Child Abuse and Neglect inChina: What the Papers Say

In order to gain an insight into attitudes towards child abuse in China, a review of a number of newspapers for a period of 3 months was carried out. There was a dearth of relevant stories in national papers, but more in the local type of newspaper read by the majority of Chinese. Overall there were few reports relating to child abuse, especially in the intrafamilial setting. Of particular note is the number of reports of neglect of children following divorce. Violence towards students by teachers also features prominently. But by far the most reported issue is the damaging effect on children resulting from pressures for good academic performance in a highly competitive society.     

Keeping People ‘In the Tent’: Governance in the New Zealand Outdoor Activity Sector

The purpose of this research was to examine governance in the New Zealand outdoor activity sector. We conducted 35 interviews with key personnel from organisations with responsibility for national co-ordination, education, and membership services. Using Brandsen and Pestoff’s (Public Manag Rev 8(4):493–501, 2006) co-processes framework, we describe and analyse governance of the outdoor sector. In so doing, we provide insight into the challenges facing this complex sector with regard to funding and stakeholder relationships, programme delivery, and personality conflicts. We also contribute by highlighting some of the shortcomings of the co-processes model, and offer constructively critical insights for its development.     

Scaling up to Increase Community-Based Organization Voice

This is a collaborative, community-based study of the merger of two Chicago community-organizing groups seeking to expand their geographic base and political power. Although the merger enabled the new organization to increase and use its power, this case also illustrates the various ways the merger presented opportunities for the new organization to maintain effectiveness at multiple scales while sustaining strong internal democracy and connections to local residents. By consolidating and leveraging new and old political relationships, and by maintaining or increasing the civic benefits of organizing, this merger provides important lessons for organizing in diverse community settings.     

Social work online: a recognition of experiences and practices in Italy

ABSTRACT

‘The Internet is the fabric or our lives’ [Castells, M. (2001). The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 1] – but which are the weaves that nowadays connect Italian social workers into such a fabric? Herein we aim at answering this question through a survey of on-line resources, nodes and practices of e-Social Work in Italy. We shall be discussing ICT impact on the Italian context, and the utilization of ICT by Italian social workers, in order to build up the internal and external factors that determine the current utilization levels of these emerging tools within the professional community. A review of the major on-line social work portals will identify their key features and peculiarities and aim to provide an overview of the substance and current on-line functions of Italian social work, with a summing-up of criticalities and opportunities that might prompt reflection on possible future developments.     

WELFARE AND CITIZENSHIP: The Effects of Government Assistance on Young Adults' Civic Participation

Recent scholarship and public discourse highlight an apparent waning of civic engagement in the United States. Although the welfare state is generally thought to support democracy by reducing economic inequality, it may paradoxically contribute to political disempowerment of some groups. We examine the effects of state interventions on civic participation among young adults, hypothesizing that involvement with stigmatizing social programs, such as welfare, reduces political engagement, while receipt of nonstigmatizing government assistance does not dampen civic involvement. Using official voting records and survey data from the Youth Development Study (YDS), a longitudinal community sample of young adults, a series of regression models suggests that welfare recipients are less likely to vote than nonrecipients, whereas recipients of non-means-tested government assistance participate similarly to young adults who do not receive government help. These effects hold even when background factors, self-efficacy, and prior voting behavior are controlled. Welfare receipt is not associated, however, with suppressed participation in nonstate arenas such as volunteer work. Intensive interviews with YDS welfare recipients are used to illustrate and develop the analysis.     

Using evidence-based research to redirect a conversation: Newspapers’ coverage of strategies to address college binge drinking

This study examines selected newspapers’ coverage of college binge drinking while also serving as an example of evidence-based practices that can be of use to public relations practitioners and health care professionals working to draw attention to important factors that are not being addressed in either public or policy conversations related to this issue. We examine newspaper coverage in 32 newspapers from 1997 to 2006 to determine which strategies to address college binge drinking are being covered and which of those are evidence-based and implemented by colleges. The mix of individual versus environmental strategies was examined based on Social Cognitive Theory. In the 255 articles analyzed, the majority of strategies covered were environmental. The most frequently covered strategy, increasing student knowledge, is individual and not evidence-based. Strategies classified as effective were not frequently covered. Media advocacy is offered as an evidence-based practice that public relations and health care professionals can use to affect change.