Charitable Giving as a Luxury Good and the Philanthropic Sphere of Influence

Using regression analysis, 41 years of charitable giving and income data was evaluated to determine if charitable giving is a luxury, normal, or inferior good, and to determine the income elasticity for separate nonprofit sectors. Total Giving to the nonprofit subsector as well as most nonprofit sectors (Religion, Education, Human Services, and Environment) is a normal good, while Arts and International giving are likely luxury goods. However, evidence suggests that Health and Public Benefit are likely inferior goods. This research makes three contributions. First, it offers quantitative data as evidence in the supply-side and demand-side debates. Second, owing to income elasticities, researchers propose the Philanthropic Sphere of Influence and postulate that as incomes rise, donors are more likely to give to causes from which they are less likely to personally benefit. Third, by evaluating charitable giving as a whole and then by each subsector, the research demonstrates that each nonprofit subsector responds uniquely to changes in income. Therefore, nonprofit sectors should be evaluated separately.     

Expert Views on Biological Threat Characterization for the U.S. Government: A Delphi Study

Biological threat characterization (BTC) involves laboratory research conducted for the purpose of biological defense. BTC research is important for improving biological risk assessment and informing resource prioritization. However, there are also risks involved in BTC work, including potential for escape from the laboratory or the misuse of research results. Using a modified Delphi study to gather opinions from U.S. experts in biosecurity and biodefense, this analysis explores what principles and safeguards can maximize the benefits of BTC research and ensure that it is conducted safely and securely. Delphi participants were asked to give their opinions about the need for BTC research by the U.S. government (USG); risks of conducting this research; rules or guidelines that should be in place to ensure that the work is safe and accurate; components of an effective review and prioritization process; rules for when characterization of a pathogen can be discontinued; and recommendations about who in the USG should be responsible for BTC prioritization decisions. The findings from this research reinforce the need for BTC research at the federal level as well as a need for continued review and oversight of this research to maximize its effectiveness and reduce the risks involved. It also demonstrates the need for further discussion of what would constitute a “red line” for biothreat characterization research—research that should not be performed for safety, ethical, or practical reasons—and guidelines for when there is sufficient research in a given topic area so that the research can be considered completed.     

Use of data to assess performance and promote outcome achievement by public and private child welfare agency staff

Despite the emphasis on evidence-based practice in the literature, little is known about the extent to which child welfare workers routinely use data to assess the effectiveness of their practice, or consider an array of evidence informed practices such as peer record review, supervisory sessions or program evaluation as useful in improving their performance. This study, conducted as a part of the planning phase for a larger research and demonstration project measured frontline staff perceptions in both the public and private sectors in one state regarding these and other outcome-focused activities. Statistically significant differences were noted between public and private agency staff. In addition, the relationship between staff's use of data and their assessment of their own skill and the support provided by their agency for an array of out-of-home care practice activities are described. Implications for building the use of evidence-informed practice in child welfare are discussed.     

丛林深处的避世天堂

如果你想拥有一个完美假期,如果你想来一次与野生动物接触的刺激之旅,那就来非洲享受野性之美吧。享有野生动物天堂美誉的非洲大陆就像一只万花筒,能够带给你从未有过的神秘,以及令人叹为观止的自然景观。     

How we decide shapes what we choose: decision modes track consumer decisions that help decarbonize electricity generation

Theory and Decision - With concerns regarding climate change rising, companies and policy makers seek to understand the precursors to environmentally-friendly consumer choice. Decision modes are...     

Illusion of control and gambling in children

This paper outlines a cognitive theory to explain persistent gambling behavior. The major thesis is that people who persist in gambling in the face of significant losses do so, in part, because they misattribute the locus of control of the outcome of gambles to themselves rather than a random environmental event. Stated differently, this implies that people who are involved in gambling situations and win, find ways to take responsibility for winning, and that people will seek to exert control and direction over future gambles as well. This explanation is not intended to totally supplant existing theoretical analyses of persistent gambling such as models of addictive processes, or psychodynamic motivations, but rather to add a cognitive process dimension. Indeed, the different models are not mutually exclusive. In all probability, parts of each are useful in explaining pathological gambling. This study suggests that more importance and more research is need in the cognitive area to fully understand pathological gambling.     

The Co-Occurrence of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence: An Issue of Service Delivery for Social Service Professionals

In order to add to the growing literature on intergenerational rates of family violence, data were collected from a community-based child abuse agency. The study's purpose was to compare the co-occurrence of child abuse/neglect (CAN) and domestic violence (DV), and the prevalence of CAN and parent's childhood history of abuse. Data were collected from 537 families through intake and subsequent interviews in an attempt to determine the relationship among CAN and DV, and CAN and parent's childhood history of abuse. A chi-square analysis indicated significant relationships among these variables. Of the participants in this sample, 48.9% had experienced both CAN and DV. These results also indicated that 66.3% of participants had a childhood history of CAN and were currently experiencing issues of CAN with their own children. Logistic regression was utilized to examine whether families involved with Child Protective Services (CPS) were at higher risk for DV and/or parental childhood history of CAN. The results indicate that CPS-involved families were approximately three times as likely to have a parent reporting a childhood history of CAN but were not at significantly higher odds for DV. Implications for service delivery are discussed.     

Letter to the Editor: Respecting Multiple Epistemologies in Social Work

This article is an invited response to “Toward a Learning Environment That Supports Diversity and Difference: A Response to Dessel, Bolen, and Shep - ardson,” by David R. Hodge (Journal of Social Work Education, 47(2), pp. 235-251).     

Choosing the best (wo)man for the job: The effects of mortality salience,sex, and gender stereotypes on leader evaluations

The present research investigated the impact of death-related thoughts on preferences for male and female leaders and tested alternative predictions derived from terror management theory: the stereotype bias effect was predicted to result in a global preference for male leaders (Study1) and a preference for agentic leaders (Study 2), whereas the ingroup bias effect was predicted to result in women favoring female leaders and men preferring male leaders. These hypotheses were examined in two experimental studies wherein participants were presented with a mortality salience or control manipulation and subsequently presented with campaign statements from male and female gubernatorial candidates. Results from Study 1 were in accord with the enhanced ingroup bias predictions: under mortality salience women preferred and voted for the female candidate more so than the male candidate, while men showed the reverse preference. Results from Study 2, which also manipulated gender stereotypic traits of the candidates, support the enhanced stereotype bias effect: under mortality salience female participants preferred and voted for the agentic candidate regardless of sex, and males preferred the agentic male candidate. Results support previous TMT research demonstrating both ingroup bias and stereotype bias processes.