Parents’ Expectations About Childrearing After Divorce: Does Anticipating Difficulty Deter Divorce?

Divorce is costly for parents because of the challenges of meeting children’s economic and socioemotional needs after separation. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (N= 1,935), we investigate whether expected economic and parenting costs deter divorce. Mothers expect higher economic costs than fathers, whereas fathers expect more parenting difficulties. Most parents, however, expect high economic and parenting costs. In a large minority of families, mothers and fathers differ in their expected costs. Parenting costs deter divorce, but economic costs do not once other family characteristics are controlled. When parents disagree, mothers’ parenting concerns are a greater barrier to divorce than fathers’ concerns. Finally, parenting costs are a greater barrier to divorce for unhappy than happy couples.     

From advocacy to accommodation: A case study of the Orlando Magic's public relations efforts to secure a new arena

A case study of the Orlando Magic NBA franchise was conducted to understand media relations, community relations, and foundation efforts in support of a new or renovated arena, examining how either accommodation or advocacy was used when the franchise was in direct conflict with one (or many) of its publics. The contingency theory of accommodation in public relations served as the framework for understanding the franchises efforts. Over the time frame covered by the study, the organization was found to move along the continuum from advocacy to accommodation in its public relations efforts regarding the arena issue.     

Influence of responsiveness,accessibility, and professionalism on journalists’ perceptions of Southwest Airlines public relations

This longitudinal study presents the results of three biennial surveys of key national journalists who routinely report on Southwest Airlines, a company widely recognized for its extraordinary public relations efforts. Synthesizing data garnered through relationship, utility, and perception scales as well as robust open-ended responses, the results support and advance media relations best practices. Ultimately, data confirm that practitioner responsiveness and accessibility to reporters are the keys to ensuring that journalists maintain positive perceptions of Southwest Airlines’ public relations. The results provide an instructive case study and recommendations to corporate public relations practitioners for cultivating favorable media relationships through a commitment to dialogic communication principles.     

Community water system privatization and the water access crisis

One of the most pressing challenges faced by the global community in the 21st century is the need to extend potable water access to more than 2 billion people across the planet. Debates concerning how such a project should be undertaken have centered on whether or not water utility systems would be more effectively managed and extended under private ownership than they might be under public ownership models. In this article I explore this issue, providing an overview of recent research concerning the ways in which community water system ownership regimes succeed, and fail, in their attempts to provide access to readily available potable water for as much of the population as is possible. In the course of doing so I provide a discussion of the form that debates over privatization of water resources have taken, as well as how the act of privatization has been found to impact access to water systems and the quality of the service they provide. Ultimately, I explain that, while creative solutions to the water access crisis are clearly necessary, privatization appears to be an inadequate and often counterproductive means of addressing the issue.     

The efficacy of educational movies on AIDS knowledge and attitudes among college students

University students from five classes were randomly assigned to seeing either a movie on AIDS or a movie on first aid. Six weeks later, both groups of students filled out a questionnaire measuring their knowledge of AIDS, attitudes toward AIDS, and attitudes toward homosexuals. In general, the differences between the two groups on the knowledge and attitudes measures were slight. In particular, there was little effect on social attitudes. The showing of one educational movie on AIDS (particularly the movie that was used in this experiment) appears to be insufficient to educate students on this issue.     

Understanding Local Participation Amidst Challenges: Evidence from Lebanon in the Global South

Scholars frame local participation as a continuum of tools, processes, and values, with outcomes primarily serving implementers or beneficiaries. Donors have adopted participation in their policies and are asking local partners in the Global South to implement participation in their work on the ground. Development management practitioners in the Global South have unique understanding and practice of local participation. This article analyzes the status of local participation in Lebanon using recent empirical data. We address Lebanese DM practitioners’ perceptions of participation. They relate that participation is used in a limited way, as a tool at best. We also identify some of the underlying conditions: weak readiness and understanding; lack of coordinated efforts; and rhetorical use of the participation paradigm. The form of participation changes as these conditions change. We recommend modest expectations of citizen participation, investing efforts to develop organizational readiness, enhance cross-sector coordination, and secure more serious donor engagement.     

Some results from asian population growth studies

Abstract Coverage estimates of births and deaths derived from the matching experience of a relatively comprehensive group of studies conducted in Asia and employing dual collection systems are resented and analysed. Major conclusions based on these Asian studies include: (1) coverage of live births has generally been more complete than that for deaths; (2) nevertheless, unadjusted rates of natural increase tend to be underestimates; (3) there is great variability within each type of collection system in the coverage rates observed; and (4) one-time household surveys, as a group, seem to be particularly subject to underreporting of vital events.     

Determinants of Variation in State Concealed Carry Laws, 1970–2016

Why do some U.S. states have more permissive concealed carry weapons (CCW) laws than other states? To answer this question, this study tests several plausible social, political, and economic factors thought to affect the likelihood of this outcome over several decades. Models estimated using random‐effects ordered logistic regression reveal that theoretical accounts based on partisan politics, gendered politics, economic threat, and racial threat largely explain variation in CCW laws over time. Tests for interactions, however, reveal that the influence of gubernatorial politics varies according to Republican strength in the legislature and by region. Also, the impact of racial threat on CCW laws is dependent on the crime rate. Overall, this research advances the literature by simultaneously assessing all plausible state‐level CCW policies, incorporating novel threat and political predictors, and utilizing a larger sample size than prior studies.