Developmental trends in program evaluation

It is suggested that the ontogeny of program evaluators replicates the phytogeny of the profession of program evaluation. A trend across the purposes of program evaluation from program amelioration to program advocacy and ultimately to program accountability is projected.     

Relations between strangers: cycles of structure and meaning in tourist systems

Tourism is a paradoxical human activity–a supposedly ‘smokeless industry’ that produces littered beaches, a cornucopia to local economics that gives rise to inflation and embittered natives, a profitable enterprise that often requires governmental subsidy. It is also a major social and economic phenomenon: witness 280 million international tourists and 180 billion dollars in expenditures in 1979 (Waters, 1979). For the population of many societies, it is a primary source of work; for others it is a primary outlet for leisure. An understanding of the modern era is incomplete without understanding the social processes of tourism. This paper speculates about cycles of structure and myth in tourism development. The goal is an integrated theory of tourism, based on empirical evidence, amenable to test, and permitting the prediction of future behaviour. The paper is divided into several sections. First, we briefly review some earlier analytic frameworks used for understanding tourism. We draw upon these frameworks to develop an integrated explanation of the behaviour of tourists, the evolution of the tourist industry, and the consequences of tourism for host and guest populations. Second, our attention is devoted to structural and symbolic factors shaping relations between strangers. Such relations, we argue, are the engine of change in tourism. Third, we present a typology of the social cycles involved in tourism. We attempt to describe which elements of the social order are likely to respond in predictable patterns to tourism development; speculate on the form these responses might take and provide a set of hypothetical curves for potential indicator measures. We close by suggesting some theoretical and practical implications of our discussion.     

Quantified trends in the history of verbal behavior research

The history of scientific research about verbal behavior research, especially that based on Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957), can be assessed on the basis of a frequency and celeration analysis of the published and presented literature. In order to discover these quantified trends, a comprehensive bibliographical database was developed. Based on several literature searches, the bibliographic database included papers pertaining to verbal behavior that were published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behaviorism, The Behavior Analyst, and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. A nonbehavioral journal, the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior was assessed as a nonexample comparison. The bibliographic database also included a listing of verbal behavior papers presented at the meetings of the Association for Behavior Analysis. Papers were added to the database if they (a) were about verbal behavior, (b) referenced B.F. Skinner’s (1957) book Verbal Behavior, or (c) did both. Because the references indicated the year of publication or presentation, a count per year of them was measured. These yearly frequencies were plotted on Standard Celeration Charts. Once plotted, various celeration trends in the literature became visible, not the least of which was the greater quantity of verbal behavior research than is generally acknowledged. The data clearly show an acceleration of research across the past decade. The data also question the notion that a “paucity” of research based on Verbal Behavior currently exists. Explanations of the acceleration of verbal behavior research are suggested, and plausible reasons are offered as to why a relative lack of verbal behavior research extended through the mid 1960s to the latter 1970s.

     

Differences between sexual orientation behavior groups and social background,quality of life,and health behaviors

Within the literature, there is some question as to whether bisexual or homosexual persons practice more unhealthy lifestyles and experience a lower quality of life than heterosexual individuals. This study examined possible differences between sexual orientation behavior groups (homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, and no sex partners) on demographic and social background variables, quality of life variables, lifestyle and health variables, and mental health or health background variables in a series of seven national probability samples between the years 1988 and 1996. Respondents were asked to report the sex of their sexual partners since they were age 18 and in the last 12 months. Data from a total of 11,543 interviews were collected by the National Opinion Research Center. Although there were some demographic and social background differences among the sexual orientation behavior (SORB) groups, there was little evidence that the behavioral dimension of sexual orientation is either strongly or directly related to quality of life, lifestyle, or health indicators. The report closes with a consideration of future research questions for this issue.     

Facial expression in the presence of friends and strangers

This study investigated the effect of the physical presence of a friend or of a stranger on facial expressiveness. Pairs of friends and pairs of strangers (all women) were unobtrusively videotaped while they viewed together a number of emotional stimulus slides, and rated their individual emotional responses to them. Judges subsequently attempted to identify from the videotapes the emotions reported by each sender subject. Generally, expressions were more readily identified for women videotaped with friends than for those recorded with strangers. These results support the suggestion that the degree to which emotions are expressed depends on the role of an accompanying person. Altemative interpretations of this view are discussed.We thank Alan Fridlund and an anonymous reviewer for comments on a previous version of this paper.     

A test of equilibrium theory: Effects of topic intimacy and proximity on verbal and nonverbal behavior in pairs of friends and strangers

This experiment examined verbal and nonverbal behavior by pairs of female friends and strangers as they discussed either intimate or nonintimate topics at face-to-face distances of approximately 2.5 or 4.5 feet. On the basis of equilibrium theory and Altman and Taylor's (1973) theory about interpersonal exchange, strangers were expected to react to intimate topics or close proximity or both with discomfort and decreased affiliative behavior (facial regard, gesturing, speech). Friends were expected to show increased affiliative behavior. Results indicated that both strangers and friends showed signs of discomfort and low levels of affiliative behavior while discussing intimate topics, i.e.compensation. Discomfort with intimate topics and compensation decreased over time, indicatingadaptation. This finding suggests that compensation for intimate topics may occur only during the initial phases of an encounter.     

Mixing patterns between age groups in social networks

We present a method for estimating transmission matrices that describe the mixing and the probability of infection between age groups. Transmission matrices can be used to estimate age-dependent forces of infection in age-structured, compartmental models for the study of infectious diseases. We analyze the social network generated by the synthetic population of Portland and extract mixing patterns. Our results show that the mixing within the population consists of two groups, children and adults. Children interact most frequently with other children close to their own age, while adults interact with a wider range of age groups and the durations of typical adult contacts are shorter than typical contacts between children. Furthermore, the transmission matrix shows that children are more likely to acquire infection than adults.     

On the difference between verbal and nonverbal behavior

Language theorists have often proposed lists of the defining properties of language. This account reviews some of these and offers as an alternative a three-item list consisting of instructional control, equivalence classes, and autoclitic processes.

     

The relationship between stimulus equivalence and verbal behavior

Despite the apparent similarity between stimulus equivalence and verbal behavior, these phenomena have been described in different terms. With different terminologies for each phenomenon, the precise nature of their relationship is difficult to determine. To explore this relationship, this paper first defines stimulus equivalence using a synthesis of the mathematical definition of the equivalence relation and Sidman and Tailby’s (1982) definition. Selected examples of stimulus equivalence are then described as verbal behavior using Skinner’s (1957) terminology. The paper then cites instances of verbal behavior that cannot be described as stimulus equivalence and considers whether there are instances of stimulus equivalence that cannot be described as verbal behavior.

     

Deviant social positions in small groups: The relation between role and individual

This paper studies a deviant social position within a small group of Italian Fishermen. The role of “court-jester” emerges and, as the title suggests, the relation between this role and the inherent properties of the deviant are explored. It is argued that the emergence of roles among deviant social positions is dependent upon the personal attributes of the deviant and the characteristics of his relations to other members of the group.     

Development of social spacing in normal and mentally retarded children

Distances between closest playmates were measured during free play in mentally retarded and normal grade school children. Unobtrusive observation techniques minimized interference and a spacious playground environment was chosen to avoid effects of confining walls on spatial behavior. Younger children (grades 1–3) kept closer distances than older children (grades 4–6), independent of clinical history or sex (p<.0001). Parallels are drawn with findings of previous observational studies in adults and non-human primates; two hypotheses, based on cognitive development and social disturbance, are proposed to explain the findings.     

The relationship between gambling and video-game playing behavior in children and adolescents

It is suggested that commercial video-games (e.g.Nintendo &Sega) and gambling activities have similar attractive features and intermittent reinforcement schedules. This research seeks to examine the nature of this relationship amongst children. One hundred and four children aged 9 to 14, from grades 4, 6, and 8, participated. A questionnaire exploring issues related to video-game playing and gambling behavior in children and adolescents was completed and a computerized blackjack game was individually administered. High frequency video-game players were compared to low frequency video-game players with respect to their gambling performance on the blackjack gambling task as well as on information gathered from the questionnaire. Of particular concern is the risk-taking strategies used by avid video-game players, whether or not children perceive gambling and video-games as involving similar amounts of skill or whether they realize that gambling is primarily a game of chance. The findings, in general, suggest that high frequency video-game players gamble more than low frequency video-game players, report that gambling makes them feel more important, and take greater risks on the blackjack gambling task although no overall differences in success were found. Males exhibited greater risk-taking tendencies on the blackjack task than females. The clinical implications of the findings are addressed.This research was partially supported by a grant from the McGill University Social Science Computer Committee.This is a revision of a paper presented at the Ninth International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking, Las Vegas, 1994.The authors would like to thank the administration, staff, and students in T.H. Bowes, Prince Charles, Souvenir, Gerald McShane, Our Lady of Pompei, Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School, and Western Laval High School, for their participation and cooperation in this study.     

Displeasure at plurality and fear of strangers? An empirical study among youth in Germany and the Netherlands

A comparison between the Netherlands and Germany concerning religious, cultural and ethnic plurality provides interesting insights. Germany has never defined itself as a multicultural society, as was historically the case in the Netherlands. The outcomes of the research are somewhat surprising. Dutch pupils – especially boys – are more negative about plurality than their German contemporaries are. Belonging to a church in Germany appears to be connected to a positive attitude to migrants, while in the Netherlands this is not important at all.     

Indiana bat roosting behavior differs between urban and rural landscapes

Urban Ecosystems - Urbanization may negatively affect forest obligate bat species. We compared the roosting behavior of federally endangered Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis) in a fragmented site,...     

Inequality and deprivation within and between groups: An illustration of European union countries

This paper broadens the approach of Hey and Lambert (Q. J. Econ. 95,567–573 1980) regarding relative deprivation to the case in which individuals compare themselves with individuals belonging not only to their own group, but also to other groups. In this way, we obtain the average deprivation of a population in relation to another. This allows us to establish a correspondence between the decomposition of the Gini coefficient based on a partition of the population, and the decomposition of deprivation into two components. One quantifies deprivation within the subpopulation and the other deprivation between populations. An empirical illustration is given, based on the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Government–MCYT, (SEC2001-1668) and would like to thank Jacques Silber and two anonymous referees for their suggestions.     

Collective caring: creating safety through interactions between young activist groups and young adults in Sweden

Existing research explores safety among young adults as a complex phenomenon in diverse social spaces. Nonetheless, it largely approaches perceptions of unsafety and safety strategies as discrete individual action. In this paper, we show how safety is created through the social interactions between young activist groups and their main target or audience, young adults. Our study aimed to explore how young adults created meanings and actions of safety within their activism. Grounded Theory method was use to collect and analyze qualitative interviews with young adults of ten social change groups located in two medium-size cities in Sweden. To interpret our findings, we drew upon interactionist concepts of shared definitions and joint action [Blumer, Herbert. 1966. “Sociological Implications of the thought of George Herbert Mead.” American Journal of Sociology 71 (5): 535–544]. Shared definitions challenged narrow notions of unsafety by identifying uniform categories and harmful stereotypes as the source of the problem, and thereby locating constraints upon the capacity of different groups of young adults to define situations as (un)safe. Joint action combined an immediate response of moving to where young adults were with an enduring response of being there for young adults. Combined, these constituted an overarching social process of collective caring, which we linked to Isabel Lorey’s [2015. State of Insecurity. London: Verso] concept of practices of caring.     

The clash between legal and business logic: business groups in the new Israeli corporate law

Planned institutional change presents an uncommon opportunity for institutional entrepreneurs to advance their innovations. The dispute of why the new Israeli corporate law, enacted at the end of 1990s, does not refer to business groups, which form a salient part of Israeli big business, opens a window through which the conflict between two different and competing types of logic may be viewed. The carriers of legal-professional logic were legal academics and state officials, who opposed the inclusion of a special chapter or any other reference to business groups within the new corporate law based on US legal ideas, and especially on the ‘Law and Economics’ perspective. In contrast, the carriers of business logic were interest groups and professional associations that sought to appropriate the legal and economic advantages resulting from organizing business in the form of business groups within the new law, without protecting the rights of minority shareholders and, more importantly, without enabling state agencies to intervene in the governance of their businesses.     

Recent trends in job security and stability

In recent years, the popular press has led us to believe that downsizing and mergers are throwing unprecedented numbers of Americans out of secure jobs. In this paper, we survey current research that addresses these concerns, reconciling the sometimes disparate results of papers examining job tenure and separations, exploring the consequences of involuntary job loss, and reviewing research on trends in part-time, temporary, and contingent employment. There is no evidence of a dramatic change in job security over the last two decades. The various studies do not point to consistent losses in job security for any particular demographic group. Gina Franco, Noah Hochman, Charles Kaljian, Leah McKelvie and Christopher Thompson provided exceptional research assistance. The authors thank Robert Krol, Alec Levenson, and Elaine Reardon for their suggestions. Shirley V. Svorny is also an affiliated scholar at the Milken Institute.     

Bystander behavior and kinesics: The interaction between the helper and victim

One hundred eighty subjects participated in a factorial field experiment designed to study the effects of body orientation, eye contact, and sex upon helping behavior in a situation where a male victim fell. An eye-contact x x body-orientation interaction and a sex x body-orientation interaction were found. Eye contact raised the rate of help; and women helped more often than men, but only when the victim andS were approaching each other. A severe fall produced more help than did a mild fall. The cue value of the front side of a person, eye contact acting as a plea for help, and the salience of responsibility norms were discussed. The study was interpreted as indicating the necessity of accounting for the effects of the interaction between bystanders and victims.The research for this study was supported by a grant from the Central Fund for Research, College of Liberal Arts, The Pennsylvania State University.The authors would like to thank Joseph Primavera, III, for serving as their victim.