bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guerrillas, Subordinates and Passers-By
Authors: Townsend Peter
Published: March 2007

This article argues that a concern with social policy must be central rather than peripheral to sociology. Some sociologists wrongly regard policy analysis as inconsequential, or as an applied subject; others subordinate scientific to conventional, and highly restricted, interpretations of the concept. Both thereby fail to play a positive role in explaining how society came to be what it is and how it could be changed for the better. The role of the state in engineering social structure, particularly social stratification, and in controlling the direction of social change has been, as a consequence, underestimated. This article reviews in outline the history and future of the study of social policy.
Moving Right Out of Welfare - and the Way Back
Authors: Rose Hilary , Rose Steven
Published: March 2007

This article examines the relationship of new right ideology to the attack on welfare. It asks why it is so hard to defend the welfare state in its present form. Central to new right ideology is a methodological individualism rooted in biological determinism, sociobiology, which replaces a collective by an individual view of human need. Neo-marxist writings on the welfare state emphasise the state, but neglect the second (private) and third, (domestic) systems of welfare pointed to by the new feminist critique. This critique, which derives from an analysis of gender divisions and the nature of reproductive labour within all three welfare systems, is contrasted with the masculine, productionist tradition. This new understanding can form the basis of an enriched theory of human need, integrating biological and social, which offers a restatement of the goals of collective welfare.
Radical mental health policy: some tensions for socialism
Authors: Pilgrim David , Rogers Anne
Published: March 2007

This article considers the development of a mental health policy from the Socialist Health Association between 1986 and 1988. The discussion docu ment at the centre of this policy development (Goodbey To All That?) is summarised and its reception in the Socialist Health Association ans else where reported. The difficulties in developing the policy, and the range of responses to it from different sections of the labour movement, are then dis cussed in an attempt to clarify the tensions which continue to exist around mental healt services in Britain in the late 1980s.
The citizen as 'individual' and nationalist or 'social' and internationalist? What is the role of education?
Authors: Cole Mike , Clay John , Hill Dave
Published: March 2007

This paper opposesthe view of the individual enshirined in. Thacherism the private persorr in the mardet) and its accompayning ideology of nationalism in favour of social critizenship, collective empowerment and internationalism is then focusses on education, with particular reference to teacher education; on the one hand, as it is currently used to foster com positive individualism and nationalism and on the other, as a potential for encouraging social citizenship, cooperation and internationalism.
City Pride — from 'municipal socialism' to 'municipal capitalism'?
Authors: Randall Steve
Published: March 2007

This article examines the shift on the part of formerly progressive local authorities, from a municipal socialist to a municipal pride stance. The author argues that this municipal pride approach to urban regene ration, capitulates to the shrunken horizons of the new marketised contract culture, whereby social service provision is separated from local authority delivery and is effectively privatised, creating a new and private relatiomhip between purchaser and provider. This forfeits the principle of the universality of welfare provision and, argues the author, amounts to a betrayal, by Labour authorities, of those con stituents who cannot wield the power that comes with being a purchas ing customer. The article then seeks to re-appropriate the terms of this new contracting environment and turn it against itself, in the process re-empowering those ordinarily disempowered by the unbridled workings of the market.
Who's afraid of an ageing population?
Authors: Vincent John
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the relationship between an ageing population and the future of the state pension. Arguments that for demographic reasons current levels of provision are unsustainable are exposed to critical eval uation. The paper explores the construction of the contradictory images of population crises, one whereby the problem is identified as too many old people (in Britain) and the second as too many young people (in the third world). The source of these 'crises' is not demographic but ideo logical. The proclaimed basis for much current government policy, namely that of the free market, is not applied in the case of population policy. However, to put the idea of an international free market in labour on the agenda, reveals amongst other things the racist nature of immi gration policy, the exploitative relationship to the Third World, and the ageist approach to pensions policy. The real challenge is in creating a progressive pensions policy which reinforces social solidarity on an inter national scale.
Granny's footsteps, fractures and the principles of the NHS
Authors: Powell Martin
Published: March 2007

In spite of the great amount of work on the health reforms since 1979, the question of whether they break the principles of the National Health Service has tended to be neglected. This paper examines the conceptual problems involved in specifying the principles of the NHS, and the em pirical problems associated with detecting breaks in these principles. First, the principles of the NHS are explored. Second, the period between 1948 and 1979 is reviewed to see if any principles were compromised before the term of office of the current government and, third, the period since 1979 is examined to see how the principles have fared. It concludes that the principles of the service have come under greater strain since 1979, and fractures have become more obvious.
Unravelling citizenship
Authors: Dean Hartley , Melrose Margaret
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the possibility that social security benefit fraud is intelligible as an unravelling of the rights and responsibilities of welfare citizenship. It recounts the findings of a study of the attitudes and moti vations of people engaged in individual benefit fraud, including the dominant discourses engaged in by respondents, their approach to work and their conceptions of citizenship. These are analysed in relation to age, gender and ethnicity and, in so doing, the authors call upon secondary analysis of data from the British Social Attitudes survey. It is concluded that benefit fraud does not signify any erosion of the work ethic or people's desire to participate in conventional life-styles, but that it is consistent with—if it is not nourished by—an impoverished conception of citizenship.
Assertiveness Through Different Media
Authors: Furnham Adrian
Published: March 2007

The aim of this study was twofold: first to ascertain the amount of difficulty reported to be experienced by subjects communicating assertive mes-sages through different media (letter, telephone, face-to-face) and secondly to investigate the role of individual differences (assertiveness itself and fear of punishment) in the difficulty of communication. With few exceptions the subjects found the communication of specific assertiveness messages by letter least diffi-cult and face-to-face most difficult. The two individual difference variables produced a number of significant main effects (individual differences, media), but almost no interaction effects. Results are discussed in terms of the measurement and training of assertiveness as well as the social psychology of telecommunications.
Emergent Goals at a Relational Turning Point: The Case of Gordon and Denise
Authors: Hopper Robert , Drummond Kent
Published: March 2007

The present case study describes textual evidence of the goal of 'breaking up' in a heterosexual dating relationship. The evidence appears in three telephone conversations. In the first conversation, a dating couple discusses what to do for the evening. In the second conversation, the same couple agrees to stop dating. In the third, the male offers an account to another female of how the just-accomplished break-up took place. We discuss problems in retrospective studies of relational turning points. Retrospective data presents an overly rationalised picture of action, one in which the role of pre-planned goals grows inflated, and in which the interactive construction of goals is under-specified. By attending to the details of these telephone conversations, we describe constructions and re-constructions of certain goals in one series of conversations.
Perceptual and Phonetic Experiments on American English Dialect Identification
Authors: Purnell Thomas , Idsardi William , Baugh John
Published: March 2007

The ability to discern the use of a nonstandard dialect is often enough information to also determine the speaker’s ethnicity, and speakers may consequently suffer discrimination based on their speech. This article, detailing four experiments, shows that housing discrimination based solely on telephone conversations occurs, dialect identification is possible using the word hello, and phonetic correlates of dialect can be discovered. In one experiment, a series of telephone surveys was conducted; housing was requested from the same landlord during a short time period using standard and nonstandard dialects. The results demonstrate that landlords discriminate against prospective tenants on the basis of the sound of their voice during telephone conversations. Another experiment was conducted with untrained participants to confirm this ability; listeners identified the dialects significantly better than chance. Phonetic analysis reveals that phonetic variables potentially distinguish the dialects.
Job Satisfaction of UK Academics
Authors: Oshagbemi Titus
Published: March 2007

The topic of job satisfaction is of importance, not only because of its intrinsic humanitarian interest, but also because of its implications for a variety of job-related behaviours such as productivity, absenteeism and turnover. This paper attempts to provide a greater understanding of the overall as well as some of the more important specific determinants of the level of job satisfaction of university teachers. Employing a questionnaire survey to collect information, the study found that while academics appeared to be very satisfied with the core tasks of teaching, and, to a lesser extent, research, they were clearly dissatisfied with other aspects of their job including their salaries and promotion prospects.
Enforcement of School Attendance
Authors: Collins David
Published: March 2007

A recent study of 20 secondary-schools within the Midlands area in England suggested that many teachers had a limited understanding of the decision-making process of enforcement of attendance by LEAs (Local Education Authorities). In particular, knowledge of the process for applying for an Education Supervision Order was limited. This article is structured around a diagram laid out in the form of a critical path analysis with an accompanying commentary, which taken together are intended to present the main elements of the enforcement process as it is currently structured.
Balancing Sex and Love since the 1960s Sexual Revolution
Authors: Wouters Cas
Published: March 2007

The longing for an enduring intimate relationship and the longing for sex are connected, but not unproblematically. Throughout this century, a `sexualization of love' and an `eroticization of sex' have continued, but only since the Sexual Revolution the traditional lustbalance of a lust dominated sexuality for men and a complementary (romantic) love- or relationship-dominated sexuality for women has come under attack. The article describes and interprets these developments, focusing on the (difficulties accompanying) relational and psychical processes. It argues, for example, that the emancipation of women and their sexuality (complement of the accommodation of men and their sexuality) has intensified both erotic and sexual awareness as well as both types of longings. The article is divided into two longer sections. The first is subdivided according to the four phases that are distinguished. The second attempts to interpret and explain these changes by presenting them as regularities in all processes of integration and civilization.
Three Appreciations of Zygmunt Bauman
Authors: Kilminster Richard , Varcoe Ian
Published: March 2007

This article provides background material to help readers appreciate three speeches printed in this issue, given by Stefan Morawski, Dennis Smith and Hans Joas on the occasion of the presentation to Zygmunt Bauman of a Festschrift in March 1996 in Leeds. The article describes: (1) relevant details of Polish history concerning cultural patriotism, anti-state attitudes, the role of Jews in the communist state apparatus and anti-Semitism, focusing on post-1945; (2) the peculiarities of the indigenous British sociology tradition and the part played by exiles in shaping it; (3) a profile of the `successful outsider'; and (4) the implications of Bauman's recent work on the Holocaust for the Sonderweg thesis about German history and the Historikerstreit, which are also sketched. It concludes that far from being a `homeless intellectual', Bauman has two homes, perhaps reflecting the wider integrating process of Eastern and Western Europe, until recently separated by a gulf.
BEFORE the MAST
Authors: Durbin R.J.
Published: March 2007

The Probation Service may not always be the best agency to provide resources for IT, argues the author of this article. He gives accounts of the experience of three young people who went to sea on training schooners and who found the opportunity memorable and influential.
The Price of Prison
Authors: King Roy
Published: March 2007

The author, a leading analyst of Penal policy, argues that the Government would do well to address itself to the extraordinary discrepancy between its policies on law and order on the one hand, where critical judgement is suspended in favour of devoting ever larger sums to be a lost cause, and its handling of health, education and welfare services and the public enterprises on the other, where any sense of purpose is subordinated to the criteria of productivity, the elimination of over-manning and waste, and privatisation.
'National Purpose and Objectives': A Comment
Authors: Raynor Peter
Published: March 2007

The Home Office's attempt to state the role of the Service in the Criminal Justice System begs many questions about the directions for improvement of that system. The author suggests a rationale for Criminal Justice, and a consequent role for the Service which is relevant to community needs.
Differential Justice: Domestic Labour, Community Service and Female Offenders
Authors: Dominelli Lena
Published: March 2007

Research on women given Community Service Orders in West Yorkshire raises important questions about discrimination against females in the criminal justice system.
Working Fathers: A Conflict of Loyalties
Authors: Taylor Richard
Published: March 2007

Six years ago NAPO first resolved to seek paternity leave provision, but this received little active attention. The 1984 AGM resolution suggests it is at last being taken seriously. The author discusses how fatherhood is linked to family life, the work place and wider society, and argues that a scheme is valuable and overdue.
Plea Bargaining: A Neglected Issue?
Authors: Sabor Monika
Published: March 2007

Why is it that the Probation Service has remained so silent on the subject of plea bargaining? Is it because it takes place covertly that probation officers ignore its prevalence? Is it because it is such a delicate issue that they are reluctant to become involved? Or could it be that the Probation Service has not fully considered the ethical implications of the practice? This article seeks to draw attention to these implications, in the hope that increased alertness to the incompatibility of plea bargaining with justice may spur probation officers, both individually and collectively, to take some action.
The Justice Model in Warwicks
Authors: Kemshall Hazel
Published: March 2007

How one county gave practical meaning to the justice model in work with juveniles, with offending as central to all decision making.
Putting SNOP in Perspective
Authors: Whitehead Philip
Published: March 2007

The pressures and influences which lay behind the appearance of the Statement of National Objectives and Priorities in April 1984.
Three Children In Search Of A Parent
Authors: Kroll Brynna
Published: March 2007

Brynna Kroll argues that the proposed 'adoption' of the three services that will form the new independent welfare service to the courts reflects how wider issues relating to children will be managed and addressed. She considers the dangers of replicating competitive sibling dynamics within this new agency, and how the three 'adoptees' might be supported in providing a service to the real children in their care.
The use of Extensible Markup Language for the generation of alternative formats
Authors: Pawson David , Pawson D.
Published: March 2007

This paper describes how the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) is developing the use of a system known as Extensible Markup Language (XML) to produce documents in formats (such as braille, large print, etc.) that satisfy the varying needs of its blind and partially sighted clients.
The representation and attainment of students with a visual impairment in higher education
Authors: Richardson John T. E. , Roy Archie W. N. , Richardson J.T.E. , Roy A.W.N.
Published: March 2007

We carried out an analysis of a database of all students in higher education in the UK in 1995-96 to compare students with a visual impairment and students with no recorded disability in terms of their demographic characteristics, programmes of study and academic attainment. Students with a visual impairment constituted 0.12% of all students normally resident in the UK. Their representation varied with age, gender, ethnicity and entry qualifications and with their level, mode and subject of study. If these background variables are taken into account, a visual impairment per se appears to have surprisingly little effect on academic attainment.
Using a Virtual Learning Environment to deliver transitional skills at the Royal National College for the Blind
Authors: Evans Shirley
Published: March 2007

This paper reviews how a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) was used as an Innovative way to deliver transitional skills to 16 to 19 year-old students at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. Focusing on the pilot phase, it examines the choice of delivery, describes the planning and process, and refiects on this from the perspectives of tutors, students and a learning technalogist, A major consideration was the accessibility and usability of the technology and whether it would be feasible to introduce a VLE as a cross-college initiative. This pilot was a success in respect of its primary objective and has been the springboard for wider use of VLEs in college and further quantitative and qualitative research.
The Royal National College: changing approaches to the education and training of the able visually handicapped
Authors: Marshall Lance
Published: March 2007

The author outlines the history of the RNC and discusses the major developments which have taken place in the last few years. The changing role of the College is examined and the Department of Business Studies is described as an illustratation of the ways in which current needs are being met.
Back to the future: education for visually handicapped children and young people in Romania
Authors: Chapman Elizabeth , McCall Steve , Stein Wolf
Published: March 2007

This article describes the present situation in the schools for visually handicapped children in Romania and the urgent need for improvements in education and living conditions. It outlines a specific plan of action, agreed at a symposium held in Cluj in October 1990, to be funded by the British Red Cross and organised by the International Council for the Education of the Visually Handicapped.
Beyond vision : recent workshops at the Whitechapel
Authors: Lane Lucy Dawe
Published: March 2007

The Whitechapel Art Gallery has been building on earlier success with Touch Workshops (from 1987) to include visually impaired visitors in activities for all exhibitions. A small and dedicated interest group now meets regularly to share the experience of learning from art objects in all forms. Through a variety of approaches it has been found that ideas and concepts in the works can be appreciated even without the full experience of their visual qualities. Most participants wish to expand their horizons in art and these sessions aim to include two-dimensional work in a limited way. The feedback gained suggests that the exercise is worthwhile and is a great stimulus to the visual memory.
Dual sensory impairment: rehabilitation and beyond
Authors: Smith Martin
Published: March 2007

There has been much discussion in the last few years about the needs of people who have some degree of both a hearing and a visual impairment. This article outlines in brief the work of the Leeds Incorporated Institution for Blind and Deaf People and its attempt during the last twelve years to meet such needs and to grapple with some practical methods of restoring the 'state of confidence'. The 'state of confidence' is the description used for the rehabilitation process which addresses the social implications of dual sensory loss in elderly people.
Maps on microcapsule paper: the performance of visually impaired children
Authors: Pike Emma , Blades Mark , Spencer Christopher
Published: March 2007

Tactile diagrams can be produced by several processes, each of which has specific advantages. There has been little previous work to indicate whether microcapsule maps and diagrams are as easy to use as those made by more traditional methods such as the thermoform process. This article describes a study which set out to compare the performance of a group of children using the same maps produced on microcapsule paper and by the thermoform process. The children performed almost equally well with both sets of maps, which indicated that children would not be at a disadvantage when using microcapsule maps and diagrams.
The sexual abuse of children with visual impairments
Authors: Stone Juliet
Published: March 2007

Approximately ten per cent of children in the United Kingdom are sexually abused and research suggests that handicapped children are similarly being sexually exploited. Replies to a questionnaire from special teachers indicated that more than half of them had had to deal with the suspected abuse of visually impaired children. There is need for further research; raised awareness on the part of professional staff; and the development of preventive strategies.
Commentary: The Future of the Non-Maintained Special Schools for Visually Impaired Children
Authors: Talbot Peter , Farbey Liz
Published: March 2007

The maintained special school and Local Education Authority (LEA) provisions for blind and visually impaired children have not been working together as efficiently as they might. Peter Talbot and Liz Farbey outline a new role for the non-maintained special school sector and suggest how it might work more closely with LEAs.
Parent Support Groups in Early Intervention (Part One of Two)
Authors: Brambring Michael
Published: March 2007

Nine weekend meetings were organised for the parents of congenitally blind children during the course of the Bielefeld Longitudinal and Intervention Study (Brambring et al, 1990)1. In the first of two articles, the theoretical framework for such weekends is analysed.
Family Stories: A Qualitative Collaborative Study
Authors: Nagel Gwen , Raxworthy Georgia
Published: March 2007

This Paper is based on a qualitative, collaborative study which explored the experiences of ten New Zealand families of children with visual impairment The research process demonstrates a way in which the parent/professional relationship might be effected. Designed around a narrative life history model, stories were accessed through the triangulation of focus group exploration, questionnaire and face-to-face family interviews. Excerpts from the stories in which participants speak directly include aspects which played a prominent part in the lives of the families. The framework within which the findings were examined - Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model - is outlined. Issues relating to the education and health needs of children predominate, with educators the professionals parents most expect to support them. The study's families speak to other families, professionals, service providers and policy makers and bring each the opportunity to listen, understand and integrate what is relevant to their own life experiences.
Working Models of Friendships
Authors: Furman Wyndol
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to determine if a narrative technique based on the Adult Attachment Interview could be used for studying working models of friendships. A Friendship Interview was developed and administered to a sample of 68 high school seniors. Theoretically coherent factors reflecting friendship experiences and working models were obtained. Ratings of dyadic support from friends were related to secure working models, and inversely related to dismissing working models. Ratings of friend controlling-self dependent behavior and self controlling-friend dependent behavior were related to preoccupied working models. Ratings of experiences in friendships were related to self-perceptions of friendships. Working models were related to self-perceptions of relational styles and attachment styles.
The Effects of Self-Disclosure Given and Received on Affection for an Intimate Partner and Stability of the Relationship
Authors: Sprecher Susan
Published: March 2007

The primary goal of this research was to determine if the affection experienced for a dating partner is affected to a greater degree by disclosure given or by disclosure received. A second purpose was to examine the effect of the overall level of self-disclosure by the couple on the stability of their relationship. These issues were examined with survey data collected from fifty dating couples. The results indicated that the degree of disclosure judged to be received from the partner ('perceived other disclosure') was generally more predictive of affection than disclosure given to the partner. `Actual other disclosure' (i.e. disclosure the partner reports that he/she gives) was positively related to affection felt for a partner by men, but not by women. The results also indicated that the amount of overall disclosure in the relationship was predictive of whether couples remained together over four years.
Social Support and Interactional Processes: A Triadic Hypothesis
Authors: Sarason Irwin G. , Pierce Gregory R. , Sarason Barbara R.
Published: March 2007

A theoretical view suggests that the impact of social support is based on interactions among three variables: (1) motivations and expectations of providers and recipients, (2) the nature of the relationships in which the supportive exchanges occur and (3) the type of situation at which the supportive behaviors are directed. We discuss research findings that illustrate the need for such an interactional approach to clarify conflicting findings and to enlarge the understanding of social support.
Attachment Styles and Marital Adjustment among Newlywed Couples
Authors: Senchak Marilyn , Leonard Kenneth E.
Published: March 2007

Recent research has shown a relation between adults' attachment styles and their interpersonal functioning. The present study examined attachment styles and marital adjustment among 322 young, newlywed couples participating in a longitudinal study of alcohol use and marital functioning. Couples completed a three-item measure of adult attachment styles and measures of marital intimacy, partners' marital functioning and partners' conflict resolution behaviors. The data were analyzed within a repeated measure design. Couple attachment type (both partners' attachment styles) was the between subject factor, and husband-wife was the within subject factor. Results showed that husbands and wives tended to pair on the basis of similarity of attachment security. However, it was the nature of the pairings, rather than their similarity, per se, which was associated with the marital adjustment variables. Couples in which both partners were securely attached evidenced better overall marital adjustment than couples in which one or both partners were insecurely attached. Additional findings are discussed.
A Transactional Approach to Interpersonal Relations: Physical Environment, Social Context and Temporal Qualities
Authors: Werner Carol M. , Altman Irwin , Brown Barbara B.
Published: March 2007

This article overviews a program of research that has explored the implications of a transactional worldview for research on personal relationships. In particular, the present article emphasizes the role of the physical environment in relationships. It briefly describes our theoretical perspective and delineates the methods by which we study personal relationships. The main body of the article focuses on three kinds of relationship (acquaintance, family, neighbors), emphasizing the significance of the physical and social environments for individual and relational viability.
An Examination of Single Men's and Women's Sexual Aggressiveness in Dating Relationships
Authors: Christopher F. Scott , Owens Laura A. , Stecker Heidi L.
Published: March 2007

This study focused on two forms of sexual aggression used in dating: pressure and manipulation, and antisocial acts. Two research questions were addressed using the responses of 463 males and 455 females. First, single men and women, and individuals with different commitment levels and different sexual motivations were compared in their use of sexual aggression. Significant interactions demonstrated these variables' importance. Second, the sexual aggression measures were regressed on individual and relationship variables. For men, attitudes, number of coital partners and relationship conflict were significant predictors of both forms of aggression, while feeling hostility toward women was predictive only for pressure and manipulation. For women, attitudes, number of coital partners and anger turned inward were predictive of both forms of aggression. Additionally, holding adversarial sexual beliefs and relationship ambivalence were predictive only for pressure and manipulation while relationship conflict was predictive only for antisocial acts. The importance of considering male and female sexual aggression in dating is discussed.
Marital Communication and the Persistence of Misunderstanding
Authors: Sillars Alan L. , Folwell Annette L. , Hill Krisann C. , Maki Bobbin K. , Hurst Anthony P. , Casano Rosemary A.
Published: March 2007

This research examined spouses' understanding of their partners and the relation of understanding to the amount of communication in marriage. The results showed that spouses overestimated agreement with their partners; therefore, understanding scores were low after response similarity (i.e. agreement) was factored out. Reported communication had a complex relation to understanding. Communication had a slight positive association with wives' understanding of husbands' instrumental perceptions and a negative association with wives' understanding of companionate perceptions. Communication was not associated with husbands' understanding scores. The results partly supported previous research in which communication had a stronger relation to understanding of instrumental perceptions than to understanding of abstract, relational (i.e. companionate) perceptions.
Crossover Effects of Communal Coping
Authors: Monnier Jeannine , Hobfoll Stevan E.
Published: March 2007

We examined how women's clinical depression was impacted by the coping of their significant other, by interviewing pregnant, inner-city women (N= 54) and those people whom these women felt were closest to them (N= 54) (e.g. partner, family member, friend). In particular we were interested in communal aspects of coping (i.e. its social component). We predicted that only significant others' active-prosocial coping would be related to women's lower depression. However, we found that both their active-prosocial and active-antisocial coping was related to women's lower depression, suggesting it was most important for significant others to be active, rather than passive. The importance of considering the ecological context of coping is discussed.
Mental Health and Desired Social Support: A Four-Wave Panel Study
Authors: Cramer Duncan , Henderson Scott , Scott Ruth
Published: March 2007

The first aim of this study was to determine whether dissatisfaction with close (attachment) and less close (social integration) relationships was primarily reflected in desiring less or more social support. The second aim was to explore the temporal order of this association using latent variable LISREL analysis. Mental health was assessed by the-30-item General Health Questionnaire and desire for social support by the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction. These variables were measured at four consecutive waves each 4 months apart in a representative sample of 225 adult residents in Canberra. Psychological distress was associated with desiring more rather than less support. The LISREL analyses suggested that while mental health and desired level of attachment were unrelated, poorer previous mental health appeared to subsequently increase desired level of social integration.
An Initial Examination of Maintenance Behaviors in Gay and Lesbian Relationships
Authors: Haas Stephen M. , Stafford Laura
Published: March 2007

The present study is an initial examination of the relationship maintenance behaviors used by gay male and lesbian couples to sustain their relationship. The study replicates the open-ended survey approach used by Dainton & Stafford (1993) to explore the maintenance behaviors of heterosexual couples. In general, gay and lesbian partners were found to utilize many of the same basic maintenance behaviors that have been found in prior research on heterosexual couples. Importantly, several `unique' maintenance behaviors emerged, such as being `out' as a couple to one's social networks and seeking out gay/lesbian supportive environments as a means of strengthening the relationship in the face of social stigma. These behaviors appear to take on particular salience for gay and lesbian couples as a stigmatized group in maintaining their intimate relationships. In general, the findings question common assumptions as to differences between same-sex and heterosexual long-term relationships.
Direct Sales Franchises in the UK
Authors: Brodie Stewart , Stanworth John , Wotruba Thomas R.
Published: March 2007

This article draws on UK data obtained from a useable sample of 673 'independent contractors' active in the field of direct sales franchising. This is a low-cost, low-entry barrier business opportunity, which, at any one time, facilitates 500,000 individuals in the UK, mostly women, experiencing selfemployment without employees. Furthermore, whilst direct sales franchises claim to be the world's largest single provider of part-time, self-employment opportunities, most of the related trading is conducted in the informal economy and is not recorded in official self-employment statistics. The article presents a 2x2, product/service, home-based/external premises, franchise typology by way of background to the principal focus of the article, which is the direct sales segment of the typology. Additionally, this discussion is conducted against the backdrop of the UK's growth in the numbers of selfemployed without employees. In the case of direct selling, we are looking not only at micro-business activities devoid of employees, but also at a sector which operates largely on the basis of part-time economic activities and which manifests attrition rates of around 100 percent annually. Finally, a direct seller typology is presented involving three distinct types:'refugees', 'trade-offs' and 'opportunists'.
Company information online - a buyer's guide to British directory databases
Authors: Ryan F.J.
Published: March 2007

In business information circles 1984 could go down as the "Year of the Online British Company Directory Database." By December 1984 there will be five such databases all of which have been introduced since September 1983. Four of these databases are discussed in detail in this review and information on the fifth has had to be added as a postscript, such is the fast-growing nature of online business information.
Business information at the 8th International Online Information Meeting, London 4 — 6 December 1984
Authors: Smith Gerry
Published: March 2007

Learned Information's annual exhibition and conference is now firmly established as the most important event in the online calendar. This report highlights the exhibits and papers of special interest to business information specialists and pinpoints important trends in this fast-moving industry.
The Soviet Union: commercial and technical information sources
Authors: Konn Tania
Published: March 2007

An outline of the changes in the Soviet foreign trade structure is followed by an introduction to the main Russian and English-language sources of commercial and technical information relating to the Soviet Union. These include guides, national economic plans, newspapers, journals, updating services, trade statistics, reports, patents and standards, online databases and organisations.
Voting in Europe: Television and Viewers' Involvement in the 1984 European Parliamentary Election
Authors: Wober J. Mallory
Published: March 2007

Surveys at the beginning and end of the 1984 European Election campaign provide data on attitudes to Europe and to the EEC; aspects of television viewing; intention to vote and claim to have voted. A core sample within the two surveys provides an opportunity to examine the links, if any, between attitudes, knowledge and viewing experience, as potential determinants of participation in the election by voting. Attitudes towards Europe divide into three factors: economic, political and cultural. The viewing of films and drama relates to higher interest in the election coverage, though viewing of news and informational material does not. Nor does the latter relate with the claim of having voted, but the cultural dimension of integration with Europe shows an independent, if small, relationship. Involvement in the EEC is thus a more complex task than the delivery of political and economic messages to the electorate, but may proceed more effectively if a cultural sensibility is to the fore.
The Supply of Programmes by Public Television in Europe: An Econometric Analysis
Authors: Kopp Pierre
Published: March 2007

This article demonstrates that the cost of public service broadcasting is dependent on the wealth and size of the country, and that, whatever its social and political environment public service broadcasting companies show identical characteristics. The supply of programmes is determined by such variables as the number of TV receivers, the number of channels and the existence of advertising as a source of finance. The introduction of advertising is shown to increase the length of programmes without providing new resources, with the consequence that the quality of programming decreases.
Five Traditions in Search of the Audience
Authors: Jensen Klaus Bruhn , Rosengren Karl Erik
Published: March 2007

This article presents a comparative analysis of the main research traditions examining the nexus between media and audiences: effects research, uses and gratifications research, literary criticism, cultural studies and reception analysis. First presenting short histories of each tradition's roots in the humanities and/or social sciences, the authors then proceed to build a typology of audience studies in terms of theories and modes of enquiry characterizing each tradition. While identifying some controversies arising from different theoretical and political orientations, the analysis also suggests that the current confluence of traditions could be useful for further theoretical, methodological and empirical developments. In particular, cross-cultural, multi-method research would seem to represent a promising avenue for further studies of the mass-media audience.
Remembering the News: A LISREL Model
Authors: Giegler Helmut , Ruhrmann Georg
Published: March 2007

The aim of this study is to describe and explain with the aid of a LISREL model the process of news reconstruction by television viewers. Proceeding from theoretical considerations and empirical results of news research, eighteen hypotheses are formulated concerning the reconstruction of news by recipients who saw the main German television news programme. Using a LISREL-model, an analysis is made of the way the factors involved in news reconstruction are causally interlinked. The results show that background knowledge and understanding are essential selection criteria of news recipients.
Trends in the Italian Mass Media and Media Law
Authors: Barile Paolo , Rao Giuseppe
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on recent trends in the Italian mass media. In broadcasting the first pirate stations challenged the RAI's monopoly in the first half of the 1970s. In the absence of a relevant law, chaos reigned, and gradually Fininvest, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, became the predominant protagonist in private television (in addition to being heavily involved in the media industry as a whole). The Constitutional Court repeatedly called for strict anti-trust measures. Finally, in 1990, parliament approved a new law which in fact merely confirmed the existing situation, i.e. the same company could control up to three national networks (in addition to having substantial interests in others). This law apparently contradicts the Constitutional Court's decisions. The article also analyses recent trends in the press and in the film industry, which, during the last decade, have also been subject to similar ownership concentration phenomena. In the words of a parliamentary commission `the current level of mass media concentration in Italy is now unparalleled in any other country with a market-based economy'.
Series and Seriality in Media Culture
Authors: Oltean Tudor
Published: March 2007

Research on the series, more or less synchronic with the emergence of this kind of textual construction, has shown a shift in opinions and goals in recent decades. The present article grew out of a research programme concerning one of the most important issues facing media culture: the medium of television and its predominantly narrative mode. This article discusses serial narratives in general and aims to develop an interpretative framework which can reveal the unity on which the full variety of series is based and demonstrate that the diversity of series and genres of series is the outcome of different transformation processes taking place within the media culture. The narratological perspective on the unity of the serial forms is called for by the need to determine seriality as a main condition imposed by media on all kinds of narrative and to articulate a comparative system which would be generally applicable in the analysis of serial narratives. The object of this article, which examines elementary aspects of seriality, is limited to fictional texts (feuilleton, comic, soap, detective, drama). Special attention is given to the constraints determining the ensemble of constitutive elements and which regulate the regimes of fabricating and receiving these kinds of serial narratives. The reconsideration of seriality as a concept and regime of constructing fictional worlds is structured around significant features, such as serial transformation of narratives, the dialectics of series and serial, the relationship between continuity and segmentation generating and organizing serial narratives, and the typologies of serial constructions.
Towards Utopia — Or Another Anschluss? East Germany's Transition to a New Media System
Authors: Kilborn Richard
Published: March 2007

This article reflects on the processes of media transition in East Germany after the collapse of communist control and considers what forces have been chiefly instrumental in bringing about the changes which have occurred. Since the decisive turning point ( Wende) in November 1989, the whole media system in the East has been transformed, but this article focuses particularly on the press and on television. A brief survey is provided of the media set-up in the old German Democratic Republic (GDR) and some indication is provided of the ways in which the East German situation differed from that of other communist states. The period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the signing of the Unification Treaty is one that can be seen to be of special importance for media developments in the East. It was during this time that it seemed that the `indigenous' media might be capable of certain self-generated reforms. Since the formal union of the two Germanies, however, it has become increasingly clear that the restructuring of broadcasting in particular has been carried out almost exclusively on West German terms. This, together with the alarming degree of concentration in the East German newspaper market, is a source of continuing concern for many commentators in both East and West.
The Media and the Construction of an `Imagined Community'
Authors: Tsaliki Liza
Published: March 2007

This article is part of a wider research into the role of Greek television in the articulation of national identity. Its aim is to examine and illuminate ways in which broadcast television, and in particular Greek broadcast television, constructs an `imagined community' (Anderson, 1983). Firstly, it offers a discussion of the BBC's portrayal of the British Royal Family in a consciously orchestrated attempt to build up national unity. Secondly, this is compared and contrasted to the appropriateness and ability of the royal institution to become a forger of national identity in Greece. Finally, the individual case studies are discussed as alternative markers of nation-building: the big military (and student) annual parade in Athens on 25 March (together with another in Thessalonica on 28 October and bearing equally significant connotations) along with the mass that precedes it, broadcast on state television, and Melina Mercouri's funeral, broadcast on state television and on major private channels.
A Toy for the Boys Only?
Authors: Hellman Heikki
Published: March 2007

Discussing the gendering of technology, the article concentrates on one specific domestic technology, which is often considered as `male' dominated, the video cassette recorder (VCR). Comparing and elaborating research results from different countries, the article suggests that (1) the picture of the VCR as a masculine technology, purported in recent British studies in particular, is not necessarily valid for countries with less strict gender patterns and (2) gender structures, which existed in the early stages of the VCR diffusion, have been gradually eroded. It supports earlier research in which new information technologies, at least in their initial stage of development, were found to follow the gender structure quite sharply: they are `toys for the boys'. However, technology is considered here as a social process that involves negotiations. Specific technologies find their final shape only in their actual use, and this explains why it is possible for the VCR to be turned towards the service of women's individual and interactional needs.