Towards flexible organizations: A multidimensional design

The author considers one way by which the readiness, willingness, and ability of organizations to change themselves can be increased. Specifically, he considers how organizations can be designed to be more flexible and, therefore, more capable of being changed and changing themselves. Flexibility does not guarantee adaptability but it is essential for it.     

Female and male undergraduates' attributions for sexual offending against children

This study examined gender differences in undergraduates' attributions for child sex offending. One hundred and sixty-four undergraduates were asked to give the reasons why they think men sexually offend against children and to rate them using Benson's Attributional Scale across four dimensions: stability, locus, controllability and globality. A Grounded Theory methodology was applied to these reasons and a set of nine categories derived from the data. The results showed that undergraduates' reasons for child sexual abuse strongly parallel contemporary scientific theories of abuse, and that there were significant gender differences in the frequency with which participants cited various types of reasons given for sexual abuse. Females endorsed significantly more victim reasons than males, and also more power and control reasons than did males. In contrast, males endorsed significantly more sexual reasons for offending than did females. Furthermore, significant gender differences were found between the ways in which participants construed the reasons for sexual abuse, with females seeing the phenomenon as significantly more stable and internal than males. No significant gender differences were found on the dimensions of controllability and globality.     

Focusing innovative effort through a convergent dialogue

This is the first of three articles on Planning for Technological Innovation by Peter Ward (the second and third articles will be published in future issues of the Journal). Appropriate innovation, in products, processes and management, is a means by which industry adapts to a changing environment. Adaptive or dynamic planning at the corporate level serves to foster and direct the necessary effort, as does organic planning in a wider context. The methods described are based on practical experience in industry and consulting work.     

Sensitivity and Uncertainty Studies of the CRAC2 Computer Code

We have studied the sensitivity of health impacts from nuclear reactor accidents, as predicted by the CRAC2 computer code, to the following sources of uncertainty: (1) the model for plume rise, (2) the model for wet deposition, (3) the meteorological bin-sampling procedure for selecting weather sequences with rain, (4) the dose conversion factors for inhalation as affected by uncertainties in the particle size of the carrier aerosol and the clearance rates of radionuclides from the respiratory tract, (5) the weathering half-time for external ground-surface exposure, and (6) the transfer coefficients for terrestrial foodchain pathways. Predicted health impacts usually showed little sensitivity to use of an alternative plume-rise model or a modified rain-bin structure in bin-sampling. Health impacts often were quite sensitive to use of an alternative wet-deposition model in single-trial runs with rain during plume passage, but were less sensitive to the model in bin-sampling runs. Uncertainties in the inhalation dose conversion factors had important effects on early injuries in single-trial runs. Latent cancer fatalities were moderately sensitive to uncertainties in the weathering half-time for ground-surface exposure, but showed little sensitivity to the transfer coefficients for terrestrial foodchain pathways. Sensitivities of CRAC2 predictions to uncertainties in the models and parameters also depended on the magnitude of the source term, and some of the effects on early health effects were comparable to those that were due only to selection of different sets of weather sequences in bin-sampling.     

FEAR OF CRIME AMONG THE ELDERLY AS PERSON/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION*

Despite lower victimization, older people express greater fear of crime. The causes and consequences of such fear are investigated for a 1980 sample of 1,185 persons aged 60+. Fear of crime is a response to both personal vulnerability and locational cues. Fear reduces subjective well-being, but has little relation to activity patterns. While social resources have little bearing on fear of crime and its consequences, variations by sex and personal competence are apparent. These reflect the role of coping resources and environmental docility.     

A New Kind of AIDS: Adapting to the Success of Protease Inhibitors in an AIDS Care Organization

Using a case study analysis of Heath House, a Santa Barbara residential care facility for People Living With HIV/AIDS, this paper examines the effects of protease inhibitors on the life of an AIDS care organization. The case of Heath House reveals that when care providers are committed to static conceptualizations of an epidemic and its victims, and have defined the value of their work in relationship to these conceptualizations, new technologies threaten organizational identity and stability. While prior research on goal displacement has emphasized the process by which an organization's members lose sight of their original goals to achieve greater efficiency or legitimacy, this study offers an example of the process by which members adhere to original goals and ideologies, even when change becomes necessary for organizational survival. This article examines tensions between residents and staff at Heath House that occurred when the very institutional culture that allowed it to thrive became anachronistic as AIDS changed. I explore problems of internal dissent and external problems of legitimacy.     

Unwanted sexual contact on campus: a comparison of women's and men's experiences

While sexual victimization continues to be a problem on college campuses, recent attention has been drawn to understanding gender differences in victimization rates and consequences. To date, these studies remain relatively few in number. The current study surveyed 651 male and female undergraduate students about unwanted sexual experiences during 1 academic year. Comparison of men and women revealed expected differences in incidence rates, with women reporting higher rates of unwanted contact. Within the subsample of reported victims, however, there was gender similarity in terms of the context of unwanted sexual experiences. Analyses also revealed the negative consequences of these experiences for both men and women and low rates of disclosure regardless of gender. Across the full sample of students surveyed, there were interesting gender differences in knowledge of campus support services, with women more likely to have attended a prevention program and to have indicated greater knowledge of rape crisis services.     

Emerging strategies for reducing racial disproportionality and disparate outcomes in child welfare: the results of a national breakthrough series collaborative

Racial disproportionality in child welfare has been discussed as a seemingly intractable challenge with complex contributing factors. Some argue that these dynamics are far too difficult to be significantly impacted by public child welfare systems alone. The Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) methodology, incorporating an analysis of structural racism and potential system bias, was proffered as a tool for engaging public child welfare agencies in a rapid, action-oriented process for identifying innovative strategies and practices to reduce racial disproportionality and disparate outcomes. This article describes the Disproportionality BSC process, as well as the work of participating jurisdictions with respect to transforming organizational culture and testing/implementing child welfare practice improvements. A theory of change is presented and critical lessons learned are shared in the form of collaborative reflections.