The value and rationale of gender‐specific intervention with at‐risk adolescent girls

Gender‐specific intervention (GSI) with at‐risk adolescent girls (ARAGs) is highly prevalent in Israel and elsewhere; professionals commonly consider GSI to be beneficial for ARAGs. However, despite the popularity of such programmes, there is little empirical support for their effectiveness and almost no critical examination of their theoretical rationale. The aim of this qualitative, naturalistic study was to explore how experienced professionals in this domain perceive the value and rationale of GSI with ARAGs, based on in‐depth, semistructured interviews with 15 female Israeli professionals. All of the interviewees claimed that overall, GSI is the “right” or most effective way to work with ARAGs. The discussion reviews the empirical support for participants' assumptions regarding the value of GSI for ARAGs and critically considers the potential drawbacks of GSI with ARAGs.     

Using regulatory fit theory to examine how the communication context of compliance-gaining interactions influences compliance

Compliance-gaining research focuses mainly on how message variations differentially affect compliance; however, few studies have examined how framing the compliance-gaining goal (i.e., promotion/prevention) and providing a means to achieve the goal function concurrently to influence compliance. The current study uses regulatory fit theory to examine how a fit between goals and means of compliance-gaining messages affects compliance. A field experiment was conducted in which subjects were presented with a compliance-gaining request in which goals and means were varied. Results indicated that compliance rates and donation amounts were higher under conditions of fit between the regulatory orientation of goals and means rather than non-fit. Findings are discussed in light of their implications for compliance-gaining research and regulatory fit theory.     

ADVERTISING AND VALUE MAXIMIZATION: AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH *

The model developed in this paper is interdisciplinary in that we incorporate the advertising decision into the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) for valuation of risky income streams. The advertising decision involves the purchase of media services whose effects on sales (profit) are hypothesized to vary with general economic activity. As in any asset expansion, the firm purchases an income distribution with a given expected value and covariance with the economy. By consulting the CAPM, we are able to obtain a value for the income distribution associated with the advertising expenditure. By failing to account for both risk and return, those previous studies which have examined the effect of advertising on profit or valuation are, at best, incomplete. We are able to demonstrate the inappropriateness of ranking alternative advertising strategies solely on the basis of expected income.     

Turnover in the Child Welfare Workforce: A Different Perspective

ABSTRACT

Child welfare agencies across the country are experiencing a workforce crisis involving high staff turnover rates. The purpose of this study was to determine which of the organizational, personal, and supervisory variables identified in prior research on this topic are most associated with intent to leave among employees in urban and rural child welfare settings. Four-hundred-and-forty-seven employees in 13 child welfare agencies participated in a survey addressing organizational, personal, and supervisory factors related to turnover. ANOVA, logistical regression, and structural equation modeling were used in the data analysis. The organizational and supervisory variables identified as significant in the logistic regression, as in earlier research, were not significant when the data were subjected to structural equation modeling. Instead, findings suggest that career satisfaction and satisfaction with paperwork are the key determinants of workers' intention to stay.