bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating Judges
Authors: Koebel C. Theodore
Published: March 2007

Evaluations of judges based primarily on survey techniques have increased in popularity and use. Performance evaluations of the judiciary could have important effects on the selection and retention of judges, as well as on public opinion about the judiciary. Although evaluation efforts have increased in this area, there has been little analysis of the results beyond the presentation of descriptive findings. This article presents a detailed analysis of a multiple attribute judicial evaluation survey, with particular attention to the effects of questionnaire design and testing for differences between respondents. Since such evaluations typically use a self-selected sample of lawyers, the overall lack of substantial differences in average evaluation by various subgroups of lawyers is an important argument for the continued use of self-selection for respondents.
Management Evaluation Studies
Authors: Oman Ray C. , Chitwood Stephen R.
Published: March 2007

Thousands of management evaluations are conducted in the federal government each year. Little information exists about the nature or effectiveness of these evaluations even though they cost more than $200 million annually. This article explores the relationships between kinds of evaluations, analytic methods, and interpersonal processes and the acceptance of recommendations by decision makers. Detailed typologies based on a review of the literature provide the basis for quantitatively testing concepts about the utilization of evaluations against empirical data. Two-hour interviews were conducted with 50 evaluators and decision makers about randomly selected management evaluations. Selected characteristics of the nature, methodology, and process of evaluations were found to be related to acceptance. Some factors are structural and beyond the control of the evaluator, while others are behavioral and within the power of the evaluator to influence.
Target Efficiency of State Home Ownership Programs
Authors: Matulef Mark Lewis
Published: March 2007

The United States government has promoted home ownership for over 50 years. The U. S. tax code provides a tax exemption on income earned on state and local mortgage revenue bonds issued to finance home ownership subsidy programs. The president's tax proposals to Congress would eliminate federally tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds (MRBs). A total of 45 state housing finance agencies (HFAs) issue MRBs and impose income limits on program participants even without a federal requirement to do so. In 1983, a U.S. General Accounting Office report concluded that most MRB-financed single-family housing programs aided higher-income households in the majority. This author's study found, however, that the majority of assistance went to low- and moderate-income households. One-third of the HFAs did provide a majority of assistance to higher-income households. The study conducted for this article determined that the income limit imposed on program participants was an effective control on the degree to which low- and moderate-income households were program beneficiaries. The existence of legislative and executive oversight powers did not, however, have a significant impact on single-family program performance. National income limits or income-limit guidelines could result in greater target efficiency in home ownership programs.
Reviving Preevaluative Research
Authors: Wortman Paul M. , Marans Robert W.
Published: March 2007

The concept of "pre-evaluative research" is examined in the context of a museum exhibition evaluation. Preevaluation research was recommended by some of the earliest writers in the evaluation field as a way of facilitating a formal, "ultimate, "of summative evaluation. It is viewed as distinct from, and complementary to, an evaluability assessment. The exhibit preevaluative study indicates that instrumentation and imple mentation issues are likely to benefit from such activities, but that design and analysis may still suffer.
Evaluation Practices of Educational Programs Reviewed By the Joint Dissemination Review Panel, 1980-1983
Authors: Lynch Kathleen Bodisch
Published: March 2007

Practices in educational program evaluation were examined through analyses of reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Education's Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP) during the years 1980-1983. Through its review process, the JDRPjudges whether educational programs have demonstrated effectiveness in attaining stated goals. Content analyses of 232 JDRP reports yielded descriptive profiles of the educational programs and their evaluations. Comparisons between JDRP-approved and nonapproved programs were made. Regression analyses were used to relate differences in evaluation methodology to differences in the size of educational effects detected by the programs.
Evaluation as Scientific Research
Authors: Crane John A.
Published: March 2007

Ideal characteristics of a well established area of scientific inquiry are parsimony, generality, coherence, uniqueness, clarity of boundaries, and potential for cumulative inquiry. The role of evaluation as grazing area for varied species of social science and the entrepreneurial environments of practice have led it to try to define itself by method and/or process, neither of which holds promise of developing the desired properties. Valuation, on the other hand shows real promise as disciplinary core, as shown by the research agendas that can be generated from it. To make use of this construct, evaluators must be aware of the fallacies of the fact-value dichotomy and of confusing ethical neutrality with objectivity.
Evaluation of Behavioral Demand Models of Consumer Choice in Health Care
Authors: Siddharthan Kris
Published: March 2007

This article investigates the choice of provider plan (fee for service and health maintenance organizations) and preference for a personal physician by Medicare beneficiaries with the aid of a joint logit (JL) and a nested logit (NL) model The NL model, where the lower level is the choice pertaining to preference for a personal physician and the higher level is the choice of provider plan, better explains consumer behavior. Family income levels and access to adequate transportation capabilities are shown to be important criteria used by the elderly in choosing a provider plan.
Demographic Paradoxes in the Los Angeles Voting Rights Case
Authors: Clark William A.V. , Morrison Peter A.
Published: March 2007

As local jurisdictions redistrict in the 1990s, those with a complex demographic mosaic like Los Angeles County's must exercise particular care in fulfilling three legal obligations: first, to protect the voting power of citizens; second, to ensure equal representation for equal numbers of persons; and third, to avoid diluting the voting strength of a protected group. Courts draw on demographic analysis to quantify these legal standards. This article illustrates how such analysis can inform -and potentially confuse -judicial review in Section 2 voting rights claims. In Los Angeles County, efforts to enhance the voting strength of Hispanics risk an equal protection challenge by minority and nonminority citizens in the remaining districts, whose votes get devalued. Demographic analysis exposes potential limitations in using "total population" as the apportionment base and is essential in gauging the actual compactness of a jurisdiction's minority voters.
Panel Attrition and External Validity in the Short-Term Follow-Up Study of Adolescent Substance Use
Authors: Tebes Jacob Kraemer , Snow David L. , Arthur Michael W.
Published: March 2007

The present study examines the relationship among grade, substance assessed; and type of measurement and statistical analysis employed in the detection of external validity threats due to panel attrition in the modal follow-up study found in adolescent substance use research. Six successive 2-year panel samples are examined The results indicate that dropouts demonstrate significantly higher baseline mean use of licit (tobacco and alcohol) and illicit (marijuana and hard drugs) substances when ANOVA is used, but only higher baseline use of illicit substances when chi-square analyses are used In addition, although mean use tests are no more sensitive to the increased variation in substance use that occurs during adolescence, they are more likely to reveal differences between dropouts and stayers in baseline use of licit substances. The results indicate (a) that findings from school-based, longitudinal studies almost certainly underestimate the level and extent ofsubstance use among adolescents; and (b) that alternative types of attrition analyses yield different effects regardless of grade, even in the short-term follow-up study. These findings are discussed for their implications to adolescent substance use research and for the establishment of standardized procedures to consider the relative risk of Type 2 to Type 1 error in attrition analyses.
Counting the Homeless
Authors: Stark Louisa R.
Published: March 2007

On March 20, 1991, the U.S. Census Bureau proposed to count selected components of the homeless population in Phoenix. A variety of problems were noted by observers of the Phoenix count. Addresses assigned to enumerators and observers alike were often confusing, or even nonexistent. Often locations assigned for enumeration were not customarily frequented by homeless people between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., the hours of the homeless count. Enumerators were noted at only 50% of the locations "seeded" with observers. Only 30% of the observers, posing as homeless people, believed that they were counted. These problems contrast with the positive experience of the 1985 mid-decade count of homeless people in Phoenix, also carried out by the U.S. Census Bureau. Any future count of homeless people in Phoenix should be guided by the positive lessons learned by the 1985 enumeration, lessons that appear to have been overlooked when the 1990 count was planned
Impact of the Illinois Seat Belt Use Law on Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries
Authors: Rock Steven M.
Published: March 2007

Consideration of statistical techniques to analyze the impact of seat belt use laws on traffic accidents and consequences suggests that the Box-Jenkins (ARIMA) method is preferable. This approach was applied to monthly fatalities, injuries classified by level of severity, and total accidents in Illinois. The most serious injuries did decline by over 500 per month. The ARIMA model did not indicate an overall increase in accidents or injuries, in contrast to a simple before-after comparison. It is estimated conservatively that the seat belt law provides benefits of $15 million per month in Illinois.
The Use of Archival Data To Select and Assign Schools in a Drug Prevention Trial
Authors: Dent Clyde W. , Sussman Steve , Flay Brian R.
Published: March 2007

School-based prevention trials typically face large variations in school composition and levels ofpreintervention behavior. Such variations may inhibit efforts to maximize internal and external validity. This article presents a method for using school-level attributes in sample description and random assignment of schools to conditions. The utility of the archival data was examined using multivanate canonical techniques. The authors found that a small set of attributes could efficiently predict the observed school-level variations in smoking and other drug use. It is recommended that these attributes be used by other school-based studies to enhance experimen talfield studies.
Grants Peer Review in Theory and Practice
Authors: Chubin Daryl E.
Published: March 2007

Grants peer review is a family of ex ante methods used by federal agencies to select research proposalsforfunding. This article draws on Chubin and Hackett's 1990 book, Peerless Science: Peer Review and U.S. Science Policy, to examine both the assumptions and theory underlying peer review as an evaluation methodology and the issues that arise in the operation of peer-based systems at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The article discusses criticisms of peer review, the various criteria that agencies must balance in interpreting evaluations of expert peers, and outstanding issues to be addressed in the refinement and reform of peer review systems. The article concludes with suggestions on how to redress the shortcomings of peer review in decision making, especially the allocation of scarce public monies.
Pediatric Pain, Predictive Inference, and Sensitivity Analysis
Authors: Weiss Robert
Published: March 2007

The understanding, prevention, and treatment of pain is of great importance to medical science. Children were asked to immerse their hands in cold water until they were unable to tolerate the pain of the cold. The length of time that they kept their hands immersed is a measure of pain tolerance. Two factors were studied. One factor is a child's Coping Style (CS) with the pain (attenders pay attention to the pain, distracters think of other things), and it was assessed at a baseline trial. The other factor is Treatment (TMT), one of three counseling interventions (a null intervention, counseling to attend, or counseling to distract), and was randomly applied prior to the response. The covariate is a baseline measure of pain tolerance prior to the intervention. Distracters, taught to distract, tolerated the pain much better than any other group. No strategy improved attenders' pain tolerance. This article analyzes this data from a predictive Bayesian viewpoint. The assumption of constant variance is not met on the original scale, and some of the data is censored; furthermore, the censoring model is unknown. Simultaneous transformation of the response and baseline is used to search for a scale where the variance is constant. Predictive inference is used to provide interpretable inferences. A sensitivity analysis is used to determine whether the treatment of the censored data matters. Without the sensitivity analysis, we are left wondering whether the conclusions rest on a true underlying treatment effect or on cases of questionable quality. In spite of a devil's-advocate effort to produce an alternative model which leads to contradictory conclusions, no such model was found.
Factors Associated With Response Rates in a National Survey of Primary Care Physicians
Authors: Parsons Jennifer A. , Warnecke Richard B. , Czaja Ronald F. , Barnsley Janet , Kaluzny Arnold
Published: March 2007

This article addresses the results and implications of offering a national sample of primary care physicians an option to complete a questionnaire by mail or phone. An overall cooperation rate of 62.7% was achieved; 55% of the interviews were completed via telephone. Noticeable differences in rate of cooperation and mode preference were observed across the four physician specialties surveyed. The importance of a lengthy field period, due to differences between early and late responders on variables important to the study, is also demonstrated.
Estimating an Evaluation Utilization Model Using Conjoint Measurement and Analysis
Authors: Johnson R. Burke
Published: March 2007

The conjoint approach to measurement and analysis is demonstrated in this article through a test of an evaluation utilizationprocess-model that includes two endogenous variables (predicted participation and predicted instrumental utilization). Conjoint measurement involves having respondents rate attribute profiles that are analogous to concepts based on cells in a factorial analysis of variance. Such multidimensional ratings result in ecologically valid measurements because respondents examine and react to wholes, rather than to single unidimensional items as in traditional survey research. Statistically, conjoint analysis is a "decompositional" technique in which respondents' overall reactions to profiles (hypothetical situations) are decomposed to determine how much importance is given to attributes (variables used in the profiles) and to levels of the attributes.
Quasi-Experimental Estimates of the Effects of a Preschool Intervention
Authors: Reynolds Arthur J. , Temple Judy A.
Published: March 2007

Estimates of program effects from a compensatory preschool intervention were investigated using several contemporary techniques of bias reduction. These included econometric simulta neous modeling, latent-variable structural modeling, and ordinary least squares regression. These techniques were applied to longitudinal data from Chicago's Child Parent Center preschool program, a Head Start-type intervention. Analyses of 806 Black children followed from kindergarten to Grade 6 indicated that the techniques, by and large, produced similar estimates of program impact on school achievement test scores. Effect sizes ranged from .43 to .67 at school entry to .24 to .30 at Grade 6 (7 years postprogram). These findings were robust across different model specifications and similar to those of randomized studies. The only differences among methods occurred at Grade 3. Findings suggest that different quasi-experi mental estimation methods that attempt to control for selection bias can generate similar estimates of the effects of an educational treatment.
Eight Methods To Evaluate and Support Reform in the Secondary-Level Mathematics Classroom
Authors: Huetinck Linda , Munshin Sara , Murray-Ward Mildred
Published: March 2007

An evaluation plan using eight methods—teacher demographic/attitude/behavior questionnaire, focus groups, content knowledge, work sample analysis, teaching logs, videotapes of classrooms, accomplishments and presentations, and action research thesis development—has been effective in assessing a complex project. "Using Computer Visualization in Teaching Secondary Mathe matics (Viz-Math)," a National Science Foundation-funded master's degree program, has been both intensive and extensive in enhancing teachers' mathematics content; in implementing classroom-reformed pedagogy, curriculum, and technology; in requiring classroom research; and m training teachers as change agents. The evaluation methods explored the project's goals in multiple ways to provide a triangulation of findings.
Violence Against Women
Authors: Sorenson Susan B.
Published: March 2007

Ethnic differences and commonalities rarely have been the focus of community-based research on violence against women The few existing studies typically used survey instruments developed on and used with Anglos and simply applied them to members of other ethnic groups. The proposed conceptual framework is based on a review of the published literature and on information gleaned from focus groups conducted with women and men from four ethnic groups (Black, White, Asian, and Latino). Ethnicity and culture—along with broad social factors and institutions, gender role definitions, kin and friendship networks, and individual life-course factors-influence what behaviors are acceptable in an intimate relationship. The intersection of gender and ethnicity is hypothesized to influence the options that a woman perceives, the help she seeks, and the nature and scope of violence she experiences in an intimate relationship. Observations relevant to research, policy, and service provision are offered.
Using Process Data To Explain Outcomes
Authors: McGraw Sarah A. , Sellers Deborah E. , Johnson Carolyn C. , Stone Elaine J. , Bachman Kathryn J. , Bebchuk Judith , Luepker Russell V. , Edmundson Elizabeth W.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the use of process evaluation for understanding study outcomes. Data from the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH), a large school-based field trial, are used. Teacher characteristics, measures of classroom curriculum implementation, and competing influences are linked to changes in dietary knowledge, intentions, and self-efficacy of students in the intervention schools. Multiple regression analyses indicate that teacher charactenstics did not predict program implementation. Teacher characteristics and program fidelity, or the number of modifications made to the classroom curriculum during implementation, had direct and independent effects on student outcomes.
Success for Some
Authors: Jones Elizabeth M. , Gottfredson Gary D. , Gottfredson Denise C.
Published: March 2007

Results from an evaluation of a 3-year Success for All program applied under difficult circum stances show positive effects for the kindergarten component but a mix of nonsignificant, positive, and negative results for other early elementary grades. Large negative effects were found for achievement ratings of students'performance in Years 2 and 3 for all cohorts. Previous evaluations have reported results for a limited range of outcome measures and used a narrow range of outcome measures. Future evaluations of Success for All programs should assess attainment of the stated goal of the program—to get all students reading at grade level by Grade 3. This attempt to implement the program in a difficult school implies that the program may not be effective wherever and whenever attempted.
A Framework to Identify Reactivity in Qualitative Research
Authors: Paterson Barbara L.
Published: March 2007

A significant consideration in the provision of rigor in qualitative research is the occurrence of reactivity, defined as the response of the researcher and the research participants to each other during the research process. This article presents a review of common sources of reactivity in qualitative research. It also describes a reactivity analysisframework that assists the researcher to analyze qualitative research data for reactive effects in a reflexive manner.
Health Concept of Older Hispanic Immigrants
Authors: Alfinger Rita L. , Causey Maria Elena
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to explore the health concept of older Hispanic immigrants. In tape-recorded home interviews, 54 respondents were asked to define health, describe the characteristics of a healthy older person, identify what contributes to good health, and report what they did to maintain their health. Responses were transcribed and then analyzed qualitativelyfor categories and themes. Based on thefindings, a concept of health evolved that included six major themes: integrating physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects; possessing mental health; feeling well; enjoying independence; practicing self-care; and orienting towardfamily. These themes will be useful to nurses in planning and implementing health services for similar older Hispanic immigrants.
The Moderating Effect of Age on Self-Care
Authors: Spitzer Ada , Bar-Tal Yoram , Ziv Liora
Published: March 2007

This study examined the moderating effect of age on the relations between symptom severity, self-care and others'care, patients'perception of the extent of problem solution, theirsatisfaction with the solution, and their perception of control over their health. Participating in the study were 121 female and 167 male chronically ill patients. Results indicated that age did play a major role in the relations between self-care and others'care and self-care outcomes. The young population sought maximum relief of symptoms with minimum effortfrom the self: The elderly, in contrast, could be said to maximize control because what was importantfor them was not to depend on others but to be self-sufficient in solving their health problems.
Self-Reported Factors Influencing Condom Use among Clinic Attendees
Authors: Lieberthal Kathleen Costa , Beckmann Claudia Anderson , Mill Judy E. , Korniewicz Denise M.
Published: March 2007

Data were collectedfrom a convenience sample of 231 urban women seeking health care at a Midwestern women's health care center at a city medical center Participants responded to 53 items, most takenfrom the Family Health Center Survey, which was designed to elicit descriptive data related to three major categories: background factors, factors that might influence the decision to use a condom, and knowledge and attitudes that might predict condom acquisition. Knowledge of HIV transmission and safer sex was not a predictor of condom use. Through education and demonstrations of proper condom usage, nurses and other health care providers were influential in persuading adolescents and young adults to use condoms.
The Importance of the Social Environment in Dementia Care
Authors: Morgan Debra G. , Stewart Norma J.
Published: March 2007

To manage the care of residents with dementia, many long-term care facilities have created special care units designed to meet the unique needs of this group. This article describes results of the qualitative component of a larger research project examining environment-behavior relationships in dementia care settings. The study includes 18 in-depth interviews that were conducted with 9 staff and 9 family members of special care unit (SCU) residents. Thematic analysis was conducted using grounded theory techniques. Although participants described residents 'needs in relation to both the physical and social environments, the latter was perceived to have more impact on quality of life andfunctional ability. This article focuses on five areas of need, identified by participants, in relation to the social environment: stimulation and meaningful activity, human contact, safety and supervision, individualized care, andflexibility.
Respite—A Coping Strategy for Family Caregivers
Authors: Strang Vicki R. , Haughey Margaret , Gerdner Linda A. , Teel Cynthia S. , Strang Vicki R.
Published: March 2007

The caregiver respite experience is seen as one way to moderate the negative consequences of caregiving. From an interpretivist research orientation, this study explored how 10 family care-givers of persons with dementia experienced respite. From a coping theoretical perspective, the caregiver respite experience is discussed as a process of “getting out” of the caregiver world, and is linked to avoidance strategies of emotion-focused coping. The following three phases within the coping dimension of the respite experience were found: caregivers recognizing their need to get out of the caregiver world, giving themselves permission to actually get out from it temporarily, and having the appropriate social support resources available to facilitate the getting out. The critical practice and research implications linked to caregivers’ability to acknowledge their need for respite are described.
Corporate Interference: The Commercialization and Concentration of Radio Post the 1996 Telecommunications Act
Authors: Huntemann Nina
Published: March 2007

Since the 1996 Telecommunication Act was signed by President Clinton, the U.S. commercial radio industry has undergone unprecedented merger activity. The Federal Communications Commission reports that in the first year of the act, 20 percent of the commercial radio stations in the country changed owners. The result is a highly concentrated industry with the top ten radio groups controlling 821 stations, 320 of which are owned by one firm. The author investigates the impact of the act on the radio industry with particular attention paid to the effects of radio consolidation on minority ownership, programming diversity, and community radio. Preliminary research indicates a fast decline in local music and news and diverse programming since the consolidation frenzy. Advertising dollars and economies of scale rule the bottom line of large radio groups. As a result, formats attracting high-consumption demographics are replacing formats that appeal to working-class, urban, and nonwhite audiences.
The Sale of Council Houses: Does It Matter ?
Authors: Jacobs Sidney
Published: March 2007

The 1980 Housing Act gives tenants the right to buy their council houses. Opponents stress that damage will be inflicted upon the public sector and call for a national anti-sales campaign. The defence of council housing largely rests on the assumptions that it has an affinity with socialism, that owner-occupation leads to 'false consciousness' and that the working class have an interest in maintaining and extending public ownership under capitalism. In rejecting these views, this article argues that an anti-sales campaign will increase class fragmentation and strengthen labourism without either halting sales, gaining mass support or protecting working- class housing standards.
Inequality, the New Right and mental health care delivery in the United States in the Reagan era
Authors: Samson Colin
Published: March 2007

This essay draws upon research on mental health treatment and provision in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988, and is part ofa wider US-UK com parative study. The main concern is to examine the linkages between pub lic policy and inequalities in mental health care delivery in one local area. In opposition to the concept of the welfare state, a primary stance of the New Right and of the Reagan administration has been the belief in the necessity ofsocial hierarchies based on wealth. The consequences of poli cies predicated on these beliefs were studied at a local mental health sys tem, where it was found that economic factors strongly influence access to and experience in the system. Principally through drawing upon data from 42 in-depth focussed interviews with mental health professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area, I examine how the poor are excluded from treat ment, how patients are dumped from the private sector, and how a com plex triage system in both public and private treatment settings has come into being.
Community care or independent living?
Authors: Morris Jenny
Published: March 2007

Community care policies, despite their rhetoric about helping people to live independent lives, are based on an ideology of dependency. This means that community care practice - in particular the changes in the Independent Living Fund and the way that statutory services are delivered - often constitutes a barrier to independent living. Research on the experience of receiving personal assistance with daily living activities found that receiving cash to pay for assistance enables disabled people to make the kind of choices in their lives which non- disabled people take for granted. However, there are opportunities within the community care reforms to promote independent living principles and these need to be seized upon by both professionals and disabled people.
Regulating mental health and motherhood in contemporary welfare services
Authors: White Sue
Published: March 2007

Contemporary social services departments are characterized by the sepa ration of services to adults from those to children and families. Professional disquiet about the gulf between adult mental health and child-care services has led to demands for more communication and col laboration between sectors and also at the interface with health-provider agencies. However, in the current climate, this is not necessarily a progres sive move. For many women the prospect of involvement with both child- care and mental health services may prove to be something of a poisoned chalice, holding little hope of improved and more relevant services, but promising only increasing levels of coercion, censure and surveillance.
Anti-discriminatory practice and anti-oppressive practice
Authors: Hopton John
Published: March 2007

In this article the author discusses the effects of media debates around 'political correctness' on the development of anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice in health and social care. This is linked to a dis cussion of the often neglected psychological theories developed by Frantz Fanon and David Cooper. It is argued that these provide a more robust apologia for anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice than any of the arguments put forward by would-be apologists for such initiatives who have participated in media-orchestrated debates about 'political correctness'.
Reforming the homelessness legislation
Authors: Cowan David
Published: March 2007

This article seeks to provide an overview of the methodology adopted by the Major government when it came to reforming welfare legislation. It takes the seminal example of the processes used to reform the homeless ness legislation. It also argues that the Blair government's first attempts at correcting these reforms will not change their unfortunate substance.
Language, Truth, and Social Reality in the Work of W. Peter Robinson
Authors: Winn Laura L. , Giles Howard , Bradac James J.
Published: March 2007

In this prologue, and after outlining the reasons for creating this double special issue in honor of W. Peter Robinson’s scholarship, the authors provide a brief biography of his academic career and achievements. The breadth of his work and important contributions to the understanding of language and communication, as well as the challenging intellectual questions and dilemmas he posed, are outlined. Particular attention is here afforded the processes of child communication and miscommunication, language and social class, and deceptive phenomena. Finally, the subsequent articles are overviewed in terms of their connection to Robinson’s concerns for the effects of context on cognition, language, and communication practices.
Middle Class Blacks' Perceptions of Dialect and Style Shifting: The Case of Southern Attorneys
Authors: Garner T. , Rubin D. L.
Published: March 2007

Both research and practical experience indicate that black dialect impedes mobility into mainstream American economic and political life. Blacks may learn to use Standard English as an entre into mainstream American culture and yet still preserve their cultural identities. It is possible that successful blacks retain their cultural identities because they perceive themselves as shifting, when appropriate, into a formal style that still lies within the bounds of Black English, or they may disassociate Standard English from cultural identification with white America. The authors employed in-depth interviewing of a highly selected sample for the purpose of exploring the attitudinal posture black professionals took toward Black English, Standard English and cultural identity. It was concluded that these speakers were able to acquire proficiency in Standard English while maintaining their minority cultural identities by disassociating Standard English from any ethnic identification and by assigning positive value to Black English as a form of linguistic behaviour.
Creating Inequality: Breaking the Rules in Debates
Authors: Edelsky Carole , Adams Karen
Published: March 2007

As both unabashed contests for power and forums for political candidates who, presumably, already have relatively substantial societal power, political debates offer a site for investigating the creation of more powerful language use for some, less powerful for others. Since the canonical debate form promises an equal distribution of turns and topic control to all debators through prespecification of practically everything that might vary in conversation (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson, 1974), the instances within actual debate which violate rules for prespecification are prime sites for revealing gender issues. The out of order and oddly functioning talk in six televised political debates was analysed, holding the promise of fairness of canonical debates as a yardstick. Un-rule-y talk violated rules for who was to speak (uninvited and out of turn order UNs) and what was to be happening (unexpected and oddly functioning MOVEs). UNs and MOVEs were categorised, sorted, and analysed as to where they occurred, who did them, what special features they had, and what consequences they had for subsequent topics, turns, and event structuring. The analysis has implications for the study of gender and language as well as the study and conduct of political debates.
Interfacing Language and Social Cognition
Authors: Semin Gun R.
Published: March 2007

It is argued that an interface between language and social cognition can take place only if one addresses language with the same methodological commitment that social cognition has hitherto received. Such a methodological commitment means treating language as a tool, with distinct cognitive properties in its own right. An overview of a research programme is provided that treats interpersonal language as consisting of tools and is concerned with an empirical examination of the cognitive properties of these tools. It is then shown how a better understanding of social cognitive processes can be achieved by showing how different linguistic categories trigger qualitatively different cognitive processes. In conclusion, it is argued that without a clear understanding of the medium by which communication is achieved-namely, language-it is difficult if not impossible to understand social cognition.
Identification of Language Varieties
Authors: van Bezooijen Renée , Gooskens Charlotte
Published: March 2007

Three experiments are described investigating the role of different linguistic levels in the identification of language varieties. The results reveal that prosodic features play a minor role in the identification of language varieties, both in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands. The role of pronunciation varies. In some cases, pronunciation alone leads to better identification than cues at all linguistic levels, including pronunciation. Further research is needed to gain insight into the precise nature of the processes underlying the identification of language varieties. Also, the role of identification of language varieties in relation to vocal stereotypes in the attribution of personality characteristics to speakers should be further investigated.
The Nature of Implicit Knowledge of Senior School Administrators
Authors: Salloum Kirk
Published: March 2007

This article reports on the findings of an interpretive study that explored the nature of implicit knowledge of five secondary school principals. It was conceptualized as being declarative at one time, acquired through an implicit process, or truly implicit. Vignettes were compiled to show how the five used implicit knowledge in their decision-maling. Information collected illustrated that the administrators' implicit knowledge experiences were idiosyncratic, dynamic and pragmatic. It is concluded that implicit knowledge plays a major role in the actions of administrators and that, as such, it merits a higher profile in current theory and practice in educational administration.
Scanning the Market
Authors: Bagley Carl , Woods Philip , Glatter Ron
Published: March 2007

The issue of whether schools immersed in a market culture will be more consumer responsive has been much debated in the UK and elsewhere. In this article, members of the Parental and School Choice Interaction Study examine the extent and ways in which school managers seek to identify parental viewpoints, so that these can influence school decision-making. It suggests that schools vary in openness towards the receipt of parental viewpoints, managers placing a great deal of reliance upon informal and ad hoc means of feedback as opposed to—though not necessarily more valid than—systematic and planned approaches.
The Management Stle of Female Headteachers
Authors: Coleman Marianne
Published: March 2007

Women are highly under-represented amongst senior managers in education in the UK. The stereotype of the leader as male perpetuates this situation. This study sought to build upon the links which are now being made between `feminine' styles and effective management. Five female headteachers of mixed secondary schools in one shire county in the UK were interviewed and asked to identify their characteristics as leaders and managers. The picture that emerged was of an `androgynous' leader, able to draw upon a range of qualities. The success of the female headteacher was seen by those who were the subjects of this research to some extent to be due to the possession of qualities similar to the traditional male leader but they were also able to identify ways in which being a woman was helpful.
Australian Naturalism and its Critics
Authors: Hyung Park Sun
Published: March 2007

This paper details the ongoing debate in educational administration between Australian naturalists and some of their principal critics since the publication in 1991 of Evers and Lakomski's seminal book, Knowing Educational Administration. It examines critically the views of critics in five categories. Each of these criticisms is responded to from the point of view of Australian naturalism, largely to the advantage of the naturalists. In the last part of the paper the author identifies and explores further potential weaknesses in Australian naturalism.
Toward a Network Sociality
Authors: Wittel Andreas
Published: March 2007

This article explores some current transformations of the social. It argues for a shift from a model of sociality based on community towards a network sociality. This shift is particularly visible in urban spaces and in the cultural industries. However, it seems to become paradigmatic more widely of the information society. The article is to be read as a cultural hypothesis. In the first part I introduce some examples that document the rise of a network sociality. Most of these examples are drawn from a two-year ethnographic study of London's new media. The second part consists of a critique of some theoretical accounts of contemporary transformations of sociality. The third part is an attempt to outline the concept of network sociality. It is a form of sociality that is ephemeral but intense, it is informational and technological, it combines work and play, it is disembedded and generic, and it emerges in the context of individualization.
Remaking Universals?
Authors: Vuola Elina
Published: March 2007

This article looks at how religious fundamentalism is aiming at influencing the international discourse on women's rights, especially reproductive rights. Simultaneously, we are witnessing the rise of something we could call transnational feminism(s). Much of the recent academic discussion on universalism, anti-universalism and cultural relativism is centered on Islam, but this discussion has larger relevance, for example in Latin America and in the context of Catholicism, which provide the concrete examples in the article. Feminist critique of religion is central in the deconstruction of religious fundamentalism, but is not usually very well known by feminist social scientists. Transnational feminism(s), as a wide political movement, is developing new approaches to formulating intercultural criteria for human rights, especially women's rights, and for the truth claims these are based on.
The Probation Officer, His Training and Skill
Authors: Braithwaite R.M.
Published: March 2007

( Following the article in our last issue on the distinctive nature of a probation officer's work, we are glad to publish these notes on his preparation for that work. They were the basis of an address given by Miss Braithwaite to a recent Essex Branch open meeting. We invite comment for PROBATION FORUM.—Editor)
The Inter-Departmental Committee on Conciliation: A Negative Report in Every Sense
Authors: Davis Gwynn
Published: March 2007

A searching review of the recent Government report on Conciliation services, concludes that it is superficial, legalistic, and inadequately researched, with spurious reasoning and dubious conclusions.
Heimler's Human Social Functioning
Authors: Morley Hugh
Published: March 2007

Heimier's Scale of Social Functioning has been popular with probation practitioners as a method of engaging clients in deciding if and what they wish to change. The author reviews the appeal and performance of Heimler's insights.
Diversion from Prosecution: Scotland's New Initiative
Authors: Myers Ray
Published: March 2007

How close co-operation with the Scottish Independent Prosecutor, the Procurator Fiscal, can enhance the use of discretion to steer even higher risk offenders away from prosecution and towards services meeting individual need. 1
Pre-Trial SERS: Flawed Policy
Authors: Harris Mark
Published: March 2007

A response to Kevin Kirwin and Chris Hignett (Probation Journal, June 1987), alleging that their arguments against preparing pre- trial SERS are unsound, negative and promote passive practice.
A study of the influence of visual impairment on the purchase of clothing
Authors: Bradley R. , Hopkins T. , Bailey J.M. , Bradley R. , Hopkins T. , Bailey J.M. , Hopkins Teresa
Published: March 2007

Although the data shows that there are an increasing number of blind and visually impaired people in the United Kingdom as the result of increasing longevity, retail outlets, particularly for the sale of clothing, have not adjusted to this trend. There are some definite market advantages if proper steps are taken to meet the needs of elderly and disabled people.
Betty Hirsch — "Mother" of the Blind
Authors: Schulze Hans Eugen
Published: March 2007

Betty Hirsch is revered throughout Germany for her pioneer work in getting blind people into employment; yet in the country of her second home she is hardly known. The article is a summary of a doctoral thesis by Christine Pluhar, "Betty Hirsch: the road of a blind woman", published in 1989. The quotations are from Betty Hirsch's reminiscences, written towards the end of her life. The article, which is slightly amended and translated by Hans Cohn, first appeared in HORUS 3/99, the organ of the Deutsche Verband Blinde und Sehbehinderte in Studium und Beruf, to whom we are grateful for permission to reprint.
Learning to include Pete
Authors: Riddle Beverley
Published: March 2007

This is an account of how one teacher is working to include a partially sighted boy in her mainstream primary school class. It is seen as a learning process as much for the teacher as for the young pupil himself.

Pete is nine years old, with ocular albinism and nystagmus giving reduced near and distance vision. He has been with us since the Summer term, and in my class since September. I had no experience of working with visually impaired children, and all I knew was that he had a teaching assistant (TA) for 15 hours a week and had 'problems seeing'. Reading the reports on Pete, I understood that he was above average intelligence and needed help accessing the curriculum.
The world of touch: an international survey of tactile maps. Part 2: design
Authors: Rowell Jonathan , Ongar Simon
Published: March 2007

This paper reports the findings of an international survey that collected data on production methods, techniques, outputs and design preferences among tactile map producers, designers and researchers worldwide. A number of consistencies and inconsistencies are identified and we speculate on the extent to which the current state of tactile map production is likely to meet the needs of the client population. In this second part of the report we focus on issues of map design, such as the choice of map size and format, and choice of symbols. We also report answers to a series of open-ended questions on respondents' approach to addressing user needs.
Blindisms: possible causes and remedies
Authors: Abang Theresa B.
Published: March 2007

The author describes some o f the studies already published on blindness in children and their possible causes; she brings out the need for further research on the whole subject. Present findings seem to indicate that blindisms do not occur when, as in the African culture, children are brought up in close contact with their mothers and the extended family.
Developing a service for multi-sensory impaired adults: recruitment, retention and training of staff
Authors: Snow Bob
Published: March 2007

In the last issue of this journal, Diana Harries wrote about the many problems facing those professionals responsible for developing services for multi-handicapped people. The following article outlines the major issues which have arisen during the initial development phase of one particular type of provision for a section o f this client group.
Educational Advisory Services — a national provision?
Authors: Stone Juliet
Published: March 2007

This article suggests that advisory services for visually handicapped children are not offering an adequate level of support to pupils within mainstream schools. Because of the wide differences in the number of peripatetic teachers in each team, in the size of their individual caseloads, and in their pay scales, little comparison can be made between the services provided in various parts of the country. The problem is further compounded by the fact that there are no uniform criteria for the selection of pupils to be supported.