Does Telephone Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing Improve the Accuracy of Prevalence Estimates of Youth Smoking? Evidence from the UMass Tobacco Study

Despite their advantage for obtaining representative samplesof adolescents, telephone surveys have been regarded as an inferiormethod for collecting data on youth tobacco use because theyyield lower estimates than school-based, self-administered surveys.Although no gold standard for smoking estimates exists, thelower estimates in telephone surveys have been attributed tounderreporting due to youths’ concern that parents orothers may overhear their responses. Telephone audio computer-assistedself-interviewing (T-ACASI) is a cost-effective method for obtaininga representative sample of youths and provides increased privacyfor the respondent. We hypothesize that using T-ACASI wouldencourage youths to report more fully smoking behavior comparedto traditional interviewer-administered telephone methods. Ouranalysis further assesses whether respondent age, gender, race/ethnicity,and parental attitude toward smoking moderated the relationshipbetween survey mode and smoking reports. Using data from a statewidetobacco use survey that randomly assigned youth respondentsto either T-ACASI or interviewer-administered modes, we findthat youths were more likely to report smoking behaviors inT-ACASI mode and that this was especially true for girls, particularlythose who believed their parents would disapprove strongly oftheir smoking. The findings suggest that traditional telephonesurveys may underestimate smoking prevalence in most girls bya factor of two, and that a technique for ensuring privacy forthese respondents is an important component of effective telephonesurvey methodology.     

Community availability of contraceptives and family limitation

This study examines the impact of contraceptive service availability on contraceptive use in Korea, Mexico, and Bangladesh. Using World Fertility Survey Data on once-married females and their communities of residence, the mutivariate analysis finds that the community level of contraceptive availability directly affects the likelihood of current use, net of the effects of community development, education, parity, and marital duration. The results are supportive of the recent policy emphasis on maximizing the geographic availability of contraceptive services.     

Changing living arrangements: A hazard model of transitions among household types

This paper analyzes movements among household types. Persons in one household may join another type. Correspondingly, a household’s structure may change when someone joins it. Data are from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics, spanning 1968–1980. The individuals followed in the survey generated spells analyzed with a multivariate competing risk hazard model. We develop a map of the flow among household types and of the economic and demographic profiles of individuals making the transitions. We find wide variability in the stability of household types and marked racial differences in the relative stability and pattern of destination choices.     

The practice of clinical research in accredited marriage and family therapy programs

This study aims to explore the prevalence of clinic-based research among accredited marriage and family therapy (MFT) programs and reveal rationales explaining why academic settings may or may not be conducting clinical research. Findings of this project are the result of electronic-mail surveys completed by 26 accredited MFT programs. Approximately one-half of the respondents reported currently conducting clinic-based research. Open-ended responses reveal factors that lead to research success and failure, as well as reasons research was not being conducted at training programs.     

Situated Knowledge and Learning in Dispersed Teams

This qualitative field study explores how geographically dispersed teams learn and accomplish challenging work by drawing on knowledge situated in the multiple physical locales they span. We propose the construct of situated knowledge as important for understanding the learning process in dispersed teams. Data collected on seven development projects, each spanning multiple sites, reveal that situated knowledge is at the same time a valuable resource and a source of communication difficulty for dispersed teams. We find that, because their members understand and participate in locale–specific practices, dispersed teams can easily access and use unique locale–specific knowledge resources to resolve problems that arise in those same locales. However, when dispersed teams need knowledge situated at a site other than where the problem occurred, they must first recognize and adjust for locale–specific practices within which that knowledge is embedded before they can use it. The paper reports on analyses of 44 learning episodes that involved identifying and engaging situated knowledge, and draws from these data to identify implications for research and practice.     

Only English by the third generation? Loss and preservation of the mother tongue among the grandchildren of contemporary immigrants

We investigate whether a three-generation model of linguistic assimilation, known from previous waves of immigration, can be applied to the descendants of contemporary immigrant groups. Using the 5% Integrated Public Use Microdata Sample 1990 file, we examine the home languages of second- and third-generation children and compare the degree of their language shift against that among the descendants of European immigrants, as evidenced in the 1940 and 1970 censuses. Overall, the rates of speaking only English for a number of contemporary groups suggest that Anglicization is occurring at roughly the same pace for Asians as it did for Europeans, but is slower among the descendants of Spanish speakers. Multivariate models for three critical groups--Chinese, Cubans, and Mexicans--indicate that the home languages of third-generation children are most affected by factors, such as intermarriage, that determine the languages spoken by adults and by the communal context.     

Regionalizing Healthcare in Alberta: Legislated Change, Uncertainty and Loose Coupling

In this paper,we examine the re-organizing attempts of the Alberta government in healthcare from the viewpoint of uncertainty,loose coupling and the frequently unrecognized consequences of such change.We suggest that our understanding of change processes can be enhanced by conceptualizing the impact of task and environmental uncertainty through the nature of coupling between organizational elements.Based on our .ndings,we propose that the greater the degree of loose coupling in an organization,the more di .cult change is likely to be,and the more likely the occurrence of unanticipated consequences.     

Detecting ongoing intimate partner violence in the emergency department using a simple 4-question screen: the OVAT

We wanted to prospectively evaluate the use of a brief screening tool for ongoing intimate partner violence (IPV), the OVAT, and to validate this tool against the present Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA). The design was a prospective survey during randomized 4-hour shifts in an urban emergency department setting. The scale consists of four questions developed based on our previous work. The ISA was compared as the gold standard for detection of present (ongoing) IPV. Of 362 eligible patients presenting during 75 randomized 4-hour shifts, 306 (85%) completed the study. The prevalence of ongoing IPV using the OVAT was 31% (95% CI 26% to 36%). For the ISA, the prevalence was 20% (95% CI 16% to 25%). Compared with the ISA, the sensitivity of the OVAT in detecting ongoing IPV was 86%, specificity 83%, negative predictive value 96%, positive predictive value 56%, with an accuracy of 84%. In conclusion, four brief questions can detect ongoing IPV to aid in identifying the victim.     

From Global Cities to the Lands’ End: The Relocation of Corporate Headquarters and the New Company Towns of Rural America

Since the 1970s, a number of major corporations have located their corporate headquarters in rural and non-metropolitan areas. I interrogate this phenomenon, based on a case study of Lands’ End, a global apparel firm in Wisconsin. Much research has exposed how firms insulate themselves from claims made by workers and communities through organizational and spatial distance (i.e. global sourcing, casualization of employment structures). Corporate headquarters relocation presents a paradox, bringing key decision-makers in the global economy into new, face-to-face relationships with workers and communities. Negotiated against a radical transformation of local class structure, I argue that new forms of social regulation are emerging—in particular, a hybrid version of the Fordist-era company towns.