If the Organizations Won't Give Us Information…: The Use of Multiple New Media for Crisis Technical Translation and Dialogue

This study expands crisis message strategies to include those used to communicate technical details and examines them across multiple new media. A content analysis of blogs, Web sites, news articles, and press releases from the 2007 pet food recall crisis reveals that when stakeholders affected by the crisis desire emotional support—most frequently found in blogs—they do not include any types of technical explanations in their messages. Yet when they want rectification—assurance that the crisis will not happen again—they use more elaborate forms of technical translation explanations. Organizational use of technical translation explanations differ between media with Web sites and news articles containing more elaborate technical translation than press releases. When technical translation details are used, dialogic links, such as Web site links, are included.     

Community Readiness Assessment: The Scoring Process Revisited

The Community Readiness Model is an innovative and widely embraced approach to determining a community's stage of readiness to address a particular community issue and match that stage with an appropriate intervention. The current study used this approach in five communities experiencing cancer health disparities. In each community, leaders were interviewed and their qualitative data scored to determine the community's stage of readiness. Two methods of triangulation, investigator and interdisciplinary, were used to increase the scoring process's rigor. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the consensus portion of the scoring process, these meetings were content analyzed. The results have important implications for scoring team composition, provide insight into consensus reaching strategies, and offer recommendations for addressing potential challenges.     

The use of digital media: To support and enhance vulnerable children’s perspectives,voices and choices

The article reports findings from a study that explored the potential of digital media to create new possibilities for professional caregivers to encounter 10 vulnerable children (7–17 years old) as subjects (rather than objects) and participants in their own lives. Five professionals received training in media pedagogy and experimented with new ways to communicate with children. Digital communication was found to expand the children's ability to engage in dialogue. Professionals need to find the courage to engage in digital communication on a child's terms as it helps generate a relationship that offers children new opportunities for raising their voices.     

The Role of Group Member Affect in the Relationship between Trust and Cooperation

It is widely acknowledged that trust greatly affects work group functioning. Whereas trust may facilitate cooperation, distrust may impede it. Insight into when distrusters may be prompted to cooperate may therefore be of importance. Empirical studies point to several moderators of the effect of trust on cooperation. Unfortunately, these studies largely ignored the potential role of group member affect. Our study shows that group members' affective displays (particularly the activation level of the displays) have a substantial impact on the relationship between trust and cooperation. First, a scenario experiment (n=80) revealed that low trusting individuals were more willing to cooperate when confronted with group members who display high (versus low) activation affective states, whereas for more high trusting individuals cooperation was not contingent on other group members' affective displays. Second, a laboratory experiment (n=78), employing a social dilemma paradigm, replicated these findings and indicated that this effect is explained by the extent to which others are expected to cooperate. The discussion focuses on theoretical implications and managerial ramifications. Our study testifies to the significant role that affect may play in keeping up cooperation in organizations and work groups when trust is withering.     

CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND COUPLES' RELATIONSHIPS: FEMALE SURVIVORS' REPORTS IN THERAPY GROUPS

Therapy videotapes from five therapy groups for female child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors were analyzed for emerging themes of couples' difficulties reported by clients. Subsequently, the thematic categories were applied to sessions selected from an additional four groups and then correlated with CSA-specific variables. The two most frequent relationship themes were difficulties with emotional communication or intimacy, and polarized positions on control. Whereas these two themes were correlated with survivors' CSA characteristics, sexual difficulties were correlated with survivors' level of current traumatic symptomatology. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the treatment of CSA survivors and their partners.     

VCCEP Pilot: Progress on Evaluating Children''s Risks and Data Needs

The Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation Program (VCCEP) is designed to provide information to the public on children's potential health risks associated with chemical exposures. The key question of the VCCEP is whether the potential hazards, exposures, and risks to children have been adequately characterized, and, if not, what additional data are necessary. To answer this question, manufacturers or importers of 23 chemicals were asked by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to sponsor their chemicals in the first tier of a pilot program. These chemicals were selected for evaluation because they have been found as contaminants in human tissue or fluids (adipose tissue, blood, breath, breast milk, or urine); food and water children may eat and drink; or air children may breathe (including residential or school air). Under the VCCEP framework, sponsoring companies agree to prepare Tier 1 hazard, exposure, and risk assessments on the individual chemicals, and identify the need for additional data. These assessment documents are submitted to the U.S. EPA and subsequently undergo review by experts in an independent peer consultation meeting that is open to the public. Following this peer consultation process, the U.S. EPA reviews each submission and makes a data-needs determination, which may include requesting further data collection or generation by the sponsor. Sponsoring companies then decide whether to volunteer for the next tier and collect or generate the requested data. The purpose of this article is to describe the VCCEP process and to review and present the key findings from the first set of chemicals that have been fully or partially evaluated under the pilot program (vinylidene chloride, decabromodiphenyl ether, pentabromodiphenyl ether, octabromodiphenyl ether, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, decane, undecane, and dodecane). Specifically, we provide a brief summary of the sponsors' submissions, the peer consultation panels' discussions, and the U.S. EPA's data-needs decisions. Although we do not attempt to conduct independent analyses of the underlying data, we do identify a number of common themes that have emerged during implementation of the pilot program and discuss several key issues that could become important in the future. The information presented here should be useful for various parties interested in the progress of the VCCEP and the results of the initial (Tier 1) children's assessments.     

A Solution-Oriented Approach to Working with Juvenile Offenders

This article describes the ways in which a solution-focused practice approach is advantageous for social workers working in a variety of settings with juvenile offenders, due to its strengths-based and positive orientation. The general approach is discussed as well as specific techniques and examples of applications, such as building a relationship with a juvenile offender who has been mandated into services, finding and amplifying exceptions to the problem and other resources and strengths, and setting goals with the use of scaling questions.     

A model of impacts of research partnerships in health and social services

Alliances have long been an important strategy for health promotion and community development. They are now becoming an important approach to generating research that is thought to have real-world relevance and easy applicability because of the involvement of community members. A comprehensive, dynamic model of community impacts of research partnerships in social or health services is presented. This process-oriented, systems model outlines three major domains of mid-term impact (Enhanced Knowledge, Enhanced Research Skills, and Use of Information) that correspond to the core functions of collaborative research partnerships discussed in the literature (i.e. knowledge generation, research education and training, and knowledge sharing). The model will assist research partners, intended recipients, and funders to understand and evaluate the real-world impacts of community–university research partnerships. The model provides research partnerships with a tool to demonstrate their accountability and to improve their operations and impacts, and evaluators with a tool to guide planning and evaluation efforts.     

Pregnancy Prevention from the Teen Perspective

One hundred and five teens from primary and secondary pregnancy prevention programs attended focus group interviews. This article reports teens' perceptions of the factors that contribute to adolescent pregnancy and the steps that can be taken to prevent early childbearing. Lack of knowledge and accessibility to contraceptives as well as unfulfilled emotional needs were considered crucial factors. Suggestions for service delivery from findings are explored.