Public relations education in a divided society: PR, terrorism and critical pedagogy in post-conflict Northern Ireland

Most students entering higher education in Northern Ireland's two universities have experienced a highly segregated educational system since they were five years old. This context creates a specific set of issues and problems for the educator who wishes to engage with student groups in a critical analysis of complex and controversial topics within the curriculum. This article presents the results of a research project which was designed to assess student (and educator) experiences of studying the issue of ‘PR and terrorism’ at Northern Ireland's largest university. Data was gathered from undergraduate public relations students using survey questionnaires (administered before and after the teaching and learning experience). The educators engaged in this activity also report on their own ‘participant observation’ experiences and reflect critically upon the role academic staff might play in developing pedagogic practices which are accepting of diversity in respect to controversial and complex curriculum topics.     

Quality of Life in Hong Kong: the Cuhk Hong Kong Quality of Life Index

The CUHK Hong Kong Quality of Life Index, which aims to assess and monitor the quality of life in Hong Kong, is a composite index incorporating both objective and subjective measures. This index, developed by the Faculty of Social Science of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, employs data collected in representative sample surveys and official statistics. A wide range of life domains is covered and the year 2002 is taken as the base year of the study. Index scores demonstrate that in general the quality of life in Hong Kong has improved slightly in 2003; scores of the composite index and the three sub-indices on sectorial performance are somewhat higher than those of the previous year. It is noteworthy that Hong Kong has made noticeable progress and performs as well as many economically advanced societies in certain life domains; yet, the well-being of the people relies on further improvement in others.     

Fertility in Kenya and Uganda: a comparative study of trends and determinants

Between 1980 and 2000 total fertility in Kenya fell by about 40 per cent, from some eight births per woman to around five. During the same period, fertility in Uganda declined by less than 10 per cent. An analysis of the proximate determinants shows that the difference was due primarily to greater contraceptive use in Kenya, though in Uganda there was also a reduction in pathological sterility. The Demographic and Health Surveys show that women in Kenya wanted fewer children than those in Uganda, but that in Uganda there was also a greater unmet need for contraception. We suggest that these differences may be attributed, in part at least, first, to the divergent paths of economic development followed by the two countries after Independence; and, second, to the Kenya Government's active promotion of family planning through the health services, which the Uganda Government did not promote until 1995.     

How Portable Is Level‐0 Behavior? A Test of Level‐k Theory in Games With Non‐Neutral Frames

We test the portability of level‐0 assumptions in level‐k theory in an experimental investigation of behavior in Coordination, Discoordination, and Hide and Seek games with common, non‐neutral frames. Assuming that level‐0 behavior depends only on the frame, we derive hypotheses that are independent of prior assumptions about salience. Those hypotheses are not confirmed. Our findings contrast with previous research which has fitted parameterized level‐k models to Hide and Seek data. We show that, as a criterion of successful explanation, the existence of a plausible model that replicates the main patterns in these data has a high probability of false positives.     

Working with Parental Substance Misuse: Dilemmas for Practice

Correspondence to Dr Brynna Kroll, Department of Social Work, University of Exeter, Richards Building, St. Luke’s Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK. E-mail: brynna.kroll{at}plymouth.ac.uk Summary The impact of parental substance misuse on child welfare isnow being increasingly recognized. Drug and alcohol problemsfeature in a substantial proportion of families where thereare child-care concerns and raise issues about engagement, confidentiality,assessment and inter-agency practice. This article exploressome of the dilemmas faced by social welfare professionals whowork with substance misusing parents. Based on a qualitativeanalysis of 40 semi-structured interviews with a wide rangeof practitioners from both adult focused and child and familysettings, in both the voluntary and statutory sector, a varietyof emerging themes will be discussed and linked to those fromother studies. The problems of working with denial, the tensionscreated by different agency objectives and protocols and theway in which children can often fall through gaps in serviceswill be highlighted, as will the way in which some professionalshave sought to resolve the dilemmas they encounter. This willthen be used as a basis for beginning to look at constructiveways forward in relation to training, interprofessional andinter-agency communication and service delivery.     

Privileges and penalties in the legal profession: an intersectional analysis of career progression

Intersectionality theory is concerned with integrating social characteristics to better understanding complex human relations and inequalities in organizations and societies (McCall 2005). Recently, intersectionality research has taken a categorical and quantitative turn as scholars critically adopt but retain existing social categories to explain differences in labour market outcomes. A key contention is that social categories carry penalties or privileges and their intersection promotes or hinders the life chances of particular groups and individuals. An emergent debate is whether the intersection of disadvantaged characteristics (such as female gender or minority ethnic status) produce penalties that are additive, multiplicative or ameliorative. Research is inconclusive and as yet pays little attention to moderating factors such as employer type, size, geographic location or work profile. Drawing on administrative records for individuals qualified as solicitors in England and Wales, collected by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), combined with aggregated workforce data and firm characteristics of their law firms, we undertake a statistical analysis of the intersection of gender and ethnicity in the profession with a degree of precision and nuance not previously possible. In response to calls to broaden studies of inequalities and intersectionality beyond their effect on pay or income (Castilla 2008) we focus on career progression to partnership as our key measure of success. The original contribution of our study is twofold. First, we establish statistically different profiles of law firms, showing how the solicitors’ profession is stratified by gender, ethnicity and socio‐economic background, as well as the type of legal work undertaken by developing a model of socio‐economic stratification in the profession. Second, we demonstrate that while penalties tend to be additive (i.e. the sum of the individual ethnic and gender penalties) this varies significantly by law firm profile and in some situations the effect is ameliorative.     

Reducing mental illness stigma and fostering empathic citizenship: Community arts collaborative approach

An art therapy-informed community arts project to reduce stigma towards people living with mental illness in Hong Kong included three phases: 1) a public exhibition to raise awareness; 2) a workshop for viewers to create response art and generate approaches to alleviate stigma; and 3) a forum for people living with mental illness and viewers to create art and discuss programmatic recommendations. Results suggested that: 1) art exhibits paired with reflection fostered empathy; 2) creating art promoted a wider perspective and initiated dialogue; and 3) collaborative art making facilitated meaningful interaction. These findings offer promising strategies for art and social change.     

Parental Hope Communication and Parent-Adolescent Constructive Conflict Management: A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis

Drawing from relational conflict management research and hope theory, the present study hypothesized that parental hope communication is positively related to constructive parent-adolescent conflict management. Utilizing three waves of longitudinal survey data from 393 Latina/o 6^th–8th grade students, we tested the hypotheses using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model, which partitions variance at the between-person and within-person levels over time. At the between-person level, we found that, relative to the sample averages, as Latina/o students reported higher levels of parental hope communication, they tended to report higher levels of constructive conflict over the academic year. At the within-person level, parental hope communication at one time point positively predicted constructive parent-adolescent conflict at the next time point. Our findings inform hope theory, family communication, and positive communication research by demonstrating the potential utility of parental hope communication for increasing constructive conflict in parent-adolescent relationships.     

The Impact of Training Videos on Attitudes About Parenting After Divorce

Many U.S. states require divorcing parents to take education classes about the impact of divorce on parents and children. As educators, psychiatrists, social workers, and others create these classes, it is important to evaluate what elements of the curriculum are effective in achieving targeted outcomes. Successful Coparenting After Divorce (https://coparenting.fsu.edu) is a free online divorce education course that focuses on issues such as the emotional impact of divorce, conflict reduction, and skills for parental cooperation. The course also includes videos covering topics including examples of negative and positive parental behavior, and testimonials from children. Pilot testing of the videos and the overall course impact with divorcing parents (n = 218) suggested that the videos’ utility were significantly related to the positive change in parents’ perceptions of their relationship with their former spouse, and their child-focused attitudes. Implications for practitioners who design or provide divorce education to parents are discussed.