bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fuzzy Set Inclusion
Authors: Smithson Michael
Published: April 2005

The concept of set inclusion has remained insufficiently developed in the fuzzy set literature to be of much use to social scientists. However, a fully fledged concept of fuzzy set inclusion, along with appropriate statistical methods for evaluating it, could be very useful in the social sciences. This article combines fuzzy set and statistical methods, in the form of a cumulative distribution-based approach to evaluating fuzzy set inclusion without making strong assumptions about measurement levels. It establishes criteria for distinguishing an “inclusion relation” from independence plus skew as well as from other kinds of relationships. A measure of inclusion is developed that is sensitive to the degree to which individual cases violate a strict inclusion rule. A technique for modeling localized inclusion relations in contingency tables and scatter plots is also presented. Finally, the connections between the fuzzy set approach to set inclusion and mainstream statistical techniques are briefly adumbrated.
Assigning Membership in a Fuzzy Set Analysis
Authors: Verkuilen Jay
Published: April 2005

This article provides a largely nontechnical discussion of the acquisition of membership values in fuzzy set analyses. First the basic properties of a membership are discussed. Then the three common strategies of membership assignment—direct subjective assignment, indirect subjective assignment, and transformation—are critically examined in turn. Examples are used to illustrate the techniques. The connection with existing psychometric and statistical methods is particularly emphasized, focusing on the notion of a membership value as a random variable as a means to assess uncertainty in assignment.
Controlling Item Exposure and Test Overlap in Computerized Adaptive Testing
Authors: Chen Shu-Ying , Lei Pui-Wa
Published: April 2005

This article proposes an item exposure control method, which is the extension of the Sympson and Hetter procedure and can provide item exposure control at both the item and test levels. Item exposure rate and test overlap rate are two indices commonly used to track item exposure in computerized adaptive tests. By considering both indices, item exposure can be monitored at both the item and test levels. To control the item exposure rate and test overlap rate simultaneously, the modified procedure attempted to control not only the maximum value but also the variance of item exposure rates. Results indicated that the item exposure rate and test overlap rate could be controlled simultaneously by implementing the modified procedure. Item exposure control was improved and precision of trait estimation decreased when a prespecified maximum test overlap rate was stringent.
An IRT Approach to Constructing and Scoring Pairwise Preference Items Involving Stimuli on Different Dimensions: The Multi-Unidimensional Pairwise-Preference Model
Authors: Stark Stephen , Chernyshenko Oleksandr S. , Drasgow Fritz
Published: April 2005

This article proposes an item response theory (IRT) approach to constructing and scoring multidimensional pairwise preference items. Individual statements are administered and calibrated using a unidimensional single-stimulus model. Tests are created by combining multidimensional items with a small number of unidimensional pairings needed to identify the latent metric. Trait scores are then obtained using a multidimensional Bayes modal estimation procedure based on a mathematical model called MUPP, which is illustrated and tested here using Monte Carlo simulations. Simulation results show that the MUPP approach to test construction and scoring provides accurate parameter recovery in both one- and two-dimensional simulations, even with relatively few (say, 15%) unidimensional pairings. The implications of these results for constructing and scoring fake-resistant personality items are discussed.
Re-Making the Developmental State in Taiwan: The Challenges of Biotechnology
Authors: Wong Joseph
Published: April 2005

Taiwan has embarked on a new post-industrial or post-manufacturing industrial trajectory, targeting specifically biotechnology and the bio-business sector. Technological innovation has become the key imperative in Taiwan’s continued economic transformation. This transition invites a rethinking of the East Asian developmental state model and in particular the state’s role in leading knowledge-intensive industrial development. The article first offers a framework of analysis for the post-industrial developmental state, followed by an overview of the emerging biotechnology sector in Taiwan. The bulk of the article examines different political, economic and social challenges faced by the developmentally oriented state. The concluding section discusses how the interventionist state has begun to adapt in post-industrial and democratic Taiwan.
“Bowling Together” isn’t a Cure-All: The Relationship between Social Capital and Political Trust in South Korea
Authors: Kim Ji-Young
Published: April 2005

While the social capital theory, popularized by Putnam, expects that associational life and social trust promote civic participation in political processes, some studies have demonstrated weak associations between social capital and political engagement. By applying these arguments of the limited impact of social capital, this study examines the relationship between social capital and political trust in South Korea. Survey data were analysed and it was found that both associational involvement and social trust were negatively related to trust in political institutions and commitment to voting. Furthermore, these negative relationships were mediated by citizen perceptions of poor institutional performance such as political corruption, suggesting that institutional performance is a crucial determinant of political engagement.
Cuban Baseball
Authors: Baird Katherine E.
Published: April 2005

The organization of baseball in Cuba offers a stark contrast with the organization of baseball in the United States. Whereas baseball in the United States is largely coordinated by market forces, in Cuba, political decisions account for the determination of player salary, team composition, team location, and the distribution of player talent. This article examines the operation and out-comes associated with the organization of Cuban baseball. Although the Cuban model avoids some of the problems afflicting professional baseball in the United States, a close analysis reveals the inequities and disadvantages in the Cuban model. The case study illustrates that organizing sporting leagues through nonmarket rules has its own drawbacks.
Access Discrimination in Intercollegiate Athletics
Authors: Cunningham George B. , Sagas Michael
Published: April 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the representation of racial minorities in intercollegiate coaching positions. Data were gathered from 191 NCAA Division I men’s basketball programs (60% of all programs). Results indicate that White head coaches were more likely than were Black head coaches to have White assistant coaches on staff and vice versa. Results further indicate that the proportion of Black assistant coaches (33%) was significantly less than the proportion of potential Black coaches (48%). Further, the race of the head coach moderated this relationship as Blacks were significantly underrepresented on the coaching staffs of White head coaches (30%) but not of Black head coaches (45%). It is suggested that the key to mitigating access discrimination is for coaches and administrators to realize the value ofdiversityandtheimportanceofadiverseworkforceontheultimateeffectiveness of the workgroup and organization.
Coping with the Grasping Uncertainties in Force-closure Analysis
Authors: Zheng Yu , Qian Wen-Han
Published: April 2005

Friction uncertainty and contact position uncertainty may have a disastrous effect on the closure properties of grasps. This paper reflects our approach to handling these uncertainties in force-closure analysis. The former uncertainty is measured by the possible reduction rate κ of friction coefficients, while the radius ρ of contact regions is used to quantify the latter uncertainty. The actual contact point may deviate from the desired position but not farther than ρ ρS, the supremum of ρ without loss of force-closure, indicates the grasp tolerance to contact position uncertainty. For investigating the above uncertainties systematically, we propose three new problems in force-closure: whether a grasp with given κ and ρ achieves force-closure, what value ρS equals if κ is given, and how ρS varies versus κ. To facilitate their solutions, we extend the scope of the infinitesimal motion approach from form-closure analysis to force-closure. A necessary and sufficient condition for force-closure is deduced by means of the duality between some convex cones, which play the key role in solving the problems. Finally, efficient algorithms are developed and applied to two illustrative examples.
A Seven-degrees-of-freedom Robot-arm Driven by Pneumatic Artificial Muscles for Humanoid Robots
Authors: Tondu B. , Ippolito S. , Guiochet J. , Daidie A.
Published: April 2005

Braided pneumatic artificial muscles, and in particular the better known type with a double helical braid usually called the McKibben muscle, seem to be at present the best means for motorizing robot-arms with artificial muscles. Their ability to develop high maximum force associated with lightness and a compact cylindrical shape, as well as their analogical behavior with natural skeletal muscle were very well emphasized in the 1980s by the development of the Bridgestone “soft robot” actuated by “rubbertuators”. Recent publications have presented ways for modeling McKibben artificial muscle as well as controlling its highly non-linear dynamic behavior. However, fewer studies have concentrated on analyzing the integration of artificial muscles with robot-arm architectures since the first Bridgestone prototypes were designed. In this paper we present the design of a 7R anthropomorphic robot-arm entirely actuated by antagonistic McKibben artificial muscle pairs. The validation of the robot-arm architecture was performed in a teleoperation mode.
Study on the Flammability of HIPS-Montmorillonite Nanocomposites Prepared by Static Melt Intercalation
Authors: Zhang J. , Zhang H. P.
Published: April 2005

The HIPS-montmorillonite nanocomposites are prepared by the static melt intercalation method. XRD analysis indicates that the spacing of the silicate layers increased from 1.51 nm for the untreated montmorillonite to 3.44 nm for the HIPS-montmorillonite prepared by the melt intercalation method. The cone calorimeter test results show that the addition of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) significantly reduces the heat release rates and mass loss rates of the high-impact polystyrene (HIPS). Compared with the pure HIPS, the heat release rates of the HIPS-OMMT composites are reduced by 29.5% at 3 phr, 44.8% at 5 phr, 52.1% at 10 phr, and 61.4% at 20 phr levels. The char residues of the composites are examined by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique. The fine surface morphology obtained for the residues shows that distinctly separated layers are present in the HIPS-OMMT composites while the original silicate layers remain untouched in the HIPS-untreated montmorillonite mixtures. It is shown that the intercalated composite improves the flame retardancy of HIPS polymer in terms of heat release rates. The analysis based on the morphology of char residue indicates that those separated layers, due to the intercalation, construct a network-like structure and thereby function as a large shield and barrier to protect effectively from heat transfer and volatile evaporation, resulting in the reduction of flammability.
Perceived Educational Barriers, Cultural Fit, Coping Responses, and Psychological Well-Being of Latina Undergraduates
Authors: Gloria Alberta M. , Castellanos Jeanett , Orozco Veronica
Published: April 2005

Given the unique educational experiences and disproportional representation of Latinas in higher education, this study examined how Latinas’ perception of educational barriers and cultural fit influenced their coping responses and subsequent well-being in college. Participants (N = 98) were primarily second-generation Mexican-heritage women who were highly motivated to pursue advanced graduate training. Differences by generation and educational characteristics were not found. Cultural congruity and the coping response of taking a planned, positive action were the strongest predictors of psychological well-being accounting for 31% of the variance. The study’s findings challenge stereo-types of Latina students in higher education, as they valued higher education, believed that they could overcome any barriers to achieve their educational goals, and used active coping responses, which informed their positive and healthy functioning.
Welfare regimes and household income packaging in the European Union
Authors: Maître Bertrand , Nolan Brian , Whelan Christopher T.
Published: April 2005

This paper uses harmonized data for the member states of the European Union to analyse household income packaging from a ‘welfare regimes’ perspective. Using data from the third wave of the ECHP, it looks at how the role of welfare transfers in the income package varies across countries and welfare regimes, and assesses whether this is consistent with the predictions of welfare regime theory, having first elaborated some specific hypotheses in that regard. It finds that when one focuses on averages across countries categorized into regimes, many of these hypotheses about the role of transfers are in broad terms borne out by the evidence. However, when one focuses on individual countries rather than regime averages the picture is a good deal more complex and consistency with the range of hypotheses more limited. It is essential that this variation across countries is taken into account in interpreting and using welfare regime theory and typologies.
Public policies and low fertility: rationales for public intervention and a diagnosis for the Spanish case
Authors: Bernardi Fabrizio
Published: April 2005

In recent years the decline in fertility and the difficulties faced by individuals in having the desired number of children have gained growing attention in the academic and public debate. The aim of the present paper is twofold. The first is to scrutinize the rationale and the justification of public support for individual fertility choices. This means addressing the question of why low fertility should be a problem of public concern. This is crucial because, depending on the answer, one can identify how much the actual low level of fertility should increase and which groups of the population should be addressed. The second aim of the paper is to apply the general discussion of public policies and fertility to the Spanish case. Spain is the country where the ‘child gap’, i.e. the average difference between desired and actual children, is most acute. In 1995, the average desired number of children for women aged 18-49 years was about 2.2, while the observed total fertility rate was 1.2. Thus, the Spanish ‘child gap’ is, on average, around one child per woman. The analysis of the Spanish case will be divided into two steps. First, I will try to identify who is having fewer children than the desired number and review the different explanations of why this is happening. Second, I will examine various public policies related to fertility that have been implemented in other countries and discuss their efficacy and applicability in a country with a deeply different socio-economic structure, such as Spain.
Explanation and Color-Naming Research
Authors: Dedrick Don
Published: April 2005

Perhaps one of the central assumptions when one comes to think about scientific explanations—an assumption made by philosophers and scientists alike—is that a causal explanation is an optimal explanation. It seems, after all, that an explanation tells us why something happens and that to do so is to specify causes. Although there is nothing wrong with causal explanations per se, many good explanations in science are not in any important sense causal. What I mean by this is that many good explanations in science are compatible with a variety of causal mechanisms and, as such, ignore the details of such mechanisms. I develop this claim in the discussion of color-naming research that follows, where I distinguish between explanation types that are (more) close to causality (actual sequence explanations) and those that are (more) removed from causal details (robust process explanations).
Confidence Judgments on Color Category Best Exemplars
Authors: Alvarado Nancy , Jameson Kimberly A.
Published: April 2005

Although basic color terms and basic color appearances have been shown to produce higher confidence ratings in a variety of naming and judgment tasks, our findings suggest that when different ethnolinguistic cultures are compared, higher confidence is not strictly linked to the basic foci of Berlin and Kay nor the centroid samples identified by Boynton and colleagues. This raises important questions about high confidence as evidence of the salience of basic color foci, a point central to the widely accepted basic color-term theoretical framework. This study analyzes confidence judgment data for Vietnamese and English color naming, suggesting that high confidence may be more directly linked to aspects of a task rather than universal focal color stimuli. Culture-specific patterns of naming, an individual’s access to shared cultural knowledge, and goodness of fit between exemplars and names provide a more complete explanation of the higher confidence observed for certain color appearances.
Ethical Dilemmas in Participatory Action Research: A Case Study from the Disability Community
Authors: Minkler Meredith , Fadem Pamela , Perry Martha , Blum Klaus , Moore Leroy , Rogers Judith
Published: April 2005

Participatory action research (PAR) is a collaborative approach to inquiry for education and social change that is gaining increasing prominence in health education. This case study explores the use of PAR by and with a community of people with disabilities in addressing a polarizing issue in that community: death with dignity or physician-assisted suicide legislation. Following a brief review of the debate within the community about this issue and the goals, methods, and findings of this project, the authors examine four key ethical challenges. These are dilemmas in issue selection when the community is deeply divided over a problem area, inclusion and exclusion in study team makeup and sample selection, insider/outsider issues, and how best to use findings in ways that can unite and strengthen the community. The implications of these issues for health educators and others engaged in community-based PAR efforts are presented.
Ethical Dilemmas Created by the Criminalization of Status Behaviors: Case Examples from Ethnographic Field Research with Injection Drug Users
Authors: Buchanan David , Khoshnood Kaveh , Stopka Tom , Shaw Susan , Santelices Claudia , Singer Merrill
Published: April 2005

The criminalization of behaviors such as the ingestion of certain mood-altering drugs creates ethical dilemmas for researchers studying those behaviors. The Syringe Access, Use, and Discard (SAUD) project is designed to uncover microcontextual factors that influence HIV and hepatitis risk behaviors of injection drug users. The article presents seven ethical dilemmas encountered using ethnographic methods: issues involving syringe replacement at injection locales, risks of participants’ arrest, potential disruptions in participants’ supply routes, risks of research staff arrest, threats to the protection of confidentiality, issues surrounding informed consent in working with addicts, and the confiscation of potentially incriminating information by police. The article concludes with a discussion of the limitations of traditional ethical frameworks, such as utilitarianism, for resolving these dilemmas and recommends instead improving public health professionals’capacity for practical reasoning ( phronesis) through the greater use of case studies in public health curricula.
Teen Driving Risk: The Promise of Parental Influence and Public Policy
Authors: Beck Kenneth H. , Hartos Jessica , Simons-Morton Bruce
Published: April 2005

An analysis is presented of adolescent driving risk, the advantages of graduated licensing programs, and the potential for parent-based programs to moderate teen driving risks. Risk factors associated with youthful driving illustrate the potential importance and benefits of limiting the amount and conditions under which teens can drive. State policies, such as graduated driver licensing systems that formalize restrictions on youthful driving, have been shown to be effective. However, teen driving risks remain elevated. Parents are in a prime position to extend the benefits of state restrictions by developing and implementing their own tailored family policies on adolescent driving. Unfortunately, parents of adolescent drivers are often under-aware of the need to do so and fail to impose effective driving restrictions. An ongoing parent-based intervention to increase parental restriction on teen driving is described, and issues involved in implementing and evaluating family-centered approaches to reduce teen driving risk are raised.
Clustering Women’s Health Behaviors
Authors: Hagoel Lea , Ore Liora , Neter Efrat , Silman Zmira , Rennert Gad
Published: April 2005

This study attempts to characterize health lifestyles by subgrouping women with similar behavior patterns. Data on background, health behaviors, and perceptions were collected via phone interview from 1,075 Israeli women aged 50 to 74. From a cluster analysis conducted on health behaviors, three clusters emerged: a “health promoting” cluster (44.1%), women adhering to recommended behaviors; an “inactive” cluster (40.3%), women engaging in neither health-promoting nor compromising behaviors; and an “ambivalent” cluster (15.4%), women engaging somewhat in both health-promoting and compromising behaviors. Clustering was cross-tabulated by demographic and perceptual variables, further validating the subgrouping. The cluster solution was also validated by predicting another health behavior (mammography screening) for which there was an external validating source. Findings are discussed in comparison to published cluster solutions, culminating in suggestions for intervention alternatives. The concept of lifestyle was deemed appropriate to summarize the clustering of these behavioral, perceptual, and structural variables.
Development of a “Survival” Guide for Substance Users in Harlem, New York City
Authors: Factor Stephanie H. , Galea Sandro , de Duenas Geli Lucia Garcia , Saynisch Megan , Blumenthal Suzannah , Canales Eric , Poulson Michael , Foley Mary , Vlahov David
Published: April 2005

The community advisory board (CAB) of the Harlem Urban Research Center, which includes community service providers, Department of Health workers, and academics, identified substance users’health as an action priority. The CAB initiated the development of a wellness guide to provide informational support for substance users to improve access to community services. Focus groups of current and former users engaged substance users in the guide development process and determined the guide’s content and “look.” Focus group participants recommended calling this a “survival” guide. The guide will include three sections: (a) health information and how to navigate the system to obtain services, (b) a reference list of community services, and (c) relevant “hot-line” numbers. The design will incorporate local street art. Substance users continue to shape the guide through ongoing art workshops. Dissemination and evaluation of the guide will continue to involve substance users, community service providers, and academics.
Addressing Social Determinants of Health through Community-Based Participatory Research: The East Side Village Health Worker Partnership
Authors: Schulz Amy J. , Parker Edith A. , Israel Barbara A. , Allen Alex , Decarlo Maggie , Lockett Murlisa
Published: April 2005

The authors describe the use of a stress process model by the East Side Village Health Worker Partnership (ESVHWP), a project of the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center, as a framework for understanding social determinants of health. Specifically, the authors describe the development by the ESVHWP Steering Committee of a context-specific stress process model for east side Detroit residents. The authors examine data from in-depth interviews to illuminate actions taken by community members to reduce stressors or minimize their impact on health. Finally, the authors describe the use of this context-specific stress process model and data gathered regarding actions to address community stressors to inform the development of interventions by the ESVHWP to reduce stressors or strengthen the conditioning factors that reduce the impact of stress on health. On the basis of these results, the authors discuss opportunities and challenges for partnership approaches to addressing social determinants of health in urban communities.
The Relationship between Social Support, Stress, and Health among Women on Detroit’s East Side
Authors: Israel Barbara A. , Farquhar Stephanie A. , Schulz Amy J. , James Sherman A. , Parker Edith A.
Published: April 2005

A conceptual model of the stress process has been useful in examining relationships between numerous social determinants (e.g., chronic stress), protective factors (e.g., social support), and health status. In this article, the authors examine multiple sources of chronic stress, instrumental and emotional support, and health outcomes among a random sample ( N = 679) of predominantly low-income African American women who reside on Detroit’s east side. The findings suggest that a number of chronic stressors have an impact on depressive symptoms and general health and that even though instrumental and emotional support each have a significant effect over and above the effects of the stressors, when both are included in the model, instrumental support, and not emotional support, remains as a significant predictor of health outcomes. These findings suggest the need for health education interventions and policy strategies that strengthen social support and aim at macro-level changes necessary to reduce chronic stressful conditions.
Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Address Social Determinants of Health: Lessons Learned from Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities
Authors: Krieger James , Allen Carol , Cheadle Allen , Ciske Sandra , Schier James K. , Senturia Kirsten , Sullivan Marianne
Published: April 2005

Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities (SPHC) is a multidisciplinary collaboration of community agencies, community activists, public health professionals, academics, and health providers who conduct research aimed at improving the health of urban, socioeconomically marginalized Seattle communities. SPHC uses a community-based participatory research approach to address social factors that affect the health of these communities. This article describes three SPHC projects that focus on social determinants of health, particularly the development of social support and improving housing quality. The characteristics of community participation in each of these projects are discussed and show a spectrum of participation. Although projects successfully addressed proximal social factors affecting health, influencing more distal underlying factors was more difficult. Implications for researchers using a community-based participatory research approach and public health practitioners seeking to engage communities in addressing social determinants of health are presented.
Using a Participatory Approach to Provide Assistance to Community-Based Organizations: The Seattle Partners Community Research Center
Authors: Cheadle Allen , Sullivan Marianne , Krieger James , Ciske Sandra , Shaw Molly , Schier James K. , Eisinger Alison
Published: April 2005

Community-based organizations (CBOs), including grassroots, voluntary organizations, are an important part of any strategy for addressing social determinants of health. Because of the challenges faced by CBOs, “enabling systems” may be needed to help them survive and fulfill their missions, and researchers have a variety of skills that allow them to play a role in such systems. The potential for researchers to play a role in supporting CBOs led the Seattle Urban Research Center (known as Seattle Partners) to establish a community research center (CRC) as one of its core projects. This article describes the operation of the Seattle Partners CRC and gives examples of how it has worked collaboratively with CBOs in providing technical assistance. The Discussion section draws from the CRC experience to examine the benefits and challenges of collaboration and the trade-off between capacity building and providing direct technical assistance in promoting long-term CBO viability.
Effects of Peer Education on the Peer Educators in a School-Based HIV Prevention Program: Where Should Peer Education Research Go from Here?
Authors: Ebreo Angela , Feist-Price Sonja , Siewe Youmasu , Zimmerman Rick S.
Published: April 2005

Although many HIV/AIDS prevention programs for adolescents have used peer educators to deliver risk reduction information, fewresearchers have evaluated the effects of participation in educational activities on the peer educators themselves. The present study compares several outcomes experienced by peer educators involved in a school-based HIV prevention program with those of their classmates to determine areas in which involvement in the curriculum had an effect on peer educators. Analyses revealed few differences between peer educators that could be attributed to the implementation of the intervention. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention programs targeting adolescent populations, and suggestions are made concerning the importance of future research on the selection, training, and integration of peer educators into school-based programs.
An Exploration of Family Influences on Smoking among Ethnically Diverse Adolescents
Authors: Kegler Michelle C. , McCormick Laura , Crawford Myra , Allen Peg , Spigner Clarence , Ureda John
Published: April 2005

In an attempt to better understand mechanisms throughwhich families might influence adolescent smoking, focus group data collected as part of a larger study of ethnic and gender differences in teen smoking were analyzed for family-related themes. Across six sites, 132 focus groups were conducted with African American, American Indian, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and White youth. Similarities across race/ethnicity were evident in the content of antismoking messages and the feeling among youth that theywould get in trouble with their parents if caught smoking. African American and Asian/Pacific Islander youth appeared more concerned about their parents thinking less of them if they smoked than were youth from other racial/ethnic groups. White and American Indian youth were more likely to discuss that their parents felt it was their own decision as to whether or not to smoke than were the other groups.
Comparing the Relationships between Different Types of Self-Efficacy and Physical Activity in Youth
Authors: Ryan Gregory J. , Dzewaltowski David A.
Published: April 2005

A preliminary study was conducted to compare the relationships between different types of self-efficacy and youth physical activity. Two samples of sixth and seventh-grade students (Sample 1: N= 57; Sample 2: N= 49) reported their confidence to be physically active (physical activity efficacy), to overcome barriers to physical activity (barriers efficacy), to ask others to be activewith them (asking efficacy), and to find and create environments that support physical activity (environmental-change efficacy). Physical activity was measured by averaging three 24-hour recalls of physical activity. Regression analyses were used to test the relationships between the types of self-efficacy and youth physical activity. Compared with the other types of self-efficacy, environmental-change efficacy had the strongest relationship with youth physical activity. This suggests that strengthening young persons’belief in their ability to find and create environments that support physical activity might promote increases in their physical activity.
Globalization and Business Masculinities
Authors: Connell R. W. , Wood Julian
Published: April 2005

The idea of “transnational business masculinity” is explored in life-history interviews with Australian managers. Their world is male-dominated but has a strong consciousness of change. An intense and stressful labor process creates multiple linkages among managers and subjects them to mutual scrutiny, a force for gender conservatism. In a context of affluence and anxiety, managers tend to treat their life as an enterprise and self-consciously manage bodies and emotions as well as finances. Economic globalization has heightened their insecurity and changed older patterns of business; different modes of participating in transnational business can be identified. Managerial masculinity is still centrally related to power, but changes from older bourgeois masculinity can also be detected: tolerance of diversity and heightened uncertainty about one’s place in the world and gender order. Some support is found for the transnational business masculinity hypothesis, but a spectrum of gender patterns must be recognized in an increasingly complex business environment.
Shadowing Software and Clinical Records: On the Ethnography of Non-Humans and Heterogeneous Contexts
Authors: Bruni Attila
Published: April 2005

Recent years have seen growing sociological interest in the role that objects and non-human actors perform in everyday life. Whether as machines, information technologies, artworks, commodities or architectures, objects today raise issues of complexity and controversy (Pels et al., 2002). Borrowing from actor network theory the idea that humans and non-humans are actively involved in the making of social worlds, there are already those who call for a post-social world and an object-centred sociality (Knorr-Cetina, 1997). But how can non-humans be observed? Sociologists are accustomed to socio-constructionist approaches to the sociology of science, or to analyses of tools and innovations couched in terms of networks of actants; methodologically, however, it seems that ideas about how to proceed methodologically are not very well worked out. On the basis of a four-month ethnography conducted in a hospital that has recently introduced a digital clinical records system, I discuss the methodological aspects of shadowing non-humans. In particular, adopting Star’s insight of an ‘ethnography of the infrastructure’ (Star, 1999), I concentrate on how to account for contexts characterized by multiple and non-homogeneous actors and practices and on the implications of such a perspective for organizational analysis.
The Evolving Object of Software Development
Authors: Adler Paul S.
Published: April 2005

This paper contributes to an ongoing debate on the effects of bureaucratic rationalization on relatively non-routine, knowledge-work activities. It focuses on the Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM®) for software development. In particular, it explores how the CMM affects the object of software developers’ work and thereby affects organization structure. Empirical evidence is drawn from interviews in four units of a large software consulting firm. First, using contingency theory, I address the technical dimensions of the development object. Here CMM implementation reduced task uncertainty and helped master task complexity and interdependence. Second, using institutional theory, I broaden the focus to include the symbolic dimensions of the object. Adherence to the CMM involved the sampled organizations in efforts to ensure certification, and these symbolic conformance tasks interacted in both disruptive and productive ways with technical improvement tasks. Finally, using cultural-historical activity theory, I deepen the focus to include the social-structural dimensions of the object. Through these lenses, the software development task appears as basically contradictory, aiming simultaneously at use value, in the form of great code, and at exchange value, in the form of high fees and profits: the CMM deepened rather than resolved this contradiction. The form of organization associated with these mutations of the object of work is a form of bureaucracy that is simultaneously mock, coercive, and enabling.
Epistemic Objects, Artefacts and Organizational Change
Authors: Miettinen Reijo , Virkkunen Jaakko
Published: April 2005

One of the key concepts of the neo-institutional studies of organizations has been routine—an established, rule-governed pattern of action. The concept of routine creates difficulties when used for making sense of the emergence of new practices or change in organizations and institutions. There are two reasons for this. First, routine was introduced originally to account for the continuity of organizational life. Second, it is based on theories of action and behaviour that focus exclusively on the pre-reflective and embodied aspects of human practice. This paper seeks an alternative approach by using the concepts of epistemic object and artefact mediation of human activity. It argues that representational artefacts, such as concepts and models, are instrumental in inducing change in human practices. Using the work of occupational health and safety inspectors as an example, it is shown how a practice or set of routines is made into an object of enquiry in order to generate a working hypothesis for an alternative practice. The hypothesis is further objectified by designing a set of informational tools and procedures that carry on the new practice.
Sir Leon’s shadow
Authors: Cottee Simon
Published: April 2005

Sir Leon Radzinowicz was one of the last great exemplars of modern criminology. Yet he remains, 32 years since his retirement from the Wolfson chair of Criminology at Cambridge, an almost unrecognizably distant figure, largely unexamined, if not completely eclipsed, in the existing histories of the discipline. This, partly, is because many of the questions which Radzinowicz himself confronted are quite different from those which exercise criminologists today. But it is also, more decisively, because Radzinowicz’s status as a thinker has never quite recovered from the critical assault to which his radical antagonists subjected it. My aim in what follows will be to re-examine the validity of that assault and to clarify the significance, if any, of Radzinowicz’s ‘pragmatic position’ for contemporary criminological thought.
Private security and crime control
Authors: Singh Anne-Marie
Published: April 2005

This article argues that the persistence of coercive tactics is not just limited to the excluded, the anti-citizens. It explores the routine use of coercion in contemporary practices for the government of conduct. Rather than simply seen as repressive or negative, such strategies are best regarded as productive, seeking to shape individual agency in particular ways. I point to the range of punitive measures operated by private security and highlight the multiple objectifications of the governed that these specify.
A reciprocal approach to peacemaking criminology
Authors: Barak Gregg
Published: April 2005

In the process of characterizing the dialectics of adversarialism and mutualism, a case is made for a reciprocal approach to peacemaking criminology. As part of the rationale for a reciprocity of making war or making peace, critiques are leveled at both ‘peacemaking’ and ‘warmaking’ criminology. The purposes of this essay are, on the one hand, to reinvigorate peacemaking criminology that is often too isolated and marginalized from hegemonic interaction to influence struggles for positive peace and social justice. On the other hand, the article seeks to expose the kinds of reflective thinking and social analysis that a peacemaking criminology must confront if its goals of overcoming or neutralizing a warmaking criminology are ever to materialize at home and abroad.
Hybrid genres: fieldwork, detection and the method of Bruno Latour
Authors: Austrin Terry , Farnsworth John
Published: April 2005

This article explores tensions in the study of innovation, the practice of fieldwork and the narratives these produce, particularly as represented in the work of Latour. It argues that Latour’s ethnographic studies of science and technology parody a variety of sociological and literary genres, particularly detective fiction, and that he uses this literary device as a way of pinpointing unexpected links between fictional and sociological modes of investigation. In Latour’s hands, parody illuminates important issues of fieldwork practice and becomes an innovative method that problematizes conventional sociological narratives and practice.
Creating the interviewer: identity work in the management research process
Authors: Cassell Catherine
Published: April 2005

This article examines identity dynamics in the qualitative research interview within the context of management research. It is argued that the identity of the interviewer is actively constructed through the interview process, and that the interview itself is a place where identity work takes place. Using a range of examples from the author’s own experience, the key factors that impact upon the mutual construction of identity, and the purposes of those constructions, are outlined. It is argued that identity work functions to decrease the ambiguity that surrounds the research interview.
A counter-narrative of a ‘failed’ interview
Authors: Nairn Karen , Munro Jenny , Smith Anne B.
Published: April 2005

In a broader research project about students’ perceptions of their rights in New Zealand high schools, the first author conducted an interview with a group of students that was noticeably different from her interviews with groups of students at three other high schools. This article was prompted in the first instance by a sense of this ‘noticeably different’ interview being a ‘failure’ because of the limited spoken text elicited. In this article we demonstrate what we can learn from data regarding embodiment, the interview setting, silence, laughter and, in the process, we attempt to practise ‘uncomfortable reflexivities’ advocated by Pillow (2003). We argue that an apparently ‘failed’ interview has a great deal to teach us about the theory and practice of qualitative research and the tenuous nature of the production of knowledge. We finish by identifying how our experience of this ‘failed’ interview informs our current research.
Explaining franchisors’ choices of organization forms within franchise systems
Authors: Garg Vinay K. , Rasheed Abdul A. , Priem Richard L.
Published: April 2005

When franchisors pursue different priorities, different agency problems become relevant, which drive the franchisors’ choices among various franchising organization forms. We use archival and key informant data from a multi-industry sample of 94 franchisors to examine franchisors’ choices of organization forms based on their goals for growth, uniformity and local responsiveness. Our results indicate that franchisors emphasizing high growth are more likely to use multi-unit rather than single-unit franchising and, within the multi-unit franchising form, they are more likely to use area development franchising than incremental franchising. Franchisors emphasizing uniformity instead of growth are more likely to use area development franchising, but those emphasizing local responsiveness are more likely to use incremental franchising. We discuss the implications of these results for franchising research and practice.
Advanced Nursing Training in Health Policy: Designing and Implementing a New Program
Authors: Harrington Charlene , Crider Mark C. , Benner Patricia E. , Malone Ruth E.
Published: April 2005

Although the nursing profession has a growing role in the health policy arena, the rapidly changing health care environment means that clinicians need a sophisticated understanding of health policy. Nurses are assuming leadership roles in advocacy, research, analysis, and policy development, implementation, and evaluation, contributing to a growing need to educate nurses to specialize in health policy research and analysis. This article provides an overview of a new master’s and doctoral educational program specializing in health policy for advanced practice nurses who are culturally diverse and sensitive to issues of diversity. The program, currently in its third year of operation at the University of California San Francisco, School of Nursing, is addressing the gap in nursing education and practice expertise in health policy. The program is supported through funding by the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, Advanced Nurse Training program.
Assessing the Policy Environment
Authors: Malone Ruth E.
Published: April 2005

This article proposes a basic framework for assessing the policy environment. Environment is a key concept in nursing’s much-discussed “metaparadigm,” but the policy environment is rarely considered. Too often, bedside nurses do not recognize the policy dimensions of clinical practice issues. Yet nursing assessment involves identifying and appraising aspects of patients’ situations that are salient to their responses to actual or potential health problems. Policy may be such a salient factor, as it shapes the physical aspects of patients’ surroundings; the relationships possible between practitioners and patients; the institutions in which health care is offered; and, on a broader scale, the prospects for global survival. This article proposes a question-based framework for clinical practice nurses to use in assessing the policy environment.
The Bush Administration’s Record on Nursing Issues
Authors: Conway-Welch Colleen
Published: April 2005

The article addresses a number of initiatives taken in 2005 by the Bush Administration to address nursing issues. Summaries are provided of the investments in the Nurse Reinvestment Act, Financial Aid, access issues (including expanded community health centers), costs (including medical liability reform), information technology and the revised fair labor standards. Finally, the author concludes with rationale for complete workforce and workplace system redesign and the need for advanced practice nurses to engage in full scope practice without artificially imposed boundaries.
Putting Policy Theory to Work: Tobacco Control in California
Authors: Blackman Virginia Schmied
Published: April 2005

Policy theory provides a useful lens for nurses evaluating how problems are understood and responded to within the policy arena. This article examines and critiques the agenda-setting model offered by John Kingdon. Furthermore, the theory is applied to the issue of tobacco control in the state of California, suggesting policy solutions and strategies to achieve their placement on the policy agenda. Strategies and techniques that may be useful to nurse policy champions are elucidated.
The Popular Racial Order of Urban America: Sport, Identity, and the Politics of Culture
Authors: Giardina Michael D. , McCarthy Cameron
Published: April 2005

This paper critically interrogates the prevailing contemporary figurations of so-called “urban” popular culture as suggested within and against filmic narratives of sport and the racial logics of late-capitalism. Attempting to forge a contextual understanding of the conflicting representations of (urban) subjectivity, the authors locate “urban” America within broader conjunctural developments that have given rise to its mainstream appellation. They then focus on how urban popular culture is currently represented within broader pop culture formations, especially Hollywood cinema, before concluding with a close read of the Spike Lee film He Got Game, which, they argue, is both an example and a symptom of popular racial representation that is compatible with the politics of a conservative (Black) middle class.