Bridging transformational leadership,transparent communication,and employee openness to change: The mediating role of trust

Based on a random sample of employees (n = 439) in the United States, this study examined the effect of transformational leadership and transparent organizational communication on cultivating employee organizational trust during an organizational change event. We also investigated the interplay between transformational leadership, transparent communication, and organizational trust, and their impact on employee openness to change. The findings suggested that transformational leadership and transparent communication were positively associated with employee organizational trust, which in turn, positively influenced employee openness to change. Theoretical and managerial contributions of the study were discussed.     

Explicit Verbal Sexual Consent Communication: Effects of Gender,Relationship Status,and Type of Sexual Behavior

Objectives: College students believe that they are supposed to be explicit and verbal in their sexual consent communication. We examined various contexts to determine when sexual consent is likely to be communicated explicitly and verbally. Method: We surveyed U.S. college students’ (n?=?707) sexual consent communication. Results: We identified contexts when explicit verbal consent cues are less likely—when the person is a woman, when the sexual relationship is casual, and when the sexual behavior is not vaginal-penile intercourse. Conclusions: If sexual consent is contextual, that means communicating consent should not ever be taken for granted.     

Trends in point-of-sale tobacco marketing around college campuses: Opportunities for enhanced tobacco control efforts

Objective: Colleges have implemented policies to limit tobacco use on-campus; however, the off-campus environment is often overlooked in tobacco control efforts. We assessed availability, marketing, and promotion of cigarettes, snus, and traditional smokeless tobacco (SLT) in a sample of communities surrounding 11 college campuses in North Carolina and Virginia. Participants: Between January-March of 2011, 2012 and 2013, 481 tobacco-selling retailers, including convenience stores, pharmacies and supermarkets, located near campuses were assessed. Methods: Trained observers completed annual point-of-sale assessments. Results: The percentage of stores selling (81.4% to 58.6%; p < .0001) and advertising snus (80.1% to 53.11%; p < .0001) significantly decreased over time. Convenience stores increased promotions of cigarettes (65.4% to 72.8%; p = 0.04) and SLT (3.1% to 23.3%; p = 0.02). Conclusions: Off-campus environments have abundant tobacco availability and marketing. Colleges should collaborate with state and local tobacco control advocates to address tobacco promotion near campuses to potentially decrease product appeal and access among young adults.     

Re‐Writing Corporate Environmentalism: Ecofeminism,Corporeality and the Language of Feeling

For ecofeminism, the rationalist and instrumentalist responses of most corporations to multiple ecological crises are characteristic of a ‘logic of patriarchy’ based on interrelated and cross‐cutting dualisms that support the subordination of nature and other oppressed groups. Dualisms such as culture/nature, reason/body justify corporate denial or appropriation of the feminine, the maternal and nature. Combining ecofeminist philosophy and the work of Helene Cixous, the paper suggests that a subversive approach utilizing embodied, poetic writing could begin to move corporations, and those who work with and in them, to value feeling and organic embeddedness and encourage a more ecocentric engagement with the world.     

Are Codes of Ethics Promoting Religious Literacy for Social Work Practice?

ABSTRACT

As codes of ethics play at least a symbolic, if not educational, role in highlighting and informing professional priorities, 16 codes of ethics for social work practice were examined for references to religion and belief and analysed against the four domains of Dinham’s religious literacy framework. Although religion and belief are mentioned in all but two of the documents, approximately half the surveyed codes only mention religion and belief in respect of either knowledge or skills. Some recognise the need for social workers to be aware of their own biases, but few recognise the need to explain what is meant by religion and belief, despite these terms being in flux. While codes of ethics can contribute to the development of religious literacy among social workers, this requires social workers who already have some religious literacy to actively participate when codes of ethics are being revised.

IMPLICATIONS

• It is an ethical imperative that social workers are able to engage with religion and belief.

• Social workers require religious literacy, including skills and knowledge of different religions, recognition of the fluidity of the concepts, “religion” and “belief”, and understanding one’s own attitudes towards religion.

• Codes of ethics can contribute to the development of religious literacy among social workers, but this potential is often not realised as fully as it might be.

     

Comparison of Risk Predicted by Multiple Norovirus Dose–Response Models and Implications for Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment

The application of quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRAs) to understand and mitigate risks associated with norovirus is increasingly common as there is a high frequency of outbreaks worldwide. A key component of QMRA is the dose–response analysis, which is the mathematical characterization of the association between dose and outcome. For Norovirus, multiple dose–response models are available that assume either a disaggregated or an aggregated intake dose. This work reviewed the dose–response models currently used in QMRA, and compared predicted risks from waterborne exposures (recreational and drinking) using all available dose–response models. The results found that the majority of published QMRAs of norovirus use the ₁F₁ hypergeometric dose–response model with α = 0.04, β = 0.055. This dose–response model predicted relatively high risk estimates compared to other dose–response models for doses in the range of 1–1,000 genomic equivalent copies. The difference in predicted risk among dose–response models was largest for small doses, which has implications for drinking water QMRAs where the concentration of norovirus is low. Based on the review, a set of best practices was proposed to encourage the careful consideration and reporting of important assumptions in the selection and use of dose–response models in QMRA of norovirus. Finally, in the absence of one best norovirus dose–response model, multiple models should be used to provide a range of predicted outcomes for probability of infection.     

Is there gender symmetry in intimate partner violence?

‘Gender symmetry’ is one of the most topical and controversial debates in the contemporary domestic violence literature. National survey data, particularly from the USA, has been utilized to support the concept of gender symmetry of violence between intimate partners. Both these statistics and the reliability of the methodologies used to obtain this data have been the focus of fierce criticism in the domestic violence literature. These debates have spread into the general media and now influence social workers' and students' understanding of violence between intimate partners. Recent work, however, has suggested helpful typologies for a better understanding of intimate partner violence (IPV), and research has explored their validity. A comprehensive understanding of the implications of these debates is important for safe social work interventions as assessments and interventions must be based on an accurate understanding of the aetiology, dynamics and consequences of violence between intimate partners. It is important that practitioners are aware of the background to and complexity of these debates and the ongoing work on typologies of violence, as such understanding will enhance assessments and thereby ensure more appropriate social work interventions. This paper traces the debates and outlines the new developments, which can enhance assessments and understanding of IPV.