Our Pockets of Need

By the time this appears in print, a most ambitious venture into the field of social action will have been undertaken by the Victorian Branch of Social Workers' Association, in collaboration with the Victorian Council of Social Service.     

A Shorter and Multidimensional Version of the Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (GABS-23)

The Gambling Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (GABS) is a questionnaire which explores gambling-related dysfunctional beliefs in an unidimensional way. The present research aims to investigate the dimensionality of the scale. 343 undergraduate student gamblers and 75 pathological gamblers seeking treatment completed the GABS and the south oaks gambling screen. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the original one-factor structure of the GABS did not fit the data effectively. We then proposed a shorter version of the GABS (GABS-23) with a new five-factor structure, which fitted with the data more efficiently. The comparisons between students (problem vs. non-problem gamblers) and pathological gamblers seeking treatment indicated that the GABS-23 can discriminate between problem and non-problem gamblers as efficiently as the original GABS. To ensure the validity and the stability of the new structure of the GABS-23, analyses were replicated in an independent sample that consisted of 628 gamblers (256 non problem gamblers, 169 problem gamblers who are not treatment-seeking and 203 problem gamblers seeking treatment). Analyses showed satisfactory results, and the multidimensional structure of the GABS-23 was then confirmed. The GABS-23 seems to be a valid and useful assessment tool for screening gambling-related beliefs, emotions and attitudes among problem and non-problem gamblers. Moreover, it presents the advantage of being shorter than the original GABS, and of screening irrational beliefs and attitudes about gambling in a multidimensional way. The five-factor model of the GABS-23 is discussed based on the theory of locus of control.     

The Conceptualization and Measurement of Listening

Although far more emphasis has been placed on sending messages than upon receiving them, some researchers have focused on listening and on receiving. In this paper, the authors adopt the position that although listening, as a theoretical concept, may in some meaningful sense be real and measurable through a variety of instruments, inadequate attention has been given to the development of a consensus regarding its conceptualization. In support of this position we first review inconsistencies in current definitions of listening and then discuss problems in measurement. On the basis of our review, we conclude that considerable ambiguity exists concerning conceptualization of the listening construct, and that further investigation of measurement issues involved in the theory of the receiving component of listening should be undertaken.     

Google Street View: navigating the operative image

Via a close navigation of a Google Street View (GSV) scene in Oslo, this article investigates the role the photographic image plays in what has come to be known as ‘locative media’ – an entire range of image software that runs on mobile devices using GPS signals to locate the user, and that emerged after the United States government decided to end the intentional degradation of the public GPS signal in 2001, fostering the development of navigable photo-maps such as GSV, photo-synths and other location-based image applications such as Augmented Reality. The authors first address the temporal discontinuities and gaps of the GSV database, which the user navigates as a spatially continuous image. Second, they show that the city is experienced as one and the same data space, simultaneously traversed both on-site and on-screen. Third, they critically interrogate the navigability of the GSV image afforded by real-time data processing based on mutual data exchanges between user location, hardware, software, network and database. They argue that the GSV image is what Harun Farocki, in an article on cybernetic warfare, has called an ‘operative image’, an image that no longer represents an object but is part of an operation. In fact, the users’ trajectories feeding back into the database initiate a reverse operativity, which proves to be the more problematic side of ubiquitous locative media applications such as GSV.     

Truth,partial truth,and irreconcilable truths: Reflections on the prospects for truth recovery in Northern Ireland

The issues facing truth recovery work in Northern Ireland arise in the context of a peace process in which there has been no clear winner, where several key issues, such as policing and criminal justice remain unresolved, and where there is a lack of trust between the parties to the conflict. Yet there is a demand for processes that have the potential to uncover the truth about unresolved killings and disappearances. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission is often cited in Northern Ireland as a model for truth recovery processes, in spite of its shortcomings and the contextual differences between South Africa and Northern Ireland. While there remains a demand for truth about human rights violations and contested killings, the compromised nature of the Northern Ireland settlement and the culture of silence that prevails within Northern Ireland institutions are obstacles to the progress of truth recovery work there. Nor is Northern Ireland ready for the rewriting of its history, although some argue that truth recovery work could provide an important disincentive to those who would return to violence. The assumption that truth recovery is always a prerequisite for healing is challenged, and painful effects of truth processes in reopening the wounds of the past are pointed out. Yet the role of truth recovery in improving public awareness of the wrongs of the past, and in providing new opportunities for forgiveness and reconciliation is acknowledged. However, truth recovery can inadvertently reinforce a dis‐empowered and unhealthy “victim culture” and may also prejudice future judicial processes. The paper concludes by summarizing the recommendations for truth recovery in Northern Ireland of the Healing Through Remembering Project. They suggest that a range of mechanisms, including some community‐based self‐help processes, are the preferred paths for this work in Northern Ireland.     

Characteristics of Communication in Families of Alcoholics

In the United States, roughly 43% of adults have encountered alcoholism in their family, and one in four children lives with an alcoholic parent (Grant, 2000). Prior research suggests that alcoholism can negatively impact the nature and quality of family relations, but studies rarely consider the specific ways in which family communication dynamics are impacted by the disease. Thus, the goal of this study was to identify the characteristics of communication in families of alcoholics and to develop a larger conceptual model to guide future inquiries in this context. A national sample of 682 adult children of alcoholics were asked to describe the communication dynamics in their family of origin. A theme analysis of the open-ended data revealed four overarching themes that were comprised of nine subcategories: (a) aggressive communication (e.g., heightened conflict, tense communication, and secretive slandering); (b) protective communication (e.g., superficiality, limited or indirect communication, and sober parent buffering); (c) adaptive communication (e.g., functional communication); and, (d) inconsistent communication (e.g., struggles over power and control, mood fluctuation). We draw on the results of this analysis to propose a model depicting communication dynamics in families of alcoholics and the antecedent conditions and consequent outcomes of such communication patterns in the family.