Risk Perceptions Toward Drinking Water Quality Among Private Well Owners in Ireland: The Illusion of Control

In rural areas where no public or group water schemes exist, groundwater is often the only source of drinking water and is extracted by drilling private wells. Typically, private well owners are responsible for the quality and testing of their own drinking water. Previous studies indicate that well owners tend to underestimate the risks of their well water being contaminated, yet little is known about why this is the case. We conducted a qualitative study by interviewing private well owners in Ireland to investigate their beliefs surrounding their water quality, which, in turn, inform their risk perceptions and their willingness to regularly test their water. Based on our findings we designed a theoretical model arguing that perceived control is central in the perceived contamination risks of well water. More specifically, we argue that well owners have the illusion of being in control over their water quality, which implies that people often perceive themselves to be more in control of a situation than they actually are. As a result, they tend to underestimate contamination risks, which subsequently impact negatively on water testing behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are highlighted.     

Children with profound and multiple learning difficulties: laughter,capability and relating to others

There are numerous ways in which human beings respond to humour: they smile, grin, laugh, giggle or guffaw, and their behaviour might include anything from a glint in the eye to an uncontrollable heaving of the whole body. We consider how laughter is displayed in the lives of four children with profound and multiple learning difficulties and disabilities (PMLD), and reflect on what this reveals about their capabilities and relationships. We look at examples of absurdity and incongruity as elements of humour, and we explore how these create a space for ‘relational commonality’ between people whose differences are many and profound. We suggest that laughter, and involvement in humorous interaction, enables children with PMLD to express themselves, to develop relations with others and to be seen as fully our fellow human beings.     

Travel Demand Management Targeting Reduced Private Car Use: Effectiveness, Public Acceptability and Political Feasibility

The private car is fast, comfortable, and convenient. However, worldwide massive car use causes serious environmental problems. Although breakthroughs in clean automobile technology may be under way, reducing car use seems necessary in order to achieve a sustainable transportation system. Several travel demand management (TDM) measures have therefore been proposed and some have been implemented with this aim. The article reviews research addressing the question of how effective, acceptable to the public, and politically feasible such measures are. The conclusion is that noncoercive TDM measures alone are unlikely to be effective in reducing car use. Therefore, coercive TDM measures such as increasing cost for or prohibiting car use may be necessary but are difficult to implement because of public opposition and political infeasibility. If combined with noncoercive TDM measures providing attractive travel alternatives and communicating the benefits of car-use reduction to the public, coercive TDM measures are likely to become more effective, acceptable, and politically feasible.     

"In search of a tale they can live with": about loss, family secrets, and selective disclosure

Several authors have written about family secrets in the family therapy literature in interesting ways. According to these authors, the questions “who knows the secret?” and “who does not know the secret?” are central. In the present study, we have qualitatively analyzed the documentary film Familiegeheim (Family Secret) by the Dutch director Jaap van Hoewijk. The film shows van Hoewijk’s investigation into the death of his father in 1974 and tells the story of a family in which the suicide of the father is kept secret from the three children. Our analysis of the film highlights the complex ways in which families deal with sensitive issues like loss, grief, and suicide. The concept of family secrets seems to poorly capture this complexity, focusing one‐sidedly on the destructive effects of withholding delicate information. The concept of selective disclosure is proposed as an alternative. Selective disclosure refers to the complex processes involved in dealing with the dialectic tension between sharing information and keeping it secret. The concept is not only focused on the destructiveness of secrecy but, in addition, also makes room for an appreciation of the caution with which family members deal with sensitive family issues.     

Deinstitutionalization reconsidered: geographic and demographic changes in mental health care in British Columbia and Alberta, 1950-1980

Using demographics on admission to, and discharge from, mental hospitals in Alberta and British Columbia, this paper analyzes the social process commonly framed as deinstitutionalization between 1950 and 1980. A focus on the two most western Canadian provinces permits an exploration of these changes in these regional contexts. Pressured by new funding arrangements, a shift towards community care, and growing criticism of the alleged oppressive nature of large institutions, the three main mental hospitals scaled down as of the 1950s. This trend did not mean, however, that the overall number of hospitalized patients decreased during this time period. The total number of hospitalizations, particularly short-term admissions, actually expanded, while trans-institutionalization also occurred. This case study mirrors larger trends of postwar mental health care, illustrating the social, political, and cultural challenges experienced in the reconstruction of institutional care.