Positive Social Outcomes Research Articles

Reinventing the public value of libraries

ABSTRACTLibraries worldwide have had to re-think their purpose and adapt to changing community needs and expectations. They are no longer simply repositories for old books. Rather, they are vital components of a community’s social and economic infrastructure that connects communities and fosters creativity and innovation. This paper explores the changing role of libraries—and public value organizations more broadly—in creating positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes for individuals and communities.

Learning and engagement through natural history museums

This review examines how natural history museums (NHMs) can enhance learning and engagement in science, particularly for school-age students. First, we describe the learning potential of informal science learning institutions in general, then we focus on NHMs. We review the possible benefits of interactions between schools and NHMs, and the potential for NHMs to teach about challenging issues such as evolution and climate change and to use digital technologies to augment more traditional artefacts. We conclude that NHMs can provide students with new knowledge and perspectives, with impacts that can last for years. Through visits and their on-line presence, NHMs can help students see science in ways that the school classroom rarely can, with opportunities to meet scientists, explore whole topic exhibitions, engage with interactive displays and employ digital technologies both in situ and to support learning in the school science classroom. Although these interactions have the potential to foster positive cognitive, affective and social outcomes for students, there is a lack of reliable measures of the impact of NHM experiences for students. Opportunities to foster relationships between NHM staff and teachers through professional development can help articulate shared goals to support students’ learning and engagement.

Follow-up and social impact assessment (SIA) in urban transport-infrastructure projects: insights from the parramatta rail link

ABSTRACTIn assessing the social impacts of major urban transport-infrastructure projects Impact Assessment (IA) practitioners determine and facilitate the equitable distribution of project benefits and costs. They do this in a context of governmental policy objectives and stakeholder interests. Public investment in transport projects shapes contemporary planning of urban Australian cities, addressing common challenges of rapid and sprawling population growth. Politically-driven ‘urgency’ in delivering new infrastructure, raises questions about long-term strategic benefit and delivery of the positive social and environmental outcomes that often frame their announcement.Follow-up to assess outcomes against policy objectives and stakeholder interests, however, is rare and tools to facilitate genuine public accountability through project phases are lacking. This paper discusses the need for better management and follow-up of social impacts from urban transport-infrastructure projects. Drawing insights from a review of the (partial) delivery of the former NSW Government's Parramatta Rail Link project, it evaluates social impact management strategies applied against the achievement of social and transport policy objectives. Lessons introduced highlight the constraints and limitations on good practice IA and Social Impact Assessment, the importance of early practitioner and community involvement and that political decision-making for urban transport-infrastructure has the greater influence on delivering social outcomes.

‘If I had not taken it [HIVST kit] home, my husband would not have come to the facility to test for HIV’: HIV self-testing perceptions, delivery strategies, and post-test experiences among pregnant women and their male partners in Central Uganda

ABSTRACTBackground: HIV self-testing (HIVST) can improve HIV-testing rates in ‘hard-to-reach’ populations, including men. We explored HIVST perceptions, delivery strategies, and post-test experiences among pregnant women and their male partners in Central Uganda.Methods: This was a qualitative study implemented as part of a pilot, cluster-randomized oral HIVST intervention trial among 1,514 pregnant women attending antenatal care services at three health facilities in Central Uganda. The qualitative component of the study was conducted between February and March 2017. We conducted 32 in-depth interviews to document women and men’s perceptions about HIVST, strategies used by women in delivering the kits to their male partners, male partners’ reactions to receiving kits from their female partners, and positive and negative social outcomes post-test. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed manually following a thematic framework approach.Results: Women were initially anxious about their male partners’ reaction if they brought HIVST kits home, but the majority eventually managed to deliver the kits to them successfully. Women who had some level of apprehension used a variety of strategies to deliver the kits including placing the kits in locations that would arouse male partners’ inquisitiveness or waited for ‘opportune’ moments when their husbands were likely to be more receptive. A few (three) women lied about the purpose of the test kit (testing for syphilis and other illnesses) while one woman stealthily took a mucosal swab from the husband. Most men initially doubted the ability of oral HIVST kits to test for HIV, but this did not stop them from using them. Both men and women perceived HIVST as an opportunity to learn about each other’s HIV status. No serious adverse events were reported post-test.Conclusion: Our findings lend further credence to previous findings regarding the feasibility of female-delivered HIVST to improve male partner HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa. However, support for women in challenging relationships is required to minimize potential for deception and coercion.

What Makes You Popular: Beauty, Personality or Intelligence?

This study explores the determinants of popularity within friendship and advice networks. We involved almost 200 college students in an experiment to predict how personality traits, self-monitoring, creativity, intelligence, energy, and beauty influence the development of friendship and advice networks. Our results indicate that physical attractiveness is a key to develop both friendship and task-related interactions, whereas perceived intelligence and creativity play an important role in the advice network. Our findings seem to support the idea that there might be a kernel of truth in the stereotype that attractiveness correlates with positive social traits and successful outcomes.

What makes you popular: beauty, personality or intelligence?

This study explores the determinants of popularity within friendship and advice networks. We involved almost 200 college students in an experiment to predict how personality traits, self-monitoring, creativity, intelligence, energy, and beauty influence the development of friendship and advice networks. Our results indicate that physical attractiveness is a key to develop both friendship and task-related interactions, whereas perceived intelligence and creativity play an important role in the advice network. Our findings seem to support the idea that there might be a kernel of truth in the stereotype that attractiveness correlates with positive social traits and successful outcomes.

Possibilities to prevent negative environmental impacts

This research paper introduces results of research through analyses of a significant number of activities, aimed at preventing the negative impact of tourism in the area of its operating, observed through a selected number of exemplified managing system protections, in particular world’s natural sites, including the Republic of Serbia. Important models of protection are presented through numerous case studies, among which, especially observed, and noted in this research paper are: establishing site protection status on an international and local level, zoning of tourism and site carrying capacity. Taken into consideration, these models can give positive results by contributing the planning strategies of other countries or regions, including the Republic of Serbia. With regular monitoring, they are to bring constitution to novel or implement the existing measures of protection, aimed at promoting positive ecological and social long-term outcomes.

Consumer responses to sport organizations’ corporate social responsibility initiatives: A focus on moral emotions

Purpose Sport has become a popular platform for corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns. Growing numbers of athletes, teams, and organizations are engaging in CSR campaigns to promote awareness and behaviors to support CSR campaigns addressing pressing social issues (e.g., disease prevention, health promotion, etc.). However, much of the previous work has focused on whether such initiatives benefit the organization, but not the community. The present paper provides theoretical explanations on the psychological mechanism that can demonstrate how consumers respond to CSR campaigns initiated by a sport organization Method In particular, existing literatures in moral psychology and CSR have been reviewed to identify an explanatory mechanism that promote prosocial behavior among sport consumers Results The present paper posits that moral emotion is a central processing mechanism explaining the link between CSR and socially responsible behaviors in consumers. The paper also provides a theoretical account to explain how moral emotions are evoked in the CSR context and how they can prompt prosocial behaviors Conclusion This paper adds to the literature by answering the call for the need to understand underlying mechanisms linking CSR with positive social outcomes (cf. Aguinis & Glavas, 2012).

Evaluating Community Engagement and Benefit-Sharing Practices in Australian Wind Farm Development

The wind industry is positioned to contribute significantly to a clean energy future, yet the level of community opposition has at times led to unviable projects. Social acceptance is crucial and can be improved in part through better practice community engagement and benefit-sharing. This case study provides a “snapshot” of current community engagement and benefit-sharing practices for Australian wind farms, with a particular emphasis on practices found to be enhancing positive social outcomes in communities. Five methods were used to gather views on effective engagement and benefit-sharing: a literature review, interviews and a survey of the wind industry, a Delphi panel, and a review of community engagement plans. The overarching finding was that each community engagement and benefit-sharing initiative should be tailored to a community’s context, needs and expectations as informed by community involvement. This requires moving away from a “one size fits all” approach. This case study is relevant to wind developers, energy regulators, local communities and renewable energy-focused non-government organizations. It is applicable beyond Australia to all contexts where wind farm development has encountered conflicted societal acceptance responses.

Engagement of Social Workers in Policy Practice in Tanzania: A Case of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Social workers are potential change agents who can be used to transform the lives of the vulnerable populations in the world and Tanzania, in particular. This is achieved through actively and creatively participating in policy formulation and change (policy advocacy and change, analysis, launching campaigns and building coalitions). The powers social workers have are derived from the professional legality vested in them in making practice decisions. By utilizing their powers, skills and knowledge as change agents, they can considerably imbue social policies with pro-poor approach that puts social justice at the centre of development. Drawing from the findings of a study conducted in Dar es Salaam, this paper shows that social workers’ engagement in policy practice was low. The reasons ascribed to low policy practice engagement are lack of policy practice competencies/specialized training in policy practice, institutional/organizational interest/influence, lack of resources and fear. The paper shows that low engagement of policy practice has partly contributed to the low visibility, recognition of social work profession, practice and inefficient provision of welfare services in Tanzania. This article argues that it is very important for social workers to use their social policy skills and knowledge so as to bring positive social and economic outcomes to the lives of the vulnerable populations in Tanzania. This can be successfully done by using professional associations such as TASWO, establishing Social Work Council and forging cooperation with NGOs in advocating not only for policy implementation but also policy research and change.

Social impacts of the Forest Stewardship Council certification in the Congo basin

We assess whether the implementation of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme in the Congo basin has had positive additional impacts—as compared to existing regulatory frameworks applied in noncertified Forest Management Units (FMU)—on (1) the working and living conditions of logging companies' employees and their families, (2) the effectiveness and legitimacy of the institutions and benefit-sharing mechanisms set up to regulate relationships between logging companies and neighbouring communities, and (3) the local populations' rights to and customary uses of forests. Results on (1) and (2) suggest that several significant differences exist between certified and noncertified FMUs. Results are instead mitigated on (3): Companies in certified FMUs tend to better enforce the law, but this may have unwanted negative impacts on customary uses. We discuss the reasons why several positive social outcomes materialised in certified vs. non¬certified areas, and suggest possible improvements as well as required further research. (Resume d'auteur)

Digital Life and Youth Well-being, Social Connectedness, Empathy, and Narcissism.

Youth well-being, social connectedness, and personality traits, such as empathy and narcissism, are at the crux of concerns often raised about the impacts of digital life. Understanding known impacts, and research gaps, in these areas is an important first step toward supporting media use that contributes positively to youth's happiness, life satisfaction, and prosocial attitudes and behaviors. By examining existing work addressing these issues across domains, we found that a complex interplay of individual factors, type of digital media engagement, and experiences in media contexts informs outcomes related to well-being, social connectedness, empathy, and narcissism. We argue that further research is needed to uncover how, where, when, and for whom digital media practices support positive well-being and social connectedness outcomes. Specifically, research needs to move beyond correlational studies to uncover causal connections between traits like narcissism and media use. Longitudinal studies are also needed to explore patterns of media use over time and related impacts. Further research is needed to explore how specific technologies can be designed to support positive well-being, social outcomes, and prosocial personality traits. Finally, research is needed regarding parenting, educational practices, and policies that support positive digital media use and related outcomes. Although existing research suggests that digital life has mixed potentials and effects for well-being, social connectedness, empathy, and narcissism, we provide recommendations for clinicians, policy makers, and educators in partnering with caregivers and youth to support media use that promotes positive outcomes in these areas.

Chieftaincy and sustainable urban land use planning in Yendi, Ghana: Towards congruence

In Ghana, chieftaincy institutions act as custodians for about 80% of the total land area, and are responsible for leasing or allocating land while official planning institutions determine and manage its use. Yet, the extent to which chieftaincy institutions impede or contribute to sustainable urban land use planning in Ghana has received limited research attention. The scholarship on urban land use planning in Ghana has instead focused largely on rapid urbanisation, limited personnel and logistical capacity of planning institutions, and mainstream political interference. This paper addresses this gap by examining the chieftaincy-land use planning nexus in the Yendi municipality, Ghana. It explores the extent to which chieftaincy institutions limit or support sustainable urban land use planning in the municipality. Household and physical surveys, expert interviews, telephone conversations, and document reviews were used. Findings indicate that while chieftaincy's role as custodian of land is central to land development, it has assumed the role of planning institutions in terms of land use determination and management. Negative perception of planning officials among residents has also overshadowed the visibility of professional planning practice in the municipality, contributing to poor land use planning. Residents continue to use chieftaincy institutions and other traditional approaches rather than formal planning agencies because the former is convenient, more effective, and yields rapid decisions. Further research is needed to explore whether land use planning under chieftaincy institutions leads to positive social and environmental outcomes.

Experiencing EVA Park, a Multi-User Virtual World for People with Aphasia

Virtual worlds are used in wide-ranging ways by many people with long-term health conditions, but their use by people with aphasia (PWA) has been limited. In contrast, this article reports the use of EVA Park, a multi-user virtual world designed for PWA to practice conversations, focusing on people's emotional, social, and conversational experiences. An analysis of observation and interview data collected from 20 people with aphasia who participated in a 5-week therapy intervention revealed key themes related to user experience. The themes offer a rich insight into aspects of the virtual world experience for PWA that go beyond therapeutic outcomes. They are as follows: affect (positive and negative); types of conversation, miscommunication, and misunderstanding; immersion in the virtual world; social presence and initiative and flow. Overall, the study showed that participants experienced positive emotional and social outcomes. We argue that this was achieved as a consequence of EVA Park being not only accessible but also a varied and entertaining environment within which PWA experienced both the realistic and the quirky while engaging with others and having fun.

Anticipated pleasure for positive and negative social interaction outcomes in schizophrenia

While recent research suggests that people with schizophrenia anticipate less pleasure for non-social events, considerably less is known about anticipated pleasure for social events. In this study, we investigated whether people with and without schizophrenia differ in the amount and updating of anticipated pleasure over the course of repeated interactions as well as the influence of emotional displays. Thirty-two people with schizophrenia and 29 controls rated their anticipated pleasure over the course of repeated interactions with smiling, scowling, or neutral social partners that had either positive or negative outcomes. Compared to controls, people with schizophrenia anticipated a lower amount of pleasure during interactions with smiling, but not neutral social partners that had positive outcomes. However, the groups did not differ in the amount or updating of anticipated pleasure during interactions that had negative outcomes. Both groups anticipated more pleasure over the course of repeated interactions with smiling partners and less pleasure over the course of repeated interactions with scowling partners compared to interactions with neutral partners. We discuss how less anticipated pleasure for interactions with smiling social partners may be linked to difficulties in social engagement among people with schizophrenia.

Trade-offs between dimensions of sustainability: exploratory evidence from family firms in rural tourism regions

ABSTRACT Family firms often pursue social and environmental sustainability, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts that go beyond regulations. This is particularly true in nature-based industries. This study draws on socio-emotional wealth (SEW) and tourism literatures, as well as random utility theory, to disentangle the drivers of sustainability in rural tourism family firms (RTFFs). Informed by interviews, this study applied a novel choice-method survey, that brings understanding to the CSR payoffs and trade-offs between ecological, social and economic attributes in RTFFs. The results from 152 family firms in Western Austria show that after satisfying financial requirements, RTFFs are predominantly motivated by ecological and social considerations. The findings indicate that RTFFs obtain greater utility from positive ecological and social outcomes than additional financial profits, which the authors hypothesise is because of family-related SEW dynamics that enhances CSR. The findings from this study offer theoretical and practical insight into the motivations for proactive sustainability strategies among RTFFs.

Separable Effects of Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Adaptive Functioning on Amygdala Connectivity During Emotion Processing

BackgroundIndividuals with a history of maltreatment show altered amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli, atypical frontal regulatory control, and differences in frontolimbic connectivity compared with nonmaltreated controls. However, despite early trauma, many individuals who experience maltreatment show resilience or adaptive functioning in adulthood including positive social, educational, and occupational outcomes. MethodsThe present study used a psychophysiological interaction model to examine the effect of adult adaptive functioning on group differences between maltreated and nonmaltreated adults in task-based amygdala functional connectivity. The task used was a facial emotion-matching paradigm. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were collected from 41 adults with a history of substantiated childhood maltreatment and 39 nonmaltreated adults who were well matched on demographic variables, all of whom had been studied since childhood. Adaptive functioning was measured with a composite score of success on stage-salient developmental tasks. ResultsConsistent with previous research, we found differences in task-related amygdala functional connectivity between the maltreated and nonmaltreated groups. Effects were seen in the left hippocampus, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and right thalamus. However, when adult functioning was included in the model, maltreatment-related differences in amygdala connectivity were observed only in the hippocampus. Adult adaptive functioning independently predicted task-related amygdala connectivity in frontal and parietal regions across the entire sample. ConclusionsThese results suggest that frontolimbic functional connectivity is predicted by positive developmental adaptation in this high-risk population, regardless of maltreatment history, whereas intralimbic connectivity (amygdala and hippocampus) is more specifically associated with maltreatment history.

The Effects of Parental Management of Peer Relationships on Male and Female Adolescents’ Social Skills, Friendship Qualities, Loneliness, and Delinquency

This study purported to examine relationships between parental peer management and adolescents' social skills, friendship quality, loneliness, and delinquency and further shed light on gender differences in these relationships. Four-hundred-seventy adolescents living in Seoul, Gyunggi, and Incheon areas (240 males and 230 females) completed pencil-and-paper assessments of parental management of adolescent peer relationships, adolescent social skills, adolescent friendship quality, adolescent loneliness, and adolescent delinquency. Given the lack of research validating the Parental Management of Peer relationship Inventory (PMPI; Mounts, 2001) using a Korean adolescent population and the possibility of cross-cultural differences in the structure of the parental peer management behaviors, exploratory factor analyses were conducted for the original PMPI items and developed the four scales (Consulting on Peer Relationships, Insisting/Prohibiting Certain Friendships, Emphasizing Healthy Friendships, and Autonomy Granting in Peer Relationships). Correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggest that parental consulting, autonomy granting, and emphasizing healthy friendships are positive parental peer management dimensions, with positive effects on adolescent social outcomes and negative or no effects on adolescent loneliness and delinquency. On the other hand, parental insisting/prohibiting was found to contribute to adolescents' feeling lonely and engaging in delinquent behaviors and have no effects on other adolescent outcomes. Gender differences were found in some relationships involving parental consulting and autonomy granting. Clinical implications of these findings were discussed.

Health, Social, and Economic Outcomes Experienced by Families as a Result of Receiving Assistance from a Community-Based Diaper Bank.

Objectives This paper aims to describe low-income recipients of a community-based diaper bank and the multiple daily challenges they face. Our paper seeks to document the health, social, and financial outcomes recipients experienced after receiving assistance. Methods We surveyed families (n = 150) about their experiences receiving diapers from a diaper bank in the southeastern United States. Additionally, we conducted short, focused interviews with families (n = 15) about outcomes after receiving diapers. Results Families experience regularly a range of challenges meeting basic needs. These difficulties include high unmet needs for transportation, food, and nonfood essentials such as personal hygiene items. Families experiencing the greatest difficulty in paying utility or medical bills were significantly more likely to have a high level of diaper need compared to families facing these challenges less often (AORs ranging from 3.40 to 9.39). As a result of receiving diapers, families reported positive health, social, and economic outcomes. Families reported positive changes in parental mood; improved child health and happiness; increased opportunities for childcare, work, and school attendance; and the ability to divert household finances toward other basic needs, including utilities and medical care. Conclusions for Practice The monetary value of the supplemental provision of diapers is a small investment in affected families' economic, social, and health outcomes. The positive effects continue far longer than the diapers provided. We demonstrate the social value of such an operation, and recommend the expansion of federal, state, and local safety net programs to help low-income families secure a steady supply of diapers.

Relationship between Lower Tendency to Deceive in Aging and Inhibitory Compromise

Background: Deception can be associated with a heterogeneous network of concepts such as exaggeration, misleading, white lies, and faking. This paper assesses the tendency to deceive in aging. Objective: Our main aim was to assess whether older adults would demonstrate a low tendency to deceive. Methods: A total of 42 older adults (mean age 67.64 years, SD 7.87) and 45 younger adults (mean age 21.71 years, SD 2.66) were administered a deception scale including items such as “I sometimes tell lies if I have to” or “I never take things that don't belong to me.” Participants were also administered an inhibition task. Results: The results demonstrated a low tendency to deceive and low inhibition in older adults compared with younger ones. The low tendency to deceive in the older adults was significantly correlated with their diminished inhibitory ability. Discussion: The low tendency to deceive in aging seems to be related to a difficulty in inhibiting an honest response. Since inhibitory compromise has been considered mainly to trigger negative consequences for cognition, the present paper illustrates how this age-related compromise can be associated with positive social outcomes, i.e., a low tendency to deceive.