bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Local Win Program Managers as Constrained Entrepreneurs
Authors: Goodisman Leonard D. , Kiest Alan
Published: March 2007

The Work Incentive Program grew out of the social reform movement to implement occupational rehabilitation. Its original, centralized philosophy was to promote self-sufficiency through job training and support services. However, the program has shifted toward decentralization, relying more on quantifiable local results. Local managers find themselves directed primarily by how many clients get unsubsidized jobs. Distinction is made between direct placements and those who enter employment on their own. A longitudinal effort shows that success is strongly dependent on local economic conditions; however, a cross-sectional effort shows the importance of the racial composition of the unemployed client pool in determining placement. Local management policy variables are significant in success as measured by numbers who entered employment.
Management of Federally Funded Evaluation Research
Authors: St. Pierre Robert G.
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on the management of federally funded evaluation research by (1) discussing several aspects of building an efficient in-house evaluation team including planning for upcoming procurements, deciding which staff to bid on a proposal, maintaining in-house staff versus hiring new staff, subcontracting, and using consul tants; (2) defining and discussing four possible contractor/client relationships; and (3) considering the contractor/practitioner team and problems of building rapport and working relationships with field practitioners.
Note On "the Randomized Response Approach"
Authors: Himmelfarb Samuel , Edgell Stephen E.
Published: March 2007

This addendum updates Fox and Tracy's (1980) summary of work on the randomized response technique (RRT). It notes the recent development of an additive constants model for sensitive questions that require a numerical response. It further calls the reader's attention to the possibility of correlational research using RRT models by presenting the derivation of the correlation and correction for attentuation between two variables measured by the additive constants model and by noting a paper that does the same for several other RRT models.
A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Subjective Air Quality
Authors: Bollen Kenneth A.
Published: March 2007

A complete assessment of air quality requires a better understanding of subjective evaluative measures. An example of the types of measurement issues that should be addressed and an important way to proceed in the study of subjective air quality is provided. The measurement error in four indicators of subjective air quality is examined by means of a confirmatory factor analysis. The indicators of overall quality, clarity, color, and odor of the air are from a survey of Shenandoah National Park visitors in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains in July 1980. Analysis reveals both random and nonrandom measurement error in all four indicators. The measure of overall air quality has the highest reliability with nearly 90% of its variance explained by the unobserved subjective air quality variable. The three other indicators have reliability coefficients of 0.5 to 0.6. Given this degree of measurement error it is important that future analyses explicitly consider measurement error when examining the relationship between subjec tive and objective air quality. Otherwise, a highly inaccurate assessment of this relationship will be obtained.
The Design of Time-Series Comparisons Under Resource Constraints
Authors: Willemain Thomas R. , Hartunian Nelson S.
Published: March 2007

We compare two methods for dividing an interrupted time-series study between baseline and experimental phases when study resources are limited. In fixed designs the baseline duration is chosen before the baseline begins. In flexible designs the baseline duration is not predetermined but made contingent on remaining resources and the degree to which the results match the prior expectations of the evaluator. Flexible designs are much pre ferred when the evaluator's priors are of good quality.
Human Relations Programs in Desegregated Elementary Schools
Authors: Longshore Douglas , Wellisch Jean B.
Published: March 2007

This evaluation of the Emergency School Aid Act finds that human relations services funded under the Act had favorable effects on student intergroup relations and affect, but those effects were generally weak. We attribute the weakness of effects to the nature of services at our sites. Apparently, services were not always targeted directly at human relations needs and were often not intensive enough to register strong effects. Our work underscores the importance of combining process with impact evaluation and of examining effects at the individual level as well as the site level.
A "Mandatory" Jail Sentence for Drinking and Driving
Authors: Grube Joel W. , Kearney Kathleen A.
Published: March 2007

The Yakima (Washington State) Drinking and Driving Project was intended to change public attitudes toward drinking and driving, and to decrease its incidence by implement ing a two-day jail sentence for persons convicted of driving while intoxicated. This evaluation was undertaken to assess the implementation and impact of the Yakima Project. Data were obtained through surveys of the public and of law enforcement personnel and from official accident, Breathalyzer,® and court records. It was found that the jail sentence was well received by the law enforcement officers and by the public, and possibly led to changes in public attitudes. However, it did not reduce alcohol involvement in accidents and thus apparently did not decrease the incidence of drinking and driving. Lack of public awareness and variability in judicial enforcement were identified as factors that may have contributed to this failure.
Have Department of Energy Conservation Programs Saved Energy?
Authors: Soderstrom Jon , Hirst Eric , Greene David L. , Trimble John
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the results of 2 alternative approaches for estimating the energy- savings impact of Department of Energy (DOE) conservation programs. The first approach analyzed program-by-program estimates that indicated DOEprograms reduced U. S. energy use by more than 0.5 quadrillion BTUs or about 86 million barrels of oil. The second approach was an econometric analysis of aggregate energy use data that produced an estimate of energy savings 10 times greater than the first approach, but with a strong price effect interaction. The limitations of both approaches preclude reaching unambigu ous conclusions.
School Effectiveness Within the Public and Private Sectors
Authors: Willms J.Douglas
Published: March 2007

Recent evaluations of public and private school effectiveness have examined national aggregates of student achievement. These aggregates mask the contributions of individual schools and do not reflect the underlying diversity in school quality within the public and private sectors. This evaluation, which employs data from the High School and Beyond study on approximately 30,000 sophomores in 1, 000 U. S. high schools, provides estimates of school effectiveness for different types of students in different kinds of schools. The analysis shows that the range in school effectiveness within the two sectors far outweighs the differences between them.
The Social Costs of Methodological Rigor
Authors: Shapiro Jonathan Z.
Published: March 2007

This article argues that certain threats to validity arise from the social, rather than methodological, consequences of research design. The need for an evaluator to attend to both methodological and social concerns is demonstrated by an example where the unchecked effects of the social consequences of a methodologically rigorous research design invalidated most of a planned evaluation. A second example is presented in which explicit trade-off decisions between methodological rigor and social costs enabled the evaluation effort to proceed.
Comparing and Contrasting Auditing and Evaluation
Authors: Chelimsky Eleanor
Published: March 2007

This article raises some questions about the relationship between auditing and evaluation in their approaches to program assessment. How are they similar or different? What can they learn from each other? Four aspects of the relationship are examined: (1) the different origins of auditing and evaluation; (2) the definitions and purposes of both, along with the types of questions each typically seeks to answer; (3) contrasting viewpoints and emphases of auditors and evaluators that emerge in the performance of their work; and finally, (4) some commonalities of interest leading to areas of likely mutual influence and benefit.
Stakeholder-Based Evaluation and Value Judgments
Authors: Mark Melvin M. , Shotland R. Lance
Published: March 2007

The nature of values in stakeholder-based evaluations is discussed. One key value judgment involves the selection of stakeholder groups for participation. In the first major section of this article, the role of values in such selection is emphasized by considering two dimensions on which stakeholder groups may vary—power and legitimacy. It is shown that the selection of stakeholder groups can be based on a rationale for stakeholder-based evaluation; however, the choice of a rationale for stakeholder participation is itself a value judgment, implicitly or explicitly. Further, in implementing a rationale, value judgments are required, particularly if the rationale involves empowerment and democratization. In a second section, the consequences of stakeholder par ticipation are discussed. Although numerous commentaries imply positive effects, much is not known, such as the type or level of stakeholder involvement required for effective participation. Further, stakeholder participation may serve as a means of preempting criticism by stakeholders, or may be a form of pseudoempowerment. Ironically, the evaluator may autocratically designate which groups participate in a process meant to empower democratically. Finally, some suggestions are made about how evaluators might better deal with the value judgments inherent in stakeholder-based evaluations, and, more generally, how stakeholder-based approaches to evaluation might be improved.
Evaluation of Programs for Handicapped Children
Authors: Thompson Ronald W. , Orton Kenneth D.
Published: March 2007

In this study the strategic constituent approach to organizational effectiveness was applied to a diagnostic program for handicapped children. The purpose was to generate dimensions of effectiveness in this program that could be used to conduct program evaluations. Supervisors, clinicians, referring school professionals, and parents were interviewed, and resultmg data was inductively categorized. From these data a rating scale was designed and completed by internal constituents. Results provide evidence for the validity of this approach and the validity and reliability of the rating scale. Suggestionsfor conducting program evaluations and further evaluative research are discussed.
Industry-University Projects and Centers
Authors: Gray Denis , Johnson Elmima C. , Gidley Teresa R.
Published: March 2007

It is widely held that improved industry-university (I- U) cooperation can contribute to technological innovation and productivity in the United States. Although various federal programs have attempted to stimulate cooperation between these two sectors, most have escaped serious evaluative scrutiny. This study describes an exception to this trend: an empirical evaluation and comparison of two federally funded programs designed to foster cooperative science. Among other findings, results appear to indicate that participants in I-U Projects perceive applied objectives like patent development as the most important goal of their collaboration, whereas I- U Centers promote a more basic goal of knowledge expansion. Participants within each model exhibit high agreement on the goals of their collaboration. In addition, both programs appear to stimulate new research projects back in corporate laboratories.
Evaluating Cities, Multidimensionality, and Diminishing Returns
Authors: Nagel Stuart S.
Published: March 2007

In order to evaluate multiple alternatives such as cities across multiple criteria such as climate and housing, one needs to be sensitive to the importance of working with a common measurement unit that does not lose important information. One also needs to consider diminishing returns, since goingfrom 0 to 1 in almost any scoring system should generally mean more than going from 100 to 101. Perhaps the best way to deal with those two problems is to convert the original raw scores into part/whole percentages. Doing so is more valid and simpler than working with ranks, 1-5 scales, logarithms, or multiplying across scores. Doing so produces more meaningful results when evaluating cities like Pittsburgh and San Francisco.
Evaluating State Advanced Technology Programs
Authors: Feller Irwin
Published: March 2007

Although often viewed as a premature and difficult activity, evaluation of state advanced technology programs has commenced in response to annual state budget reviews. Three issues related to evaluation of state advanced technology programs are examined here: (1) the political and institutional context within which evaluation is being performed; (2) technical issues concerning the specification of outcomes, reliance on process indicators such as leveraging ratios, and dependence on self-reported assessments for outcome measures; and (3) the limits to program evaluation as a guide to policymaking. The diffusion of specific evaluation approaches may be exerting an independent influence on programmatic characteristics of other states, shaping both the relative emphasis accorded different objectives and the choice of evaluation techniques.
Research Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Forest Service
Authors: Bengston David N. , Kaiser H. Fred
Published: March 2007

As public agency budgets have tightened in recent years, research policymakers and administrators have recognized the need to improve the planning and evaluation of research projects and programs. This article describes the current planning and evaluation process in U.S. Forest Service research. Options for improving this process are then discussed, including strengthening medium-range research planning, introducing formal preevaluation, monitoring research progress more closely, and strengthening postevaluation of research investments. Refinements in research planning and evaluation such as these will help strengthen the case for public support, improve the allocation of scarce research dollars, and help direct research programs into the most socially profitable areas.
Qualitative Evaluation Audits in Practice
Authors: Greene Jennifer C. , Doughty Joan , Marquart Jules M. , Ray Marilyn L. , Roberts Lynn
Published: March 2007

Among the continuing challenges naturalistic evaluators face is the practical need for defensible conclusions. Guba and Lincoln's external evaluation audit represents one response to this need. In this article, we share our firsthand experiences with such audits, including the evaluation context and the audits'purpose, procedures, and findings. From these experiences, we offer suggestions for future audit practice and discuss several controversies surrounding the audit concept. We conclude with the call for further discussion on these and other controversies, but also with an interim consensus that the audit represents a viable metaevaluative tool for enhancing the internal quality, the external defensibility, and thus the stature and utilization of naturalistic evaluation.
Evaluation of Drug Abuse Treatment
Authors: Hser Yih-Ing , Anglin M. Douglas , Chou Chih-Ping
Published: March 2007

The present study utilizes a repeated measures design to evaluate methadone maintenance (MM) treatment effects. The addiction history of MM clients was examined from the beginning of daily narcotic use to the date of interview and was aggregated into the following three time periods: (1) a relatively long pretreatment baseline, (2) all time periods while in treatment, and (3) all time periods not in treatment after the initial treatment entry. These three time periods reflect treatment statuses before, on, and off treatment, respectively. Multiple measures were taken during each treatment status for a sample of 720 MM clients with heterogeneous background characteristics. A repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted for each measure, treating treatment status as the repeated factor, or within-subject variable, and sex, ethnicity, and treatment duration ratio as three between-subject variables. Overall, compared to pretreatment measures, results showed significant improvement for both postadmission statuses: in treatment and not in treatment. Amount of improvement was affected by sex, ethnicity and treatment duration ratio. Findings suggest that MM treatment is an effective intervention, that retention needs to be improved for chronic heroin addicts, and that consideration must be given to client characteristics in assessing treatment effects.
Estimating the Mediating Effect of Intervening Variables in Pooled Cross-Sectional and Time Series Designs
Authors: Mandell Marvin B.
Published: March 2007

An important contribution of evaluation research is information regarding the extent to which the effect of an intervention is mediated by characteristics of the unit in which it is introduced and/or variations in the way the intervention is implemented in different units. It is shown in this article that by extending the type of model specified by Berk and his associates (1979), this type of information can be obtained from pooled cross-sectional and time series designs. However, the conventional estimation procedure for pooled cross-sectional and time series data, such as that embedded in PROC TSCSREG in SAS, is not appropriate for this purpose because it produces inefficient estimates of the coefficients which are of central interest in this type of problem, that is, those coefficients that characterize the effect of the intervention and the extent to which it is mediated by characteristics of the unit in which it is introduced and/or variations in the way the intervention is implemented. Two alternative estimation procedures are developed that result in efficient estimates of the coefficients that are of central interest in this type of problem.
Experimental Assessment of the Effect of Vocational Training On Youthful Property Offenders
Authors: Lattimore Pamela K. , Witte Ann Dryden , Baker Joanna R.
Published: March 2007

In this article, we report results that suggest that carefully integrated and implemented vocational training and reentry programs for youthful property offenders can reduce the rate at which such individuals are arrested after release. This result is important since most evaluations of programs for such offenders show no significant effects. The question has been "Why have programs rarely been shown to have significant effects on the behavior of offenders?" Our results suggest that the major reasons may be that programs evaluated to date have been weak and implementation has been poor. Even with substantial backing from correctional management only 16% of the experimental group participated in all aspects of the Vocational Delivery System (VDS). Members of the experimental group were most likely to participate in early aspects of the VDS (e.g., a three-week evaluation of vocational interests and aptitudes) than in later elements (e.g., work with the Employment Security Commission to find a job). Even with relatively weak implementation, the experimental group subjects were significantly less likely to be arrested than were control group subjects.
Steps Toward Independence
Authors: Shlay Anne B. , Holupka C. Scott
Published: March 2007

The Family Development Center (FDC) is an important local welfare reform demonstration located at Lafayette Courts, one of Baltimore, Maryland's largest public housing developments. The FDC approach consists of bringing an array of services on-site and coordinating the delivery of these services to address the myriad of problems facing poor families. To determine if the program was beginning to meet its goal of achieving family economic independence, an evaluation was conducted to investigate the program's early effects during its first 2 years of operations. Using a quasi-experimental design, examining both primary and secondary data, and incorporating a multivariate strategy, the research found that the FDC was successful at increasing participation in programs designed to increase people's labor market participation and earnings. Participation in the FDC was accompanied by increased educational aspirations, higher self-esteem, and a greater sense of control over one's life. Importantly, families'economic circumstances were not altered by participating in the FDC in its early years. On the contrary, employment among non-FDC participants increased, whereas that of FDC participants de clined This research found that higher levels of participation in education programs explained lower rates of labor market participation by FDC participants, suggesting that human capital investment strategies, like the FDC, may not lead to economic gains over the short term. But if investment in human capital brings with it increased economic returns, the accompanying absence from the labor market may indicate a longer-term payoff. This suggests that a longer amount of time will be necessary to determine if the FDC is able to help families become economically independent.
Educational Policy Analysis and the Politics of Interpretation
Authors: Peters Michael , Marshall James
Published: March 2007

The authors in this article report on and develop a methodology for producing a well-defined problem in policy analysis. The methodology, which is christened the "evaluative context, " is defined as an iterative process based on a series of checklist questions. It is given a theoretical background in the literature, and its genesis and development are discussed in connection with a number of practical projects in earlier sections of the article. Finally, the use of the method ology is exhibited in a recent project.
Changing Hot Pursuit Policy
Authors: Crew Robert E. , Kessler David , Fridell Lorie A.
Published: March 2007

This article uses ARIMA and Tobit analysis to examine the impact on officer behavior of changes in a policy governing "hot" pursuits of fleeing suspects. Using a 2-year time series, aggregated by week, we calculated the impact on pursuit behavior of two changes in pursuit policy: a requirement that reports be submitted regarding each pursuit and a stipulation that pursuits could be conducted only under specified conditions. Each policy change produced significant reductions in the number of pursuits engaged in by officers in the department under study.
Reality Check
Authors: Sellers Christine S. , Taylor Terrance J. , Esbensen Finn-Aage
Published: March 2007

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a school-based gang prevention initiative developed in 1991 through the collaborative efforts of the Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and the Phoenix Police Department. Uniformed law enforcement officers, certified as G.R.E.A.T. instructors, teach the 9-week curriculum to middle school students. In 1994, the National Institute of Justice funded a national evaluation of the G.R.E.A.T. program. The process evaluation component of this larger study is reported. First, results of on-site observations of the G.R.E.A.T. Officer Training program, including an overview of the training activities, and the authors' assessment of the training process are reported. Second, observations of the implementation of the program by officers at six sites are reported. Of primary concern was whether the program delivered to students was similar to the program taught to the officers during the G.R.E.A.T. OfficerTraining.
Enhancing Response Rates To a Smoking Survey for Enlisted U.S. Navy Women
Authors: Woodruff Susan I. , Edwards Christine C. , Conway Terry L.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the effectiveness of a stepped approachfor increasing response rates to a mailed follow-up smoking survey among newly enlisted women in the navy. The effect of the stepped approach on response rates and on the characteristics of respondents was evaluated. Also, costs were estimated for each of the steps to determine their relative benefits. Results showed that the stepped approach was effective in more than doubling the survey response rate among smokers. Reluctant respondents did not differ from on-time respondents in terms of demo- graphics or baseline smoking, although nonrespondents were less educated and heavier smok ers than on-time and reluctant respondents. Strategies documented here could well apply to sur vey efforts with other hard-to-reach populations.
Women’s Responses to Sexual Violence by Male Intimates
Authors: Draucker Claire Burke , Stern Phyllis Noerager , Burgess Ann Wolbert , Campbell Jacquelyn C.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to devise a theoretical framework that describes the problem of sexual violence by male intimates from the point of view of 23 women who have experienced such violence at some time in their adult lives. The core variable, forging ahead in a dangerous world, reflects the women’s descriptions of life after violence as a struggle to get on with their lives in a social world they know through firsthand experience to be unsafe. The theoretical framework includes three variations of forging ahead (getting back on track, starting over again, and surviving the long, hard road) described by three subgroups of women who experienced different types of sexual violence. The framework also outlines three common processes used to forge ahead: telling others, making sense of the violence, and creating a safer life. The nature and meaning of these processes differ according to group.
Commentary 1
Authors: Hall Beverly A.
Published: March 2007

This article, in attempting to test aspects of the interpersonal relationship between nurses and patients, makes a contribution to the literature in an area rarely studied by nurse researchers. The aim of this particular report is to explain reactions of male psychiatric patients to nurse and friend dominance and friendliness.
Family Communication Patterns in Coping with Early Breast Cancer
Authors: Hilton B. Ann , Koop Priscilla M.
Published: March 2007

Diagnosis of a life-threatening disease is a majorfamily stressor How family members communicate with each other about the situation and their fears has received little study. The communication patterns of 41 couples where the woman was newly diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 breast cancer were investigated. Family interviews were done atfive points, from the time of diagnosis to I year later Qualitative grounded theory methods were triangulated with responses to the Couple Communication Scale and State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Three major types of couple discussion patterns about fears, doubts, and emotional issues were seen, based on whether they shared similar or different views about the importance of talking. Some couples talked openly or reasonably openly. Others did not talk to each other, although afew of these talked to other people. Another group, who held divergent views, demonstrated more problems in their communication Selective open disclosure was generally perceived as the most satisfactory of the patterns. Quantitative findings generally supported the talking themes that emerged.
Feminist Empiricism as a Method for Inquiry in Nursing
Authors: Perry Patsy A.
Published: March 2007

Feminist empiricism may provide a valuable approach for the acquisition, evaluation, and integration of biological knowledge in nursing epistemologies. This article discusses feminist empiricism as a methodfor inquiry in nursing. Proponents offeminist empiricism strive to work within the current political, social, and scientific structures while acknowledging that all three of these structures must change if less distorted epistemologies are to emerge. Hypertension in women is used to illustrate howfeminist empiricism could be used to modify the traditional scientific approach. The argument is made that the and rocentricism of the traditional scientific approach must be changed in order to include the problematics of women. Moreover, women must have a central role in determining the problematics of both health and illness in women. A philosophical stance embracing holism cannot deny biologicalphenomena orpreclude research on these phenomena Theorists and scientists in nursing have a unique opportunity to reconceptualize biological phenomena, from a holistic perspective, in the development of epistemologies for nursing. An argument for the use of basic research as a quantitative methodology, from a feminist perspective, is made. The appropriateness, for nursing, of basic research methodologies to generate knowledge about biological processes, which are within nursing s scientific domain, are discussed.
Measurement of Heart Rate Variability
Authors: Cowan Marie J.
Published: March 2007

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of autonomic nervous system balance/imbalance. Measurement and analysis of HRV can be classified into time domain analysis and frequency domain analysis. lime domain analysis is a general measure of autonomic nervous system balance and is based on altered versions of the measurement of the standard deviation of heart period, defined in terms of the sinus R-R intervals over time. There are six commonly used time domain measurements: SDANN, 24-hr SD, SD, RMSSD, RR50, and% RR50. Frequency domain analysis uses either autoregressive orfast Fourier transform techniques to delineate parasympathetic (high-frequency components) from sympathetic (low-frequency components) of autonomic control. This study explores the clinical applications of HRV with respect to respiratory sinus arrhythmia, exercise, mortality, sudden cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, and congestive heart failure.
Toward a Cross-Cultural Understanding of Family Caregiving Burden
Authors: Lim Young Mi , Luna Isela , Cromwell Sandra L. , Phillips Linda R. , Russell Cynthia K. , de Ardon Esperanza Torres
Published: March 2007

This article is part of a symposium describing the development of cross-culturally relevant instruments to measure familism, caregiver burden, and quality of elder caregiving among Angloand Mexican American caregivers. This article explores issues involved in measuring caregiving burden. Caregiving burden is thought to adversely affect family caregiving, but the influence of culture on perceptions of burden has not been explored. Because no researchfocuses on caregiving burden among Mexican American caregivers, thefirst step involved reviewing the literaturefor culturalfactors influencing caregiving and using the expertise of the cross-cultural team to identify and compare the meaning of caregiving burden in both groups. Next, two instrumentation studies were done to analyze the items on Poulshock and Deimling's Burden Instrument for comparable meaning and internal consistency within and between groups. The third step involved assessing the validity of Poulshock and Deimling's conceptualization of burden cross-culturally.
Studies of Ethical Conflicts by Nursing Practice Settings or Roles
Authors: Redman Barbara K. , Hill Martha N.
Published: March 2007

This article summarizes the body of research about ethical conflicts described by nurses in variousfields ofpractice and recommends direction for the use and extension of this information. Twenty-three studies that fit criteria for inclusion were located. As a group, studies use inconsistent terminology, pay little attention to measurement characteristics of the instruments used, and do not use explanatory theory about how and why ethical conflicts develop or are experienced. Several studies of nurses practicing in community and home care settings, in intensive care units, and in administrative roles show some common areas of ethical conflict. Studies of ethical conflicts can be used as a basis for improving practice.
Explanatory Models of Overweight Among African American, Euro-American, and Mexican American Women
Authors: Allan Janet D.
Published: March 2007

Ethnographic interviewing methods were used to explore women's explanatory models (EMs) of overweight and the congruence of these models with professional models and professionally recommended treatments for overweight. Through community-based snowball and theoretical sampling, 4O African American, 40 Euro-American, and'40Mexican American women of varying social status and weight participated in multiple ethnographic interviews, which were subsequently interpreted using domain analysis and constant comparison. Study participants'EMs of overweight ranged from simple to complex, were generally similar across the three study groups, and only partially congruent with professional EMs of obesity. Major differences in EMs between the study groups were found in the dimensions of etiologies and consequences of overweight. There was partial congruence between participants' EMs and professionally recommended treatments for overweight.
A Study of Introspectiveness in Adolescents and Young Adults
Authors: Yarcheski Adela , Mahon Noreen E. , Yarcheski Thomas J.
Published: March 2007

The purpose Qf this study was to examine the relationship between introspectiveness and the theoretically related variables qf close friend solidarity, self-esteem, and symptom patterns in early, middle, and late adolescents, as well as in young adults. Samples of early (n = 103), middle (n = 107), and late adolescents (n = 101) as well as young adults (n = 70) completed the Introspectiveness Scale, the Close Friend Solidarity Instrument, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Symptom Pattern Scale in classroom settings. Hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlations, with a one-tailed test of significance. Introspectiveness was statistically, significantly, and positively related to closefriend solidarity in all adolescents but not in young adults; introspectiveness was statistically significantly, and inversely related to self-esteem in all adolescents but not in young adults. Finally, introspectiveness was statistically, significantly, and positively related to symptom patterns in all adolescents and in young adults.
I Can Get Any Job and Feel Like a Butterfly! Symbolic Violence in the TV Advertising of Jenny Craig
Authors: Torrens Kathleen M.
Published: March 2007

The weight loss industry is a fixture of American culture. Appealing to the idealized thin female body, weight loss advertising enacts symbolic violence on its consumers. This article focuses on the advertising of Jenny Craig as an exemplar of this rhetorical strategy. Through close visual/textual analysis, the subtle co-optation of a feminist agenda is revealed, and the dangers and implications of this insidious practice are discussed.
Some contradictions of the modern welfare state*
Authors: Offe Claus
Published: March 2007

This paper concedes that the argument of the right, that the welfare state both contributes to the economic crisis and undermines work incentives, has some validity. The right is unable, however, to demonstrate how the economy can do without the welfare state, and it cannot produce a political strategy to get rid of it. For its part the left, while criticising the welfare state for its ineffectiveness, for being repressive, and for serving a political- ideological control function, is equally not convincing about an alternative society. Both criticise, but both, in the interim, need the welfare state. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible political strategies and goals available to right and left, and analyses the levels at which the political process concerned with these strategies takes place.**
Understanding mental health services : theory and practice
Authors: Burton Mark
Published: March 2007

Two approaches (Wolfensberger and Scull) to understanding services for people with mental disabilities are compared and seen to make complementary errors based upon the reduction of phenomena to ideology or economics respectively. Approaches combining both areas of analysis are seen as necessary in order to state what good services would look like and to understand the contexts in which services form and develop. It is argued that Wolfensberg's principle of normalisation allows a plausible statement of ideal criteria for service evaluation and design. A discussion follows of some possible constraints on its implementation under the present social order. A notion of 'prefigurative action research'is discussed as one way of pioneering more ideal services, while documenting the limits imposed on them at the present time.
Privatising local government: the special case of Birmingham
Authors: Kline Roger
Published: March 2007

Struggles two concerns privatisation. With the re-election of the Thatcher government this may prove to be one of the most important threats to public services and trade union organisation. The first contribution looks at the `special'case of Birmingham, where the threatofprivatisation alone was able to secure employers a substantial victory. The second draws upon the experi ence of privatisation accumulated so far and points to a strategy required to defeat it.
struggles one
Authors: Maclean Michael J.
Published: March 2007

In this issue. STRUGGLES AND EXPERIENCES highlights the campaigns developed by older people against ageism. We begin with a short introduction to the American Gray Panthers movement.This is followed by extracts from a talk given in Britain by Maggie Kuhn, the founder and national convenor of the group, Finally, there is an article by Mike Maclean examining the struggle against ageism in Britain and Canada.
Take-up campaigns: fighting poverty through the post
Authors: Alcock Pete , Shepherd Jane
Published: March 2007

This article is a critical review of the increasing number of Take-up Campaigns being run by local authorities in the 1980s in order to increase the levels of benefit take-up within their area. It outlines how these campaigns have developed as a pan of the growing welfare rights work which is now so much a feature of the British benefit system: and discusses how, after some initial problems, they have become more sophisticated and successful in their ap proach. There are, however, inherent limitations within the achievements to be made through such campaigning; these are summarised and explained, and a plea made for a more general campaign for the reform of benefits themselves to be a central feature of future local take-up initiatives.
Life, love and HIV: the women's symposium on HIV and AIDS
Authors: Littlewood Barbara
Published: March 2007

Although there is a lot of 'knowledge' about AIDS in circulation, this paper argues that much of it excludes women's distinctive experiences which are illuminated by a feminist perspective. It illustrates these claims through interviews and discussions with a number of HIV+ Scottish women about their personal relationships, their experience of health care, and their hopes for the future. 'Safe sex' and disclosure of status pose particular problems for women attempting to negotiate responsible risk reduction behaviour in relationships marked by imbalances of power. Women only support groups are an important source of solidarity for those who are often isolated and stigmatised by their 'positive' status, and the video made by one such group, here discussed, demonstrates how they can teach others, whatever their status, to live with HIV.
Postmodern perspectives on care: the vigil and the gift
Authors: Fox Nick
Published: March 2007

This paper explores the perspectives which postmodernism and post- structuralism bring to an understanding of care, particularly in the writings of Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Hélène Cixous and Stephen White.

It is suggested that care is paradoxical. On one hand it is a tech nology of surveillance which, as a consequence of the professionalisa tion of caring, constitutes the vigil.

But although this technology is one of control and supplies the authority for profession care, it is also possible to recognise an alternative caring, which is about love, generosity, and a celebration of otherness. This gift of care seeks to enable the cared-for person, and resists the discourses of the vigil.

The paper examines the issues raised for practitioners by this dual character of care.
The price of poverty
Authors: Buck Mary
Published: March 2007

The contents of this article arose from questions raised during the course of a small research project examining the nature and extent of relative poverty in an inner-city setting. It questions the value of the mental health targets set out in The Health of the Nation, when social variables such as poverty and unemployment do not appear to be recognized as im portant influences on mental health and ill health. The article examines definitions of mental ill health and how the genders are said to suffer from this both disproportionately and differentially. It analyses the literature for the manner in which poverty has been experienced by both women and men and concludes that 'experience of poverty' studies appear to focus mainly on women while 'experience of unemployment' studies primarily seem to address men, though with some notable exceptions. The article concludes that the way in which poverty may be experienced and interpreted into different categories of mental ill health by each gender is an extremely complex issue and may be yet under- researched. It calls for further studies enabling the comparison between women's and men's interpretations of poverty to be examined in both 'experience of poverty' and 'experience of unemployment' projects.
The poverty of privatization
Authors: Drakeford Mark
Published: March 2007

The privatization of basic utilities has led to a shift in their status from producers of social goods to traders in commercial commodities. The social policy consequences of this shift have been transferred from the public to the private domain with significant results for poorest con sumers, in particular. This article traces these policy changes and their impact upon key interests, with an emphasis upon the treatment of those least able to pay. A series of future policy developments are also analysed and their likely repercussions evaluated.
Equivocation and the Rhetoric of Modernization
Authors: Bull Peter
Published: March 2007

The process of change in the British Labour Party (from 1983 to 1997) has been widely referred to as one of modernization. In this article, the rhetoric of modernization was examined in the context of Bavelas et al.’s theory of equivocation (as modified by Bull et al.). Five televised political interviews with Tony Blair from the 1997 General Election campaign were analyzed. Blair equivocated to questions about modernization, which created an avoidance-avoidance conflict, and replied to those that did not create such a conflict (phi = .87, p < .001). It was argued that this rhetoric of modernization can be seen not only as a form of equivocation but also to have distinct political advantages by promoting a highly inclusive social identity for New Labour. It is concluded that such strategic advantages of equivocation are not adequately represented in existing theory.
Perceptions of Patronizing Speech by Older Women in Nursing Homes and in the Community
Authors: la Tourette Tammi R. , Meeks Suzanne
Published: March 2007

This study compared community and nursing home elders’ evaluations of patronizing and nonpatronizing speech and explored the influence of living environment and cognitive ability on these perceptions. Both samples rated the nurse more favorably and the elder target as more satisfied with the conversation when the nurse’s speech was nonpatronizing as opposed to patronizing. Respondents’ cognitive ability covaried significantly with speech ratings in both samples, such that speech-style effects disappeared after accounting for cognitive ability. Community respondents downgraded elder targets of patronizing speech as less competent than the elder targets of nonpatronizing speech, suggesting a “blaming the victim” effect. Neither the living environment of the respondents nor the elderly recipients of patronizing speech influenced evaluations of speech styles or the elderly target.
The Language of Likelihood in Genetic-Counseling Discourse
Authors: Sarangi Srikant
Published: March 2007

This article examines how genetic counselors and clients jointly negotiate possible scenarios (e.g., inheritability, desirability of predictive tests, uncertainty about late onsets) based on available evidence (e.g., family tree, scan results, and population risk figures).Based on an analytic philosophical perspective, two potential meanings of probability can be identified: the degree of commitment and the notion of range/normalcy. These two levels of meaning become conflated in the formulation of probability as signalled in the use of hedging, disclaimers, and markers of frequency and distribution. The analysis focuses on how indirect evidence and inductive inferencing are systematically recruited by geneticists in the production of probability statements as they strive to maintain a nondirective stance. The data are drawn from two clinical sessions where the geneticists are fairly confident of “no-risk” scenarios, and yet, the discussion centers around the (un)likelihood of the genetic condition being inherited by future generations.
The Production of Comforting Messages: Social-Cognitive Foundations
Authors: Burleson B. R.
Published: March 2007

Prior empirical research has documented the existence of significant individual differences in the quality of the comforting strategies people produce: some people typically produce relatively insensitive, unresponsive comforting strategies while other people produce highly empathic and sensitive comforting strategies. This paper describes the nature and significance of comforting behaviour, discusses methods employed in the study of comforting, and reviews literature regarding the role of social-cognitive processes in the production of sensitive comforting strategies. Two distinct explanations for the relationship between social cognition and sensitive comforting are discussed: the role-taking account and the goal complexity account. These accounts are compared critically and directions for future research are outlined.
Cardiovascular Responses during Speech: Does Social Support Mediate the Effects of Talking on Blood Pressure?'
Authors: Tardy Charles H. , Thompson Walter R. , Allen Michael T.
Published: March 2007

Research by James J. Lynch and his colleagues demonstrates that as people speak, their blood pressure rises. Factors which accelerate or diminish this association include the social status of the listener, rate of speaking and resting blood pressure level. Another group of studies indicates that people high in social support are buffered from the negative health consequences of stressful life events. Is talking a stressor? Does social support mediate the effects of talking on blood pressure? Using procedures similar to those of Lynch, the study compared the cardiovascular responses of people high and low in perceived satisfaction with support provided by social contacts. Analysis of variance and simple correlations indicated that cardiovascular reactivity during both resting and talking states was negatively associated with social support.