bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The First Two Years of the Summer Institute in Evaluation Research
Authors: Wright Sonia R.
Published: March 2007

The experience of the first two years of the Annual Summer Institute in Evaluation Research is reviewed based on participants' assessments following the training sessions. Overall, the Institute appears to be successfully imparting evaluation skills to social scientists with varied backgrounds and experiences. This review concludes with a call for applications to the 1977 session.
Crime Trends and Police Expenditures
Authors: Fox James Alan
Published: March 2007

All previous investigations into the effect of crime trends on appropriations for police protection have employed either inappropriate cross-sectional data or unrealistic singular lag structures. The model developed here involves a more reasonable lag structure and is estimated with time series data. The expenditure for police appears as a function of the crime rate with a lag structure that begins at two years, that contains geometrically declin ing coefficients, and that has a mean lag of 3.9 years.
Recent Econometric Modeling of Crime and Punishment
Authors: Brier Stephen S. , Fienberg Stephen E.
Published: March 2007

In this article we review some recent attempts to develop econometric models for assessing the deterrent effect of punishment on crime, as well as analyses carried out to validate these models. The formulation of the basic econometric model considered here is due to Becker, and the detailed specification of the model, along with much of the empirical work reviewed, has been carried out by Ehrlich. We find serious flaws with the Becker- Ehrlich model, with the data used in its empirical implementation, and with Ehrlich's conclusions regarding evidence to support the deterrent effect of punishment on crime. Indeed, we can find no reliable empirical support in the existing economics literature either for or against the deterrence hypothesis.
Effectiveness of Volunteer Assistance To Parolees
Authors: Carlson Eric W. , Vito Gennaro F. , Parks Evalyn C.
Published: March 2007

In spite of the proliferation of correctional programs which match offenders and volunteers in a "helping relationship," very little research has been done on the outcome effectiveness of these programs. This quasi-experimental study compared the postprogram recidivism of 107 program participants with a group of offenders eligible for the program but not matched with a volunteer, and with a randomly selected group of offenders. The results indicate that, when compared with the performance of the control groups, the postprogram recidivism of white offenders in the experimental group is reduced following participation, while the postprogram recidivism of black experimental group members is increased.
Reducing Energy Consumption in Low-Income Homes
Authors: Hirst Eric , Talwar Raj
Published: March 2007

The 26 local Community Action Agencies in Minnesota administer a federal program to audit and retrofit homes occupied by low-income households. This program seeks to improve the thermal performance of these homes and thereby reduce the economic hardship faced by these households because of high and rising fuel prices. A key question concerns the actual energy savings that can be attributed to the program. The work reported here involved collection and analysis of fuel consumption records from low-income households throughout Minnesota. Data were obtainedfrom 59 households that had received weatherization services and from 37 households that had not yet been weatherized. Comparisons offuel consumption across the two groups for the 1976-1977 and 1977-1978 winters showed that the average saving due to weatherization was 13% of total household energy use. Based on fuel prices that prevailed in 1979, the cost of weatherization is likely to be repaid with lower fuel bills in 3-4 years.
Statistical Power Analysis and Experimental Field Research
Authors: Medler Jerry F. , Schneider Peter R. , Schneider Anne L.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the application of statistical power analysis to field experiments in which subjects "trickle-in" through a case-flow process. Statistical power is shown to be useful m guiding research decisions concerning problems often encountered with case-flow designs. Concrete examples drawn from the National Evaluation of Juvenile Restitution Initiative illustrate the utility of power analysis for field experiments m which subjects become available for observation by the flow of clients into an agency or program.
Benefit-Cost Analysis and Medical Care Delivery System Change
Authors: Christianson Jon B. , Bender Steven G.
Published: March 2007

This article utilizes benefit-cost analysis to evaluate a hypothetical rural hospital closure. The estimated benefits were found to be extremely sensitive to assumptions concerning the nature of hospital marginal cost curves and less sensitive to the proportion of the hospital bill assumed to be paid directly by consumers. The net benefits of a hospital closure were largest in the case where hospital alternatives were small, under-utilized facilities. The analysis suggests that when evaluating medical delivery system change, benefit-cost techniques can be useful to policymakers in structuring the problem and identifying key assumptions. However, theoretical considerations in combination with data and resource requirements will limit its usefulness as an applied health-planning tool.
Selectivity Problems in Quasi-Experimental Studies
Authors: Muthen Bengt , Jöreskog Karl G.
Published: March 2007

Selectivity problems can occur whenever one tries to estimate population parameters from a nonrandom sample. The sample may be nonrandom because only individuals with certain characteristics are selected into the sample (sample selection), or because individuals participate voluntarily in the sample (self-selection). Selective samples can also occur because individuals fall out of the sample for various reasons, despite an initial random sample (attrition). In such situations it is important to model the selection process as realistically as possible. Selectivity problems are discussed in terms of a general model that is estimated by the maximum likelihood method. Both single-group and multiple- group analyses are considered. The multiple-group case is related to the problem of evaluation of treatment effects in nonequivalent control group designs. The general model and the estimation procedure is illustrated by means of a simulation study. An extension of the general model to latent variable models is discussed.
Congressional Input To Program Evaluation
Authors: St. Pierre Robert G.
Published: March 2007

With increasing frequency the U. S. Congress is including mandates for evaluation in legislation that creates or reauthorizes social programs. Recent examinations of the federal role in evaluation have claimed that congressional calls for evaluation are overly vague and that improved evaluation would result from greater specification of informa tion needs by Congress. This article considers the advantages and disadvantages of increasing the specificity of legislation calling for evaluation by reviewing the congres sional mandates for several national-level evaluations and examining in-depth the design of one congressionally mandated evaluation that included very specific design parameters in the authorizing legislation. The conclusion is that congressional input in the areas of evaluation questions, audiences, and timeliness is warranted and important, while explic itness in areas of research design is unnecessarily restrictive and can diminish the quality of evaluations. Congressional review of evaluation plans prepared by federal agencies and their contractors is recommended in cases where Congress is concerned about meth odology.
The Reliability and Accuracy of Time Series Model Identification
Authors: Velicer Wayne F. , Harrop John
Published: March 2007

The most widely employed procedure for interrupted time series analysis consists of a two-step procedure: (1) determining the ARIMA model by examining the pattern of autocorrelations and partial autocorrelations; and (2) employing a general linear model solution after the effect of dependency has been removed. In order to determine the reliability and accuracy of model identification, 12 extensively trained subjects were each asked to identify 32 different computer generated time series. Six commonly occurring models were employed with different levels of dependency (high, medium, or low) and different numbers of data points (N=40 and N=100). The overall accuracy, 28%, was affected by the number of data points, the type of model, and the degree of dependency.
The Effects of Early Education On Children's Competence in Elementary School
Authors: Bronson Martha B. , Pierson Donald E. , Tivnan Terrence
Published: March 2007

Programs of early education have focused primarily on low-income populations and on outcomes available from traditional assessments of children's intelligence or achievement. This evaluation used observations of children's behavior in elementary school classrooms several years after the program services had been delivered. Childrenfrom a wide range of family backgrounds were included. The results indicated that program participants benefited particularly in the area of mastery skills or academic learning behaviors. Children with highly educated mothers showed advantages regardless ofprogram service level, but children whose mothers were less highly educated showed advantages only with relatively intensive service level.
Evaluating the Life Cycle of a Product Warning
Authors: Orwin Robert G. , Schucker Raymond E. , Stokes Raymond C.
Published: March 2007

The effect of the saccharin warning label on sales of diet soft drinks was modeled with an autoregressive integrated moving average (A RIMA) process. Retail price trends and attendant publicity were modeled concurrently to separate these effects from those due to the warning. Results indicated that the label produced a small yet statistically significant reduction in sales, with an abrupt onset and, thus far, permanent duration. Reasons for the absence of decay effects, limitations of interpretability, and ideas for improving future evaluations of warning labels are discussed.
The Seattle Automobile Inspection and Maintenance Program
Authors: Newcomb Tim M.
Published: March 2007

The state of Washington instituted an automobile emissions testing and maintenance program in the Seattle-Bellevue area in 1982, the purpose of which is to reduce carbon monoxide levels to meet the federal standards. This study measures the impact of the program at two air quality monitoring stations in Seattle, comparing these stations to one in Tacoma. Six separate analyses of the program's effect on carbon monoxide are presented that differ by location, time period, and statistical method used. None of the six shows a significant program impact. The conclusion is that the possibility of a significant decline in carbon monoxide due to the testing program is remote.
Analyzing Psuedo-Time Series Interventions
Authors: Sawyer Darwin
Published: March 2007

A time series evaluation design of use in analyzing certain kinds of "case-flow "programs is described. Because it combines features of both conventional time-series designs and nonequivalent comparison group quasi-experiments, we refer to it as a "pseudo-time series" or PTS design. Statistically, PTS designs resemble replicated surveys that independently sample some population at successive time points. The substantive analogy is a program that services a rapidly changing clientele the members of which usually enter and exit the program on only one occasion. This article describes the distinguishing features of PTS designs, outlines a methodological strategy for analyzing PTS data, and shows how this strategy can be used to overcome design weaknesses in certain case-flow evaluation studies.
Comments On "Something That Works in Juvenile Justice"
Authors: McCord Joan
Published: March 2007

The article discusses reasons for praising the Intensive Protective Supervision Project as evaluated by Land, McCall, and Williams. These reasons include (a) the random assignment of probationers to a target and comparison group, (b) maintenance of good records about the process of intervention and relevant characteristics of the clients, (c) and tentative results suggesting that the prevention effort has been successful. The article suggests using dose- response evaluations that include measures of the amount of individuation, of the degree of supervision, and of the quality of behavior evaluation. It also suggests considering differential effects of treatment for different types of families as well as for different types of juveniles. Although judgment about the success of the treatment approach ispremature, short-term results are promising. The full records will enable a more complete evaluation.
A Closer Look at the Advanced-Standing Program in Social Work Education
Authors: Noble John H. , Hepler Juanita B.
Published: March 2007

The abbrevtated advanced-standing program in social work education is evaluated in light of evidence that Bachelor of Social Work as compared to non-Bachelor of Social Work degree applicants are substantially less prepared to pursue graduate studies. Except for a few applicants from prestige colleges, discrepancies between the undergraduate grade potnt average and scores on the Graduate Record Examination and Test of Standard Written English reveal the existence of undergraduate grade inflation in most public and private institutions of higher education. A method for discounting the undergraduate grade point average is presented. Adopting an admissions policy that sets a higher graduate record examination or discounted undergraduate grade point average standard for acceptance into the advanced-standing program is recom mended by virtue of the unavoidable tradeoff between quantity and quality.
The Role of Contextual Variables in Evaluation Decision Making
Authors: Jatulis Linnea L. , Newman Dianna L.
Published: March 2007

This experimental study examined the interactions of potential loss, time, and self-efficacy of the program manager on need for information in an evaluation decision. The theoretical framework was provided by Janis and Mann's conflict decision-making model and by self-efficacy theory. The sample consisted of 259 managers of home health agencies in New York State. Results showed a significant three-way interaction on both sources and types of information. Managers with high self-efficacy needed less information in situations of high potential loss and inadequate time; managers with low self-efficacy needed more information in these situations regardless of time.
Computers in the Cop Car
Authors: Nunn Samuel
Published: March 2007

As computer technologies continue to evolve, more attention should be directed to an evaluation of technologies used in police agencies. One is the mobile digital terminal (MDT)—the "computer in a cop car." Using MDTs, patrol officers communicate directly with remote crime information data bases. Proponents argue MDTs help officers increase incident clearance rates and help recover stolen property. An opportunity to evaluate use of MDTs exists in Fort Worth, Texas. The police department implemented an MDT system in 1985, arguing MDTs would improve crime-fighting capabilities, particularly in vehicle theft clearances and recoveries. An interrupted time series design is used to assess the extent to which this has occurred Implemen tation of MDTs is treated as the intervention, and an analysis of clearance and recovery rates before and after intervention is conducted. Datafrom monthly reports of motor vehicle thefts, clearances, and recovery rates from 1980 to 1990 are examined, modeled using ARIMA or regression analysis, and fitted with an intervention component to determine if there was a significant change in the seriesfollowing implementation of the MDT technology. Little evidence is found to support a conclusion that MDTs had a significant impact on auto theft clearances. Recoveries were affected slightly, but only in terms of the postintervention trend. Other factors may be equally important in recovering stolen vehicles.
Evaluation of a Drug-Free Schools and Community Program
Authors: Wiener Richard L. , Pritchard Christine , Frauenhoffer Shannon M. , Edmonds Mabel
Published: March 2007

This article descnbes an outcome evaluation of a Drug-Free Schools and Community Program employing a case study design and following a pattern-matching logic. Included in two cases (elementary and high school programs) were two sources of evidence, a correlational panel survey, and a qualitative interview study. Predictions were made for both sources of evidence assuming the program was successful. The elementary school case matched the predicted outcome but the high school case did not. A discussion of the methodologies selected and the conclusions reached is presented to analyze the case study, pattern-matching approach for future outcome studies.
Assessing the Opportunity to Learn Mathematics
Authors: Harskamp E. , Suhre C.
Published: March 2007

Research on education often faces the problem of measurement of the opportunity to learn. This is also the case with mathematics education. Researchers may choose either a retrospective measurement approach (e.g., a questionnaire) or an immediate recording approach (e.g., logbooks). In the present study, the accuracy, reliability, and predictive validity of a logbook procedure is assessed. The results show that the use of logbooks leads to reliable measurement of opportunity to learn variables. The variables measured by logbooks also appear to be good predictors of learning progress.
Evaluation Design for a Community Prevention Trial
Authors: Holder Harold D. , Saltz Robert F. , Treno Andrew J. , Grube Joel W. , Voas Robert B.
Published: March 2007

The Community Prevention Trial was 5-year effort to reduce alcohol-involved injuries and death through a comprehensive program of community awareness and policy activities. The three experimental communities were of approximately 100,000 population each (one in Northern California, one in Southern California, and one in South Carolina). Matched comparison communities were used for each experimental community. This article describes the evaluation approach used in a program that sought to change environmental factors not a specific population or target group. This approach demanded unique evaluation approaches for deter mining overall community aggregate effects, that is, distal outcomes, as well as changes in key mediating variables, that is, process effects. The problem of trending and lagged effects of community prevention programs are discussed.
Automated Pharmacy Databases and Behavioral Health Care Quality Assurance
Authors: McFarland Bentson H.
Published: March 2007

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials suggest that medications can be efficacious in several psychiatric disorders. The effectiveness of medications as they are used in practice remains to be seen. Automated pharmacy data give evaluation researchers tools to examine the quality of care for people using psychotropic medications. Reasonably convincing data indicates that automated pharmacy records are valid measures of medication consumption. Evaluation research is needed in areas such as standard setting, risk adjustment, and the linking of pharmacy data to outcome measures.
Coping and Emotional Response in Cardiac Surgery Patientsxk
Authors: Crumlish Christine M.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to examine coping and emotion in patients prior to and after cardiac surgery. The revised Ways of Coping Checklist (WCCL) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were completed by 120 patients before surgery and on the fifth postoperative day. Participants had significant (p < .01) differences in coping prior to and following surgery. There were significant (p < .05) postoperative decreases in the use of several coping strategies (seeking social support, blaming oneself and wishful thinking); however; the use of other coping strategies (problem-focused coping and avoidance) remained unchanged. Emotion did not change. There were positive, significant (p < .05) relationships between several of the coping strategies and perioperative emotion. Preoperative emotion was found to be the best independent predictor of the postoperative emotion.
Occupational Meanings and Coping Practices of Rescue Workers in an Earthquake Disaster
Authors: Stuhimiller Cynthia M.
Published: March 2007

On 17 October 1989, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck the San Francisco Bay Area, causing the collapse of. 76 miles of a double-decker roadway (known as the Cypress Street Viaduct), resulting in the death of 42 people. A study examined the effects of rescue work at 6 and 20 months after the event, among 42 people including: military pararescuers, firefighters, transportation workers, and coroner-investigators. The researcher explored the rescuers' motivations, actions, coping strategies, interactions, and understanding of their responses to the event, as well as the practical wisdom each acquired This article focuses on the 6-month data, and reports the specific work meanings and practices that shaped forms of involvement, issues of stress, and sources of coping that influenced the experience of rescue work in this disaster.
Effect of Supplemental Dietary Calcium on the Development of DOCA-Salt Hypertension in Weanling Rats
Authors: Perry Patsy A.
Published: March 2007

This study characterizes the response to dietary calcium in DOCA-salt hypertension. Body weight, systolic bloodpressure, and total serum calcium levels were compared among normotensive control rats, DOCA-salt hypertensive rats treated with calcium carbonate (Ca CO3) augmentation, and DOCA-salt hypertensive rats without supplementary dietary calcium. Dietary calcium augmentation prevented the rise of blood pressure that is normally produced by DOCA-salt. Attenuation in systolic blood pressure was independent of weight loss or total serum calcium and may be linked to alterations in calcium homeostasis that are seen in both human and experimental hypertension. Thus this study provides important data that may assist infurther explicating the role that alterations in calcium homeostasis play in DOCA-salt hypertension. Further, these data may also be important in the identification of a nonpharmacological intervention for testing in humans.
The Process and Consequences of Institutionalizing an Elder
Authors: Dellasega Cheryl , Mastrian Kathy , Weinert Clarann
Published: March 2007

This qualitative study was conducted to examine the decision-making process and its immediate consequences forfamily members who placed an elderly loved one in a long-term care facility. To explore issues related to the placement process, in-depth interviews were conducted with 7 individuals who had recently (6 weeks or less) placed an older relative. Content analyses of the interviews were conducted, and several common themes related to the decision-making process and outcomes emerged. Most of the subjects hadprovided personal care for their elderly relative, so placing their loved one in a nursing home often conflicted with their view of themselves as an ideal caregiver During the process of making the decision, althoughfamily members were given advice and suggestions by health care professionals, this input was viewed as inadequate or even detrimental. Ultimately, subjects described making the decision to place an elderly relative in a long-term care facility as a singular process involving "I" rather than "we. " The positive and negative role of friends emerged as an important influence during and after the placement process. The informal validation of the decision to place by peers was the one interaction that family members identified as helpful during this process.
Older Couples' Decision Making on Health Issues
Authors: Padula Cynthia
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the process of spousal influence as it relates to health-promotion behaviors and the concept desire to change spousal health behaviors. Fifty-nine elderly couples in long-term marriages were recruited through three senior centers; participants were asked to respond tofive open-ended questions. The majority of couples said that they made health decisions jointly; wives tended to be the primary deciders in the event that a health decision had to be made. Most people, but particularly wives, desired to change something about their spouses 'health behavior; a variety of strategies were used in the attempt to change spousal behavior Aging or illness in the self or spouse were identified as precipitants of increased desire to change the spouses 'health behavior over time.
Social Support and Long-Term Survivors of AIDS
Authors: Barroso Julie , Buchanan Diane , Tomlinson Patricia , van Servellen Gwen
Published: March 2007

A naturalistic study design using ethnographic interviews was employed to elicit data about the phenomenon of being a long-term survivor of AIDS from 14 men and 6 women. Data were generated through multiple intensive open-ended interviews, demographic data sheets, and self-reported CD4 counts. Data were analyzed using latent and manifest content analysis techniques and the method of constant comparison. One of the dimensions that emerged from the data was "being in relation to others, " the complex set of interpersonal relationships that have been renegotiated to maintain the reconstructed life. Specific ways of being in relation to others included dealing with one's family, renegotiating the friendship group, helping others with HIV: and developing a relationship with a higher power The results of this study have implications for counseling people with HIV disease, and for nursing actions to enhance social support in this vulnerable group.
Follow-Up Study of Children with Growth Deficiency
Authors: Reifsnider Elizabeth
Published: March 2007

This follow-up study revealed that all the children with growth deficiency in the original study had slower growth velocity after termination of the study. Two years later; 56% of the sample was located and the measures were repeated. The experimental group had diets significantly higher in fat and zinc than did the control group. The amount offat, calories, zinc, and protein intake in all the children's diets was significantly related to their percentile levelfor weight. The stress of all the mothers, both experimental and control, had increased, and there was a significant increase in stress in the experimental mothers. There was no difference in the children's home environments, but the parent-child interactions were significantly more positive between the experimental children and their mothers. This follow-up study demonstrates that children with growth deficiency benefited over time from the original intervention but need continued intervention for positive significant changes to persist.
Correlates of Nurse Practitioners' Diagnostic and Intervention Performance for Domestic Violence
Authors: Gagan Mary Jo
Published: March 2007

The purposes of this research were to identify diagnosis and intervention performance accuracy, variables that influence this performance accuracy, and barriers thatimpede performance accuracy of adult nurse practitioners (ANP) andfamily nurse practitioners (FNP)for domestic violence. Two measures were developed: the Nurse Practitioner Survey (NPS) and the Nurse Practitioner Performance Tool. A total of 118ANPs and FNPs completed and returned mailed surveys. Of these, 22 individuals were interviewed by telephone regarding personal and professional experience with domestic violence and barriers in their clinical settings to addressing domestic violence.
The Experiential Meaning of Well-Being for Employed Mothers
Authors: Weber Gloria J.
Published: March 2007

Employed mothers must constantly juggle and balance the multiple roles they face on a daily basis, which can be overwhelming and may adversely affect well-being and health. Findings are presented from a naturalistic-inquiry study that explored how employed mothers with preschool-age children experience positive well-being in their lives. Interviews were conducted with 16 mothers who worked full time and had at least one preschool-age child living at home. Findings included seven categories reflective of experiential well-being: mutuality, spirituality, child-centeredness, acceptance, happiness, security, and enrichment of the world. Results of this study are anticipated to contribute to a foundation for theory development and subsequent theory testing for promoting well-being.
Mediating the Imagination: Corporate Involvement in the Production of Centralized Subjectivity
Authors: Ganesh Shiv
Published: March 2007

The role of the imagination as a collective property in today's global economy has received much attention. The thesis that modern subjectivity, produced by processes of consumption and constructed in a global cultural economy, is coupled with the expansion of our collective imagination demands qualification. In this article, the author engages in an analysis of themes of gender, religion, and nationalism in discourse produced by participants in an electronic discussion group, to show that the expansion of the imagination under capitalism is inextricably coupled with the centralization of subjectivity. Moreover, this centralization cannot be discussed without reference to corporate interests that mediate it.
Carnival Radio: Soca-Calypso Music and Afro-Caribbean Voice in a Restricted Service License Station in Manchester
Authors: Myles John F.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the sociologial significance of the concepts of voice, dialect, and accent, using as a case study local area commercial and nonprofit radio stations in the northwest of England. The article argues that whereas much of local and regional radio is dominated by a form of working-class voice, this tends to be homogenized and has little relationship to the reality of distinct spatially located communities. However, taking the case of a small scale, restricted service license Afro-Caribbean station in the Moss Side and Hulme inner-city area of Manchester, the author argues that radio can serve the socio-cultural needs of specific and identifiable communities. He elaborates this argument by looking at soca-calypso music, which was a key feature of the station's broadcasting, and adopts Barthes's concept of “grain of voice” as well as the ideas of Appadurai, Gilroy, Bhabha, and Hall in the cultural diaspora and new ethnicities research. The article concludes that similar cultural strategies need to be applied to address the sociocultural problems facing white working-class communities in transition.
Culture: Text or Artifact or Action?
Authors: Meehan Eileen R.
Published: March 2007

This article reflects on problems in defining and operationalizing the term culture. Most media scholars interested in cultural studies and most cultural studies scholars define culture as a whole way of life and then operationalize the study of culture as the analysis of texts. This reduction of a whole way of living, being, and doing in the world to reading texts has methodological benefits, but it obscures experiential differences that mark the processes of encoding and decoding artifacts, differences between types of artifacts, and experiential and economic differences in access to the technology necessary to gain exposure to specific artifacts. Furthermore, as the language of this abstract suggests, the reduction tends to eliminate human beings from discussions about texts and culture. Perhaps we need to theorize culture in a way that recognizes human beings as well as texts.
Negotiating Femininity: Girls in Early Adolescence Read Teen Magazines
Authors: Duke Lisa L. , Kreshel Peggy J.
Published: March 2007

Early adolescent girls' interaction with textual images of femininity were assessed through in-depth interviews with ten participants, ages twelve and thirteen, who are regular readers of Teen, Seventeen, Sassy, and YM magazines. The two primary findings represent different dimensions of the same phenomenon: girls' use of outside authorities in formulating personal standards— in this case, standards of behavior and appearance. In particular, girls relied heavily on the reports of boys' voices regularly featured in the magazines for counsel on how to attain male approval and negotiate romantic relationship. Also, girls' readings centered on images of beauty; specifically the “ideal” feminine body. Participants routinely ignored or rejected the magazines' fashion formulations and advice on hair and makeup. However, girls seemed ill equipped to critically analyze magazines' images of the feminine physique, even when they recognized these images did not accurately reflect the girls they know.
Marilyn Manson is Not Goth: Memorial Struggle and the Rhetoric of Subcultural Identity
Authors: Gunn Joshua
Published: March 2007

The author argues that subcultural identity is a process informed by memorial struggles, or contests over what counts as a “history” and a “memory.” More specific, this article suggests that popular, mainstream representations of subcultures often provide subcultural adherents with a discursive space in which to redefine and negotiate subcultural identities, histories, and memories. To this end, the representation of “gothic subculture” by both the press and “goths” themselves is examined to illustrate points of contest and negative redefinition. The article concludes by suggesting that a better, shared understanding of subcultural discourse demands some degree of ethnographic research.
Interview with Reinaldo A Téfel- Nicaraguan Minister of Social Welfare
Authors: Molyneux Maxine
Published: March 2007

The following interview was recorded in September 1987 during a visit by Minister Reinaldo Téfel to London. The Central American Peace Agreement had just been signed: there was a mood of optimism in Nicaragua about the prospects for peace in the region and for a respite from the contra war. Since then, however, there has been little alleviation from the war, even on the military front. More people have died each day in the months following the Peace Agreement than before. The contextualisation of Nicaragua's social policy within the overall battle for survival of the revolution, underlines the degree to which social welfare provision in a peripheral country is conditioned by external factors and by the political complexion of the state.
Housing and gender policies in the Soviet Union
Authors: Lewin Susan , Pugh Cedric
Published: March 2007

The Soviet Union's chief economic advisor to Gorbachev has indicated that housing is the most significant social sphere in need of reform under 'perestroika'. This article reviews the Soviet Union's performance in housing and in the 'at home' domestic sector roles ofwomen. It shows dis continuties and reversals in policy roles, explaining them in terms of both pragmatic issues and socialist ideology. Focus is given to 'perestroika' reformist intentions, with some critical evaluation of the prospects. Over all, the article has a position theme revealing that housing has been eco nomically underallocated in the Soviet Union, largely because housing economics is misconceived in socialist political economy. We argue that housing should be viewed as 'production' rather than as 'consumption' and that this has significant implications for gender and for housing policy in socialism.
Dropping 'E's: the missing link in quality assurance for disabled people
Authors: Priestley Mark
Published: March 2007

Community Care reforms have revived interest in service quality. It is argued that the definition of service quality is value-led and that domi nant ideologies have contributed to the continued oppression of disabled people. The design of quality assurance systems is considered and it is suggested that organisations controlled by disabled people have a central role to play in providing disablement services. Two conclusions are drawn. First, service quality cannot on its own be a sufficient condition for disabled people's emancipation. Second, 'quality' has been used as a policy substitute for the necessary con dition of 'equality'.
Rethinking poverty
Authors: Novak Tony
Published: March 2007

For the past hundred years thinking about poverty has been stuck within an empiricist framework that has concentrated on the measure ment of poverty to the neglect of theory and explanation. This has had very limiting effects on the way that both poverty and the poor have been understood. It is time to re-think how poverty is looked at and analysed in order to locate it within its proper political perspective, not only to arrive at more meaningful measurement but also to help de velop a strategy to overcome it.
Partnerships for regeneration and community development
Authors: Mayo Marjorie
Published: March 2007

From a range of perspectives, participation and partnership have been considered key elements of regeneration. This article starts by unpacking this view, exploring some of the differing definitions and models of part nership for urban regeneration. Partnerships can be empowering, but they can also be disempowering for communities and for the pro fessionals who work with them. Drawing upon case study materials, the article concludes by exploring how community participation might be supported in empowering rather than disempowering ways.
Evaluating Illness in Women’s Magazines
Authors: McKay Susan , Bonner Frances
Published: March 2007

Traditionally, mass-market women’s magazines have been a significant source of health information for their readers and include information about raising children, maintaining health, and growing older as well as dealing with grief, chronic illness, and disability. This information occurs in medical information articles, advice columns, and stories that relate the personal experience of illness. This study focuses on the last category, personal illness narratives, and looks at these stories over the past 20 years in three high-circulation Australian mass-market magazines to investigate their characteristics and possible functions. The approach used is qualitative with an emphasis on textual features and discourse structures and investigates the evaluation phase of the narratives. It finds four major themes in the evaluations and suggests that these are used to demonstrate the resilience of the human condition and to give inspiration to the readers.
Covert Racism: An Application of Essed's Analysis in a South African Context
Authors: Louw-Potgieter J.
Published: March 2007

This paper has a two-fold aim: to illustrate the use of qualitative, linguistic data in the study of overt racism; and to focus on the experience of black people at the receiving end of racist acts. Accounts of the experience of covert racism in the context of an 'open' university in South Africa were examined in terms of a method based on attributional principles (Essed, 1988). It was found that black students' accounts of racist experiences did not constitute incoherent stories containing snap judgments about an actor's racism, but followed explicit and logical rules. In addition, these accounts illustrated that when judging an incident as racist or not, black students showed a high degree of tolerance (i.e. testing all possible alternative interpretations before deciding that an incident could be construed as racist) and made clear distinctions between racist and non-racist incidents (i.e. did not react in an 'over-sensitive' manner by classifying all discriminatory instances as racist). It was also found that most students expressed a sense of powerlessness and resignation regarding covert racism on campus. Finally, suggestions were made regarding the extension of this method for socially responsible research in South Africa.
Power behind Linguistic Behavior
Authors: Pan Yuling
Published: March 2007

The present study examines the relative weight of three social factors: official rank, age, and gender in Chinese official settings and their role in the use of politeness strategies in Chinese verbal interaction. Analysis of linguistic features (directives, conflict talk, and decision making) from audiotaped official meetings leads to the following conclusions. First, the dominating factor that determines politeness behavior patterns in Chinese official settings is the power from one's official rank. The role ofgender and age, although important in the highly hierarchical Chinese society in many other settings (e.g., family environment), is reduced to the minimum. Second, positive and negative politeness strategies are used differently in Chinese culture from the way they are used in the West. Whereas both politeness strategies are present in Chinese language use, they are afunction of institutional power (as opposed to other types of power) in official settings.
Fans
Authors: Leets Laura , De Becker Gavin , Giles Howard
Published: March 2007

Social psychological studies of language cover a wide range of research domains, most of which ignore written communication to societally visible figures. Toward ameliorating this, the authors focus on letters written to Hollywood celebrities. The authors'goal is to extend the 1991 research of Dietz et al. that has examined threatening and inappropriate letters to entertainment celebrities. The authors present a comparative view by investigating the features of normal fan behavior. A total of 294 university students were asked to express their motivations for contacting celebrities. Next, 83 fan letters received by one Hollywood celebrity were content analyzed in terms of the senders' motivations for writing. The authors compared the university students' rationale to the ones articulated in the actual letters and also compared the latter with characteristics found in Dietz et al. `s more sinister sample. Finally, a case study of one fan is undertaken to illustrate how distinguishing between a sycophantic fan and the obsessed unwanted pursuer poses a challenging task.
Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis
Authors: Tracy Karen
Published: March 2007

Action-implicative discourse analysis is the name for a new type of discourse analysis, developed to be useful in the critique and cultivation of communicative practices in society. Developed within the metatheoretical framework of grounded practical theory, an extension and formalization of Craig's earlier ideas about communication as a practical discipline, action-implicative discourse analysis seeks to characterize the communicative problems, conversational techniques, and situated ideals of communicative practices. After overviewing the method's metatheoretical framework, the article proceeds to highlight what is distinctive about this new method. By comparing and contrasting action-implicative discourse analysis with four markedly different discourse analytic approaches-conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, critical discourse analysis, and discursive psychology-the article seeks to make the methodological approach's distinctive character visible. The article's final section explicates criteria that could be used in assessing interpretive discourse approaches generally, and action-implicative discourse analysis in particular.
Managing Non-Productive University Faculty Members
Authors: Jackson John , Muir Walter
Published: March 2007

ohn Jackson and Walter Muir are Professors at the University of Victoria in Victoria B. C. The purpose of the study upon which their paper is based was to examine how university department chairpersons identified and managed tenured faculty who are not productive members of the academic unit. They report that up to 15 per cent of faculty members are perceived as being non-productive or marginal, but that very few dismissals take place. Some strategies for alleviating the problem are proposed.
School Management in Kuwait after the Iraqi Aggression
Authors: Al-Jaber Zeinab
Published: March 2007

This paper reports on the problems which school principals in Kuwait have faced in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion. Based on a sample of 238 principals and using a questionnaire of 35 items divided into five main areas the research suggested that, inter alia, problems relating to school goals and parents and local community relations were decreased. Conversely, problems which focused on the principal's relationships with senior administrators and with teachers and pupils increased.
Context and Capability in Educational Management
Authors: Glatter Ron
Published: March 2007

This paper attempts four things. First, to develop a discussion around some contextual factors impacting on schools. Second, to make some comments about what `best practice outside education' might mean in relation to educational management. Third, to reflect on issues concerning leadership in the light of the author's belief that `mainstream' educational management has become too preoccupied with what might be called the institutional side of leadership and management to the extent of disregarding or at least under-emphasizing policy and contextual factors. In doing so it risks the accusation that educational management is being too technocratic and mechanistic and pays insufficient regard to values. Fourth, to draw some implications for continuing professional development in a situation of increased central control of this activity.
Ordinary Cosmopolitanisms
Authors: Lamont Michèle , Aksartova Sada
Published: March 2007

In contrast to most literature on cosmopolitanism, which focuses on its elite forms, this article analyzes how ordinary people bridge racial boundaries in everyday life. It is based on interviews with 150 non-college-educated white and black workers in the United States and white and North African workers in France. The comparison of the four groups shows how differences in cultural repertoires across national context and structural location shape distinct anti-racist rhetorics. Market-based arguments are salient among American workers, while arguments based on solidarity and egalitarianism are used by French, but not by American, workers. Minority workers in both countries employ a more extensive toolkit of anti-racist rhetoric as compared to whites. The interviewed men privilege evidence grounded in everyday experience, and their claims of human equality are articulated in terms of universal human nature and, in the case of blacks and North Africans, universal morality. Workers' conceptual frameworks have little in common with multiculturalism that occupies a central place in the literature on cosmopolitanism. We argue that for the discussion and practice of cosmopolitanism to move forward we should shift our attention to the study of multiple ordinary cosmopolitanisms.
Manufacturing Emergencies
Authors: Bishop Ryan , W.P. Phillips John
Published: March 2007

The article examines the distinction between the state of emergency and the normal state and an inherent undecidability at the base of the distinction. We argue that states of emergency arise from strategic sovereign decisions to divide visible from invisible, enemy from ally, underground economy from above-ground, illegitimate war from legitimate war. The capacity to so divide is manifested, for instance, in the technology of air raid sirens in a way that indicates the momentum of the technicity that covertly underlies sovereign power. The article, furthermore, shows how the distinction between the visible and the invisible can serve as a mystification, perpetuating the state of emergency by disguising the intrinsic connection between the two domains.