Suchergebnisse

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly seen as an imperative for sustainable business and there is a growing literature on the effect of CSR on corporate reputation. Despite this, a pall of ambiguity and uncertainty remains around what CSR means and how it should be practiced. This paper offers a unique addition to the body of literature to date by revealing that CSR is an emerging industry in Australia, which is in the process of developing its own reputation as a set of business practices. The paper is based on exploratory qualitative research using a case study methodology. Interviews were conducted with key actors within the industry to investigate shared understandings of what CSR means, perceptions of CSR practice and of the industry as a whole, and who is involved in shaping these perceptions. The research revealed that the CSR industry in Australia is in its early stages of development and is therefore in need of increased internal cooperation if it is to develop a strong reputation.

This paper discusses the study of Ottoman dynastic history through women's writings, such as harem women's personal letter correspondence, women's harem memoirs and recollections, and foreign women travelers' accounts, published in popular historical magazines in Turkey during the 1950s and 60s. The paper also considers the popular nature of the publications that featured these writings and their significance in the framework of the changing nationalist discourse and corresponding changes in Turkish historiography during the 1950s. It shows that articles based on women's writings revealed intimate aspects of the Ottoman elite's relationships in general and of Ottoman women in particular, and suggests that their publication in popular magazines played an important role in re-imagining the Turkish woman in the framework of the post-Kemalist nationalist discourse. It concludes that women's writings, used as primary sources by Turkish historians, provided an insider's point of view on the secretive life of the harem and its inhabitants and attracted a popular readership, thus exposing wider audiences to an Ottoman-centered historical discourse, and ultimately played an important role in the writing of Ottoman women's history.

ABSTRACTMany believe that Amazonian communities could benefit from the growing market for timber through self‐governed approaches to forest management. However, there is no clear understanding of how communities are to develop such approaches given logging frontiers that are characterized by informal negotiations with loggers and community forestry initiatives that are promoted by development agents. This article reports on research from four study areas in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru which reveals that external players exercise considerable power over communities. First, loggers and development agents impose forest management schemes directly on communities, hindering them from developing their own approaches. Second, paternalistic relationships with loggers and development agents prevent communities from identifying common interests and expressing these through their representative organizations. Finally, loggers and development agents use powerful discourses to shape acceptable schemes in forest management, silencing communities' voices in debates. Through these different power mechanisms, external agents thwart the emergence of self‐governed community management approaches.

- This study explicates the theoretically important, yet inadequately specified, processes of demedicalization and remedicalization by comparing the histories of male circumcision in Great Britain and the United States. Although circumcision was medicalized to a similar degree in both countries before World War II, by the 1960s, circumcision was almost completely demedicalized in Britain and almost universal in the U.S. Since then, circumcision has become partially demedicalized in the U.S. Medical professionals and insurance/healthcare systems drove demedicalization in both countries; in the U.S., grassroots activists also played a critical role, while medical community "holdouts" resisted demedicalization. Recent research indicating that circumcision inhibits HIV transmission is differentially likely to produce remedicalization in the two nations, given differences in circumcision prevalence, HIV epidemiology, insurance/health systems, activism opportunities, and status of religious groups. Future research should theorize the life cycle of medicalization, explore comparative cases, and attend more closely to medical "holdouts" from previous eras, prevalence and duration of medicalized practices, and barriers to non-medical interpretations.Keywords: medicalization, demedicalization, remedicalization, health, circumcision, sociology.Parole chiave: medicalizzazione, demedicalizzazione, rimedicalizzazione, salute, circoncisione, sociologia.

Using data from 300 street youths interviewed in Toronto, Canada, this study draws on general strain theory to examine the influence of 'relational' strains (including background abuse, the severing of positive relationships by leaving home, and victimization at the hands of peers on the street) on the use of soft and hard drugs. Results reveal that the loss of quality street girlfriend/boyfriend relationships and the number of relationships ended by death are associated with soft drug use, while backgrounds of physical abuse and criminal victimization by peers influence hard drug use. Further, the effects of various forms of relational strain on hard drug use are conditioned by low self-esteem, delinquent peers, deviant values, and low self-efficacy. In contrast, the relationship between forms of relational strain and soft drug use are conditioned by greater self-esteem and fewer delinquent peers. The results are discussed in light of general strain theory and suggestions for future research are offered.

Aims: To explore reasons why individuals who prefer to use heroin by routes other than injection have abstained from injecting despite entrenched heroin use. Methods: A cross-sectional interview using structured and semi-structured questions was carried out with 40 non-injecting heroin users (20 former injectors and 20 who had never injected) recruited at two Community Drug Team sites in Birmingham, UK. Results: The most endorsed reason for non-injection was worry about appearance. Additional reasons included identity issues and stigmatized status of injecting. 'Never injectors' were younger (p<0.05), more likely to have an educational qualification (OR: 4.89; 95% CI: 1.20, 19.94), had higher measured heroin dependence (p=0.05) and lower prior exposure to injecting (p<0.001) than former injectors. There was no difference between the groups in estimated prevalence of injection among peers. Conclusions: This study points to continuity between injecting and non-injecting cultures, challenges the concept of injection as a natural progression from non-injecting heroin use, and highlights personal addiction career factors in injection transitions.

Abstract

Cover Story


NCAA report uncovers the need to closely monitor aid to athletes


Study finds many colleges improperly awarded aid to athletes


Compliance Update


Prepare now for new borrower disclosure, default rate, rules


Leaders & Innovators


JIM BELVIN, FINANCIAL AID DIRECTOR, DUKE UNIVERSITY


Fight to be heard to affect aid locally, nationally


Financial aid reform must emphasize early awareness, financial planning


Access


Appropriators wary of plan to make Pell an entitlement


Enrollment Management


Follow data, react as needed to meet enrollment target


Clearinghouse


More aid, simplification required to boost low‐income student access


Low‐income students need more aid to cover community‐college expenses


Aid expert calls for many changes to stop private‐loan only borrowing


Legislative Watch


Lawsuits & Rulings


BREACH OF CONTRACT


Repayment of tuition times 2 negates student's damages lawsuit


LOAN DISCHARGE


Court says young, healthy debtor must repay his $117,000 loan debt


FERPA


Privacy law permits disclosure of top students' class ranking


Managing Your Office


Interview potential staffers effectively with these strategies

Heuristic Approach to Inventory Control with Advance Capacity Information
There is a growing trend of information sharing within modern supply chains. This trend is mainly stimulated by recent developments in information technology and the increasing awareness that accurate and timely information helps firms cope with volatile and uncertain business conditions. We model a periodic-review, single-item, capacitated stochastic inventory system, where a supply chain member has the ability to obtain advance capacity information ('ACI') about future supply capacity availability. ACI is used to reduce the uncertainty of future supply and thus enables the decision-maker to make better ordering decisions. We develop an easily applicable heuristic based on insights gained from an analysis of the optimal policy. In a numerical study we quantify the benefits of ACI and compare the performance of the proposed heuristic with the optimal performance. We illustrate the conditions in which the procedure is working well and comment on its practical applicability.

In this study a Chinese version of the Situational Self-Awareness Scale (SSAS; Govern & Marsch, 2001) was developed and tested for validity and reliability. Participants were 1,244 undergraduate students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and other statistical methods
yielded results indicating a good correlation of items in the Chinese (C-SSAS) and English version of the scale. When private self-awareness was assessed in a private setting the score of participants was significantly greater and likewise the public self-awareness scores were higher when
the scale was completed in a public setting. Test-retest reliability was significant across situations and time. The reallocation of one item to public self-awareness in the C-SSAS from private in the SSAS was indicative of differences between Eastern and Western cultures and this is discussed.
In general, the results indicated that the Chinese version of the SSAS has good reliability and validity. The scale should, therefore, be suitable as a reference to develop scales for evaluating personnel working in specific occupations.

AbstractIn system dynamics, we care about mental models, because it is what we attempt to describe, understand, and improve using qualitative maps and computer simulation models. But if we are developing maps and models from a group of individuals, can we still call what we are trying to study a mental model? The main difference between individual and group‐level phenomena is that in a group setting interaction and communication among individuals shape what is represented in maps and models. This paper attempts to clarify the object of our group‐level modeling by surveying existing literature searching for concepts similar to "mental model" at the group level. The survey leads to an insight that what we attempt to represent with our maps and models varies widely by our selection of modeling methods, and how we define our object will draw attention to a different set of theoretical literature. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ABSTRACTThis pilot intervention study measured the impact of an oral health education intervention on nurses' knowledge and patient care practices in regard to oral assessments of institutionalized elders. Two 1‐hour education sessions were completed over a 3‐week period; a pretest and a posttest were administered immediately preceding the first session and immediately following the second session. Medical records were reviewed prior to and after the intervention to assess practices including completeness of oral health assessment and congruency with the Minimum Data Set 2.0 (MDS).Nine nurses attended the education intervention. Retrospectively, 176 records were reviewed preintervention and 80 postintervention. There was no significant change in knowledge from the pre‐ to posttest (p= .262). Completeness of all oral health assessment variables increased significantly (p= .001) as did the congruency of data between the nursing assessment (NA) and MDS assessments (p= .002).Providing nurses with education on oral health assessments in skilled nursing facilities has a positive impact on completeness of data and congruency between the NA and the MDS.

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to compare parental perceptions of oral health status and access to dental services by children in 34 special education and 16 mainstream public elementary school classes in San Mateo County, California. A self‐administered parental survey was utilized and included questions about demographics, oral health, and dental utilization. The overall response rate was 58.8%. After adjusting for age and gender of the child, compared to mainstream, parents of students in special education classes were significantly more likely to report their children to have worse oral health (OR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.54, 3.67), be lacking a past year dental visit (OR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.01, 3.84), and have missed school days due to dental reasons (OR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.55, 4.17). Both groups rated their children's oral health inferior to the overall health rating (p < .001). The authors concluded that disparities exist between the two groups in parental perceptions of their children's oral health status and dental service utilization.

The study examines audiences' reactions to Indian print advertisements portraying male and female models in traditional, neutral and non-traditional roles on dimensions of attractiveness, meaningfulness and vitality. The audience comprised of 100 male and 100 female students. They evaluated five categories of role portrayals—traditional male, traditional female, neutral, non-traditional male and non-traditional female portrayals—with each category represented by 10 advertisements. Results reveal that irrespective of gender of respondents neutral portrayals are perceived as most attractive, meaningful and vital. While male respondents rate traditional portrayals as most attractive, meaningful and vital, female respondents favour neutral portrayals on the above dimensions. Non-traditional male role portrayals are perceived as least attractive, meaningful and vital by both men and women. Findings support that the transition from traditional gender role attitudes has been more prominent in case of female than in case of male respondents. Differential responses to male and female role portrayals are also observed.

This paper discusses translation of texts about nonprofit organizations from English into Italian as a case study of intercultural communication. Firstly, we note the importance of adaptation as a valuable strategy for translation of nonprofit texts from English into Italian. Secondly, we describe the intercultural difference between the nonprofit sector in Italy and the United States in terms of paradigms, following Kuhn's theory of interparadigmatic translation and Gramsci's idea of translatability. Thirdly, we show the connection between these epistemological frameworks of translation and interlinguistic translation by selecting a number of keywords in the language of American philanthropy which do not have a direct equivalent in Italian, or whose equivalent may prove to be a "false friend" if translated literally (stewardship, philanthropy, charity): we show that despite the alleged "incommensurability" between Italian and American philanthropy, translation is still possible, and we suggest practical strategies that translators may adopt.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Joint ACLA/ AAAL Conference in Montréal (Canada) in June 2006.

• Summary: This article presents findings of a quantitative study that illuminates the `sense of competence' of American social workers practicing in a new financial reimbursement and treatment health care system called `managed care'. Questionnaires completed by 140 social workers provided data about the relationships between self-perceived competence and outcome variables including burnout and role stress. • Findings: A central finding was that social workers who felt competent in their abilities to practice in a managed care environment also reported lower levels of role stress and burnout. Other findings included that those working with clients with severe and persistent mental illness reported lower levels of sense of competence and higher levels of role stress and burnout symptoms. • Applications : Potential implications for research, education, and practice with the focus of increasing workers' knowledge and skills when providing services in a managed care environment are addressed. Future research is recommended to include more diverse samples that provide a more comprehensive picture of the population of social workers in the USA.