Studying and Measuring Civility: A Framework, Trends and Scale

Four essential questions for the study of civility involve developing a definition of the term, determining its effects, establishing trends, and predicting the consequences of civility. A framework for studying it includes the actors, their gender, situations and settings, occupational role requirements, the cultural imperatives defining civility, and the processes through which it is learned. Objective measures of civility in the United States show its variability and change. Four items in the 1996 General Social Survey (GSS) are combined to form a scale of civility. Correlates of the scale show that civility does not differ by gender, color, or region. It is weakly associated with income but is significantly associated with education, occupation, and health. Age, education, and health provide a predictive model of civility. Anger, an emotional aspect of interpersonal exchange, reveals reactions characteristic of civil behavior: waiting for anger to pass before responding, trying to forget the incident, not thinking of revenge, not walking away from the situation, and not yelling or hitting. Hypotheses are proposed for further study that involves age, marital status, occupation, health, and emotional control.     

The use of GIS in informal settlement upgrading: its role and impact on the community and on local government

The Urban Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Group within the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town has been coordinating a pilot informal settlement upgrading in Cape Town since 1998. The project objective has been the evolution of a model-based approach to informal settlement upgrading that is both structured and replicable. It was felt that the only way this could be achieved was through the use of a spatial data management system operated through a GIS system. The spatial database has been used for all facets of data collection and data process and forms the basis for all decision-making. Thus it covers all physical data pertaining to the site, cadastral and shack data, demographic and socio-economic data (with an in-depth review of every household) economic opportunities and physical planning and design data. The result is a comprehensive, integrated, settlement upgrading methodology that is built upon a GIS-based spatial data management framework. Such a framework is seen as the basic building block for large-scale informal settlement upgrading.     

Improving Weight of Evidence Approaches to Chemical Evaluations

Federal and other regulatory agencies often use or claim to use a weight of evidence (WoE) approach in chemical evaluation. Their approaches to the use of WoE, however, differ significantly, rely heavily on subjective professional judgment, and merit improvement. We review uses of WoE approaches in key articles in the peer‐reviewed scientific literature, and find significant variations. We find that a hypothesis‐based WoE approach, developed by Lorenz Rhomberg et al., can provide a stronger scientific basis for chemical assessment while improving transparency and preserving the appropriate scope of professional judgment. Their approach, while still evolving, relies on the explicit specification of the hypothesized basis for using the information at hand to infer the ability of an agent to cause human health impacts or, more broadly, affect other endpoints of concern. We describe and endorse such a hypothesis‐based WoE approach to chemical evaluation.     

A Route to Safety: Using Bus Boarding Data to Identify Roles for Transport Providers within Contextual Safeguarding Systems

During adolescence, risk to young people's safety shifts from familial to community contexts. Contextual safeguarding has emerged in response to this dynamic; by providing a conceptual framework through which to incorporate extra‐familial contexts (and those who manage them) into traditionally family focused child protection systems. This paper uses Geographic Information System mapping techniques to explore the extent to which bus boarding data could be used to: target protective interventions in public spaces; evidence routes where young people may be vulnerable; and build local area problem profiles. In doing so it provides foundational evidence for including transport providers in contextual safeguarding systems.     

‘It's afforded us a huge flexibility’: the impact of ‘Disabled Children's Access to Childcare Pilots’ on families with a disabled child in England

For many parents of disabled children, finding affordable and suitable childcare that meets their needs is very challenging. Research in the UK has shown that parents with disabled children experience barriers not just with cost, but also accessibility, the attitudes of childcare providers and in getting good information about sources of childcare. The Disabled Children's Access to Childcare (DCATCH) pilots was an initiative designed to improve access to childcare for disabled children in England. As part of an evaluation of DCATCH, qualitative interviews were carried out with 38 members of 22 families who had received support from the initiative. All of the families reported positive outcomes and highlighted: a beneficial impact on the parents' capacity to work; enjoyable experiences for the disabled child; increased confidence and independence for both parents and children; and the creation of time for parents to pursue other activities. The results of the DCATCH initiative support other research which argues that whilst cost is a significant factor around childcare choices for families with a disabled child, having confidence in the childcare provider's ability to meet specific needs (including complex health care needs) and providing positive experiences for the disabled child are also key, determining factors.     

Opportunities for woman-initiated HIV prevention methods among female sex workers in southern China

Rapid changes in China over the past two decades have led to significant problems associated with population migration and changing social attitudes, including a growing sex industry and concurrent increases in STIs and HIV. This article reports results of an exploratory study of microbicide acceptability and readiness and current HIV prevention efforts among female sex workers in two rural and one urban town in Hainan and Guangxi Provinces in southern China. The study focused on these women's knowledge and cultural understandings of options for protecting themselves from exposure to STIs and HIV, and the potential viability and acceptability of woman-initiated prevention methods. We report on ethnographic elicitation interviews conducted with women working within informal sex-work establishments (hotels, massage and beauty parlors, roadside restaurants, boarding houses). We discuss implications of these findings for further promotion of woman-initiated prevention methods such as microbicides and female condoms among female sex workers in China.     

Associations Between Romantic Relationship Factors and Body Mass Index Among Weight Loss Surgery Patients

The current study utilized a sample of 183 patients, in romantic relationships, who were either pre‐ or post‐weight loss surgery (WLS), to assess (a) associations between romantic relationship factors and pre‐ and post‐surgery body mass index (BMI), (b) the positive and negative influences of obesity in romantic relationships, and (c) the influence of romantic relationship factors on BMI and the reciprocal. Correlations, confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple linear regression were conducted. Patients endorsed greater negative influence of obesity in their romantic relationships compared to positive influences, and their romantic relationship quality was predicted by several variables, including BMI, in pre‐ and post‐surgery patient groups.     

The Effects of Pop-up Harm Minimisation Messages on Electronic Gaming Machine Gambling Behaviour in New Zealand

In New Zealand a simple pop-up message feature that provides gambling session information and forces a break in play is mandatory on all electronic gaming machines in all venues (EGMs). Previous research has demonstrated small effects of more sophisticated pop-up messages tested predominantly in laboratory environments. The present research examined gambler engagement with and views on the New Zealand pop-up messages and on the relationship between pop-up messages and EGM expenditure. A sample of gamblers was recruited at casino and non-casino (pub) EGM venues. Most participants were aware of pop-up messages (57 %) and many saw them often (38 %). Among gamblers who reported seeing pop-up messages, half read the message content, and a quarter believed that pop-up messages helped them control the amount of money they spend on gambling. Participants who reported being likely to stop gambling in response to pop-up messages spent significantly less money on gambling when variables that were independently associated with EGM expenditure were controlled for. A modest harm minimisation effect of the pop-up message feature that has been operating in New Zealand for 5 years was evident. Suggestions for improvement of the harm minimisation potential of the current pop-up message feature are discussed.     

Keeley's journey: From service user to service provider

Background: This paper presents the vocational journey of a young British woman, Keeley, who changed her career aspirations to become a mental health worker following an episode of significant mental health difficulties. Keeley's story illustrates the application of the locally developed WORKS framework in conceptualising and supporting Keeley's vocational recovery. Approach: A narrative approach highlights the partnerships that developed between Keeley, the Occupational Therapist, Sally, and the User Support and Employment Service. Findings: The WORKS framework supported Keeley and Sally to collaboratively develop a successful employment pathway. Strategies, including attention to Keeley's view of her capabilities and aspirations, volunteer placements, support of peers, employer engagement and planning for sustainable employment, assisted Keeley to establish her chosen career. Keeley's journey highlights the leadership role that mental health services can assume by providing paid work for people with experience of mental health difficulties.     

Selections from Sinet – the Social Indicators Network News

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