bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On Estimating the Reliability of Composite Indexes Through Factor Analysis
Authors: Smith Kent W.
Published: March 2007

The rationale for Heise and Bohrnstedt's index of reliability, omega, is restated in terms of the models of classical measurement theory and factor analysis. Although omega is the best available internal-consistency estimate of reliability, its value is generally lower than a composite scale's true reliability in the classical measurement model. Under quite foreseeable circumstances, it may be appreciably lower. Some implications for forming indexes through factor analysis are discussed.
Using Film to Analyze Pedestrian Behavior
Authors: McPHAIL CLARK , WOHLSTEIN RONALD T.
Published: March 2007

Previous research on individual, interpersonal, and collective units of pedestrian behavior is briefly summarized and critically evaluated. An alternative theoretical framework and methodological procedure are presented. The imposition of cartesian coordinates on a film record, corrected for “foreshortened perspective,” permits the accurate location, and systematic measurement of distances between, directions, and velocities of individual pedestrian movement. An index of coordinated movement permits the identification and comparison of the extent of collective locomotion within pedestrian streams and other aggregations of persons in public places. The framework and procedures are illustrated with the analysis of a film record of a short sequence of pedestrian behavior. Implications are discussed for several theoretical and applied problems.
Fitting Nonhierarchical and Association Log-Linear Models Using GLIM
Authors: BREEN RICHARD
Published: March 2007

In this article methods are presented for fitting nonhierarchical log-linear models as discussed in Magidson et al. (1981) and mobility table models presented by Duncan (1979a) and Goodman (1979b). These methods, which use the GLIM computer package, are considerably simpler than those advocated by any of these authors.
Application of the EM Method
Authors: SCHOENBERG RONALD , RICHTAND CAROL
Published: March 2007

The EM (Estimation-Maximization) algorithm is exploited to provide maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters of multiple indicator/factor analysis models. This method reduces considerably the storage and computational burden of such estimation. A computer program in BASIC language that performs the computations is listed in an appendix. The specification of correlated errors is also provided for in this application of the method.
Direct and Indirect Effects in Linear Structural Equation Models
Authors: SOBEL MICHAEL E.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses total indirect effects in linear structural equation models. First, I define these effects. Second, I show how the delta method may be used to obtain the standard errors of the sample estimates of these effects and test hypotheses about the magnitudes of the indirect effects. To keep matters simple, I focus throughout on a particularly simple linear structural equation system; for a treatment of the general case, see Sobel (1986). To illustrate the ideas and results, a detailed example is presented.
Using Cox Models to Study Multiepisode Processes
Authors: BLOSSFELD HANS-PETER , HAMERLE ALFRED
Published: March 2007

This article shows how Cox models can be used to study multiepisode-multistate processes as well as which computer programs can be used to estimate semiparametric models with multispell data. The application of a multiepisode Cox model is demonstrated using data on career trajectories of German males from the German Life History study.
Dichotomous Factor Analysis of Symptom Data
Authors: MUTHÉN BENGT O.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses how a factor model with continuous latent variables can be used to analyze a set of strongly skewed dichotomous items and how such a model can be used for classification of subjects. The suitability of the specification of normally distributed latent variables, as is assumed with the use of tetrachoric correlations, is investigated. Both exploratory and confirmatory analyses, including multiple groups with mean structures, are illustrated. Substantive findings include support for unidimensionality of the items used in the DSM-III diagnosis of depression and a large degree of invariance in factor structure for the Baltimore and Durham sites.
Theory Testing in a World of Constrained Research Design
Authors: STOLZENBERG ROSS M. , RELLES DANIEL A.
Published: March 2007

Because censored sampling is often unavoidable in much sociological data analysis, computationally simple corrections of censoring bias would be useful. Heckman's correction is simple to compute, widely used, and proven asymptotically correct under certain assumptions, but its limitations in practical situations are not well known in sociology. Here, we overview prior criticisms of Heckman's estimator, and we consider the case in which its normality assumptions are satisfied, censoring rates are high, and sample sizes are small. Results of 14,400 analyses of computer-generated simulation data suggest that Heckman's method performs well under certain circumstances, but that it very frequently worsens estimates, especially under conditions that are likely to be present in sociological data. Thus, the technique is probably not a general cure for censoring bias in sociology, except perhaps where strong theory permits certain strong assumptions. We reconsider censored sampling correction strategies in the context of statistical analysis as a theory-building tool, with emphasis on research strategy in the presence of irremediable censoring bias.
Assumptions and Comparative Strengths of the Two-Step Approach
Authors: ANDERSON JAMES C. , GERBING DAVID W.
Published: March 2007

Fornell and Yi (1992 [this issue]) have discussed four assumptions that they contend underlie two-step approaches to structural equation modeling. Each of these assumptions is demonstrated to not be an assumption of the two-step approach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988). In doing so, an attempt is made to provide some clarification and guidance to researchers interested in employing structural equation modeling to test and develop theory. Given the comparative strengths of the two-step approach over a one-step approach in practice, it is concluded that the preferred approach to the modeling task is the two-step approach of Anderson and Gerbing (1988).
Some New Covariance Structure Model Improvement Statistics
Authors: Bentler P. M. , Chou Chih-Ping
Published: March 2007

Model modification in covariance structure analysis through reducing constraints can have an impact on the estimates of the maintained free parameters if the model is reevaluated. Three new statistics that focus on the estimated changes of parameter estimates and estimated sampling variability of the maintained free parameters are developed in this study. Another new statistic focuses on the significance of the estimated change in restricted, especially, fixed, parameters. An empirical investigation of the performance of these four new statistics showed that they can provide valuable supplementary information to the Lagrange multiplier statistic.
Finite Mixtures of Covariance Structure Models with Regressors
Authors: ARMINGER GERHARD , STEIN PETRA
Published: March 2007

Models of finite mixtures of normal densities conditional on regressor variables are specified and estimated. The authors consider mixtures of multivariate normals where the expected value for each component depends on nonnormal regressor variables. The expected values and covariance matrices of the mixture components are parameterized using conditional mean- and covariance-structures. The authors discuss the construction of the likelihood function and outline the estimation of parameters. In addition, they define fit indices and discuss aspects of model specification and modification that are specific to mixtures of mean- and covariance-structures. Finally, they give an empirical example in which they analyze the importance of automobiles to individuals depending on the latent constructs individualism and ecology-mindedness. It is shown that the sample under consideration comes from three heterogeneous subpopulations. It is demonstrated that each subpopulation may be characterized by a different mean- and covariance-structure.
Bayesian Analysis of Event History Models with Unobserved Heterogeneity via Markov Chain Monte Carlo
Authors: LEWIS STEVEN M. , RAFTERY ADRIAN E.
Published: March 2007

This article describes an interesting application of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). MCMC is used to assess competing explanations of marital fertility decline. Data collected during the World Fertility Study in Iran are analyzed using methods developed to perform discrete time event history analyses in which unobserved heterogeneity is explicitly accounted for. The usual age-period-cohort identifiability problem is compounded by the presence of a fourth clock, duration since previous birth, and a fifth clocklike variable, mother's parity. The authors resolve this problem by modeling some of the clocks parametrically using codings suggested by alternating conditional expectation (ACE) and Bayes factors to decide which clocks are necessary. Compound Laplace-Metropolis estimates are used to compute Bayes factors for comparing alternative models. The new methods enable the authors to conclude that Iran's fertility decline was primarily a period effect and not a cohort effect, that it started before the Family Planning Program was initiated, that it was the same for women at all educational levels but varied depending on husband's education, and that it was greatest in the largest cities, particularly Tehran.
New social and political movements of dalits: A study of Meerut district
Authors: Pai Sudha
Published: March 2007

This study, based upon fieldwork in selected villages, examines 'new'forms of dalit asser tion in Meerut district. Despite a long history of dalit assertion, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has not been electorally successful in this region, and has had to compete with the Samajwadi Party. Dalit assertion here has taken different forms, as much socio-cultural as political. Two forms analysed here are the desire for education to compete with upper castes, and attempts to control local politics and resource distribution through the new panchayats. The study shows that the traditional structures of rural dominance based upon land and social status are undergoing change. The traditionally dominant position of the Rajputs, Jats and Gujars has been challenged by the dalits, and to a lesser extent by the 'Most Backward Castes' (MBCs), but identity assertion and desire for upward mobility have also created conflict between the dalits and the MBCs. The article concludes that socio-cultural and political assertion by dalits at the grassroots level is of greater signifi cance and more helpful to the BSP in establishing itself as a party/movement, than are its electoral successes or capture of political power in the state.
Fathers and daughters in a south Indian goddess myth: Cultural ambivalence and the dynamics of desire
Authors: Nuckolls Charles W.
Published: March 2007

Desire in kinship creates ambivalences which the kinship system itself does not resolve, and while this has been understood—especially with reference to the mother-son relationship in South Asia—little attention has focused on the relationship between father and daughter. The Jalari (a Telugu fishing caste) myth of the seven goddesses turns on the relationship between Shiva and his daughters. Alternately impeding and assisting each other, Shiva and his daughters represent, in their relationship, one of the central paradoxes of south Indian kinship: How can fathers and daughters love but relinquish each other, given the exigencies of development, and especially marriage? The myth presents a solution by transforming daughters into goddesses, preserving the father—daughter bond, and making marriage contingent on cooperation among women, not men. It is argued that ambivalence is central to south Indian kinship, and the fons et origo of an important regional mythical system.
At the margins: Women workers in the Bengal jute industry
Authors: Sen Samita
Published: March 2007

This paper seeks to raise questions about Indian women's low participation in modern factory industries on the basis of an examination of the case of the jute industry in Bengal. The focus of the paper is on the colonial period, but some of the patterns evolved in that period are shown to be highly resilient or to have been reinforced in the period after Independence. The colonial state, it is argued, helped to achieve and foster a particular accommodation between capitalist and patriarchal forces which allowed the retention of women's labour in the non-capitalist and household sectors or at the lower end of the wage labour market. The more lucrative jobs in the mills increasingly became the prerogative of men, who through their ability to command women's labour and mobility, provided the flexible labour that jute mill entrepreneurs desired. The mills in their turn further casualised the labour market through irregular hiring and personalised and informal recruitment. The mills—and the city itself—were a predominantly male world. Poor urban women who lived and worked in this environment were confronted with frequent sexual harassment and the stigma of being seen as sexually immoral. In addition, the difference between male and female earnings widened as women became concentrated in 'unskilled' jobs. As wage conditions improved and mill workers aspired towards upward social mobility, there were strong pressures towards the domestication of working-class women.
On Esotericism
Authors: WAITE GEOFFREY
Published: March 2007

There was a famous discussion between Heidegger and Ernst Cassirer in Davos which revealed the lostness and emptiness of this remarkable representative of established academic philosophy to everyone who had eyes. Cassirer had been a pupil of Hermann Cohen, the founder of the neo-Kantian school. Cohen had elaborated a system of philosophy whose center was ethics. Cassirer had transformed Cohen's system into a new system of philosophy in which ethics had completely disappeared. It had been silently dropped: he had not faced the problem. Heidegger had faced the problem. He declared that ethics is impossible, and his whole being was permeated by the awareness that this fact opens up an abyss.... Only a great thinker could help us in our plight. But here is the great trouble: the only great thinker in our time is Heidegger. The only question of importance, of course, is the question whether Heidegger's teaching is true or not. But the very question is deceptive because it is silent about the question of competence—of who is competent to judge.

Strauss

Heidegger conceals nothing. He does not lie. He says what he really thinks.

Janicaud

It is important for us to understand, above all, the true intentions of our author, to illuminate what he thinks really needs to be said, and to surmise what is most critical for him.

Levinas

Only once or twice in my thirty to thirty-five years of teaching have I ever spoken about what really matters to me.

Heidegger

For a long time I have not said what I believed, nor do I ever believe what I say, and if indeed I do happen to tell the truth I hide it among so many lies that it is hard to find.

Machiavelli

The `doctrine' of a thinker is what is unsaid in his saying, to which man is exposed so that he might expend himself for it.

Heidegger

But for those on the outside everything is in parables; so that they may see but not perceive, and hearing, they may hear but not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.

Mark 4:12

“Now do you recognize that I am a philosopher?”... “I would have, had you remained silent.”

Boethius

The same goes for Heidegger: It is necessary to know how to listen to the silences of philosophers. These are always eloquent.

Althusser
Television Viewing, Fat Stereotyping, Body Shape Standards, and Eating Disorder Symptomatology in Grade School Children
Authors: HARRISON KRISTEN
Published: March 2007

A survey of 303 first- to third-grade children measured relationships between (a) television viewing and interpersonal attraction (IA) to television characters and (b) fat stereotyping, body shape standards, and eating disorder symptomatology. Television viewing predicted an increased tendency among males to stereotype a fat female target and also predicted increased eating disorder symptomatology among participants of both genders. IA to thin television characters was not a consistent predictor of thinness-favoring cognitions and behaviors, but IA to average-weight characters was a significant negative predictor for female participants. Discussion focuses on the need for continued research on the relationship between media exposure, ideal-body stereotype internalization, and eating disorder symptomatology in child populations.
Situational Urgency and Conversational Retreat
Authors: KELLERMANN KATHY , PARK HEE SUN
Published: March 2007

Conversational Constraint Theory posits that preferred levels of efficiency and social appropriateness for particular conversational encounters fluctuate in response to situational, relational, and personal factors, and these fluctuations alter and determine which behaviors are acceptable tactics for achieving goals in these encounters. This research examines the situational factor of urgency, its influence on minimally preferred levels of efficiency and social appropriateness, and its influence on the acceptability of tactics for unilaterally withdrawing from conversations. A three phase research process finds that (a) efficiency and appropriateness assessments of conversational retreat tactics are goal dependent and within-goal variant, stable over time and across subpopulations; (b) situational urgency increases the preferred level for efficiency only; and (c) situational urgency alters tactical acceptability such that appropriate though less efficient tactics acceptable in nonurgent situations are unacceptable in urgent situations.
Communication, Context, and Community
Authors: SHAH DHAVAN V. , McLEOD JACK M. , YOON SO-HYANG
Published: March 2007

This research explores the influence of mass media use and community context on civic engagement. The article presents a multilevel test of print, broadcast, and Internet effects on interpersonal trust and civic participation that acknowledges there are (a) micro-level differences in the motives underlying media use, (b) age-cohort differences in patterns of media use and levels of civic engagement, and (c) macro-level differences in community / communication context. Accordingly, the effects of individual differences in media use and aggregate differences in community context are analyzed within generational subsamples using a pooled data set developed from the 1998 and 1999 DDB Life Style Studies. The data suggest that informational uses of mass media are positively related to the production of social capital, whereas social-recreational uses are negatively related to these civic indicators. Informational uses of mass media were also found to interact with community context to influence civic engagement. Analyses within subsamples find that among the youngest adult Americans, use of the Internet for information exchange more strongly influences trust in people and civic participation than do uses of traditional print and broadcast news media.
Reaching those at Risk
Authors: Freimuth Vicki S. , Hammond Sharon Lee , Edgar Timothy , Monahan Jennifer L.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to analyze televised public service announcements (PSAs) on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to determine how health communicators had responded to the challenge of developing messages on sensitive health issues for mass audiences. Specifically, this article reports the findings of a content analysis of 127 televised AIDS PSAs, focusing on two key issues that campaign planners face: (a) selecting and adapting to target audiences and (b) motivating behavior change as well as disseminating information. The results show that these PSAs generally were not targeted according to risk behavior-most were directed to general audiences. Messages tended to use rational rather than emotional appeals and encouraged the audience to seek more information rather than adopt a specific preventive behavior. A similar pattern was observed when we examined targeting based on ethnicity status. Little motivational content was included in these PSAs. The spots analyzed provide facts to the audience about the disease and provide ways in which more information can be obtained. The spots did not discuss the possible barriers the audience may encounter when they try to use their knowledge.
EFFECTS OF VIEWING A PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DEBATE
Authors: LEMERT JAMES B. , ELLIOTT WILLIAM R. , NESTVOLD KARL J. , RARICK GALEN R.
Published: March 2007

Do televised debates between presidential candidates stimulate campaign interest and learning? This question can best be answered by controlling the problem of self-selection: The people who normally watch may already be interested in the presidential campaign. Since the self-selection problem may be most acute during the fall campaign, we chose to study the effects of the February 20, 1980, debate involving seven Republican candidates. Experimental group subjects were asked to watch the debate in exchange for a small payment, while two control groups were not. Key measurement took place during a “surprise” March wave where none of the groups had any advance warning that they would be interviewed. In March, Experimentals continued to learn more than controls about events occurring after the first interview, and they displayed greater interest in the Democratic race while maintaining their previously stronger interest in the Republicans.
THE INFORMATION GAP AND MUNICIPAL POLITICS IN SWEDEN
Authors: BRANTGÄRDE LENNART
Published: March 2007

This article deals with three aspects of the well-known “information gap” phenomenon. The author takes a starting point from a broadened definition of the information gap including not only knowledgeability itself, but also the information processes that precede and follow it, i.e., information seeking and dissemination. The subject area is local politics in Sweden in 1979 and it is claimed that less well-educated people are above average on exposure to information, slightly below average on knowledgeability, and far below average on dissemination. From a normative democratic point of view a concluding remark is that the “influence gap” might be more of a threat than the information gap.
SWEDISH YOUTH AND MUSIC
Authors: ROE KEITH
Published: March 2007

This article reports results of a panel study of 509 Swedish youth, with data collected in 1976, 1978, and 1980, on uses and gratifications of popular music. There is a relationship between amount of peer orientation and type of music preferred. An exploratory factor analysis identified three types of music preference: (1) punk, new wave, and rock; (2) mainstream pop; and (3) classical, jazz, and folk music. Motivations for listening were more physical and emotional than cerebral (that is, listening to lyrics).
A Social Information Processing Model of Media Use in Organizations
Authors: FULK JANET , STEINFIELD CHARLES W. , SCHMITZ JOSEPH , POWER J. GERARD
Published: March 2007

This article presents a model of how social influence processes affect individuals' attitudes toward communication media and media use behavior. The model integrates two areas of research. One body of work posits that media use patterns are the outcome of objectively rational choices. These choices involve evaluating communication options and selecting an appropriate medium to match the communication requirements of the task. The second perspective is social information processing theory (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). This approach proposes that attitudes and behaviors are partially determined by information embedded in the social context. The synthesis of these perspectives asserts that media characteristics and attitudes are in part socially constructed. Furthermore, attitudes are influenced by attributions based on observations of one's own past behavior. This model is shown to explain a wider range of existing empirical findings. Also, new propositions are derived to guide future research. This social construction model of media use has significant implications for the design, conduct, and reporting of future research in organizations.
On the Public Aspects of Opinion
Authors: PRICE VINCENT
Published: March 2007

A new information-processing paradigm, drawing heavily upon concepts generated by the cognitive sciences, has emerged in research on mass communication and public opinion. To make significant contributions to public opinion theory, however, this new cognitive paradigm must properly incorporate the “public” aspects of opinion formation—finding suitable ways to link individual-level information processing to the higher-level processes of public communication and social organization. Fundamental to public opinion theory is the notion that members of a public organize collectively through communication over a point of conflict. Researching this communicative process requires the analysis of cognition and opinion formation as individual-level phenomena that operate within, and that are thus largely dependent upon, the wider social context of public debate and collective organization. It is suggested that current developments in social identification theory may be particularly important in helping us to understand better how a mass of individuals can become a structured public through communication.
Bibliometrics and Scholarly Communication
Authors: BORGMAN CHRISTINE L.
Published: March 2007

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest both in scholarly communication as a research area and in the application of bibliometrics as a research method. This special issue attempts to review current research that applies bibliometric techniques to research questions in scholarly communication. We consider scholarly communication to be the study of how scholars in any field use and disseminate information through formal and informal channels, whereas bibliometrics is the application of mathematics and statistical methods to books and other media of communication. We propose a matrix for the intersection of these two topics of variables studied (producers, artifacts, and concepts of communication) by research questions asked (characterizing scholarly communities, evolution of scholarly communities, evaluation of scholarly contributions, and the diffusion of ideas). Research in these areas is reviewed, and articles in this issue are set in the context of the matrix. Reliability and validity issues in the application of bibliometrics are reviewed briefly.
The Structure of Family and Romantic Ties in the Soap Opera
Authors: LIEBES TAMAR , LIVINGSTONE SONIA
Published: March 2007

The authors offer a new approach for the study of soap opera, aimed at discovering the social boundaries within which a particular culture negotiates its primordial relationships. The interaction between culture, power, genre, and gender is revealed by tracing the complex kinship structures of family and romance among soap opera characters and by observing how this structure is activated by the narrative. The advantages of this ethnographic method are examined within the framework of three parallel research traditions of audiences and texts: (a) quantitative analysis of social stratification (and the corresponding gratifications) and the wielding of power (content analysis), (b) analysis of meaning and process in the decoding by viewers (reception) and in narratives (literary analysis), and (c) ties and contexts in the ethnography of viewers and of characters.
Communication and Coordination in an Interorganizational System
Authors: MILLER KATHERINE , SCOTT CRAIG R. , STAGE CHRISTINA , BIRKHOLT MARTY
Published: March 2007

Homelessness in today's urban centers poses a problem of huge proportions. Increasingly, the homeless and the urban dilemma are intertwined. Cause and effect are blurred as the needs of the homeless confront and affront while shaping urban policy. Because of the diverse nature and needs of the American homeless population, individual organizations are not able to provide the range of services necessary for survival on the street and long-term recovery off the street. The authors present a grounded theory study of coordination and communication in the provision of service to the urban homeless. They begin by reviewing theoretical perspectives on communication and coordination in interorganizational relationships. They then consider this literature in light of the urban homelessness context.
Differences in How We Watch the News
Authors: TEWKSBURY DAVID
Published: March 2007

This research explored the ways consumption goals and political expertise may influence the depth at which people process political information in television news. Participants were assigned randomly to watch a television news profile of a political candidate with the goal of either forming an evaluation or merely passing a few minutes. They then completed measures of their evaluations of the candidate, their recall of information, and their political knowledge. The results provide evidence that processing goals and political expertise can be powerful determinants of how carefully people process political information. Experts and participants with evaluation goals were more likely than were their counterparts to process the story and form evaluations systematically. This study suggests that communication researchers and political scientists need to consider audience goals and expertise in future investigations.
A Scale to Assess Children's Moral Interpretations of Justified and Unjustified Violence and Its Relationship to Television Viewing
Authors: KRCMAR MARINA , VALKENBURG PATTI M.
Published: March 2007

This study develops and validates the Moral Interpretation of Interpersonal Violence (MIIV) Scale. One hundred fifty-eight children responded to 12 stories in which a perpetrator performed either justified or unjustified violence. Children were asked to report how right or wrong they perceived the violence to be and to provide reasons for their responses. Principal components analysis was used to reduce the 12 stories to a smaller set that had higher internal consistency and that correlated with the Sociomoral Reflection Measure—Short Form (SRM-SF). The study also investigated how viewing television violence was related to the MIIV. Children who watched a lot of fantasy violence judged justified violence as less wrong, whereas children who watched a lot of realistic violence judged justified violence as more wrong. In addition, children who watched more fantasy violence and those who watched more realistic violence used less advanced moral reasoning strategies in explaining their judgments.
Self-Harm in Prison
Authors: DEAR GREG E. , THOMSON DONALD M. , HILLS ADELMA M.
Published: March 2007

This study sought to determine whether self-harm incidents classified as manipulative would also be classified as low suicidal intent and low risk to life. Seventy-four prisoners who had self-harmed were interviewed within 3 days of the incident. Measures were obtained of the degree of suicidal intent (Suicide Intent Scale), the degree to which the incident posed a risk to life (assessed by medical staff), and the principal motive for self-harming (open-ended question). The data did not support the notion that manipulators and suicide attempters are mutually exclusive groups. Only 6 of the 18 participants who reported manipulative motives displayed low suicidal intent, and 3 of the 18 enacted self-harm that posed at least a moderate risk to life. Prison staff cannot assume that prisoners who appear manipulative or report manipulative motives were not suicidal at the time of self-harming.
Constructing Actuarial Devices for Predicting Recidivism
Authors: SILVER ERIC , SMITH WILLIAM R. , BANKS STEVEN
Published: March 2007

A recent contribution to the prediction literature by Steadman et al. features a novel “iterative classification” procedure for constructing risk screening devices. In this article, the authors apply the iterative classification procedure to a large recidivism data set, across a range of recidivism outcomes and cross-validation conditions. The purpose of this study is to assess the generalizability of the iterative classification procedure and to draw comparisons with more traditional methods of device construction. Results show the iterative classification procedure to outperform other standard device construction procedures in terms of the percentage of cases classified as high or low risk but not to outperform more traditional device construction procedures on a variety of other performance measures. Implications for future research on the construction and evaluation of risk screening devices are discussed.
Reducing Fear of Crime through Occupational Presence
Authors: BALKIN STEVEN , HOULDEN PAULINE
Published: March 2007

Not all types of population activity can be expected to increase one's sense of safety in public places. Fear of crime in public places, however, may be reduced through a greater incidence of occupational presence. Some of the characteristics of occupational groups which reduce fear of crime are identified. In particular, persons in uniform and persons in the employ of government, working in a location in which they have a vested interest, are most effective in reducing fear. Demographic characteristics of the occupational person (age, race, sex) also were found to affect ability to inculcate a sense of safety. These findings suggest that increasing the number of members of certain occupational groups in public places (beyond what is warranted on grounds of private efficiency) may be justified by the improved sense of safety that they generate.
Girls' Talk
Authors: CAMPBELL ANNE
Published: March 2007

The present study analyzes taperecorded accounts of fights given by female members of New York street gangs to fellow members. While such data may not be veridical, they can reveal much about the way aggression is socially represented to peers which in turn is likely to be constrained by gang norms about the propriety of aggressive behavior. Frequency data indicate that fights are not restricted to specifically female or gang member opponents, that the majority are one-on-one encounters and are a result of domestic and romantic disputes and matters of individual integrity rather than gangrelated issues. A principal components analysis reveals three interpretable factors; group—personal, weapon—no weapon and victim—nonvictim. The five major reasons for the physical aggression are most clearly differentiated by a joint consideration of Factors I and III. The importance of these factors is discussed with reference to the social acceptability of limiting the extent and seriousness of the encounter.
Distinguishing Driving While Impaired (DWI) Offenders from among Alcoholics, Criminals, and Drunk Drivers
Authors: SALTSTONE ROBERT
Published: March 2007

This study examines the problems associated with differentiating among samples of alcoholics, criminals, and impaired drivers on the basis of personality and alcohol variables. Employing discriminant functions analysis, both with and without the inclusion of a measure of alcohol dependency, it becomes clear that the ability to identify impaired drivers from among samples of impaired drivers, alcoholics, and criminal offenders is based upon a linear combination of both personality and alcohol variables. Difficulties in discriminating among samples from these populations experienced by previous researchers is suggested as probably being due to the failure to assess the contribution of both personality and alcohol variables in the analyses, and to the fact that the impaired driver population distribution overlaps substantially those of criminal and alcohol dependent populations.
A Factor Analysis of the MMPI in an Offender Population
Authors: CARMIN CHERYL N. , WALLBROWN FRED H. , OWNBY RAYMOND L. , BARNETT ROBERT W.
Published: March 2007

The MMPI is a widely used personality assessment inventory. Since the research by Megargee and Bohn (1979), the MMPI has received considerable attention in the determination of criminal offender personality typology. Less attention, however, has been given to the factor structure of the instrument with an offender population. This study of the MMPI's factor structure, using adjudicated male felons, found five interpretable factors further supporting the utility of this instrument with an offender population.
Evaluations of Competency to be Executed
Authors: SMALL MARK A. , OTTO RANDY K.
Published: March 2007

With the Supreme Court's decision in Ford v. Wainwright (1986), and the increasing numbers of persons sentenced to death, mental health professionals working in criminal settings can anticipate increased involvement in proceedings examining a condemned prisoner's competency to be executed. This article explores the legal context and clinical aspects of such evaluations. First, the substantive legal test and legal procedures surrounding an assessment of competency to be executed are presented. Salient elements of the legal process of determining competency are discussed. Next, assessment techniques are reviewed. Finally, the issue of mental health professionals answering the ultimate legal issue, as applied to competency to be executed evaluations, is addressed.
The Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders in Light of Foucha v. Louisiana
Authors: ALEXANDER RUDOLPH
Published: March 2007

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that an individual who has been judged insane and committed to a mental facility and who has regained his sanity but remains dangerous cannot continue to be confined. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Kennedy stated that the majority's decision might have put in doubt the civil commitment of persons other than insanity acquittees. The author of this essay contends that the Court's decision indeed did so and argues that dangerous or predatory sex offenders cannot now be civilly committed to mental institutions. The author argues also that the criminal justice system, rather than the mental health system, is more appropriate for controlling sex offenders.
The Predictive Accuracy of the Violent Offender Treatment Program Risk Assessment Scale
Authors: WARD ANN , DOCKERILL JOHN
Published: March 2007

Current methods for screening violent offenders for program eligibility are expensive and time consuming. Developers of the Violent Offender Treatment Program (VOTP) have designed a brief and economical instrument to screen offenders for program eligibility. The present study was undertaken to assess the reliability and predictive accuracy of the VOTP Risk Assessment Scale (RAS). An interrater reliability of 20 court histories attained a mean kappa of .81. The RAS was applied to court histories of 202 violent offenders released between 1985 and 1987. A 10-year follow-up of convictions for violent behavior yielded a 47% base rate. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves showed that for varying time-at-risk periods, the predictive accuracy remained between .72 and .76. The recommended cutoff score for all time-at-risk periods was 11. The relatively high accuracy rate of the VOTP RAS indicated that it was accurate enough to aid program eligibility decisions.
An Application of a "Political Economy" Approach To Effectiveness
Authors: Schmidt Stuart M. , Kochan Thomas A.
Published: March 2007

A "political economy effectiveness" model for analyzing the relationships between public agencies and their clients is developed. This model traces the effects of environmental exchange relationships on the goals guiding the behavior of public agency personnel who are responsible for implementing public policy. Empirical data for a preliminary test of the proposed model are presented. The results are used to assess several correlates of the effectiveness of the Employment Service in inducing a portion of their clients (employers) to make use of the agencies' services.
A Typology of Conceptions of the Public Interest
Authors: Mitnick Barry M.
Published: March 2007

A typology of conceptions of the public interest is presented, and the occurrence of public interest rhetoric is discussed. Classifying dimensions of the typology include (1) number of sets of preferences and agreement among them, (2) the existence and level of the actor holding the preferences, (3) whether determination of the public interest requires participation of units of the polity in certain acts, or is merely passive or investigatory in nature, and (4) whether determination of the public interest is or is not rule-determined. Reasons suggested for the occurrence of public interest rhetoric include the avoidance of protest, the constraints of general value consensus, and the behavior of fiduciaries. It is argued that development of a general theory relating public interest conceptions to behavior may be aided by construction of typologies like the present one.
Centralized and Pluralistic Organizational Structures in Public Welfare
Authors: Weed Frank J.
Published: March 2007

Researchers have speculated for some time that organizations are strongly influenced by ideological and social forces present at the forntative period of their history. This study shows that two types of organizational structure-centralized and pluralistic-found in 48 states' public assistance organizations can be partly accounted for by the administrative ideology that was dominant at the formative stage. In addition, the effects of pluralistic and centralized structure tend to have long-lasting effects on some of the internal components of public assistance organizations.
Testing the Information-Energy Model
Authors: Berenson William M.
Published: March 2007

The information-energy model is a theory which purports to explain changes in bureaucratic development for developing nations in terms of changes in ecological variables. This research note attempts to test the validity of the model and to assess its explanatory power through aggregate data analysis and cross-national causal modeling techniques. The results indicate that though ecological variables account for some variation in bureaucratic development, the overall explanatory power of the model is not what was initially hypothesized. Of all the paths in the causal model leading to bureaucratic development, the direct linkage between information and bureaucratic development is the strongest.
Intergovernmental Support of TechnologicaL Innovation in Local Government
Authors: Menzel Donald C.
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the influence that intergovernmental support has on the adoption of new technologies within and among four areas of local government—fire protec tion, traffic control, solid waste management, and air pollution control. Interviews were conducted with more than 80 program managers in 20 cities throughout the United States. The interviews focused on the respondents'perceptions of the influences that funds, rules, technical assistance, and attitudes held by higher level officials have on local decisions to adopt new technical innovations. Two findings emerged: (1) intergovernmental influences do not impact in a uniform fashion on local decisions to innovate, and (2) such influences are often attenuated or minimized by local circumstances. Finally, the paper explores the policy implications of these findings.
Federal Grants To the States
Authors: Hale George E. , Lief Palley Marian
Published: March 2007

The nature of the American federal system has changed dramatically during the 20th century. The traditional view of the American system as a "layer cake" was replaced with a "marble cake" representation. In the 1960's and 1970's a metaphoric "picket fence" was constructed to better describe relations between governments. However, little empirical study has tested the accuracy of this widely accepted explanation of intergovernmental relations. This article assesses the adequacy of the "picket fence model" and suggests that state agencies are relatively autonomous decision-making units-operating much like private businesses with little oversight by state or federal officials. Therefore, a regulatory model is proposed as a more realistic representation of the intergovernmental system.
Performance-Contingent Pay for Federal Aianagers
Authors: Gaertner Karen N. , Gaertner Gregory H.
Published: March 2007

A new system of performance appraisal based on written standards and merit-based pay for supervisors and managers in the federal government is examined in five sites. The merit-based pay aspects of these systems are not perceived as equitable, nor are they perceived to contribute to agency effectiveness. The performance appraisal and performance standards aspects appear to be contributing positively to work planning and supervisor-subordinate communications. Developmental, forward-looking appraisals are seen to have the most positive impact on attitudes toward these systems, though appraisals have become less developmental under the new system. Results are discussed as they relate to the effectiveness of government operations.
Beyond Organizational Boundaries
Authors: Ingersoll Virginia Hill , Adams Guy B.
Published: March 2007

Many of the meanings of organizational symbols, rituals, stories and roles are ultimately given by the larger social context in which all organizations operate, so to understand the symbolic properties of an organization fully it is important to look beyond any individual system. This paper examines a set of beliefs called the managerial metamyth, a portion of the belief system that underlies much organizational symbolic activity. Examples are given of the metamyth `s presence in the macroculture, in the academic subculture, and in the managerial subculture.
Just What is a Policy, Anyway? And Who's Supposed to Make it?
Authors: Hale Dennis
Published: March 2007

Twenty administration and policy texts are surveyed with respect to two major questions: (1) How do they define the nature and boundaries of the "administrative policy making process "and (2) How do they understand politics? The author finds that the texts give us a picture of American politics that resembles the `formless void" of Arthur Bentley's Process of Government: distinctions and dichotomies have broken down; the "policymaking process" has become a phenomenon virtually without boundaries; and politics has been swallowed by administration.
(UN)Representative Bureaucracy
Authors: Yishai Yael , Cohen Aaron
Published: March 2007

Women are severely underrepresented in the Israeli senior civil service. This article explores the barriers that impede women 's advancement to top administrative positions by comparing those who achieved senior ranks to a sample of two control groups: male senior officials and middle-rank female officials. Four explanations are offered: (a) human capital, (b) attitudes and views, (c) organizational characteristics and values, and (d) functional attributes. Data show that senior women are differentfrom senior men in their higher status, in their lower sense of equity, and in their domestic chores. Senior women are distinctfrom middle-rank women in their social, women's, and occupational networking and in their internal domestic chores. A discriminate analysis has shown the importance of domestic chores in the male-female variation and the importance of status, social, occupational, and women networking within the intrafemale variation.