bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From Dominant to Competitive Party System
Authors: Rakner Lise , SvÂsand Lars
Published: May 2004

In this article we analyse the changes in the party system in Zambia in the period 1991 to 2001. Based on changes observed in terms of the number of parties, their relative size, ‘ideological distance’ and interaction patterns, we characterize the changes as movement from a dominant to a competitive party system after the 2001 elections. In the second part of the article we explain the changes and contend that the structure of political institutions in Zambia encouraged the formation of multiple parties. It is assumed that the development of a more competitive party system would ease the process of democratic consolidation by providing the electorate with electoral alternatives. However, as the emerging party system is fragmented, and several of the newly formed parties may be transient in character, it is doubtful whether these alternatives would contribute to improving democracy in Zambia.
Extension of the Nagayama Triangle for Visualization of Party Strengths
Authors: Taagepera Rein
Published: May 2004

The Nagayama triangle represents the conceptually allowed area when the vote or seat shares of the second-running contestant are graphed against the shares of the top contestant. This research note points to various uses of this tool in the study of Duvergerian processes.
Intention to be Physically Active after School Graduation and Its Relationship to Three Types of Intrinsic Motivation
Authors: Hein Vello , Müür Maret , Koka Andre
Published: May 2004

In this article the relationships between three different types of intrinsic motivation and students’ intention to be physically active after school graduation were examined. The participants were 400 school children aged 14–18 years. The modified version of SMS was used to measure the three different types of intrinsic motivation. The intention scale as a measurement of physical education outcome to be physically active was specially designed for this study. The data were analysed by means of structural equation modelling. The goodness of fit indexes of confirmatory factor model for three types of intrinsic motivation provided the evidence of existing different dimensions of intrinsic motivation among students in the physical education setting. The results of this study indicated that the intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation was the strongest predictor of intention to be physical active after school graduation, beyond the intrinsic motivation to accomplish.
Differences in Body Fat of British Children from Various Ethnic Groups
Authors: Duncan Michael J. , Woodfieldand Lorayne , Al-Nakeeb Yahya
Published: May 2004

This study assessed the percent body fatness of British secondary school children and examined any variation in fatness according to school year, gender and ethnicity. 782 children aged 11 to 14 participated in the study. Body fatness was assessed using skinfold measures and obesity was classified using child-specific cut-off points. Results from 2 3 3 ways ANOVA indicated that approximately 25 to 30 percent of children were classified as obese. Significant differences were evident in body fatness according to gender ( p<.01) and ethnicity ( p<.01). Boys were leaner than girls and black children were leaner than white and Asian children (both p<.01). Furthermore a significant gender ethnicity interaction ( p<0.01) was found. Both white and black boys had significantly lower percent body fat compared to white and black girls but Asian boys had similar percent body fat to Asian girls. The body fatness of British secondary school children may therefore be a cause for concern.
A Pilot Social Skills Group for Socially Disorganized Children
Authors: Savidge Caroline , Christie Deborah , Brooks Emily , Stein Samuel M. , Wolpert Miranda
Published: May 2004

This article reports on the setting up and running of two social skills groups within the Bedfordshire and Luton Community NHS Trust. Groups were established in response to an increase in referrals of ‘socially disorganized’ children to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), and a lack of local services to meet these children’s needs. As a pilot project, outcome measures were used preand immediately post-group in an attempt to assess the short-term impact of the intervention and parents response to the initiative. Results were encouraging with children and parents expressing support for the experience, and positive changes in behaviour were reported. Some of the difficulties involved in running such groups in a busy clinical service are discussed.
Public Health Psychology: A Conceptual and Practical Framework
Authors: Hepworth Julie
Published: May 2004

Increasingly, the development of public health infrastructures requires psychology to reevaluate its contribution to public health at local, national and global levels. Already familiar to some psychologists, particularly those in community psychology and health promotion, the expansion of public health has implications for psychology in terms of knowledge/practice and working differently in multidisciplinary settings. In this article, I provide a critical overview of the implications of the historical and international development of health psychology and the changing nature of public health to strengthen the establishment of public health psychology. A conceptual and practical framework is proposed in which public health psychology theory, methods and practice are considered as well as its relevance to the health social sciences more generally.
Exploring the Potential of the Theory of Social Representations in Community-Based Health Research—and Vice Versa?
Authors: Howarth Caroline , Foster Juliet , Dorrer Nike
Published: May 2004

This article seeks to demonstrate the importance of developing a dialogue between social representations theory and community approaches to researching issues of health. We show how we have used the theory within our own research to ground our findings at the level of community. The article is divided into three sections: the recognition of competing systems of knowledge; the role of representations in maintaining stigmatizing practices; and the impact of representations on identities. Each section is illustrated with material drawn from Foster’s research on mental illness and Dorrer’s research on women’s representations of healthy eating. We conclude by arguing that, while social representations theory is a valuable tool for communitybased health research, the theory would benefit from developing a more participatory methodology.
Strengthening Quality and Continuity of Diabetes Care in Rural Ghana: A Critical Social Psychological Approach
Authors: Aikins Ama De-Graft
Published: May 2004

Adopting critical social psychology and community psychology perspectives, this article examines the links between shared social knowledge of diabetes, illness experience and illness action through semi-structured individual and group interviews with diabetes sufferers and lay healthy individuals in two rural Ghanaian communities. Analysis highlights that both groups make sense of diabetes and illness experience by drawing interchangeably from four shared knowledge modalities: common-sense, scientized, religious and emotional. Common-sense notions of health and illness and scientized understandings of diabetes frame illness action goals that merge with biomedical goals. These goals are compromised by structural, community/family and emotional dynamics. Findings suggest that the best immediate solutions lie in addressing availability and cost of biomedical care and quality food, with concomitant attention to community education and self-help groups as negotiators of psychosocial and economic support.
Participation, Health and the Development of Community Resources in Southern Brazil
Authors: Guareschi Pedrinho A. , Jovchelovitch Sandra
Published: May 2004

This article seeks to contribute to the debate about participation and health by presenting a framework for psychosocial interventions in primary health care. It highlights the social psychological dimensions of participation and the role it plays in improving conditions of living and thus health. The Freirean concepts of dialogue, recognition and conscientization, combined with understanding of local knowledge are suggested as guiding notions for psychosocial interventions seeking to enhance community participation and develop the local level. The article discusses the challenges as well as the potential gains experienced in the process of participation presented. It concludes by reaffirming the importance of participation and empowerment in health interventions struggling against health inequalities and seeking health for all.
Making Sense in a Fragmentary World
Authors: Noens Ilse , van Berckelaer-Onnes Ina
Published: May 2004

The communicative capabilities of people with autism are impaired and limited in significant ways. The problems are characterized by a lack of intentionality and symbol formation, which indicates that the deviant development of communication in autism is associated with a specific cognitive style. The central coherence theory can offer insight into the specific communication problems of people with autism, since a weaker drive for central coherence leads to problems in sense-making and, consequently, in communication. In the case of the comorbidity of autism and learning disability, the communication problems are aggravated. The crucial point is the determination of the level of sense-making, taking this comorbidity into account. Assessment and intervention have to be tuned to individual needs, in order to increase the communicative competence of people with autism and learning disability.
The Birmingham Community Support Scheme for Adults with Asperger Syndrome
Authors: Macleod Andrea
Published: May 2004

The community support scheme for adults with Asperger syndrome began in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in January 1996. The scheme is funded by a joint Health and Social Services grant and ran as a pilot project until January 1999. This article reports on the progress made during the first 15 months of the scheme by examining the philosophy behind the scheme and the practicalities of providing effective community support to people with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. Case studies have been included to illustrate support methods in practice, and all names have been changed to maintain confidentiality. Measures of progress within the first year of the scheme were evaluated through attendance rates, observation, reviews, and the comments of the clients and carers themselves.
Emotional Dynamics in Restorative Conferences
Authors: Harris Nathan , Walgrave Lode , Braithwaite John
Published: May 2004

Restorative justice interventions, which focus upon repairing the harm caused by an offence, are consistent with the approach advocated by reintegrative shaming theory. However, some have argued that remorse and empathy play a more important role in restoration, and that a focus upon disapproval and the emotion of shame may be misguided. This article analyses theoretical distinctions between shame and guilt before discussing their role in restorative interventions. It is argued that emotions like empathy, remorse and guilt will spill over into feelings of shame, and that it is the resolution of these emotions that is critical for successful justice interventions.
Self-Reported Health in Poland and the United States: A Comparative Analysis of Demographic, Family and Socioeconomic Influences
Authors: Szaflarski Magdalena , Cubbins Lisa A.
Published: May 2004

This study compares the social determinants of individual health between the United States, a capitalist society, and Poland, a ‘post-communist’ society. The effects of demographic factors, family characteristics and socioeconomic status on self-reported health are estimated with OLS regression using data from the 1994 American and Polish General Social Surveys. The results show lower self-reported health and more rapid declines in health for people over 60 in Poland than in the United States. Also, in Poland, women report worse health than do men while the opposite is found for the United States. The relationships between education, income and health were stronger in the United States than in Poland. Age, gender and SES may operate differently in the two countries because of a gap in social development (e.g. varying living standards and styles, health care systems and cultural attitudes) between the West and the former Eastern Europe.
Giving Birth, Going Home: Influences on when Low-Income Women Leave Hospital
Authors: Lichtenstein Bronwen , Brumfield Cynthia , Cliver Suzanne , Chapman Victoria , Lenze Deanna , Davis Valisia
Published: May 2004

The US Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996 (‘The Two-Day Law’) mandates insurance coverage for women who have just given birth to remain in hospital for two days post-partum. However, many women are being discharged from hospital after 24 hours. To assess why early discharge is still occurring, a study of 406 new mothers was conducted at an urban metropolitan hospital in the USA. The women were aware of the new law (95%) but decision making was often relinquished to hospital authorities. Patients who stayed longer tended to be more assertive in decision making, and used the Two-Day Law as leverage in discussions about going home. The study concluded that the nurses were authoritative and often influential agents in the decision-making process, and that patients were likely to interpret specific interactions with hospital staff as a signal to leave.
Pop in(to) the Bedroom
Authors: Baker Sarah Louise
Published: May 2004

Drawing on ethnographic research with seven young girls in Adelaide, South Australia, this article examines the centrality of the bedroom in the girls’ exploration of popular music and cultural identity. In particular, it explores the popular music practices of two of these girls, nine-year-olds Kate and Rosa, in the space of their bedrooms. I argue that, by way of serious play, the girls enact and represent alternative possibilities in this immediate life space. The hard work in their musical play was not only observed in the process of fieldwork, but was also captured by the girls themselves using still cameras and tape recorders provided as part of the research project. The resulting materials from this ethnographic approach highlight that although girls’ bedrooms may seem rather ordinary, the musical practices that take place in this experiential space are complex, highly nuanced and far from trivial. As I demonstrate in this article, the girls’ play in their bedrooms is accompanied by an underlying seriousness, what Turner calls the ‘human seriousness of play’.
Sexing Up Singapore
Authors: Tan Kenneth Paul
Published: May 2004

At least two significant obstacles today prevent Singapore from progressing economically: a population unable to reproduce itself; and a people that generally lack creativity and entrepreneurship. Both are unintended consequences of earlier authoritarian policies of a paternalistic and patriarchal postcolonial government. Singaporeans were industrialized, militarized, disciplined by a system of punishment and reward, and administered according to a technocratic rationality seeking to eliminate ‘irrational’ desires and the chaos of erotic instincts. Subsequently, an Asian values campaign helped to form a conservative, censorious and electorally significant moral majority. Today, Singaporean society is described as sexually repressed and repressive. Singapore’s ‘new economy’, however, requires not only a large enough workforce, but also a stimulating, non-repressive climate conducive to imagination, innovation and adventure, one that can also attract and retain globally mobile talent. This article explores the complications surrounding the government’s ‘sexing up’ policies relating to procreation, creative talent and the new economy.
Trust and cooperation: the democratic public sphere
Authors: Misztal Barbara A.
Published: May 2004

The current deficit of trust in the working of democracy has been attracting the increasing attention of social scientists. Nevertheless, there is still a conspicuous lack of an integrative theory of trust. Existing literature is united in its recognition that the preferable democratic order should be rooted in trust relations. This assertion that democracy and trust are connected is based on the assumption that either civil society or institutional frameworks are prerequisite for achieving a healthy and stable democracy. This article argues that the communitarian and republican solutions to the deficit of trust should supplement each other. Only joint implementation of these two strategies for recovering trust can activate formal and informal mechanisms of trust production. A society that achieves an appropriate balance between the informality and formality of interactional practices is the one able to create conditions for cooperation and engagement in the public sphere.
Somewhere over the rainbow: love, trust and monogamy in gay relationships
Authors: Worth Heather , Reid Alison , McMillan Karen
Published: May 2004

Anthony Giddens argues that late modernity is characterized by a democratization of intimate relationships and that gay men and lesbian women appear to be an expression of that movement. This paper is based on interviews with 20 New Zealand men – representing 11 gay couples – who discussed issues of monogamy, trust and sexual behaviour negotiations in their relationships. Overall, they had conventional notions of relationships, romantic love and monogamy that prompted decisions to discard condoms for anal sex as proof of their love for each other. They simultaneously believed that monogamy was not sustainable. Generally, the relationships were marked by ‘infidelity’ anxieties and a reluctance to disclose sexual encounters outside the relationship and to discuss or negotiate their possibility. These experiences serve as reminders to not assume that gay relationships are necessarily as democratic and open as Giddens suggests – pertinent when regarding the development of programmes aimed at reducing HIV transmission within relationships.
‘When flexibility meets rigidity’: sole mothers' experiences in the transition from welfare to work
Authors: Baker Maureen , Tippin David
Published: May 2004

This article examines the dynamics of flexibility experienced by sole mothers involved in a welfare-to-work program, and the strategies they use to retain their identities as caregivers and family providers. Based on individual interviews with 120 work-tested sole mothers on social benefits in New Zealand, we make three arguments. First, despite the constraints experienced by these mothers, welfare rules permit considerable flexibility in fulfilling work requirements. Second, this flexibility can contrast sharply with sole mothers' experiences in the labour market, where slightly higher income is traded for conformity to the rigidities of the low-waged part-time workplace. Third, sole mothers' lack of resources and strongly-held moral codes about ‘good mothering’ make them vulnerable to work/family tensions but also make them less valued employees in the current labour market. As labour markets and welfare regimes are being restructured in similar ways in ‘liberal welfare states’, these New Zealand findings are relevant to other countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK.
Personal choice/social responsibility
Authors: Willis Karen
Published: May 2004

Screening for breast cancer is a key public health policy for women. However, there is controversy about when women should commence screening because the evidence of benefit for women younger than 50 years remains unclear. In Australia women who are aged 40–49 years are allowed to participate in breast cancer screening, although government policy indicates that participation should be based on these women making an ‘informed choice’ about participation. This article reports on research investigating the idea of choice and screening. Semi-structured interviews were held with women in rural Tasmania who have participated in screening for breast cancer before turning age 50. The study finds that these ideas of choice and personal responsibility for health have social dimensions that are critical to understanding the decision to participate in screening.
A social shaping perspective on the development of the world wide web
Authors: Lenert Edward
Published: May 2004

This article uses the Social Shaping of Technology (SST) framework to analyze the case of a Canadian internet company called iCraveTV, which captured broadcast television signals off the air and retransmitted them over the internet. The case study identifies and discusses the social and legal mechanisms by which relevant social groups can exert substantial force on the development of the web. The example of iCraveTV directs attention to questions about the interactions of domestic and transnational forces in the shaping of internet and world wide web technologies. The article concludes that the path of development of the internet and the world wide web remains open to potential intervention and regulation.
Reconsidering Political and Popular Understandings of the Digital Divide
Authors: Selwyn Neil
Published: May 2004

This article presents a theoretical examination of the digital divide, tracing its origins in the centre–Left social inclusion policy agenda of the 1980s and 1990s to its current status of political ‘hot topic’. It then moves on to outline four conceptual limitations to conventional dichotomous notions of the digital divide and individuals’ ‘access’ to information and communications technology (ICT): what is meant by ICT; what is meant by ‘access’; the relationship between ‘access to ICT’ and ‘use of ICT’; and a lack of consideration of the consequences of engagement with ICT. The article outlines a more sophisticated, hierarchical model of the digital divide based around these conceptual ‘stages’ while recognizing the mediating role of economic, cultural and social forms of capital in shaping individuals’ engagements with ICT. It concludes by developing a set of research themes and questions for future examination of inequalities in individuals’ use of ICT.
News in Online and Print Newspapers: Differences in Reader Consumption and Recall
Authors: d’Haenens Leen , Jankowski Nicholas , Heuvelman Ard
Published: May 2004

How readers consume and recall news presented in online and print versions of two newspapersin the Netherlands are investigated in this experimental study. Few differences are found between the online and print versions in terms of news supply. Reader attention to the news stories varies, depending on the newspaper and news category. No consistent reading pattern is evident and the print version readers do not read more than the online version readers. News Consumption seems to be more dependent on the news category, reader gender and interest in a particular topic than on whether the news appears in print or online. Finally, on the basis of cued and free recall questions, no consistent pattern differentiates readers of the print newspapers from the online versions. In conclusion, evidence has not been found that online readers consume and retain news differently from readers of the print versions examined in this study.
On Predicating a Diagnosis as an Attribute of a Person
Authors: Maynard Douglas W.
Published: May 2004

This article explores the relation between ‘citing the evidence’, or implicating a particular diagnosis, and ‘asserting the condition’, or overtly predicating the diagnosis as an attribute of a person. Clinicians regularly postpone or delay asserting the condition, which is interactionally more confrontational and presumptive. They regularly do the postponement by citing the evidence prior to asserting the condition, using the evidence as kind of predecessor account for predicating the diagnosis as an attribute of the person. Citing the evidence as leading to asserting the condition enhances the likelihood of recipients realizing some bad news or other kind of diagnostic upshot. This study has implications for the relation between interaction and authority in medical discourse.
Consequences of Truth-in-Sentencing
Authors: Wood Peter B. , Dunaway R. Gregory
Published: May 2004

Like many other states, in the mid-1990s Mississippi responded to growing public fear of crime and mounting dissatisfaction with its criminal justice system by implementing a series of ‘get tough’ measures designed to control crime. Perhaps the primary vehicle for reform has been the enactment of ‘truth-in sentencing’ legislation. Truth-in-sentencing (TIS) does not imply a specific correctional policy, but covers a variety of reforms designed to improve the delivery of proportionate punishments and promote stability and predictability in administering criminal justice. In 1995 Mississippi implemented a TIS law which mandated that felons sentenced to prison must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. Mississippi’s TIS law is unique compared to those passed in other states in that the 85 percent requirement applies to all groups of offenders, including non-violent offenders. The comprehensive nature of Mississippi’s TIS law has had a dramatic impact on the state’s criminal justice system - particularly its correctional component. This article examines both the direct effect of TIS on correctional populations, as well as the unanticipated impact of TIS on patterns of judicial decision making and political and economic dynamics related to prison construction in rural counties.
The Political Economy of Tribalism in North America: Neotribal Capitalism?
Authors: Schröder Ingo W.
Published: May 2004

The article examines Elizabeth Rata’s model of ‘neotribal capitalism’ in the light of ethnographic and historical evidence from Native North America. In her analysis of Maori tribalism, Rata argues for a view of modern tribes as organizations of capitalist accumulation that are legitimized through a ‘neotraditionalist’ ideology that recreate present-day class relations in precolonial terms. Despite some differences in the historical development of tribes, this model proves useful for the analysis of the political economy of US American Indian identity. Since the late 19th century, tribes have been dominated by new economic and bureaucratic elites that control access to tribal revenues. The discourse on ‘tradition’ and ‘cultural preservation’ has become the latest currency of representing tribal social relations to the American state and legitimizing the political status quo before the local population. It is argued that a political-economic approach is particularly well suited for explaining the political processes and economic inequalities in postcolonial indigenous societies.
Sports Illustrated,the Mainstream Press and the Enactment of Drug Policy in Major League Baseball
Authors: Denham Bryan E.
Published: May 2004

This article advances on existing studies in agenda-building theory, examining how a prominent sports magazine can build an agenda for mainstream press coverage, which in turn assists in building policy agendas. When Ken Caminiti, a former Most Valuable Player in the National League, admitted to Sports Illustrated in June 2002 that he used anabolic steroids during his award-winning season, mainstream newspaper journalists reported the revelations heavily, with many calling for changes in policy and the introduction of drug testing. As discussed here, policy-makers apparently listened: approximately three months after the magazine exposé appeared, baseball instituted a drug testing procedure. The study reveals how mainstream newspaper reports ( n = 231) built on the Sports Illustrated investigation and how policy-makers reacted to a widespread condemnation of professional baseball, namely its apparent inability to police itself.
In the Company of Hanno Hardt
Authors: McLuskie Ed , Hegbloom Maria , Woodfin Fabiana
Published: May 2004

A Festschrift in honor of Hanno Hardt saw 25 presenters join him in October 2003 for a re-examination of critical theory and research on culture and communication. As they considered current and future directions for critical communication studies, Hardt recognized the international generations assembled in Iowa City, Iowa (USA) as beneficiaries of social and and political projects of the Left, projects that, though still marginalized in the academy, increasingly exhibit a more ‘combative agenda of democratization’ for communication studies and communication industries. This article describes the Festschrift through themes of (a) theory, culture and historicity in critical theory and cultural studies, (b) indigenization and interdisciplinarity, and (c) critical history as a practice and site.
Agrarian Politics in Eastern Europe in the Shadow of EU Accession
Authors: Sharman J. C.
Published: May 2004

This article surveys the political underpinnings of agricultural policy in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. Fundamentally divergent agricultural policies in each country have been crucially shaped by the strength of agrarian political parties, rural trade unions and links with the agricultural bureaucracy. Technical considerations and structural economic conditions, on the other hand, have been at best secondary influences. In turn, the degree and character of political organization amongst agricultural producers in large part reflect the historical legacies of the particular political transition path followed by each country.
Provocative Looks
Authors: Garot Robert , Katz Jack
Published: May 2004

We examine how the appearance of students in an inner-city US high school is articulated and contested by staff and students. Implemented to battle distractions of student culture that are thought to interfere with the school’s mission of developing the inner and more abstract aspects of character and competency, school dress codes ironically sustain a collective focus on the outermost, material layer of the self. Provoking and responding to the attention given to their dress, body adornment and hairstyle, the students elaborate their appearance into a living flesh of the self.
Community Policing in Hong Kong
Authors: Lau Raymond W.K.
Published: May 2004

Originating in Britain and the USA, community policing has been a growth industry internationally. However, studies have shown the model to be problematic, and questioned whether it is transplantable to other societies without regard to their different environmental contexts. This article provides a case study of community policing initiatives undertaken in Hong Kong from the 1970s to today, showing that they have largely failed, and have dim future prospects. In explaining why this is the case, it is argued that these initiatives have not only been bedeviled by factors which have proven so troublesome for the community policing model elsewhere, but also by the socio-cultural ethos of Hong Kong’s population, the territory’s unique political and economic position and the institutionalization of the Hong Kong Police’s paramilitary traditions. The study not only provides a further illustration of the questionable nature of the community policing model, but also illustrates how and why policy making should always take into account local conditions instead of simply borrowing foreign models.
Making Organizations Work
Authors: Karabanow Jeff
Published: May 2004

• Summary: Human service organizations are often viewed by clients as bureaucratic, formal, oppressive and insensitive environments. Through structured interviews with 42 service providers and 65 street youth in Toronto, Montreal and Guatemala, and participant and non-participant observations in all three locations, this analysis explores tenets of antioppressive organizational structures within the youth shelter construct.

• Findings: Anti-oppressive organizations allow for the emergence of meaningful and vibrant community settings by embracing grass-root social development, active participation, a structural analysis of the problem, consciousness raising and social action. These findings can be interpreted as lessons from the field – noting what seems to work best for hard-core and marginalized street youth populations. The current academic discourse concerning notions of anti-oppression has tended to focus upon pedagogy and/or practice; this analysis moves the discussion to a new realm involving organizational behavior. Anti-oppressive organizational structures attempt to build safe and respectful environments for marginalized populations.

• Applications: Such findings can hopefully impact the manner by which social work administrators and practitioners understand service delivery within their particular organizational setting and more specifically, how they conduct meaningful social work within their day-to-day practices.
The Features of Short-Break Residential Services Valued by Families Who Have Children with Multiple Disabilities
Authors: Mcconkey Roy , Truesdale Maria , Conliffe Chris
Published: May 2004

• Summary: Children with physical and intellectual disabilities can place extra demands on their family carers. The need for short-break (respite) services is well documented but little research has been undertaken into the features of these services that families value. A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. In the first phase, 108 parents in urban and rural areas described the features they liked about the short-break services they had received and the perceived benefits to them and their child. Their replies were validated at a consultation seminar with over 30 carers and professional workers. Apool of 47 items was then devised and in phase two, a sample of 59 families used them to rate one of three short-break services they had used.

• Findings: Twelve distinguishing items were found across the three services. They were grouped into three distinct factors: characteristics of the services (eight items), benefits to the child (two items) and benefits to the carer (two items). Variations were found in carers’ expectations that need further exploration.

• Applications: These findings should facilitate the development of quality standards for short-break residential services and help in the commissioning of services that accord with user aspirations.
The Social Construction of Child Maltreatment
Authors: D’cruz Heather
Published: May 2004

• Summary: This paper explores how medical knowledge in child protection practice operates, in conjunction with social work knowledge and legal knowledge, as a social process of constructing meaning as ‘maltreatment’ (or not) in which the physical body of the child and perceived abnormalities represent ‘evidence’. Through discourse analysis of two case studies, this paper makes explicit and problematizes the social processes by which meanings are given by medical practitioners, social workers, police and parents to material experiences, the preference given to some meanings over others, and the econsequences of particular meanings for children and families and social work practice.

• Findings: Medical, social and legal knowledge are not neutral but embedded in power relations. The case studies show, through a sociological analysis of professional practice in child protection, how preferred versions of knowledge and meaning may override or dismiss alternative meanings, with particular consequences for parents and children and for practice outcomes.

• Applications: The case studies offer opportunities by which critically to engage with child protection knowledge, policy and practice in keeping with contemporary approaches that advocate dialogue, critical reflection and reflexivity, so that professional knowledge and professional power may be deployed constructively rather than oppressively.
A Politics of Doing Social Research for Fishery Biologists, Managers and Industry
Authors: Bradshaw Matt
Published: May 2004

Social impact assessment of management change is becoming an increasingly common injunction in many fisheries around the world. Funding for such work is often provided by government and/or corporate bodies and can require researchers to work with industry participants and fishery biologists and managers to produce work that is credible and useful to these groups. Design of such work, therefore, is scrutinized by other than social researchers. In this article, I present some responses to challenges put by fishery biologists, fishery managers and industry participants regarding my research. It eventuated that in my work I had to be mindful of both political and methodological requirements affecting the credibility, use and funding of my research outside the academy.
A Dilemma for Objective Act-Utilitarianism
Authors: Lang Gerald
Published: May 2004

Act-utilitarianism comes in two standard varieties: ‘subjective’ act-utilitarianism, which tells agents to attempt to maximize utility directly, and ‘objective’ act-utilitarianism, which permits agents to use non-utilitarian decision-making procedures. This article argues that objective actutilitarianism is exposed to a dilemma. On one horn of it is the contention that objective act-utilitarianism makes inconsistent claims about the rightness of acts. On the other horn of it is the contention that objective act-utilitarianism collapses back into what is, essentially, subjective act-utilitarianism. Three objective act-utilitarian responses to this dilemma are explored and rejected. The recommended conclusion is that a consistent utilitarian must either embrace subjective act-utilitarianism, or abandon act-utilitarianism altogether.
A Critique of Hofstede’s Fifth National Culture Dimension
Authors: Fang Tony
Published: May 2004

Using indigenous knowledge of Chinese culture and philosophy, this article critiques Geert Hofstede’s fifth national culture dimension, i.e. ‘Confucian dynamism’, also referred to as ‘long-term orientation’. The basic premise on which the dimension is founded is scrutinized and the way in which this index has been constructed is assessed in detail. It is argued that there is a philosophical flaw inherent in this ‘new’ dimension. Given this fatal flaw and other methodological weaknesses, the usefulness of Hofstede’s fifth dimension is doubted. The article concludes by calling for new visions and perspectives in our cross cultural research.
Learning to ‘DoTime’ in Japan
Authors: Masumoto Tomoko
Published: May 2004

In this study of the interactions between American interns and Japanese working in Japanese organizations in Japan, the influence of culturally different expectations, perceptions and meanings of time was explored. Through the interviews with interns and their Japanese co-workers and supervisors, five aspects of time were examined: (1) time and expectations; (2) time required for adaptation and productivity; (3) shared space and time, and meaning of socialization; (4) feedback and insecurity; and (5) short term and long-term vision. Through interviews conducted over a three year period, from predeparture throughout the 6–24 month internship period and at its conclusion, the experiences of 19 US interns working in 18 organizations along with 36 of their Japanese supervisors and co-workers were studied. Interns and supervisors differed greatly in their estimates of time needed for intern acceptance. US interns initially described too much idle time, uncertainty about when their workday ended, and anxiety related to the open, exposed, office and laboratory workspaces. Most disturbing to interns was what they saw as a lack of timely and explicit feedback from their supervisors; supervisors felt that they had provided continuous feedback and described a long-term vision for appraising the internship experience, even well after the intern had departed.
‘Feeling the Way’
Authors: Cantley Caroline , Steven Kay
Published: May 2004

Dementia advocacy is a new and evolving field. There is a small, and growing, body of practice-based knowledge about dementia advocacy, but limited research-based evidence about what works and what constitutes good practice. This article draws upon data collected as part of a project on the development of dementia advocacy in the United Kingdom. We explore how those providing dementia advocacy services describe and explain the basis on which they work in the areas of: consent, instruction, representation, and advocacy relationship. We show that although service providers are clear about the principles of advocacy, everyday practice is complex. There are many dilemmas, ambiguities and uncertainties. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for practice, policy and research.
A Controlled Evaluation of a Training Course for Staff Who Work with People with Dementia
Authors: Featherstone Kathryn , James Ian A. , Powell Ian , Milne Derek , Maddison Clare
Published: May 2004

This controlled intervention was a pilot study that examined the impact of a brief training programme on N= 40 care-workers. The six-week course (one hour per week) produced significant changes in the staff’s attitude and knowledge base; no change was evident for their coping style. In accounting for the results, this article presents a qualitative analysis of the process features underpinning the improvements. The training employed an integrative approach, combining cognitive behavioural and experiential learning methods.
Social Affordances and Students’ Engagement in Cross-National Online Learning
Authors: Volet Simone , Wosnitza Marold
Published: May 2004

The potential of online learning for enhancing international education is substantial, yet few studies have explored the conditions under which students feel motivated and engage productively in cross-national online interchange. This article examines the significance of social affordances, specifically social presence, on university students’ initial and final appraisals of a cross-national online learning experience that was embedded in their course of study on intercultural learning and education. Content analysis of their engagement in asynchronous and synchronous activities showed a substantial amount of social interchange and meaningful learning but limited evidence of social negotiation of meaning. The study highlights the range of issues faced by designers of cross-national online learning projects.
Fiber Optic Sensing for Monitoring Corrosion-Induced Damage
Authors: Maalej M. , Ahmed S.F.U. , Kuang K.S.C. , Paramasivam P.
Published: May 2004

This paper reports the feasibility of using embedded Fabry–Pé rot fiber optic sensors to detect and monitor the propagation of cracks and delamination within concrete beams induced by corrosion of the reinforcing bars. In this research, four series of reinforced concrete beams were subjected to varying degrees of corrosion-induced damage by modifying the composition of the concrete mix and subjecting all specimens to the same accelerated corrosion environment. The concept employed in this study involves embedding the Fabry–Pé rot sensor between two reinforcing bars to measure the transverse tensile strains associated with the longitudinal crack along the reinforcing bars (and in severe cases, delamination of the concrete beam) resulting from the radial expansion of the corroding rebars. Excellent correlation was obtained between the Fabry–Pé rot strain data and the amount of steel loss resulting from accelerated corrosion. In addition, the optical sensor strain readings and the reductions in the load-carrying and deflection capacities were also observed to exhibit strong positive correlation highlighting the potential of the optical sensor to monitor the progression of the rebar damage and the loss of structural integrity of the beams resulting from the extensive corrosion. The technique used in this study demonstrates the possibility of detecting corrosion-induced damage in reinforced concrete structures, particularly those where visual inspection is not possible.
White Racial Attitudes and Support for the Mississippi State Flag
Authors: Orey Byron D’Andra
Published: May 2004

In recent years, there has been a dearth of literature documenting a relationship between oldfashioned racism and the vote for a racially conservative candidate or White opposition to various racial policies. In fact, a number of scholars have argued that a newracism has supplanted the old-fashioned racism. Analysis of a survey of college students in the state of Mississippi reveals that old-fashioned racism provides the strongest explanation of White support for the Mississippi state flag. These findings are startling given the educational levels of the respondents.
Freshman Republicans and the 1996 Election
Authors: Born Richard
Published: May 2004

Freshman House Republicans running for reelection in 1996 outperformed predictions of vulnerability that were based upon their conservative roll call records and reputed lack of attentiveness to traditional constituency concerns. In this study, we find that perceptions of these freshmen’s ideology and ability to keep in touch with constituents were not, in fact, out of line with analogous perceptions of veterans in 1996 or of freshmen or veterans in other elections. Members of the class of 1994 did stand out, however, in how the determinants of voting behavior in their races compared with the determinants in races of these other groups. Constituent evaluations of the job performance of Congress were closely linked to ballot choice, whereas ideological proximity to the member made no difference. Thus, it seems that the Republican freshmen succeeded in shifting the 1996 reelection battle to electorally favorable terrain, because Congress evaluations that year had rebounded from the low levels existing earlier in the 1990s.
Ideological Realignment and Active Partisans in the American Electorate
Authors: Saunders Kyle L. , Abramowitz Alan I.
Published: May 2004

This article investigates the consequences of ideological realignment for the motivations and policy preferences of active partisans—Democratic and Republican identifiers who engage in electoral activities that go beyond the act of voting. We hypothesize that, consistent with the logic of persuasion and selective recruitment/derecruitment, the influence of ideology as a motivation for campaign participation varies over time and between parties depending on the salience of the ideological cues provided by a party’s candidates and office-holders. Evidence from the 1972 to 2000 American National Election Studies supports this hypothesis. As a result of an ideological realignment led by conservative Republican leaders such as Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich, by the mid-1990s, ideology had become a much more important motivation for participation among Republicans than among Democrats, and active Republicans were farther to the right of the electorate than active Democrats were to the left of the electorate on a wide range of policy issues.
Critical Theory Criticized: Giddens’s Double Hermeneutic and the Problem of Language Game Change
Authors: Kim Kyung-Man
Published: May 2004

Anthony Giddens argues that theoretical analysis in sociology can demonstrate why lay agents can have only “partial” and “confined” understandings of the larger structures in which they are embedded. His notion of double hermeneutic rests on the assumption that such partial and imprecise knowledge shared by the social agents can be corrected through the injection of the sociological knowledge “from without.” In this article, by juxtaposing and comparing Giddens’s externalist approach to the change of language game—his double hermeneutic—with what the author would call the internalist approach, the author will show why Giddens’s theory of double hermeneutic fails to do what it professes to do.
Stalin
Authors: Bauman Zygmunt
Published: May 2004

Official fear, the foundation of the secular power and the legitimation of its disciplinary requirements is, according to Mikhail Bakhtin, formed after the pattern of cosmic fear that plays a similar role in relation to ecclesiastic powers. Powers-that-be present themselves as the shield and insurance against the dangers arising from uncertain future and existential insecurity. Having retreated from protection against uncertainty and insecurity generated by the markets, state powers refocus currently their claim to the subjects’ obedience on issues of personal safety.