Soziale Beeinflussung in Mikronetzwerken am Beispiel der Erhebung von Markenpräferenzen mit dem „Tischmodell“

Brand preferences in a homogeneous student milieu are analyzed in order to model how social influence affects people’s views and opinions. In this study the individual person is not considered as unit of analysis, but rather the people eating together at a table in a canteen. In classical surveys the opinions of the respondents should be independent from one another. In contrast to standard surveys the study presented here explicitly aims to examine the influence of a micro network on the attitudes of the constituent actors. To measure this effect an overall degree of conformity is calculated based on all table communities. Simulations are used to estimate the influence of the relations constituting the table community on the agreement of brand preferences among the table companions. Similar to the well-known bootstrapping procedure, the respondents are randomly grouped into table communities, where the distribution of group sizes matches the observed distribution for every resampling. By controlling for the socio-demographic structure of the table communities it is possible to estimate the effect of the micro-networks on the agreement of brand preferences. It turns out that the relevance of the “network effect” remains, even if the distribution of socio-demographic factors such as age, gender and field of study were held constant within the table communities. The presented “table model” can be applied to many problems.     

The Emerging Consciousness of Japanese Voluntarism

Abstract  This paper examines Japanese voluntarism from a historical perspective, through which it can be seen that it is not volunteerism and volunteer activity per se which is emerging in contemporary Japanese society, but instead an emerging consciousness of volunteerism and an associated emerging terminology of volunteerism. This emerging consciousness is in part a function of social evolution, and in part due to an administrative generated movement to generate a volunteer spirit in Japan, the borantiu-katsudo movement. This emerging consciousness has on the one hand benefitted existing categories of volunteerism by increasing their visibility and expanding their dimensional character and relevance. On the other hand, this emerging consciousness has also generated some unforeseen forms of contemporary volunteerism.     

Developing the Fearless School Counselor Ally and Advocate for LGBTQIQ Youth: Strategies for Preparation Programs

To better serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and questioning (LGBTQIQ) youth population, counselor educators can assist school counselors-in-training in developing advocacy competencies within their training programs. A focus on advocacy competencies outlined by the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) standards, and infusion of techniques throughout the education process, may increase levels of comfort for neophyte school counselors-in-training when working with LGBTQIQ youth. To increase efficacy in this multicultural population, myriad environments representative of the systemic nature of the school environment and culture must be examined and explored through training processes. These authors discuss intervention strategies for counselor educators to develop future school counselor advocacy, which align with the ACA advocacy competency domain areas.     

Social Welfare Related Volunteer Activity: Relevance, Definition and Reality in Rural Japan

Abstract  This paper examines three aspects of sustained social welfare volunteer activity in a rural setting: relevance, definition and reality. Volunteer activity is relevant to social welfare needs resolution in contemporary Japan. Survey results indicate that Hirosaki city residents ascribe secondary, or supplementary welfare resolution expectation to regional society. Given the factors of urbanization, increased mobility, weakening of the traditional family, and instability in the post-bubble economy, the volunteer organization becomes one representative form of this regional society. Hirosaki residents appear to have a fairly clear definition of what constitutes volunteer activity. This definition reflects volunteer activity motivation, characteristics of the volunteer activity itself, and aspects pertaining to volunteer activity's social role. Finally, the reality of volunteer activity as found in the Hirosaki city survey data is that it is highly dependent on maintenance of human relations, possibly at the expense of direct social welfare directed activity. Furthermore, the present reality of Japanese volunteerism is that its success ultimately depends on administrative support, support which is lacking in the Hirosaki case.
These results are based on a survey investigation comprised of a citizen survey, an active welfare volunteer survey, and a social welfare related volunteer organization survey conducted in Hirosaki city. Aomori prefecture in 1994.     

Local Identity, Cultural Commodities, and Development in Rural Japan: The Potential as Viewed by Cultural Producers and Local Residents

Abstract:  This paper considers the development potential of rural and highly peripheral areas of Japan, focusing on local factors of development, together with local identity and cultural commodities, as these are incorporated into what has been called the culture economy. Based on a survey of informed local residents and another of local cultural commodities producers, the paper alludes to what constitutes a culture economy for rural settings and identifies several key aspects related to the process of such a cultural commodities-based approach to development. While confirming the importance of identity and cultural commodities in the local development profile of rural settings, the paper sets the groundwork for further research concerning the complex process for how such development can be achieved. The main themes identified for further research include both the nature and role of residents' solidarity together with the combinative nature of government support and local entrepreneurship in the local culture economy on the one hand, and the character of the advertising and media representation by which cultural commodities are created and maintained on the other.     

Addressing Concerns with Lesbian Couples Experiencing Fertility Treatment: Using Relational Cultural Theory

Legal changes and increasing research surrounding the positive influence of lesbian parenting have spurred a resulting increase in lesbian couples pursuing parenting through various fertility measures. Increasing counselors' multicultural competence regarding the experiences unique to the lesbian population with fertility will strengthen the counseling process when working with lesbian couples interested in adding children to their family. Through the lens of relational cultural theory, this article uses the constructs of mutuality, empathy, and reciprocity to provide counseling implications for work with lesbian couples during the decision making and stressful process of fertility treatment, while focusing on strengthening the relationship.     

Role of Local Newspaper Media in Generating a Citizen Volunteer Consciousness

The present paper explores the role of the local media, in the form of a prefectural–level newspaper, in relation to local volunteer activity. The local newspaper's potential for generating social knowledge and uniting resident's consciousness about volunteerism and volunteer activity is examined, considering the influence of volunteer organization leaders on media and public volunteer–related agendas. The data presented appear to point to a role for the local newspaper in generating a positive volunteer consciousness, which is latent at present. The results suggest that while volunteer organization leadership is active in contacting the media, they appear to be less careful in establishing or policing the message they would have the media deliver. The present paper concludes by proposing that for Japanese volunteer organizations to better use the media in creating positive volunteer consciousness in their communities, they must work to establish their own media agenda and use both indirect means (through traditional media) and direct means (through direct public relations campaigns), to get that message to local residents.     

Reconstruction of decision-making behavior in shareholder and stakeholder theory: implications for management accounting systems

This paper focuses on two interrelated research questions. First, an analysis of managerial decision-making is incorporated into shareholder and stakeholder theory. Secondly, the paper investigates what consequences result for management accounting from inherent conceptions of managerial decision-making behavior. These research questions are based on assumptions of complex interrelationships among decision-making managers, management accountants, and techniques they employ. The findings of this research support that tenets of management accounting systems correspond best with shareholder theory. In doing so they apply financial measures, pursue the goal of profit maximization, and focus on decision-making behavior resulting from the agency relationship between shareholder and manager. Stakeholder theory, however, is fundamentally different from shareholder theory in terms of goals, management philosophy, relationships, behavioral assumptions etc. For these reasons differences with respect to managerial decision-making behavior are reasonable and different requirements related to management accounting systems appear appropriate.     

Be a winner: Arkansas' approach to involving law enforcement officers in drug education

This paper describes a project which is a joint venture of the Northwest Arkansas Police Institute and the Program in Health Sciences at the University of Arkansas. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Drug Free Schools and Communities Act, the focus of the project has been the development of an innovative drug education program which brings uniformed law enforcement officers into the elementary school classroom. The officers lead an eight week instructional program at the fifth or sixth grade levels using our Be A Winner curriculum.