bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing and Redressing Comprehension Artifacts in Social Intervention Research
Authors: Crano William D. , Messé Lawrence A.
Published: March 2007

The failure of many complex social interventions can be attributed to a lack of comprehension on the part of respondents with respect to the appropriate behavioral response. This research details the means by which such "comprehension artifacts" can be detected and offset. The study employed data obtained from a large-scale electric rate demonstration experiment, in which treatment group subjects'rates were tied to the time of day at which they used electricity. Standard analytic approaches suggested no treatment influence on respondents' usage behavior. However, reanalysis disclosed that the rate variation manipulation had a considerable impact on those who could be identified as having understood the complex features of the treatment. This article details a methodology for discriminating knowledgeable from nonknowledgeable respondents, and outlines the manner in which this categorization can be validated in secondary analysis settings. In addition, the use of the empirically derived categorization as a "blocking "variable is discussed, along with a consideration of alternative methodologies. In research involving complex social interventions, the suggested approach can provide information of considerably greater precision than that obtained through more traditional analytic techniques.
Triangulation in Evaluation
Authors: Greene Jennifer , McClintock Charles
Published: March 2007

More effective use of mixed-methods evaluation designs employing quantitative and qualitative methods requires clarification of important design and analysis issues. Design needs include assessments of the relative costs and benefits of alternative mixed-methods designs, which can be differentiated by the independence of the different methods and their sequential or concurrent implementation. The evaluation reported herein illustrates an independent, concurrent mixed-method design and highlights its significant triangulation benefits. Strategies for analyzing quantitative and qualitative results are further needed. Underlying this analysis challenge is the issue of cross-paradigm triangulation. A comment on this issue is provided, in conjunction with several triangulation analysis strategies.
Measuring Need and Demands in Evaluation Research
Authors: Conner Ross F. , Jacobi Maryann , Altman David G. , Aslanian Carol B.
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on the distinction between needs assessment and demand assessment and presents a methodology for operationalizing and measuring demands. We report the results of a survey of a national sample of 32 university and college administrators to assess their need and demand for an adult student opinion package. The study was noteworthy for its differentiation of need for a service (i.e., interest in the service) and demand for a service (i.e., willingness to pay), and its attempt to determine the cost at which demand decreased significantly in relation to need for various evaluation services. The results indicated that levels of need and demand are positively related but not identical. The article concludes with a discussion of the demand concept, a critique of our operationalization of the concept, and a discussion of the use of the results of the study.
Lowering the Costs of Program Evaluation
Authors: Tonn Bruce , Hirst Eric
Published: March 2007

During this period of reductions in government social programs, there is great value in developing program evaluation methods that are low cost and timely. This article explores the use of past evaluation data to develop statistical models useful in predicting future program performance. Model data requirements are much lower than those of evaluations, and models can yield policy results much more quickly. The modeling approach is used to develop a low-cost monitoring scheme for the Bonneville Power Administration Residential Weatherization Program. Three years of evaluation data (1981, 1982, and 1983) were utilized. The results suggest that the modeling approach is most effective when program characteristics and actors, and the external environment are stable over time. In our application, modeling results changed between 1982 and 1983. The article concludes with a discussion about the defensibility ofpredictions yielded by streamlined evaluations.
The Impact of Age Discrimination Legislation On the Labor Force Participation of Aged Men
Authors: Lawlor Edward F.
Published: March 2007

The 1978 Amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (PL 90-902) outlawed mandatory retirement for most categories of workers between the ages of 65 and 70. This study examines labor force participation rates of men aged 65 years and over to determine if the legislation had any discernible impact. An intervention model based on an autoregressive moving average representation of the laborforceparticipation of aged men fails to find any evidence that the amendments led to a change in their employment behavior.
Revitalizing Program Evaluation
Authors: Ginsburg Alan L.
Published: March 2007

This study explores reform strategies which the Department of Education has introduced to improve the quality and use of its evaluations. These reforms respond to concerns identified in major reports that were extremely critical of the department's methodological and managerial approach to conducting evaluation studies. Four types of reforms are examined: (1) organiza tional changes to improve operations, (2) expanded design approaches to strengthen method ological practices, (3) new standards to ensure evaluation quality, and (4) shifts in fiscal support to promote underfunded evaluation activities. The article also discusses the importance of developing a mutually supportive relationship between evaluators and policymakers.
Analysis of No-Difference Findings in Evaluation Research
Authors: Julnes George , Mohr Lawrence B.
Published: March 2007

Conclusions of no difference are becoming increasingly important in evaluation research. We delineate three major uses of no-difference findings and analyze their meanings. (1) No-differ ence findings in randomized experiments can be interpreted as support for conclusions of the absence of a meaningful treatment effect, but only if the proper analytic methods are used. (2) Statistically based conclusions in quasi-experiments do not allow causal statements about the treatment impact but do provide a metric to judge the size of the resulting difference. (3) Using no-difference findings to conclude equivalence on control variables is inefficient and potentially misleading. The final section of the article presents alternative methods by which conclusions of no difference may be supported when applicable. These methods include the use of arbitrarily high alpha levels, interval estimation, and power analysis.
Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Computer-Assisted Instruction in the Job Corps Program
Authors: Johnson Terry R. , Geller Daniel M.
Published: March 2007

This article describes the results of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) demonstration project that was conducted in 10 Job Corps centers nationwide. The demonstration used classical experimental methods to determine the effectiveness of CAI, with students randomly assigned to a treatment group in which they spent about one fourth to one third of their class time on the computer as a supplement to the regular self-paced education program or to a control group in which CAI was not available in their education classes. The results indicate that the effects of CAI on learning gains after about 60 hours of classroom instruction are very small on average and not significantly different from zero at conventional levels. However, there is some evidence that centers that allowed their experimental students to have sufficient access to CAI and students that used CAI more intensively did experience additional learning gains relative to the control group. Qualitative information obtained from students, teachers, and education supervisors suggest that CAI may be useful in motivating students and supports the potential educational benefits of CAI.
Exploratory Studies of the Usefulness of a Developmental Approach for Supervising Evaluation Students
Authors: Brown Robert D. , Dinnel Dale
Published: March 2007

Three exploratory studies examined the relevance of a developmental model for approaching supervision of graduate students in evaluation studies. The developmental model described in this article includes three stages and eight developmental tasks within each stage. The studies found a significant correlation between a measure of autonomy and self-ratings of competence, in that self-ratings of competence and attitudes toward evaluation were more positive after a graduate seminar but did not change significantly after a practicum experience. Case studies found the developmental model helpful in conceptualizing student progress and that it provided useful ways of thinking about students and instructional strategies.
Violations of Evaluation Standards
Authors: Newman Dianna L. , Brown Robert D.
Published: March 2007

This study uses a series of items, derived from the Joint Committee Standards, to examine the frequency and seriousness of violations in program evaluations. Each item represents one of the 30 standards and reflects the pitfalls or common errors accorded to that standard. Respondents to the survey had varied experiences in evaluation ranging from no experience to teaching and/or regularly practicing evaluation. Results indicated that propriety and accuracy standards were viewed as the most serious violations, but that utility and feasibility are perceived as occurring more frequently. Experience with program evaluation also interacted with respondents' ratings, with experienced respondents emphasizing different standards than did those with less experience.
The Reliability and Construct Validity of a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale Used To Measure Nursing Assistant Performance
Authors: Stoskopf Carleen H. , Glik Deborah C. , Baker Samuel L. , Ciesla James R. , Cover Catherine M.
Published: March 2007

Data are presented that demonstrate the reliability and construct validity of a 27-item Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) used to rate nursing assistant performance. A sample of 757 nursing assistants from 44 randomly selected long-term care facilities were rated with the BARS instrument by a team of independent observers, and later by the nursing assistants'supervisors. Interrater reliability between the independent observers and supervisors ranged from 0.34 to 0.96 and averaged 0.78. The internal consistency reliability measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.71 for the independent observers, 0.76 for the supervisors. Construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis. The underlying factor structure had 3 factors that accounted for 84.0% of the variance. Results were interpreted as supporting the reliability and indicating construct validity of this BARS for nursing assistants. Because BARSs have been shown to reduce subjectivity and personal bias, they are recommended for evaluating nursing assistant performance.
When Total Randomization Is Impossible
Authors: Moberg D. Paul , Piper Douglas L. , Jiyuan Wu  , Serlin Ronald C.
Published: March 2007

This article describes the design of the evaluation of Healthy for Life (HFL), an adolescent health promotion project involving students in 21 middle schools in Wisconsin. The original design was a blocked random assignment of 21 schools to one of three conditions. However, most of the interested schools could not accommodate the random design. A two-step alternative procedure allowed schools to select one of two treatment conditions, with random assignment to the control condition from either treatment condition. This randomized control group design nested within two self-selected treatment options is a viable alternative to total randomization.
Power Analysis of Cutoff-Based Randomized Clinical Trials
Authors: Cappelleri Joseph C. , Darlington Richard B. , Trochim William M.K.
Published: March 2007

A cutoff-based randomized clinical trial couples cutoff-based assignment on an appropriate covariate with random assignment to help balance ethical and scientific concerns in certain situations. A statistical power algorithm based on the Fisher Z method is developed that is particular to and inclusive of cutoff-based random clinical trials and the single cutoff-point (regression-discontinuity) design, which has no randomization. This article quantifies power and sample size estimates for varying levels of randomization and cutoff-based assignment. Although more randomization engenders greater statistical power, less randomization requires a much larger increase in sample size for small treatment effects.
Rehabilitation Program Evaluation
Authors: Race Kathryn E.H. , Hotch Deborah F. , Packer Todd
Published: March 2007

Despite the fact that focus groups can meet many program assessment needs, this technique has been underused in rehabilitation program evaluation. To underscore its potential utility, this article will highlight a series of focus groups conducted in a vocational training and rehabilita tion setting. A total of 70 clients participated in eight focus groups intended to identify clients' perceptions of program strengths and weaknesses. After a brief summary of results, particular attention will be given to discussing the advantages of using a social science model applied to focus groups and how empowerment of clients can be a central theme in such efforts. Limitations of this technique are also noted.
Coroner-Reviewed Infant and Toddler Deaths
Authors: Sorenson Susan B. , Shen Haikang , Kraus Jess F.
Published: March 2007

Although homicide is a leading cause of death of infants and toddlers, there is some suspicion that an unknown number of additional deaths are unrecognized homicides. The authors used California mortality data from 1969 to 1991 to examine 12,246 injury deaths that occurred before age 5. Characteristics of the dead child, injury event, and postmortem were compared for accidents, homicides, and undetermtned deaths. A logistic model was developed to differentiate homicides from accidental deaths and then was used to predict whether undetermined deaths were likely to be homicides or accidents. Unlike accidental deaths, undetermineds and homicides had similar distribution patterns of age, race, sex, and place of injury. The predictive model indicates that 43.8% of the undetermined injury deaths were similar to homicides on several characteristics. True rates of homicide for infants and toddlers may, unfortunately, be nearly one fifth and one tenth higher, respectively, if the undetermined deaths that resemble homicides are taken into account.
Evaluation of Welfare Reform
Authors: McClintock Charles , Colosi Laura A.
Published: March 2007

Assessing the effects of changes still emerging under welfare reform and its overarching policy of devolution presents a challenge to evaluators. Given such features as time limits and benefits caps that vary widely across states and communities, it is necessary not only to attend to urgent issues of immediate relevance for individuals on public assistance but also to focus on important long-term analyses of this complex intergovernmental set of policies. The authors present a conceptual framework based on evaluation utilization and illustrate it with research questions under the rubric of welfare reform. The approach crosses three types of utilization—conceptual, instrumental, and political—with two utilization settings—policy adoption and program imple mentation. Evaluation strategies are linked to the utilization framework and illustrated with examples from studies of welfare reform. In the aggregate, evaluation studies represent a reasonable range of urgent and important issues across most utilization types and settings.
Cognitive Impairment, Disruptive Behaviors, and Home Care Utilization
Authors: Hawranik Pamela G. , Strain Laurel A.
Published: March 2007

Disruptive behaviors by an elder with cognitive impairment, such as violence, abrupt mood swings, and overt inappropriate sexual behaviors have been known to create caregiver distress, but little is known about how these behaviors may influence the use of home care services by that elder or their informal caregiver. The purpose of this study is to explore the associations between type of cognitive impairment (cognitive impairment with no dementia, and dementia), selected disruptive behaviors, and the use of four home care services (homemaking/cleaning, personal care, in-home nursing, home-delivered meals). Secondary data analysis from the 1991-1992 Manitoba Study on Health and Aging data set was conducted, using a sample of 124 community-dwelling elders and their unpaid caregivers. Multivariate analysis revealed that disruptive behaviors were significantly associated with the use of two services: personal care and home-delivered meals. Being cognitively impaired with dementia was significant for only home-delivered meals. Overall functional status of the elder emerged as a consistent predictor.
Advance Directives and Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Authors: Hamel Carole F. , Guse Lorna W. , Hawranik Pamela G. , Bond John B.
Published: March 2007

Advance directives (ADs) are documents that allow competent individuals to set forth their medical treatment wishes and/or to name a proxy in the event that they lose the capacity to communicate these decisions in the future. Despite the benefits of and support for such documents, very few people have completed an AD. This posttest-only experimental study examined whether an individualized intervention given to half of the older adults who attended an educational session increased the discussion and/or completion of ADs. Of the 74 participants, 25.7% (n = 19) completed an AD. There were no significant differences between control and intervention groups on the discussion and/or completion of ADs. Multivariate analysis indicated that perceived barriers were significantly associated with the discussion and completion of ADs. Content analysis revealed that major barriers to discussion and completion include procrastination and a reluctance to think about deteriorating health status and/or death.
Moving toward a Nursing Model in Advanced Practice
Authors: Thibodeau Janice A. , Hawkins Joellen W.
Published: March 2007

The nurse practitioner focus has been evolving from a medical to a nursing orientation since the inception of the role in 1965. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between role attitudes and values, confidence about practice knowledge and skills, and orientation to a medical or nursing model to guide practice. A national random sample of482 nurse practitioners completed the Attitudes and Values Scale, the Confidence in Skills Scale, and a demographic survey. Findings indicate that nurse practitioners are very confident about their practice skills and knowledge and have a very strong nursing orientation. There is a direct positive correlation between level of confidence and degree of nursing orientation. Nurses in the sample also rated themselves as more confident about hands-on skills than indirect role components such as utilization of research, change theory, and evaluation of practice outcomes. The discussion interweaves this study's findings with role theory and offers a comparison and contrast to the existing body of knowledge.
Lesbians' Health-Related Experiences of Care and Noncare
Authors: Stevens Patricia E.
Published: March 2007

In this feminist narrative study using in-depth interviews, focus groups, and a multistaged narrative analytic approach, a racially and economically diverse sample of 45 lesbians conveyed their health care experiences. Participants recounted a total of 332 health care interactions across a wide range of health care facilities, health care providers, and health conditions; 23% of these interactions they evaluated positively and 77%, negatively. In their stories, lesbians described the pivotal dimensions offace-to-face health care from their perspective as clients. Each of these interactional dimensions is defined by afundamental experiential contrast gleaned from their descriptions of caring and noncaring clinical situations. They are as follows: existence: reflection versus facelessness; bodily integrity: intimate care versus intrusion; emotional integrity: sheltered versus shamed; worth: sustained versus abandoned; expression: voiced versus silenced; and power: solidarity versus dominance.
Homeless Women's Perceptions about Their Families of Origin
Authors: Anderson Debra Gay
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to examine descriptively the families of origin of women who are, or who had been, homeless. The research was done using a descnptive qualitative research design; specifically, intensive interviewing. A feministframework guided the research process. Lofland and Lofland 's (1984) conceptualization of units of social settings was used as the basis for analysis of the data The sample consisted of 20 women who had been homeless. Twelve of the women were interviewed individually. Sis of those 12 women and an additional 8 women were later interviewed as part of two focus groups. Themes within each social unit included: meanings-homelessness, home, family of origin, lack of connectedness, and being without; practices-male privilege, transiency, and abuse issues; episodes-loss of family and being homeless; roles-traditional female-male, scapegoating, and little adult; and relationships-mother/daughter, father/daughter, and sibling. Within the mother/daughter relationships, the dominant themes were betrayal, devaluation of self enmeshment, emotional void4 longing for, emotional cutoff, and destructive coalitions. The themes from thefather/daughter relationships social unit were abuse issues, differential treatment, idealized father figure, and banished daughter Criteria for transferability and adequacy were used to determine scientific rigor
A Study of Nurses' Perceptions of Client Mobility
Authors: Ouellet Louiselle L. , Rush Kathy L.
Published: March 2007

This paper is part of a larger study to examine the concept of mobility from the perspectives of clients and nurses. It represents a beginning effort at clarifying, refining, and developing the concept for nursing practice as the current literature concentrates on immobility. The enquiry began with a theoretical phase during which attributes and characteristics of the concept were elicited. This was followed by a fieldwork phase to determine whether there was congruency between the theoretical formulations of the concept and empirical data. Primary nurses and their clients were interviewed and data were analyzed using content analysis. In this article, only data obtained from the nurse population are reported. Themes derived from the nurses' interviews are described and compared with the results of the theoretical phase. Findings revealed that there was a measure of supportfor the concept as defined in the theoretical phase but pointed to the needfor more empirical work with different client populations across settings.
Self-Reported Food Reactions and Their Associations with Asthma
Authors: Emery Nancy L. , Vollmer William M. , Buist A. Sonia , Osborne Molly L.
Published: March 2007

The role of food reactions in asthma has not been well described. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the types of self-reported reactions to foods in asthmatic patients, and to determine the association between self-reported food reactions and self-reported severity of asthma and asthma health care utilization. We characterized 914 patients, aged 3-55 years, in a large health maintenance organization. We characterized the patients according to demographic data (age, sex, occupation, SES, marital status) and their asthma according to duration, triggers, severity (symptoms, FEVJ percentage predicted) and presence of atopy, Overall, 414 (45.3%) participants, primarily women, reported adverse reactions to food, particularly milk, red wine, eggs, chocolate, and peanuts. Those with food reactions were more likely to report having ever been hospitalized for breathing problems than those without food reactions (31% vs. 22%, two-tailedp = 0.004) although theirasthma was not worse. Self-reportedfood reactions, particularly in females, may be associated with increased asthma health care utilization, and such patients may require closer health care management.
Health-Promoting Behaviors of Black and White College Women
Authors: Felton Gwen M. , Parsons Mary Ann , Misener Terry R. , Oldaker Sybil
Published: March 2007

There is growing recognition that race and socioeconomic variables in health research demand greater attention. The investigators compared racial differences in health definition, health value, and health-promoting behavior of 62 pairs (N = 124) of Black and White college women matched on age, body mass index, and socioeconomic status. Both groups of women had similar definitions of health, valued health to the same extent, and reported similar levels of self-actualization, health responsibility, exercise, and stress management. Black women, relative to White women, practiced fewer nutrition behaviors and had less interpersonal support. Interventions to reduce health risk associated with nutrition practices of Black women are warranted and further research is needed to explore the influence of the social structure of educational institutions on interpersonal relationships and other health behaviors. When socio-economic status is taken into consideration, Black and White college women demonstrated more commonalities in health behavior than differences.
The Ethical Context for Public Journalism: As an Ethical Foundation for Public Journalism, Communitarian Philosophy Provides Principles for Practitioners to Apply to Real-World Problems
Authors: Coleman Renita
Published: March 2007

Despite vehement criticism, more than 200 public journalism projects have been undertaken in the past five years. Whether this represents the beginning of a trend or just another passing fad, the sheer number of public journalism projects prompts the question, Why now? One answer may be that the current adoption of public journalism's philosophies is in part due to the concomitant development of communitarian ethics, a philosophy that offers the notion that the individual is dependent on the community. Public journalism was not viable until now because it lacked a strong, underlying ethical system that communitarianism has provided. This article shows how communitarian philosophy provides an underpinning for public journalism. Real-world problems of public journalism are examined using communitarian principles. The purpose is not to debate the arguments for and against specific practices of public journalism, but to examine the underlying concepts and analyze them in fundamental ways that are not addressed by the point-counterpoint articles in trade journals.
Beyond Cultural Populism: Notes Toward the Critical Ethnography of Media Audiences
Authors: Gibson Timothy A.
Published: March 2007

In recent years, a backlash has been brewing against populist approaches to media and cultural studies that celebrate the ability of subcultural audiences to produce divergent or resistive readings of mass media texts. And rightly so. The decade of the 1980s produced a host of critical media studies that were marred, as Morley argues, by a facile insistence on the polysemy of media products and an undocumented claim that interpretive creativity constitutes a powerful form of political resistance. Building on this critique of cultural populism, this article argues that critical audience should refocus its attention on how macrostructures of power pattern, constrain, and are often reproduced within audience interpretations of media texts. In the end, the article presents a model of audience ethnography based on Geertz's notion of thick description, and argues that this model can productively investigate the relationship between powerful social structures and the practice of media consumption in everyday life.
“So Rich, Mild, and Fresh”: A Critical Look at TV Cigarette Commercials, 1948-1971
Authors: Craig Steve , Moellinger Terry
Published: March 2007

For more than twenty years—until they were banned in 1971—cigarette commercials were a staple of American television. During this period, tobacco companies spent millions of dollars producing and airing elaborate ads designed to convince viewers that cigarettes were enjoyable, sophisticated, and harmless. As public awareness of smoking's serious health consequences grew, tobacco companies responded with new ads containing misleading assertions and confusing claims. When cigarette sales began to decline, advertisers embarked on fiercely competitive campaigns to promote new filter brands. Yet television commercials continued to skirt health issues and left consumers in the dark about the real risks of smoking. By the late 1960s, however, the link between cigarettes and disease was so well established that Congress took the extraordinary step of banning cigarette commercials from the airwaves, effective in early 1971. This article examines the twenty-two-year history of tobacco advertising on television and takes a critical look at some representative cigarette commercials.
The Show for Those Who Owe: Normalization of Credit on Lifetime's Debt
Authors: Merskin Debra
Published: March 2007

Week nights on Lifetime Television, Wink Martindale (the self-appointed “King of Credit”) introduces what he calls “the game show for the '90s— Debt.” Here, contestants do not vie for products; rather, they compete to have their debts paid off. A content analysis suggests that Debt normalizes owing. Hall's theories of ideology and articulation are supported in this work. The findings are important to researchers exploring the foundations of consumer society and to individual experiences of everyday life in terms of the normalization of debt through the traditional game-show genre.
Constructing a Virtual Geography: Narratives of Space in a Text-Based Environment
Authors: Giese Mark
Published: March 2007

This article explores the role a narrative of geography and space plays in the process of community in the Internet newsgroup, alt.cyberpunk and the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology in fostering a sense of virtual geography. It discusses the “naturalness” of the conceptual geography of Internet hierarchies, how this leads to the virtual geography of cyberspace, and how a textual mode of communication has been modified to accommodate this new communication environment. This article investigates the cooperative narrative developed by regular contributors to alt.cyberpunk, compares virtual and geographically based communities, and speculates on the role of space and narratives of geography in the process of community. The article concludes that symbolic resources may play a greater role in the process of community than the physical spaces communities occupy.
Clueless in Hollywood: Single Moms in Contemporary Family Movies
Authors: Valdivia Angharad N.
Published: March 2007

Through an examination of contemporary Hollywood family films, the author explores the construction of the single mother. Suggesting that not even the mythical world of family films can ignore the reality of single-mother-headed households, the author finds a consistent binary categorization of single moms. There is the “good mom,” who became single as a result of death or abandonment. Her reward is either remarriage and/or economic stability. Then there is the “bad mom,” who became single as a result of divorce. Her punishment is diminished socioeconomic standing, long-lasting singlehood, and sexual frustration or promiscuity. The author suggests a backlash analysis of these films still blames feminism in general and divorce in particular for the problems of single-parent families.
Child sexual abuse perpetrated by welfare personnel and the problem of men
Authors: Pringle Keith
Published: March 2007

The paper surveys the quantitative evidence relating to sexual abuse committed by welfare personnel in a variety of settings. From this, it is concluded that other welfare settings are just as sexually unsafe for child ren as resident care .Moreover, mainstream responses designed to reduce sexual abuse in welfare agencies are seen to be ineffective largely because they ignore the crucial role of gender in the genesisofmost of that abuse. The second half of the paper adopts a more qualitative approcach to consider the implications of this analysis for male workers in the caring services . It is suggested that it may be necessary to radically delimit the role of males if the levels of sexual abuse in this sphere are to be signifi cantly reduced.
A family concern
Authors: Biggs Simon
Published: March 2007

The recognition of elder abuse is a relatively new phenomenon in British contexts. This paper charts the development of a social policy response by placing it within its historical context. Previous policy toward older age has focused on dependency and self-neglect. Government concern about the erosion of family values and implementation of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act have led to elder abuse being seen as a problem of informal care within family settings. The policy lacks a perspective on in stitutional forms of abuse and community harassment. The gendered nature of elder abuse and its relationship to oppression based on race are important areas that have been eclipsed by current policy objectives. In conclusion, a way forward is suggested concerning the future direction of social policy in this area.
Language Attitudes and Vitality Perceptions: Intergenerational Effects amongst Chinese Canadian Communities
Authors: Sachdevl Itesh , Bourhis Richard , Phang Sue-wen , D'Eye John
Published: March 2007

First (FGCC) generation and Canadian-born (CBC) subjects of Chinese origin in Canada completed the Subjective Vitality Questionnaire and a sociolinguistic questionnaire concerning self-reported usage and evaluations of Cantonese (CC) and English (EC) in different domains. Perceived vitality reflected the objective estimates of high EC and low CC vitality on demographic, institutional support and status factors. However, contrary to expectations, CBCs exaggerated perceived Cantonese vitality on some dimensions relative to FGCCs. Self-reports and evaluation of language use reflected the dominance of the English Language in public settings, but CBCs agreed less than FGCCs about Cantonese usage in the home and church. Overall, vitality perceptions of succeeding generations of Canonese-speakers were most useful in understanding language usage and evaluation patterns when used in conjunction with group identification and language proficiency information.
Verbal Play and Multiple Goals in the Gynaecological Exam Interaction'
Authors: Ragan Sandra L.
Published: March 2007

This report investigates audio-taped gynaecological exam interactions that took place between one nurse practitioner and 41 female patients. Twelve instances of verbal play were transcribed from these exam conversations and analysed in order to demonstrate ways in which play sequences display participants' orientation to non-medical goals of the exam. Such goals include recognising the practitioner and patient as persons rather than as technician and technical object and reducing the face-threat of the exam. It is suggested that the analysis of naturally occurring conversation permits access to the conversational practices used by interactants both to generate and to achieve multiple goals.
Polarized Semantic Change of Words Associated with Females and Males
Authors: Ng Sik Hung , Chan Kam Kuen , Weatherall Ann , Moody Joanna
Published: March 2007

The present laboratory experiment was inspired by semantic changes reported in etymological studies: Many words that at one time had a positive or neutral connotation became negative when later applied to females. In contrast to this negativity bias, male-associated words underwent a positivity bias. Miller and Swift (1976) referred to the gender-based biases as gender-related semantic polarization. We developed the concept further by distinguishing between gender-stereotypic and gender-non-stereotypic polarizations, which involved, respectively, gender-stereotypic (e.g., dependent-independent) and gender-nonstereotypic (e.g., honest-deceitful) affective connotations. In the experiment, participants learned four-letter invented words in association with male or female pictures; the connotative meanings that had been acquired during the learning process were later measured and related to respondents' gender schema and gender attitude. The results showed that the acquired connotations of words associated with male pictures were more stereotypically masculine than were those associated with female pictures. This gender-stereotypic polarization was independent of respondents' gender schema and attitude. Gender-non-stereotypic polarization, on the other hand, was a function of respondents' gender attitude: On gender-non-stereotypic connotations, respondents who had unfavorable attitudes toward women downgraded, whereas pro-women respondents upgraded, female-associated words relative to male-associated words. The interaction effect showed that semantic change can occur in favor of women, but not always in favor of men.
Attitudes in Public Discourse
Authors: Verkuyten Maykel
Published: March 2007

Attitudes are one of the central social psychological topics. They are predominantly studied as individual specific predispositions that determine evaluative reactions to particular objects. Following the work of discursive psychologists, the present study critically examines some core assumptions of attitude theory. The focus is on constructions in public discourse rather than individuals' isolated evaluations of objects in the world. A close-to-the-action analysis of a public discussion about a controversial "erotic" fair is presented, and the definitions and practices of the participants themselves are used as the main ground for determining meaning. It is shown that the participants constructed specific versions of the fair and of themselves in providing a justificatory account of their assessment. Furthermore, it is shown that specific definitions of the attitude object make specific kinds of arguments available.
School Management: How Much Local Autonomy Should There Be?
Authors: Johnes Geraint
Published: March 2007

Dr Geraint, johnes is Senior Lecturer in Economics in the Management School at the University of Lancaster. In this paper he presents an analysis of the impact of different levels of school autonomy on costs across the USA which suggests that it is possible to identify an optimal (cost minimising) level of devolution of decision-making authority. Academic performance, on the other hand, appears not to be affected by such organisational variables.
School Governors and the Religious Ethos of C of E Voluntary Aided Primary Schools
Authors: Francis Leslie J. , Stone Ernest A.
Published: March 2007

Revd Leslie Francis is Professor of Pastoral Theology at Trinity College, Carmarthen, and University of Wales, Lampeter. Revd Ernest Stone was Diocesan Adviser for religious education in the diocese of Chichester. They report upon the findings of a detailed questionnaire which explores attitudes towards the ethos of church schools among governors of the 55 Church of England voluntary aided primary schools in the diocese of Chichester. The implications of these findings for the future of church schools are discussed in the light of the changing composition of school governing bodies.
Technology, Empiricism and Community
Authors: Locke Michael
Published: March 2007

This paper opens with the proposition that in the years 1983-91 the government in the UK attempted a revolution in the education system. The principal vehicle for this revolution and for the achievement of the `Thatcherist' project in this area of social policy, was the 1988 Education Reform Act. Against this background, the author reviews contributions to the journal Educational Management & Administration during the years of his editorship between 1983 and 1990 and asks whether it offered a mirror of the times. He concludes `Not really'. However, he suggests that many, perhaps even most, articles from those years worry away at themes which were central either to the content of the proposed changes themselves or to the process of change. This leads to a discussion of the role of the journal.
Learning Action Research and Managing Educational Change-Improvement in Careers Education
Authors: Hutchinson Barry
Published: March 2007

Many contemporary courses in educational management extol the virtues of action research. In this paper, the author asks why so few students, on completing their studies, continue to use an action approach in their subsequent school and college management practice. This, if true, is particularly confusing given that so many had testified to the great personal value of having been involved in action research during their studies. In exploring these and related issues, the author draws upon some of the work of Esland on the notion of `managerialism' and an in-depth case study of the experience of one recent graduating student, `Gerard'.
Hybridity, So What?
Authors: Pieterse Jan Nederveen
Published: March 2007

Take just about any exercise in social mapping and it is the hybrids, those that straddle categories, that are missing. Take most arrangements of multiculturalism and it is the hybrids that are not counted, not accommodated. So what? This article is about the recognition of hybridity, in-betweenness. The first section discusses the varieties of hybridity and the widening range of phenomena to which the term now applies. According to anti-hybridity arguments, hybridity is inauthentic and ‘multiculturalism lite’. Examining these arguments provides an opportunity to deepen and fine-tune our perspective. What is missing in the antihybridity arguments is historical depth; in this treatment the third section deals with the longue durÈeand proposes multiple historical layers of hybridity. The fourth section concerns the politics of boundaries, for in the end the real problem is not hybridity – which is common throughout history – but boundaries and the social proclivity to boundary fetishism. Hybridity is a problem only from the point of view of essentializing boundaries. What hybridity means varies not only over time but also in different cultures and this informs different patterns of hybridity. Then we come back to the original question: so what? The importance of hybridity is that it problematizes boundaries.
On the Way to a Post-Familial Family
Authors: Beck-Gernsheim Elisabeth
Published: March 2007

Whereas, in preindustrial society, the family was mainly a community of need held together by an obligation of solidarity, the logic of individually designed lives has come increasingly to the fore in the contemporary world. The family is becoming more of an elective relationship, an association of individuals who each brings to it their own interests, experiences and plans, and who are each subjected to different controls, risks and constraints. It is therefore necessary to devote much more effort than in the past to the holding together of these different biographies. Whereas people could once fall back on rules and rituals, the prospect now is of a staging of everyday life, an acrobatics of balancing and coordinating. This does not mean that the traditional family is simply disappearing. But it is losing the monopoly it had for so long. Its quantitative significance is declining as new lifestyles appear and spread. These in all their intermediary and secondary forms represent the future of families, or what I call the contours of the `post-familial family'.
On Interpretation: A Note
Authors: Longhurst Brian
Published: March 2007

This note argues that interpretation in sociology should be guided by some of the recent work of structuralist and post-structuralist analysts of culture and literature. It briefly examines previous analyses of Mannheim in this light and seeks to build on the earlier discussions of Mannheim published in Theory, Culture & Society.
Beyond Defensible Decision-Making: Towards Reflexive Assessment Of Risk And Dangerousness
Authors: Tuddenham Robin
Published: March 2007

Robin Tuddenham critiques recent trends in risk assessment practice, arguing that the objective of achieving 'defensible' (as opposed to 'defensive') decisions has, to all intents and purposes, failed. He proposes that probation practice must now embrace a more dynamic notion of risk assessment, which has at its centre the concept of 'reflexivity', and sets out the components of such an approach.
Criminal Diversions: Removing the Icing
Authors: Goslin John
Published: March 2007

Resolving petty problems by other means than the criminal justice system.
Checks or Blank Cheque? Justifying Custody of Juveniles
Authors: Whitehead Philip , MacMillan John
Published: March 2007

The CJA '82 attempted to tighten legislative gatekeeping of judicial use of custody. The authors studied the application of the safeguards in a juvenile court in the North-East, and discovered how elastic and permissive the provisions are in practice.
Getting to Grips with Welfare
Authors: Fowler Graham
Published: March 2007

Negotiated deals and collaboration with DHSS and Housing Authorities can have good pay-offs for clients, but at what price?
Autobiographical memory in the visually impaired: initial findings and impressions
Authors: Goddard Lorna , Pring Linda
Published: March 2007

We examine memory for personal events in a group of visually impaired children/young adults using a semi-structured interview technique and a word cueing task. Memories were assessed for specificity, detail, and emotional and sensory content. We also investigated the age of earliest autobiographical memory. The data suggests that visual impairment may be associated with a less detailed memory for personal experiences and a later onset of personal memory. Possible mechanisms which contribute to the characteristics of autobiographical memory in visual impairment are discussed.
Ecological fieldwork with visually handicapped students
Authors: Hinton Ronald
Published: March 2007

This article describes how a tree identification key is used by a visually handicapped student in a woodland survey. It also covers bird study based on a birdsong cassette with special commentary, and insect studies starting from galls and feeding-damage. The methods described are devised to encourage a questioning attitude in visually handicapped students.
Formalising partnerships: the changing role of voluntary organisations
Authors: Powell Jackie , Lovelock Robin
Published: March 2007

The involvement of voluntary organisations in the provision of services for visually impaired people is of long standing. It was explicitly acknowledged in many of the Community Care Plans examined in phase 1 of a wider study (Lovelock, R. and Powell, J. with Craggs, S. Shared Territory: Assessing the Social Support Needs of Visually Impaired People. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York, 1995) of how the social support needs of visually impaired people are being assessed in the context of the National Health Service (NHS) and Community Care Act 1990. This Paper discusses the current evolution of formalised partnerships between local authorities and voluntary agencies to provide help to visually impaired people, as these were being developed in the two local authority areas which were the subject of case studies in phase 2 of the research. The findings from these two case studies together identify issues which are relevant not only to the development of better services for visually impaired people but in the wider context of community care policy and practice. They indicate a need for some flexibility in contractual arrangements between purchasers and providers to ensure that the more 'simple' but nonetheless vital needs of visually impaired people are not 'prioritised out'. This requires a contract culture and actual contracts which are collaborative and obligational rather than competitive and adversarial.