Domains of medical practice: physicians' assessment of the role of physician extenders

The relationship between physicians and physician extender occupations is considered in light of the stratification of medical care workers. Professional dominance between various medical occupations and professional competition among physicians are considered. Data from a national sample of physicians taken in 1981 are used to determine 1) under what conditions physicians are likely to consider the employment of physician extenders helpful for improving quality of care and 2) which characteristics and available resources are associated with the belief that the employment of physician extenders will improve medical care. Of four different service populations considered, physicians are most likely to think that the use of physician extenders to care for the urban poor will aid care and are least likely to think that their employment will improve care for obstetrics and pediatrics cases. The results indicate that physicians' beliefs regarding the employment of physician extenders are dependent on the clientele as well as on the relative position of the two occupational groups in the hierarchy of medical care occupations.     

Social Sources of Information in the Development of Self*

Interpersonal and cultural sources of information in the development of self are compared. Specifically, this involves the comparison of the effects of the appraisals of significant others and self-perception using shared criteria. Factors that affect the importance of these two processes, such as the presence of institutionalized indicators, the visibility of the behavior for others, and normative barriers to evaluative communication, are discussed. Finally, empirical evidence is presented on the relative effects of significant others' appraisals and cultural shared indicators of academic ability and physical attractiveness on corresponding self-ratings for children in grades 4–8 and grade 12. Self-appraisals of ability are found to be more highly related to objective variables than are self appraisals of physical attractiveness, suggesting that culturally-based self-perception is more important when there are institutionalized indicators for an attribute. The relationship between others' appraisal and self-appraisals of ability are largely spurious, casting doubt on previous research that relied only on zero-order correlations. Significant others' appraisals are not important for either self-ratings of ability or physical attractiveness.     

Quality of life in the evaluation of community support systems

As a result of the authors' experience in conducting an evaluation of the community support system (CSS) program in New York State, they have identified five reasons for focusing on quality of life (QOL) as a desired outcome for programs for the chronically ill. These reasons are presented and problems in QOL evaluative research are discussed. Psychological indicators are distinguished from social indicators of QOL, and two methods of operationalizing perceived QOL, the psychological well-being and life domains methods, are examined. A conceptual model is presented and the results of an exploratory study of the QOL of 118 chronic psychiatric patients receiving CSS services are presented.     

A comparison of the reliability of questionnaire versus diary data

The crucial role that communication plays in organizations has led to the development of various methodologies to collect communications data. Two of the more common techniques are one-shot questionnaires and self-recording diaries completed at the time of the interaction. Questionnaires are often viewed as unreliable since they are based on the memory and perceptions of the participants. Diaries, on the other hand, are considered to be more reliable since they are completed immediately following an interaction when the event is still fresh in the individual's mind. This paper compares the cross-recorder reliability of these two data collection instruments. A reliability measure which indicates the degree to which an individual concurs as to the occurrence of interactions across all individuals is introduced. The results, based on studies in three organizations involving 49, 61 and 110 participants respectively, indicate that diary data are significantly more reliable than data obtained from questionnaires.     

The Influence of the Socio-economic Characteristics of Disabled People on Their Employment Status and Income

Most of the studies of the employment and income levels of disabled people focus on a specific disability or on severely disabled persons. A few studies are cross disability ones, but they fail to go beyond simple associations or else have extremely small sample sizes. There is a need for studies which are cross disability and which have an adequate sample size in order to determine if there are structural variables in society—like a class system-which operate upon the employment opportunities of disabled persons. Using a sample (n = 733) of the Disability Community in Massachusetts, socio-economic variables related to employment and income are studied. Statistically significant relationships are found. Several models are developed and the implications for social theory are discussed.     

Child-rearing practices of two generations of Punjabi parents

The major objective of this article is to report the findings of two studies which compare and contrast the early child-rearing practices of two generations of Punjabi parents (1970s and 1990s) living in England. Additionally, the findings are compared with a small group of white mothers to broaden our understanding of the changing patterns of parenting. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from the first generation during the period 1970–73 and from the second generation in 1995. The research perspective adopted is a qualitative one in that variables and procedures for data collection are not rigorously controlled, and the narratives of the mothers are used extensively to illuminate the key areas of early child rearing. The findings show that the second-generation mothers are shedding most of the traditional customs and practices and are moving towards modern British ways.     

Health status and behaviors of unwed fathers

This article focuses on the well-being and capacities of 1759 new fathers in seven cities using data from the Fragile Families Study. Comparisons are made between married (N=478) and unmarried fathers (N=1281). With the unwed fathers, we compare those who are cohabiting, who are stably romantically involved but not cohabiting, who are involved in an unstable romantic relationship, who are not romantically involved but friends, and who have no relationship with the mother. The six indicators of fathers' well-being capacities include physical health, depressive symptoms, drug and alcohol use, smoking, and physical abuse of the mother. These findings show that married fathers are more advantaged than unwed fathers vis-à-vis education, income, and age; they also are in better physical and mental health. Among the unwed fathers, those who are cohabiting are more advantaged and healthier than those who are not cohabiting, although the differences are not as great as those between married and unmarried fathers. Non-resident fathers who are romantically involved are similar in income, age and education to fathers who are not romantically involved but are friends, although the former are less likely than the latter to be using drugs, to be depressed or to have hit or slapped the mother. The fathers who are romantically involved in an unstable (i.e., off-and-on) relationship are less healthy than those in a more sustained romantic or cohabiting relationship. The fathers who have no relationship with the mother are most likely to exhibit unhealthy behaviors. About two percent of the married fathers, 3% of the unmarried cohabiting and stably romantically involved, 5% of the unstably romantically involved, 7% of the friends, and 11% of those with no relationship had hit or slapped the mother as reported by her. About one-half of the married fathers, a little over a third of the unwed fathers who are cohabiting, stably romantically involved or unstably romantically involved or friends, and only one-sixth of the fathers with no relationship have none of the six behaviors. In contrast, one-fifth of the unwed fathers with no relationship and one-eighth of the unstably romantically involved fathers have three or more of the six risky behaviors, as compared to one-tenth of the unwed fathers with involvement and 3% of the married fathers. Implications for welfare reform and child support are discussed.     

The structure of rights in the context of private property

Some rights to resources adhere to individuals on the basis of ascribed characteristics—these are rights of person. These rights are not subject to voluntary alienation. And there are rights that adhere to specific characteristics of resources and are subject to alienation. These are rights in property. However, there has been a systematic tendency to promote property rights at the expense of the rights of person and, in so doing, confound the analysis of the commons, of common property, and of private property. Given a delineation of fundamental concepts, this paper examines critically the foundational works of Demsetz and Coase and shows that their theoretical arguments depend on an implicit denial of all rights of person. It is shown, however, that rights of person are not properly analyzable by the standards that apply to rights in property and that the optimal policy to pursue in contemporary society is to determine a desired configuration rights and responsibilities in combination with rights in property.     

The Decoupling of Organizational Society: The Case of Norwegian Voluntary Organizations

The means, motives, and opportunity of cooperation must be present if organizations are to establish mutual ties. Public benefit and conflict oriented organizations are hypothesized to have stronger motives for cooperation than member benefit and consensus oriented groups, and organizations with broad activity scope are likely to face more opportunities of cooperation than specialized organizations. These hypotheses are strengthened by results from regression analyses. The article further shows a historical decline in both the motives and opportunities for such cooperation in the case of Norway through processes of depoliticization, individualization, and specialization. Thus, here, the preconditions for cooperation within organizational society are gradually deteriorating. Such developments are likely to weaken the interconnectedness of voluntary organizations and the potential micro, meso, and macro benefits of such ties.     

An Examination of the Construct of Homophobia

Abstract

Despite mounting debate as to its accuracy, the term homophobia continues to serve as the primary label associated with anti-homosexual responses. Logan's (1996) study demonstrated that homoprejudice is a more valid way to characterize such responses in college students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of anti-homosexual responses in a diverse adult population. Findings indicated support for Logan's hypothesis, demonstrating that anti-homosexual responses are better characterized as a form of prejudice than as a phobia. Further, results also indicated that individuals are less tolerant of gay men than lesbians, and that racial minorities are less tolerant than their white counterparts. The implications of these findings as well as those associated with a change in terminology from homophobia to homoprejudice are discussed. Areas of further research are also identified.     

On continuity of incomplete preferences

A weak (strict) preference relation is continuous if it has a closed (open) graph; it is hemicontinuous if its upper and lower contour sets are closed (open). If preferences are complete these four conditions are equivalent. Without completeness continuity in each case is stronger than hemicontinuity. This paper provides general characterizations of continuity in terms of hemicontinuity for weak preferences that are modeled as (possibly incomplete) preorders and for strict preferences that are modeled as strict partial orders. Some behavioral implications associated with the two approaches are also discussed.     

An examination of the resurgence of ethnicity literature

This paper presents a critical review of the most frequently cited resurgence of ethnicity studies. Many of the sources cited in recently published ethnic relations books are found to lack an empirical base. They are essentially polemical, impressionistic and anecdotal works. Empirical studies that support the resurgence of ethnicity theme are also examined. Their shortcomings are noted. Nevertheless, these empirical studies provide convincing evidence that ethnic differences persist into the later generations. Overall, however, the empirical studies overwhelmingly document increasing assimilation. Virtually no evidence is found for the notion of a third generation resurgence.     

The Structure of Motives*

It is argued that decisions are processes that occur in the ordinary course of a human life and that actions taken in life, when they are not habitual, follow such decisions. Decisions are undertaken in the framework of socially validated identities and are accompanied by vocabularies of motive which serve to guide action as well as to justify them. How then are these decisions reached? These decisions are reached, it is argued, by using various objective structures and three cases—Astrology in Ceylon, the Cuban Missile crisis and the Azande Oracles are used to support this claim and to propose a dialectical and interactionist theory of the relationship between actor and motives. The availability of such objective structures allows an actor to use them to legitimize his lines of action as well as to justify them in any future challenges.     

The structure of rights in the context of private property

Some rights to resources adhere to individuals on the basis of ascribed characteristics—these are rights of person. These rights are not subject to voluntary alienation. And there are rights that adhere to specific characteristics of resources and are subject to alienation. These are rights in property. However, there has been a systematic tendency to promote property rights at the expense of the rights of person and, in so doing, confound the analysis of the commons, of common property, and of private property. Given a delineation of fundamental concepts, this paper examines critically the foundational works of Demsetz and Coase and shows that their theoretical arguments depend on an implicit denial of all rights of person. It is shown, however, that rights of person are not properly analyzable by the standards that apply to rights in property and that the optimal policy to pursue in contemporary society is to determine a desired configuration rights and responsibilities in combination with rights in property.     

Labor union coercion of employees: The use of fringe benefits

In bargaining on fringe benefits, labor unions violate Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the National Labor Relations Act if they restrict benefits to members only. Even if fringe benefits are provided for nonunion members, a violation of the Act occurs if more stringent eligibility rules are required for nonmembers than for members. Sometimes unions deny fringe benefits to union members if fines or dues are not paid, but National Labor Relations Board has ruled that workers are restrained in violation of Section 8(b)(1)(A) if fringe benefits are withheld due to nonpayment of fines or dues.     

Three agricultural regions of France: Three types of pluriactivity

In France, the new Common Agricultural Policy will have different regional impacts. There are three types of regions based on agricultural development. The first type is where farms are able to carry on a modernization process; the second type where farms are threatened in spite of their modernization, and the third type where farms are unable to be modernized. These three types of regions are represented in France by Picardy, Languedoc and Savoy. Each region is developing a particular form of pluriactivity in accordance with its own agricultural development. Picardy is setting up a business pluriactivity which uses agricultural resources to increase non-agricultural activities. Languedoc undergoes a rural development pluriactivity by using non-agricultural resources for its modernization. Savoy represents a rural pluriactivity of survival, in which the close combination between agricultural and non-agricultural activities permits the maintenance of rural many-faceted businesses.The three kinds of pluriactivity are very unlike. They show that, in France, agricultural development will in future be linked to rural development to a far greater extent.     

Perceptions of Sexual Harassment

This paper focuses on people's perceptions of sexual harassment. Definitions of sexual harassment are presented, previous studies of sexual harassment are reviewed, and the results of a two-part study are presented. Examined are the possible influence of sex, gender role socialization, organizational and socio-cultural power differentials, and type and severity of behavior on perceptions of sexual harassment. The data suggest that gender role socialization is the primary influence on perceptions of sexual harassment.     

Clinical assessment of mother-son sexual abuse

This paper explores the possibility that cases of mother-son incest are underreported in the literature on child sexual abuse. Clinical cases of mother-son incest are presented and factors which may account for an underreporting of such cases are discussed. A cultural bias viewing mothers as asexual and males as sexual aggressors is suggested as the primary reason that cases of maternal sexual abuse are rarely identified or reported. Guidelines are provided for clinical assessment of possible cases of mother-son sexual abuse.     

Governmentalities of Volunteering: A Study of Regional Western Australia

The aim of this article is to investigate the governmentalities of volunteering in regional Western Australia. Drawing on interviews with 25 consenting volunteers and their managers, a thematic analysis revealed the experiences and perceptions of the research participants. Two distinct governmentalities exist: one reflecting neo-liberal governmentality and the other reflective of classic liberalism. Whilst this study is limited to regional Western Australia, the results suggest that there are variations in ‘governmentalities’ of volunteering comprising a mix of sometimes contradictory elements. This article also demonstrates the usefulness of governmentality for expanding the understanding of volunteering that has the potential to illuminate vital elements of the volunteer sector, which are being missed. There are many niches where volunteer groups exist or are emerging that are not visible and out of reach of the control techniques commonly used by governments adopting advanced (neo) liberal governmentalities.     

Toward a Theory of Community Conflict: Factors Influencing the Initiation and Scope of Conflict*

A theory of the structure and process of community conflict is developed around concepts used in earlier works in the field. Then propositions relating to the central elements of community conflict are presented by concentrating on the primary variable: scope. Propositions constructed with other relevant structural variables are introduced. To begin with, procedures used in developing the propositions are discussed; and, then, suggestions for measuring them are given. Finally, implications of the theory in analyses of change are discussed.