The Good and Bad of Social Change: Ambivalence Toward Activist Groups

Inherent to any substantive social change is the disruption of the status quo. To the extent that individuals are motivated to preserve the current social system (e.g., Jost & Banaji, British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27, 1994), even social change in pursuit of positive goals might evoke ambivalent reactions. Although activist groups might elicit positivity because they are assumed to have positive qualities and they seek positive goals, they might evoke negativity because their actions disrupt the current social system. These experiments examined two different forms of disruption of the status quo. In Experiment 1, a group gaining power elicited greater ambivalence than a group losing power, regardless of the valence of the group’s goal. Importantly, the conditions that evoked ambivalence did not inhibit behavioral support. Experiment 2 found that a new group elicited more ambivalence than an established group when pursuing a positive goal. Consistent with theories emphasizing maintenance of the status quo, these findings demonstrate that attitudes toward activist groups do not derive solely from self-interest.

Detection of polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in pediatric hair as a tool for determining in utero exposure

This study presents the prevalence of ethanol and illicit drugs in fatal road traffic accident victims in the Centre of Portugal between January 1990 and December 2007. Among the violent deaths, road traffic accidents presented the highest percentage (around 35%; n=3095), but decreasing throughout the years. Accidents were preponderant in males (about 80%; n=2402), between 21 and 30 years-old. Accidents involving drivers (55%; n=1310) were of the most common, being the car the main vehicle (45%), followed by the motorcycle (40%). An alcohol analysis request was present in 50% of the cases (n=1687), but increasing each year. Ethanol concentrations >1.2g/L, the legal limit in Portugal, were found in 55% (n=283) of the cases. Concerning drugs of abuse requests, only 4.4% (n=137) and 17.3% (58 cases) of the cases included the analysis at the Forensic Pathology Department (FPD) and at the Medico-Legal Office (MLO), respectively. Among the road accident cases analysed, 18 were positive, mainly in men (84%), between 21 and 30 years-old; opiates (47.1%; n=8) and cannabinoids (50%; n=4) were the most found, at the FPD and at the MLO, respectively. In conclusion, ethanol was identified as a key factor to traffic accidents, which explains the definition of specific legislation and methods of enforcement to prohibit this form of impairing. Nevertheless, ethanol still remains the psychoactive substance most frequently identified in the blood of divers killed in road-traffic crashes, recommending additional actions of supervision and control.     

Judging risk: key determinants in British domestic violence cases

Data from the largest study to date of the working practices of British victim support workers (known as Independent Domestic Violence Advisors or IDVAs) are used to provide insight into how "risk judgments" are made in cases of domestic violence. Using data from more than 2,000 victims, this study found a convergence between actuarial data and IDVAs' risk judgments when the risk score was high, but in cases with a lower risk score, IDVAs often used their professional judgment to upgrade risk. Next, we identified the specific factors underpinning IDVAs' risk judgments. Consistent with existing research, we found that IDVAs relied on a subset of available information when forming risk judgments, and characteristics of the abusive situation, such as the escalation of violence, use of weapons, stalking, and significant injuries, were particularly salient to them. Furthermore, IDVAs paid attention to victims' perceptions and when they felt very frightened or afraid of further injury then IDVAs were more likely to label them as high risk. Although we identified some encouraging overlap between the subset of factors informing risk judgments and those associated with victims' reabuse at a later date, some notable differences indicate a need for messages from research about the significance of particular risk factors to be reinforced to frontline practitioners on a regular basis.     

Differentiating Parents with Faking-Good Profiles from Parents with Valid Scores on the Child Abuse Potential Inventory

Parental capacity assessments (PCAs) remain common during child abuse investigations, and “best practice” approaches to evaluations consist of using a comprehensive assessment (Budd et al. 2011). The Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP; Milner 1986) is one risk assessment measure used during PCAs, but results may be confounded by faking-good behavior. Currently, there is a small amount of literature examining the characteristics and implications of parents who fake good on the CAP. The present study examined differences between physically abusive parents with a faking or non-faking profile on the CAP by demographic information, psychopathology, behavioral observation data, and abuse recidivism. Parents differed significantly by IQ and depression scores, but no significant differences were found on any other variable including recidivism rates at posttreatment. Implications of study outcomes, and the emphasis for a multimethod approach to PCAs will be discussed.     

Digital era open government and democratic governance: The case of Government of Canada Wikipedia editing

As digital era open government initiatives are deployed globally, researchers are debating their effects on democratic governance. We develop a framework to evaluate whether these initiatives improve or undermine democratic governance and apply it to the case of Government of Canada Wikipedia editing and an automated Twitter account (@gccaedits) tracking this activity. Through content analysis of edits and analysis of access to information requests we show that while most edits made are useful and non-partisan, the response of news media and government managers ultimately renders the editing a threat to democratic governance. This complexity highlights the importance of assessing the merits of open government initiatives in their broader socio-political context. The findings also suggest that more fundamental shifts in contemporary political, media and administrative cultures are necessary before the potential benefits of open government reforms can materialize.     

Organizational turnaround: moving beyond one-size-fits-all solutions

Abstract

Literature on organizational turnaround has frequently suggested, but rarely investigated, the possibility that turnaround strategies for failing organizations must be matched to the specific needs of the organization. Building on work related to causes of decline in private sector literature, this study offers a framework for matching strategic interventions to the current state of an organization’s functioning in terms of resources (material and human), coordination (horizontal and vertical), and the environment. Using a panel dataset of New York City schools, we find that two understandings of turnaround that often appear mutually exclusive—that an organization can improve performance by shoring up weaknesses and that an organization should play to its current strengths—can complement each other and may both appropriately describe different types of organizational challenges.