bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Problems and Promise of Evaluating Practice: A Groupwork Example
Authors: Caddick Brian , Brown Allan
Published: March 2007

The development of innovative approaches to probation practice requires the implementation of carefully planned evaluation studies. Here the authors report on the impact of probation induction groups and outline the difficulties of evaluating practice.
Management, Retention and Control of Skilled, Sophisticated Staff in the late ' 80s
Authors: Willson Michael
Published: March 2007

An outsider offers a provocative analysis of trends in Probation management and argues that the staffing implications need urgent consideration.
The Theft of Conciliation
Authors: Davis Gwynn
Published: March 2007

In a combative review of recent conciliation literature, the author argues that the concept has been 'stolen' by court welfare practitioners to serve their professional biases. This distortion of conciliation both undermines its potential and can be damaging to consumers' interests.
The Illicit Heroin Market
Authors: Lewis Roger
Published: March 2007

As the use of 'smack', particularly among young, unemployed and disillusioned clients, causes increasing concern and moral panic, the author provides an important guide to the history and content of heroin consumption.
Inner City Disturbances: Lessons from Liverpool 1985
Authors: Bowe Jeff , Crawley Linda , Morris John
Published: March 2007

Since 1981 the Probation Service in Liverpool 8 has been trying to work sensitively with the local community, aware of considerable police-public tension and distrust. Events in 1985 magnified the issues, and the implications are still being drawn by both management and the local NAPO branch, with markedly different conclusions. The dilemmas face all practitioners in city deprivation areas.
Anti-Racist Training: Staying with the Task
Authors: Clare Roger , Crawley Claudia
Published: March 2007

Racist practice is poor professional practice, but can't be tackled simply by a few courses, which can be tokenistic or counter productive. How can we make racism less marginal, and integrated into all Service thinking?
The Technical Assessment of Software Usability with Reference to Screen Readers for the Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Authors: Hale Gregory
Published: March 2007

The usability of software is critically important; the wide uptake of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) such as Windows 95 in business and education has thrown the Issue of usability into even sharper focus as users with no sight have tried to access assistive technology which often falls to assist. In part, this is because manufacturers face real technical challenges in designing screen readers that can Interpret the new Interface satisfactorily; but more substantially It is because many firms, Instead of utilising good software design and considering usability from the outset, still seem to ‘contract out' usability testing to the end-user. This Paper describes a method of assessing software usability, using test instruments developed Iteratively through the process of conducting usability assessment of existing screen reader software for Windows 95. The method is therefore grounded in practice and does not require speclallst equipment or mathematics. It is particularly suited to end-users responsible for purchasing decisions or training.
Recollective experience in individuals with a visual impairment: the role of sensory and conceptual processing
Authors: Pring Linda , Painter Joan , Pring L.
Published: March 2007

A series of studies was carried out designed to investigate the proposal that visually impaired people tend to encode auditory input primarily in terms of sensory features at the expense of non-sensory semantic features. The first two studies investigated recollective experience in blind adolescents of words that differed in terms of imageability. In Experiment 1 participants were presented with high and low visual imageability words. During the subsequent recognition test they were asked to indicate whether their recognition judgements were based on recollection ("remember" responses) or familiarity ("know" responses). The results indicated that, while the number of remember responses was greater than know responses overall, recollective experience did not interact with imageability. Experiment 2 found the same pattern of performance using words that differed in terms of auditory imageability. Experiment 3 investigated memory for one aspect of sensory input, i.e. voice pitch, by testing recall for whether items had been presented by a male or a female. The results indicated superior performance on the part of individuals with visual impairment relative to sighted controls. Experiment 4 provided evidence that recall in individuals with visual impairment did not differ for semantically related and semantically unrelated words. The overall findings, therefore, were consistent with the view that individuals with visual impairment place more reliance on data-driven than conceptual processing, although the role of introspections of memories needs to be explored further.
Visual experience and the haptic horizontal-vertical illusion
Authors: Heller Morton A. , Brackett Deneen D. , Wilson Kathy , Yoneyama Keiko , Boyer Amanda
Published: March 2007

An experiment was conducted with blind individuals to examine the effect of visual experlence on the horizontal-vertical illusion In touch. Groups of early blind, late blind, and low vision subjects examined tangible raised-line drawings of L and Inverted T figures. A tangible sliding ruler was used for size estimates. The results showed that the horizontal-vertical illusion was not dependent upon visual experience or visual imagery, since similar illusory overestimation of the verticals occurred with early blind, late blind and low vision subjects.
Taking it easy in 'The Big Easy'
Authors: Wilkinson Joy
Published: March 2007

I am severely visually impaired and have been teaching for over 30 years. I am an avid reader and have always loved teaching reading. In 1997 I met Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness, who devised 'Phonographix', a method of teaching reading, and went on the first 'Phonographix' teaching course in the UK. Since then I have been using the method successfully with young braillists, having adapted the materials to fit in with Braille for Infants. I was invited to the Read America Conference in New Orleans in April to give a lecture on this, but this paper is an account of how a visually impaired person was able to savour the attractions of one of the world's most exotic cities, New Orleans. identifying dollar bilis was hazardous since no difference in size of the note was used to signify difference in value.
Structured Teaching for individuals with visual impairments
Authors: Howley Marie , Preece David
Published: March 2007

'Structured Teaching', as advocated by the TEACCH approach (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren) is widely used to promote independence and facilitate teaching and learning for individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Key principles underpinning the approach include assessment and individualisation. As a result Structured Teaching is a flexible approach which can be adapted to meet a variety of individual needs, regardless of the age or cognitive ability of the learner. The components of Structured Teaching, physical structure, schedules, work systems and visual structure, combine to provide structure that is tailor-made for the individual. For those with sensory impairments, assessment of preferred sensory modalities enables us to develop a 'multi-sensory approach to Structured Teaching'. This paper reflects upon acknowledged practice of the approach for individuals with ASD and its potential use for those with a visual impairment, with the intention of stimulating further discussion.
The blind person, the specialist worker and the ophthalmologist
Authors: Dobree J.H.
Published: March 2007

The following is an edited version of the SWRAB Annual Lecture given in the Livery Hall, Guildhall, on 14 July 1983. It is an account of the ways in which blindness comes about and the role of the specialist social worker and the ophthalmic surgeon with particular reference to blind registration.
Who needs literacy?
Authors: Carey Kevin
Published: March 2007

The author spent three years in the Caribbean and almost two years in East Africa before taking up his present position at the Society's UK Headquarters. He was educated at a residential school for the blind before being integrated into a standard school at secondary level and has, therefore, seen educa tion for the blind both as a consumer and as an administrator. This article has been written from a personal viewpoint in the hope that it will generate fruitful discussion. It challenges the effectiveness of the models of education of blind children generally adopted in Commonwealth Africa and questions their relevance for a largely agricultural society.
Russian impressions
Authors: Low Colin
Published: March 2007

In May 1989, as a member of an RNIB delegation, the author visited Moscow and Leningrad at the invitation of the All-Russia Association o f the Blind (VOS), with the aim of gaining some impression of services for the blind in the Soviet Union. This article describes some o f his paradoxical findings.
A role for psychotherapy in the learning support of a visually impaired child with emotional and behavioural difficulties
Authors: Downing Sylvia
Published: March 2007

The author expresses the view that the difficult behaviour o f visually impaired children with emotional problems is a form of communication which child psychotherapists can come to understand better by exploring the child's inner world in relation to their own They therefore have a useful part to play in bringing their perspectives into the professional arena.
The oral reading errors of partially sighted children
Authors: Corley Gianetta , Pring Linda
Published: March 2007

The oral reading errors made by nine partially sighted children, aged five years eight months to eight years seven months, over a seven-month period during 1986 were analysed and found to resemble those of younger fully sighted children. The relevance of this study for teachers of partially sighted children in mainstream schools is suggested.
Community Care for the one in sixty
Authors: Willetts Graham
Published: March 2007

The author discusses the impact of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 on the pattern and practice of the personal social services for blind and partially sighted people. He detects an encouraging emergence of interest in visual disability issues, an interest which, disappointingly, is yet to be reflected in significant improvements in services. Service planning has not so far fully exploited the growing body of information about user numbers and needs. There must be more and better monitoring of service performance; and co-ordinating social and health care activity on a much broader basis is strongly advocated.
The use of low vision aids by children under the age of seven years
Authors: Nott Jennifer , Nott Jennifer
Published: March 2007

This article is based on a study (1988-90) which examined the use of low vision aids (LVAs) by a group of children under seven years. The conclusions show that the use of appropriate LVAs have considerable advantages. They also indicate that the required adult support from parents and teachers would be improved through greater awareness of what LVAs can achieve. Team work between medical staff, optometrists, parents and specialist teachers might lead to better practice in the use of the LVAs, both at home and at school.
Assessing the numeracy and literacy skills of visually impaired adults
Authors: Reid Juliet M.V.
Published: March 2007

This article reports on initial evaluations of some mainstream numeracy and literacy tests to determine how far they can be used in the vocational assessment of visually impaired adults. The criteria employed in the evaluation of each test and the rationale behind their selection are delineated. Results, showing the outcome of each evaluation on each criterion, are presented in tabular form and the relevance of their application to visually impaired people is discussed. Recommendations are made concerning the inclusion of individual mainstream test packages in a vocational assessment service for visually impaired adults.
An evaluated study of the use of tactile diagrams on Open University science courses
Authors: Wild Gabrielle , Hinton Ron
Published: March 2007

During 1994 the graphical material from each of two Open University science courses was presented to a group of visually impaired students as a tactile diagram package with an accompanying taped commentary. The usefulness of each package in improving access to the course material and its acceptability as a course component were monitored throughout the year. The positive response suggests that there is a strong case for integrating tactile diagrams into the modern multi-media approach that the Open University is currently implementing for students with a visual impairment. The results suggest that the use of tactile diagrams on distance learning courses is not only feasible but is a desirable option for such students. Possible pitfalls in the provision of such a service are highlighted and ways in which these might be overcome suggested.
The Future is Green: An Overview of the 1997 Green Paper on Children with Special Needs, Excellence for all Children
Authors: McCall Steve
Published: March 2007

The Government of the United Kingdom has published a Green Paper on the special educational needs of children: Excellence for All Children: Meeting Special Educational Needs. This Article provides historical background to the publication of the Green Paper, summarises its proposals, discusses the changes it is likely to bring about and concludes on a mildly optimistic note.
The Multi-Sensory Environment: An Open-Minded Space
Authors: Pagliano Paul
Published: March 2007

Staff from an Australian special school with a multi-sensory environment (MSE) were Interviewed over a two-year period. Preliminary analysis conducted on transcripts looked at the construction of MSE usage. Fundamental to these constructions is whether the MSE is "single-minded" (uni-functional) or 'open-minded' (multi-functional). The implications of this dtstinction are discussed.
Impact of Attachment Style and Self-Monitoring on Individuals' Responses to Accommodative Dilemmas Across Relationship Types
Authors: Gaines, Stanley O. , Work Cecily , Johnson Helena , Youn Mary Sue Page , Lai Kaycee
Published: March 2007

This study examines the impact of attachment style (i.e., secure, preoccupied, dismissing, and fearful-avoidant) on individuals' responses to accommodative dilemmas (i.e., exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect) across a variety of relationship types (n = 90 individuals). Contrary to hypotheses, prior to including: (a) constructiveness (constructive versus destructive), (b) activeness (active versus passive), and (c) relationship type (relationships with romantic partners, parents, and friends) as within-subject factors, and prior to controlling statistically for self-monitoring (or, more correctly, other-directedness), attachment style was not significant as a between-subjects factor. Also, contrary to predictions, after including constructiveness, activeness, and relationship type as within-subject factors, and after controlling statistically for other-directedness, the two-way interaction effect between attachment style and constructiveness was nonsignificant. However, a significant four-way interaction effect among attachment style, relationship type, constructiveness, and activeness emerged; results of planned comparisons revealed that attachment style was a significant predictor for one of the 12 dependent variables - namely, exit (an active, destructive response) in relationships with romantic partners. Unexpectedly, we also obtained a significant effect for other-directedness, such that other-directedness was: (a) a positive, marginal-to-significant covariate of passive (i.e., loyalty and neglect) responses, as well as (b) a negative, marginal-to-significant predictor of voice (an active, constructive response), across relationships in general.
Stress Generation in Intact Community Families: Depressive Symptoms, Perceived Family Relationship Stress, and Implications for Adolescent Adjustment
Authors: Jones Deborah J. , Beach Steven R. H. , Forehand Rex
Published: March 2007

The family stress generation process was examined, as was the role of family stress generation in adolescent adjustment. Participants were mothers ( n = 119), fathers ( n = 96), and adolescents ( n = 119) from intact, community families. Assessments were conducted at two points during adolescence, separated by one year. Mother's initial depressive symptoms generated perceived stress in both her marital and mother-adolescent relationship a year later. In turn, mother-reported family relationship stress exacerbated her depressive symptoms. Mother-reported family stress generation contributed to higher levels of depressive symptoms in both adolescent girls and boys. Although no evidence of a family stress generation process for fathers was found, father-reported family relationship stress was associated with greater adolescent depressive symptoms.
Issues and Interpersonal Values among Three Generations in Families of Holocaust Survivors
Authors: Chaitin Julia
Published: March 2007

This study looks at how three generations in Israeli families of Holocaust survivors work through the past. Fifty-seven people (23 survivors, 22 from the second generation, and 12 from the third) from 20 families told their life stories. The interviews were analyzed for central themes and values. For all generations, family relationships and the emotional difficulty of dealing with the Holocaust were important. The survivors emphasized family cohesiveness and unity, but distrusted nonfamily members. Their children emphasized conflictual family relationships; for them, working through was connected to interpersonal family relationships. The grandchildren stressed both close family ties and conflict, but also emphasized the importance of teaching younger generations about the Holocaust. It was concluded that the working through process poses different problems for each generation.
Social Exchange and Equity Determinants of Relationship Commitment
Authors: Michaels James W. , Acock Alan C. , Edwards John N.
Published: March 2007

The present study examines the explanatory power of alternative determinants of relationship commitment derived from the social exchange and equity perspective. We hypothesized that relationship commitment varies directly with relationship outcomes, outcomes relative to the attractiveness of alternatives, relationship satisfaction and duration. We also hypothesized that commitment varies inversely with relationship inequity and that females would be less committed to their relationships than would males. Using self-report data from college students dating one person exclusively and multiple regression procedures, we found clear support for the first set of hypotheses, marginal support for the effect of inequity, and no -support for the hypothesized gender difference in commitment.
Love Styles and Relationship Quality: A Contribution to Validation
Authors: Davis Keith E. , Latty-Mann Holly
Published: March 2007

Using a sample of seventy heterosexual undergraduate couples, we examined the usefulness of the new measures developed by Hendrick & Hendrick (1986) of six of Lee's (1973) basic love styles to predict individual and couple relationship qualities. The six love styles (Eros, Storge, Pragma, Ludus, Agape and Mania) were related to six aspects of relationship quality (Viability, Intimacy, Care, Passion, Satisfaction and Conflict/Ambivalence) derived from Davis & Todd's (1982, 1985) work on friendship and love relationships. Item-loadings and factor structure of the love style scales were replicated, and the pattern of relations among love styles was consistent across gender. Eros and Agape were positively related to individual reports of relationship qualities, and Ludus was negatively related. Mania was positively related to Passion. The pattern of results was supportive of Lee's theory for Eros, Agape, Ludus and Mania, but not for Storge and Pragma. Couples were significantly similar in all love styles except Pragma and Mania. Absolute differences between couple members in specific love styles were related to relationship quality measures for Eros, Agape and Ludus. Agape discrepancies were predictive of lower Intimacy and Viability (for women) and Care (for men). Eros discrepancies were predictive of generally poorer relationships for women, and Ludus discrepancies of generally poorer relationships for men. The findings were quite supportive of the validity and usefulness of the love style assessment developed by Hendrick & Hendrick (1986).
Interpersonal Perception: A Social Relations Analysis
Authors: Kenny David A.
Published: March 2007

Seven basic research questions in interpersonal perception are posed concerning issues of consensus, assimilation, reciprocity, accuracy, congruence, assumed similarity and self—other agreement. All questions can be addressed at the individual level, and three at the dyadic level. It is shown how the Social Relations Model can be used to answer the questions.
An Analysis of Three Expected Intimate Relationship States: Commitment, Maintenance and Termination
Authors: Kingsbury Nancy M. , Minda Robert B.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the study was to assess which of a group of relationship characteristics discriminate among the following relationship states in heterosexual dating couples: (a) expected commitment state (ECS), (b) expected maintenance state (EMS) and (c) expected termination state (ETS). Data were collected by mailed questionnaires from 37 male and 78 female students randomly selected from a western Canadian university. Results indicate that the expected termination state is the most predictable of the three states on relationship characteristics. Male/female differences on relationship characteristics were discussed.
The Religion of Relating: Kinship and Spirituality among Middle Eastern Jewish Women in Jerusalem
Authors: Sered Susan Starr
Published: March 2007

A participant observer study is reported. It is argued that, for elderly Jewish women in a Day Center in Jerusalem, the mundane relational realities of life are given religious significance, so that relationships become `sacralized'. It is also shown that, for these women, religious duties are couched in relational terms. Relationships are not so much a series of discrete activities but rather the paradigm through which they interpret and organize the sacred and the profane. For these women the aim of religious ritual is to relate the sacred to interpersonal relationships.
Intimacy Status and Couple Communication
Authors: Prager Karen J.
Published: March 2007

Based on Erikson's theory that successful resolution of the intimacy vs. isolation crisis results in the enhancement of one's capacity to maintain close relationships, it was hypothesized that a fully developed capacity for intimacy would affect the depth of a person's self-disclosure to his or her romantic partner. A sample of 49 couples ranging in age from 22 to 57 completed an intimacy status interview, the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (JSDQ), a relationship satisfaction measure, and were videotaped while discussing topics of varying levels of privacy from the JSDQ. Those with full (Intimate status) vs. partial (Merger and Pseudointimate statuses) resolutions to the intimacy crisis were best differentiated by their JSDQ scores and their satisfaction scores. Couples' analyses indicated that the individual's own intimacy status, plus the combined intimacy statuses of the partners in the couple, together best predicted both partners' self-disclosure and the male partner's satisfaction with the relationship. Intimate status females were most positive in the videotaped dialogue when their partners were also in the Intimate status. Results were interpreted as supporting Erikson's theory.
Relating Preschoolers' Social Competence and their Mothers' Parenting Behaviors to Early Attachment Security and High-Risk Status
Authors: Booth Cathryn L. , Rose-Krasnor Linda , Rubin Kenneth H.
Published: March 2007

Early attachment quality was related to social competence with an unfamiliar peer at age four, and to maternal management of peer interaction. Subjects were thirty-eight children, eighteen insecure and twenty securely attached children at twenty months. Approximately half of each group was middle-class and half was lower-class, high risk. At age four, each focal child and an unfamiliar play partner were videotaped during dyadic free play; the mother and the two children were videotaped building a house out of Duplo blocks. Behaviors of the mother and the focal child were coded using a social problem-solving framework. Results indicated that mothers of insecurely attached children were more adult-centered and less likely to use questions to meet their goals than were mothers of securely attached children. High-risk mothers were more adult-centered and more likely to use coercive, power assertive strategies than middle-class mothers. Four-year-old children who were insecurely attached as toddlers were more aggressive and their social interchanges were more likely to involve negative affect than securely attached children. Attachment x social class interactions suggested diverging maladaptive developmental pathways for insecures from different family environments.
The Impact of Life Events on Networks of Personal Relationships: A Comparison of Widowhood and Caring for a Spouse with Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Morgan David L. , March Stephen J.
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the effects of different life events on networks of personal relationships through a comparison of recent widows and caregivers of a spouse with Alzheimer's disease. In both cases, we collected qualitative data from focus groups and coded each mention of another person according to their relationship to the widow or caregiver and whether the person was mentioned positively, neutrally or negatively. The results show that there were notable differences between widows' networks of relationships and those of caregivers. Widows not only mentioned more people in their networks, but also mentioned these relationships in a more positive or a negative fashion, while caregivers made fewer mentions of other people and in a more neutral fashion. Comparing the effects of the two life events shows that widowhood generates changes that have impacts throughout the social network, while caregiving leads to a life that is centered on the intense demands of caring for the spouse. This difference suggests the importance of studying changes in relationships and networks across a broad range of life events. As individuals move through the life course, life events that create change are a certainty, and we need to learn how such changes affect social networks and personal relationships.
Attachment and Play: Convergence Across Components of Parent-Child Relationships and their Relations to Peer Competence
Authors: Kerns Kathryn A. , Barth Joan M.
Published: March 2007

Two components of the parent-child relationship, attachment and play, are associated with peer competence, but have not been related to one another. This study examines: (a) linkages between attachment security and physical play interactions in mother-child and father-child dyads, and (b) linkages between these parenting components and peer competence. A total of 54 preschoolers (27 girls) participated with their mothers and fathers. Parents completed the Attachment Q-set (Waters, 1987) and parent-child dyads were observed in a physical play session that was evaluated for play engagement and quality. Preschool teachers evaluated children's popularity and friendly-cooperative behavior. Mother-child dyads with more securely attached children had higher rates of play engagement. In father-child dyads with more securely attached children, fathers issued more directives and children made more suggestions and positive responses. Mother-child play quality and father-child attachment were most strongly associated with preschool measures. Findings suggest that attachment and play are relatively independent components.
Sexual Relationships on Holiday: A Case of Situational Disinhibition?
Authors: Eiser J. Richard , Ford Nicholas
Published: March 2007

A survey of 1033 single tourists, aged 16-29 years, visiting a seaside resort in southwest England, indicated that self-reported sexual behaviour was related to various attitudes concerning the forming of new relationships and the differentiation of holiday from home environments. Whereas 43.2 percent reported having had no sexual contact since arriving on holiday, 32.6 percent reported having engaged in sexual activity but not intercourse, and 24.2 percent reported having had intercourse with one or more new partners. Males reported higher rates of contact and intercourse than females. These groups were compared on scores derived from a factor analysis of attitude statements concerning relationship formation and holiday activities. Higher levels of sexual activity were associated with approval of casual sex, with males scoring higher on this factor than females. Sexual activity was also related, especially among females, to higher scores on a factor representing situational disinhibition, e.g. feeling like a `different person' on holiday. Among those who reported having had intercourse (with a previously unknown partner), a worryingly high proportion (73.4% of males and 49.3% of females) reported that this occurred without the protection of a condom. Females, but not males, who held more `disinhibited' attitudes were more likely to use condoms. Males, but not females, were more likely to use condoms if they believed the relationship might continue. A belief that condoms reduced sexual pleasure for women was associated with non-use, especially among women. The findings are discussed in relation to concepts of self-consistency and goals within personal relationships.
Troublesome Relationships: A Part of Human Experience
Authors: Levitt Mary J. , Silver Marcia E. , Franco Nathalie
Published: March 2007

In a study of troublesome relationships, 343 university students and employees were surveyed. Issues addressed were the frequency, nature and precursors of negative relationship experiences. Over half of the respondents (55.7%) reported a very troublesome relationship within the previous 5 years. These were most often close relationships that deteriorated markedly as a result of the experience. Negative relationship involvement was related to insecure styles of attachment. Those with an insecure-avoidant attachment style were also more prone to use alcohol or drugs to cope with the troubled relationship and they were more likely to end the relationship. The results support the view that a history of poor attachment relations may compromise later relationships. However, the attachment effects were modest and the pervasiveness of troublesome relationship encounters suggests that these are an ubiquitous part of the human experience.
Relational Themes in Men's and Women's Popular Nonfiction Magazine Articles
Authors: Duran Robert L. , Prusank Diane T.
Published: March 2007

Popular magazines serve as an important source of relational information for millions of individuals in this culture. Dependency Theory (Ball-Rokeach & DeFleur, 1976), which specifies a tripartite media-audience-society model, serves as the framework for the present study which explores similarities and differences in relational issues and the manner in which they are discussed in popular men's and women's magazine articles. The sample of nonfiction articles (N= 108) was drawn from three men's (Playboy, Penthouse, and GO) and three women's (Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Self) popular magazines. The articles were compared on types of relation-ships (e.g. marriage, dating, friendship, etc.), relational issues (e.g. conflict, sexual relations, initiating relationships, etc.), and rhetorical presentation. Results indicate similarities between men's and women's magazine articles regarding the relationship types and issues discussed. Differences were found between the men's and women's magazines in the portrayal of relationships and in the advice proffered. The implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Automatic Evaluation of Self and Significant Others: Affective Priming in Close Relationships
Authors: Banse Rainer
Published: March 2007

The affective priming paradigm developed by Murphy and Zajonc (1993) was adapted to assess an automatic evaluative response to friends (n = 100) or romantic partners (n = 101). It was investigated how a brief presentation of the first names and faces of relationship partners modulated the evaluation of immediately following Chinese letters. The visibility of the primes was manipulated by either masking the primes or not. In the low visibility condition, the Chinese letters were more positively evaluated when they were preceded by the name or face of the relationship partner than when they were preceded by the participant's name or face. In the high visibility condition, a similar but stronger effect was found for face primes, and no effect for name primes. All priming effects were replicated for friends and romantic partners. The short-term stability of individual priming effects was low. No significant relations between priming effects and relationship satisfaction or attachment styles were found. The results suggest that affect is an integral part of the relationship schema, but that the amplitude of this evaluative reaction does not reflect individual differences in relationship satisfaction or attachment styles.
How managers use online information
Authors: Withey Richard
Published: March 2007

BIM surveys, and other evidence, suggest that managers are reluctant to take full and direct advantage of online services. The reasons for this are examined and set within the general framework of the implementation of information technology by British management.
Research Note: Germany at War
Authors: Eilders Christiane , Lüter Albrecht
Published: March 2007

This research note deals with the role of the media in assigning legitimacy to Germany's first participation in military action since the end of the Second World War. A content analysis of the war discourse in the editorials of the five leading German newspapers investigates the range of evaluations of the Kosovo war. Employing the concept of framing, a variety of competing diagnostic, prognostic and identity-related interpretations were identified. Controversial debate emerged around the procedural aspects of warfare. While the conservative papers emphasized the military options, the liberal papers directed attention to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts. Yet, the legitimacy of the war was hardly contested in any of the national prestige papers. These findings support the basic assumptions of the indexing thesis since the high degree of consent in the media system reflects the lack of substantial conflict in the German party system.
Family Differences on Television
Authors: Linné Olga , Hartmann Paul
Published: March 2007

This article examines how the family is portrayed by television in four countries —Australia, Denmark, Hungary and Britain — with different cultures, political and broadcasting systems. It is based on results from the preliminary phase of an ongoing research project carried out in 1982 and sponsored by the Stiftung Prix Jeunesse.1 Despite the differences between the countries under study, the television presentations of the family are remarkably similar. Part of the explanation lies in the common Anglo-American origin of much of the fictional material studied.
Ideological News Reporting from the Third World: A Case Study of International Newspaper and Magazine Coverage of the Civil War in Nigeria 1967-70
Authors: Nohrstedt Stig Arne
Published: March 2007

The article presents an empirical test of opposed positions in the debate over sources of imbalance and distortion in reporting of Third World affairs: are they due to ideological bias or to lack of journalistic freedom in the countries concerned? An analysis of coverage of the 1967-70 Nigerian civil war was made on newspapers and magazines in countries with different attitudes towards the Federal government and Biafran rebels — Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union and the USA. The results confirm the influence of ideological factors, notably traditional colonial images and current foreign policy interests, but restrictions on access to news sources may also have had an impact.
Television News and the `Third Force' in British Politics: A Case Study of Election Communication
Authors: Semetko Holli A.
Published: March 2007

Small or new political parties may be specially dependent upon media attention and a country's election communication arrangements may have an important impact on a new party's recognition-gaining chances. This article focuses on the response of Britain's broadcast media to the SDP-Liberal Alliance, drawing on a content analysis of television news coverage of the 1983 general election campaign. A number of variables are used to assess the coverage of the parties including: the prominence of stories; the amount of `soundbite' material from party spokespersons; the proportion of party-initiated versus media-initiated stories; reporters' commentary; and key visuals. Party and media agendas are also compared. This case study suggests that Britain's election communication arrangements presented both advantages and disadvantages to the `third force'. In conclusion, a number of factors are identified as important to future research on the amenability of political communication systems to small or new political parties.
Political Communication: The Construction of a Model
Authors: Wolton Dominique
Published: March 2007

Political communication introduces in the sphere of politics a change that is equal in scope to those introduced by the mass media in the field of information and by polls in that of public opinion. It essentially constitutes a locus for the exchange of conflicting discourses between three main actors, all endowed with legitimacy: political leaders; journalists; public opinion as expressed by polls. This restricted definition has the advantage of showing that the originality of political communication consists in dealing with contradictory and complementary elements of mass democracy: Politics, Information and Communication.

Stressing the importance of communication in politics does not imply an erasure of conflict, which would be absurd, given the consubstantiality of conflict and political life. It merely serves to underline the fact that in democratic systems conflict can also be expressed through communication. Thus communication is both a fact of everyday life, and a necessary concept to the understanding of pluralistic mass democracies.
The Internationalization of Television
Authors: Negrine R. , Papathanassopoulos S.
Published: March 2007

Traditionally, television has been analysed as a national domestic medium. However, technological, political and regulatory developments in the last two decades have introduced a complexity of new forces which are transforming the medium into an international one. Such forces as supra-national regulatory activity, the international trade in television and the development of transfrontier television are creating new alliances and practices among politicians, broadcasters and media organizations and are bringing about the transformation of the medium. This paper sets out both to identify and document the process of internationalization.
Government Policy and the British Film Industry 1979-90
Authors: Hill John
Published: March 2007

This article provides an overview and assessment of British government policy towards film during the years of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government 1979-90. Its central argument is that this policy failed to achieve its objectives, and that it did so because it sought to impose `free market' solutions on an industry in which, by virtue of US domination, no free market existed. The results have been a decline in British film production and a domination of the British market by US product. Despite the British government's wish that the industry should `stand on its own feet', what stability British film production enjoyed during the 1980s was the consequence of a continuing dependence on the state, either directly or, in the case of television, indirectly. There has been some belated recognition by the government of the limitations of its policy, but insufficient changes to it to ensure the long-term viability of British film-making.
Television News Programmes in Western Europe: A Comparative Study
Authors: Heinderyckx François
Published: March 2007

This article summarizes a study conducted on seventeen news programmes from eight Western European countries. The analysis focuses both on what subjects were taken up (substance) and on how they were presented (form). The results reveal that however standard this essential feature programme may seem, every such broadcast is unique in the way it blends a limited number of ingredients. Qualitative comments are made on the effectiveness of several techniques used by some stations. Correlative analyses reveal two coherent groups comprising those stations broadcasting from `Germanic-culture' countries on the one hand, and those from `Romance-culture' countries on the other. The study also highlights the significant quantitative and qualitative differences in the coverage of the closing of the Maastricht Summit (which took place during the period covered by the study).
National Language, Identity Formation and Broadcasting
Authors: Van den Bulck Hilde , Van Poecke Luc
Published: March 2007

This article presents part of the findings that came out of a two-year research conducted within the frame of a FKFO project.1 The purpose of this project was to show how the study of the evolving language policies of public service broadcasting (PSB),2 can give a good insight into the (self-) ascribed role of PSB in the nation-building project and wider identity formation within communities. In other words, it showed how the evolving language policies of PSB can be explained by looking at their wider socioeconomic, political, cultural and sociolinguistic context.3

The study was comparative in the sense that the language policy of the Flemish, German-Swiss and Dutch PSB were taken as case studies. As we show, their seemingly different language policies must be understood as the result of different `accents' in the process of nation-building and in the position of language in this process. The study was also diachronic. Throughout time, the PSB services have modified their language policies considerably. These changes must be understood as a symptom of sociocultural transformations and consequent changes in identity formation within these communities. As such, the language policies of PSB can be situated within the shift from a modern to a postmodern or postmaterialist society.
Press Concentration and Media Policy in Small Countries
Authors: Grisold Andrea
Published: March 2007

This article deals with the newspaper industry in small states with a big, more powerful neighbouring country where the same language is spoken. Austria and Ireland are used as examples to show the similarities within the different frameworks, the chosen newspaper sector displaying typical characteristics of traditional market failure and providing output with strong political relevance. Therefore public policy measures are even more important than in other industries. An economic analysis of the developments in the newspaper industry (in the two countries especially) is given, followed by a survey and interpretation of recent economic policies as well as media policy options. With an overview of the changes in the newspaper industries in Austria and Ireland as a starting point, the article aims to explore whether and what can be done to hinder or even unravel the observed concentration processes.
Accountability of Media to Society
Authors: McQuail Denis
Published: March 2007

Developments in technology, deregulation and increased commercialization have combined to pose a threat to established ways of relating the activities and aspirations of mass media to the `needs of society'. At the core of the problem is the dilemma of reconciling media freedom with legitimate claims and expectations from private and public interests, under fundamentally changing conditions. This article considers some basic principles of the accountability process, reviews the means available for achieving accountability and proposes some general guidelines for future policy and practice.
Globalization and Ideology
Authors: Gao Bai
Published: March 2007

The convergence argument in the debate on globalization regards globalization as a structural change. Globalization, however, is as much a structural change as a social construction - an imagined order of the future that involves value judgment and an ideological stand. Through an analysis of the ideological conflicts in the politics of Japan's national response to the challenge of globalization, the article shows that the convergence argument is being challenged on four specific issues in Japan: the universal model of market economy conflicts with the search for national identity; the big bang strategy that asserts a radical turnover of the national economic system is discredited by the holistic view of the economy that emphasizes the social embeddedness of the economic system; the new interpretation of the Japanese economic system as a product of wartime control contradicts the widely held image of postwar Japan as a democratic country; and the efficiency principle for future economic governance is challenged by the established norms concerning equality. This study indicates that the convergence argument in the debate on globalization faces strong resistance from the deeply institutionalized beliefs in the national economic system.
THE PEACE MOVEMENT - SOME QUESTIONS CONCERNING ITS SOCIAL NATURE AND STRUCTURE
Authors: Meier Artur
Published: March 2007

Sociologists are latecomers to the study of war, peace and international security. A genuine sociological viewpoint on the peace movement means studying it as a social movement, its distribution, structure, values and capacity for effecting social change. The thesis here is that it is the broadest and strongest social movement in the present time, the counterpart of the multinational military-industrial complex and non-class based. The strong representation of some groups of the intelligentsia is in part due to an objective decline in their real living conditions. The peace movement as a whole provides the basis for a wide variety of groups struggling for social development and progress.
MOVEMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS: STRUCTURAL OPPOSITION OR PROCESSUAL LINKAGE?
Authors: Oommen T. K.
Published: March 2007

Dichotomous constructions of human societies or their specific dimensions are deeply entrenched in the tradition of social science. There are two sources of this vigorous and persisting tendency: Western epistemological dualism and the displacement syndrome it entails, and the inadequate apprehension of the processual dimension of social reality. This paper suggests that: (a) Western thought itself blocks an adequate appreciation of the nature of Western social reality; and (b) the indiscriminate application of Western concepts to non-Western societies distorts the very nature of social reality in these societies. The argument is pursued by explicating the processual linkages between movements and institutions and by applying these concepts to the Indian situation.