bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resolution of Appellate Litigation
Authors: Goldman Jerry
Published: March 2007

Appellate courts—both state and federal—have experienced dramatic increases in court business since 1960. A popular policy for meeting this demand has been to encourage litigants to end their disputes short of decision by the judges. This article reports the results of the first controlled experiment in the federal appellate court system to test the efficacy of two innovative court procedures designed to meet the litigation explosion swamping the federal courts of appeals: court-supervised confer ences with appellate advocates and court-issued orders to control the speed of the appellate process in individual cases. Both procedures are radical departures from traditional practice. The results from the experiment indicate that the procedures did not significantly reduce appeals, produced negligible improvement in case quality, and had mixed effects in expediting the appellate process. The evidence from the experiment weakens the theory that gave birth to the policy. Nevertheless, further controlled experimentation under different conditions is essential in order to deter mine whether and to what extent the policy can be effective.
A Delivery Service Index
Authors: Hogge James H. , Fellendorf George W. , Moore John W. , Wuescher Les
Published: March 2007

Drawing on social judgment theory for its theoretical underpinnings, this article presents a method for combining several descriptive indicators to yield an aggregated single summative index of the overall quality of the services received by clients in a service delivery system or program. The method described is based on the judgments of an evaluative panel and can be applied to a wide variety of populations and types of services. The delivery service index itself can be used as a dependent variable in analyses of variance or employed in correlational studies.
The Dissemination of Evaluation
Authors: Stevens William F. , Tornatzky Louis G.
Published: March 2007

The utilization of program evaluation methodology in human service agencies was reviewed from the perspective of organizational contingency theory. Adoption of program evaluation was seen as an innovation which would arouse uncertainty in an organization. A 2 x 2 factorial experiment, with a sample of 37 drug abuse programs, was conducted to test two hypotheses: (1) Group consultations with staff would produce more innovation adoption than private consultations with a program director; (2) on-site consultations with face-to-face interactions would produce more innovation adoption than telephone consultations. Results indicated strong support for the first hypothesis, and more ambiguous support for the second.
A Worker-Centered Information System
Authors: Boyd Lawrence H. , Clark Marleen , Hanson Stuart P.
Published: March 2007

A laboratory experiment was conducted to study the effects of a microcomputer-based information system upon worker decisions and client equity. Twenty-five student social workers, randomly assigned to three experimental groups and one control group, assessed twenty-five client profiles and awarded each client a number of hours of service. Both the effects of the assessment guidelines (CAG) and the information system (PAI) were analyzed. Findings indicated that (1) the CAG did not, by itself, increase equity, (2) the PAI, when used prior to decision-making, achieved program objectives, and (3) did not lead to blind conformity to group norms, to inflated awards, or biased assessments.
Statistical Analysis of Genetic Counseling Impacts
Authors: Sissine Fred J. , Steele Mark W. , Garver Kenneth L. , Rosser Lynette , Marchese Sandra , Berman Natalie
Published: March 2007

A double-pronged statistical approach to retrospective data is used to test and develop hypotheses about some impacts of genetic counseling. Both log-linear and discriminant analyses suggest that education and burden centered explanations of postcounseling pregnancies should be modified in favor of a hypothesis based on an interaction of past reproductive experiences and parental desire for children. Log-linear and best subsets regression analyses converge on risk level and socioeconomic status as the key factors accounting for variance in couples' feelings about genetic counseling. Risk level is found to have a questionable effect on postcounseling reproductive behavior while providing the primary impact of all variables explaining couples' feelings about genetic counseling.
Pretrial Release in Federal Courts
Authors: Rhodes William , Matsuba Shelley
Published: March 2007

Pretrial release is the legal process by which defendants who are accused of criminal offenses are released from detention pending trial. Evaluators are frequently concerned with the qualitative and quantuative importance of defendant and offense variables in the determination of which defendants gain release and, for those who are released, which defendants will engage in pretrial misconduct. This article presents a method for deriving unbiased parameter estimates, using maximum likelihood techniques m a structural equation paradigm, for the release decision and indicates how these techniques can be extended to the analysis of pretrial misconduct.
Mail Surveys of Reluctant Professionals
Authors: Sudman Seymour
Published: March 2007

This article discusses procedures for improving cooperation to mail questionnaires of professional groups. Some of the methods proposed differ from those used with general populations. The procedures deal with (1) improving the cost-benefit ratio of cooperationfor the busy professional; (2) being sensitive to confidentiality concerns, which are especially important for studies of organizations; and (3) allowing the respondent a full range of answers, including written comments, instead offorcing an answer.
Ruling Out Threats To Validity
Authors: Reichardt Charles S. , Gollob Harry F.
Published: March 2007

The estimate-and-subtract methodfor eliminating threats to validity is described. Yeaton and Sechrest (1986, 1987b) argue that "no-difference"findings are fundamental to the process of eliminating threats to validity. The estimate-and-subtract method, however, eliminates a threat to validity without reliance on no-difference findings. This article argues that eliminating a threat to validity using the estimate-and-subtract method often is preferable to eliminating a threat to validity using no-difference findings. The article also shows how to improve the use of no-difference findings in those instances where their use is appropriate.
Photography and Ethics in Evaluation
Authors: Wei Li Fang  , Ellwein Mary Catherine
Published: March 2007

In recent years evaluators have been using photography as one method for collecting data in qualitative evaluatron studies. The public nature of photographs have ethical implications for application in evaluation practice. Of primary ethical concern are the issues of honesty and accurate representation in the sampling plan, proposed use of the photographs, and selection and interpretation of the photographs for presentation. Additional considerations include costs and benefits for the evaluator, clients, participants, and society.
The Confluence of Sociology, Statistics, and Public Policy in the Quality Control of the Food Stamps, Afdc, and Medicaid Family Assistance Programs
Authors: Press S. James , Tanur Judith M.
Published: March 2007

This article shows how and why interactions among sociological, statistical, and public policy issues fuel the current debate about the quality control systems of three family assistance programs: Food Stamps, AFDC (Aid to Families With Dependent Children), and Medicaid. These interactions will be seen to be driven by social policies that in turn will impinge on issues of estimation, measurement error, detection of outliers, and the implied cost share sanctioning of states by the federal government. The authors' conclusions are related to, and extend, the results of a National Academy of Sciences study of methods for improving the current quality control systems.
Formative and Process Evaluation of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programs
Authors: Dehar Mary-Anne , Casswell Sally , Duignan Paul
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the concepts of formative and process evaluation, and their application in the field of health promotion and disease prevention. Process evaluation fulfills the need for information on program implementation, which is important in interpreting program outcomes, and informing future efforts in similar areas. Formative evaluation aims to help develop and improve programs from an early stage, when opportunities for influence are likely to be greatest. Greater application of formative and process evaluation to such programs in thefuture has the potential to lead to better designed and more effective programs, and improved understanding of the factors influencing program outcomes.
Dimensions of Self-Identification Among Multiracial and Multiethnic Respondents in Survey Interviews
Authors: Johnson Timothy P. , Jobe Jared B. , O'Rourke Diane , Sudman Seymour , Warnecke Richard B. , Chávez Noel , Chapa-Resendez Gloria , Golden Patricia
Published: March 2007

This article reports findings from a laboratory study designed to investigate self-identification among 69 multiracial and multiethnic women. Respondent reactions to two current question naire formats for collecting racial information and a third version that includes a multiracial response option were examined. Findings suggest that respondents' racial identification varies considerably across question formats and that persons of mixed heritage prefer a racial identification question that provides them, at a minimum, with the opportunity to acknowledge their multiracial background. In addition, many respondents also expressed the desire to identify each of the specific groups that constitute their racial/ethnic background.
Psychosocial Predictors of Postpartum Depression in Diverse Groups of Women
Authors: Logsdon M. Cynthia , Usui Wayne
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to test the extent to which a causal model developed from a theoretical formulation of postpartum depression was consistent with data collected from three groups of postpartum women. In this cross-sectional, correlational design, the samples consisted of primarily middle-class, Caucasian mothers of term infants and preterm infants, and low-income, African American mothers of term infants. Instruments included the CES-D Depression instrument, the Postpartum Support Questionnaire, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem instrument, and a question regarding closeness to partner. The causal model was tested with structural equation modeling. Importance of support, support received, and closeness to partner were significant predictors of both self-esteem and depression. Predictors of postpartum depression are the same across diverse samples of women, as proposed in the causal model.
Caregiver Singing and Background Music in Dementia Care
Authors: Götell Eva , Brown Steven , Ekman Sirkka-Liisa
Published: March 2007

Caregiver singing and background music were incorporated into the interaction between caregiver and patient, the aim being to illuminate the meaning of verbal communication between persons with severe dementia and their caregivers. In the absence of music, patients communicated with cognitive and behavioral symptoms associated with dementia. In these situations, caregivers devoted their verbal communication to narrating and explaining their caring activities to the patient. The patient and caregiver, however, had difficulties understanding one another. In the presence of background music, caregivers decreased their verbal instructing and narrating while the patient communicated with an increased understanding of the situation, both verbally and behaviorally. During caregiver singing, a paradoxical effect was observed such that despite an evident reduction in the amount of verbal narration and description by the caregiver, the patient implicitly understood what was happening.
Characteristics of Intuitive Nurses
Authors: Miller Virginia G.
Published: March 2007

A description is provided of the process used to verify characteristics of intuitive nurses that had been reported in the literature. These characteristics supplied the frameworkfor construction of the Miller Intuitiveness Instrwnent (MII) reported earlier (Miller, 1993). Evidencefor validity of the MI! was provided in the Miller (1993) study by examiningfactor analyses and correlations with the intuitive component of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The following characteristics were subsequently verified: Intuitive nurses are willing to act on their intuitions, are skilled clinicians, and incorporate a spiritual component in their practices. In addition, intuitive nurses express an interest in the abstract nature of things and are risk takers. Intuitive nurses prefer intuition to sensing (as reflected by the MBTI) as a way to take in information. They are extroverted and express confidence in their intuitions. Likewise, nurses who delay making decisions until all the information is in are more intuitive than those who make decisions abruptly.
Experiential Health Knowledge from the Perspective of Finnish Adults
Authors: Haggman-Laitila Arja , Åstedt-Kurki Päivi
Published: March 2007

The article describes how Finnish adults understand health. The data were collected by means of free-form thematic interviews and analyzed on the basis of an interpretive approach, representing the phenomenological research tradition. From the interviewees' responses, there emerged two different types of experiential health knowledge, namely institutional and individual health knowledge. Institutional health knowledgefound expression in thefollowing themes: knowledge about health as normalcy, knowledge about proper health care, knowledge aboutfactors that may cause illness, knowledge about diseases observed in oneself, and knowledge about obtaining help. Individual health knowledge found expression in the following themes: knowledge about being healthy and feeling well, knowledge about how to produce well-being and how to deal with not feeling well, and knowledge about being ill and not feeling well. The results of the study provide conceptual tools for the further analysis of health knowledge from the perspective of people themselves and at the same time deeper knowledge about the ways in which people perceive health and in which they seek to maintain good health.
Description of a Self-Care Instrument for Elders
Authors: Lyle Catherine M. , Wells Donna L.
Published: March 2007

The psychometric properties of the self-care component of the Abilities Assessment Instrument were studied with elderly women. Thirty of the participants were cognitively impaired and 20 participants were not. Nonparametric statistics were used as the data were not normally distributed. Using the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient, test-retest reliability was rs = .79; p <.01 (n = 10) and interrater agreement was rs = .97; p < .01 (n = 9). Cronbach's alpha was .97. Between two content experts, the index of content validity was .89. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing the self-care scores with the MMSE scores (rs = .91; p < .01). To establish construct validity, the self-care scores of those with dementia were shown to be statistically differentfrom those who did not have dementia (Mann-Whitney U = 85). This study provided evidence for the reliability and validity of this self-care instrument.
Experiences of African American Adolescent Fathers
Authors: Dallas Constance M. , Chen Shu-Pi C.
Published: March 2007

Social and culturalfactors influence the experience offatherhood. This descriptivefocus-group study describes the lived experience of fatherhood from the perspectives of 5 unmarried, low-income, African American adolescent fathers in a Midwestern urban area. Naturalistic inquiry approach guidedthe study. Seven themes o(ffatherhood emerged: barriers tofatherhood, value offatherhood, introduction to.fatherhood, competencies offatherhood, role-set relationships, social norms of fatherhood, and father-child contact. This study suggests that nurses should support the involvement of adolescent fathers with their children. Future study may determine the influence of adult female family members on the decisions of adolescentfathers to remain involved with their children.
A Division of Labor: Dividing Maternal Authority from Political Activism in the Kenyan Press
Authors: Worthington Nancy
Published: March 2007

This historical case study explores how a Kenyan-owned newsmagazine, the Nairobi-based Weekly Review, represented female advocacy based on combative motherhood. Maxine Molyneux developed the concept to describe a strategy whereby women draw on their moral authority as mothers to assert their legitimacy in an otherwise male-dominated political arena. This research is based on a textual analysis on all news, features, and editorials about the Mothers of Political Prisoners' 1992 hunger strike for the release of their sons. This article argues that framing emerging from coverage created a split between the fundamental elements of combative motherhood, such that advocates were portrayed either as overly aggressive women ill equipped for public debate or as well-meaning mothers whose advocacy was easily co-opted by opposition politicans. Coverage invoked culturally specific identity discourses about gender and ethnicity as a key means of suggesting these frames.
Your Life in Their Hands: Migrant Workers in the National Health Service
Authors: Doyal Lesley , Hunt Geoff , Mellor Jenny
Published: March 2007

The National Health Service is heavily dependent on overseas workers at all levels. Some 33 per cent of all doctors and 20 per cent of student nurses now working in Britain were born overseas. The traditional justification for this situation is that it constitutes a form of British 'aid' to the third world, training health workers who then go back to their own countries. However a closer examination reveals that in reality these workers provide a crucial source of cheap labour and their utilisation has always been an important component both in keeping down costs and in rationalising the labour process in health care. Moreover, many do not return home and for those who do, the training they have received in Britain may well have very little relevance to the health needs of their own countries. Against the background of the epidemic of national chauvinism being fostered by the Conservative government, this article examines the vital role played by overseas workers in sustaining a major social service.

We wish to acknowledge the important role of Frances Gee and Imogen Pennell in producing the material on which much of this article is based.
Marxism and Social Administration: a Shaky Start
Authors: Cowling Mark
Published: March 2007

This article examines Taylor-Gooby and Dale's interesting attempt at producing a marxist account of social administration in their book Social Theory and Social Welfare. It argues that their distinction between 'materialist' marxism and the 'idealist' Social Administration tradition breaks down because of an inadequate definition of 'idealism' and because their own variant of marxism is 'idealist'. Their attempt to apply a marxist analysis to Britain departs from their own conception of a materialist approach. Their claism about what socialism can achieve are dubious. Their book should be seen as one possible marxist approach, and other possibilities explored.
Ethnicity: the fourth burden of black women - political action
Authors: Foster-Carter Olivia
Published: March 2007

While white feminists emphasise the problems of patriarchy or capitalism black women stress a triple oppression. All black people are subordinated by racial oppression, women are subordinated by sexual domination, black women are subordinated by both as well as class. I want to point out that the triple oppression of black women is often ignored because of the research framework that is rigidly applied. Researchers study the victims of the triple oppression, rather than studying racism, sexism, or class prejudice at the institutional level. Finally, in defining race relations in terms of cultural rela tions, and not in terms of power relations, black, rather than ethnic, consciousness is ignored, Thus the third section in this paper focuses on struggles instigated by black women, that have been specifically black and structured by racism.
Citizens of workplace democracies
Authors: Stanton Alan
Published: March 2007

This article draws from research with social services agencies trying to run collectively and collaboratively. It argues that applying the experience of such teams has been hindered by their characterisation in the 1970s as prefigurative future socialist forms. As a result, they have often been judged, less by their achievements, than against an idealised model of direct democracy.

Their development in the 80s suggests a different picture. Successful Collective working cannot solve, but can balance the tensions inherent in workplace democracy and in the process, offer valuable experience of the pratical problems in defining and building citizenship in other forums.
A disappearing act: the differing career paths of fathers and mothers in child protection investigations
Authors: Milner Judith
Published: March 2007

This article analyses the links between the nature of child protection referrals and subsequent disposal, showing how mothers and fathers are subjected to markedly different investigative and intervention ap proaches. The bureaucratic mechanisms of child protection systems are examined to show how procedures impact on the social work process. Data obtained during the author's recent experience of child protection investigation referrals as a social worker in a small north ern city is used to illustrate the inexorable contraints of the system on social workers.
Vocabularies of citizenship and gender: the UK
Authors: Lister Ruth
Published: March 2007

Citizenship has re-emerged as a key concept in late 20th century academic and political discourse in the UK. This article explores the changing nature of this discourse in mainstream political and in aca demic and activist debate. The latter both reflects the mainstream political debate and provides critical perspectives on it. In particular, it is here that we find a gender dimension and critical attention to differ ence. The article concludes by speculating about possible future directions in UK citizenship debates.
Multiple Goals in Discourse: An Overview of Issues
Authors: Tracy Karen , Coupland Nikolas
Published: March 2007

Understanding communicative action requires bridging two worlds: the world of social actors with the purposes, concerns, and 'goals' that motivate their actions, and the world of discourse in which everyday actors' goals are expressed and inferred. This paper overviews two distinct approaches to building that bridge, discourse studies and communicative goal studies, highlighting the strengths and limitations of each approach. In addition, we overview each of the papers in the volume showing how each contributes to and extends one approach while raising challenges to the other.
Social Psychological Approaches to Using Natural Language Texts
Authors: Gallois Cynthia , Pittam Jeffery
Published: March 2007

In recent years, the trend toward using natural language texts in social-psychological research has grown increasingly strong and a number of diverse approaches to such texts have appeared in the literature. The articles in this special issue illustrate this trend. They also highlight several key issues for researchers interested in language, including the role of context, the status of speech versus speakers in the research design and analysis, the appropriate methodology, and the appropriateness of studying language separately from the rest of the communication package.
The Effects of (Un-)Fairness and (Im-)Politeness on the Evaluation of Argumentative Communication
Authors: Schreier Margrit , Groeben Norbert , Blickle Gerhard
Published: March 2007

The studies reported here were carried out in order to test whether people in everyday argumentative interactions evaluate contributions according to the fairness criterion of argumentational integrity. The hypotheses were (a) that violations ofthe fairness criterion are conspicuous, (b) that such violations are negatively evaluated, and (c) that in the case of specific violations (Standards 1 to 5), people distinguish between impolite and unfair utterances. Tb test these hypotheses, an incompletely crossed two-factorial design with the factors (un-)fairness and (im-)politeness (unfair/impolite, unfairlpolite, fair/impolite) was used, employing the scenario approach; its suitability was confirmed in the first (preliminary) study (N = 54). In the main study, all three hypotheses were largely confirmed (N = 119); the study also yielded information on additional factors influencing diagnosis and evaluation, such as type of unfairness or the participants'age and level of schooling.
Coming on Board
Authors: Legotlo Marekwa , van der Westhuizen Philip C.
Published: March 2007

This article seeks to describe the problems that new principals face in developing countries. The literature, such as it is, suggests that these can include role clarification, technical expertise and institutional socialization. For this research, data was obtained from a questionnaire to new and veteran principals of black schools in the North-west region of South Africa. This found that new principals are concerned with inadequate physical facilities, pupils' inability to buy books or pay fees, lack of residential accommodation for staff, shortage of teaching posts, the dismissal of incompetent teachers, poor staff morale, too much administrative work, and political unrest. The authors recommend greater attention be given to the provision of comprehensive induction programmes for new principals.
DRINKING & the RIGHT to DRIVE
Authors: Godson David , Mitchell Christopher
Published: March 2007

The authors draw our attention to a piece of proposed legis lation which appears to be theoretically faulty, and could produce some ethical problems for probation officers.
Survey of Final Fieldwork Placements
Authors: Richardson L.B.
Published: March 2007

A survey of 174 POs in their second or third year of employment reveals views about disturbing deficiencies in the quality of some final student placements. Comparisons between placements in student units and with individual supervisors suggest that the former are more likely to provide a satisfactory training experience.
Juvenile Liaison in Birmingham
Authors: Lynch John , Barron John
Published: March 2007

Notes on establishing a Liaison Panel and a review of the first four years of inter-agency co-operation.
Criminal Justice Act '82 and the Use of Custody
Authors: Rutherford Andrew
Published: March 2007

A warning that the new legislation could significantly increase the flow of young persons into custody, with an erosion of custodial standards, and the entrenchment of young offenders in crime. The author calls for a 'moral crusade' to counteract the impetus of the Right in penal policy.
The Effectiveness of Probation
Authors: Walker Nigel
Published: March 2007

Prof. Walker returns to the key issues which he addressed at the Brighton AGM, and calls for more critical awareness of research findings, and more thorough research to clarify our yardsticks of effectiveness.
Persuading the Public: Penal Reform, Prevention and Victim Support
Authors: Soley M. P. Clive
Published: March 2007

An edited version of an address to the Lake District Branch Conference 'The Shape of Things to Come'. A probation officer — turned — politician considers the prospects for penal change.
Improving Youth Custody Through-Care
Authors: Scott-Denness Bernard
Published: March 2007

Oxford's specialist Youth Custody team has attracted much interest and support. The author reviews the first year's experience.
The Berkeley Sex Offenders Group: A Seven Year Evaluation
Authors: Weaver Christine , Fox Charles
Published: March 2007

The Berkeley Group for non-violent male sex offenders has been operating since February 1977. An account of the early period appeared in Probation Journal (September, 1978). The leaders of this highly consistent project now offer a review of its effectiveness and the response from members past and present.
Probation Officers, Punters and Pence
Authors: Stewart Gillian
Published: March 2007

How does the Befriending Fund get used (or abused) in your office? How clear or consistent are the criteria for offering the Probation Service's limited resources of direct financial aid? The author reports on her research on this largely buried issue, suggesting considerable variation in discretion and very individual judgement. Before reading her findings and proposals, try her 'test' cases and see what you would do if ...
Area Accommodation Strategies: A Partnership Approach to Housing for Homeless Offenders
Authors: Day Nicholas
Published: March 2007

In June 1988 the Home Office issued HOC 35/1988 announcing radical changes in the process by which grant aid is paid to voluntary housing projects for offenders. Each Probation Committee must establish an accommodation forum in partnership with other bodies, incorporating hostels, commercial lodgings and standard housing in a comprehensive strategy. The author, the Development Officer in a Service already committed to consultation and development, explores the possibilities and demands of effective partnership.
Hand over hand. A blind teacher of the visually impaired at work with a blind child
Authors: Brandsborg Knut , Vik Astrid K. , Andersen Karen J.
Published: March 2007

A blind teacher of the visually impaired and a 9 year-old blind pupil interact with each other in different daily activities. Selected situations are videotaped and analysed by the blind teacher, a sighted psychologist and a sighted teacher of the visually impaired. The results illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of the blind teacher when working directly with a blind child.
The psychological aspect of visual impairment as a central understanding in the development of inclusion
Authors: Rodney Peter
Published: March 2007

The move from integration to inclusion is more than a change of terminology. It is a shift from one set of beliefs to another. The reason for change in paradigms is that the old set of theories no longer can fulfil its purpose to create coherence in complex situations.

The main question that yesterday's theory about the integration of visually impaired students no longer can explain is, 'Why does the student not automatically become a part of the group's social life?' Or as it is often put, 'Social integration is the most difficult part of integration.' This is a complex of problems that is obvious to many, but difficult to explain. So when a set of theories is no longer functional, it is time to create a new one. The theory of inclusion is a step in that direction.

Until now it has been the theoretical fields of pedagogy and didacticism that have been constructing the new paradigm of inclusion. The aim of this article is to show that a psychological approach to the understanding of visual impairment is essential to develop the concept of inclusion.
Hand-tapper III: a prototype communication device using finger-spelling
Authors: Grigson Peter , Lofmark Nils , Giblin Roger
Published: March 2007

The authors outline the design and operation of a new communication device for deaf-blind people who are not braillists The system provides access to a variety of different electronic media and uses the UK deaf-blind manual alphabet as an integral part of the user interface.
The mother/blind infant relationship: a research programme
Authors: Dorn Lisa
Published: March 2007

This paper provides an outline of some of the important developmental consequences of neonatal and infant blindness to be further investigated during a three-year research programme funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) at Birmingham University. There is some evidence that the mother/blind infant relationship may be affected by the loss of sight, perhaps owing to the mother's reaction to her blind child, to differences in onset and frequency of smiling, and to differences in communication. Suggestions are made for child-rearing practices which may mitigate the developmental delays frequently reported in children with visual problems.
Assessing the social support needs of visually impaired people: the impact of 'Community Care'
Authors: Lovelock Robin , Powell Jackie , Craggs Sarah
Published: March 2007

This paper reports on the first phase of a study examining the accessibility to visually impaired people of appropriate assessment and social support in the context of the implementation of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. It describes how the 1992/93 and 1993/94 Community Care Plans, produced by local authority social services departments in collaboration with health and other agencies, discussed the needs of visually impaired people and the services available or planned to meet them, and how social services departments' community care assessment arrangements were set out in these plans. The findings suggest a lack of specific attention to the referral and assessment of visually impaired people. The system of certification and registration using Form BD8 seems not to have been integrated into the new 'generic' assessment arrangements for community care. The promise held out by 'community care' therefore seems, so far, not to have made a positive impact on the long-standing problems surrounding BD8 procedures and the low priority typically given to visual impairment.
The Context and Dynamics of Intimate Aggression Against Women
Authors: Lloyd Sally A. , Emery Beth C.
Published: March 2007

This article presents a series of working observations on the context and dynamics of intimate aggression perpetrated against women. These reflections flow from our research, and are woven together with the work of scholars from diverse fields, from feminism to marital communication to social constructivism. Our reflections emphasize that intimate aggression is sustained not only by powerful dynamics of dominance and control, but also by the very ways in which we view, experience, and talk about relationships and aggression.
Qualitative Analysis of Women's Perceived Vulnerability to Sexual Aggression in a Hypothetical Dating Context
Authors: Livingston Jennifer A. , Testa Maria
Published: March 2007

Dating and meeting members of the opposite sex offer potential benefits to young women, yet also put them at risk for sexual aggression. Previous research suggests that women have difficulty discerning risk in a dating situation, as many of the risk factors of sexual aggression are also normal aspects of dating. This experimental study used a qualitative data analytic technique to gain insight into women's interpretation of ambiguous risk cues and subsequent decision making when presented with a hypothetical social situation. The influence of alcohol consumption on women's responses to the situation also was examined. Women aged 21-29 were randomly assigned to receive either a dose of alcohol sufficient to raise blood alcohol level to .08, a placebo, or no alcohol. They then read a written vignette depicting a high-conflict social situation and wrote an ending to the story. Results revealed that, although women recognized the potential danger of sexual aggression, this recognition frequently was overridden by a desire to facilitate the relationship, and/or a belief that any potential sexual aggression could be successfully managed. No alcohol effects were found for thematic content or total number of expressed themes. Based on these findings, the authors conclude that, while women appear to be able to recognize risk, they may benefit from learning to use strategies for managing potentially risky situations.
Communicative Predictors of Solidarity in the Grandparent-Grandchild Relationship
Authors: Harwood Jake
Published: March 2007

This research examined college students' and their grand-parents' (N= 135 dyads) self-reports of communication behaviors in the grandparent-grandchild (GP-GC) relationship. The research aimed to understand predictors of communication satisfaction, liking, and emotional closeness in the relation-ship from a basis in communication accommodation theory. For grandchildren, predictors included their perceptions of their grandparents' levels of accommodation and overaccommodation to them in interactions, as well as their own levels of accommodative involvement with their grandparents. For grandparents, perceptions of their grandchildren's accommodation to them best predicted solidarity. Neither perceived grandchild overaccommodation nor perceived grandparent underaccommodation were significant predictors in regression analyses, although both were significantly correlated with the criterion measures. Implications of the results for the study of the GP-GC relationship are discussed, and future applications of accommodation theory and intergroup contact theory are suggested.
Unsupportive Social Interactions, Availability of Social Support, and Coping: Their Relationship to Mood Disturbance among African Americans Living with Hiv
Authors: Song Yong S. , Ingram Kathleen M.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the relationship between perceptions of the availability of social support and enacted unsupportive social interactions relative to anxious and depressive mood among African Americans with HIV (N = 116). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that greater satisfaction with the availability of social support was associated with lower levels of mood disturbance. In addition, HIV-related unsupportive responses received from other people accounted for a significant portion of unique variance in mood disturbance, beyond that accounted for by the availability of positive social support. As predicted, the direction of the association was that greater levels of unsupportive social interactions were related to more mood disturbance. Results also indicated that the level of HIV-related unsupportive social interactions was positively related to the use of the coping strategy of disengagement/denial, which, in turn, was associated with greater mood disturbance.
Invited Program Overview: Research on Relationships as a Prelude to Action
Authors: Bradbury Thomas N.
Published: March 2007

Recently, leading scholars have raised serious concerns about the integrity and viability of research on personal relationships. These concerns include a lack of descriptive research, a lack of integration in research findings, neglect of ethnically and culturally diverse people and their relationships, inadequacies in sampling, and the absence of interdisciplinary research. In this article, I argue that progress in resolving these problems can be made, and the relevance and rigor of our discipline can be enhanced, by greater emphasis on research that aims to improve personal relationships. Five advantages that would accrue from such an emphasis are outlined, and three studies illustrating a problem-oriented approach to relationships are presented. A discipline devoted to the scientific study of interpersonal functioning is uniquely positioned to address a vast array of problems that arise within and impinge upon personal relationships. Failure to pursue the applied potential of our work will represent a lost opportunity to develop and demonstrate our expertise in this domain and to bring about desirable social change.
The Role of Nonverbal Cues and Physical Attractiveness in the Selection of Dating Partners
Authors: Riggio Ronald E. , Woll Stanley B.
Published: March 2007

Forty-six members of a video dating organization filled out the Self-Monitoring Scale and the Affective Communication Test. Judges rated portions of the videotaped interviews of these members in terms of their attractiveness and overall likeability, and examined nonverbal cues such as eye contact, smiling, and head movements. In general, members judged more attractive and more likeable were selected as dates more frequently but made fewer selections themselves. Among male members, popularity or frequency of being selected was related to rated attractiveness, acting ability, and overall expressiveness. For females, on the other hand, popularity was related positively to attractiveness, but negatively to expressiveness and extraversion. Results are discussed in terms of (a) the different strategies employed by males and females in dating selections and (b) previous research on expressiveness and inter-personal attraction.
Negative Communications in Marriage
Authors: Noller Patricia
Published: March 2007

This article examines data obtained from the coding of 10-minute videotapes of married couples dicussing their relationships. Each speaker turn was coded as positive, neutral or negative separately for each of the communication channels - verbal, visual, vocal or total. Three different types of negative messages were then isolated: (a) direct negative messages or those that are negative on all channels (verbal, visual and vocal), (b) negative messages with neutral or ambiguous words but negative visual and vocal cues, and (c) negative messages accompanied by smiles. The findings indicated that the preferred mode for sending negative messages was with a smile, irrespective of sex or marital adjustment level. The negative communication of unhappy couples proved to be more direct or intense (i.e. negative on more channels) than those of happy couples, and perhaps more negative than required for conveying the desired message. The vocal channel was found to be the most important channel in negative messages between spouses, since negative messages were coded negative in the vocal channel more frequently than in any other.
Social Support and the Study of Personal Relationships
Authors: Gottlieb Benjamin H.
Published: March 2007

The study of social support as a resource for resisting stress has been pursued independently of its role in the initiation and maintenance of personal relationships. Moreover, the tendency to define and measure support, like loneliness, in psychological rather than transactional terms will further limit knowledge about the conduct of close relationships. While psychological or perceived support is strongly coloured by personality variables and is not an accurate predictor of the support that actually materializes, it does play a critical role in the cognitive appraisal process. In contrast, experienced or received support figures centrally in the actual coping process. In addition there are covert, unintentional, and indirect forms of support that have been overlooked due to researchers' exclusive focus on the prosocial potential and behaviours of the social network. The article concludes by spotlighting two topics warranting integrative research in the fields of personal relationships and social support.
Parental Social Networks and Child Development
Authors: Homel Ross , Burns Ailsa , Goodnow Jacqueline
Published: March 2007

It has often been suggested - but not demonstrated - that parents' links with kin, neighbours, friends and formal organizations are likely to have many effects on children. In the present study independent interviews were held with 305 nine-to eleven-year-old children and their parents. Two aspects of parents' networks displayed strong effects: (a) the parental possession of regularly seen dependable friends ('friends you can call on in a crisis'), and (b) parents' affiliation with formal organizations. Both were associated with a range of effects. The parents' possession of dependable friends was related to the child's self-rated happiness, negative emotions, friendship network, school adjustment and social skills. Parents' formal group affiliations were related to the child's happiness, negative emotions, school adjustment and social skills. Over and beyond network variables, the socio-economic status of the neighbourhood also displayed an effect, primarily on children's social involvement with peers and friendship patterns. The results point to some particular mechanisms that may underlie network effects: e.g. parents providing models of friendship patterns or access routes to the community.
Relational and Episodic Characteristics Associated with Conflict Tactics
Authors: Canary Daniel J. , Cupach William R.
Published: March 2007

This study sought to discover how select episodic and relational variables are functionally related to communication tactics in situations of interpersonal conflict. More precisely, this study examined how communication satisfaction and perceived communication competence of partner might mediate the link between partner's conflict messages and developing relationship features. Partner's use of integrative tactics produced communication satisfaction and the perception of partner's competence. Communication satisfaction and partner competence, in turn, contributed to the definition of the interpersonal relationship in terms of greater control mutuality, trust, intimacy and relational satisfaction. Distributive tactics of partner were inversely related to communication satisfaction and perceived partner competence, and directly affected the relational characteristics of trust, control mutuality and satisfaction. Avoidance was not associated with episodic or relational features when referencing the partner's behavior. However, in tests that involved one's own conflict behavior, avoidance directly and negatively affected relational satisfaction.
Comparative Methods for Delineating Social Networks
Authors: Milardo Robert M.
Published: March 2007

By centering on the assumption that clear conceptualization precedes appropriate measurement, four methods for defining and enumerating personal networks are detailed. Global networks are defined in terms of the domain from which all other personal networks are derived. The three additional types, including significant other, exchange and interactive networks, are conceptually unique and largely non-overlapping in their memberships. The network types reviewed here do not exhaust all of the methods available for sampling personal networks, but they do represent methods with favorable psychometric properties and, most importantly, clear conceptual foundations.
A Program of Research on Behavioral Marital Therapy: Hot Spots and Smoldering Embers in Marital Therapy Research
Authors: Babcock Julia C. , Jacobson Neil S.
Published: March 2007

This research program overview elaborates the conceptual and empirical development of our program of behavioral marital therapy (BMT). The article outlines the refinement of our procedures, our search for the `active ingredients' of BMrs successes, our brush with cognitive therapy (leading to our doubts that the two therapies could be integrated) and our most recent examinations of the behavioral/contextual philosophical roots of BMT. Our attempts to improve BMT have moved us closer to general relationship themes, such as the nature of intimacy, and have identified not only new sparks of interest but also other themes perhaps best left to smolder into embers.
Reliability and Aspects of the Construct Validity of Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale
Authors: Whitley Bernard E.
Published: March 2007

This research investigated the factor structure, reliability and aspects of the construct validity of Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale (TLS). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the items of the TLS loaded on their designated factors of intimacy, passion and commitment; however, the model fit was poor and the factors were highly correlated. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that numerous items loaded on more than one factor. The subscales had extremely high internal consistencies and adequate 2-month test-retest reliabilities. Scores on all three subscales were related to relationship exclusivity and survival over the 2-month period, but only commitment and passion were related to expectancy for relationship survival. Implications and limitations of the research are discussed.