Crisis managers losing control of the message: A pilot study of the Virginia Tech shooting

This pilot study examined the role citizen generated content plays in the coverage of crisis situations and discusses implications for public relations practitioners who must respond to this type of coverage. A content analysis of newspapers and the websites of cable and broadcast news networks revealed reporters were more likely to use citizen generated content during the first stage of the crisis and were more likely to use non-official technology sources, or citizen generated content, than official technology sources such as web-based news releases and official statements.     

What Protects Rejected Adolescents From Also Being Bullied by Their Peers? The Moderating Role of Peer‐Valued Characteristics

Adolescents rejected by peers are often targets of bullying. However, peer rejection is not a sure path to victimization. We examined whether characteristics valued by peers (i.e., attractiveness, wealth, academic, and athletic ability) moderated the relationship between peer rejection and victimization. We predicted rejected adolescents high on peer‐valued characteristics (PVCs) would receive fewer nominations for being victimized than adolescents with lower levels. Canadian students in Grades 6–10 (N = 549; M_age = 13.32, SD = 1.50) provided peer nominations for peer victimization, rejection, attractiveness, wealth, and academic and athletic competence. As hypothesized, each PVC moderated the relationship between peer rejection and peer victimization. No sex differences were found. This study demonstrates the buffering effects of nonbehavioral characteristics valued by peers.     

In-Situ Displacement: Institutional Practices and the Making of the Hindu Other

This paper introduces the concept of in-situ displacement-displacement without mobility-as an analytic for understanding the place of Hindus in Muslim majority East Bengal, East Pakistan, and Bangladesh, a national formation that is best defined as one of a changing identification with Pakistan and India, and, subsequently, as a sovereign country in South Asia. Elaborating the contributions of Corrigan and Sayer on state formation and law, the paper highlights the importance of the judiciary as constitutive of the meanings that attend to belonging in the body politic. Evidence for this argument comes from court cases in the Dacca Law Review.     

Credit Card Debt and the Provision of Financial Support to Kin in the US

Credit card debt stands at over $1 trillion in the US and grows continuously. Scholars have argued that high (and growing) levels of credit card debt are attributable in part to rising economic vulnerabilities, combined with a thinning public safety net, credit cards being increasingly employed to make ends meet in this context. This paper extends this line of work by stressing that individuals and households do not rely on their credit cards only to mitigate their own financial hardships, but also those experienced by their non-coresidential kin members. More specifically, building on the notion that kin networks can constitute a source of negative social capital, we argue that individuals often accumulate credit card debt as they attempt to provide monetary assistance to their relatives in need. We also show that this effect is particularly strong in lower-income groups and in African American communities, in which need levels are especially high. Based on random and fixed effects analyses of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, these insights extend scholarship on both kin networks of support and the sources of credit card debt.

     

Practice and Research in Career Counseling and Development—2006

The author presents professional literature published in 2006 related to career counseling and development. The literature is organized into 3 sections: (a) professional issues related to career development throughout the life span, culture, ethnicity, gender, and other specific topics; (b) research related to theoretical and conceptual advances; and (c) career interventions and practice, including issues related to career assessment and technology. Cohesive themes throughout this review are the concepts of social context embedded in career development, multicultural perspectives, and global and international perspectives of career development. Research is encouraged regarding career interventions that are based on career theories specific to certain cultures and in general for global needs.     

Efficiency of reduced logistic regression models

One feature of the usual polychotomous logistic regression model for categorical outcomes is that a covariate must be included in all the regression equations. If a covariate is not important in all of them, the procedure will estimate unnecessary parameters. More flexible approaches allow different subsets of covariates in different regressions. One alternative uses individualized regressions which express the polychotomous model as a series of dichotomous models. Another uses a model in which a reduced set of parameters is simultaneously estimated for all the regressions. Large-sample efficiencies of these procedures were compared in a variety of circumstances in which there was a common baseline category for the outcome and the covariates were normally distributed. For a correctly specified model, the reduced estimates were over 100% efficient for nonzero slope parameters and up to 500% efficient when the baseline frequency and the effect of interest were small. The individualized estimates could have efficiencies less than 50% when the effect of interest was large, but were also up to 130% efficient when the baseline frequency was large and the effect of interest was small. Efficiency was usually enhanced by correlation among the covariates. For an underspecified reduced model, asymptotic bias in the reduced estimates was approximately proportional to the magnitude of the omitted parameter and to the reciprocal of the baseline frequency.     

Building a National Strategy for Digital Preservation: Issues in Digital Media Archiving

Abstract

Workflow mapping can yield valuable results wherever complex processes are used. Some of its many benefits include knowledge retention, identification of inefficiencies, and more effective decision making. However, despite the promise of improved productivity and stewardship of library resources, tackling diagrams of complex and often long-unexamined workflows can seem too daunting a task to even attempt—at least without the right tool. This review takes a look at the robust features for flowchart creation offered by Lucidchart, a free online software that greatly reduces the challenges of constructing complicated diagrams. Lucidchart’s intuitive interface and built-in library of templates and design elements bring the benefits of visual mapping well within the reach of busy librarians and managers attempting to chart, understand, and streamline workflows in their units.     

Demographic Predictors of Consistency and Change in Heterosexuals' Attitudes toward Homosexual Behavior over a Two-Year Period

This study investigated demographic predictors of consistency and change in heterosexual people's attitudes toward homosexual behavior. A nationally representative sample of Australian men and women were recruited via random digit dialling in 2004 through 2005. Participants completed annual computer-assisted telephone interviews over the next five years. Questions about attitudes toward male and female homosexual behavior were assessed at Wave 1 (2004–2005) and Wave 3 (2006–2007) of the study. The majority of the sample reported tolerance of both male and female homosexual behavior (with women slightly more tolerant than men). Multivariate analyses showed that those who regularly attended religious services were more likely to consistently disapprove of homosexual behavior and more likely to change from tolerant to disapproving. Among those who were initially tolerant, younger respondents and those with higher educations were less likely to become homophobic. The results of this study show that individual attitudes toward homosexual behavior are open to change, particularly toward a more tolerant position. Religiosity appears to be consistently associated with the development and reinforcement of homophobic tendencies.     

Gay Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Sexual Minority Youth: A Clinical Adaptation

Sexual minority youth (SMY) are at high risk for negative mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidality. However, there has been a disconnect between clinical social work practice and research with SMY, resulting in a lack of rigorous research that demonstrates the use of effective interventions. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has long been established as a best practice option for the general adolescent population suffering from mental health problems, knowledge about the use of CBT with SMY lags far behind. Thus, the purpose of this article is to present a clearly defined adaptation of CBT for SMY that integrates gay affirmative practices for youth (e.g., coming out, stigma and discrimination, the role of social support and community). Specifically, the authors: (a) discuss the impact of minority stress on SMY; (b) highlight the specific components of CBT that represent a good fit for SMY and also address the criticisms of using such an approach; (c) consider the importance of using gay affirmative practices with SMY; and (d) offer recommendations for incorporating gay affirmative practices into traditional CBT models to better meet the needs of SMY.