A Question of Genesis: An Analysis of the Determinants of Public Authorities

One of the central questions in the study of special purposegovernments is how to explain their proliferation over the pastfifty years. Of particular concern to scholars has been therise of a hidden government that is not highly accountable throughregular democratic processes. This article looks specificallyat one form of special purpose government, known as a "publicauthority," and amends the conventional explanation that localgovernments principally create public authorities to addresspublic finance concerns. First, I argue that full "service publicauthorities," which administer and make policy about a particularservice arena, raise different concerns about democratic accountabilityfrom a "conduit authority" and are a nonparsimonious solutionto a public finance problem. Second, drawing on an archivalsurvey of the institutional choices of county governments indealing with solid waste policymaking in New York State, I findthat while public finance is a driver in the choice to createa service public authority, equally, if not more important,are the needs of local government to resolve a policy problemin a politically competitive environment.     

Gerontological perspectives on crime and nuisance: the elderly critically evaluate housing designs in the British city

This paper investigates the perceptions of the elderly in relation to crime and nuisance and the fear of crime associated with stereotypical British housing designs. Demographically, this diverse though highly urbanized group continues to grow; group members' observations, therefore, have increasing social relevance and political importance and are crucial for assessing and informing both current policy and the evolution of future policy initiatives. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) has become popular once again in America, Australia, Canada, South Africa, as well as in Europe and Britain. A crucial dimension to this theory concerns the perception of "territoriality," "surveillance," and "image" within the design of the built environment derived from Newman's "Defensible Space" concepts (1973). This paper presents and discusses the ways in which the elderly associate crime and nuisance with a range of traditional housing designs. The findings strongly reinforce Newman's theory. The paper concludes that the design and, perhaps more importantly, the management of residential housing influence the perceived levels of crime, nuisance, and fear of crime, and the "defensible" qualities of each specific design. Such perceptions will arguably affect elderly people's ability to maintain their privacy, dignity, and autonomy, their physical and psychological well-being, and their social inclusion. Policy implications for housing the elderly safely within the community are reviewed.     

FIELD INSTRUCTORS AND ONLINE TRAINING: AN EXPLORATORY SURVEY

Despite field placement being the signature pedagogy of the social work profession, little research exists regarding methods for training field instructors. This study captures their perceptions regarding the use of online training. An online survey of 642 field instructors from 4 universities produced 208 responses. Less than 4% rejected the idea entirely, 14% responded they "would probably not participate," another 50% said they "might participate," and 32% indicated that they "definitely would" participate. Respondents reported extensive use of various Internet communication tools and displayed comfort with computing skills. Our findings challenge assumptions about social workers' reluctance to use online technology and suggest that online training programs are a viable option for field instructors. Implications for creating online programs are presented.     

An Exploratory Examination of Students' Family Policy Beliefs

Abstract

Family policy is coming to be recognized as an important component of programs focusing on family issues. As political leaders continue to engage in debates about family issues and family service professionals report spending more time on policy issues within their professional practice, attention to policy issues has become more important in the education of students in family courses. Because of the increasing presence of public policy study within the family studies curricula, it is important to consider students' policy perceptions and experiences as they enter family policy classes. Argued here is that students are more likely to become engaged with family policy topics that are timely and meaningful to them. This research examines student perceptions of various policy topics and issues in an attempt to better design courses with family policy content.     

Proceedings of the Fifty-Ninth Annual Conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research

The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR)focused on "The Image of Public Opinion Research" as a record-breaking846 researchers gathered May 13–16, 2004 at its fifty-ninthannual conference at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resortin Phoenix, Arizona. The conference, held in conjunction withthe World Association for Public Opinion Research’s conference,centered on "The Image of Public Opinion Research," and helpedthe AAPOR Executive Council kick off a campaign to examine whatmany perceive to be an increasingly negative image of public     

Framing Public Discussion of Gay Civil Unions

Although the framing of public opinion has often been conceptualizedas a collective and social process, experimental studies offraming have typically examined only individual, psychologicalresponses to alternative message frames. In this research weemploy for the first time group conversations as the unit ofanalysis (following Gamson 1992) in an experimental study offraming effects. Two hundred and thirty-five American citizensin 50 groups (17 homo-geneously conservative groups, 15 homogeneouslyliberal groups, and 18 heterogeneous groups) discussed whetheror not gay and lesbian partnerships should be legally recognized.Groups were randomly assigned to one of two framing conditions(a "homosexual marriage/special rights" frame or a "civil union/equalrights" frame). Results indicated framing effects that were,in all cases, contingent on the ideological leanings of thegroup. The "marriage" frame tended to polarize group discussionsalong ideological lines. Both liberal and conservative groupsappeared to find their opponents’ frame more provocative,responding to them with a larger number of statements and expressinggreater ambivalence than when reacting to more hospitable frames.     

Two Levels of Public Opinion; The Soviet Case

The distinction between the pragmatic and mythological levelsin public opinion is advanced: whereas the pragmatic level reflectsvalues and images which directly govern human "material behavior,"the mythological level serves mostly verbal behavior and enablespeople to demonstrate collaboration with their social milieuand to maintain self-respect. Sociological surveys, especiallyin the Soviet Union, often deal with the mythological level.They get data which, having little relevance to "material behavior,"mostly reflects various mythologies espoused by Soviet people.The differences between the two levels, which are minimal bothin a strong repressive regime and in a democratic society, reachtheir peak in a society with relatively mild repression. Penetratingthe pragmatic level of human mentality requires a special technique,and it is much more difficult then to get information aboutmythology.     

Public Perceptions,Beliefs and Experiences of Fostering and Adoption: A National Qualitative Study in South Africa

In South Africa, rates of adoption remain low while the number of fostered children continually rises. Little is known about the public perceptions, beliefs and experiences that inform decisions to either foster or adopt in South Africa. This qualitative research explored these issues among a national sample of childless adults, biological parents, kin and non‐kin fostering parents and prospective and successful adopters. Fostering is driven predominantly by access to subsidies but is also informed by socio‐cultural beliefs. Low adoption rates are influenced by an absence of subsidies, poor access to quality adoptive services and a lack of information about adoption.     

Gender and the Public Sphere: Alternative Forms of Integration in Nineteenth-Century America

This paper intends to evaluate two competing models of multicultural integration in stratified societies: the "multiple publics" model of Nancy Fraser and the "fragmented public sphere" model of Jeffrey Alexander. Fraser and Alexander disagree on whether or not claims to a general "common good" or "common humanity" are democratically legitimate in light of systemic inequality. Fraser rejects the idea that cultural integration can be democratic in conditions of social inequality, while Alexander accepts it and tries to explain how it may be realized. In order to address this debate, I analyze the cultural foundations of the female-led, maternally themed social movements of nineteenth-century America. The language of these movements supports Alexander's position over Fraser's, though it also suggests that Alexander is mistaken in the specifics of his cultural theory of a general and democratic "common good." While Alexander's model of integration is structured uniquely by what he and Philip Smith have called "the discourse of civil society," the evidence suggests a distinctly alternative, equally democratic code at play in this case, which I have labeled a discourse of affection and compassion.     

Public attitudes toward child maltreatment in Israel: Implications for policy

Objective

The public view of the severity of social problems and their perceptions of how effectively they are being addressed have a major impact on public policies and resource allocation. The present study focuses on public attitudes toward child maltreatment. It examines perceptions of child maltreatment as a social problem, and attitudes toward prevention and treatment strategies in cases of child abuse and neglect.

Methods

A survey was conducted among a representative sample of 812 Israeli adults: 688 Jews, and 124 Arabs. Fifty additional Ultra-Orthodox Jews were added for comparisons among Jewish participants.

Results

The participants tend to view violence and alcohol consumption among youth as a more serious problem than parental maltreatment of children. Low-income participants tend to view child maltreatment as a more serious problem than did high-income participants. Jewish participants (except for ultra-Orthodox Jews) view child maltreatment as a significantly more serious problem than did Arabs and Ultra-Orthodox Jews. Most of the participants believe that parents who maltreat their children should be punished, but they should be taught how to refrain from maltreatment, and learn to change their behavior. Many participants believe that the courts do not sufficiently punish parents who maltreat their children. In their assessments of the quality of professional work, the highest evaluations are given to services provided by physicians and social workers, whereas the lowest evaluations are given to judges and police. Most of the participants (70%) believed that social workers play an important role in protecting children.

Conclusions

The survey findings have implications for enhancing public awareness of child maltreatment as well for policy making in the area of child abuse and neglect. The differences in the perceptions of participants based on their religious, cultural and economic background toward child maltreatment should be further studied and addressed in policy and interventions in this area.     

Education for women's empowerment or schooling for women's subordination?

This article distinguishes between "schooling for subordination," the notion that promotes conventional schooling for women within existing school systems as a possible basis for them to improve their position in society and "education for empowerment," a more radical perspective that links women's advancement with the transformation of the patriarchal social order. The article opens by defining gender training as provision of skills and methods for improved gender-orientation of development programs. The conservative interpretation of gender training holds that it seeks to increase women's access to resources. The radical definition holds that inequality in access to resources is a mere symptom of a deeper problem caused by structural gender inequality and calls for conscientization of this problem. The two definitions of women's empowerment that follow this distinction are 1) a watered-down view of empowerment as self-reliance reflecting the conservative definition and 2) a more robust and pure view of empowerment as enabling women to identify and end the discriminatory practices that block their access to resources. It follows that education may be mere schooling for subordination in systems where patriarchal gatekeepers limit chances for women and where women who do succeed become "honorary males" and "queen bees" intent on repelling the advancement of other women. Education for empowerment can be found in gender training, which holds objectives that are opposite to those found in formal schooling and may be more readily adopted by women with less exposure to formal, patriarchal schools.     

Public Policy and Poverty Among the Oldest Old

In neglecting to acknowledge the heterogeneity of our aging population, we encourage policies that meet the needs of the majority of older people but discount the needs of those characterized by lifelong poverty. The overall economic well-being of the "oldest old," historically the poorer cohort among the age%: is anticipated to improve over the next 50 years. This improvement will increase the economic gap between the majority of the aged and a minority who will carry their existing poverty into old age. Economic protection for the "always-poor" can be improved and intergenerational stress reduced if we identify now those with a high probability of poverty in old age and develop policies in the 1990s aimed at meeting their future needs.     

"Walking the Walk" of Public Service Motivation: Public Employees and Charitable Gifts of Time, Blood, and Money

Research generally indicates that public employees "talk thetalk," but do they also "walk the walk" of the public servicemotive (PSM)? Are public service employees more likely thanothers to engage in public service activities? The behavioralimplications of PSM are addressed by studying the involvementin charitable activities of public, nonprofit, and private workers.Using data from the 2002 General Social Survey, multivariatelogistic regression models are estimated to examine self-reportedgifts of time, blood, and money to charitable organizations.It is found that government employees are more likely to volunteerfor charity and to donate blood than for-profit employees are.Additionally, nonprofit workers are also more likely than theirfor-profit counterparts to volunteer. However, no differenceis found among public service and private employees in termsof individual philanthropy. These findings generally lend supportfor the hypothesis that PSM is more prominent in public servicethan in private organizations, especially as it pertains togovernment personnel.     

青年婚恋观现状透析

当前,“80后”正值婚恋高峰期。在改革开放和多元时代下成长起来的“80后”在恋爱观、择偶观、性观念和婚姻观上有着自己独特鲜明的看法。他们直白朴素的恋爱观、多元务实的择偶观、热情与保守相交织的性观念以及“个人主义”的婚姻观,不仅直接影响着个体对未来婚姻、家庭的责任和义务的承担,而且还间接影响着整个社会的主流婚恋价值观趋势。对“80后”婚恋观现状及其原因的探讨,有利于“80后”树立起正确的婚恋观,实现婚姻家庭幸福;有利于社会稳定及和谐社会的构建：更有利于实现中华民族的伟大复兴。     

Perceptions of physical restraint use and barriers to restraint reduction in a long-term care facility

The use of restraints in nursing homes has been curtailed in the United States since the passage of the 1987 federal legislation regulating restraint practices. This study used focus groups with administrators and nursing staff in a skilled nursing facility to examine their views of restraints and perceptions of conditions in the nursing home environment that affect restraint use. Although respondents lacked a shared definition of a "restraint," they did identify contextual factors that in combination with resident characteristics produced situations in which restraint use was justified. Implications of these findings for staff education on restraint reduction are discussed.     

Not Practicing What You Preach: Religion and Incongruence Between Pornography Beliefs and Usage

Religious Americans, and conservative Protestants in particular, have historically been the most ardent opponents of pornography’s production, dissemination, and use. Yet while religiously committed and theologically conservative Americans are generally less likely to view pornography than others, the difference is often not as great or consistent as one might suppose given their strong moral stance. Drawing on insights from religious incongruence theory, this study considered whether religious commitment and theological conservatism predicted a greater incongruence between what Americans say they believe about pornography morally and whether they actually watch it. Data are taken from the nationally representative 2006 Portraits of American Life Study (N = 2,279). Analyses show that greater religious service attendance and prayer frequency are predictive of American men (not women) affirming that viewing pornography is “always morally wrong” while still viewing it in the previous year. Evangelicalism and other sectarian Protestantism are also the religious traditions most likely to believe pornography is always morally wrong while also viewing it. Findings ultimately suggest that religious commitment and affiliation with theological conservatism may influence Americans (primarily men) to oppose pornography more strongly in principle than reflected in actual practice. Data limitations and implications for future research are discussed.     

Development of the Virginity Beliefs Scale

Past research on first sexual intercourse experiences and virginity has largely focused on using demographics such as age at first intercourse as predictors of future sexual behaviors and beliefs. Carpenter (2002 Carpenter , L. M. ( 2002 ). Gender and the meaning and experience of virginity loss in the contemporary United States . Gender and Society , 16 , 345 – 365 . doi: 10.1177/0891243202016003005 [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2005 Carpenter , L. M. ( 2005 ). Virginity lost: An intimate portrait of first sexual experiences . New York , NY : New York University Press . [Google Scholar]) suggested a model of three virginity metaphors that describe how individuals perceive their virginity: gift, stigma, and process. Using Carpenter's framework as a starting point, scale items were developed based on the conceptual understanding of the three metaphors. In Study 1 (N = 223, mean age = 19.9, SD = 2.4), 50 items were factor analyzed, yielding 22 items found to be strong indicators of the three metaphors; ten items for gift, eight for stigma, and four for process. The three subscales were validated using measures of gender-role beliefs and affective reactions to first intercourse. In Study 2 (N = 359, mean age = 19.7, SD = 2.4), confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the 22-item factor breakdown. The resulting Virginity Beliefs Scale is discussed in terms of how it applies to Carpenter's original framework and its future research potential.     

Public expenditure: Perceptions and preferences

Public preferences for government expenditure form an important part of the literature in public sector economics. However, in the academic literature these preferences have been largely considered as “given”. Exceptions to this are where public preferences expressed referenda (e.g. in California) can directly influence tax revenue and public expenditure levels. The present study follows an earlier one in using a questionnaire to ask individuals directly about their perceptions of and preferences for public spending. Replies from 50 respondents were analysed using multiple regression and analysis of variance techniques in order to ascertain whether public expenditure perceptions and preferences showed consistent and predictable patterns among young individuals with little or no experience of paying tax. The results showed that both perceptions and preferences for a series of seven macro-expenditure items were significantly different from one another and broadly predictable from individuals' self reported positions on ‘left/right’ scales. It is concluded that views about public expenditure may often form part of integrated attitudes with both perceptual and preferential components.     

Overcoming the Reference Category Problem in the Presentation of Statistical Models

Effects of categorical variables in statistical models typically are reported in terms of comparison either with a reference category or with a suitably defined "mean effect," for reasons of parameter identification. A conventional presentation of estimates and standard errors, but without the full variance–covariance matrix, does not allow subsequent readers either to make inference on a comparison of interest that is not presented or to compare or combine results from different studies where the same variables but different reference levels are used. It is shown how an alternative presentation, in terms of "quasi standard errors," overcomes this problem in an economical and intuitive way. A primary application is the reporting of effects of categorical predictors, often called factors, in linear and generalized linear models, hazard models, multinomial–response models, generalized additive models, etc. Other applications include the comparison of coefficients between related regression equations—for example, log–odds ratios in a multinomial logit model—and the presentation of multipliers or "scores" in models with multiplicative interaction structure.     

Contemporary Youth and Youth Culture in Japan

Abstract  This paper begins with a profile of Japanese youth which compares them statistically and sociologically with those of other nations. Next, I attempt to differentiate between "adolescent" and "youth," and explain the adolescent as a consequence of industrial society. I also try to divide youth culture into three types: partial culture, sub-culture. and counter- culture. Finally, I discuss the history of Japanese youth culture, primarily since the coming of the industrial age after World War 11. As examples of adolescent cultures, I refer to "Taiyo-zoku." "Zenkyoto," "Hippie," "New Young," and "Shin-jinrui." Among these, "Zenkyoto" and "Hippie" are important as counter-cultures; they reject the prevailing society and actively seek a new post-industrial society. Adolescent sub-culture. on the other hand, has dwindled since the decline of the "Zen- kyoto" around 1970. Since 1980, Japanese youth can be grouped into three main categories. The majority enjoy affluence and consumer goods, like the "Crystal-zoku," who are obsessed with famous brands. They are in the partial culture, and are oriented to super-industrial society. The second group is made up of those who have unique adolescent cultures. like the "Shin-jinrui," who are sensuous and highly responsive to information. They are in the sub-culture, and are oriented to the modified industrial society. Minority groups who take action to protect their interests and human rights, like ecological groups derived from the counter-culture movement, comprise the third category. They are in the counter-culture, and are oriented to post-industrial society.