bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Positions of Influence in the Nursing Home Admission Decision
Authors: McAuley William J. , Travis Shirley S.
Published: March 2007

Decisions leading to nursing home admissions have substantial personal and policy consequences, but little research has focused on who is influential in the decision process. We sought to determine which of various social positions were viewed as being very influential in the decision to admit and what factors were associated with perceived level of influence of certain social positions. We examined data from telephone interviews with a sample of 145 responsible parties of first-time, recently admitted nursing home residents in Virginia. Family influence on institutional decision making appears to follow a hierarchical pattern similar to that for preadmission family caregiving. Nursing home residents were infrequently very influential parties to the decision. Health care professionals, especially physicians, were frequently described by sponsors as very influential to the decision process. There is some evidence of a cluster of influence among health professionals and clergy, with the physician occupying a central position in this cluster.
Moderating the Effects of Stress on Depressive Symptoms
Authors: Fernandez Maria E. , Mutran Elizabeth J. , Reitzs Donald C.
Published: March 2007

The authors examined whether social support (measured as having a partner or spouse, satisfaction with partner or spouse relationships at Time 1 and at Time 2, and frequency of visits with close friends and relatives) and self-esteem buffered the impact of two types of stressful life events on depressive symptomatology in a prospective investigation of 728 full-time working men and women 58 to 64 years of age at recruitment in a metropolitan North Carolina area. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the impact of stressful events involving social networks was buffered by satisfying relationships at Time 1 and self-esteem. Satisfying relations at Time 1 also lessened the impact of work stressors on depressive symptoms.
Racial Differences in Satisfaction with Physicians
Authors: Jackson Pamela Braboy , George Linda K.
Published: March 2007

This analysis examines the association between race and satisfaction with physicians among a sample of community-dwelling older adults. It is hypothesized that minority elderly will hold more negative attitudes toward physicians than will their White peers due to the difficulty in establishing rapport in the physician-patient relationship. Using data from the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (Duke), we find that African Americans believe that physicians do not display much compassion for, and respect toward, the elderly. However, African Americans report more positive attitudes about the prudence of physicians. These findings are discussed in the context of improving the physician-patient relationship.
Forecasting Methods for HIV/AIDS and Aging
Authors: Manton Kenneth G. , Stallard Eric
Published: March 2007

Recent treatment advances suggest that AIDS may be changing from a rapidly lethal,acute disease into a chronic disease process with lengthy periods of remission.Stochastic compartment models can describe AIDS progression, remission, andoverall survival. Such models can combine multiple data sources to estimate transitions through intermediate, unobserved disease states. Age/time AIDS mortality maybe combined with age/time AIDS incidence to generate an "observed" health eventdistribution, using maximum likelihood estimation. The models can project the futurebehavior of AIDS in an aging population. Transitions among intermediate diseasestates (i.e., components of the disease's "natural" and "treatment-altered" history) canbe evaluated as time-varying functions that reflect treatment efficacy. For example,the introduction of protease inhibitors to therapy with two nucleoside analoguessignificantly slows transitions between disease states. Persons infected, but success-fully treated, may develop organ damage, neurological disorders, or cancer.
Primary Family Caregivers of Impaired Elderly in Shanghai, China
Authors: Cooney Rosemary Santana , Di Juxin
Published: March 2007

This study investigates kin differences in caregiver burden using a 1989 survey of impaired elderly and their caregivers from Shanghai, China. Indicators of caregiver burden include feelings of fatigue, loss of personal time, and expressed need for formal service support. To explain kin differences, four factors are analyzed: caregiving involvement, elderly need for care, familial support, and sociodemographic characteristics of the caregiver. Findings indicate that wives and married daughters express the greatest feelings of fatigue and loss of personal time. Kin differences on these dimensions are explained by caregiving involvement and elderly need for care. In contrast, the child generation, particularly married sons and daughters-in-law, express the greatest need for formal service support. This is related to their greater reliance on familial support from non-coresiding relatives and to sociodemographic characteristics reflecting a less traditional cultural orientation and greater economic resources to pay for services. Implications for service delivery are discussed.
Liberals, Populists, Libertarians, and Conservatives: The Link between Domestic and International Affairs
Authors: Holsti Ole R. , Rosenau James N.
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the relationship between the domestic and foreign policy beliefs of American opinion leaders, using data drawn from nationwide surveys in 1984, 1988 and 1992. Responses to fourteen items appearing in each of the surveys are used to identify four domestic policy types: liberals, populists, conservatives, and libertarians. An additional 14 items are used to classify respondents into four foreign policy types: hardliners, internationalists, isolationists and accommodationists. There is a high correlation between the domestic and foreign policy types. Further analyses examine the responses of the four domestic policy types to several international issues: future threats, US interests and roles, foreign policy goals, and approaches to peace. Background variables associated with the domestic and foreign policy beliefs indicate that the cross-cutting cleavages created by domestic and international issues during the two decades after World War II are giving way to overlapping divisions that have powerful partisan and ideological foundations.
La Ligne Verte du partage de Chypre
Authors: Richarte Marie-Pierre
Published: March 2007

La ligne de partage de Chypre fait partie d'un type de démarcation qui par sa durée et sa nature se présente de plus en plus comme une frontière. Elle est le résultat de deux éléments: l'un local, liéà l'antagonisme des communautés grecque et turque de l'île, l'autre régional, héritage d'une géopolitique méditerranéenne. Pour les Chypriotes turcs, cette ligne est perçue comme une frontière internationale, pour la communauté grecque, elle représente une violation du droit. Pour les uns, elle est un pouvoir, pour les autres une perte de souveraineté, point de mire d'un État qui cherche à se construire dans une intégralité territoriale et des références identitaires antagonistes.
Enduring Rivalries: The Early Years
Authors: Maoz Zeev , Mor Ben D.
Published: March 2007

This paper develops and tests a game-based model of enduring international rivalries. The model is embedded in a theoretical framework that conceives of interstate conflicts as series of temporally related games. Transition across games is governed by learning, which occurs when actors revise their perception of the opponent in response to previous interactions. The model shows that learning can sometimes produce patterns of repeated conflict. An empirical analysis of four enduring rivalries reveals a high incidence of conflictual games in their early years. As posited by the model, learning does account for game transformations (or evolutionary patterns), but changes in relative capabilities also have an important effect on how actors define their preferences and perceive the opponent.
Planning, Democracy and the Challenge of Sustainable Development
Authors: Meadowcroft James
Published: March 2007

Over the past decade sustainable development has increasingly been adopted as an objective of government policy, and “planning for sustainable development” is now a real-world activity of officials and ministries. A survey of conceptual issues, of three environmental economists' proposals to achieve sustainability, and of initial practical experience in the industrialised countries suggest that planning for environmentally sustainable development involves an ambitious attempt to reconcile environmental and development objectives. It is argued that to the extent that this proves possible it will be a radically disjointed process involving interaction of many agencies and actors. At the heart of the challenge of planning for sustainable development is an issue of institutional design to which political science, despite the hesitancy it has so far displayed to engage with the issue, could yet make a meaningful contribution.
Contrasting Styles of Democratic Decision-making: Adversarial versus Consensual Politics
Authors: Mcrae Kenneth D.
Published: March 2007

The notion of “consociational democracy” originated from prolonged debates in the 1950s over prerequisites for democratic stability. The concept then spread rapidly in both Western and Third World comparative analysis. From this base Arend Lijphart went on to develop contrasting majoritarian and consensual models more widely applicable to all established democratic countries. This article examines the general conditions favorable to consensual rather than adversarial politics, and then briefly surveys six selected countries that exemplify consensual elements in greater or lesser degree. Its conclusion poses the question whether consensual politics is better visualized as a coherent model or as a series of devices and practices that can be employed piecemeal in many situations.
Poland's Three Parliaments in the Era of Transition, 1989-1995
Authors: Wiatr Jerzy J.
Published: March 2007

Poland's experience in democratic transformation is to some degree different from that of other post-communist nations because of its having been the first country to depart from a communist regime. It therefore had a relatively long period of power-sharing, negotiated at the Round Table conference in early 1989. The first parliament (1989-91) reflected the contractual arrangements of the Round Table and was not fully representative. The second parliament (1991-93) was paralyzed by extreme fragmentation. The third parliament, elected in 1993, is more consolidated but suffers from the absence of right-wing parties due to their failure to reach the required electoral threshold. During Lech Walesa's presidency (1990-95), relations between the president and parliament were tense, particularly after the left's victory in the 1993 election. Nonetheless, parliamentarism has survived in Poland and the democratic system has avoided constitutional crises. Poland's experience confirms the superiority of parliamentarism over presidentialism in new democracies.
From Local Government to Local Governance—and Beyond?
Authors: Andrew Caroline , Goldsmith Michael
Published: March 2007

This article presents an overview of local government studies and particularly of recent developments. It looks first of all at the changing social and economic factors which influence the operation of local government. Globalization, political and institutional changes, demographic trends—all these structure the environment of local government. The article then looks at the changes in local government, best understood as a movement towards local governance. Finally, the article raises questions about the kinds of local government that would be the most desirable and most appropriate given the changes that are taking place.
Urban Policy in Ethnically Polarized Societies
Authors: Bollens Scott A.
Published: March 2007

This article explores the role of public policy in contested cities and the effects urban strategies have on the magnitude and manifestations of ethnonational conflict. It is based on interviews in the polarized cities of Jerusalem, Belfast, and Johannesburg conducted in 1994 and 1995. An integrative analytic approach combining the perspectives of political science, urban planning, geography, and social psychology is utilized. The article explores the proposition that a city is a prism, not a mirror, through which conflict is ameliorated or intensified. A city introduces a set of characteristics—proximate ethnic neighborhoods, territoriality, economic interdependency, symbolism, and centrality—that can bend or distort the relationship between ideological disputes and the manifestations of ethnic conflict. Findings indicate that dialectics, contradictions, and unforeseen consequences are produced when nationalism intersects with an urban system. Israeli policy-making in Jerusalem paradoxically produces spatial conditions of urban and regional instability antithetical to Israel's goal of political control. British policy-making in Belfast may achieve short-term abstinence from violence, but it is insufficient in a city of obstructive ethnic territoriality and differential Protestant-Catholic needs. In apartheid Johannesburg, implementation of racist ideology exposed the faultlines and limits of ordering urban space. Now, policy-makers seek to address distressing levels of unmet human needs amidst market-based “normalization” processes that threaten to reinforce apartheid's racial geography.
On the Environmental Externalities of Global Trade
Authors: Lofdahl Corey L.
Published: March 2007

In the study of international political economy, there is little discussion on how economic development affects the global environment. Yet natural degradation can be one of the most pervasive and longest lasting consequences of development. Too often these consequences are simply catalogued without sufficient consideration given to their social, political and economic causes. Global deforestation, this study's litmus test of environmental lateral pressure, is examined in relation to domestic GNP, population growth, and a variable constructed for this study, namely tradeconnected GNP, which accounts for the trade effects among nations. This model specifically addresses the ongoing debate between economists and environmentalists over the costs and benefits of free trade. Economists defend free trade by citing evidence that domestic GNP increases, spurred on by the gains from trade, reduce environmental degradation as richer countries become better able to address such concerns. This study replicates these results, but then it tests trade effects directly and finds that they increase rather than decrease patterns of global deforestation.
Make Room for Daddy
Authors: DIENHART ANNA
Published: March 2007

Research literature on fatherhood has featured a critical perspective on men's attitudes toward family life, their style of parenting, and the amount they participate in myriad aspects of daily parenting. This qualitative study explores the resourcefulness of men and women in families dedicated to organizing their family life to involve fathers. A tag-team pattern of sharing parenting emerged as a key to their success. While agreeing on the fundamentals of child care, these mothers and fathers valued differences in what each parent contributes to the tag team. Both men and women in the research couples highlighted the pragmatic benefit of approaching parenting as a tag team requiring the full and unique contribution of each partner (mother and father). Pragmatic aspects of a tag team allow each partner to maintain certain specializations while remaining essentially interchangeable in function if not in form.
Childless and One-Child Families in the Soviet Union
Authors: PANKHURST JERRY G.
Published: March 2007

Soviet authorities have recently initiated a demographic policy aimed particularly at reducing the levels of childless and one-child families. An examination of available data indicates that the USSR has a level of childlessness equivalent to that of the United States, but a frequency of one-child families that is considerably greater. Popular explanations for very low fertility, such as inadequate housing or finances, do not explain the decision to remain childless or to stop childbearing after a single child is born. Furthermore, the effects of education and female labor force participation are mediated by cultural factors. It is these cultural factors that seem to differentiate among zero-, one-, and two-child families. In the Soviet case, the most appropriate policy tool for intervention in such cultural processes is propaganda, but such a value-transformation approach is more complex and unpredictable than a structural approach. Nevertheless, a structural explanation for fertility decline is inadequate for this situation.
Work Schedules and Family Life in Two-Earner Couples
Authors: PLECK JOSEPH H. , STAINES GRAHAM L.
Published: March 2007

This study of work schedules in two-earner couples explores the implications of dual schedules for the family life of both working spouses. In particular, it tests Pleck's (1977) notion that work demands are permitted to intrude into family life among men more than they are among women. The study is based on data from the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey. In summary, it found that among two-earner families clear sex differences exist in levels of work schedule demands but not in the degree of responsiveness of family life to those demands.
Implications of the Black Marriage Market for Marital Conflict
Authors: SECORD PAUL F. , GHEE KENNETH
Published: March 2007

Demographic characteristics of the black population that force departures from the dominant mate selection pattern are identified. These are as follows: (1) There are more educated black women than educated black men; (2) black women have a higher occupational status than black men; and (3) black women are much closer in income to black men than white women are to white men. The implications of these marriage market conditions for marital strain are discussed in terms of the “good provider” role and the changes in it brought about by working wives.
The Gender Division of Labor and the Reproduction of Female Disadvantage
Authors: CHAFETZ JANET SALTZMAN
Published: March 2007

A theory of the major mechanisms that sustain and reproduce systems of gender stratification is presented. The central support mechanism is the gender division of labor, within both the family and the wider society. Because of it, men gain superior resource and definitional power, which enable them to maintain the gender status quo regardless of women's wishes. Elite men create dominant social definitions that, together with the gender division of labor, contribute to gender differentiation. This results in women usually choosing that which they would otherwise be constrained to do, thereby legitimating the system and allowing men to refrain from exercising their coercive potential.
Coemployed Spouses
Authors: BRYANT ELLEN S. , VANDER MEY BRENDA J. , BURGESS NORMA J.
Published: March 2007

The authors use assumptions from theories of gender and economic stratification to examine the linkage between patriarchal family structures and the employment experience of women and men by comparing job-related characteristics of spouses working for the same employer. Personnel data were used to develop a wife-husband occupational typology that became the basis for several middle range theoretical questions probing for evidence of (1) marital status differences in employment, (2) husband dominance in educational achievement and job selection, (3) family status consistency, and (4) gender discrimination. Findings suggest that all four phenomena are present, but variations in couple patterns show that economic factors take precedence over stereotyped gender roles in the family. Thus occupational differentiation between spouses appears to be decreasing.
Sex Role Ideology, Marital Status, and Happiness
Authors: LUEPTOW LLOYD B. , GUSS MARGARET B. , HYDEN COLLEEN
Published: March 2007

Research suggests that women's, but not men's, sex role ideology may be negatively related to marital happiness and stability. Analysis of General Social Survey data from 1974 to 1986 supports that proposition. Nontraditional women are less happy and more likely to be separated or divorced. These relations are stronger for attitudes about women's personality than about roles, and are not eliminated by controls for age, year, education, or work status. They are also stronger for women constrained in marriage by opposition to divorce. All in all, the results are consistent with the idea that modern sex role ideology is negatively related to marital success for women.
Mothers Who Care
Authors: TRAUSTADOTTIR RANNVEIG
Published: March 2007

Based on a qualitative study of families of children with disabilities, this article examines the role of gender in caring for a child with a disability. Findings reveal caring as a complex phenomenon that has at least three meanings: (a) “caring for,” which refers to the caregiving work, (b) “caring about,” referring to the love, and (c) “the extended caring role,” when mothers of children with disabilities extend their caring to a broader societal concern. The findings, which suggest that the responsibilities for caring are still ascribed on the basis of gender, are discussed in relation to traditional disability family studies and the situation of women in today's society.
Intergenerational Support, Relationship Quality, and Well-Being
Authors: LEVITT MARY J. , GUACCI NATHALIE , WEBER RUTH A.
Published: March 2007

Exchanges of intergenerational support were assessed in a bicultural (Anglo/European-American and Latin American) sample of young-adult women, their mothers, and their maternal grandmothers. The goals of the study were (a) to describe the extent of supportive intergenerational exchange, with a particular focus on the balance of exchange across generations, (b) to evaluate the association of support with intergenerational relationship quality, and (c) to explore links between supportive exchange, relationship quality, and personal well-being. Support exchanges were imbalanced across generations, with middlegeneration women providing more support to mothers and daughters than they received. Support and relationship quality were linked for younger mother-daughter dyads, but perceptions of older women regarding relations with daughters were positively biased and not tied significantly to support exchange. Intergenerational relationship quality was associated with well-being for each generation. The cross-cultural consistency of these results suggests that they represent more general patterns of intergenerational relations.
Children's Living Arrangements in Unmarried-Mother Families
Authors: MANNING WENDY D. , SMOCK PAMELA J.
Published: March 2007

Children in the United States are more likely than ever before to spend part of their lives in single-mother families. However, researchers usually ignore the complexity of household living arrangements, focusing solely on the marital status of mothers. Drawing on 1990 census data, we show that over two fifths of children in single-mother families live in households with other adults—relatives, nonfamily members, or mothers' cohabiting partners. We demonstrate the importance of employing this measure of household living arrangements by examining the race-ethnic gap in child poverty. The actual extent of race-ethnic gap in child poverty is masked when children's household living arrangements are ignored. We expect that answers to other research questions related to family structure will also depend on detailed knowledge about children's household living arrangements.
A Sociological Profile of Participants in the 1983 Ncaa Women's Golf Championship
Authors: Washington Martha A. , Lehr Carolyn A.
Published: March 2007

Data were collected from participants (N=86) in the 1983 NCAA Women's Golf Cham pionship to elicit specific demographic and sociological information which would determine a profile of the elite female collegiate golfer. A 25 item questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Demographic variables include age, height, weight, year in school, hometown, academic major and university/college location.

Sociological variables included age at which the participant began playing golf, most influential person in the participant's exposure to golf, person(s) providing greatest encourage ment to compete, families' involvement in golf, ordinal position, future career aspirations relative to golf, and socio-economic background.

Elite female collegiate golfers in this study tend to pattern other female athletes in regard to the age of their initial involvement in sport and influence of the family upon participation. It appears that they are socialized into golf at an early age, the father is the most significant socializing agent, parents provide the greatest encouragement to compete, and the family involvement in golf is extensive. The participants are predominantly white, likely to be the youngest children in families with high socio-economic backgrounds, and the largest number come from hometowns located in the South and West. The majority of participants plan to continue their involvement in golf by becoming touring professionals.
Rejuvenating Sport Socialization Research
Authors: Greendorfer Susan L. , Bruce Toni
Published: March 2007

Using existing critiques as a constructive foundation, the purpose of this paper is to extend analyses of the malaise in sport socialization by suggesting two alternative approaches that may revive interest in this important research topic. One, more representative of a functionalist integration, attempts to shift to more macro considerations by conceptualizing sport socialization as a mechanism of social and cultural reproduction; the nature and role of social structure is examined with respect to learning, interaction, and communication. Viewing such a synthesis as inadequate to rejuvenate the topic, however, we endorse a cultural studies approach which attempts to contextualize socialization within the broader framework of power, hegemony and ideology. Inherent in both alternatives, however, is a challenge to rethink underlying assumptions and fundamental elements upon which previous sport socialization research has been based. Although fundamentally different in approach, both require a new or different way of understanding how sport socialization is accomplished.
Sport and Politics
Authors: Delgado Fernando
Published: March 2007

This article offers an analysis of how sport can occupy a progressive role in contemporary culture. Contrasting the political constitution of Latino identities with the marketing strategy of Major League Soccer, readers are introduced to alternative and antagonistic constructions of Latinos. Upon examining the constitution of Latino audiences, the author argues that sport does serve a progressive function by challenging the dominant political discourse. Although clearly in pursuit of economic goals, Major League Soccer’s constitution of Latinos suggests that the ideological marginalization of minorities in the United States can, and in many instances will, be counterbalanced by popular culture’s need for minority groups as consumers.
Beyond the Ring
Authors: Wenn Stephen R. , Wenn Jeffrey P.
Published: March 2007

In November 1990, former three-time heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, traveled to Baghdad, Iraq with the aim of promoting peace in the volatile Gulf region in the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Following a personal audience with Ali, Saddam released 15 hostages. Although Ali’s goal had been loftier, namely a peaceful resolution to the crisis, his determination and perseverance despite numerous obstacles revealed his dedication to the cause of peace. This article will discuss the Ali mission in Baghdad, its origins and its results, for the purpose of shedding light on Muhammad Ali’s growing acceptance as an unofficial ambassador for many American citizens.
SOCIAL PRESSURE, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND HELP SEEKING FOR PAIN AND INJURIES IN COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORKS
Authors: Nixon Howard L.
Published: March 2007

Using data from a survey of college athletes in an NCAA Division I athletic program, this article shows how interaction with significant others (coaches, teammates, and athletic trainers or physical therapists) in a campus sports network, social status (gender and race), status in sport (holding an athletic scholarship), and the structure of a sport (individual or team sport) affect the pain and injury behavior of athletes. The dependent variables of interest in this study are the willingness of athletes to talk with these significant others about pain and injuries, the likelihood that they will turn to these significant others for help or encouragement with their sports injuries, and the likelihood that they will avoid coaches, teammates, and trainers when they are hurt or try to hide their pain and injuries from them. Although a number of effects of predictor variables are reported in this study, the most noteworthy ones may be the effects of a sympathetic or caring attitude of trainers on the tendencies for athletes to seek information and seek help from them. It also is noteworthy that no effects of gender or significant others' discouragement of playing hurt were found.
SPORT, PHYSICAL DANGER, AND INJURY: THE EXPERIENCES OF ELITE WOMEN ATHLETES
Authors: Young Kevin , White Philip
Published: March 2007

Recently, feminist work on sport and gender has begun to understand male tolerance of physical risk and injury as a constituting process that may enhance a particular brand of masculinization. For some men, the cultural meanings of physical danger and living with injury resonate with larger ideological issues of gender legitimacy and power. But how may women's tolerance of the potential for injury in sport be explained using this approach? Based on data from questionnaires and follow-up interviews with elite women athletes in Western Canada, this exploratory study reveals some parallel meanings of violence, pain, and injury for men and women athletes. The findings raise important theoretical questions regarding possible ambiguities in sports-related emancipation for women. On one hand, women are participating in, even colonizing, traditionally male-exclusive spaces in sport. On the other hand, many such spaces are being occupied by women athletes who, rather than participating in a transformation of the meaning of sport, appear to be contributing to a male-defined sports process replete with its violent, macho, and health-compromising aspects. Women's increasing participation in aggressive sport is interpreted as a dialectic, in which resistance to male dominance in sport is tempered by a degree of hegemonic incorporation.
BORDERLINE TREASON: NATIONALISMS AND BASEBALL ON THE TEXAS-MEXICAN BORDER
Authors: Klein Alan
Published: March 2007

A 3-year ethnographic-historical study of a Mexican League team that straddles the U.S.-Mexican border is shown to illustrate that there exists not a single form of nationalism but rather a range of nationalisms that characterizes life on the border. This study defines and outlines the presence of three nationalisms: autonationalism, binationalism, and transnationalism. Further, the study argues that border relations and tensions are such that the use of multiple methods is preferable. Exclusive use of one method or another may be useful in detecting one nationalist form but may not pick up the presence of others.
CRITIQUING THE LANGUAGE OF THE GENDER EQUITY DEBATE
Authors: Staurowsky Ellen J.
Published: March 2007

Prevailing depictions of the nationwide discussions regarding Title IX and gender equity typically represent those discussions as adversarial in both tone and nature, as seen in linguistic devices such as the “battle of the sexes,” a “dispute,” a “fight,” and a “tug-of-war.” This article develops the position that the reliance on an adversarial model as the predominant framework on which the Title IX and gender equity discourse is structured not only polarizes educational decision makers but also precludes genuine problem solving. In this article, the limitations of an adversarial form of discourse along with an examination of the real issues at stake (i.e., student experience and the integrity of educational institutions) are considered in detail.
PLAY UP
Authors: Rowe David
Published: March 2007

Over the past three decades, a substantial body of critical literature has emerged in the sociology of sport. Its main critical impulse has been to overcome the sociological neglect of sport and popular culture, and to undermine the predominantly functionalist analytical foundation of the sports sociology that did exist. Sport has, therefore, been subjected to orthodox sociological critique of class, gender, and racial/ethnic inequality of unquestionable force and value. However, the sociology of sport, like the general discipline, is required to confront current challenges to its founding assumptions, categories, and procedures. This article seeks to assess the state of the critical sociology of sport, arguing that, although its principal concerns with social power and the conditions of resistance to it must endure, there is an urgent need for new and perhaps unorthodox theoretical and empirical work that will allow that critical edge to be maintained.
Looking at Bodywork
Authors: Brace-Govan Jan
Published: March 2007

The concepts of the subject-at-work and the subject-in-discourse form the basis for an examination of the implications that appearance has for physically active women and their self-presentation. Excerpts from interviews with three physically active groups (ballet dancers, bodybuilders, and weightlifters) of Australian women are used to illustrate the ensuing discussion of the “gaze.” When the subject-at-work becomes the subject-in-discourse, as a result of the presentation of the body to an audience, differences in the extent to which each group exercised ownership of their physical mastery became evident. Activities that invite others to look and to judge the appearance of women’s bodies appeared to disempower through the effect of the “gaze,” which a more instrumental approach seemed to resist. The implication is that to transcend the status of being an object, women may benefit from pursuing their bodywork instrumentally, not on the basis of appearance.
An Index of Mental Health System Performance
Authors: Miley Alan D. , Lively Barry L. , McDonald Robert D.
Published: March 2007

A quantitative measure is described for determining the extent to which obtained patterns of movement among programs in a mental health system reflect goals for client movement. The measure combines the probability of a particular move with a numerical value reflecting the desirability of that move. Characteristics of the measure are discussed.
Use of an Unobtrusive Measure for the Evaluation of Interagency Coordination
Authors: Flaherty Eugenie Walsh , Barry Ellen , Swift Marshall
Published: March 2007

Existing records maintained by an early prevention project for high-risk children were used to evaluate the development of interagency coordination in the first eight months of the project. The records provided information on the extent and form of the interagency contacts, on the staff participating, and on the subjects discussed in the contacts. The process required by use of existing records is described and the advantages and dis advantages of this method are discussed.
Test-Taking and the Stability of Adjustment Scales
Authors: Edwards Daniel W. , Yarvis Richard M. , Mueller Daniel P. , Zingale Holly C. , Wagman William J.
Published: March 2007

Nonpatient responses to five major adjustment scales were examined at three time-points, two weeks apart. There was no evidence for a systematic increase in adjustment scores due to completing the instruments. Internal consistency coefficients and test-retest stability coefficients for the five adjustment scales show them to have utility for assessing patient groups. Only the SCL-90 showed promise for allowing reliable assessment of individual change over time. All five scales significantly discriminate patient groups from groups of nonpatients. Further research is needed to clarify present results, to determine the clinical significance of various magnitude changes on the scales, and to develop more specific measures of adjustment and symptomatology.
Finding Out What Happens in the Field
Authors: Mitchell Wayne D.
Published: March 2007

Field programs in which activities are carried out in scattered locations present special problems for documenting program activities and outcomes. When used in conjunction with other data collection methods, "activity logs" filled out by program participants can provide information which might otherwise be difficult to obtain. An example is presented of the successful use of such logs in one program, and suggestions are made for adapting this data collection device to other types of programs and for maximizing the utility of the information thus obtained.
Evaluation of Recidivism Data
Authors: Barton Russell R. , Turnbull Bruce W.
Published: March 2007

Some recent papers have demonstrated the usefulness of failure rate methods in the evaluation of data from recidivism studies and other programs involving behavioral change. We extend the discussion to show the applicability of recently developed failure rate regression techniques Such methods allowing for covariates are important for construct validity, adjusting for bias in observational studies, and in identifying factors associated with successful outcomes One technique presented here allows for time varying covariates and does not require any particular parametric assumption about the time-to-failure distribution. Recidivism data from a Connecticut parolee study are used as an example
The Evaluation of a Merged Hospital System
Authors: Whittaker Gerald F.
Published: March 2007

The growing concern over rising costs and prices for hospital services threatens the viability of many hospitals. The advocates of hospital reform have suggested merger as u cost-containment endeavor. Among other benefits, this solution visualizes the attain ment of economies of scale in operations, an improvement in the quality of services offered, the obtaining of capital more readily, the taking of a monopolistic or monop sonistic position in the market area, and the seeking of complements or substitutes for the resources of a hospital. This study seeks to verify empirically the achievement of the professed goals of one such merger. It examines six hospital cost indicators in the frame work of an Interrupted Time Series Design. Inferences are then made regarding the changes in the level and slope of the series, following the methods outlined by Box and Tiao. From an analysis of the cost indicators of this case study, the view that mergers lower per-unit costs is not supported.
Illuminative Evaluation for Formative Decision-Making
Authors: Miles William R.
Published: March 2007

This article has two main purposes: to report a case study of an evaluation of a junior high math innovation that matched teachingstyleswithstudents'learningstyles, and to discuss illuminative evaluation as a methodology for formative evaluation.
Research On the Utilization of Evaluations
Authors: Leviton Laura C. , Hughes Edward F.X.
Published: March 2007

An area of concernfor evaluation research is the extent to which evaluations are utilized in policy and program development and change. The current review critically discusses definition of utilization and methodsfor detecting utilization. Five "clusters" of variables have been found to affect utilization. These are: (1) the relevance of evaluation to the needs of potential users; (2) extent of communication between potential users and producers of evaluations; (3) translation of evaluations into their implicationsforpolicy and programs; (4) credibility or trust placed in evaluations; and (5) commitment or advocacy by individual users.
Cost-Effectiveness of Teaching Family Programs for Delinquents
Authors: Weinrott Mark R. , Jones Richard R. , Howard James R.
Published: March 2007

During the past decade the Teaching Family Model (TFM) of delinquency treatment has evolved into a national network of community-based, behaviorally oriented group homes. A longitudinal summative evaluation of 26 TFM homes and 25 comparison programs from the same or neighboring communities was mounted in 1975 and the results of a 5- year cost-effectiveness study are presented. Using a variation of output value analysis, TFM homes were found to be 7% less expensive to operate on a per diem basis and cost approximately 20% less per client. Cost-effectiveness was better for TFM programs on measures of school performance, but no different on deviant behavior or social/personality outcomes either at discharge or up to 3 years later.
Magnitudes of Experimental Effects in Social Science Research
Authors: Sechrest Lee , Yeaton William H.
Published: March 2007

How the magnitude of an experimental effect may be measured has been a matter of concern for at least two decades. The phenomenon of effect size is still not well under stood, and it cannot be inferred from statistical significance. In recent years various ways of assessing the amount of variance accounted for have been proposed as measures of magnitude of effect. Other writers have proposed rulesfor standardizing effect size, with the interpretations of the measures depending largely on intuitions buttressed by some further general empirical norms. All the methods of assessing effect size have serious flaws that limit their usefulness. The various statistical procedures for estimating variance accounted for are based on different statistical models and can produce rather sharply differing results, depending on the model employed. All the methods suffer from the limitation that they reflect to too great an extent the particular characteristics of the study being reported and hence have limited generalizability.
Drawing Inferences From Policy Experiments
Authors: Klass Gary M.
Published: March 2007

The article argues that the sctentific credibility and policymaking utility of policy evaluation research is threatened by inappropriate inference strategies. These inference strategies are a consequence of a system of incentives and a methodology that encourage vague, ambiguous, or nonspecification of primary inferences and extended or unwar ranted tangential inferences. The result is policy research designed more to promote the enterprise of policy research than to assist in the useful application of research in policymaking settings. These points are illustrated through an analysis of the inference strategy pursued in the Police Foundation's Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment. One solution to the problem of inappropriate inferencing is for policy researchers to adopt the practice ofspecifying an illustrative range of potential primary inferences at the initial stages of analysis.
Assessing the Simultaneous Effects of Modeled Interventions
Authors: Feinberg William E.
Published: March 2007

We urge the use of modeling before experimentation to judge the effects of possible interventions for dealing with social problems. This article provides two approaches for assessing the separate and joint effects of such intervention models. The value-added approach decomposes effects in a manner analogous to stepwise regression whereas the ANOVA approach decomposes the effects according to the analysis-of-variance model. The two approaches are applied to a model for the achievement of racial equality in an occupational group at a local level. The treatment effects of an affirmative action program and growth in the number of jobs are analyzed with the two approaches
Adversary and Committee Hearings as Evaluation Methods
Authors: Smith Nick L.
Published: March 2007

Adversary and committee hearings have been advocated as procedures that can effectively involve large numbers ofpeople in clarifying issues and examining human testimony in the evaluation of complex, highly politicized programs. This article reviews the strengths, procedures, and applications of these two methods over the last fifteen years, summarizing their problems and limitations as evidenced in field trials to date.
How Fair Are Water Tariffs? Some Evidence From California
Authors: Morgan W. Douglas
Published: March 2007

An understanding of the "fairness" of a tariff or price schedule can be useful for many types of policy analysis. The Gini coefficient is suggested as one way to assess fairness where user groups are well defined. The Gini coefficient is calculated for a sample of California water purveyors over a ten-year period.
So What If the Program Ain't Perfect?
Authors: Kaplan Edward H. , Abramson Paul R.
Published: March 2007

Given that no cure for AIDS or vaccine for HIV will be developed in the nearfuture, many have argued that AIDS education is the best approach to preventing further spread of the epidemic. However, a number of researchers have questioned the ultimate effectiveness of such educational interventions. This article constructs a mathematical model of AIDS education that explicitly acknowledges that such programs are imperfect. The model shows that such imperfect programs may serve to reduce HIV transmission significantly over time. The policy implications stemming from this result are discussed.
The Ethical Conduct of Clinical Trials of HIV Vaccines
Authors: Mariner Wendy K.
Published: March 2007

Clinical trials of candidate HIV vaccines pose virtually all of the problems possible in vaccine trials. Resolving them consistently with accepted ethical principles is likely to make trials logistically more difficult, longer, and more expensive than usual. Yet few of these problems are unique to HIV vaccines. What is unique are the social risks that research subjects may face. The major obstacles to testing vaccine candidates in human beings are the same ones that have hindered vaccine development-insufficient knowledge about the virus and the human immune response. The necessarily urgent search for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection does not require subjecting people to unnecessary risks. This article outlines key ethical obstacles to identifying candidate vaccines to test, with special attention to clarifying the benefits and risks of testing experimental vaccines in healthy research subjects. Assuming that such obstacles can be overcome, the article examines how ethical principles governing biomedical research may apply to the design and conduct of clinical trials to ensure independent review of proposed research, identify measures of vaccine effectiveness, identify and monitor suitable research subjects, provide adequate counseling, protect confidential information, and assure compensation for injury and access to any successful vaccine.
Evaluating a New Distribution System for Department of Veterans Affairs Depots
Authors: Weaver Frances M. , Bonarigo Frank M. , Cowper Diane C. , Kubal Joseph D. , Pedersen Cindi A. , Demakis John G.
Published: March 2007

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a new 72-hour delivery system (USXPRESS) for pharmaceuticals purchased by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals from VA de pots. Thirty-three test sites were compared with 11 matched sites using a pretest-posttest quasi- experimental design. Outcome measures included inventory and transportation costs, storage space, system satisfaction, and drug availability. As a result of USXPRESS, both the dollar value of inventory and pharmaceutical storage space decreased in VA warehouses. Respondents were more satisfied with USXPRESS than the previous system. The primary goals of reduced inventory, decreased space needs, and increased satisfaction were met through USXPRESS.