Some things in life can’t be ‘Googled:’ A narrative synthesis of three key questions in outdoor education.

In countries worldwide, Outdoor Education (OE) offers rich possibilities for learning. OE has been researched for many decades; however the field lacks an integrating framework for its different historical, geographical and disciplinary conceptualisations. The outcomes of OE programmes are well documented and appear diverse, yet also have common attributes suggesting there is scope for unifying approaches. Although substantive barriers to the conduct of OE programmes have been identified, these have seldom been synthesised. This paper offers a narrative review of the literature addressing three key questions designed to look rearward at where OE has come from: (i) how is OE conceptualised, and what theoretical models have been used in OE? (ii) what evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of OE programmes? (iii) what are the barriers to conducting OE programmes? The paper then advances onward with an integrated framework for reconceptualising OE and providing insights into how the field may be strengthened and augmented.20124     

Is a “Christian America” a More Patriarchal America? Religion,Politics, and Traditionalist Gender Ideology

Recent research shows that Americans who adhere to Christian nationalism—an ideology that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity and American civic life—tend to hold authoritarian and exclusionary attitudes, particularly regarding ethno‐racial minorities and nontraditional family forms. Such findings suggest a fundamental connection between Christian nationalism and rigid symbolic boundaries, which would likely extend to Americans’ understanding of gender roles. Drawing on notions connecting religious nationalism with defenses of patriarchal norms and utilizing a recent national, random sample of American adults, the current study examines the link between contemporary Christian nationalism and traditionalist gender ideologies. Our analyses reveal that Christian nationalism is the strongest predictor of holding a more traditionalist gender ideology, even after taking into account a host of political and religious characteristics. Moreover, the relationship between Christian nationalism and gender traditionalism holds across religious traditions, including more gender‐egalitarian groups like Mainline Protestants and even the unaffiliated. We conclude by highlighting the implications of these findings for understanding contemporary populist support for Donald Trump, which previous studies have shown is undergirded by both Christian nationalism and sexism.     

Assessing policy success and failure: targets,aims and processes

Assessing policy success and failure is a significant challenge. This article seeks to address this by utilizing two case studies of legislation from the United Kingdom Parliament, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the Academies Act 2010, so as to develop a nuanced understanding of how and in what ways policies have been successful, or otherwise. Drawing on these two case studies, and the work of a variety of authors, the article illustrates the complex nature of the challenge, but suggests that by identifying “targets”, “aims” and “processes” it is possible to make reasonable judgements about the relative success of a policy. It concludes that this framework therefore has considerable potential utility.     

Attitudinal support for violence against women: What a population‐level survey of the Australian community can and cannot tell us

Violence against women (VAW) is a serious and prevalent problem globally. Societal‐level norms, practices and structures are among the factors contributing to it, sometimes referred to collectively as representing “cultures of support” for VAW. Understanding factors contributing to these cultures is important for prevention, but remains the subject of debate. Population‐level surveys of attitudes toward VAW are one means to strengthen this understanding. Although there are a number of such surveys internationally, scholarly research based on secondary analysis of data, at least from surveys in high‐income countries, is scant. This article reports on new analyses of the Australian National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women survey to explore its potential to further empirical and conceptual understanding of cultures of support for VAW. To facilitate this, a scale to measure attitudes toward VAW was developed post hoc from the survey (the Violence Supportive Attitudes, or VSA‐18, Scale). Subsequent analyses investigate the relationship between this scale and relevant demographic factors and a measure of attitudinal support for gender equality (GE). The GE measure, place of birth, employment and occupation, generation, education and sex contribute to variance in the VSA‐18 Scale. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical debates and directions for future research.     

Unmet needs in self-directed HCBS programs

ABSTRACT

Unmet need for long-term services and supports has been linked to a variety of harmful health outcomes. One suggested strategy for ameliorating unmet need is to give participants control of a budget and let them construct individualized plans. The evaluation of the Cash and Counseling controlled experiment (CCDE) documented a marked reduction in unmet need when compared to traditional agency-based solutions, but it also showed significant unmet needs remained. This paper reanalyzes 76 case studies from the CCDE to, for the first time gain an understanding of what those unmet needs are, who sees them, and what participants, caregivers and support brokers think might reduce this problem. Using a collective or multiple case study approach to understand this phenomenon, unmet needs were sorted into five categories using real life experiences of respondents. Unmet needs for assistance in managing the employer and budget tasks of self-direction were also captured.This paper discusses situations where the clinician researchers documented needs that were not expressed by the care recipients and provides a picture of where and why unmet needs remain.The paper concludes with strategies for reducing unmet needs and training future social workers.     

Network centralization with the Gil Schmidt power centrality index

Network centralization is a network index that measures the degree of dispersion of all node centrality scores in a network from the maximum centrality score obtained in the network. The Gil Schmidt power centrality index was developed for use in describing the political networks of Mexico, Gil and Schmidt [Gil, J., Schmidt, S., 1996a. The origin of the Mexican network of power. In: International Social Network Conference, Charleston, SC, USA, pp. 22–25; Gil, J., Schmidt, S., 1996b. The political network in Mexico. Social Networks 18, 355–381]. Upper bounds for network centralization, using the Gil Schmidt power centrality index, are derived for networks of fixed order and for when the network is bipartite, such as can arise from two mode data. In each case the networks that have maximum network centralization are described.     

Role strain among working parents: Implications for workplace and community

This study examined work-family interference experienced by working parents in a sample of 1888 employed adults. Role strain was examined using a multidimensional model that included family-related and work-related demands and resources. Multiple regression analyses revealed that having children under the age of six, more demanding jobs, less satisfactory child care arrangements, and less workplace support contributed significantly to higher levels of role strain. Utilization of workplace programs and benefits such as Dependent Care Accounts, Child Care Resource Guides, Parent Information Fairs, and adjusted work schedules did not significantly impact levels of work-family interference. Moreover, work and family resources were not found to have greater benefit for employees with more demanding work and family situations than for those with less demanding situations. These findings demonstrate the limited buffering ability of certain workplace and family resources, and the importance of identifying work-site as well as community-based programs and policies that have the greatest potential to assist working parents and their children. Cette étude éxamine l'intrusion travail-famille d'une expérience vécue de parents qui travaillent parmi un groupe représentatif de 1888 adultes avec emploi. La tension de rôle est éxaminée par le biais d'un modèle multidimensionnel comprenant des éxigences et ressources se rapportant à la famille et au travail. Les analyses de régression multiples démontrent que les attributs suivants contribuent de manière significative à des niveaux plus élevés de tension de rôle: avoir des enfants de moins de six ans, avoir un poste plus éxigeant, des écoles maternelles moins satisfaisantes et moins de soutien dans les lieux de travail. L'utilisation de programmes et des bénéfices de travail comme les comptes de 'Dependent Care' (c'est àdire les comptes accordant aux parents certains avantages fiscaux) des guides de ressources de crêches, des foires de renseignement pour les parents, et des horaires de travail adaptables aux besoins du travailleur, n'affectent pas significativement les niveaux de l'intrusion de travail-famille. En outre, les ressources ayant rapport au travail et à la famille ne se revelent pas plus bénéfiques pour les employés ayant une situation plus éxigeante que pour ceux dont la situation est moins éxigeante. Ces résultats démontrent la capacité protectrice limitée des certaines ressources du lieu de travail et de la famille, ainsi que l'importance d'identifier des programmes et une politique à base communitaire qui aient le potentiel le plus grand d'accorder de l'assistance aux parents qui travaillent et à leurs enfants.     

Ranking Rates of Return to Education: Legitimacy and an Explicit Diagnostic

Rankings of internal rates of return to education have significantly influenced education expenditures within developing countries and lending priorities of multilateral institutions. It is widely suspected, however, that estimated education returns are subject to systematic bias. The direction and magnitude of this bias are hotly contested. This paper demonstrates that in the presence of systematic bias, idiosyncratic properties of the internal-rate-of-return mapping may cause a ranking reversal. An explicit analytical test of return-ranking legitimacy is developed and applied to select African and Asian countries.     

Managing Risks in Multiple Online Auctions: An Options Approach*

The scenario of established business sellers utilizing online auction markets to reach consumers and sell new products is becoming increasingly common. We propose a class of risk management tools, loosely based on the concept of financial options that can be employed by such sellers. While conceptually similar to options in financial markets, we empirically demonstrate that option instruments within auction markets cannot be developed employing similar methodologies, because the fundamental tenets of extant option pricing models do not hold within online auction markets. We provide a framework to analyze the value proposition of options to potential sellers, option‐holder behavior implications on auction processes, and seller strategies to write and price options that maximize potential revenues. We then develop an approach that enables a seller to assess the demand for options under different option price and volume scenarios. We compare option prices derived from our approach with those derived from the Black‐Scholes model ( Black & Scholes, 1973 ) and discuss the implications of the price differences. Experiments based on actual auction data suggest that options can provide significant benefits under a variety of option‐holder behavioral patterns.