Help or hype: Symbolic or behavioral communication during Hurricane Katrina

Public relations professionals increasingly rely on the World Wide Web to communicate with their publics on a variety of issues, including the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts the organization has undertaken. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there is an opportunity to discover how the Best 100 Global Brands used their corporate websites and the power of their brand equity to help the victims of the disaster, as well as to communicate their own CSR efforts. Results show that 51% of these Top 100 firms had messages on their homepages about Hurricane Katrina, and 86% of those firms made donations totaling $105,000,000. The remaining 14% of firms exhibited symbolic communication only, with links to philanthropic organizations aiding rescue efforts.     

Racial differences in urban neighboring

Despite mixed expectations generated by existing theories and evidence, this analysis documents clear racial differences in urban neighboring behavior. Using data from a survey of Nashville, Tennessee, residents, we show that blacks interact with their neighbors more often than whites do, and in a greater variety of ways. The only noteworthy similarity between the two groups is the positive impact of neighboring on feelings of community affect. Overall, our results support the view that neighbor relations — like other kinds of informal participation — have helped blacks cope with constrained social opportunities and provided them with access to resources unavailable through formal institutional channels.Revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, August 1989.     

Why the TVA Remains Unique: Interest Groups and the Defeat of New Deal River Planning*

Abstract Although scholars cite the Tennessee Valley Authority as one of President Franklin Roosevelt's major reform programs, the valley authority model did not replace the limited‐purpose water programs of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers. State‐centered theorists hold that reformers are most likely to succeed during periods such as the New Deal era, when they are supported by a democratized polity and when they dominate Congress and the administration. This paper shows that in river policy, the strength of opposing interest groups also mattered. The TVA bill was passed in 1933 because reformers skillfully coordinated action at potential choke points and weakened the already disorganized opposing lobbyists. In 1936, however, after regrouping, opposing river lobbyists and legislators took advantage of the New Dealers' spending mood by expanding the Corps' flood control program. They also helped defeat further valley authorities, the most promising of the New Deal water policy reforms.     

Ecocultural Attributes: Evaluating Ecological Degradation in Terms of Ecological Goods and Services Versus Subsistence and Tribal Values

It is becoming increasingly clear that scientists, managers, lawyers, public policymakers, and the public must decide how to value what is provided by, and is a consequence of, natural resources. While “Western” scientists have clear definitions for the goods and services that ecosystems provide, we contend that these categories do not encompass the full totality of the values provided by natural resources. Partly the confusion results from a limited view of natural resources derived from the need to monetize the value of ecosystems and their component parts. Partly it derives from the “Western” way of separating natural resources from cultural resources or values, and partly it derives from the false dichotomy of assuming that ecosystems are natural, and anything constructed by man is not natural. In this article, we explore the previous assumptions, and suggest that because cultural resources often derive from, and indeed require, intact and unspoiled natural ecosystems or settings, that these values are rightly part of natural resources. The distinction is not trivial because of the current emphasis on cleaning up chemically and radiologically contaminated sites, on restoration of damaged ecosystems, on natural resource damage assessments, and on long‐term stewardship goals. All of these processes depend upon defining natural resources appropriately. Several laws, regulations, and protocols depend upon natural resource trustees to protect natural resources on trust lands, which could lead to the circular definition that natural resources are those resources that the trustees feel they are responsible for. Where subsistence or tribal peoples are involved, the definition of natural resources should be broadened to include those ecocultural attributes that are dependent upon, and have incorporated, natural resources. For example, a traditional hunting and fishing ground is less valued by subsistence peoples if it is despoiled by contamination or physical ecosystem degradation; an Indian sacred ground is tarnished if the surrounding natural environment is degraded; a traditional homeland is less valued if the land itself is contaminated. Our argument is that intact natural resources are essential elements of many cultural resources, and this aspect requires and demands adequate consideration (and may therefore require compensation).     

Teaching Disability Studies in Canada and the USA

Using a 1993 sample (n=107) of persons who teach disability studies courses, a sample (n=27) of disability studies syllabi from the early 1980s, and an extensive bibliography the authors discuss the history and the present condition of disability studies courses in the US and Canada. They discuss the disability paradigm and the methodology used in disability studies courses. The variety and geographical spread of such courses are noted. An extensive comparison of syllabi from the 1980s and the 1990s, including the reading assignments, is carried out.     

Production strategy decisions a simulation model approach

Model building in physical, statistical, simulation or other form, is making an increasing contribution to the problem solving methodology in economics, industry, government, and technological development (1). More specifically, in the present context, simulation models can offer a distinctive and valuable contribution to the understanding by management of complex business systems, interactions and environment and indicate ways toward improvement, financial and otherwise (2). The advent of powerful computers in the last few years is the decisive factor which has decided the means of realizing the full potential of simulation models, hitherto unattainable because of the vast amount of data processing and calculation required. The purpose of this article is to indicate the approach to and scope of a computerized simulation model for long term production strategy decision making (3). While the model relates to the system and data of a specific production unit, manufacturing electronic components, the principles are widely applicable in any size and type of company. It is not a specifically large company technique.     

Unjust Freedom: The Ethics of Client Self-Determination in Runaway Youth Shelters

Client self-determination has been called the most confounding and professionally debilitating concept of all the intellectual principles under-girding social work (Rothman, 1989). Identifying the appropriate parameters of client self-determination is a particularly acute problem for social workers employed by runaway and homeless youth shelters where minors are making adult decisions free from parental guidance. We examine the ethical dimensions of practice with minor clients in runaway shelters by arguing that a conflict exists between the liberty-based principle of self-determination and the justice-based notion of client competency. We analyze the conflict by using minimal distributive justice as the organizing principle of social work practice. We conclude that client self-determination in runaway shelters should be restricted and that presuming client competence violates the basic value tenets of the profession.     

The changing structure of food retailing in europe: the implications for strategy

European food retailers have increased their scale and scope while concentrating sales into large stores. Strategic implications include the need for scale to compete and organisational relationships to move from supply push to demand pull retailing. Consequences are different for private label and for branded manufacturers, who must respond to the demands of retail supply chains whilst retaining control of product development. Further concentration in both sectors is likely. Consumers are more mobile, but more captive to the retailer in store. Public policy makers are challenged to find new measures of retail power and both allow for innovation and ensure equitable shopping opportunities.