Measuring Mutual Help Willingness and Criteria among Hong Kong People: Confirmatory Factor Analyses

Mutual help has been often found to be beneficial for people’s well-being in clinical settings. Research in the general population, however, is relatively limited, partly due to the lack of applicable measurement tools. The present study attempted to develop two scales to measure mutual help willingness and criteria and test their psychometric properties among a community sample of Hong Kong people (n = 951). Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the hypothetical models fitted the data very well. Results also indicated that though the willingness to seek help and to give help was significantly correlated, Hong Kong people were generally more willing to give help than to seek help. Age had a negative effect on help-seeking willingness, which can not be explained by education level. A set of criteria were applied similarly when people decided on help-giving and help-seeking. Agreement with the criteria was negatively correlated with age but the associations became negligible when education level was controlled. Research and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Significance of Community to Business Social Responsibility1

Abstract In this paper, I focus attention on one aspect of business social responsibility, the relationship between businesses and community. Specifically, I explore the impact of business operators' perceptions about norms of collective action in their communities on the level of their support for and commitment to their communities. This relationship was elaborated using data from interviews with 1,008 business owners and managers randomly selected from 30 small Iowa communities (500 to 10,000 in population). Findings indicate the majority of small business operators report that they are committed to and provide support for their community. Also, it is concluded that operators' educational levels and lengths of residence, the success and age of their businesses, and their perceptions of community levels of collective action are significantly associated with levels of business social responsibility.     

International Federation of Social Workers: International Policy on Refugees

The initiators and the advocates of the Australian Assistance Plan claim they are creating a new framework—a framework which is more sensitive to and aware of the needs of the individual and the community. As Knight and Wallace point out in the March issue of Australian Social Work, the key concept is participation.¹ The Social Welfare Commission, who initiated the A.A.P., describe it as:     

Consequences of work force reduction: Some employer and union evidence

Despite the popularity of workforce cutbacks in the 1990s, largescale empirical stud-ies at the bargaining unit level are rare. I explore some of the consequences of per-manent work force reduction using data from both employer and union respondents. About 56 percent of employer participants and 57 percent of local union officials reported a permanent reduction of bargaining unit employees. In comparing bargain-ing units that experienced a permanent reduction of union members, results obtained from both employers and union officials indicated a significant negative impact on over-all employee satisfaction and labor climate. Additional analyses with union respon-dents revealed that the reduction of bargaining unit employees was also associated with a higher rate of grievances and absenteeism and poorer relations between union members and their supervisors.     

Preventing unsuitable people from working with children—the criminal justice and court services bill

The continuing concern to safeguard children from abuse in schools, children's homes and similar settings has led to proposals to make it an offence for those with convictions against children to even apply for work with children. The Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill will introduce ‘disqualification orders’ for such offenders. The background development of this Bill is considered, together with the way the new orders will fit with existing criminal record check arrangements, current bans and the role of the forthcoming Criminal Records Bureau, which will tie all these systems together in a ‘one‐stop shop’. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pooled Cross-Sectional and Time Series Data: A Survey of Current Statistical Methodology

A data base that provides a multivariate statistical history for each of a number of individual entities is called a pooled cross-sectional and time series data base in the econometrics literature. In marketing and survey literature the terms panel data or longitudinal data are often used. In management science a convenient term might be management data base. Such a data base provides a particularly rich environment for statistical analysis. This article reviews methods for estimating multivariate relationships particular to each individual entity and for summarizing these relationships for a number of individuals. Inference to a larger population when the data base is viewed as a sample is also considered.     

The Architecture of Rural Life: The Dangers of Dense Collective Efficacy for At-Risk Girls

Dense ties and acquaintanceship result in small communities that deal with issues on an individual, informal basis. When issues such as sexual assault arise, if a victim is willing to seek services, studies have found that rurality negatively impedes on this process. The current study takes place in a primarily rural state, representing social control mechanisms somewhat different from cityscapes. The project relies heavily on in-depth interviews from incarcerated girls and women, as well as contributions from community actors, to assess collective efficacy in rural communities, influence of gender dynamics, and the impact on at-risk girls. Tracing participants' community roots, the study gathers structural and cultural characteristics of the locale, assessing social control practices as reported by local professionals. Results challenge literature proclaiming solely positive results from high levels of collective efficacy, finding that strong collective efficacy in nonurban areas gathers close insider ties, but “outsiders,” which includes girls identified in this research, are defined quickly and negatively, placing them in significant peril. Policy recommendations include broader cultural shifts coupled with local involvement with school personnel and church-involved patrons serving the needs of families and at-risk girls.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FORGIVENESS SCALE

This paper reports on the development, validity, and reliability of a self-report instrument designed to assess a respondent's perspective of pain resulting from relational violations and work toward relational forgiveness based on framework proposed by Hargrave (1994a). Presented here is the five-stage procedure used in the development of the Interpersonal Relationship Resolution Scale. Construct validity and reliability were determined from an initial sample of 164 subjects. Concurrent validity of the scal was supported by another sample of 35 respondents who took the Interpersonal Relationship Resolution Scal, the Personal Authority in the Family System Questonnaire, the Relational Ethics Scale, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior scale, and the Burns Depression Checklist. Finally, a predictive validity study of the scale was performed with a clinical and nonclinical sample of 98 volunteers. Data are presented that support the validity and reliability of the instrument, as will as the final version of the scale.