Societal Attention Research Articles

Emerging new practices in technology to support independent community access for people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities

The concept of community access is a multidimensional term, which may involve issues related to physical access, knowledge and information, power and control, relationships and communications, advocacy, participation and quality of life [21]. This paper discusses historical and emerging practices and interventions related to physical access to community and community based information for individuals with cognitive disabilities such as intellectual disability, autism or traumatic brain injury. While much societal attention has been paid to features of independent community access for populations such as individuals with hearing, vision or physical disabilities, less attention has focused on independent community access for people with intellectual and other significant cognitive disabilities. Attitudes and actions by families and professional service communities are often mixed for some individuals in this population. The somewhat limited research base in these areas is explored, including a case study review and results from several promising feasibility studies. The paper concludes with comments concerning future prospects and recommendations for improving independent community access for persons with significant cognitive disabilities.

Evaluation of Factors Affecting Stakeholder Risk Perception of Contaminated Sediment Disposal in Oslo Harbor

The management of environmental pollution has changed considerably since the growth of environmental awareness in the late 1960s. The general increased environmental concern and involvement of stakeholders in today's environmental issues may enhance the need to consider risk in a much broader social context rather than just as an estimate of ecological hazard. Risk perception and the constructs and images of risks held by stakeholders and society are important items to address in the management of environmental projects, including the management of contaminated sediments. Here we present a retrospective case study that evaluates factors affecting stakeholder risk perception of contaminated sediment disposal that occurred during a remediation project in Oslo harbor, Norway. The choice to dispose dredged contaminated sediments in a confined aquatic disposal (CAD) site rather than at a land disposal site has received a lot of societal attention, attracted large media coverage, and caused many public discussions. A mixed method approach is used to investigate how risk perceptive affective factors (PAF), socio-demographic aspects, and participatory aspects have influenced the various stakeholders' preferences for the two different disposal options. Risk perceptive factors such as transparency in the decision making process and controllability of the disposal options have been identified as important for risk perception. The results of the study also support the view that there is no sharp distinction in risk perception between experts and other parties and emphasizes the importance of addressing risk perceptive affective factors in similar environmental decision-making processes. Indeed, PAFs such as transparency, openness, and information are fundamental to address in sensitive environmental decisions, such as sediment disposal alternatives, in order to progress to more technical questions such as the controllability and safety.

The evolution of Chinese policies and governance structures on environment, energy and climate

AbstractAlthough a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol has not yet materialized, the 2009 Copenhagen meeting underlined the importance of China in international debates on climate and energy. This is based not only on China's current climate emissions, but also on its expected energy use and economic growth. Within China, climate issues have, like environmental pollution more generally, received increasing government and societal attention, but so has energy – topics that relate to one other but also have different priorities and actor interests behind them. However, while climate change has become more prominent, as shown in the targets included in the current five‐year plan, its institutional embeddedness in relation to particularly energy issues has received limited attention. This paper aims to help shed some light on how Chinese policies and governance structures on energy, climate and environment have evolved, particularly considering the roles of national and provincial authorities. Administrative structures and policy‐making processes turn out to be very complex, with a range of units and bodies at different levels with distinct responsibilities as well as inter‐linkages. Moreover, tensions and conflicts can be found regarding climate change and environmental policies on the one hand, and prevailing objectives to further economic development on the other. Energy policies serve the same economic goals, with climate change being most often operationalized in terms of energy conservation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Engaging with future technologies: how potential future users frame ecogenomics

There is an increasing awareness that participatory processes should take place at an early phase of science and technology developments. However, involving the relevant publics at an early phase is challenging as concrete applications are absent and societal attention is rather weak. In this paper we reflect on a participatory process that aimed to facilitate groups of potential future users to reflect on developments in the emerging scientific field of ecological genomics. We explicate how we defined relevant publics, recruited participants, and facilitated them to reflect on technologies which did not yet exist. The results show different ways of framing developments in ecological genomics, and provide crucial contextualization for involving a broader range of publics and organizing a frame-reflective dialogue as a next step.

“We Do it Cuz it's Fun”: Gendered Fun and Leisure for Midlife Women through Red Hat Society Membership

The Red Hat Society (RHS) offers midlife and older women a brief, chosen escape from everyday family, paid, and unpaid work duties. Toying with traditional notions of femininity and aging, the women in this study used a campy performance of gender as embodied in the RHS to both rewrite and reproduce traditional gendered scripts. That is, these midlife and older women enacted elaborate and frivolous alternate feminine identities using their RHS membership as a venue. In doing this, RHS members re-appropriated previously diminishing societal attention and recaptured the heterosexist and ageist male gaze. In their research, the authors found that these older women renegotiated and resisted traditional gender roles through self-defined “fun” activities such as going out in public in hyperfeminine dress and engaging in feminine activities such as lunch, tea, and shopping. RHS members are not fading into the woodwork as society expects of aging women, as they publicly take up leisure space, have fun, and engage in personal leisure that only benefits them. This qualitative work, based on research with seventy study participants, twenty-five individual interviews, and four focus groups with forty-five RHS members, suggests that RHS members use the organization as a site of gendered leisure in pursuit of midlife fun.

Characteristics and conviction rates of injured alcohol-impaired drivers admitted to a tertiary care Canadian Trauma Centre

Alcohol intoxication is an important factor in motor vehicle crash (MVC) related morbidity and mortality. Despite greater societal attention, medical admission after MVC results in avoidance of legal consequences. We sought to determine characteristics of, and consequences to, injured alcohol-impaired drivers (IAIDs). All injured adults [Injury Severity Score (ISS) >12, age>18] entered in a Trauma Centre registry between April 1 1995 to March 31 2003 were reviewed. Legally intoxicated patients who had been drivers involved in a MVC and who had a blood alcohol content (BAC) > or =80 mg/dl were cross-referenced to municipal and federal databases to identify investigations, charges, and legal outcomes. Of BACs obtained from 1933 (41%) of 4727 patients; 39% (757) were legally intoxicated (BAC > or =80 mg/dl); 185 (24%) were IAIDs. The IAIDs were generally very intoxicated (mean BAC 190 mg/dl); seriously injured (median ISS 22); often in ICU (47%), and had 8% mortality. Charges were laid against 69 (37%) of IAIDs, only 58 (31%) suffered legal consequences; 27 (15%) of impaired driving, and 31 (17%) of other convictions. All IAIDs who caused a fatal injury to another were convicted. A lower severity of injury of the IAIDs, non-fatal injury to another, and occurrence in the more recent years of the study were independently associated with a conviction in multivariable analysis. Despite increasing convictions over time and among most of those charged, the majority of injured drivers escape legal consequences. Increased BAC testing and reporting of this phenomenon could address this.

Perceived Organizational Tolerance for Workplace Harassment and Distress and Drinking Over Time [Harassment and Mental Health

ABSTRACT Research has linked workplace harassment and abuse with distress and drinking. However, increasing societal attention to sexual harassment (SH) has been accompanied by pressures on work organizations to censure harassing behaviors. We address altered perceptions of the organizational tolerance (OT) for SH and generalized workplace abuse (GWA), changes in the prevalence and incidence of these experiences, and their impact on distress and drinking behaviors. A cohort of workers completed a mail survey at three points in time. Questionnaires assessed perceptions of OT for SH and GWA, experiences of SH and GWA, coping, and distress and drinking behaviors. Both sexes perceived that tolerance of SH and GWA has decreased over time. Changes in reported prevalence of these experiences differed by gender, and incidence for both genders decreased more strongly than prevalence. The linkages between SH/GWA and distress and drinking changed over time, but in different ways for women and men. SH and GWA still have deleterious consequences, and replications of this research and greater efforts at prevention are needed.

Commentary on Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Contextual Factors in Extramarital Involvement.

Extramarital Involvements (EMIs) attract significant societal attention, as exemplified by the revelation of former President Clinton's EMI. Depression, anxiety, and divorce are important sequelae of EMIs, though it will be important to learn which couples successfully cope with EMIs. Allen et al. (this issue) provide an excellent overview of the prevalence of EMIs and the problems in trying to ascertain accurate estimates thereof. The impact of a very close relationship even without explicit sexual contact was noted, and Allen et al. present a useful framework for organizing theoretical positions and data on EMIs. It is an excellent review for a clinician or researcher addressing EMIs.

Molecular genetics of autism spectrum disorder.

We are on the brink of exciting discoveries into the molecular genetic underpinnings of autism spectrum disorder. Overwhelming evidence of genetic involvement coupled with increased societal attention to the disorder has drawn in more researchers and more research funding. Autism is a strongly genetic yet strikingly complex disorder, in which evidence from different cases supports chromosomal disorders, rare single gene mutations, and multiplicative effects of common gene variants. With more and more interesting yet sometimes divergent findings emerging every year, it is tempting to view these initial molecular studies as so much noise, but the data have also started to coalesce in certain areas. In particular, recent studies in families with autism spectrum disorder have identified uncommon occurrences of a novel genetic syndrome caused by disruptions of the NLGN4 gene on chromosome Xp22. Previous work had identified another uncommon syndrome that is caused by maternal duplications of the chromosome 15q11-13 region. We highlight other converging findings, point toward those areas most likely to yield results, and emphasize the contributions of multiple approaches to identifying the genes of interest.

Health Education Perspective on Sexual Risk Taking Behavior in Perimenopausal Women

Perimenopausal women between the ages of 45-55 years, experiencing the physical, emotional, social and mental metamorphosis, are often overlooked when sexually transmitted disease issues are addressed. They are often not viewed as risk takers. Yet millions are as vulnerable as the young for sexually transmitted diseases. These women are being described as risk takers for a variety of reasons including a lack of knowledge, low condom use, society’s unawareness, myths regarding their asexuality, the noninclusion approach of the media to sexually transmitted diseases risk for this group and the lack of readily available data to support societal attention and action. The need for inclusive health education strategies is suggested. Health educators need to be proactive and at the same time prepare perimenopausal women to become their own advocates.

Assessing jail coverage in introductory criminal justice textbooks

Despite their integral and multi-functional role within the criminal justice system, jails receive limited societal and research attention. The present study assesses the extent to which jail-related information is presented in fourteen leading introductory criminal justice texts. In general, it was found that there are 4.8 pages of prison-related information for every one page of jail coverage, and that roughly 72% of all jail-related information is found within the corrections sections of introductory criminal justice texts. Suggestions regarding future directions for authors of these texts are offered.

Relationship Between Service Utilization and Runaway Youths' Alcohol and Other Drug Use

Runaway youths represent a vulnerable, high-risk population that has received little societal attention. Studies show that youths at greatest need are the least likely to access mental health, medical, and other social services. This study evaluated service utilization, including medical visits, psychological, alcohol and drug counseling and 12-step attendance, and substance use. Runaway youths (n = 51) between the ages of 12 and 17 with a diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence were recruited from two southwestern runaway shelters. Results showed that psychological counseling and medical visits were associated with less alcohol use while 12-step attendance was associated with more alcohol use at pretreatment. Service utilization was not associated with illicit drug use. The findings suggest that alcohol and other drug use are affected differently by service utilization in this sample of youths. More research is required to evaluate and develop treatments which can effectively intervene with this high-risk group.

Equal opportunities and collective bargaining in the Netherlands: a good case in contract catering

Are there good practices of collective bargaining on equal opportunities in the Netherlands and, if so, what can we learn from them? The article answers these questions by means of extensive reference to a case-study on the Dutch contract catering sector, which has a collective agreement including detailed provisions on childcare and steps to tackle sexual harassment. Contract catering, a relatively new sector in the Netherlands, underwent rapid expansion in the nineties. The sector is characterised by a high proportion of female employees (75%), three quarters of whom are employed in a part-time capacity, and a relatively low degree of organisation. As in the rest of the Netherlands, industrial relations in this sector are strongly institutionalised and the whole process of preparation, bargaining and implementation of collective agreements takes place in a consultative body for labour and management, namely the Contract Catering Joint Committee. The attention paid to equal opportunities dates from the first bargaining round conducted in the catering sector at the end of the eighties. In that period societal attention to the topic was combined with strong economic growth in the sector and the employers'wish to attract female employees. Especially re-entering women were expected to combine the right service-directed attitude with the willingness to work flexible hours. An infrastructure of (female) experts on equal opportunities from within the trade unions activated personal involvement of some (male) negotiators in the topic. During consecutive bargaining rounds framework agreements were concluded on affirmative action, parental leave, child-care provision and sexual harassment. Especially the fact that working groups of labour and management were set up on the last two topics contributed to the relatively successful outcome in respect of these arrangements.

Underascertainment of child abuse mortality in the United States.

Mortality figures in the United States are believed to underestimate the incidence of fatal child abuse. To describe the true incidence of fatal child abuse, determine the proportion of child abuse deaths missed by the vital records system, and provide estimates of the extent of abuse homicides in young children. Retrospective descriptive study of child abuse homicides that occurred over a 10-year period in North Carolina from 1985-1994. The Medical Examiner Information System was searched for all cases of children younger than 11 years classified with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes E960 to E969 as the underlying cause of death and homicide as the manner of death. A total of 273 cases were identified in the search and 259 cases were reviewed after exclusion of fetal deaths and deaths of children who were not residents of North Carolina. Child abuse homicide. Of the 259 homicides, 220 (84.9%) were due to child abuse, 22 (8.5%) were not related to abuse, and the status of 17 (6.6%) could not be determined. The rate of child abuse homicide increased from 1.5 per 100000 person-years in 1985 to 2.8 in 1994. Of all 259 child homicides, the state vital records system underrecorded the coding of those due to battering or abuse by 58.7%. Black children were killed at 3 times the rate of white children (4.3 per 100000 vs 1.3 per 100000). Males made up 65.5% (133/203) of the known probable assailants. Biological parents accounted for 63% of the perpetrators of fatal child abuse. From 1985 through 1996, 9467 homicides among US children younger than 11 years were estimated to be due to abuse rather than the 2973 reported. The ICD-9 cause of death coding underascertained abuse homicides by an estimated 61.6%. Using medical examiner data, we found that significant underascertainment of child abuse homicides in vital records systems persists despite greater societal attention to abuse fatalities. Improved recording of such incidences should be a priority so that prevention strategies can be appropriately targeted and outcomes monitored, especially in light of the increasing rates.

Att anmäla våld

Recently violence and victims of violence in Sweden have been the object of massive societal attention and mobilisation. Crime statistics are often used rhetorically in the claims about the seriousness of the problem. The inherent weakness of such data is widely acknowledged among criminologists; they rest on the practice of reporting events to a public agency. The variance in reporting is often explained in terms of either individual rational calculations by individuals (theft: insurance companies require that one report the stolen goods to the Police), or by general norms in society encouraging or inhibiting reporting practices (sexual harassment, rape etc. are often exemplifying a changing moral code reflected in an increased practice of reporting). Here a different theme is explored: the tendency to report as mirroring different local cultures. The societal attention towards violence gave rise to different subcategories; one was violence at work. In a study of violence against hospital staff official studies portrayed mental hospital staff to be most at risk. A survey revealed however that nurses at homes for elderly were as likely to become involved in violent interaction. Qualitative interviews suggested that reporting was encouraged in mental hospitals, while this was not so for staff working with the old. Moreover, staff involved with the elderly hesitated to label physical aggressive events as 'violence' even if they became severely injured.

Effect of underemployment on school-leavers' self-esteem

This studyexplores whether self-esteem is adversely affected by economic underemployment as defined by unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, intermittent unemployment, and poverty income in a group of recent school- leavers. Results indicate that self-esteem was significantly lower in each of the economically underemployed groups relative to the adequately employed after controlling for early self-esteem, socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, aptitude, age, and education. There were no differences in self-esteem among the economically underemployed groups after adjusting for the control variables. Economic underemployment proved to be a distinct concept relative to self-reported job satisfaction. Underemployment was negatively related to self-esteem after controlling for perceived job satisfaction and the other control variables. Our findings suggest a need for societal attention to the levels of underemployment on par with the attention given to monitoring traditional unemployment levels.

Ethical orientations of managers in Malaysia

In view of the heightened societal attention to the ethical aspects of business behaviour, there has been, in recent years, a great deal of discussion regarding individual and organisational factors influencing managerial decision making. The main focus of this paper is on understanding the attitudes of managers toward ethical dimension of their choices and judgments, as also the forces that pressurise, provide them with opportunities, or contribute to shaping their intentions, for ethical or unethical actions. Findings reported here are based on a questionnaire-survey of 381 managers from 41 commercial organisations in Malaysia.

International adoption: a case review of Korean children.

In contrast to the controversial transracial adoption of African American children by Caucasian families in the U.S., international, transracial adoption of Asian children has not received much scientific or societal attention. There has been a steady increase in this unnoticed minority group, made up largely of Korean children. This paper reviews the developmental characteristics of post-adoption adjustments among Korean adoptees and discusses the dynamics of their positive adjustments. Sociopolitical issues of international adoptions are also addressed.

Struggling with human exemptionalism: The rise, decline and revitalization of environmental sociology

The emergence of environmental sociology in the 1970s, the decline of interest it experienced in the the early 1980s, and its revitalization since the late 1980s are described and linked to trends in societal interest in environmental problems. We suggest that the status of the field has been heavily dependent upon societal attention to environmental problems, in part due to the larger discipline’s ingrained assumption that the welfare of modern societies is no longer linked to the physical environment. We also suggest that growing recognition of the reality of global environmental change (GEC) poses a fundamental challenge to this “human exemptionalism paradigm,” and thus offers an opportunity for strengthening sociological interest in the environment. Understanding the causes and consequences of GEC calls for examination of societal-environmental interactions, the fundamental subject matter of environmental sociology. Unfortunately, early sociological work has largely ignored such interactions in favor of analyses of the “social construction” of GEC, Consequently, limitations of a social constructivist approach to GEC (and to environmental problems in general) are discussed, and a more inclusive research agenda is recommended.

Social research in health and the American sociopolitical context: The changing fortunes of medical sociology

The fortunes of medical sociology, like other public policy-relevant disciplines, are shaped by political dynamics and prevailing values and attitudes. In the 1990s the field, which views disease and disability as consequences to a substantial degree of material conditions, social stratification, and inequalities among varying strata, lost ground to economics as societal attention focused on cost containment issues. Sociological concern with social structures clashed with dominant conservative and individualistic perspectives and the increased focus on personal responsibility and market strategies. There was decreasing tolerance in policy circles for the view that health, and the problems affecting disenfranchised groups such as the poor, the homeless, the uninsured and people with disabilities, were more due to our politics and social arrangements that the personal characteristics of those affected. Thus, little attention has been given in public health discourse to how life imperatives and social opportunities and constraints shape behavior. The paper documents the important role of the social sciences in health services research with special attention to examining the social context of the RAND Health Insurance Experiment. Although many of the questions medical sociology address sit on the periphery of policy-makers' concerns, a strong case is made for the revitalization of a critical scholarly role in medical sociology. I conclude, given the short and longterm problems we face in medicine and health, that we would have to invent a vigorous critical medical sociological enterprise if we did not already have one.