Urban sacred natural sites – a call for research

Urban sacred natural sites are not well documented or understood as potential repositories of biological diversity or as critical components of local and indigenous tradition and cultural patrimony in urban areas. Virtually all research and activity on sacred natural sites thus far has focused on sites in non-urban areas, and most interest in sacred sites in urban areas has been on human-built heritage and structures. Minimal attention has been given to sacred natural sites that are in urban areas. These urban sacred natural sites may be connected to mainstream religions, or may exist where cities have developed on indigenous land and associated sacred sites. Given the lack of systematic study of urban sacred natural sites, we recommend further research, including: undertaking inventories; assessing biological features and their possible contributions to conservation; assessing the possible contribution of these sites to wider strategies; examining possible management and protection options; and promoting linkages to relevant global initiatives.     

Evidence-based practice knowledge and utilization among social workers

In this study the researchers examined the knowledge, skills, and use of Evidence-Based Practice in a sample of social workers from different practice settings. Using an electronic survey, data were collected from a group of social work practitioners (N = 200). Participants in their 30s and 40s demonstrated the most knowledge and use of Evidence-Based Practice. In addition, a high percentage of social workers reported to be knowledgeable about social work research databases; a smaller percentage actually used online resources in their practice. Through this study the researchers add to what is currently known about social workers' perceptions, knowledge, and use of Evidence-Based Practice.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder among foster care alumni: the role of race, gender, and foster care context

Little is known about the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adult alumni of foster care and its demographic and contextual correlates. This is one of the first studies to report on racial/ethnic and gender differences and the influence of foster care experiences (i.e., revictimization during foster care, placement change rate, and placement in kinship care) on past year PTSD. Findings revealed significant gender disparities and a moderating influence of kinship care on the relationship between gender and PTSD, as well as increased risk associated with a history of emotional and sexual abuse. Recommendations are made for clinical and systemic intervention.     

Dropping the ball on media inquiries: The role of deadlines in media catching

Deadlines have always played a significant role in the practice of public relations, especially the media relations specialization. Public relations textbooks and practitioner handbooks encourage budding practitioners to learn how and when journalists, broadcasters, and Internet authors work so that they may pitch story ideas to them appropriately. Even though media catching, an emerging trend in media relations, reverses the traditional direction of story pitching, deadlines are still critical for this new media relations approach. Through a content analysis of 2802 Help-A-Reporter-Out media requests, this study examines how deadlines vary among media outlets engaging in this new media relations story. Statistically significant differences provide insights for public relations practitioners as to how they can best utilize the service to compete for media placements.     

Intergenerational Relations: Theory, Research, and Policy

The dramatic increase in life expectancy and lowered fertility, especially in more advantaged countries, has resulted in people living longer and in more complex family structures. Other important changes affecting the family include greater geographical mobility, increased racial and ethnic diversity, new patterns of immigration and identity reformulation, as well as changing work and family roles. With reduced governmental resources available, it is especially important to understand the changing nature of multigenerational family structures, functioning, and roles in individual well-being in order to maximize the effectiveness of informal and formal supports available to those in need. This special issue addresses basic factors related to multigeneration support systems that will be needed to anticipate, understand, and design support programs to cope with the challenges facing individuals in all generation positions, families, and communities in the United States and around the world.     

The Citizenship of Excluded Groups: Challenging the Consumerist Agenda

The language of consumerism suggests that through involvement in consumer processes, consumers can influence policy formation and service provision. This paper examines, as illustrative cases in Australia, how two groups of consumers, people with a mental illness and older people, engage with these consumer processes. It finds they critically evaluate the opportunity offered by consumer processes for inclusion in policy and programmes. Both people with a mental illness and interviewed older people indicated how they acted as "agents involved in interpreting their needs", despite finding that in consumer processes their needs were predefined. Rather than allowing themselves to be constructed as passive objects, they positioned themselves as active citizens, having agency not as individual consumers but through drawing on networks. The responses of both groups go some distance toward dismantling power differences between professionals and "consumers", suggesting that social policy and programmes for both people with mental illness and older people can and sometimes do develop in a context of greater inclusivity.     

Establishing Positive Youth Development Approaches in Group Home Settings: Training Implementation and Evaluation

This article reports on a training program for group home supervisors that was designed to utilize positive youth development principles in work with youth transitioning from care to independent living. Over a period of 5 months, eight one-day training sessions took place across one state in the U.S. (Massachusetts) with a total of 186 group care staff in attendance. The evaluation consisted of three components: observation of participant feedback during training, training day post-test, and follow-up with participants 2–3 months after training. Implications of the data, particularly barriers to implementation of training programs, are discussed.