Journalists as first responders

ABSTRACT

Covering terrorist attacks has posed numerous challenges to mainstream media across the world. Bringing information to the public quickly remains a primary goal for news media, but the journalistic duty to tell the truth comes with an increased responsibility for the accuracy of reports. When news is broken by civilian eyewitnesses and is posted by social media before it has even gone through the barest of verification checks, news media editors struggle to fulfil the task of informing the public while reporting on stories that hold the potential to alarm the audience. This paper offers some insights into the ways the New Zealand news media organised reporting on the March 15th terrorist attack in Christchurch. Based on face-to-face interviews with selected editors of major news organisations in New Zealand, it investigates the ways they operated in this situation. It explores key moments in editorial decision making on 15 March 2019, the first day of coverage of the terrorist attack. It focuses on the ‘first responder’ elements of news media work – speed and accuracy in providing information about the mosque attacks – to identify how journalistic norms are adapted and changed to report this breaking news.     

An AHP-based evaluation procedure for Innovative Educational Projects: A face-to-face vs. computer-mediated case study

In this paper a procedure to evaluate proposals for Educational Innovation Projects is proposed. This methodology should help the Institute of Educational Sciences of the Politechnical University of Valencia to choose the best Educational Project, the final aim being to provide the Administration with a stringent evaluation methodology, since the current evaluation methodology was found to be neither sufficiently objective nor systematic.     

Chemical Sensitivity in the Workplace

Abstract

The debate continues to rage in the medical community and amongst policy makers. This debate centers on a new disease mechanism commonly known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Magill and Suruda (1998) grouped the theories of etiology of MCS into four broad categories: physical, stress, misdiagnosis, and illness belief. A new name for this illness has recently been advanced as well, toxin-induced loss of tolerance (TILT). Problems with chemical sensitivity are especially troubling for workers and their employers. Employees seeking relief under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) are requesting accommodations based on their reactions to chemicals. Employers are beset with claims for accommodations in the workplace, disability claims, and worker's compensation claims. Courts are trying to make sense of chemical sensitivity with respect to accommodations in the workplace. Court decisions regarding MCS issues are varied and oftentimes highly controversial. Primary social problems and mental health issues associated with chemical sensitivities are economic costs and loss of enjoyment of life by MCS sufferers. Economic costs are spread throughout the system; however, their major manifestations are lost worker production, increased demands on services, and the long-term costs associated with supporting a growing disabled subset of the population comprised of chemically injured workers. Social and mental health costs are seen in escalating cases of depression, divorces, behavioral acting out, isolation, anxiety attacks, and chronic medical problems.

Social workers are particularly well suited to advocate for accommodations in the workplace and for social policy change on behalf of those suffering from chemical sensitivity. Their training in systems and ecosystems theory makes them well aware of the importance of the environment on the individual. That training includes knowledge of utilizing strengths based approach to problem solving, and clinical training in mental health, which leads to empowerment for the client.     

Older Lesbian and Gay People:

Using a theoretical model of lesbian and gay identity formation, this paper examines the complex relationships between families and older gay and lesbian adults as a way to better understand the extensive variations individuals have in their relationships with themselves, presentation of self, relationships with others and their behaviors. Three potential styles of lesbian and gay identity formation are described in order to highlight the structures and dynamics involved in issues for gay and lesbian elders and their families. It is argued that by challenging heterosexism and by minimizing homophobia, older lesbian and gay people experience a successful aging process. While individuals w R o are lesbian and gay have great potential to age with a sense of power, ride and fulfillment, so do the families from which they came an those they have created.     

Expert Testimony Influences Juror Decisions in Criminal Trials Involving Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse

We examined the impact of expert witness orientation (researcher or clinical practitioner) and type of testimony (testimony for the prosecution, defense, both prosecution and defense, or no testimony) on mock jurors’ decisions in a sexual abuse trial. Participants acted as mock jurors on a sexual abuse criminal trial based on recovered memory that included expert witness testimony. Results showed that expert witness testimony provided by a researcher did not impact mock jurors’ guilt ratings any differently than the expert witness testimony provided by a clinical practitioner. However, type of testimony had a significant effect on jurors’ guilt ratings such that jurors who read only defense or only prosecution testimony made decisions favoring the relevant side.     

Care Arrangement Choices for Older Widows: Decision Participants' Perspectives

SUMMARY

This research examines how a wide range of care arrangement decisions for frail older women are made. Interviews were conducted with 11 older women (ten of whom are widows), nine of their family members, and six professional service providers. Maintaining the older woman's independence was identified as a major theme. While all decision participants identified it as an explicit or implicit decision-making goal, their meanings of independence were different. The older women's meanings were flexible, changing in response to changes in their physical condition and need for assistance. Adult children tended to identify their mothers as independent when they did not actually need assistance, or when they received help from other sources (e.g., home health care). Professional service providers were inclined to define independence narrowly, as avoiding nursing home placement. Minor themes associated with independence include responsibility, reciprocity, and the family's importance in maintaining independence. These themes help to clarify the complex dynamics that take place during care arrangement decisions and explain how care arrangement choices are made.     

On the Benefit of Inventory‐Based Dynamic Pricing Strategies

We study the optimal pricing and replenishment decisions in an inventory system with a price‐sensitive demand, focusing on the benefit of the inventory‐based dynamic pricing strategy. We find that demand variability impacts the benefit of dynamic pricing not only through the magnitude of the variability but also through its functional form (e.g., whether it is additive, multiplicative, or others). We provide an approach to quantify the profit improvement of dynamic pricing over static pricing without having to solve the dynamic pricing problem. We also demonstrate that dynamic pricing is most effective when it is jointly optimized with inventory replenishment decisions, and that its advantage can be mostly realized by using one or two price changes over a replenishment cycle.     

以弱胜强——当代中国领导人的领导艺术

新中国 50年的道路 ,从领导科学的角度讲 ,是三代国家领导人运用以弱胜强的领导艺术 ,战胜了一个个比自己强大得多的敌人或竞争对手而走过来的。研究其领导活动可以发现 ,他们的成功在战略决策上各有其时代特征 ,在策略方法上特点各异——毛泽东以刚为主 ,刚中有柔 ;邓小平以柔为主 ,柔中有刚 ;江泽民则先柔后刚。但结果是殊途同归 ,都巧妙地应用了以弱胜强的领导艺术。     

论国务院各部委制定部门规章的宪法依据

目前,理论界对依据宪法制定部门规章有不同的解释,其原因是缺乏对宪法原则与原理的深刻认识。因此,人们很有必要明确国务院各部委制定部门规章的宪法依据及其意义、地位。