bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eastward Enlargement by the European Union and Transnational Parties
Authors: Delsoldato Giorgia
Published: March 2007

In this article, the Ostpolitik of European transnational parties is examined as a “process within the process” of the eastward enlargement of the European Union. First, the Eastern politics of major European transnational parties is analyzed within the framework of their development and institutionalization processes. Then, the European transnational party-level dimension is examined as part of the development of party systems and party politics in the postcommunist candidate countries, with specific references to the eu enlargement policy and a focus on Central Europe.
Social Choice in the South Seas: Electoral Innovation and the Borda Count in the Pacific Island Countries
Authors: Reilly Benjamin
Published: March 2007

Many of the small island democracies of the South Pacific are natural laboratories for constitutional and electoral experimentation, but have tended to be ignored by comparative political science research. This article examines one apparently unknown case of electoral innovation from the region: the use of Borda count voting procedures for elections in the Pacific Island states of Nauru and Kiribati. It introduces the basic concept of the Borda count and its relation to other electoral systems, and surveys arguments about the virtues and drawbacks of Borda count electoral systems. It then discusses in some detail the way that the Borda count is used for elections in Nauru and Kiribati, including the political impact of the system, and empirical examples of different types of strategic behaviour at work. It concludes by examining the broader significance of these cases for comparative studies of democracy, elections, social choice, and voting theory.
Economics, Philosophy of History, and the “Single Dynamic” of Power Cycle Theory: Expectations, Competition, and Statecraft
Authors: Doran Charles F.
Published: March 2007

What matters in the structural dynamics of any political or economic system is the contradiction between absolute and relative trends. The “single dynamic” of power and role, of state and system, encodes the “perspective of statecraft” in the trends and shifting trends of relative share. The “tides of history” shift counter-intuitively, creating enormous uncertainty, inverting future expectations about role and security, and disrupting the normal stability of statecraft. Power cycle theory reconciles realism and idealism in conceptualizing foreign policy role as coequal in significance with power in a legitimate world order. A “dynamic equilibrium” requires reciprocal adaptation to structural change, and it is explicitly non-hegemonic. This article establishes the philosophical foundations of power cycle theory as a theory of competition actualized in productive interaction.
Synergy, Cybernetics and the Evolution of Politics
Authors: Corning Peter A.
Published: March 2007

Synergy (including the subcategory of symbiosis) has played a significant creative role in evolution; it has been a prodigious source of evolutionary novelty. Elsewhere it has been proposed that the functional (selective) advantages associated with various forms of synergistic phenomena have been an important cause of the evolution of complex systems over time. Underlying the many specific steps in the complexification process, a common functional principle has been operative. Furthermore, a major co-determinant of this process has been the parallel evolution of cybernetic processes and systems. This paper will briefly describe this theory (and some of the evidence for it) and will discuss in some detail how the theory relates specifically to the evolution of politics.
The Making of Citizenship in Argentinian Local Politics: Between Municipalization and Municipalism
Authors: Kolesas Mara
Published: March 2007

The new political and economic context has significantly modified townships' reality, at the levels of the political system, the management of government and the civil society in general. The transfer of attributions from higher levels of government to local ones is combined with growing social demands, and the sensation of political impotence and fragmentation. Likewise, the lack of representation of townships as local communities in which participation makes sense and community bonds can be reconstructed deepens the complexity of this scenario.

Townships in Argentina, with a long tradition as the poor relative of politics, are beginning to be considered as a primary domain of political exercise and citizen practice. Citizen action groups emerge at the cross-roads of a growing turn toward the local. They appear to encourage citizenship in the local domain toward government and community, by exercising rights and responsibilities. They attempt “to capitalize” this municipalization and turn it into municipalism. Today, townships are the field where politics keeps on being the art of giving oneself an identity as a member of a political community.
Similarities and Differences in Parental Investment for Mothers and Fathers
Authors: WHITESIDE-MANSELL LEANNE , BRADLEY ROBERT H. , RAKOW ERNEST
Published: March 2007

This study examines the factorial invariance (comparability) of a measure designed to assess four aspects of parents' investment in children for mothers and fathers. Participants were 70 couples, a subset of respondents participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Parenting investment was assessed when the child was 15 months old during a home visit using the Parental Investment in the Child (PIC) questionnaire. Results indicate that the dimensions of PIC were useful for both mothers and fathers (Separation Anxiety, Delight, Acceptance of the Parenting Role, and Knowledge and Sensitivity) based on confirmatory factor analyses that considered the dependent nature of the constructs within couples. However, differences were found in the reliability of specific items between mothers and fathers.
Race, Class, and Gender Differences in Marital Satisfaction and Divisions of Household Labor Among Dual-Earner Couples
Authors: DILLAWAY HEATHER , BROMAN CLIFFORD
Published: March 2007

Previous attempts to account for varying levels of marital satisfaction have considered many factors. Yet, these attempts have rarely looked at the connections among race, class, and gender as explanations for differences in satisfaction. This article illustrates the importance of examining unique race-class-gender locations of individuals when studying marital satisfaction. The authors introduce a more complex analysis of the connections among race, class, and gender effects in the production of marital satisfaction. The authors' data, which are drawn from a national survey, consist of 492 individuals in dual-earner couples. Study results provide information on variations in marital satisfaction across groups and substantial evidence that we must move beyond analyses that concentrate only on race, class, or gender differences by themselves. The authors' discussion addresses possible reasons why race-class-gender connections are important factors in determining marital satisfaction. The authors conclude that an analysis of connections among structural inequalities is one of the best directions for future research.
Family Functioning and Health Status
Authors: BROWN JULIA S. , RAWLINSON MAY E. , HARDIN DONALD M.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the proposition that the adequacy of family functioning is related to the health status of its members. The hypotheses stated that the functioning of a person's family is less adequate, (1) the poorer the person's physical condition as assessed by objective indicators; (2) the less favorable the person's self-assessment of health; and (3) the poorer the person's psychological adjustment. Findings included: (1) families of most patients functioned fairly well; (2) patients perceived their general health as moderate; (3) distinctly elevated mean scores on the MMPI scales of Depression, Hypochondriasis, and Hysteria, but not on Welsh's Anxiety Scale, indicated psychological problems; (4) the first two hypotheses were unsupported, in that family functioning was unrelated to health status as determined by objective indicators or self-perception; and (5) adequacy of family functioning was unrelated to Depression, Hypochondriasis, and Hysteria, but was negatively related to extent of Anxiety. Failure to support the hypotheses was discussed in terms of limitations of method and theory. Suggestions for future research were offered.
Marital Conflict Resolution
Authors: BELL DAVID C. , CHAFETZ JANET SALTZMAN , HORN LORI HEGGEM
Published: March 2007

Thirty white, middle-class, married couples were interviewed concerning the strategies each spouse used in attempting to resolve a number of actual conflicts experienced by each couple. Four types of strategies are examined: authority, control, influence, and manipulation. Findings show that husbands win most conflicts regardless of the strategies they or their wives employ. Controls for possession of strategy-relevant resources, area of responsibility, and belief in the use of various strategies demonstrate no consistent relationship to strategy choice or conflict resolution outcome. Wife's employment status, husband's education, and the general degree of familial traditionalism are related to strategy choice and outcome, but controlling for these does not produce a relationship between strategy and outcome. The evidence suggests that individual conflicts are not resolved on an individual basis; general background factors of the marriage shape outcomes but the process by which they are translated into outcomes in specific cases is still unclear.
Television Characters as Significant Others and the Process of Vicarious Role Taking
Authors: ELLIS GODFREY J. , STREETER SANDRA KAY , ENGELBRECHT JoANN DALE
Published: March 2007

This article develops two ideas pertaining to television and role taking from the perspective of symbolic interactionism. First, viewers may take the role of salient television personalities, during viewing and in nonviewing contexts, and may modify their behavior to conform to the imaginary evaluations of those television characters. Second, viewers may vicariously evaluate the behavior of one television “other” from the imagined perspective of a second, thus role taking both characters. This process, and the resulting observational feedback on accuracy of the vicarious role taking, is hypothesized to provide a training ground for the acquisition of role-taking skills. The conceptualization of seven propositions related to TV others and vicarious role taking point to an important prosocial function of a rapidly proliferating technology.
Aging and Social Policy
Authors: SMYER MICHAEL A.
Published: March 2007

In this essay, three generic issues that underlie our implicit social policy toward older adults and their families are considered: What is the proper division of responsibility for impaired elderly between family members and the state? Is age a morally relevant variable when allocating the resources of society? What should be the balance of competing demands between and among different generations? These issues are considered by contrasting the implicit and explicit policies of the United States with those of several Western European nations (Sweden, West Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands). Suggestions for a family-centered policy on aging are offered. In addition, indications for the appropriate blend of age and need as entitlement criteria are presented.
The Effects of World View on Adaptation to Single Parenthood Among Middle-Class Adult Women
Authors: FINE MARK A. , SCHWEBEL ANDREW I. , MYERS LINDA J.
Published: March 2007

The nature of the relationship between middle-class adult women's world view and their report of the quality of their adjustment to being single mothers was explored. Single mothers and those from two-parent families completed five instruments assessing their world view and emotional adjustment to being mothers. The many statistically significant findings indicated that, although there was considerable person-to-person variation, single mothers who advocated a more Afrocentric world view—defined as more spiritual, communal, and interpersonal and less achievement-oriented, materialistic, and individualistic than the alternate Eurocentric perspective—had higher self-esteem, less depression and anxiety, and were more satisfied with being mothers. The results also indicated that single mothers were less well adjusted than those from two-parent families.
Cuts in Selected Welfare Programs
Authors: ALDOUS JOAN
Published: March 2007

Budget cuts in federal programs having to do with hunger prevention, health care, and job training provide a natural experiment to determine the effects of these diminished programs on families. The available evidence indicates that needy families, particularly single mother-child(ren) units because of their higher rates of poverty have been adversely affected. The study's findings along with the present political climate suggest that family policy scholars need to monitor measures of family well-being within the context of existing programs. The article concludes with a discussion of these measures.
Gender Roles in Marriage and the Family
Authors: ATKINSON JEAN
Published: March 2007

Gender role issues permeate nearly all aspects of marital and family life, and understanding the ways that women and men and girls and boys are different and similar will heighten our understanding of marriage and family relationships in general. Although theory and experience seem to insist that gender differences clearly exist, empirical evidence about similarities or differences—with few exceptions—is not so clear. In this article, I argue that these ambiguities can be traced in large part to conceptual and methodological issues, such as construct definitions, measurement techniques, and sampling, as well as inattention to the historical context. Throughout the article, I focus particularly on division of household labor to illustrate how attending more carefully to method, theory, and history can enlarge our understanding of how gender roles are played out in the family. In the last section of the article, I discuss ways in which gender role issues might be thought about and studied beyond the individual and the dyad to the family as a whole.
Economic Well-Being Following Marital Termination
Authors: MORGAN LESLIE A.
Published: March 2007

Separate studies of divorced and widowed women show increased odds of becoming poor following the termination of marriage. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal data suggest that the end of marriage is correlated with higher poverty rates. Less is known, however, about factors that influence economic well-being over time, and whether these factors are similar for widows and divorced women. This analysis uses data from the National Longitudinal Surveys cohort of mature women (1967-1982) to examine the probability of becoming poor after widowhood or divorce among mid-life women, and factors that seem to influence economic well-being. Findings show that 40% of widows and over one-quarter of divorced women fall into poverty for at least some time during the first five years after leaving marriage. The type of marital transition experienced by the woman is not a significant factor in economic well-being, but both age and prior economic standing have positive estimated effects.
Family Cohesion and Personal Space in Families with Adolescents
Authors: LARSON JEFFRY H. , LOWE WENDELL
Published: March 2007

An empirical study of the relevance of the personal space concept when applied to adolescent family relationships was conducted with a sample of 40 intact, nonclinical families. Using the Family Approach-Stop Measure of personal space it was found that the spatial distance between the parents and an older adolescent was greater than the spatial distance between the parents and a younger adolescent. Using Pearson product moment correlations, it was found that there was a significant positive relationship between adolescent age and spatial distance between the adolescent and each of his or her parents.
The Distribution of Household Tasks
Authors: SHELTON BETH ANNE
Published: March 2007

This article examines the relationship between wives' employment status and their own and their husbands' time spent on specific household tasks. Using Multiple Classification Analysis, we compared the adjusted mean time that women and men spend in a variety of specific household tasks. The findings showed that gender roles are somewhat more egalitarian in households where women are employed than can be discerned from analyses of only total housework and child-care time. Employed women spend less time on female-typed tasks than full-time homemakers, while their time spent on male-typed or neutral tasks is generally not significantly different from that of full-time homemakers. The findings also showed that men's total housework time does not vary by wives' employment status and that wives' employment also seems to have little effect on their husbands' time spent on specific tasks.
Occupational Structure and Men's and Women's Parental Values
Authors: SPADE JOAN Z.
Published: March 2007

In examining the values that husbands and wives hold for children in dual-worker families, this article explores the influence of both spouses' positions in the social structure. Persons with higher levels of occupational status, education, and occupational self-direction are more likely to value self-direction for children. However, although women are lower in occupational status, education, income, and occupational self-direction, they are more likely to value self-direction for children. These findings support looking beyond the “standard” social structural explanations when examining the influence of work on women and families. In addition, individuals' parental values are best predicted by their own occupational self-direction and education backgrounds rather than that of their spouses.
The Reformed Australian Child Support Scheme
Authors: HARRISON MARGARET
Published: March 2007

The Australian child support reforms were introduced in two stages between mid-1988 and late 1989. The first stage sought to increase the collection and payment of money due by reason of a court order, by establishing the Child Support Agency within the Taxation Office. This agency assumes responsibility for locating missing liable parents and, where possible, withdraws the amount owed from the salaries of liable parents. The second stage uses the collection and payment mechanisms established under Stage 1 and also assesses amounts due administratively by applying a formula that takes account of parental taxable income and the number of children for whom there is a support liability. Results of an evaluation of the first stage of the scheme are discussed. Although single-parent poverty will not be resolved by measures such as those initiated by the Australian government, the evidence is that amounts awarded under Stage 1 are higher than they were prior to the introduction of the reforms and that administrative assessment under Stage 2 is yielding higher amounts.
Parent Histories
Authors: MARTINSON BRIAN C. , WU LAWRENCE L.
Published: March 2007

Most studies that examine the effects of family structure have employed relatively crude measures, typically a snapshot of family intactness at age 14. In this article, we use data from the National Survey of Families and Households to examine (a) how one might better construct measures of family structure that reflect change during early life and (b) what analytical and empirical opportunities are available when the data provide a more complete parent history. We draw four conclusions. First, a substantial fraction of children have extremely diverse parental situations, even though the majority of children live in intact families. Snapshot measures understate greatly the dynamic complexities of a respondent's parental situation. Second, the parent histories of respondents provide a rich but complicated set of longitudinal data and the complexity of these data makes it infeasible to adopt a data-driven approach to summarize family structure over the early lives of children. It is therefore useful to adopt a more theoretical approach in identifying salient dimensions of a respondent's parent history. Third, existing theoretical perspectives conceptualize the influences of parents in markedly different ways. These contrasting views, in turn, imply quite distinct empirical measures. Finally, more informative measures of family structure may allow one to adjudicate between alternative hypotheses of family structure in ways not possible with snapshot measures.
Poverty, Neighborhood Danger, Social Support, and the Individual Adaptation Among At-Risk Youth in Urban Areas
Authors: BOWEN GARY L. , CHAPMAN MIMI V.
Published: March 2007

This article examines the relative contribution of measures of objective and subjective neighborhood danger and measures of social support from neighbors, teachers, parents, and friends on the individual adaptation of at-risk youth in two urban areas in the southeastern United States. In support of earlier research, the findings suggest that the adaptation of these youth is influenced more by the availability of social support, especially from parents, than from their reports and perceptions of neighborhood danger. Results are discussed in the context of a recent national public opinion poll about young adults at risk.
Parenting on Edge
Authors: MULSOW MIRIAM H. , MURRY VELMA McBRIDE
Published: March 2007

This study examines the extent to which participating in a hospital-based home visiting program predicted positive outcomes for adolescent mothers and their children. Based on data obtained from 51 African American economically stressed mothers, results revealed that those participating in the program were less likely to have subsequent pregnancies and sought more medical care for their children, resulting in healthier babies. Significant influence of program participation on incidence of child abuse and neglect was not found. Findings from the study have implications for public policy, education, and prevention program development.
Partisanship or Politics of Austerity?
Authors: WHITE LINDA A.
Published: March 2007

This article explores the extent to which party politics influences the nature and provision of child care policies in Canada, specifically in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta. The article argues that whereas the primary impetus for the expansion and reduction of child care programs over the last 15 years in these two provinces has been economic, party philosophy has been an important intervening variable. In particular, it matters whether the party has as its goal the retrenchment of the welfare state or simply the reduction of spending. Although right-wing governments may attempt retrenchment as well as spending reductions, left-wing governments are unlikely to attempt wide-scale retrenchment. Thus, partisan politics do matter, but within fiscal constraints.
Space, Body, and Mind
Authors: McKINNEY KARYN D.
Published: March 2007

This research explores parents' perceptions of the privacy needs and behaviors of their preschool-age children. The literature suggests that children require some degree of choice over interaction with others to create a sense of autonomy. Research into children's privacy focuses on spatial control as the primary method of achieving privacy. A model is constructed based on Laufer and Wolfe's multidimensional approach. Interviews with parents reveal the complexity involved in everyday decisions regarding children's privacy. Results indicate that parents do not perceive privacy as important for young children and more likely see them as invaders of others' privacy. Parents are partially aware of the influence of age and gender on children's privacy needs. Respondents perceived their children's privacy needs in spatial terms, less often recognized the need for body privacy, and rarely valued mental privacy for their children. Also, parents view their children's motivations for seeking privacy in primarily negative terms.
Marital Equality
Authors: ROSENBLUTH SUSAN C. , STEIL JANICE M. , WHITCOMB JULIET H.
Published: March 2007

During the past 20 years, the number of women and men who endorse egalitarian relationships has steadily increased. Yet, marital inequality continues to be the norm. Why the gap? In 41 structured interviews with respondents in dual-career marriages, domestic task sharing and decision making (the most salient criteria for social scientists) were the most frequently cited criteria for evaluating equality in marriages other than their own. However, in response to self-referential questions, relationship characteristics and attitudes (e.g., mutual respect, commitment, reciprocity, and supportiveness) were used more frequently than behavioral observations. Men and women were equally likely to endorse relationship equality as ideal. Women, however, rated equality as less important to men than men reported it to be, and men rated equality as more important to women than women reported it to be. The majority stated that equal relationships benefit both husbands and wives, but a significant minority emphasized the costs to men and benefits to women.
Performance of Household Tasks by Vietnamese and Laotian Refugees
Authors: JOHNSON PHYLLIS J.
Published: March 2007

This study adds to the research literature on ethnic diversity in families by providing information on traditional and present-day household task performance of Vietnamese and Laotian families. There were differences by ethnicity, but not by gender, among the respondents in patterns of household task performance traditionally and now. Traditional patterns apparently involved considerable sharing of tasks rather than—as is often assumed—such tasks being primarily performed by the wife. Comparisons of present-day with traditional patterns showed a change toward additional sharing and two patterns that suggest lack of consensus or a transition in role performance. Male Chinese-Vietnamese with lower English abilities, older Lao, and older ethnic Vietnamese who have lower English abilities and higher educational levels tended to say that more of the tasks are now done by others (not the wife) in the household.
Practicing Children
Authors: Anderson Sally
Published: March 2007

In Denmark, children’s sports are organized in voluntary associations. This article addresses two recreational sites: a volunteer gymnastics association and a capoeira school. Whereas gymnastics associations are embedded in Danish movement culture, the capoeira school is a new, exotic import. Debates construe volunteer associations as more democratic and thus more moral socialization sites than privately run schools. To explore relations between children and sport, the sociality of gymnastics and capoeira, which differ in recruitment and age organization, is contrasted. Children join gymnastics through family and school relations, whereas children who start capoeira are inspired by videos. In a neighborhood dominated by age-graded sports, the capoeira school opens an age-integrated domain for sport practice. The author argues that gymnastics sociality creates an identity space for consuming sport as a “child,” whereas the capoeira school creates an identity space for being consumed by sport as “ capoeiristas.”
Working Out the Contradictions
Authors: Collins Leslea Haravon
Published: March 2007

Although feminist researchers have critiqued aerobics as an activity that maintains ideologies of female inferiority, many women, including feminists, attend, participate in, and enjoy aerobics classes. This research provides a preliminary exploration of the extent to which women can exercise agency within the gendered constraints of aerobics. The 10 feminist exercisers interviewed use strategies for participation that both downplay oppressive aspects of and enhance personal empowerment in their aerobics classes. These strategies include distancing, rejecting the critique, asserting agency, and making do. The women’s ability to enjoy a practice while constantly remaking it to suit their own purposes is indicative of the way women often must live their lives within a misogynistic, patriarchal culture.
Self-Glorification and its Others
Authors: Rapley Mark , McHoul Alec
Published: March 2007

The question of the relation(s) between sport and everyday life is a fraught one—ranging from traditional claims that sport is a form of escape from everyday life to the view that sport is a deep part of the ontological conditions of being human. In this analysis, the authors offer an alternative position based on the inspection of actual, everyday discursive materials concerning sport and its management. Although high theory might consider the sports and letters pages of newspapers as trivial texts and, therefore, beneath the scope of serious intellectual reflection, we try to show how the very ordinariness of these materials can furnish a way into the sports/life controversy via their reciprocal involvement in the practical management of moral character.
The Olympic Boycott in Diplomatic Context
Authors: Kanin David B.
Published: March 2007

The 1980 Olympic Games, scheduled for Moscow, would have been a major political event even without the Afghanistan situation. The desire of Taiwan. Israel and West Berlin to participate was complicated by the fact that Soviet foreign policy excluded diplomatic relations with these entities. Although previous hints at a boycott possibility were not popular, the boycott stimulated by the Afghanistan invasion was strongly supported by the United States populous. The international impact of the boycott might have been greater had White House officials been more knowledgeable of the organization and operation of the Olympic movement and international sport.
Review Essay: the Literature of American Sporting Experience
Authors: Umphlett Wiley Lee
Published: March 2007

The literature of sport is a vast uncharted territory, yet it is one in which we all live; it is a part of a society pervaded by the awareness, the values, and the spirit of sports. That our literature accurately reflects such involvement is a matter largely ignored by literary critics but largely taken for granted by writers and readers.
Sports Stadia and Urban Development: a Tale of Three Cities
Authors: Lipsitz George
Published: March 2007

Pressure by civic leaders and sports entrepreneurs led St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Houston to build new sports stadia in the 1960s. The use of public money for private profit-making ventures generated controversy at the time but won acceptance with promises of widely dispersed benefits. This article argues that two long range trends, the Warner Model of urban development and the accumula tion of capital for private enterprise by the state, determined the nature of stadium building in these three cities and that those long range trends illumine the causes of current urban problems.
“BUZZER BEATERS” AND “BARN BURNERS”: THE EFFECTS ON ENJOYMENT OF WATCHING THE GAME GO “DOWN TO THE WIRE”
Authors: Bryant Jennings , Rockwell Steven C. , Owens John Wesley
Published: March 2007

Prior research on the effects of being kept in suspense about the outcome of a sports contest on spectators' enjoyment of the sporting event has yielded ambiguous findings, which the present investigation was designed to clarify. A high school football game was videotaped professionally. The tapes were edited, and play-by-play and color commentary was added, so as to create a suspenseful version and a nonsuspenseful version of the game. In addition to suspense, outcome of the game (favorable, unfavorable) and gender of the viewer (female, male) were predicted to affect enjoyment of the sportscast. Enjoyment of watching the sportscast was assessed in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Viewing a more suspenseful version of the sportscast made the game more enjoyable, less boring, more exciting, and less dull. Moreover, under conditions of high suspense, viewers were more anxious about the outcome, cared more whether the liked team won, and liked the victorious team more than did viewers in the nonsuspenseful versions of the sportscast. In line with disposition theory and prior research, a favorable outcome for the desired team was more enjoyable than an unfavorable outcome, and men generally reported liking the sportscast more than did women.
THE PERVASIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE ON SPORTING EVENT ATTENDANCE
Authors: Wakefield Kirk L.
Published: March 2007

Previous empirical studies attempting to predict sports spectator attendance have centered primarily on aggregate data, and as such have overlooked more consumerspecific effects on patronage. Using a field study approach at professional baseball games, the interactive effects of team identification, social influence (reference group and community acceptance), and perceived ticket value are found to influence spectators' intentions to attend future games. Implications are drawn concerning the effects of owner and player work stoppages on future patronage of games.
Decreasing Dog Litter
Authors: Jason Leonard A. , McCoy Kathleen , Blanco David , Zolik Edwin S.
Published: March 2007

The present study describes a collaborative effort between an ad hoc community group and a university-based research team. The community group formed to ameliorate a health and aesthetic problem—namely, the excessive accumulation of dog feces deposited on sidewalks and lawns. The community group identified the target problem and contributed resources and labor for the mounted interventions, with the community psychologists providing training in relevant behavioral technologies and evaluating the interventions' efficacy. Over a nine-month period, two interventions were implemented, and levels of dog litter were significantly reduced with the onset of the second intervention. Advantages in working with informal support systems within communities are delineated.
An Iterative Evaluation of NRS
Authors: Leinhardt Gaea , Engel Mary
Published: March 2007

This article documents the evaluations of the New Primary Grades Reading System (NRS). NRS was implemented in a variety of settings, and the evaluations track the implementation from the early stages of pilot testing through large-scale adoption of the program. Accompanying contrasts were made within a single school, within a school district, and across districts. This approach to evaluation followed the naturally occurring process of implementation of the innovation and provides convergent evidence as to its effects. The accumulation of evidence regarding the success of an innovation across settings allows for greater confidence in the conclusions drawn.
Assessing Treatment Implementation Amid the Slings and Arrows of Reality
Authors: Rezmovic Eva Lantos
Published: March 2007

Increasing numbers of evaluators are cognizant of the need to observe treatment systemat ically. To date, however, little headway has been made toward operationalizing and executing the required effort. In the context of an experiment in criminal justice, a number of "real world" constraints on documenting, monitoring, and measuring treatment imple mentation are discussed. The contract researcher who is hired to conduct an impact evaluation af a black box intervention cannot readily divert the study'sfocus andfunds to an examination of process. By incorporating provisions for gathering implementation data into theirfundingcriteria, evaluationfunders would help to advance the meaningful- ness and social value of outcome studies.
Sources of "Unreliability" in Multidisciplinary Team Assessment of the Elderly
Authors: Hennessy Catherine Hagan , Shen John K.M.
Published: March 2007

Assessment offunctional abilities is a key problem in providing and evaluating long-term health care for the elderly. This study examines reliability issues involved in these measurements performed by a multidisciplinary service team within a geriatric care program. Rater agreement is found to be affected by measurement constraints in the service delivery setting, work roles, and value differences among staff. Target areas for improving standardization of data collection by service providers are indicated.
Methodologies for Evaluating the Impact of Contraceptive Social Marketing Programs
Authors: Bertrand Jane T. , Stover John , Porter Robert
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of evaluation issues with regard to CSM programs. The diversity of research to be conducted, the methodological and logistic difficulties involved, and the problems in interpreting certain results may seem daunting. In fact, this helps to explain the relative dearth of evaluation research on CSM programs to date (although much more is expected to emerge on this subject in the next two to three years). However, CSM as a means of family planning service delivery is growing rapidly in numerous developing countries around the world. Behind this is a significant financial investment on the part of donor a gencies, and thus a great need on the part of the population community to learn more about the impact of CSM programs.
Self-Deferral, HIV Infection, and the Blood Supply
Authors: Kaplan Edward H. , Novick Alvin
Published: March 2007

This article evaluates the effectiveness of self-deferral, a social screen implemented to protect the U.S. blood supply from HIV infection prior to the advent of laboratory testing of donated blood. Following a brief discussion of the history of this program, mathematical models are developed to estimate the number of infectious transfusions ultimately leading to AIDS that occurred prior to self-deferral. The analysis suggests that a significant percentage of the maximum number of AIDS-indicated infectious transfusions preventable were averted during the 2 years from implementation of self-deferral to the start of laboratory screening.
The Use of Demographic Data in Voting Rights Litigation
Authors: O' Hare William
Published: March 2007

The proliferation of voting rights litigation in the past 25 years, and particularly during the 1980s, has resulted in the need for analysis of demographic data to support claims made by both plaintiffs and defendants. Most of the demographic analyses in voting rights cases have focused on a series of questions regarding the appropriate population base to be used in forming single-member districts and the consequences of using various populations. Standards used by the courts have been vague, often contradictory, and rather elusive by social science standards. Several questions of a demographic nature remain unsettled Some of the key questions in this domain are reviewed and their implications discussed using examples from the recent Los Angeles voting rights case when possible.
Assessment of S-Night Street Enumeration in the 1990 Census
Authors: Martin Elizabeth
Published: March 2007

On March 20-21,1990, the Census Bureau conducted "Shelterand Street Night to count people in emergency shelters and street locations. Observers were placed in a sample of street sites in five cities to report on the census enumeration process. Comparison of observer reports with census returns indicates that street enumeration was not carried out in a comparable, standardized way in the five cities. The main operational problems were enumerator failure to enumerate some sites and selectivity in approaching people within sites. Variability in how the operation was carried out reduces the comparability of street counts from place to place. The results also indicate that observer reports were not always reliable, particularly in large or complex sites with impediments to observation.
On the Reliability of Meta-Analytic Reviews
Authors: Yeaton William H. , Wortman Paul M.
Published: March 2007

The article addresses the issue of intercoder reliability in meta-analyses. The current practice of reporting a single, mean intercoder agreement score in meta-analytic research leads to systematic bias and overestimates the true reliability. An alternative approach is recommended in which average intercoder agreement scores or other reliability statistics are calculated within clusters of coded variables. These clusters form a hierarchy in which the correctness of coding decisions at a given level of the hierarchy is contingent on decisions made at higher levels. Two separate studies of intercoder agreement in meta-analysis are presented to assess the validity of the model.
Assessing Research Impact
Authors: Kostoff Ronald N.
Published: March 2007

Three types of semiquantitative methods used by the federal government in research impact assessment are presented. These include the classic retrospective method (Project Hindsight), another retrospective approach (Project TRACES andfollow-ons), and accomplishments books used by selected research-sponsoring organizations (Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Department of Energy Office of Health and Environmental Research, Department of Energy High Energy Physics Program, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are discussed. One goal of all the studies presented was to identify the products of research and some of their impacts. In addition, the Hindsight, the technology in retrospect and critical events in science (TRACES), and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) studies tried to identify factors that influenced the productivity and impact of research. The following general conclusions about the role and impact of basic research were reached: (1) the majority of basic research events that directly affected technologies or systems were nonmission oriented and occurred many decades before the technology or the system emerged; (2) the cumulative indirect impacts of basic research were not accounted for by any of the retrospective approaches published; (3) an advanced pool of knowledge must be developed in many fields before synthesis leading to an innovation can occur; and (4) allocation of benefits among researchers, organizations, and funding agencies to determine economic returns from basic research is very difficult and arbitrary, especially at the microlevel.
Evaluating Information Flows To Policy Committees in State Legislatures
Authors: Lewis Bernard J. , Ellefson Paul V.
Published: March 2007

Using forest and natural resources as a case example, the information needs of 47 policy committee staff from 35 state legislatures were evaluated. Staff communicate with various groups on a regular-routine basis, an incident-related basis, and on a confidential basis. A state's lead forest resource agency and environmental groups were viewed as especially important formulators of policies and programs. To maintain the integrity of information provided, four fifths of the surveyed staff fairly or very often check with alternative sources. Legislative staff play especially important roles in focusing information, providing access to multiple sources, integrating information, establishing trustworthy networks, structuring legislator requests, and differentiating among groups' ability to provide information appropriate to specific policy development stages.
An Evaluator's Guide To Detecting Attrition Problems
Authors: Foster E. Michael , Bickman Leonard
Published: March 2007

This article reviews simple methods for detecting problematic attrition (nonresponse) in longitudinal evaluations. It begins by discussing nonresponse more generally and considers three situations that the evaluator is likely to encounter: (a) simple cross-sectional comparisons of treatment and control groups, (b) regression-based analyses of cross-sectional data on treatment and control groups, and (c) regression-based analyses of data from a longitudinal evaluation. The last is the focus of this article; the first 2 are discussed to provide the reader with the necessary background The article then discusses means of detecting attrition problems in longitudinal evaluations Model-based solutions are computationally demanding, but the article discusses simple tests for detecting problematic attrition. These methods are then illustrated using data from the Fort Bragg Evaluation, a longitudinal evaluation of a major demonstration in the field of children's mental health services. The analyses presented here do not suggest that attrition distorted the findings of that evaluation.
An Ethnographic Study of a Day Care Center for Iranian Immigrant Seniors
Authors: Emami Azita , Torres Sandra , Lipson Juliene G. , Ekman Sirkka-Liisa
Published: March 2007

Late-in-life immigrants are often at risk for psychological stress and social isolation because of language problems, small social networks, and cultural differences from the host society. Community intervention programs can reduce such stress and isolation. In this article, the authors describe a Swedish municipality’s culturally appropriate intervention program for elderly Iranian immigrants based on ethnographic data gathered during a 12 month period. The description includes the activities provided by the program and the experiences of the elderly Iranian immigrants who participate regularly in these activities. The findings document the positive impact of regular participation in the center’s activities on the elders’well-being and health.
Participation of Immigrant Women Family Caregivers in Qualitative Research
Authors: Neufeld Anne , Harrison Margaret J. , Hughes Karen D. , Spitzer Denise , Stewart Miriam J.
Published: March 2007

The recruitment of articulate, expressive participants is an essential part of methodology in qualitative research. This article presents the authors’ experience in the recruitment of immigrant women of Chinese and South Asian origin in an ethnographic study. The study included women caring for an adult or child family member who had a chronic health problem. Knowledge of women family caregivers’ health is restricted by the failure to include diverse groups of women in research. In this article, the authors discuss issues related to recruitment and participation of immigrant women in research, including establishing access to diverse groups of women, benefits for immigrant women, and placing the researcher and research process on the same level. Practical research strategies to address these issues and engage the women in research that portrays their perspectives are presented. The authors’ discussion concludes with reflection on their experience and that of other researchers.
Spouses’ Experiences in Heart Transplantation
Authors: McCurry Alice H. , Thomas Sandra P.
Published: March 2007

In this phenomenological study, in-depth interviews were used to obtain a description of spouses’ experiences in heart transplantation. Thematic analysis of the transcripts revealed four major, interrelated themes: death-life, vigilance, change, and gift. The experience was contextualized by the existential grounds of time and other people. Findings suggested that the changes inherent in the transplant experience have not been fully described in previous studies. The theme of death-life was dominant and pervasive in all interviews. As the threat of their husbands’ deaths became less prominent, wives reported difficulty letting go of their vigilance. Although the most outstanding gift was that of the donor organ, spouses also gratefully remembered the donor and donor family. Time was not perceived as a boundary separating periods of the transplant experience; all aspects of time seemed to be woven seamlessly from the past through the present and into the future. Spouses were adamant that health care personnel should recognize them as coparticipants in the critical life event of cardiac transplantation.
The Experience of Therapeutic Reading
Authors: Cohen Laura J.
Published: March 2007

This article describes a qualitative study of therapeutic reading intended to provide understanding of bibliotherapy. Using the Colaizzi method, interviews with eight participants were analyzed and the structure of the experience of therapeutic reading identified. The structure of the experience of therapeutic reading was recognition of self evolving into ways offeeling and ways of knowing. A discussion of the implications of results is presented.