Decision-Making and Evidence in Direct Practice

This article presents the results of research designed to explore decision-making by direct practitioners in selected non-profit human service settings. Forty interviews were conducted with workers at front-line, supervisory and higher-management levels. The research questions included; what sources of information are used in decision-making, what variables enhance or impede utilization of evidence-based knowledge in decision-making and what would be important resources for improving availability, access and utilization of evidence-based knowledge in decision-making? Our results indicate that respondents relied most heavily on experience; on their professional values and beliefs, and on an empathic understanding of their clients’ uniqueness. Compared to these sources of information use of research and the professional literature were less enthusiastically endorsed.     

Till Porn Do Us Part? A Longitudinal Examination of Pornography Use and Divorce

As pornography use becomes more commonplace in the United States, and increasingly so among younger cohorts, a growing literature is considering its potential connection to key social and cultural institutions. The current study examined the relationship between pornography use and one such institution: marriage. We drew on three-wave longitudinal data from 2006 to 2014 General Social Survey panel studies to determine whether married Americans’ pornography use predicted their likelihood of divorce over time and under what social conditions. We employed a doubly robust strategy that combines entropy balancing with logistic regression models. We found that the probability of divorce roughly doubled for married Americans who began pornography use between survey waves (N = 2,120; odds ratio = 2.19), and that this relationship held for both women and men. Conversely, discontinuing pornography use between survey waves was associated with a lower probability of divorce, but only for women. Additional analyses also showed that the association between beginning pornography use and the probability of divorce was particularly strong among younger Americans, those who were less religious, and those who reported greater initial marital happiness. We conclude by discussing data limitations, considering potential intervening mechanisms and the possibility of reverse causation, and outlining implications for future research.     

Examining the macroergonomics and safety factors among teleworkers: development of a conceptual model

With the rising number of teleworkers who are working in non-traditional work locations, health and safety issues are even more critical. While telework offers attractive alternatives to traditional work locations, it is not without challenges for employers and workers. A macroergonomics approach or work system design for telework programs is proposed to address these new challenges. This approach explains the impact of organizational, psychosocial and workplace risk factors on teleworker's health and safety. A process for managing the health and safety of teleworkers is presented along with preventive strategies to provide an injury-free working environment.     

The Rise of Rational Choice Theory as a Scientific/Intellectual Movement in Sociology

How did Rational Choice Theory (RCT), traditionally rejected by sociologists for its economic individualism, rise rapidly in the 1980s and the 1990s to theoretical and institutional prominence within sociology? Drawing on Frickel and Gross’ (American Sociological Association, 70(2):204–232 2005) framework for the emergence of scientific/intellectual movements (SIMs), we argue that RCT rose to prominence in sociology in conjunction with: 1) high status actors’ criticism of the previously dominant paradigm, structural functionalism; 2) favorable structural conditions that provided entrepreneurial access to key resources; 3) proliferation through micromobilization contexts; and 4) the ability of those espousing RCT for sociology to draw on dominant cultural motifs outside of academia. The rise of RCT in American sociology provides a case study for how scientific/intellectual movements can find an audience in academic contexts that are predisposed to oppose them.     

Race and Trends in Pornography Viewership, 1973–2016: Examining the Moderating Roles of Gender and Religion

While some research has uncovered racial differences in patterns of pornography viewership, no studies to date have considered how these patterns may be changing over time or how these trends may be moderated by other key predictors of pornography viewership—specifically, gender and religion. Using nationally representative data from the 1973–2016 General Social Survey (GSS; N = 20,620), and taking into account different ethnoreligious histories with pornography as a moral issue, we examined how race, gender, and religion intersect to influence trends in pornography viewership over 43 years. Analyses revealed that Black Americans in general were more likely to view pornography than Whites, and they were increasing in their pornography viewership at a higher rate than Whites. Moreover, Black men were more likely to consume pornography than all other race/gender combinations, but differed only from White women in their increasing rate of pornography viewership. Lastly, frequent worship attendance moderated trends in pornography viewership only for White men. By contrast, regardless of attendance frequency, Black men and women showed increasing rates of pornography use, while White women showed flat rates. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for research on the intersections of race, gender, religion, and sexuality.     

Varieties of multi-stakeholder governance: selecting legitimation strategies in transnational sustainability politics

Multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) are often referred to as the ‘gold standard’ of private governance. However, existing MSIs vary strongly in their institutional designs and the ways in which they use inclusiveness, procedural fairness and, expert-based strategies to create legitimacy for their rules. This article investigates these institutional choices. It reviews arguments about demand from legitimacy-granting audiences, isomorphic pressures, and the role played by institutional entrepreneurs, and intergroup bargaining. It explores these mechanisms in an empirical investigation of the formation of three MSIs in the field of sustainable agriculture. Its findings advance our understanding of the conditions under which MSIs adhere or depart from normative ideals of democratic governance.     

Trends in Attitudes Toward and Participation in Survey Research

This study, now in its sixth wave, examines trends in consumers'willingness to be surveyed as well as attitudes toward beinginterviewed and toward the survey research industry in general.The results raise some important questions in terms of multipleparticipation and its effect on the validity of survey data.They also challenge researchers to examine their own standardsand practices in order to enhance the relationship between researchersand the participants.