bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physicians and Drgs
Authors: Patel Kant
Published: March 2007

Rising health care costs in general and hospital costs in particular have placed significant financial strain on federal programs such as Medicare. It was with this in mind that the Reagan administration in 1983 initiated Medicare's new prospective payment system based on diagnostic-related groups (DRGs) to reduce the growth rate of Medicare expenditures. The introduction of DRGs has generated significant controversy in the health care community. The DRG system may necessitate consideration of four new management alternatives by hospital administrators: increased monitoring and regulation of physicians, profit-loss sharing arrangements between physicians and hospital management, development of collective protocols among physicians, and bedside budget balancing. This study examines the opinions of a random sample of 838 physicians from the West North-Central region regarding these management alternatives. The findings suggest that physicians have strong negative opinions about these management alternatives and believe that they will have a negative impact on the health care system. The development of collective protocols emerges as the most likely acceptable alternative among physicians, but even collective protocols as an alternative promise limited success.
Retrospective Versus Actual Pre-Course Self-Assessments
Authors: Levinson Wendy , Gordon Geoffrey , Skeff Kelley
Published: March 2007

Self-assessments are frequently used to evaluate the effectiveness of medical education programs. The change in learners' self-ratings preto post-course is attributed to the educational intervention. However, participants may also change their understanding of the dimension being measured and hence, adjust their criteria for self-rating (response shift). This study was designed to compare a conventional prelpost course evaluation design with a retrospective pre/post method used to minimize the effect of the response shift. Participants attending a course in 1987 or 1988 designed to improve interviewing and teaching skills completed a faculty self-rating form (a) one month before the course; (b) after the course, assessing their pre-course skill level (retrospective pre-course); and (c) after the course, assessing their present skill level (post-course). Retrospective pre-course ratings were significantly lower than actual precourse ratings in two out of four factors empirically derived from the assessment instrument in 1987 and three of four in 1988. Greater differences preto post-course were found using the retrospective as opposed to the actual pre-course self-ratings. Our findings indicate that the collection of retrospective pre-course and post-course self-ratings at a single point in time demonstrates greater differences than the conventional pre/post evaluation method. Use of the retrospective precourse method is efficient and may be a more accurate evaluation method than the conventional prelpost evaluation.
Reproducibility of Oral Exam Grades and Correlation with Other Measures of Performance on Three Required Third-Year Clerkships
Authors: Schwiebert L. Peter , Davis Alan B. , Jacocks M. Alex
Published: March 2007

The oral examination is one of the traditional measures of student performance during clinical clerkships. Other studies have compared oral exams, written exams, and clinicalperformance, finding an unequal correlation among them and poor reproducibility of scores among examiners. This study of a third-year class on three required clerkships found a stronger correlation between oral exam performance and cumulative grade point average (GPA) than had previously been reported between oral exams and written or clinical grades and also found high reproducibility across clerkships, both overall and within class quartiles. These findings argue for wider use of the oral exam as an evaluation instrument on clinical clerkships.
Experiencing Satisfaction and Stress as an Aids Care Provider
Authors: Ferrari Joseph R. , Mccown William , Pantano Josephine
Published: March 2007

Health care workers (n = 342) completed items examining their emotional experiences working with HIV-positive patients. Factor analysis produced two subscales: Personal Satisfaction and Emotional Stress. A subset of these care workers (n = 251) claimed increased stress and depression after 6 months. In a second study, 91 volunteer AIDS caregivers ("buddies") completed the inventory and the Attitude Toward AIDS Scale. Satisfaction subscores were related tofrequent contact and Stress subscores were related to length of illness of persons with AIDS. Satisfaction subscores were related negatively to prejudice towards PWA, social discrimination against PWA, and positively to pro-attitudes toward PWA. Stress subscores were related to social discrimination andpunishmentfor PWA.
Myers-Briggs Type Inventory Preferences of Pharmacy Students and Practitioners
Authors: Lowenthal Werner
Published: March 2007

The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) preferences were obtained for students in 10 classes at four different schools of pharmacy in the United States (N = 832), and for a sample of practicing pharmacists (N = 170). It was found that, except for three isolated instances, the MBTIpersonalitypreferences of all students studied were statistically similar. The MBTI preferences of students were statistically similar to those of practicing pharmacists on the Extravert/Introvert and Sensing/ Intuitive preferences. They differed on the Thinking/Feeling preferences in that more students had the feeling (people oriented) preference, and on the Judging/Perceiving preferences in that more students had a perceiving (adaptable, open) preference. Analyzing pharmacy students and students in other health care professions, it was seen that students appeared to self-select into the various professions. Data also shows that student selection of specific curricular options offered inprofessional programs can be correlated to their MBTI preferences. The implications of personality preferences on curriculum design, teaching, and recruiting and admission processes are discussed
Primary Care and Nonprimary Care Physicians' Concerns in Practice and Perceptions of Medical School Curriculum
Authors: Xu Gang , Hojat Mohammadreza , Brigham Timothy P. , Robeson Mary R. , Veloski J. Jon
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study is to address the issue of physicians' concerns in practice and their perception of a medical school's curriculum with an emphasis on comparisons between primary and nonprimary care physicians. The sample consisted of 663 physicians who graduated from Jefferson Medical College (JMC) between 1982 and 1986, and also responded to a mailed questionnaire. Comparisons were made between physicians in primary care (n = 234) and in nonprimary care (n = 429) specialties on their responses regarding concerns in medical practice and evaluation of the medical school curriculum. Primary care physicians were more concerned about the time for their professional developmentwhereas nonprimary care physicians were more concerned about an oversupply of physicians in their specialties, prospective hospital payment, and malpractice litigation. Regardless of the specialties, the physicians overall seemed very concerned about their personal time. Interpersonal skills were regarded by all respondents as an important aspect of the medical school 's curriculum The importance of psychological, social, and cultural factors in the curriculum was strongly supported by these physicians'responses, particularly among primary care and women physicians.
The Growth of Meta-Analytic Literature from 1980 to 1993
Authors: Bausell R. Barker , Li Yu-Fang , Gau Meei-Ling , Soeken Karen L.
Published: March 2007

A search of the literature was undertaken to estimate the nwnber of meta-analytic studies that have been published in the social and health sciences to date. Altogether, 1,874 published quantitative reviews were located by the end of 1994: 892 in the health sciences, 982 in the social sciences. Trends from 1980 to 1993 indicate that, while the social sciences embraced the technique earlier, health researchers are now publishing abnost twice as many metaanalyses as their social science colleagues.
Meta-Analytic Methods for Health Services Research
Authors: Wieland Darryl , Stuck Andreas E. , Siu Albert L. , adams John , Rubenstein Laurence Z.
Published: March 2007

The authors recently published a meta-analysis of controlled trials of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). The results supported the view that efficacy of CGA is strongly related to the patients, objectives, and basic design of CGA programs, and that particular program models and design features are associated with important health outcome improvements (e.g., survival, living at home, and functional improvement atfollow-up). Present objectives include the outline of methods and how they were developed given the condition of the trial database and scientific context. Aspects of the approach, such as (a) survey of primary trialists to recover unpublished information and standardize data, (b) development of a program typology to guide the principal analysis, and (c) incorporation of program design features as covariates where statistical heterogeneity was detected4 proved extremely useful, and have implications for other systematic reviews ofsimilarly complexprnary trials ofnew health care technologies, healthservices, and organizational interventions.
The Prevention Minimum Evaluation Data Set (PMEDS)
Authors: Card Josefina J. , Peterson James L. , Niego Starr , Brindis Claire
Published: March 2007

This article presents the Prevention Minimum Evaluation Data Set (PMEDS), a ready-to-use questionnaire or tool for evaluating teen pregnancy prevention and teen STD/HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Recognizing the diversity of approaches taken by these programs, PMEDS has two parts. Part I contains a primary questionnaire applicable to all programs. Part 2 consists of 15 additional supplementary modules for optional use by programs with a more specific target population or intervention approach that matches the module's content. It is hoped that PMEDS will facilitate the conducting of high-quality evaluations, first by highlighting important aspects of a program model that should be included in an evaluation, such as the demographic profile of the target population, the specific aspects of the intervention or treatment received by each participant, and the short-term outcomes and long-term goals that the program is trying to affect; second, by presenting measuresfor these evaluation constructs that have been extensively pretested and used in large-scale national studies and .for which national comparison norms and data exist.
Documenting the Immigrant Nation: tensions and contradictions in the representation of immigrant communities in a New Zealand television documentary series
Authors: Roscoe Jane
Published: March 2007

Within contemporary New Zealand the political climate is such that market forces tend to be privileged over any social or cultural mandates. This has resulted in a deregulated broadcasting context in which three of the five free-to-air channels are operated as State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), with the remaining two operating as independent commercial operations. However, within this deregulated broadcasting context, there is an attempt to maintain something of a public service ethos. This article examines a New Zealand television documentary series, An Immigrant Nation, and the tensions and contradictions arising in a project that attempts to tell `marginal' stories within the `mainstream' media.
Local specificity and regional unity under siege: territorial identity and the television news of Aquitaine
Authors: Scriven Michael , Roberts Emily
Published: March 2007

This article addresses the depiction of regional and local identity in terms of France and Europe, in the March 1999 weekday evening news transmissions of FR3 Aquitaine and M6 Bordeaux in Aquitaine, France. It begins with a discussion of current debates surrounding different forms of territorial identity. This is followed by an overview of televisual policy at a national and regional level. The ensuing analysis of the March 1999 programmes demonstrates that, despite the different aims, agendas, target audience and ownership of the two Aquitaine-based channels, the dominant form of regionalism is based upon a sense of opposition to unsympathetic and overly centralized national and European policy. This `oppositional regionalism', stronger in the state-owned FR3 Aquitaine regional news than in the privately owned M6 Bordeaux local bulletins, supersedes even `neo-regionalism', which is based upon a sense of a shared economic future.
Cultural production and the corporation: musical genres and the strategic management of creativity in the US recording industry
Authors: Negus Keith
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on how the major US recording companies attempt to strategically manage their different genres of music. It then considers the consequences of this for creative and commercial practices through illustrative case studies of the corporate management of rap and salsa. In broad terms, the article is intended as a contribution to debates about the `culture industry' and the interrelations between `culture' and `economics'. Two themes are used as a way of highlighting this relationship and the role of the music companies in cultural production: that an industry produces culture and that culture produces an industry. These themes are developed through an interrogation of detailed empirical material brought together from research conducted in the USA during 1996.
Gendered Opportunities for Work
Authors: Cotter David A. , Hermsen Joan M. , Vanneman Reeve
Published: March 2007

Gender differences in employment rates in later life, although still substantial, have narrowed dramatically in the past four decades. The authors hypothesize that some of the gender variation in employment rates results from gendered differences in the demand for labor independent of individuals’ characteristics. The authors use multilevel models to investigate variation across local-area labor markets in gender differences in employment among 56- to 66-year-olds. The demand for female labor is measured as the degree to which the occupational structure of a local labor market is skewed toward typically female occupations. Areas with relatively more female occupations have lower gender differentials in full-time employment than areas where occupations are overwhelmingly male. This would suggest that some of the convergence in employment rates among the elderly in the past half century might be traced to the larger historical shift from traditionally male industrial employment to more typically female service and office employment.
Antecedents of Disability for Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Health Conditions
Authors: Peek M. Kristen , Coward Raymond T.
Published: March 2007

Data from community-dwelling older adults (65+) with two or more chronic health conditions who participated in a 30-month longitudinal panel survey ( N = 898) are used to examine the factors that are associated with the presence and development of functional disabilities. Both logistic regression and discrete time hazard models are used to address the risk factors associated with the presence and development of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living disabilities. Results indicate that education, income, and age are consistent predictors of disability, and that arthritis and obesity have consistently stronger effects on disability than do other chronic conditions. A need for stronger conceptual models focusing on disability is discussed.
Social Role Identities among Older Adults in a Continuing Care Retirement Community
Authors: Moen Phyllis , Erickson Mary Ann , Dempster-McClain Donna
Published: March 2007

Basing their hypotheses on identity and life-course theories, the authors examine the social role identities of a group of older adults ( N = 92) both before and after their move into a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC) to investigate whether this transition is linked to changes in social role identities. The congruence between actually enacting a role and choosing it as a role identity varies with the role. Current role behaviors and satisfaction predict role identity for two institutionalized, public roles (volunteer and church/synagogue member) but are less related to two more private roles (parent and friend). Cluster analysis reveals a typology of three discrete groups, based on social role identities: an involved group with a high number of role identities, a group focused on family roles identities, and a group focused on the friend role identity. The social role identities of the three groups changed in different ways after moving to the CCRC.
Linkages between Family and Societal-Level Intergenerational Attitudes
Authors: Ward Russell A.
Published: March 2007

Issues concerning links between intergenerational expectations at family and societal levels are investigated with survey data from 1,200 respondents aged 40 and over. Both family- and societal-level expectations reflect “generational altruism.” Personal family characteristics and circumstances have little relations to general expectations about parents and children, but family solidarity is related to family expectations, primarily with regard to children. Attitudes about societal-level intercohort relations have little association with personal family circumstances or solidarity. However, expectations about children are related to societal expectations, suggesting that solidarity (and altruism) at the micro level of family ties has some relations to solidarity (and altruism) at the macro level of intercohort relations.
Stereotyping of the Elderly
Authors: Weinberger Arthur
Published: March 2007

In a study of perceptions concerning the elderly, children were presented with photographs depicting persons in various stages of the life cycle: preschooler, elementary schooler, young adult, middle-aged adult, and elderly adult. Children rank-ordered the photographs providing measures of accuracy of age perception, stereotyping of the elderly, and attitudes toward social interaction with the elderly. It was found that youngsters can perceive age differences and apply the concept of age in ways that approximate adults' perceptions. They possess negative stereotypes of the elderly and express both favorable and unfavorable reactions about interacting with them. With one exception, the aged were the least preferred among the adult age groups.
Correlates of Sex among the Aged
Authors: Borgatta Edgar F. , Foss Robert G.
Published: March 2007

The NORC General Social Survey provides a sufficient sample base to examine the correlates of sex among the aged. The data for the older groups are put in perspective by comparison with data for younger groups, and the analysis is reported in abbreviated form. A model for controlling for important background and experience variables is applied in a standard way.
Situational Determinants of Attitudes toward the Elderly
Authors: Stier Diane L. , Kline Donald W.
Published: March 2007

The present investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of systematic variation of described situational factors on a multidimensional evaluation of the elderly by young adults. Young male and female subjects received a positive, neutral, or negative description in conjunction with the photo of a young or old male. As hypothesized, the ratings of both young and old "persons" were a function of associated situational description. It was also found that the views of the young varied considerably across the different attitude dimensions considered. Further, ratings on these dimensions were differentially-influenced by the different descriptive situations provided.
It may not be the Answer, it may be the Question
Authors: Carp Frances M. , Carp Abraham
Published: March 2007

Older people tend to give more favorable responses to questions about life circumstances than seems warranted by objective conditions, and it is important to find out why. This study looks at the effects of different question-and-answer formats, with particular interest in the involvement of psychological defense. The responses of two samples of Californians 60 and older indicate that positive response bias is related to format, being least in description of reality and most when reference is to the respondent's ability to cope with that reality. The data indicate that a much-used question-and-response format elicits responses more like those of the latter than of the former, suggesting that many surveys elicit self-defensive rather than reality-descriptive responses.
Willingness to Interact with an Old Person
Authors: Levin Jack , Levin William C.
Published: March 2007

A 3 x 2 factorial design tested the effects of the age and socioeconomic status of a stimulus-person on the willingness of college students to associate with him at a "formal lecture" and at an "informal discussion and coffee hour." For the more intimate coffee hour situation, willingness to associate with a high socioeconomic status person did not differ by age, whereas willingness to associate with a low socioeconomic status person was significantly greater when he was either young or middle-aged than when he was old. These results indicate that old age is a stigma that wealth, in certain circumstances, can overcome.
Confidants
Authors: Strain Laurel A. , Chappell Neena L.
Published: March 2007

This article empirically explores the interrelations of three variables-sex, marital status, and the confidant relationship-and their joint effects on quality of life. It draws on a stratified random sample of 400 persons aged 65 and over residing in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The results suggest that a confidant relationship may be more important to the quality of life than the quantity of interactions with family or friends.
Socio-Political Bases of Senior Citizen Mobilization
Authors: Smith John Patrick , Martinson Oscar B.
Published: March 2007

The analyses deal with four areas of issue salience that were designated by the elderly. Health issues and in-home services spell this out. Beliefs regarding the areas of salience appeared to be constrained rather than fragmented. And social characteristics of the respondents did not engender cleavages in the four areas of issue salience. Implications of this research are briefly noted.
Attitudes and Behavior of Staffin Facilities for the Aged
Authors: Kahana Eva F. , Kiyak H. Asuman
Published: March 2007

In an attempt to examine the relationship between staff attitudes and behavior toward elderly, 72 staff members from nursing homes who had completed attitude questionnaires were observed with a behavioral observation checklist. These findings shed some light on the relation of attitudes to behavior and affect expression and support studies in other areas which have found no relationship between intended and actual behavior. Reasons for this lack of association and implications for staff training in facilities for the elderly are discussed.
Health Consequences of Major Role Losses in Later Life
Authors: Wan Thomas T. H.
Published: March 2007

Based on a subsample of older adults from the Longitudinal Retirement History Study, a generic model for identifying the structural relation between poor physical health and five exogenous variables was validated by the LISREL approach. Findings show that elderly persons who have a favorable level of physical health in later life are those who experienced better health at the early stage of the aging process, irrespective of major role losses, economic status, and age.
Plausible Theories and the Development of Scientific Theory
Authors: Montgomery Rhonda J.V. , Borgatta Edgar F.
Published: March 2007

The field of aging research, for various reasons, has probably had more "plausible theory" that has gotten attention than occurs in more traditional fields of research. Examples of such theories are provided along with some of the disconfirming evidence.
A Note on Elderly Living Arrangements in Japan and the United States
Authors: Kamo Yoshinori
Published: March 2007

Living arrangements of the elderly in Japan are examined in comparison to the United States. Historical and cultural factors related to the changing pattern of the elderly's living arrangements are discussed, with an emphasis on the effect of industrialization. Decline in the number of families conforming to the stem family arrangement in Japan implies that policies about the care of the elderly based upon the notion of filial responsibility will have decreasing basis in that country over the long view and thus suggests that in the United States, where there is little history of the stem family, such policies have little basis for success.
A Profile of Alaska n Seniors
Authors: Montgomery Rhonda J.V. , Borgatta Edgar F. , Kamo Yoshinori , Seccombe Karen
Published: March 2007

Two prior articles in this series described some basic information on the demographic and social characteristics of elderly Alaskans and provided some more detailed analyses of the concomitants of housing and housing satisfaction. This article considers how income is related to other social status variables and some indicators of health. It then examines how presence or absence of children is related to social status variables and indicators of health. Finally, indicators of health are examined in detail in terms of social status variables.
Evaluation Research and Social Gerontology
Authors: Sonnad Subhash , Borgatta Edgar F.
Published: March 2007

The development of the sociology of aging and, more particularly, social gerontology has been strongly influenced by the demographic imperative of a growing older population, which, in turn, has led to a proliferation of programs and policies focusing on the elderly and their well-being. As a consequence, one would expect that evaluation research would play a prominent role in the creation of knowledge in these fields. This article presents an assessment of the amount and type of evaluation research that has been published over the past 9 years in seven mainline research journals concerned with social gerontology. The assessment indicates that, contrary to what would be expected, evaluation research has been incorporated into the general literature of social gerontology to a limited degree. As in many other social science fields, evaluation research has been and continues to be treated separately from basic research in social gerontology and the sociology of aging -a circumstance that may not optimize accumulation of knowledge.
Testing a Symmetrical Model of Caregiving Outcomes During Recovery from Heart Attacks
Authors: Kahana Eva , Young Rosalie F. , Kerchir Kyle , Kaczynski Richard
Published: March 2007

This study focused on predictors of psychological distress among caregivers to elderly patients with heart disease using a symmetrical model of caregiving stress. Based on a 1-year longitudinal study of 104 caregiver-care receiver dyads, findings indicate that caregivers continue to face challenges a year after the initial heart attack. Psychological distress of the recovering heart patient plays an important role in predicting caregiver psychological distress. In contrast, patient cardiac symptoms and functional limitations showed no effects. Among caregiver characteristics, physical health, prior psychological distress, and caregiver burden were significant predictors of caregiver psychological distress. Finally, caregiving hours displayed an unexpected negative direct effect on caregiver distress. However, the indirect effect of caregiving hours on distress (via burden) was in the expected positive direction. These data support the usefulness of symmetrical models that consider characteristics of both members of the caregiving dyad in predicting caregiving outcomes.
A Multidimensional Examination of the Psychological and Social Well-Being of Caregivers of a Demented Relative
Authors: Levesque Louise , Cossetle Sylvie , Laurin Liane
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on a detailed examination of stressors, their appraised disturbance and a broad range of resources as well as on an assessment of their relationships with five dimensions of psycho-social well-being. Caregivers (n = 265) who cohabit with a demented relative composed the sample. The results indicate the importance of a multidimensional examination of both factors and well-being. Indeed, the saliency of the occurrence of the stressor and the degree of its disturbance seem to depend on the meaning of the stressor and/or its predictability/unpredictability in relation to a specific dimension of well-being. Only one stressor, the occurrence of disruptive behaviors, is linked to three dimensions of well-being (psychological distress, negative and positive feelings about the caregiver role). Stressors/appraisal factors are most often associated with negative indicators of psychological well-being (psychological distress and negative feelings about the caregiver role) than with positive indicators (positive affect and positive feelings about the caregiver role). Moreover, positive resources are linked to positive indicators of psychological well-being while negative resources emerged as relevant for negative indicators.
Mobility Patterns of Older Homeowners
Authors: Burkhauser Richard V. , Butrica Barbara A. , Wasylenko Michael J.
Published: March 2007

Using multiyear data from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics geo-code match file, the authors confirm that older homeowners were substantially less likely to move during the 1970s than younger homeowners. But unlike younger homeowners, older homeowners were also less likely to move from a distressed neighborhood than from a secure one. Of the population of older homeowners alive in 1980 who had lived in a permanently distressed neighborhood in 1970, only about 1 in 10 had moved to a secure neighborhood in the intervening 10 years. Younger homeowners in similar neighborhoods were three times more likely to have done so.
Interventions in Physician-Elderly Patient Interactions
Authors: McCormick Wayne C. , Inui Thomas S. , Roter Debra L.
Published: March 2007

Currently, most research in the area of physician-elderly patient interactions relates to either outcome, context, or interaction styles. There are limited data in the area of intervention studies. The authors recognize five specific areas of interventional research to consider: communication during encounters, characteristics of older patients, physical impairments, physician attributes, and the team approach to health care. Also highlighted are recognition and evaluation of the special needs of elderly patients through geriatric assessment. The authors recognize the need for more intervention studies that attempt to change patient or physician behaviors and the applicability of the classic randomized controlled model of research. Overall, the authors contend that the formation of strong, meaningful relationships between elderly patients and their physicians is best achieved through effective medical communication and care, and thus should be the function of appropriate interventions.
Political Parties and ngos in Global Environmental Politics
Authors: van der Heijden Hein-Anton
Published: March 2007

With their development into cartel parties, political parties have lost many of their original functions (demand articulation, political socialization, etc.). Parties have become part of the state and increasingly are aimed at efficient and effective management, rather than at transforming society. This applies not only to the national level, but in particular also to the transnational (for example, the eu) and the global level. With respect to transnational and global environmental politics, transnational environmental ngos (engos) have taken over some of the functions originally belonging to political parties. Whereas interest groups were assumed to articulate sectoral demands and political parties to aggregate and weigh these demands, case studies of environmental impacts on eu infrastructure politics and on the Convention on Biological Diversity, suggest that the opposite seems to apply. Representatives of political parties are inclined to articulate national interests while engos weigh these national demands against the background of increasing global environmental degradation.
Conclusion: Generating Equilibrium, Generating Power Cycles
Authors: Inoguchi Takashi
Published: March 2007

Power cycle theory, both as description and as explanation, is a robust framework of analysis that facilitates the examination of the rise and decline of relative state power according to the “single dynamic” linking state and system. Discussing the key driving forces of economic development from remarkably differentiated perspectives, three writers of economics, Karl Marx, Amartya Sen, and David Landes, reveal one important aspect of the power cycle—what generates it. The article reflects on Japanese economic renewal and the implications of change on the power cycle for dynamic equilibrium.
Pension Politics in the Nordic Countries: A Case Study
Authors: Overbye Einar
Published: March 2007

The Nordic countries are often portrayed as belonging to a separate welfare regime, characterized by “institutional” welfare arrangements crowding out private welfare. However, a closer look reveals important differences in the public/private welfare mix. By focusing on pension politics in particular, the article argues that these policy differences stem from institutional differences which have shaped the pension-political game differently in the various Nordic countries. It then uses an account of political developments there as a stepping stone in order to discuss a general problem in political science: how to explain political change without losing sight of the connection between the micro and macro levels of analysis.
The Indian Union and Emergency Powers
Authors: Tummala Krishna K.
Published: March 2007

Although the constitution of India envisages a federal form of government, its evolution in practice over the years, along with several of its provisions, threatens its definition and disrupts its functioning. This article in particular deals with the position of the Governor and with Emergency Powers. It also analyzes two court decisions on the dismissal of the duly elected state governments of Karnataka in 1989 and Madhya Pradesh in 1992. In both cases, the proclamation of Emergency by the President of India was successfully challenged in court, and the court asserted its power of judicial review. The article concludes with the observation that while the founding fathers of the Indian constitution argued for a strong federal government, they would probably be surprised and baffled by the arbitrary and capricious way some of the powers have been used by the federal government over the states, particularly those belonging to the opposition.
Globalization, Telecommunication, and Virtual Ethnic Communities
Authors: Elkins David J.
Published: March 2007

Ethnic communities have been constructed over time, and they may evolve in the future. This article describes and assesses technological developments which may serve as the framework for new ethnic communities, for strengthening existing ethnic communities, or for a new type which the author calls a “virtual ethnic community.” The key to these uses of telecommunications technology lies in recognizing that mass media are being replaced by targeted or “addressable” media with specialized and more homogeneous audiences. In particular, these technologies allow ethnic communities to find ways to support their diaspora and retain their culture and language. These means of persistence and governance include “deathstar” satellites with several hundred broadcast channels, e-mail, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and other devices still being created. National borders and physical distance need no longer pose barriers to regular and “dense” interactions, especially as costs come down with the spread of technology. With global coverage, variations in media exposure will occur as much within territorial states as between them, with each individual or family choosing those messages they wish to receive.
Presidentialism versus Parliamentarism: Implications for Representativeness and Legitimacy
Authors: Riggs Fred W.
Published: March 2007

Despite optimistic expectations that the new states of the world will, increasingly, become democratic and peace-loving in the “new world system” created after the collapse of all the modern empires, we see growing signs of pervasive violence. Efforts to support the consolidation of existing democracies need to be augmented by struggles to prevent their collapse. Two crucial problems recur in these struggles: how to legitimize states that are often viewed by unwilling subjects as oppressive and lacking the authority or ability to govern effectively, and how to share power in countries where it is concentrated, unrepresentatively, in the hands of ambitious minorities. Democracies that cannot respond to the urgent needs of their citizens should expect them to resort to resistance, terrorism, and revolutionary violence.

Two main forms of democratic governance exist on the basis of western examples: the presidentialist design illustrated by the United States, and parliamentarist forms developed in Western Europe. The argument advanced here is that the presidentialist formula is inherently less able than parliamentarism to support the degree of representativeness and legitimacy required as a minimal basis for the survival of democratic governance. Some of the exceptional reasons why, despite the high rate of collapse of other presidentialist regimes, the US constitutional system has survived so long are explained. Because it is, indeed, very difficult to transform any presidentialist regime into a parliamentary one, the US example is used to support lessons concerning the costs that must be paid for presidentialist regimes to survive.
Les parlementarismes divergents des républiques tchèque et slovaque
Authors: Reschová Jana
Published: March 2007

Deux pays ayant au départ des institutions communes—la République tchèque et la Slovaquie—ont rapidement divergé dans leurs façons de se gouverner. L'article décrit la nature de ces divergences et en propose des explications. Les différences retenues portent principalement sur les rapports entre président, parlement, et cabinet.
The Modernity of Ethnic Identity and Conflict
Authors: Riggs Fred W.
Published: March 2007

Widespread apprehension and fear of catastrophe pervade the world at the close of the twentieth century. The Cold War finale, paradoxically, has not brought an end to history or opened an era of universal peace and democratic capitalism. Instead, we see violent conflicts between weakened states and rebellious ethnonational communities. An explanation cannot be found in primordialist theories or current expediency—instead, we must look to historical forces rooted in modernity and the rise and fall of industrial empires. From their ashes a host of newer states and mobilizing ethnic nations have arisen, all hoping to experience the fruits of modernization: notably industrialization, democracy and nationalism.
Maternal Self-Efficacy and Children's Influence on Stress and Parenting Among Single Black Mothers in Poverty
Authors: JACKSON AURORA P.
Published: March 2007

This study explores the relations among perceived self-efficacy, social support, children's behaviors, and maternal parenting in a sample of 188 single Black mothers of a preschoolage child, employed and nonemployed, who also were current and former welfare recipients in New York City. Using multiple regression techniques, a positive relationship was found between child behavior problems and parenting stress; being nonemployed, lower self-efficacy, and less social support from friends were marginally significant predictors. Fewer child behavior problems and higher maternal educational attainment were significant predictors of more supportive, involved parenting. A marginally significant positive interaction between self-efficacy and child behavior problems indicated that self-efficacy buffered the effect of behavior problems on maternal parenting behavior.
Social and Political Assortative Mating in Urban China
Authors: XU XIAOHE , JI JIANJUN , TUNG YUK-YING
Published: March 2007

Using survey data from urban China, the rigidity of the status hierarchy and the importance of status-group boundaries in the process of mate selection are explored. Specifically, the patterns of assortative mating by sociopolitical characteristics are examined. Statistical analyses show three important findings. First, the log-linear models uniformly indicate that, despite a strong tendency toward status homogamy, urban Chinese couples are also mismatched symmetrically. Second, when mismatches occur, marriage prospects tend to marry partners from adjacent status groups. Third, although the systems of union formation and status hierarchies have undergone enormous transformations since 1949, the “crossing models” do not reveal parallel and significant changes in assortative mating. It is concluded that neither the socialist transformation in the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s nor the recent economic reforms have changed the patterns of assortative mating in urban China. Status homogamy remains a dominant social norm and practice.
The Current and Projected Distribution of the Elderly and Eldercare in the People's Republic of China
Authors: POSTON DUDLEY L. , DUAN CHENGRONG CHARLES
Published: March 2007

China is the most populous country in the world, with a population in 1999 of nearly 1.27 billion. Of even greater interest, China's elderly population (persons age 60 and older) is about 22% (or more than 128 million) of all the elderly living in the world. By 2050, China is projected to have only 14% of the world's people but will have 21% of the world's elderly. This will occur because of the rapidity with which China's age structure will shift toward the older years. In this article, the authors consider the major factor responsible for China's very large current and projected numbers of elderly, namely, the dramatic fertility transition experienced since the 1970s. The authors also discuss the very heavy dependency burden on China's producing population and show that the burden will get even heavier in the decades ahead.
Primary and Proximate
Authors: CAMPBELL LORI D. , MARTIN-MATTHEWS ANNE
Published: March 2007

This article examines the influence of specific characteristics of the caregiving relationship, including coresidence and being the primary provider of care, on sons' filial care involvement. This work focuses on the gendered nature of care by classifying tasks as traditional or nontraditional for men. Data for this research come from the Work and Family Survey (1991-1993) conducted by the Work and Eldercare Research Group of CARNET: The Canadian Aging Research Network, and is based on a sample of 440 men who provide some type of assistance to only one older parent or parent-in-law. The framework that guides this work is structured on concepts related to family obligations or motivations to provide care. This research finds that coresiding predicts greater involvement in nontraditional care; being the primary provider of care predicts greater involvement in traditional care. Results are discussed in relation to the conceptual framework that guides this research.
Why the “Good Provider” Role Still Matters
Authors: CHRISTIANSEN SHAWN L. , PALKOVITZ ROB
Published: March 2007

Providing as a form of paternal involvement is not readily acknowledged in contemporary fatherhood literature. Providing is often overlooked because it is taken for granted, is invisible to the family, holds negative connotations, and is inadequately conceptualized. This article expands paternal involvement to include economic provision. Providing as a form of paternal involvement is considered as it affects father, child, and family well-being. In conclusion, practice and policy implications related to an expanded view of economic provision and paternal involvement are shared.
Managing To Make It
Authors: FURSTENBERG FRANK F.
Published: March 2007

This article highlights some key ideas and findings presented in Managing to Make It, a study of how communities and neighborhoods affect the process of human development. Research using both exploratory fieldwork and quantitative surveys was conducted in inner-city Philadelphia over a decade. The study examined the residential contexts of children ages 11 to 15 and their resulting developmental outcomes. Residential choice, local institutions, and child-rearing decisions were all examined. Considerable variation in the functioning of families was found within neighborhoods, whereas the degree of variation across neighborhoods was less. There was little evidence that neighborhoods with greater social cohesion, better institutional resources, or even higher levels of problem behavior were significantly related to well-being outcomes for the family or individual. A strong association between family management and neighborhood properties was revealed. The future of neighborhoods lies in the ability of parents to mobilize their resources and skills to form new, and revitalize old, child-benefiting institutions.
Computers, the Internet, and Families
Authors: HUGHES ROBERT , HANS JASON D.
Published: March 2007

During the past 30 years, new communication technology devices have become common in American homes—among them are personal computers and the Internet. Social critics and other polemicists have argued whether these devices result in either positive or negative change in the lives of families. The authors examine the literature about family use of computers and the Internet and also look at how these technologies affect families' social networks, work, and interventions with families. Finally, the authors suggest directions for future research on communication technology within the context of families.
Legal Change and Child Custody Awards
Authors: PEARSON JESSICA , MUNSON PAUL , THOENNES NANCY
Published: March 2007

This article compares custody award patterns in a sample of contested child custody cases filed in one jurisdiction of Colorado in 1966 and 1976, a time period which is prior to and follows the adoption of a sex neutral statute that stresses the best interest of the child in the judicial award of child custody. We find that legal change has had limited impact in the behavior of judges, evaluators, and couples themselves with mothers routinely acquiring custodial rights of the children following divorce unless shown to be unfit to parent. We also find an increase in the proportion of shared, joint, and split custody arrangements in 1976 and evidence that the new legal standards may be inspiring men to play a more aggressive role in contested child custody cases. This suggests that while new sex neutral standards may not translate into more father-only awards, they will mean greater paternal participation in custody in the years to come.
Premarital Abuse
Authors: CATE RODNEY M. , HENTON JUNE M. , KOVAL JAMES , CHRISTOPHER F. SCOTT , LLOYD SALLY
Published: March 2007

Little research has examined the incidence and dynamics of abuse between premarital partners at all levels of commitment. The present questionnaire study found the incidence of premarital abuse to be substantial and largely reciprocal in nature. Abuse typically began after some degree of commitment was established. Abuse was usually seen as caused by anger, although the effect of abuse on the relationship was not routinely seen as detrimental. It appeared that one possible explanation for abuse in these relationships was that those who stayed in abusive situations reported having fewer alternatives to the violent relationship than those who had terminated an abusive liaison. In general, the respondents had negative attitudes toward violence in relationships. However, those who had experienced abuse were more accepting of violence than those who had not experienced premarital abuse. The discussion focuses on several suggestions for further research to construct a clearer picture of premarital abuse.