Strategy and Structure in Managing Global Associations

A key aspect of civil society worldwide is the emergence of thousands of nongovernmental organizations that operate on a global scale. The special challenges of organizing and managing these organizations include massive communications problems and the need to accommodate a wide diversity of interests. In this paper, we ask what kinds of organizational structures and management strategies are utilized by globally oriented nongovernmental organizations involved in the development of civil society, and we consider the advantages and disadvantages of alternative structures. From 15 case studies, we find that three principal types of structures are utilized: corporate partnerships, federations, and membership associations. We also find that management challenges are addressed in various creative ways within these structures, and that the federation form appears to be generally effective and avoids some of the risks associated with other forms.     

Developing a measure of local agency adaptation to emergencies: a metric

Local public health agencies often must respond to health-related emergencies or disasters, while continuing to fulfill all public health functions for which they are funded. This article reports the development and initial pilot test of a method for measuring the nature and degree of a public health agency's response to such an emergency or disaster. How the instrument was developed as well as the initial results from the pilot study of four local public health systems (LPHSs) are presented and discussed. The instrument measured the extent to which each function and division of each of the four LPHSs were affected and provided a metric that could be used across LPHSs to indicate the burden experienced by each due to the emergency. Results obtained from the pilot study indicate that size and complexity of an LPHS was not predictive of its ability to respond to the emergency. These results support the use of the framework and associated measurement procedures to provide valuable information to managers responsible for such LPHSs. Such information should provide a foundation for comparing variations in performance and outcomes to various types of emergencies that vary in their severity and focus.     

Efficiency of the modified jackknifed Liu-type estimator

In this article, we proposed a new estimator namely, modified jackknifed generalized Liu-type estimator (MJGLE). It is based on the criterion that it combines the ideas underlying both the generalized Liu estimator (GLE) and jackknifed generalized Liu estimator (JGLE). The performance of this estimator (MJGLE) is compared to that of the GLE and the JGLE. The ideas in the article are illustrated and evaluated using a real data example and simulations.     

Sibling incest: reports from forty-one survivors

An exploratory study was conducted with a convenience sample of 41 adult survivors of sibling incest using a retrospective survey design. Participants were interviewed about their childhood sexual experiences with a sibling. Most participants reported vaginal or oral intercourse and coercive experiences. Half of the sample reported sexual experiences with family members, as well as other child abuse. Half of the participants showed evidence of distorted beliefs about child sexual abuse. Disclosure of the incest during childhood was rare. doi:10.1300/ J070v15n04_02.     

Group Couples' Intervention to Improve Sexual Health Among Married Women in a Low‐Income Community in Mumbai,India

This article describes the design and implementation of a group couples' intervention focused on improving women's sexual health as a component of a multilevel community, clinical, and counseling intervention project conducted in association with a gynecological service in a municipal urban health center in a low‐income community in Mumbai, India. The group couples' intervention involved four single‐gender and two mixed‐gender sessions designed to address the dynamics of the marital relationship and establish a more equitable spousal relationship as a means to improve women's sexual and marital health. Involvement of men presented a major challenge to couple's participation. For those couples that did participate, qualitative findings revealed significant changes in couple and family relations, sexual health knowledge, and emotional well‐being.     

Evaluating Students’ Micro Practice Field Performance

The current study represents an effort to determine whether a universally recognized set of objectives for field-based learning in micro-level practice exists despite apparently widespread belief to the contrary among social work educators. A review of efforts over the past 50 years to conceptualize field learning and an analysis of current data on student performance criteria identified eight learning objectives for field study. These objectives reflect both traditional concepts and contemporary demands on the profession. Based on these learning objectives, the authors have proposed a method for evaluating student performance in the field.     

On a criterion for evaluating an estimator

A criterion for evaluating an estimator of the mean μ of a population is studied. The criterion considered is that the estimator be within a units of μ a large percentage (say, (1-β) 100%) of the time. This is referred to as the α -β criterion for estimating μ. A variation of this criterion is also studied.     

Damaged Goods: Perception of Pornography Addiction as a Mediator Between Religiosity and Relationship Anxiety Surrounding Pornography Use

Recent research on pornography suggests that perception of addiction predicts negative outcomes above and beyond pornography use. Research has also suggested that religious individuals are more likely to perceive themselves to be addicted to pornography, regardless of how often they are actually using pornography. Using a sample of 686 unmarried adults, this study reconciles and expands on previous research by testing perceived addiction to pornography as a mediator between religiosity and relationship anxiety surrounding pornography. Results revealed that pornography use and religiosity were weakly associated with higher relationship anxiety surrounding pornography use, whereas perception of pornography addiction was highly associated with relationship anxiety surrounding pornography use. However, when perception of pornography addiction was inserted as a mediator in a structural equation model, pornography use had a small indirect effect on relationship anxiety surrounding pornography use, and perception of pornography addiction partially mediated the association between religiosity and relationship anxiety surrounding pornography use. By understanding how pornography use, religiosity, and perceived pornography addiction connect to relationship anxiety surrounding pornography use in the early relationship formation stages, we hope to improve the chances of couples successfully addressing the subject of pornography and mitigate difficulties in romantic relationships.     

Teaching intercultural awareness to first‐year medical students via experiential exercises

This study assessed the extent to which a one‐time experiential intervention improved intercultural awareness and sensitivity among first‐year medical students. The students participated in group activities in which they shared personal experiences, solved a hypothetical problem, and engaged in team building exercises. Post‐intervention, students reported less intercultural awareness, but a greater commitment to improving the intercultural climate of the medical school and an increased willingness to work in diverse groups during their medical training. The results of the study suggest that experiential interventions may provide an important complement to didactics around issues of intercultural awareness and sensitivity with medical students. Importantly, experiential interventions must provide students with sufficient time to reflect upon and discuss feelings, thoughts and attitudes that emerge during this kind of intercultural awareness training.     

A SENSE OF PLACE:

One of the classic questions in urban sociology is how social relations and solidarity are maintained in an urbanized, industrialized, bureaucratic society. The two pivotal research focuses have been the issues of (1) the persistence of territorially based affective ties and primary relations in an urban world and (2) the micro/macro links connecting community residents and the larger society. This article argues that social bonds and solidarity are now transformed from affective ties into more diffuse relationships as individuals purposively use the externally shared meanings of housing and community in American society to situate themselves, simultaneously locating themselves with others who share their values and preferences and asserting their social status and social identity to others.