Being Han in a multi-ethnic region of the People’s Republic of China

This article draws on ethnographic material collected in Yangzong county of Yunnan, a province well known for its ethnic diversity. It deals with how the members of this peripheral Han population are categorised by others and by themselves in relation to minority groups and notions of Chinese identity. The specificity of the Han of Yangzong is framed by an ongoing tension between two contrasting points of view: they appear both as a local ethnic minority among others, and, notably by means of ritualised theatrical representations, as the legitimate representatives of the national majority. The Han people of Yunnan, who represent two-thirds of the province’s population, have been largely ignored by contemporary research. However, this study sheds light on the necessary interplay of different levels of identity and asserts the understanding of the category of ‘Han’ as perceived by the Chinese State as well as by the local people.     

Understanding the transfer of knowledge and skills from training to preventive action using ergonomic work analysis with 11 female VDT users

A qualitative evaluation of 11 VDT users, who participated in a training program for the prevention of musculoskeletal and visual problems, investigated the extent of the application of the taught principles in everyday work. Data were collected over a 2 to 3 day period for each trainee, through an ergonomic work analysis in situ and semi-structured interviews, followed by recommendations, when appropriate, corresponding to the taught principles. A case analysis and a cross analysis of the data provided information about the developed ability for self-analysis of work regarding posture and visual comfort and what influenced it. A model depicting the process of transfer of knowledge and skills, from the training program to preventive action, was abstracted from data analysis. This model allows both the identification of problems in applying taught principles and the means to readjust the training program.     

The 1991–2004 Evolution in Life Expectancy by Educational Level in Belgium Based on Linked Census and Population Register Data

The aim of this study is to determine trends in life expectancy by educational level in Belgium and to present elements of interpretation for the observed evolution. The analysis is based on census data providing information on educational level linked to register data on mortality for the periods 1991–1994 and 2001–2004. Using exhaustive individual linked data allows to avoid selection bias and numerator–denominator bias. The trends reveal a general increase in life expectancy together with a widening social gap. Summary indices of inequality based on life expectancies show, however, a more complex pattern and point to the importance to include the shifts in population composition by educational level in an overall assessment of the evolution of inequality by educational level.     

Qualitative Heuristics For Balancing the Pros and Cons

Balancing the pros and cons of two options is undoubtedly a very appealing decision procedure, but one that has received scarce scientific attention so far, either formally or empirically. We describe a formal framework for pros and cons decisions, where the arguments under consideration can be of varying importance, but whose importance cannot be precisely quantified. We then define eight heuristics for balancing these pros and cons, and compare the predictions of these to the choices made by 62 human participants on a selection of 33 situations. The Levelwise Tallying heuristic clearly emerges as a winner in this competition. Further refinements of this heuristic are considered in the discussion, as well as its relation to Take the Best and Cumulative Prospect Theory.