Developing a model of housing support: the evidence from Merseyside

This paper examines the complexities of providing housing support services for people who have experienced homelessness. The evidence is from a qualitative study of both those receiving and those providing support services for homeless people to resettle into the wider community from homeless accommodation in the Merseyside area. Different approaches of support are considered and using narratives, a model of successful support is established. The experiences of the majority of the service users strongly suggest that support has been critical in assisting a resettled way of life after being homeless. The paper contends that a critical prerequisite of successful support is the strength of desire of the homeless person to become resettled, coupled with a degree of motivation to engage with support services. The importance of such motivation should not be underestimated. Equally important to the success of resettlement is the relationship that most clients develop with a support worker. This relationship can initially develop while attempting to resolve practical difficulties of finding suitable, permanent accommodation. Through a mutual respect between worker and client and a high degree of empathy from a worker towards a client in tandem with an individualized support package aimed at independent living successful outcomes can occur. The paper concludes that support is successful when it is provided in a flexible manner thus relying on the skill and ability of a support worker to adequately judge the exact requirements of a service user. When this delicate balance between support and service user needs is achieved, the outcome is long‐term sustainable housing solutions.     

The Process of Becoming Homeless: An Investigation of Female-Headed Families Living in Poverty

Homelessness is modeled as a three-state process in which female-headed families move between primary residency in their own homes (residence) to doubling-up in other families' homes (doubling-up) and finally to homeless shelters (shelter). The most important explanatory factors for families in residence are rent/income variables, while the most important factors for families doubling-up pertain to sharing difficulties. The results support early intervention in the homelessness process as an important public policy goal.     

促进移民安稳致富是实施后扶政策的根本目标——湖北省大中型水库移民后扶工作的成效、经验、问题与对策

湖北省实施移民后扶政策取得了显著成效,移民收入水平稳步提高,生产生活条件得到改善,库区和移民安置区产业发展步伐不断加快,生态环境明显好转,公共服务体系进一步完善,社会大局保持稳定,实现了＂让移民留得住、能发展、可致富＂的既定目标,这得益于省委省政府以人为本,民生为重,创新管理体制和工作机制,对移民后扶工作高度重视。针对移民后扶工作中仍然存在的问题,还需要进一步转变观念,科学统筹,加大投入,创新体制。     

Behavioural factors in young people's fruit consumption

This study aims to find out the determinant factors affecting fruit consumption behaviour in Portuguese young people, based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) model, and determine if this model explains differences according to gender, age and rural/urban environments. This research is innovative because it tests the HAPA model with young people, and because it adds social support to the HAPA model as an extra predictor of young people's behaviour. To gather the data, a questionnaire survey was applied in two public schools, one in a rural area and the other in a city. The survey was answered by 266 Portuguese young people, aged 15–21 years, from the 10th to the 12th grades. Authorization for the survey was given in advance, from the Ministry of Education, schools and parents, after which the survey was performed. Before applying the questionnaire, two pre‐tests were carried out, each with ten participants and with similar characteristics to the population studied. This study analyses action self‐efficacy, outcome expectancies, action planning, risk perception, intention, maintenance self‐efficacy and social support variables. The result was obtained through a two‐step process, by determining the measurement and structural model, using Smart PLS 2.0. The results show that young females have more factors determining fruit consumption, with greater social support for action self‐efficacy, greater maintenance self‐efficacy through action self‐efficacy, and greater perception of risk regarding fruit consumption. In terms of age, young people over 16 years present greater outcome expectations for the intention, greater perception of risk and action self‐efficacy for fruit consumption. The multi‐group analysis referring to differences between young people living in rural or urban environments did not show proof of the model giving a better explanation of one situation or the other. It can be concluded that the HAPA model is appropriate to the investigation of behaviour factors that influence young people's fruit consumption. The results also indicate that in the scope of the behaviour analysed the proposed model gives a better explanation for females and for those over 16 years.     

Social comparison,imitation of celebrity models and materialism among Chinese youth

Materialism is an important issue, especially among young people, and especially in a Chinese context. Based on a theoretical model of the endorsement of materialistic values among Chinese youth, the objectives were to examine the influence of interpersonal communication on social comparison, and the influence of advertising viewing on imitation of celebrity models. In turn, the study examined how both social comparison and imitation of celebrity models contribute to young people’s endorsement of materialistic values. A mall intercept survey of 631 young people aged 15–24 in Hong Kong revealed that peer communication and susceptibility to peer influence had strong positive relationships to engagement in social comparison. Motivation for viewing advertisements had a strong positive relationship to imitation of celebrity models. In turn, both social     

Personalized charity advertising. Can personalized prosocial messages promote empathy,attitude change,and helping intentions toward stigmatized social groups?

This study examines the role of personalized charity advertising in promoting empathy, attitude change, and helping intentions toward stigmatized social groups. Based on theories of message involvement, empathy, and reactance, we predicted that higher levels of involvement elicited by a personalized charity advertisement would reinforce empathy and prosocial outcomes. An online experiment was conducted using a personalized and a nonpersonalized version of a charity advertisement for a campaign soliciting donations of winter coats for homeless people. As expected, structural equation modeling revealed a positive indirect effect of personalization on prosocial outcomes (attitudes and behavioural intentions toward homeless people, and willingness to donate to the campaign) that was mediated by involvement and empathy. However, in addition to promoting involvement and empathy, personalization also led to heightened reactance, which detracted from the positive effects. Theoretical as well as practical implications of the findings for personalized charity advertising are discussed.     

Social Comparison Goals and the Consumption of Advertising: Towards a More Contingent View of Young Women’s Consumption of Advertising

In this paper we use a small-scale exploratory study to challenge current interpretations of the potential effects of the portrayals of women in print advertising on young women’s self-esteem and body image. We examine how young women’s self-perception and self-esteem may be affected depending on their goal for social comparison: self-evaluation, self-improvement and self-enhancement. The results indicate that the goal for social comparison is an important moderating influence on how advertising images are interpreted and consumed. The findings confirm and extend earlier studies; and provide support for challenging prevalent views of women, firstly as passive consumers of advertising messages; secondly, as necessarily susceptible to negative self assessment in response to ideal images in advertising; and thirdly as pursuing only one goal in their consumption of advertising.     

水工程项目后期扶持的移民参与机制研究

后期扶持是我国解决水工程移民遗留问题的一项特殊政策。移民参与后期扶持既有理论基础,又有法律依据,还有域外实践经验。近年来,库区和移民安置区通过创设移民自治机构、公开政策信息、民主选择项目等途径践行移民参与机制,取得了一定成效,但也面临参与意识不强、能力不足、机制不全的障碍。为了发挥移民参与的效能,必须进一步完善参与法规,培育移民组织,提升参与能力,畅通参与渠道。     

Parental financial support: A safety net for young adults with debt problems

Parental financial support benefits young adults in societies with decreasing welfare‐state support and a pattern of early home‐leaving. This article focuses on the association between young adults’ debt problems and parental financial support: the extent to which indebted young adults receive financial help from their parents. We also investigate the extent to which specific benefits are associated with debt problems or parental financial support. The data were gathered in an online survey conducted among 18‐to‐35‐year‐old Finns (n = 1,019). The results revealed, first, that many parents safeguard their indebted adult children’s lives by means of financial support and second, that heavy cash‐welfare‐benefit users are particularly likely to receive parental financial support. Our analysis also revealed that the prevalence of debt problems as well as of parental financial support were especially high among those who had received social assistance, sickness benefit or labour‐market subsidy within the previous 12 months. In a society open to new social risks as well as to debt problems, young people who lack financial support from their parents have a rockier transition to adulthood than those who receive support.     

The consumption of gambling in everyday life

This paper is concerned with the escalation of gambling in the UK and the consequences this has for the consumer. Reasons why people consume risk through the medium of gambling are provided with social factors, presented here, as important variables that have influenced this consumption. The National Lottery in the UK is highlighted as the most recent example that provides the context for this escalation in the consumption of gambling. The paper then presents research data obtained from reformed problem gamblers and describes the social ills associated with their compulsive gambling behaviour traits and their worries over the impact that gambling has on the individual and the community. The paper suggests that there will be an increase in the number of problem gamblers as a result of the increasing exposure of the consumer towards many forms of gambling.     

中国城市居家养老模式探析

进入新世纪以来,我国老龄化问题日趋严峻,也已成为经济发展、社会进步、构建和谐社会过程中不得不解决的问题。应运而生的居家养老已成为学界、社会和百姓的关注热点,并正在成为解决养老问题的重要途径。当前,由于资金缺口大、且资金来源单一,服务设施不完善,专业人才短缺、没有完善的评估机制以及传统家庭养老的影响等问题,已经阻碍居家养老模式的运行。政府部门应该加大宣传力度,促进传统养老观念转变;加大政策支持力度,解决资金来源,引进专业人才,提高待遇水平,增强服务人员的能力;将服务对象分类管理,做到服务项目多样化、个性化。通过充分动员社会一切可利用资源,推动我国居家养老事业的可持续发展。     

Health as a consumption object: research notes and preliminary investigation

Through the processes of commodification and marketization, materials and human activities are brought within the domain of market exchange. The results of these accelerating processes are observed in the consumer culture centred on objects of consumption. We contend that, in addition to healthcare, health itself has become yet another object incorporated within consumption space. This contention is consistent with the perspective of consumption as the dominant social paradigm in the structuring of health and healthcare practices. In this paper we present the conceptual backdrop for our contentions, together with details of a heuristic study. Our findings support the view that people regard health as a consumption object. Furthermore, the evidence suggests a patterning of responses by social grade and gender. Given our wider interest in class‐based health inequalities, we use our results to comment on the broader policy debate concerning this phenomenon in relation to consumerism.     

Electronic shopping: young people as consumers

Findings and discussions in this paper lead to recommendations in relation to young people as consumers in the electronic marketplace. The recommendations in this paper may be of value to students, academics, e‐marketers and e‐retailers. This paper seeks to take a cross‐border perspective while discussing the issue of young consumers and electronic shopping. It attempts to discuss significant macro‐environmental influences on young consumers in the electronic commerce market. It also highlights important opportunities and threats, relevant to the young consumers target market. The paper finally introduces generic strategies that may be used to successfully target the youth market and discusses resulting implications. Before delving into the electronic shopping market analysis and the strategic focus on young people, the paper will first introduce the meaning of electronic shopping and highlight the interdependent nature of electronic shopping and e‐commerce. It will also explain what is meant by young consumers in the context of this study.     

Fear, guilt, and shame appeals in social marketing

This paper presents the results from a qualitative study of income support recipients with regard to how they feel about advertising which overtly appeals to their sense of fear, guilt and shame. The motivation of the study was to provide formative research for a social marketing campaign designed to increase compliance with income reporting requirements. This study shows that negative appeals with this group of people are more likely to invoke self-protection and inaction rather than an active response such as volunteering to comply. Social marketers need to consider the use of fear, guilt and shame to gain voluntary compliance as the study suggests an overuse of these negative appeals. While more formative research is required, the future research direction aim would be to develop an instrument to measure the impact of shame on pro-social decision-making; particularly in the context of close social networks rather than the wider society.     

“Right Time,Right Place,and Right People” and Chinese Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Taiwan’s Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

In examining corporate success, many scholars overlook an important contributing factor, namely entrepreneurship. However, Chinese wisdom believes that the “right time, right place, and right people” (Three R’s) are crucial for business success. This study utilizes theories of entrepreneurship from the Austrian School of Economics to reinterpret the three factors for business success. This new interpretation is then applied to explain the success of a famous dumpling house in Taiwan, Din Tai Fung. This study argues that although favorable timing is critical to business success, it requires an entrepreneur to grasp the opportunity when it comes. The seizure of a golden chance requires alertness and preparation. More importantly, this study argues that even during an adverse period, a crisis can be turned into a profit opportunity. Whereas a favorable location is also regarded as a key factor, this study goes beyond sheer spatial dimensions. Location also encompasses culture, social customs, norms and traditional folklores. This paper argues that an entrepreneur transplants culture and social customs from one location to another, thus, gaining pure entrepreneurial profit. Finally, the “right people” in an entrepreneurial sense involves a harmonious social network and good personal relationship (Guanxi). By maintaining a harmonious relationship with staff members, partners, customers, and suppliers, entrepreneurs can “get things done.” This case study provides a new insight into Chinese entrepreneurship in East Asia.     

Preparing and responding to major accidents and disasters

After major incidents and disasters psychosocial support for the people affected is urgent and sometimes predominant. To plan and train staff for psychosocial intervention European and national guidelines have been developed. The European Policy Paper "Psychosocial support in situations of mass emergencies" offers guidance for policy-makers and health-planners. The quality and time of early psychosocial interventions after a traumatic event are important factors for the coping capacity of the people affected. To meet the needs of those affected crisis intervention teams for psychosocial acute care have been established and trained in almost all federal provinces of Austria acccording to the principles of the Policy Paper.     

三峡库区待迁移民的搬迁态度及其影响因素

考察了以往三峡移民研究中被忽略的一个侧面———待迁移民对搬迁所持有的态度及其影响因素。目前大部分待迁移民在搬迁的实际与预期存在一定的差距。其中 ,待迁移民对搬迁的经济衡量具有最为显著的正向作用 ,政策宣传影响及社会资本评价也具有一定的正向影响 ,户口性质在其他因素相同情形下有较大的负向作用。提出了建立态度引导机制的相关建议     

The Role of Social Integration in Service Satisfaction:

This study examines the process through which social integration contributes to service satisfaction in a nonprofit service setting. The model proposed in this study provides a context for understanding how traditional dimensions of service quality operate through social mechanisms to influence satisfaction. The model, which is based on social cognitive theory, suggests that: (1) perceptions of social support and the voice one has in an organization are important elements in determining service satisfaction; (2) the service recipient's perceptions of one's ability to function in the service organization setting (i.e., self-efficacy) is a critical element in a causal chain leading to service satisfaction; and (3) both social support and voice are determined by ''traditional'' service quality elements. Evidence in support of this model is provided through a telephone survey of church members.     

晚年独居意味着孤独吗?——基于社会网络的调节与中介作用分析

老年人独居比例和孤独感的上升已经成为家庭现代化转型中的典型现象,现有对二者关系的研究忽视了社会网络的视角。基于2014年中国老年健康影响因素跟踪调查数据,利用潜在类别分析和logistic回归模型考察了社会网络在老年人独居和孤独感之间所发挥的作用。研究发现,老年人独居并不意味着会感到孤独,不同类型的社会网络加重或缓解了独居带来的孤独感上升。具体而言:第一,老年人社会网络可以分为多元-活跃型、社会-消极型、子女-消极型和单一-活跃型四种类型;资源禀赋丰富的老年人具有多元-活跃型社会网络的概率更大。第二,仅具有子女-消极型社会网络的老年人,单人独居才会显著提升他们的孤独感。第三,单人独居和夫妇独居老年人均会通过多元-活跃型的社会网络缓解自身孤独感。应通过积极的公共政策,从能力建设和社区环境营造两方面,推动老年人社会网络向多元-活跃型转变。