A model for predicting dating violence: anxious attachment, angry temperament, and need for relationship control

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a model incorporating anxious attachment, angry temperament, and attempts to control one's partner as predictors of the severity and frequency of dating violence. To date, these concepts have not been clearly established as having direct or indirect effects on dating violence. It was hypothesized that anxious attachment and angry temperament would influence the need for and attempts to control one's partner which, in turn, would predict a person's actual use of force. College students (213 males; 199 females) completed measures assessing these constructs. Cross-validation was accomplished through using two successive freshmen samples. Statistics indicated the application of the model fit well to both samples. All specified paths were significant except for the direct path from anxious attachment to need for control in the second sample. While exploratory, this model seemed satisfactory for explaining potentially causal relationships of attachment, anger, and attempts to control one's partner leading to dating violence.     

Risk Communication in The Netherlands: The Monitored Introduction of the EC "Post-Seveso" Directive

Implementation of article 8.1 of the EC-"Seveso" Directive (82/501/EC) is now under way in many countries in Europe. In The Netherlands, the implementation of the Directive started with a carefully monitored introduction of active information provision at two sites (Dordrecht and Elst). This introduction was supported by a multidisciplinary research group. This group helped to develop the risk communication program and also played a role in the evaluation of the program. This paper describes these processes and their evaluation. We will focus on the design of the risk communication programs and the effects of the programs on knowledge and attitudes of the local target groups. This effort and its results clearly started an institutional learning process involving governmental bodies at several organizational levels (local, regional, and national), and industrial organizations (individual firms and organizations of industries). Monitoring the design, the implementation, and the effects of active information provision proves an effective means to gain experience with the implementation of the Seveso Directive and could help to facilitate further implementation.     

Innovation in education: Technological economics

Technological change and innovation are vital parts of the economy. This paper concerns one particular attempt to study both the process of innovation itself and possible means of increasing its effectiveness: Technological Economics. Barriers to innovation, intellectual and organizational, are described from the experience at the University of Stirling.     

Justifiability, sympathy level, and internal/external locus of the reasons battered women remain in abusive relationships

Reasons why battered women remain in abusive relationships were rated by college students as to the degree of sympathy the reasons engendered, the degree to which the reasons seemed to justify the woman remaining, and whether the reasons appeared more within the woman's control (internal) or imposed upon her (external). Four clusters of reasons emerged that varied on the sympathy and justifiability ratings: Physical Restraint/Lack of Resources; Maintenance of the Relationship; Personal Deficits; and Loss of Resources. Sympathy for the individual reasons was correlated with viewing these reasons as more justifiable for keeping her in the relationship. Both sympathy and justifiability ratings were higher if the reasons were seen as externally imposed on the woman. The more the participants viewed the battered woman as possessing socially desirable traits, the more they had sympathy for the reasons she stayed and viewed them as justifiable. Gender and ethnicity differences on the ratings were also found. Implications for future research and application of the findings are discussed.