Sexual orientation and gender identity: an administrative approach to diversity

Research indicates that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) teens in the care of a northeastern child welfare department do not receive adequate services due to the workers' homophobic attitudes. These teens are at high risk for alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, prostitution, and suicide. A training module was developed for administrators. Pretest and posttest instruments measured their education and support of GLBTQ issues before and after the training.     

Missing discourses: concepts of joy and happiness in disability

This paper analyses a series of representations of disability and rehabilitation taken from research and policy settings in Australia. The purpose of the analysis is to (a) identify the presence or absence of discourses of happiness and joy in the contexts analysed and (b) to analyse the various treatments and interpretations of happiness and joy that are present. Through this analysis we show that while official professional and public discourses on disability and rehabilitation exhibit predominantly negative discursive patterns and features (i.e. aspirations to achieve ‘normality’ and a negative lexicon, such as disability, coping, rehabilitation, burden, abnormality, etc.) there are many other potentially positive and empowering discursive and narrative patterns and features that remain hidden beneath negatively oriented ways of seeing, being, acting and describing in academic, policy and practice settings. We argue that policy‐makers and academics alike need to be sensitive to the dynamics of discourse when constructing research and developing policy.     

Attitudinal and normative predictors of alcohol use by older adolescents and young adults

A model of alcohol use based on the theory of planned behavior, expectancy theory, and the developmental literature on the influence of parents and peers was examined with 87 eleventh grade students, 105 college freshmen, and 107 college juniors. Specifically, the influence of attitudes about the positive and negative consequences of drinking, perceived parental and peer norms about alcohol consumption, and perceived control over drinking predicted self-reported alcohol use. The results suggest that, during adolescence, decisions to consume alcohol are rational, based on the consideration of the positive consequences of alcohol use and perceptions of control over drinking; however, the negative consequences of alcohol use are discounted. While perceived peer norms predicted alcohol consumption in all three age groups, the influence of perceived parental norms varied such that they predicted alcohol use only among the college juniors. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.     

Knowledge management for food supply chain synergies – a maturity level analysis of SME companies

Abstract

Despite the considerable number of papers addressing knowledge management (KM) aspects in supply chains, many research issues in the area are still neglected. One of the main research gaps in this field concerns the maturity level of KM practices adoption by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper addresses this research gap by developing a framework to support the analysis of the maturity level of KM adoption in an SME context. The framework is applied in a multiple case study developed to investigate the extent to which SMEs operating in the food sector are deploying KM practices to support more sustainable initiatives. By relating KM maturity levels, perspectives and processes to sustainable practices concerning food waste and by-product synergies, the paper makes an original contribution to advance theory and practice in the area. The paper also points out potential barriers that companies face to implement sustainability-related KM practices.     

High-Risk Sexual Behavior in Postmenopausal Women

Individuals who participate in sexual behavior indeed expose themselves to multiple risks, including social, emotional, and physical risks. Outcomes associated with risk behavior can have detrimental consequences on one’s interpersonal relationships, self-esteem, and overall health and well-being. This study examined how four factors (relational, decision-making, sexual variables, and safety) operate in a postmenopausal women’s decision to engage in risky sexual behavior. Data were collected online from 44 women, ranging in age from 34 to 68. Results indicate this model explains 62.6% of the variance in risky decision-making for postmenopausal women. Implications and directions for future research are addressed.     

Exploring the Concept of Moral Distress with Community-Based Researchers: An Australian Study

ABSTRACT

Community-based research (CBR) refers to an applied research methodology that is conducted in community settings in partnership between academic and nonacademic participants in research. This article reports on a series of in-depth interviews conducted with 11 Australian CBR researchers between 2008 and 2009. The interviews were designed to explore whether university-employed CBR researchers experience the particular phenomenon of “moral distress,” or feelings of helplessness to act in accordance with one's moral values due to systemic or institutional constraints. Study results found that the CBR researchers experienced unavoidable moral distress at varying levels of intensity related to blurred boundaries between settings, participants, and stakeholders. Based on the outcomes of this study, further research and enhanced professional development and training practices are recommended.     

Mandatory Reporting and Child Exposure to Domestic Violence: Issues Regarding the Therapeutic Alliance with Couples

Some child welfare legislation have recently expanded the definition of ‘a child in need of protection’ to include child exposure to intimate partner violence. Such legislation places clinicians in the challenging position of determining whether a situation falls under their duty to report. The current paper examines a case example in which there was child exposed to intimate partner violence, the clinician made a report to child welfare authorities and attempted to maintain the therapeutic alliance with the couple in treatment. The couple viewed contacting child welfare authorities as a crisis situation both in their marriage and in their family. Practice principles for clinicians are suggested.     

Ready Rhetorics: Political Homophobia and Activist Discourses in Malawi,Nigeria, and Uganda

Since the late 1990s political leaders in several African countries have pursued legislation to expand criminal penalties for same-sex sex. Yet, much of the research on efforts to expand criminalization of same-sex sexualities in Africa has focused on individual country cases, neglecting the role of national and transnational sociopolitical contexts and economic flows. Focusing on discourses present in news media data from 2000 to 2014 in three African countries pursuing regressive policies targeting homosexuality—Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda—we examine: 1) the different antihomosexual discourses and constellations of actors that emerge over time; 2) the linkages among antihomosexual discourses and other social or cultural logics that allow individuals and collective actors to make sense of antihomosexual discourses in a particular historical moment; and 3) the relationships among discourses vying for power in a given discursive field. In these data we observe episodic public debates around homosexuality that engage different arguments and constellations of actors over time. The intensity of public debates has increased since the mid-2000s in each country, and debates reflect strong linkages among transnational and national actors. Ultimately, we contend that the particular debates occurring around the regulation of same-sex sex in Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda reflect larger conflicts over social change, political power, and global status hierarchies. We conclude with implications for the study of homophobia and LGBT movements in sub-Saharan Africa.