bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovation in the Indian Information Technology Industry: A Study of the Software Product Development Process
Authors: Krishnan Rishikesha T. , Prabhu Ganesh N.
Published: March 2007

We examine the Indian context for software product development and build on the general literature on product development to develop an understanding of the software product development process in India. We do the latter by drawing from a detailed study of six specific software product development projects ofsix different Indian firms. The products were chosen to provide a variety of industrial contexts, types of firms, types of markets and levels of customisation. Based on a cross-product analysis on parameters such as product definition and positioning, choice of product, technology, product architecture and customisation, version management, marketing and product launch, reward and incentive systems, and quality systems, we draw implications for software product development by companies and for policy makers in the Indian context.
Formulating an S&T Policy for Sri Lanka in the Context of Globalisation
Authors: Vitarana Tissa
Published: March 2007

Sri Lanka like most Third World countries is faced with problems of economic stagnation and increasing poverty among wider sections of the population. In such a context, science and technology policy is instrumental to the process of industrialisation and ultimately sustainable economic development.

This paper presents a practitioner's account of science and technology policy in Sri Lanka. It argues that the problems of small size and continued dependence on primary commodity exports coupled with the pervasive influence of globalisation present a double bind for the development and implementation of science and technology policy.
Penetrating the Natives: Peanut Breeding, Peasants and the Colonial State in Senegal (1900-1950)1
Authors: Bonneuil Christophe
Published: March 2007

In the period between the two World Wars Senegal was the world's second largest peanut exporter. Plant breeding became the priority of agricultural policy in Senegal and by 1951 half of the peanut production was due to 'improved' varieties. This paper explores the research and agricultural practices in the agricultural station of Bambey, which stood in sharp contrast with the Sereer farming system. Also, the extension of 'improved' strains is analysed as a learning process rather than a diffusion process. During this process, some practices and constraints of the station were imposed on the farmers.

The paper finally reflects on the turning of African peasantries into objects of knowledge and intervention. At a time when colonial state control and knowledge of agrarian societies were very weak, seed intervention was a tool of the cognitive penetration of Sereer and Wolof communities by the state and its experts, and a means to render them more amena ble to state intervention.
Health Management in the Integrated Tribal Development Agency: A Case Study
Authors: Jayalakshmi K.
Published: March 2007

This paper is an empirical study conducted in one of the International Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs) ofA ndbra Pradesh. A n attempt is made to analyse the health facilities extended to the nine mandals in the region through the World Bank IPP- VI project. A maiden attempt was also made to train the local tribal women as community health workers (CHWs) so that they might be accepted by the community. The CHWs were trained to provide health education, health prevention and basic curative services at the village level. The CHWs are the linking pins between the community and health personnel. They act as medico-social workers, resolving health problems and building rapport with the community. The Village Tribal Develop ment Agency (VTDA) was constituted to supervise health activities in the area. The VTDA is assisted by both the Village Health Committee (VHC) and the village devel opment fund. The activities are designed to be implemented by the VHC and the vil lage development fund, which in turn works with the people's participation. It is designed to sustain itself even after the government machinery withdraws its training and monitoring mechanism. Community participation is a stepping stone for success in any programme, particularly in a health programme.
Financing of Health Care in India: Results of NHA from Karnataka
Authors: Garg Charu C.
Published: March 2007

India spends a high proportion of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care but is still poor in terms of health outcomes as compared to countries at a similar level of development. It is, therefore, extremely important to understand the financial dimensions of the health sector to enable policy makers to take wise decisions in this sector. Taking the case of Karnataka, a state in India, this article seeks to estimate the total health expenditure as a proportion of the state domes tic product (SDP); examine the role of private and public sectors as financiers and providers of health services; and estimate health expenditure by different income classes of beneficiaries, and functions like preventive and curative care. Using National Health Accounts (NHA) as a tool of analysis, this article presents the results for 1993-94. It indicates that 76 per cent of health sector revenues come from private sources, of which almost 50 per cent go to private providers and 21 per cent are spent on drugs. Further, 7 per cent of household out-of-pocket expenditure is used as non-drug expenditure for using government facilities for out-patient and in-patient treatment. This has important policy implications for the government. The role of financial intermediaries, especially the insurance sector, is also highlighted in the analysis. A further analysis by income categories and functional classifications is expected to highlight important results.
Capital Structure Decisions Under Micro Institutional Settings: The Case of Turkey
Authors: Gonenc Halit
Published: March 2007

This article examines the impact of profitability, asset tangibility, size, and growth opportunities on capital structure decisions of Turkish industrial firms. I aim to show that corporate governance and equity ownership struc ture could influence the relationship between debt ratios and firms' charac teristics. Using regression analysis, I find that characteristics of firms along with equity ownership by managers, financial institutions, the government, and stock market activities determine the capital structure choice of Turkish firms in a way similar to other developed and developing countries. There is one exception, growth opportunities. Both total debt and long-term debt ratio increase with growth opportunities of firms.
Bank Rating Changes and Bank Stock Returns: Puzzling Evidence from the Emerging Markets
Authors: Richards Anthony , Deddouche David
Published: March 2007

This article examines the performance of emerging market bank stocks around the time of rating changes by major international agencies. The data suggest that downgrades on average have followed periods of negative cumulative abnormal returns, although upgrades have not followed periods of positive returns. More importantly, stock prices either do not respond to rating changes or respond in the opposite direction to what would be expected if announcements convey value-relevant information about financial health. The article concludes that there are limits to the extent that supervisors in emerging markets can rely on market participants to monitor the safety and soundness of banks.
A NEW SPORT ETHICS
Authors: Shogan Debra , Ford Maureen
Published: March 2007

In an earlier issue of the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Eugen König argued that doping exposes sport as an enterprise which is inherently exploitative (1995). Doping is consistent with other practices and technologies which push human limits of performance but which are arbitrarily included as part of `pure', `natural', and `authentic' sport only because they are not against the rules. By circumscribing what is to count as ethical inquiry in sport within a discussion of obligations in relation to proscriptive rules, sport ethicists cannot avoid being complicit in supporting a sport culture that is often harmful to athletes. König charges that a sport ethics that concerns itself only with questions that emanate from rule breakage `does not deserve the name of ethical criticism' and is `a powerless protest against sport' and `actually prevents what it pretends to intend' (1995: 256). We take König's critique of sport ethics seriously and, through this commentary, we aim to initiate a discussion about a new sport ethics that would have quite different pedagogical, political and scholarly tasks. The discussion is situated in the ethics of French intellectual, Michel Foucault, and contextualized in the proliferation of ethical concerns and debates within contemporary Canadian sports discourse.
Media Image
Authors: von der Lippe Gerd
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the media construction of female bodies in relation to the symbolic processes of nation-making through the European handball championships in 1998. The focus is on mediated texts from Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Norway and Romania, in which cultural differences and similarities through cultural metaphors in a feminist perspective are the main issues. Contradictions and ambivalences are also included in the analysis. If sport contributes to the construction and reconstruction of national identities in a global world, the following four criteria must be included. First, the sport must be mediated as having a glorious history (Denmark, Hungary, Norway and Romania). Second, if this is applied to women’s sport, the sport must be represented as ‘sex-appropriate’ in a historical context and/or today (Denmark, Hungary, Norway and Romania). To do so, female athletes cannot be understood as ‘the Other’ in the overall context which is analysed (Denmark, Hungary, Norway and Romania). Third, the athletes’ bodies must be mediated as aggressive, tough, strong and non-fragile, with power to play in competitions in a historical context and/or today (Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Norway and Romania). Fourth, European championships in the sport must be presented as media events in the country (Denmark and Norway). For countries in the former eastern bloc, both state politics and politics in the field of handball may have a decisive say as to whether the sport is mediated to contribute to the (re)construction of national identities (Hungary and Romania). Claims that national myth-making is supposed to deny issues of gender is problematized through the concept of doxa (what is taken for granted and not reflected upon).
`HE OWNED ME BASICALLY...'
Authors: Brackenridge Celia
Published: March 2007

Many women have, at some time, been the subject of sexual harassment or abuse in their working lives. This paper explains how similar experiences also occur in sport and why they have particularly devastating consequences for girls and women. Sexual harassment and abuse arise from the culture of sport and from the opportunities for exploitation of power and authority which this affords coaches. Results from studies of personal accounts of abuse by former women athletes are presented and used to test various explanatory theories of abuse.
BETWEEN AND BEYOND THE GLOBAL AND THE LOCAL
Authors: Jackson Steven J. , Andrews David L.
Published: March 2007

This article examines how the National Basketball Association (NBA), an explicitly American, yet increasingly global media(ted) institution, can be located within the local context of New Zealand. Specifically, the article provides: (a) a brief overview of how and why the NBA transformed itself into a global sport commodity; (b) a contextualization of contemporary New Zealand along with a cursory examination of some empirical examples of the global/local nexus of the NBA; and (c) an analysis of how the NBA and American sporting culture serve as points of difference within what Robertson terms the `hegemonic global'.
Functionality, Rent Seeking, and Government as Determinants of Inequality
Authors: WEEDE ERICH
Published: March 2007

Societies benefit from unequal rewards and some system of social stratification, if extraordinary rewards provide signals where more effort is required or where scare talents should go. But these signals cannot avoid some ambiguity. By advertising the availability of extraordinary rewards, it is also advertised that restrictive practices, in particular barriers to entry, are likely to succeed in distorting prices. Inevitably, functional inequality generates dysfunctional inequality. Inevitably, rational actors try to escape from competition and to capture rents. Although the democratic political process should neutralize attempts to escape from competition, it is more likely to reinforce them. Politics is not part of the cure for rent seeking but part of the problem itself.
The Comedy of the Commons Revisited
Authors: Mesterton-Gibbons Michael
Published: March 2007

The Forum consists of comments on previously published papers and responses by authors. Unlike the Comment section in many other academic journals, the Forum includes solicited as well as unsolicited contributions. We encourage debates by actively seeking points of view contrary to those expressed in articles published in the journal. The Forum is intended to promote an open and critical debate that contributes to the intellectual vitality and further development of rational-choice-based theory and research.

Forum contributions should follow the form used by Rationality and Society and should not exceed five double-spaced pages.
Uncertain Property Rights and the Coase Theorem
Authors: SCHIFF MAURICE
Published: March 2007

The Coase theorem states that, in the absence of transaction costs, the assignment of property rights does not affect resource allocation, and the allocation is Pareto optimal. The theorem also implies that the order in which parties settle in a given location does not affect resource allocation either. This article argues that Pareto optimality is not attained in a class of prevalent cases involving uncertain rights, risk aversion, and resource divisibility. Resolution of the uncertainty results in a Pareto improvement for all parties and in a different allocation of resources if wealth effects are significant. Further, the article argues that the order in which parties settle in a given location may affect resource allocation.
A MODEL OF THE INFORMAL STRUCTURE (CULTURE) OF ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: Abell Peter
Published: March 2007

Corporate culture is conceived of as a mixture of intra-organizational mechanisms which balance cooperative (helping) and competitive (rivalrous) relationships. A simple game whereby individuals compete for a series of `prizes' induces a level of relative deprivation which impacts negatively upon a helping game. Individuals, however, need help from others to compete effectively for the prizes.
RECIPROCITY, TRUST, AND THE SENSE OF CONTROL
Authors: Hayashi Nahoko , Ostrom Elinor , Walker James , Yamagishi Toshio
Published: March 2007

Most cognitive approaches for explaining cooperation in Prisoner's Dilemma games include the view that many people believe that mutual cooperation is generally a gainful strategy to all parties and will cooperate when they think their partner cooperates. Proceeding along these lines, we argue that many participants treat a Prisoner's Dilemma game as an assurance game, and respond in a reciprocal manner to the choice or expected choice of their partner. We examine two bases for the expectation of a partner's cooperation in one-shot games: `general trust' and a `sense of control'. Further, we discuss why we expect general trust and a `sense of control'. Further, we discuss why we expect general trust and a sense of control to play different roles in societies, particularly in Japanese society and American society. Specifically, we test a general hypothesis that a sense of control plays a relatively more important role as a foundation for expectations in Japanese society and general trust plays the more important role in American society.
Transcultural Caring: Political and Economic Visions
Authors: Ray Marilyn A.
Published: March 2007

A version of this paper was given as the key-note address for the 14th Transcultural Nursing Society Conference on "Political, Economic and Cultural Care Issues to Advance Transcultural Nursing" on October 5-7, 1988 at Fantasyland Hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Developing Transnational Law Enforcement Cooperation
Authors: KING LESLIE E. , RAY JUDSON M.
Published: March 2007

Throughout the past decade the United States government has invested millions of dollars implementing law enforcement training initiatives designed to protect U.S. citizens at home and abroad and to assist other countries in their joint efforts to detect and control the continued threat of transnational crime. The global challenges of international crime and terrorism have led to the development of extensive efforts to train and partner with foreign police officers both in the U.S. and internationally. These programs have been developed in conjunction with foreign governments to reflect their particular law enforcement needs and mandates to operate within a democratic framework reflective of both civil and human rights concerns. This article presents an overview of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's International Training and Assistance Unit's efforts to develop and conduct international law enforcement training. Included is a review of the international law enforcement academies, with particular focus on the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary, which celebrated its 5th-year anniversary as a model for international law enforcement cooperation and partnership.
Correctional Privatization and the Justice Model: the Collision of Justice and Utility
Authors: Durham Alexis M.
Published: March 2007

During the period extending from the early nineteen-seventies to the present, two major developments in corrections have occurred. The justice model has generally replaced the medical model as a basis for the sentencing of criminals, and the private sector has become increasingly involved in the execution of correctional responsibilities. Both developments reflect interest in solving problems that traditional correctional practices has unsuccessfully addressed. Although it is evident that both movements possess the potential to resolve some of these difficulties, there are reasons to be concerned about their simultaneous emergence and co-existence. The assumptions and goals of the respective movements may bring them into conflict in ways that may ultimately diminish their capacity to solve the problems that were the impetus for their ascendancy.
Civil Liability for Negligent and Inadequate Training: A Private Security Problem
Authors: Moore Richter H.
Published: March 2007

Statutory requirements for training of private security personnel are very limited. Less than half the states require any training for private security personnel. Some training may be required of those who carry deadly weapons. The courts are seeing more and more cases involving injuries to citizens by private security personnel. Most of these cases arise from actions such as assault, battery, false arrest, and false imprisonment. However, the facts of the cases clearly reveal a lack of proper training of the private security officer involved. In the cases where negligent training has been an issue the courts make it clear that a lack of training is a basis of support for a cause of action for injury by private security personnel.

If the private security industry is to better serve the public it must train its personnel. If the industry does not train its personnel and the public continues to be injured by ill prepared, untrained private security officers the public may have to seek legislative recourse for mandated private security training.
From the Inside Out and Outside In: Team Research in the Correctional Setting
Authors: Taylor Jon Marc , Tewksbury Richard
Published: March 2007

Correctional research has traditionally relied on one of three approaches: 1) academic "experts" looking inward to prison organizations, personnel and inmates' 2) insiders (inmates and staff) looking out to inform the academic community; or 3) academics attempting to experience the correctional world. However, the most advantageous approach has rarely been utilized: team research by insiders and outsiders. This paper both advocates and serves to exemplify how academics and inmates can pool their expertise, perspectives and efforts to produce valid and valuable correctional research. An outline of such a team approach, identification of advantages and disadvantages, suggestions for team construction and authors' personal reflections of the process are discussed.
China's Modernization and the Decline of Communitarianism
Authors: ANDERSON ALLEN F. , GIL VINCENT E.
Published: March 2007

Although modernization has brought a level of prosperity to China that could hardly have been imagined two decades ago, other by-products of rapid social change have proved less beneficial. It is argued that growing individualism, and a detachment from historical social responsibilities to the group, have had a negative impact on the ability of the community to self-regulate through informal control mechanisms. Prostitution and government responses to it are used to illustrate that informal control is weakening, if not failing for certain groups, at this juncture in China's history. The result is an excessive reliance on the less efficient and less reintegrative formal law process.
The Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
Authors: GOMEZ-CESPEDES ALEJANDRA
Published: March 2007

The central question for Mexico at the moment is whether the violence, insecurity for people and property, boom of drug cartels, and growing presence of the military are becoming too big of an obstacle to democracy. Despite a general lack of literature on organized crime in Mexico, it is usually common knowledge that organized crime has flourished within the state apparatus. Through ethnographic methods that primarily consist of participant observation, interviews, and analyses of secondary sources, this article examines the historical development of the security forces in Mexico, and discusses how widespread corruption and its tolerance have generated extralegality as the rule, and not the exception. The article highlights how, by this predatory ethic of corruption, Mexican security, intelligence, and law enforcement elites became the principal actors at the core of organized crime, which, in turn, helps to explain the failure to reduce it.
Optimum Adaptation of Intelligent Truss Structures
Authors: Murotsu Yoshisada , Shao Shaowen
Published: March 2007

Intelligent structures that can actively change their geometric configura tions, as well as their mechanical properties, are developed to meet various space mission requirements. In this paper, optimal shapes of an intelligent truss structure under a variety of external loading conditions are investigated. The intelligent truss to be considered is a type of statically determinate truss structure that changes its configuration by lengthening or shortening some active member's lengths. For this intelligent truss structure, an op timization problem is defined: when the load is applied in a specified direction, an attempt is made to find an optimal shape of adaptation to attain its maximum structural strength. With the geometric design variables corresponding to the lengths of the active members adopted, the optimization is carried out by using a Multiplier Method. The numerical results indicate that the intelligent truss structure can provide much higher structural strength than a fixed truss structure by taking the optimal adaptive shape.
Adaptive Structures for Precision Controlled Large Space Systems
Authors: Garba John A. , Wada Ben K. , Fanson James L.
Published: March 2007

Future space missions, such as Optical Interferometers and Space Telescopes place very stringent functional requirements upon the structural sub-system. Current approaches to structural design, analysis, and testing cannot assure project man agers that such systems will meet the dimensional stability requirements of nanometers over tens of meters or more. The concept of adaptive structures, structures that can vary their geometric configurations as well as their physical characteristics, is most promising for meeting the requirements of future missions. Adaptive structures are intended to relax ground test requirements, to enable static shape adjustment, to provide a mechanism for linearizing the structure by preloading nonlinear joints, to provide the required excitation forces for performing on-orbit system identification, and to attenuate dynamic response by substantially increasing passive and active structural damping.
Review : Material Aspects of Electrorheological Systems
Authors: Weiss Keith D. , Carlson J. David , Coulter John P.
Published: March 2007

This paper provides a summary of the current state of electrorheological (ER) material research and development. In particular, a description of the electrorheological effect, a defini tion of observed behavior, a critique of the proposed mechanisms for the ER phenomenon, correlations among the properties exhib ited by ER materials, an overview of the various test methodolo gies for characterizing ER materials, and a discussion of the re quirements imposed by specific applications is presented. Inherent throughout this paper are references to the properties exhibited by currently available, state-of-the-art ER materials. In order to facili tate the design of devices and to evaluate the effectiveness of a par ticular ER material in a specific application, it is necessary that experimental data reported for each material be consistent in terminology and test methodology. A recommendation as to the minimum amount of mechanical/electrical property information needed to adequately evaluate an ER material is provided.
A Chemomechanical Polymer Gel with Electrically Driven Motility
Authors: Okuzaki Hidenori , Osada Yoshihito
Published: March 2007

A system capable of converting chemical energy to mechanical energy could serve as an "artificial muscle". Here we describe a chemomechanical system of this sort based on a syn thetic polymer gel. By using an electric field to direct surfactant binding selectivity to one side of the gel, we can induce contraction and curvature of a strip of gel. Reversing the direction of the elec tric field causes contraction of the opposite side. Thus, we could realize a worm-like motion at a velocity of up to 25 cm min-1. In this article, principle, behavior and application of an artificial electro-driven chemomechamcal gel are discussed.
Engineering Applications of Electrorheological Materials
Authors: Coulter John P. , Weiss Keith D. , Carlson J. David
Published: March 2007

This article provides a summary of the current state of electrorheological (ER) material applications research and development. The use of ER materials in a variety of intelligent material systems is covered. A description of basic material configurations used in controllable system components, as well as a discussion of controllable devices such as antivibration mounts, clutches, and dampers, is presented. More recent developments in the area of ER material adaptive structures are then reviewed. Concepts underlying such structures are presented, and models that have been developed to simulate the response of such structures are summarized. Throughout the ar ticle, an attempt is made to identify current and future key areas of research and development in ER material applications technology.
A Parallel Leaf Spring Structure Driven by Piezoelectric Bimorph Actuators
Authors: Seki Hiroya , Gohda Tomio , Shimokohbe Akira
Published: March 2007

A parallel leaf spring structure driven by a piezoelectric bimorph actuator is mod elled using a Rayleigh-Ritz formulation; model truncation is performed for feedback controller design. Using a strain gauge sensor, a precise positioning of the end point mass is realized. The posi tion of the strain gauge sensor is found to be an important factor in achieving a stable response with an estimator based feedback control system. Excitation of higher structural modes, which becomes an obstacle to a wide servo bandwidth actuator, is discussed. Using multi electrodes arranged on the bimorph actuator, and appropriately tuning the voltage ratio applied to them, pole-zero cancellation of the higher modes is experimentally demonstrated.
Design of a General-Purpose MIMO Predictor with Neural Networks
Authors: Xianzhong Cui  , Shin Kang G.
Published: March 2007

A new multi-step predictor for multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems is proposed. The output prediction of such a system is represented as a mapping from its historical data and future inputs to future outputs. A neural network is designed to learn the mapping without re quiring a priori knowledge of the parameters and structure of the system. The major problem in de veloping such a predictor is how to train the neural network. In case of the back propagation algorithm, the network is trained by using the network's output error which is not known due to the unknown predicted future system outputs. To overcome this problem, the concept of updating, in stead of training, a neural network is introduced and verified with simulations. The predictor then uses only the system's historical data to update the configuration of the neural network and always works in a closed loop.

If each node can only handle scalar operations, emulation of an MIMO mapping requires the neural network to be excessively large, and it is difficult to specify some known coupling effects of the predicted system. So, we propose a vector-structured, multilayer perceptron for the predictor design. MIMO linear, nonlinear, time-invariant, and time-varying systems are tested via simulation, and all showed very promising performances.
Using Narratives to Study Task Group Effectiveness
Authors: Hirokawa Randy Y. , Degooyer Daniel , Valde Kathleen
Published: March 2007

This study uses narrative data from participating group members to identify retrospective accounts of why groups succeed or fail. Analysis of stories describing task group success and failure revealed seven general categories of themes that people in the American culture believe influence group performance: relationships, group structure, group process, member emotions, group communication, member attributes, and external forces. Of those, a comparison of standardized frequencies revealed significant differences between the group success and failure stories in regards to relationships, member emotions, and member attributes.
Role Efficacy, Role Clarity, and Role Performance Effectiveness
Authors: Bray Steven R. , Brawley Lawrence R.
Published: March 2007

The main purpose of the study was to examine role clarity as a moderator of the role efficacy-role performance relationship. A secondary issue was to investigate the influence of role clarity on role efficacy and role performance. On the basis of Bandura’s theorizing, it was hypothesized that role efficacy should be a good predictor of role performance effectiveness only under conditions of high role clarity. Individuals reporting higher role clarity were expected to be more efficacious and perform better than those with lower role clarity. Consistent with hypotheses, role clarity moderated the prospective relationship between role efficacy and role performance effectiveness in the predicted direction for offensive role functions. Individuals who reported higher role clarity also reported higher role efficacy and performed better than those with lower role clarity. Results are discussed in the context of self-efficacy theory. Further prospective examinations, as well as experimental designs, are recommended.
Teaching and Learning in Small Groups
Authors: Kuriloff Peter J. , Babad Elisha Y. , Samuels-Singer Marsha , Sutton-Smith Katherine
Published: March 2007

This article presents a conceptual modelfor assessing trainer interventions. Among the interventions made by trainers in two self-study groups, those judged as having contributed most to what group members learned were analyzed, yielding an 18-cluster system for categorizing trainers' teaching acts. These clusters were grouped into several conceptual dimensions: Authority, Responsibility, and Power; Anxiety and Resistance; Personal and Interpersonal Issues; and Trainer as Teacher. All trainer interventions made in these two groups were recoded according to the 18-cluster system, and subsequent analyses examined trainer-member agreement, contributions to learning by cluster and dimension, and the impact of the intervention's level of complexity. The results show that group members learn best when provided with a theoretical framework and concepts to make meaning of their experiences in the group and when they are taught how to use their inner lives to provide information about that experience.
Scientific Inquiry Into Small Group Process
Authors: Burlingame Gary , Fuhriman Addie , Drescher Stuart
Published: March 2007

Scientific inquiry into small group processes requires a pantheoretical organization of the facts discovered. A multidimensional system is proposed, based on commonly used measurement parameters in group research. Four dimensions describing the who, what, how, and when, ofprocess measurement are combined and crossed as a first step toward an orderly classification system. Implications for multidimensional process measurement are discussed.
Differential Outcomes of Cognitive and Interactional Group Therapies
Authors: Coché Erich , Cooper Joan B. , Petermann Klaus J.
Published: March 2007

Fifty-five psychiatric patients in a private mental hospital were assigned to either a brief interactive group therapy (GT) or to a cognitively oriented problem-solving training group (PST) during their short-term hospital stay. Forty-one participants completed this study (twenty males and twenty-one females); twenty-four were in the GT condition and seventeen in the PST condition. Results overall showed no superiority of one approach over the other, and men and women appeared to make the same gains. However, there was a significant interaction between gender and type of group: Women gained more from GT, men more from PST. Possible explanations of this finding and limitations of its generalizability are discussed.
Improving the Sensitivity of Health Professionals To the Needs of Patients and Families
Authors: Berkman Barbara , Rutchick Irene
Published: March 2007

This study examines, by means of a quasi-experimental design, the impact of a variety of methods involving humanistic, didactic, and experiential modalities in training students—potential health professionals—in empathy-sensitivity and interpersonal skills. An eclectic, multimodal approach using audiovisual technology, role playing, observation, and discussion was found to be most effective in raising levels of sensitivity.
Outcome Research In Classical Psychodrama
Authors: Kellermann Peter Felix
Published: March 2007

Various aspects of psychodrama outcome research are examined, and 23 outcome studies, published between 1952 and 1985, are summarized in tabular form and interpreted as a whole. Although the limitations of these studies are recognized, it is concluded that psychodrama constitutes a valid alternative to other therapeutic approaches, especially in promoting behavior change in adjustment, antisocial, and related disorders.
Toward a General Theory of Group Decision Making
Authors: Hirokawa Randy Y. , Johnston Dierdre D.
Published: March 2007

This article presents a conceptual model of the group decision-making process that identifies the essential factors and processes that impact upon group decisions. The article attempts to integrate concepts from various academic disciplines to provide a theoretical framework suitable for generating research and to organize and synthesize past and future research findings. In essence, the model proposed herein represents an effort to develop a foundation for a general theory of group decision making.
Emergent Leadership in Children's Small Groups
Authors: French Doran C. , Stright Anne L.
Published: March 2007

The behavior of children in cooperative decision-making tasks was coded in two investigations of leadership. Children in two studies (second, fourth, and sixth grade in Study 1, and fourth grade in Study 2) individually rankedpictures by preference and then were videotaped as they developed a group consensus ranking. The exhibition of various group behaviors was coded, and correlations between these frequencies and proximal and distal measures of leadership status were computed. Consistent with expectations, task facilitation, solicitations of opinion, and recording were associated with leadership status. These results are consistent with the view that leadership status in cooperative group settings is associated with task facilitative behavior.
Effects of Task Language Demands and Task Complexity on Computer-Mediated Work Groups
Authors: Farmer Steven M. , Hyatt Charles W.
Published: March 2007

This study of group support systems examined the effects of the fit of task demands for numeric, visual, and conceptual language with the ability of different communication channels to transfer these types of information. It was proposed that the quality of this task language demand-communication channelfit would affect group perfonnance and strategy. Fifty-four groups worked on two levels of a spatial-visual task that varied in level of information processing complexity. Audio conferencing groups whose communication channels were poorly matched to task language demands performed more poorly, made fewer decisions per time period, and used less appropriate strategies than did face-to-face and screensharing groups. Performance decrements in the audio conferencing groups were due partly to the use of improper strategies when unaware of infonnational differences, and partly due to communication problems that limited the ability of the audio channel to allow effective integration or coordination of members' contributions even when group members were aware of information differences. The results are discussed in the context of information sampling disadvantages that occur when a poor fit between task language demands and communication channels inhibits sharing of information between group members.
A Meta-Analytic Review of the Productivity and Satisfaction of Democratic and Autocratic Leadership
Authors: Gastil John
Published: March 2007

There exists a wealth of research examining the effects of democratic and autocratic leadership on group productivity and member satisfaction; however, past reviews of this literature have not systematically integrated the results of available quantitative studies. This essay uses a meta-analysis to provide such an integration. Analysis reveals no correlation between democraticdautocratic leadership style and productivity, except when taking into consideration the influence of study setting and task complexity. Results also suggest that democratic leadership has a moderate positive correlation with member satisfaction, but this relationship may be moderated by task complexity. The conclusion discusses the limits of experimentally manipulating democratic leadership and the need for conceptual refinement.
The Group Size-Cohesion Relationship in Minimal Groups
Authors: Carron Albert V. , Spink Kevin S.
Published: March 2007

Four studies were undertaken to investigate the relationship between cohesion and group size in exercise groups. Study 1 compared the perceptions of cohesiveness of members of small and large exercise classes assessed in the eighth week of group development in a 13-week session. Study 2 compared the perceptions of cohesiveness of members of small and large exercise classes assessed in the third week of group development in a 13-week session. Study 3 used a longitudinal design to assess the possible changes in perceptions of cohesiveness of members of small and large groups over time. The purpose of Study 4 was to determine how an intervention program focusing on team-building principles would influence perceptions of cohesiveness in small and large exercise classes. It was concluded that perceptions of task and social cohesion are greater in smaller groups, and that a team-building program can offset the negative impact of increased group size.
Assessing Job Applicants
Authors: Fosciii Martha , Sigerson Kirsten , Lembesis Marie
Published: March 2007

This experiment recreates several features of a hiring decision in a professional field. The authors use ideas from expectation states theory to formulate predictions about the evaluation of applicants in a context where they are assessed one ata time. The variables examined are sex of applicant, sex of assessor, applicant's academic record, and type of decision (whether assignment of ability or allocation of rewards). Results show that academic record had a stronger effect than either sex of assessor or sex of applicant. Effects of the latter variable were noticeable in reward allocation but not in ability assignment, and they were affected by the applicant's record: Rewards showed bias against the female candidate when her record was average but not when it was outstanding. All three findings are in clear support of the proposed hypotheses. Sex-of-assessor differences were observed only in reward allocation, also as predicted, but they did not achieve the expected statistical significance.
Facilitating Research with Group Support Systems
Authors: Anson Robert , Fellers Jack , Kelly Gigi G. , Bostrom Robert P.
Published: March 2007

Group Support Systems (GSS) and their effects on group processes and outcomes have been an object of intense study for 10 years. This article takes a different perspective on the involvement of GSS in research. The authors address how GSS tools canfacilitate the process of developing and implementing research. A generic model of the research process is used to describe specific suggestions and examples-including three scenarios-for improving researcher efficiency and effectiveness. GSS can provide a variety of benefits to researchers, including basic meeting support for multiple researchers in developing elements of a research project; electronic recording of data from subjects; data analysis; and integration of information and data across the entire research process. Benefits of using GSS to facilitate/support the research process, the limitations of this approach, and the use of GSS to extend the research process beyond its current boundaries are reviewed.
Evaluating Multiple Family Groups to Address the Behavioral Difficulties of Urban Children
Authors: Stone Susan , McKay Mary McKernan , Stoops Charles
Published: March 2007

This article describes the use and evaluation of multiple family groups within a minority, inner-city clinic sample of children and families. Multiple family groups are described in terms of their application to this clinical population. This study used a single group pretest-posttest design to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-weekmultiplefamily group meant to address the behavioral difficulties of 32 children. Change between preassessment and postassessment was measured using the Conners Parent Rating Scale, which consists of six subscales: anxiety, conduct, hyperactivity, impulsivity, learning, and somatization. Statistically significant improvements were observed on the conduct, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and learning subscales over the intervention period. These results point to the need for further controlled studies of the effectiveness of multiple family groups, particularly with inner-city children andfamilies.
Group Cohesiveness, Mood Disturbance, and Stress in Female Basketball Players
Authors: Henderson John , Bourgeois A. E. , Leunes Arnold , Meyers Michael C.
Published: March 2007

This investigation examined the relationship of group cohesion to mood disturbance, stress, and athletic performance in a female collegiate basketball team. Twenty players from a Division I college basketball team were administered a battery ofself-reportquestionnaires, including the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ), the Profile of Mood States (POMS), and the Social and Athletic Readjustment Rating Scale (SARRS). Significant results were observed in relation to the Group Integration-Task (GI-T) and Group Integration-Social (GI-S) subscales of the GEQ. Participants perceiving high GI-T were less depressed, less confused, and showed less total mood disturbance on the POMS. Individuals reporting high GI-S experienced less personal, academic, coaching, sport, and injury-related stress, and subjects scoring high on GI-T or GI-S subscales reported lower levels of total stress as measured by the SARRS.
Majority Perceptions of Opinion Deviates’ Interpersonal Attractiveness
Authors: Thameling Carl L. , Andrews Patricia Hayes
Published: March 2007

Employing Moscovici’s behavioral style model of social influence, this study viewed social influence as rooted in conflict and sought to determine the impact an opinion deviate’s use of evidence and linguistic style might have on majority opinion and perceptions. The study also added an external status characteristic to Moscovici’s model by examining the impact of the opinion deviate’s gender on measures of influence and interpersonal attractiveness. Findings revealed that opinion deviates exerted little influence on expressed majority opinions, regardless of how they communicated and regardless of their gender. However, using evidence to support arguments while employing few qualifying expressions (tag questions and disclaimers) appeared to increase an opinion deviate’s interpersonal attractiveness in the eyes of the majority. Predictions related to the deviate’s gender received mixed support. The potential gender bias of the discussion topic and its subsequent impact on the study’s findings were explored.
Interactive Video Negotiator Training: A Preliminary Evaluation of the McGill Negotiation Simulator
Authors: Ross William H. , Pollman William , Perry Dana , Welty John , Jones Keith
Published: March 2007

The authors investigated student reactions to an interactive video training program called the MCGILL NEGOTIATION SIMULATOR designed to teach negotiation skills using a sales negotiation scenario. They also determined whether the program increased learning of negotiation concepts, as measured by a pretest and posttest. The authors conducted two studies. In Study 1, undergraduate students taking a sales class used the SIMULATOR and demonstrated significant learning relative to a control group. Study 2 replicated the findings from Study 1 using a bargaining and negotiation class. Discussion focuses on the implications of the findings fromthe two studies on the use of interactive video to teach negotiation skills in the classroom.
Simulating the Classroom with Media and Computers
Authors: Smith Peter E.
Published: March 2007

Twenty-five years of research and development in media/computer-based classroom simulations are reviewed. Studies are organized into the categories of feasibility/reliability, presentation modes, and benefits. Tentative conclusions indicate media/computer-based simulations help students develop specific responses, identify problems, and attain higher levels of self-confidence. Additionally, users report enjoyment of simulation exercises. Two specific areas for further study include transfer of training to actual classrooms and the degree of fidelity that a simulation should bear, either in process or in physical appearance, to actual situations. A program of systematic research correlated with instructional theories is advocated for further development. Specific variables for additional study are also suggested.