bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploration of Mother's Activities: A Multidimensional Scale
Authors: Santos-Acuin Cecitia C. , Pelto Pertti J.
Published: March 2007

The next article is an example of how some researchers are using multidimensional scaling and cultural domain analysis in healthcare and nutrition applications. In the next issue, we'll discuss how to superimpose the results of cluster analysis on MDS plots. Future issues of CAM will carry articles on how to interpret MDS plots and how to interpret the "stress" in those plots; and articles on how to use property fitting, or PROFIT analysis to test your hunches about the dimensions in an MDS plot-- Editor
Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability Demonstration Initiative (HIFA): A Policy Analysis Using Kingdon’s Policy Streams Model
Authors: Laraway Alisha S. , Jennings Carole P.
Published: March 2007

In August of 2001, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability (HIFA) Initiative. This initiative’s goal was to make the process through which states increase and expand access to health insurance for low-income individuals faster and more streamlined. However, the HIFA initiative was introduced at a time when the economy was stronger and the population at large (and the number of uninsured) had not yet been affected by the devastating aftermath of September 11, 2001. This article presents an overview of Section 1115 waivers and continues with a discussion of HIFA waivers. An analysis of HIFA waivers is provided using John Kingdon’s policy streams’ model. Last, the author comments on the current and future challenges confronting the HIFA initiative.
The Veterans Health Administration
Authors: Jacobson Nadine M.
Published: March 2007

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is an important safety net health care system for many of the nation’s poor, uninsured, and underinsured. As the largest integrated health care system in the nation, the Veterans Administration provides health care to 40% of veterans who are eligible for VA services and treats approximately 4 million veterans a year.
Secondary Data for Policy Studies: Benefits and Challenges
Authors: Young Wendy B. , Ryu Hosihn
Published: March 2007

Nurse clinicians, researchers, faculty, health service administrators, and consultants are increasingly involved in advocating public policy proposals to address health issues. One necessary tool for effective policy advocacy is a data-based analysis of the problem and recommended policy. Health policy research to inform the fast-paced, just-in-time policy-making process relies on existing government and nongovernmental data to maximize timeliness and credibility of results. Examples of recent reviews and studies using secondary analysis of public and industrial data are briefly described for further exploration. This overview of health policy research aims to foster more use of secondary data analysis studies to inform the policy-making process.
The Need to Address Hospital Politics in Order to Reduce Medication Errors: A Case Study
Authors: Fletcher Carol E.
Published: March 2007

The report issued by the Institute of Medicine, To Err is Human—Building a Safer Health System, clearly illustrates the unacceptably high rates of medical errors that cause injury and death to patients in the United States. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis presents one way to analyze the causes of errors involving medications. By using Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, nurses, as the caregivers most directly involved with patients, may be able to see system flaws that lead to medication errors. Nurses are thus well positioned to be able to contribute to the reduction of medication errors. However, they will not be able to do so unless their observations are given credence by physicians and hospital administrators, and they develop political skills to enhance their power base for effective action.
Black Incumbents, White Districts
Authors: VOSS D. STEPHEN , LUBLIN DAVID
Published: March 2007

This article explores the controversial 1996 success of three African American incumbents (Sanford Bishop and Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and Corrine Brown of Florida) who lost their majority-Black southern congressional districts to Supreme Court decisions. Using aggregate electoral data and Gary King's solution to the ecological inference problem, we gauge (a) the extent of bias against Black candidates, (b) the extent of backlash against Black voters, and (c) the extent to which incumbency explains away the Georgia victories. The findings are compatible with neither a full attack on racial redistricting nor a defense of it. Southern Whites do not exhibit either consistent bias against Black candidates or backlash against Black voters, but racial polarization is nonetheless evident and dispersed in a geographically systematic manner. Barriers against Black representation are still strong, but they are not the electoral barriers that civil rights activists assume when they embrace majority-minority districts.
The Reasoning Voter Meets the Strategic Candidate
Authors: VAVRECK LYNN
Published: March 2007

Theories of voting suggest voters use shortcuts to minimize the costs associated with becoming informed about candidates' policy positions. Although there is much theorizing about how voters use cues, there is little empirical work on whether candidates send them. Data from advertisements run during the 1998 elections show that candidates do not often send obvious kinds of policy relevant cues—information about party and ideology. This analysis of advertising suggests that candidates send signals in strategic ways. They obfuscate to avoid being labeled a partisan of the less popular party, but they know when they are not well known enough (being a challenger) such that party may help people learn about them. In open primaries, candidates attempt to steal voters away from the opposing party by not explicitly mentioning their party or ideology but by talking about specific issue positions in hopes of attracting independent voters.
Legislators' Perceptions of Reform in Three States
Authors: Moncrief Gary , Jewell Malcolm E.
Published: March 2007

This study, based on surveys of legislators in South Dakota, Texas, and Kentucky, measures the members' perceptions of the goals of reforms adopted a few years ago in the legislatures of these states. It shows that there are large differences among members in their perception of goals—differences not generally explained by party or faction, members' status (chairmanships), or seniority. Reforms are more likely to be associated with transitive than with reflective goals; that is, they are related to the legislature and its environment and are not internally oriented.
Changing Electoral Contexts and Changing Candidate Images During the 1984 Presidential Campaign
Authors: McCann James A.
Published: March 2007

In his 1986 article, Donald R. Kinder argued that the images which people hold of well-known political figures may be linked to four rudimentary cognitive dimensions: strength, competence, integrity, and empathy. Furthermore, judgments about the personalities of politicians are said to be stable over time. To verify the structure and the stability of images, Kinder conducted a survey over a four-week period. This study examined these two points further by extending the range of time to one year, 1984, in which a presidential campaign occurred. Significant changes in both the content and the structure of citizen ratings of the two principal presidential candidates were found. These changes were attributed to the changing electoral contexts during that election year.
Voting and the Social Environment
Authors: Geer John G.
Published: March 2007

This article develops a model of voting. A central tenet of this piece is that voting is a simple decision for most voters, and thus should be modeled simply. Working within the Kelley (1983) framework, I argue that to improve existing explanations of voting, we need to take account of the voter's social environment, that is, the views of friends and family. This new model better captures the process through which the voter decides and increases the explanatory power of the Kelley model. My model predicts 90.9% of the votes correctly—a 6.4% increase over the Kelley approach. The Center for Political Studies (CPS), however, only asked the appropriate questions in 1952. The lack of data shows the failure of students of voting to include the immediate social environment in their models.
The Impact of Reapportionment On Public Policy
Authors: Maggiotto Michael A. , Dauer Manning J. , Koven Steven G. , Carver Joan S. , Gottlieb Joel
Published: March 2007

Typical examinations of the impact of reapportionment have taken a narrow time frame, focused on level of funding, and tried to survey all states. This article departs from the norm in that we look at a twenty-year history of a single state, Florida, and include, in addition to fiscal policies, regulatory policies and a discussion of party competition. Our intention is not to refute the importance of economic variables in state policymaking, but to redirect attention to the area where political vanables, like reapportionment, can have their greatest impact: on the geographic distribution of resources. We find that for party competition and for four policy areas-two fiscal and two regulatory-reapportionment had a significant impact.
Local Party Activists and Electoral Linkage
Authors: Lawson Kay , Pomper Gerald , Moakley Maureen
Published: March 2007

Using the framework of linkage theory, we examine local parties, by means of mail questionnaires to party activists in one county of New Jersey. Three aspects are investigated : level of activism, satisfaction of activists, and decision-making structures. Activists concentrate on campaigns, derive most satisfaction from electoral work, and leave decision making to party leaders. Relationships among higher activism, greater satisfaction, and more democratic structures are positive, but only to a moderate degree. We conclude, with Schlesinger, that U.S. parties primarily are agencies of electoral, not participatory or clientelistic, linkage, and consider the possible implications of this fact for the long-range liability of local parties and the American political system.
Divisive Primaries and Participation in Fall Presidential Campaigns
Authors: Buell Emmett H.
Published: March 2007

Remarkably little research has been published on divisive presidential primaries and activists who take part in them. This case study of 1984 New Hampshire Democratic primary activists investigates whether Mondale opponents helped the fall Mondale campaign significantly less than Mondale primary supporters. Although differences were significant and in the expected direction, some Mondale primary opponents still helped the fall campaign substantially; very few abstained or defected to Reagan. In addition to candidate supported in the presidential primary, multivariate analysis pinpointed being a "political junkie" as another important influence on fall presidential campaign participation. Finally, this divisive primary was found to have positive as well as negative consequences for the state Democratic party.
Evangelicals and the 1984 Election
Authors: Smidt Corwin
Published: March 2007

This article analyzes the change and continuity evident in the political attitudes and behavior of American evangelicals over the past two presidential elections. Viewed in terms of a socioreligious group, evangelicals remained a relatively large bloc of voters with distinctive political attitudes. However, important changes were evident in their level of voter turnout, their level of voting cohesion, and their pattern of partisan identification. Regional and age differences among evangelicals are also analyzed. The data suggest that a new "generation" of evangelicals may be emerging. Young evangelicals, regardless of region, appear to be relatively politicized and distinctively Republican in their partisanship.
Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, and Politics
Authors: Beatty Kathleen Murphy , Walter B. Oliver
Published: March 2007

This article takes issue with the assumption that the Christian right is a monolithic bloc. In a national sample of clergy, self-identified fundamentalists, evangelicals, and nonidentifiers (neither fundamentalists nor nonfundamentalists) are compared on three dimensions: religious attitudes, political attitudes (issue opinions and ideology), and political communications from the pulpit. The self-identification scheme yields groups that are very distinct on all three dimensions.
Structural Reforms and Licensing Board Performance
Authors: Graddy Elizabeth , Nichol Michael B.
Published: March 2007

In an effort to redress the perceived imbalance between practitioner and consumer interests on occupational licensing boards, two structural reforms have been widely implemented: the addition of public members to the boards, and the consolidation of the licensing function into a single administrative entity within each state. The extent to which these reforms have improved the consumer oriented performance of licensing boards is evaluated, using the rate of disciplinary actions as the performance measure. Estimation of a multivariate model using physician and nursing board data reveals evidence in support of the effectiveness of public board members, but not administrative centralization, as a consumer reform. Increased proportions of public members are associated with more serious disciplinary actions. Administrative centralization is associated with fewer disciplinary actions.
The Puzzle of Party Identification
Authors: Alvarez R. Michael
Published: March 2007

The current unidimensional conceptualization of party identification contains many ambiguities. Most troubling, however, has been the debate over the dimensionality of this important concept. This article further examines the defects of the unidimensional conceptualization of party identification using the National Election Studies party thermometers. The results repeatedly demonstrate that the current conceptualization inadequately expresses individual affect toward the political parties and political independence. An alternative conceptualization is discussed that would eliminate the anomalies of the unidimensional concept.
Can State Hazardous Waste Regulation Be Reconciled With Economic Development Policies?
Authors: Feiock Richard , Davis Charles
Published: March 2007

This article critically assesses the usefulness of an approach developed by David Goetze and C. K. Rowland (1985) which places the analysis of hazardous waste regulation within a larger political and economic context. After describing the model, hypotheses are developed and tested using a combination of survey and aggregate data. The results demonstrate strong support for the model in the case of changes in regulatory stringency, but less support in the case of enforcement and expenditures. Implications for both policy and theory are discussed in conclusion.
Primaries, General Elections, and Voter Turnout
Authors: Nownes Anthony J.
Published: March 2007

This article uses a multinomial logit model in testing whether or not the same process is at work in determining both primary and general election turnout (the study also tests a number of hypotheses concerning why people vote). The advantage of this methodology is that it allows the incorporation of primary and general election voting into the same model. It also allows direct comparisons between groups of voters. The results of the individual-level analysis indicate that a variety of short-term (campaign interest and concern about the election outcome) and long-term factors (efficacy, civic duty, and perceived level of information) influence the decision to vote. It appears that the same process is at work in determining both primary and general election turnout. Although a simple vote/no vote dichotomy may seem reasonable for most turnout studies, the current model demonstrates that there are subtle differences between voters who participate at different levels.
Abortion Attitudes and the Louisiana Governor's Election
Authors: Howell Susan E. , Sims Robert T.
Published: March 2007

Research on the impact of the abortion issue on electoral outcomes has yielded mixed results. Although no such impact has been found at the national level, recent research indicates that abortion attitudes may be influential in state-level elections. Using survey data gathered in 1990 and 1991, the present research studies the influence of the abortion issue on the recent Louisiana gubernatorial race. Louisiana serves as an appropriate case for analysis due to the high visibility of controversial antiabortion legislation passed by the state legislature and the incumbent governor's veto of that legislation. The findings indicate that the influence of the abortion issue on vote is conditioned by a number of factors, and that its impact is likely to be felt only under very specific circumstances.
The Microenvironment of Political Participation
Authors: Kenny Christopher
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the claim that individual political participation is affected by the tendency of politically significant others to participate, particularly if that other is a spouse. Models of reported turnout, validated turnout, and campaign activity are developed that explicitly model the relationship between pairs of political discussants. These models are estimated using a unique data set collected in South Bend, Indiana during the 1984 presidential election that includes direct information for both respondents and individuals named as political discussants. The results show that the likelihood of participation increases as discussants become more likely to participate. Spouses are found to be particularly important types of discussants in the case of turnout, but not when campaign activity is the measure of participation.
A Systems Approach To Campaign Finance in U.S. House Elections
Authors: Goidel Robert K. , Gross Donald A.
Published: March 2007

Previous research on campaign financing has been hampered by the persistence of the simultaneity problem. In this article the authors attempt to overcome this problem by specifying a comprehensive simultaneous model of congressional elections. Specifically, equations determining challenger political quality, candidate expenditures, and electoral outcomes are theoretically derived and then estimated as a single equation system. Overall, this comprehensive simultaneous model fits the data relatively well. More importantly, the authors find that incumbent expenditures exert a significant impact on electoral outcomes. The marginal impact of incumbent spending is not, however, the same for all incumbents. Specifically, first-term incumbents receive a much larger marginal return on their expenditures than do multiterm incumbents. In fact, the marginal return on spending by first-term incumbents rivals the marginal return on spending by challengers.
The Impact of Changing the Racial Composition of Congressional Districts on Legislators' Roll Call Behavior
Authors: Bullock Charles S.
Published: March 2007

The 1991-1992 redrawing of congressional districts produced the greatest changes of any remapping since the mid-1960s. In many states, particularly in the South, the driving force was the Justice Department demand that majority-minority districts be drawn wherever possible. In this article the author explores the consequences of changing the racial composition of districts on legislative behavior. A measure of conservatism and a measure of support for civil rights concerns serve as the dependent variables. Comparing voting records of southern legislators in 1993 with those from the 102nd Congress shows that freshman Republicans were particularly conservative and more senior representatives were often more conservative. Some evidence suggests that first-term Democrats were more liberal than their predecessors. At first it appeared that legislators modified their voting records in response to changes in the racial composition of their districts. Once further controls were imposed, it became clear that the relationship between constituency change and roll call voting was limited to Black legislators who replaced Whites.
Americans' Knowledge of Ideology, 1980-1992
Authors: Bennetr Stephen Earl
Published: March 2007

This article uses recent National Election Studies to assess what Americans know about ideology. Although Converse's study of mass belief systems made knowledge of ideological terms an indicator of ideological sophistication, scholars have tended to ignore what ordinary citizens know about ideology. Although only a small portion of the public is completely ignorant of ideology, most Americans do not know very much about it. Three factors—opportunity, motivation, and cognitive ability—affect what people know about the central continuum of U.S. politics. Widespread ignorance of ideology impedes citizens' ability to link their own ideological orientations to their votes for presidential candidates.
Turnout and the Vote Revisited
Authors: Radcliff Benjamin
Published: March 2007

In his contribution to this volume, Erikson contends that the results of my previous research (Radcliff 1994) are an artifact arising from my failure to account for changes in electoral dynamics in the South. When excluding the southern states from the analysis, Erikson argues, there is no evidence that turnout affects the vote. I demonstrate that omitting the South actually has very little impact: The evidence continues to support strongly the proposition that higher turnout benefits the Democrats.
Parenthood, Family Values, and the 1992 Presidential Election
Authors: Arnold Laura W. , Weisberg Herbert F.
Published: March 2007

There was a "family gap" in presidential voting in the 1992 election, with parents of young children voting more Republican. This voting difference remains, even when controls are employed for relevant demographic variables. Similarly, attitudes on family values affected voting in 1992, even when controls are added for more conventional attitudinal variables. The parenthood effect did not exist in 1988, lending support to the argument that its occurrence in 1992 was related to the focus on family values in the presidential campaign. Family structure variables can have partisan effects when parties address family issues in their appeals to voters. The target audience of the family values appeal did support President Bush, although their numbers were not large enough to produce victory.
Wavering Equilibriums
Authors: Worsham Jeff
Published: March 2007

A wavering equilibrium theory of subsystem politics is developed to distinguish between three types of subsystem politics. I suggest that subsystem players' ability to control the policy agenda varies with changes in subsystem politics. This article uses correlation analysis with data on bill sponsorship and referral to examine the impact of subsystem variation on policy making in three subsystems. I find that subsystem political variation is associated with changes in subsystem players' ability to control bill introduction and referral.
Fiscal Policy As a Forecasting Factor in Presidential Elections
Authors: CUZÁN ALFRED G. , BUNDRICK CHARLES M.
Published: March 2007

This research note presents a model in which fiscal policy, measured by changes in the ratio of federal outlays to gross national product between election years, is a factor in explaining and forecasting the outcome of the past 30 presidential elections. Compared with six forecasting models assembled in a special issue of this journal in the fall of 1996, the model performs satisfactorily. The model implies that to win reelection or extend his party's tenure in the White House, a president should reject a policy of fiscal expansion. It is hoped that this article will stimulate students of presidential elections to add policy variables to their forecasting models.
A Review and Critique of Van Maanen and Schein’s “Toward a Theory of Organizational Socialization” and Implications for Human Resource Development
Authors: Tuttle Monica
Published: March 2007

As organizations struggle to meet the demands of a changing economy, they also struggle to maintain their core essences, or cultures, which have facilitated their successes to date. Over time, organizations must incorporate new members into this journey. It is this process of incorporation, or socialization, of new members into the organization that is the topic of this discussion. This article reviews the theory of organizational socialization as presented by Van Maanen and Schein in their 1979 article “Toward a Theory of Organizational Socialization, ” critiquing its stage of theoretical development using Robert Dubin’s eight-stage theory-building research methodology. The diverseness of thought on subsequent theoretical works and the fragmentation of subsequent empirical works that build on Van Maanen and Schein indicate that there is an immediate opportunity for the field of human resource development to refine this theory.
Performance-Level Evaluation Methods Used in Management Development Studies from 1986 to 2000
Authors: Collins Doris B.
Published: March 2007

A review of the evaluation literature shows that there has been a resurgence of interest in the evaluation of management development programs by human resource development (HRD) professionals. However, there remains a question of how well evaluation models measure the achievement of intended outcomes, especially where the program goal is the enhancement of organizational performance. This article analyzes management development interventions from 1986 to 2000 through a results assessment lens to determine common evaluation characteristics in organizational performance improvement efforts. The implication of factors such as timing of evaluation, evaluation methods, management development intervention categories, instrumentation, and measurement of organizational performance are discussed in this manuscript. Findings reveal that HRD professionals must take the leadership in the development of evaluation activities, especially those that test the long-term impact of the intervention on the organization.
Bricolage as an Alternative Approach to Human Resource Development Theory Building
Authors: Turnbull Sharon
Published: March 2007

This article argues for a liberal and pragmatic approach to human resource development (HRD) theory building, which, while retaining academic rigor, celebrates difference and allows learning from more than one ontological paradigm. The author argues that the paradigmatic struggle between positivists and constructivists for supremacy in the HRD field is futile because each ontology draws on such different political positions, discourses, and languages. The possibilities of rigorous and innovative theory building within the constructivist paradigm are both exciting and important for developing new knowledge in HRD, allowing both creativity and imagination to flourish in the research process. The author illustrates the richness of this approach through her own experiences of qualitative theory building from a single case study and suggests that the metaphor of research as bricolage can offer many new and refreshing possibilities for researchers in the field of HRD.
Frederick G. Todd and the Origins of the Park System in Canada’s Capital
Authors: Gordon David L.A.
Published: March 2007

Frederick G. Todd (1876-1948) trained in Frederick Law Olmsted’s office, was a founder of the Town Planning Institute of Canada, and was perhaps Canada’s first professional landscape architect. In 1903, Todd prepared a preliminary parks plan for the Canadian capital, which considered both Ottawa and its sister city Hull, located across the river in the province of Québec. However, the Ottawa Improvement Commission declined to retain him as a regular consultant and relied on its technical staff for design and construction. Many of Todd’s recommended parks and parkways were incorporated in the future plans of Edward H. Bennett (1915), Noulan Cauchon (1923), and Jacques Gréber (1950).
Effectiveness of an Attention- and Memory-Training Program on Neuropsychological Deficits in Schizophrenia
Authors: Kurtz Matthew M. , Moberg Paul J. , Mozley Lyn Harper , Swanson Charlie L. , Our Ruben C. , Our Raquel E.
Published: March 2007

The effect of two cognitive remediation procedures developed for closed head injury, Attention Process Training (APT) and Prospective Memory Training (PROMT), on neuropsychological deficits in schizophrenia was investigated. Six pa tients with schizophrenia, varying in baseline intellectual function and symptoms, were studied; three in a remediation condition and three in a nonremediated control con dition. Results were evaluated individually for each of the three treated patients. Two of three remediation-treated subjects showed marked improvement on tests of sus tained and divided attention. Untreated patients showed little evidence of change in neuropsychological test performance across a similar time interval, when tested on a subset of the measures administered to remediation-treated patients. The results of this study are discussed with a view toward future studies using larger sample sizes with homogeneous subject populations. Key Words: Schizophrenia—Cognitive—Reha bilitation—Symptoms—Outcome.
From Global Management to Global Appreciation
Authors: Purser Ronald E.
Published: March 2007

This article begins by deconstructing the rhetoric of sustainable development and global management, revealing such schemes as furthering industrial imperatives. Further analysis shows that a global management perspective is guided by an epistemology of abstraction, hidden power relations, objectivism, and a technological bias. Environmental degradation and societal turbulence are consequences of a restrictive focal setting on space, time, and knowledge. To counter the limitations associated with modernist objectivist knowing, a new vision of reality is needed. This article argues that transformation to a sustainable society requires a global appreciation for the space and time in which we live. Such appreciation amounts to the emergence of a transformative epistemology that can open up restrictive focal settings. This aperspectival view is offered as a means to enhance environmental sensitivity and access to wisdom and creativity.
Metallized Opp Film, Surface Characteristics and Physical Properties
Authors: Marra J.V.
Published: March 2007

Metallized OPP (oriented polypropylene) film offers exceptional gas and water vapor barrier properties, making it one of the most cost-effective flexible protective packaging materials. Its barrier properties correlate with opacity, which, in turn, de pends on the degree of coverage by the metallization. Minor defects, such as scratches, will generally represent only a small percentage of the total coverage of a package and have a proportionally small effect on the barrier properties of the pack age. The high-energy metal surface is extremely active and will wet well and adhere strongly when clean. In fact, it is so active that it is easily coated with trace amounts of any low energy organic material with which it makes contact. For assurance of consistent wetting and bonding, metallized OPP surfaces should be cleaned in-line, such as by bare-roll corona treatment.
Some Recent Approaches To the Development of Acrylic Uv Curable Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives
Authors: Johnson Morris A.
Published: March 2007

The goal of this program was to utilize ultraviolet radiation (UV) to cure a series of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) which would provide properties suitable for "light duty" to "permanent" pressure-sensitive applications. A variety of chemical types were represented among the 36 commercial resins which were screened as tackifiers. Utilizing some of the most promising tackifiers, systematic experimental designs were utilized to evaluate formula composition variables and radiation dosage. Trends in performance vs. type and amount of constituents were developed for oligomers, diluent monomers, cross-linking monomers and other additives—along with variations in light intensity and exposure time. Other formulating approaches were also taken, including "one-step" approaches. A number of diverse compositions are presented as a basis for a discussion of formulation parameters.
Corona Treatment of Polymeric Films
Authors: Podhajny Richard M.
Published: March 2007

A summary of recent studies on the corona treatment of films is presented. Chemi cal functional groups generated by the corona discharge on these films are identified and their effect on mk film wettability and adhesion discussed.
Barrier Packaging: Performance of Vdc Copolymers in Commercial Rigid Containers
Authors: Cassiday M.D. , Streu R.J. , Wence R.L. , DeLassus P.T.
Published: March 2007

Plastic barrier containers protect food products from oxygen and other environmental agents for a year or more at ambient temperatures This protection relies on the use of a barrier polymer in the multilayer structure To predict the bar rier performance of a container, it is important to use permeability data for the bar rier polymer that is accurate and reflects actual polymer processing and use condi tions. This paper shows that the barrier performance of Saran* vinylidene chloride (VDC) copolymers in rigid containers is much better than has been previously re ported.
Determination of Stress in Biaxially Strained, Free Standing Films
Authors: Geldermans Pieter , Feger Claudius
Published: March 2007

A simple but versatile technique, the double ring technique, was developed to introduce biaxial strain in free standing films permitting the observation of films with pre-determined levels of biaxial stress under a variety of environmental conditions for both short and long durations. The method also permits the observation of films while the strain is being increased, which is of particular interest when defects are present.

Furthermore, a method was developed to measure the stress in free standing films by observing the load versus displacement relationship under a centrally placed load. This allows measurements of stress relaxation and stress reduc tion or increase with solvent or water up-take, etc. The usefulness of the two methods is illustrated by measurements of long-term crack propagation, of stress relaxation by thermal annealing, and by stress measurements on films under a layer of water.
The Mobility Transition: Social Mobility Trends in the First Half of the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Noble Trevor
Published: March 2007

Trends in absolute rates of both career and intergenerational mobility in Britain since the 1950s are outlined and some of the cultural consequences of the resulting heterogeneity in class composition are briefly considered. It is argued that while supply-side factors-educational attainment, ability, etc.-may determine who has been mobile or not, aggregate rates and changes in aggregate rates are largely dictated by demand-side factors. But current trends in the composition of the working population are necessarily self-limiting. A forecast of the occupational structure in the first half of the twenty-first century together with the assumption of some continuity in the pattern of class advantages, indicates a `mobility transition' in which trends are likely to reverse within the next thirty years or so. The long-run replacement of recruitment heterogeneity by homogeneity of social experience in the enlarged middle class suggests that, in contrast with present-day pluralism, there will emerge the structural conditions for a greater cultural uniformity and the onset of an era of orthodoxy.
Resistance and Adaptation to Criminal Identity: Using Secondary Analysis to Evaluate Classic Studies of Crime and Deviance
Authors: Fielding Nigel G. , Fielding Jane L.
Published: March 2007

Qualitative data offer rich insights into the social world, whether alone or in tandem with statistical analysis. However, qualitative data are costly to collect and analyse. Moreover, it is a commonplace that only a portion of the data so labouriously collected is the subject of final analysis and publication. Secondary analysis is a well-established method in quantitative research and is raising its profile in application to qualitative data. It has a particular part to play when research is on sensitive topics and/or hard-to-reach populations, as in the example considered here. This article contributes to discussion of the potential and constraints of secondary analysis of qualitative data by reporting the outcome of the secondary analysis of a key study in the sociology of prison life, Cohen and Taylor's research on the long-term imprisonment of men in maximum security. The article re-visits Cohen and Taylor's original analysis and demonstrates support for an alternative, if complementary, conceptualisation, using archived data from the original study. Among the methodological issues discussed are the recovery of the context of the original fieldwork and the role of secondary analysis in an incremental approach to knowledge production.
The Subjectivist-Objectivist Divide: Against Transcendence
Authors: Mouzelis Nicos
Published: March 2007

On the basis of a fourfold typology referring to different definitions of the social-structure concept, and of a critique of Giddens's and Bourdieu's strategies for transcending the divide between objectivist and subjectivist sociologies, this paper argues that rapprochement rather than transcendence is the way to overcome the existing fragmentation and for bringing closer together structural/structuralist and interpretative paradigms in the social sciences.
Moral Tales of the Child and the Adult: Narratives of Contemporary Family Lives under Changing Circumstances
Authors: McCarthy Jane Ribbens , Edwards Rosalind , Gillies Val
Published: March 2007

Family lives are an area where people's moral identities are crucially at stake. Yet the significance of dependent children to the work needed to sustain morally adequate adult identities is largely overlooked. Furthermore, the particular situation of divorce or separation and repartnering where children are involved is fundamentally relevant to current sociological debates about the changing nature of marriage and family life. Notions of the pursuit of self-development and couple intimacy clash and create tensions with notions of duty or responsibility to children's needs. Drawing on a study of parents and step-parents, we consider how interviewees' moral understandings were fundamentally shaped by social constructions of the Child and the Adult. Importantly, the presence of dependent children led to an overall key moral imperative concerning the requirement for responsible adults to put the needs of children first. There were, however, strong gender dimensions in the ways in which this moral imperative was played out, and in some tensions with an alternative, but secondary, moral ethic of care of self. We discuss the significance of the Child/Adult construction in relation to theories about the nature of contemporary family obligations and of contemporary morality more generally.
Technologies, Texts and Affordances
Authors: Hutchby Ian
Published: March 2007

In contrast to recent sociological emphases on the social shaping of technology, this article proposes and illustrates a way of analysing the technological shaping of sociality. Drawing on the concept of affordances (Gibson 1979), the article argues for a recognition of the constraining, as well as enabling, materiality of artefacts. The argument is set in the theoretical context of one of the most recent and comprehensive statements of anti-essentialism (Grint and Woolgar 1997). The position is illustrated through a reinterpretation of some case studies used by proponents of the radical constructivist position.
The `Being-Risky' Child: Governing Childhood and Sexual Risk
Authors: Brownlie Julie
Published: March 2007

Recent sociological work suggests that anxieties for, and about, children has helped create the impression that being a child is in itself problematic; or to put it another way, that risk and its management are now central to how we in the West construct childhood. Nowhere is this clearer than in relation to the `young sexual abuser'-a subjectivity, defined by age and sexual risk, which emerged in the late twentieth century. In this article, Foucauldian and sociological thinking are used to help unpack this subjectivity - one which is more commonly understood in terms of psychology `the first science of childhood' (Alanen 1994). In doing so, however, both Foucauldian and sociological theorising about childhood generally are also considered critically. In particular, the absence of a gendered analysis of childhood in some Foucauldian and sociological analyses is viewed as troublesome and it is argued that the question of time in relation to childhood subjectivities needs to be foregrounded. While there is no attempt here to deny the seriousness of sexually abusive behaviours by young people, it is suggested that our understandings of these young people are themselves problematic, based as they are on untidy questions about the nature of childhood and risk rather than on straightforward empirical categories.
Using Focus Groups to Explore the Stressful Life Events of Black College Men
Authors: Watkins Daphne C , Green B. Lee , Goodson Patricia , Guidry Jeffrey Joseph , Stanley Christine A
Published: March 2007

Black students who attend predominately White institutions (PWI) face many obstacles. This study identified the stressful life events of Black college men via focus group discussions and examined how these events impact their mental health and health behaviors. Forty-six participants from a PWI and a historically Black college/university (HBCU) affirmed that they experience similar encounters with stressful life events, but participants at the PWI reported that their major stressors were the result of "school-related" events, while participants at the HBCU reported stressors that were not school-related. Findings from this study present implications for future health promotion programs that target Black college men.
Educational Climate In Elective Adult Education: Shared Decision Making and Communication Patterns
Authors: Ennis Catherine D. , Mueller Leslie K. , Hettrick Denise R. , Chepyator-Thomson Jepkorir R. , Zhang Xiao L. , Rudd William S. , Zhu Wei-Mo , Ruhm Christopher , Bebetsos George
Published: March 2007

Educational climate represents the social and contextual qualities of an organization as perceived by the participants. The theoretical construct of educational climate encompasses a range of variables which have been categorized as ecology, milieu, social system, and culture (Tigiuri, 1968). These categories are similar to the elements of the andragogical process described by Knowles (1984). In this research, the theoretical climate category of social system emerged as influential in an ethnographic study of an elective university program. Findings revealed that shared decision making and communication patterns were instrumental in the quality of the adult learning experience.
Andragogy and N. F. S. Grundtvig: A Critical Link
Authors: Warren Clay
Published: March 2007

How has N.F.S. Grundtvig's philosophy of lifelong learning influenced American scholarship in adult education? This article explores that question by summarizing the ideas of major American philosophers of adult education and the educational philosophy of Grundtvig, by comparing these sets of andragogical guideposts, and by checking for acknowledgement of Grundtvig's contributions. It was decided that Grundtvig has gone essentially unread and un-acknowledged in America although his living word had a major effect on E.C. Lindeman who, in turn, passed on this legacy to succeeding adult educators. As a result of this indirect influence, the andragogical assumptions of American adult educators virtually mirror those of N. F. S. Grundtvig.
Today's Port—A Trade and Transport Hub
Authors: Brockel Harry C.
Published: March 2007

Although land and air transport have greatly expanded, man's historic dependence on water transport continues. Ocean fleets have doubled in size since World War II, and 1960 water-borne world trade stood at a record 1.1 billion tons. This vast commerce moves through the ports of the world, which, thus, are barometers of trade, wealth, and power. Ports, casual affairs during the Middle Ages, became of great interest in the period of world exploration and colonization and received another great impetus during the industrial revolution and from steam navigation. Water access to all boundaries of the United States provided further impetus as the resources of North America affected world trade. Ports, created by massive engineering effort, are economic centers functioning through a variety of physical improvements and human skills. They are intensely competitive. Uniquely, ports mirror the economies of the regions they serve. They are sensitive to growth of population and industry, to raw-material patterns, to government policy. They serve but do not in themselves create trade. Free ports are rapidly declining in importance due to intense nationalism. The port authority is a unique instrument combining governmental and economic functions. Ships and ports continue to be the basic mechanisms for vast world trade.
Contemporary American Influence in South and Southeast Asia
Authors: Wilcox Wayne A.
Published: March 2007

American contact with southern Asia was very limited prior to World War II, and since that time has been un usually dominated by military considerations. In the wake of European decolonization, the United States became a major diplomatic and political force throughout the region, and the products and style of its material culture have a widespread ap peal. Cultural, intellectual, and aesthetic influence has been less marked, largely because of the residual colonial cultural bias, the appeals of the new nationalism, fear of American psychological "neoimperialism," and awe of America's strength and wealth. In the region, many American efforts to communi cate cultural universals have failed because of the strident cold-war atmosphere on China's frontiers. Cultural exchange programs have been somewhat more successful, but America's unique location and wealth do not always speak to Asia's needs. In an environment characterized by suspicion and envy, higher levels of contact and communication between America and southern Asia may, in fact, further estrange the United States and the states of South and Southeast Asia.
The Businessman Abroad*
Authors: Wilkins Mira
Published: March 2007

As American foreign direct investment mounts, the number of Americans representing American business abroad likewise rises. American businessmen living abroad include those working for foreign enterprises, those self- employed, and those representing trading firms, but the larg est number work for American-headquartered international industrial corporations and service organizations. The Ameri can business group abroad includes managers, professional advertising men, and also drillers and construction workers. American businessmen are prominent among foreign travel ers. The reasons why American businessmen go abroad are as varied as the types of American businessmen overseas. Yet, in the midst of the variety, there are common elements: affluence, alienation from the nation in which they work, and alienation from the home office in the United States and from the United States. The American businessman abroad, what ever his position, provides an image of America. American business abroad has been subject to criticism. Often the criti cism has been unjust. American businessmen play an impor tant role in the economic development of foreign nations: in carrying on tax-paying businesses that furnish employment, in demonstrating hard work, in organizing a job, in offering skills, efficiency, and ingenuity, in providing technology, in uncover ing, processing, and marketing natural resources, in furnishing social overhead, in displaying management methods, in intro ducing new products, in giving training programs, and in en couraging ancillary industries.