Self-referent constructs and medical sociology: in search of an integrative framework

A theoretical framework centering on four classes of self-referent constructs is offered as a device for integrating the diverse areas constituting medical sociology. Guidance by this framework sensitizes the researcher to the occurrence of parallel processes in adjacent disciplines, facilitates recognition of the etiological significance of findings from other disciplines for explaining medical sociological phenomena, and encourages transactions between sociology and medical sociology whereby each informs and is informed by the other.     

EMPIRICAL INVENTORY SIMULATION: A CASE STUDY*

An empirical simulation was used to investigate the economics of minimum-buy policies in the U.S. Army management of spare-parts inventory. An empirical simulation makes use of historical data as direct input to the simulation rather than randomly generated data based on a characterization of the historical data. Empirical simulation alleviates the drawbacks of characterizing historical data with a theoretical distribution; however, because steady-state conditions are not reached, a methodological problem arises in the evaluation of inventory assets at the end of the simulation. Our solution was to minimize this problem by use of a cyclic approach.     

Jewish-Arab relations in Israel: Perceptions,emotions, and attitudes of university students of education

This study reports on the perceptions, emotions and attitudes of 172 Jewish and Arab undergraduate and graduate students of education concerning their own national identity, the intergroup relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel, and the desired political solution for the Arab minority in Israel. Against the background of the continuously changing political situation that involves advances and drawbacks in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the perceptions, emotions and attitudes of future educators concerning the Jewish-Arab conflict seem important as a foundation for strengthening pupils' orientation towards equality and pluralism. Results are presented concerning four domains: identity markers of students in the two groups, intergroup perceptions and emotions manifested in indicators of social distance, Jewish students' attitudes towards cultural autonomy of the Arab minority, and opinions concerning a desired political solution. The findings are discussed in light of the characteristics of the sample, in relation to previous studies that asked similar questions, and in relation to the processes taking place in the region in the last few years.     

Co‐located Nonprofit Centers

Nonprofit centers are organized to house individual nonprofits “under one roof” to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness and to offer shared services to diminish administrative load. This post‐occupancy tenant satisfaction survey of three such US centers represents the first empirical analysis of such organizations. We find that nonprofit tenants (N = 118) initially co‐located due to the leasing price and the new physical environment (free parking and safety). Nearly all nonprofit tenants wished to remain at their nonprofit centers, largely for the same reasons that brought them there. The article then discusses strategies to achieve the high response rates attained in this study. It concludes with some implications for nonprofit centers, communities, and nonprofit staff—now and in the future, including lower occupancy costs and enhanced quality of nonprofits’ workspace.     

Risk filtering, ranking, and management framework using hierarchical holographic modeling.

This paper contributes a methodological framework to identify, prioritize, assess, and manage risk scenarios of a large-scale system. Qualitative screening of scenarios and classes of scenarios is appropriate initially, while quantitative assessments may be applied once the set of all scenarios (hundreds) has been prioritized in several phases. The eight-phase methodology is described in detail and is applied to operations other than war. The eight phases are as follows: Phase I, Scenario Identification-A hierarchical holographic model (HHM) is developed to describe the system's "as planned" or "success" scenario. Phase II, Scenario Filtering-The risk scenarios identified in Phase I are filtered according to the responsibilities and interests of the current system user. Phase III, Bi-Criteria Filtering and Ranking. Phase IV, Multi-Criteria Evaluation. Phase V, Quantitative Ranking-We continue to filter and rank scenarios based on quantitative and qualitative matrix scales of likelihood and consequence; and ordinal response to system resiliency, robustness, redundancy. Phase VI, Risk Management is performed, involving identification of management options for dealing with the filtered scenarios, and estimating the cost, performance benefits, and risk reduction of each. Phase VII, Safeguarding Against Missing Critical Items--We examine the performance of the options selected in Phase VI against the scenarios previously filtered out during Phases II to V. Phase VIII, Operational Feedback-We use the experience and information gained during application to refine the scenario filtering and decision processes in earlier phases. These eight phases reflect a philosophical approach rather than a mechanical methodology. In this philosophy, the filtering and ranking of discrete scenarios is viewed as a precursor to, rather than a substitute for, consideration of the totality of all risk scenarios.     

The business-class case for corporate social responsibility: mobilization,diffusion, and institutionally transformative strategy in Venezuela and Britain

Theory and Society - Scholars studying the global diffusion of “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) practices and the associated rise of privatized forms of economic governance have...     

What are We Working For? Comparing the Importance of Job Features for Job Satisfaction over the Career Span

This study examines the impact, relative importance, and unique predictive validity of changes in a host of job features and other relevant factors on job satisfaction over a 35-year period using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth cohort (12,686 respondents). The design of our analysis eliminated of the impact of established between-person correlates of job satisfaction (e.g., personality, cognitive ability), thereby providing for direct examination of within-person change in the focal variables. Results using a first-difference regression and a relative weights analysis revealed that changes in intrinsic, social, and extrinsic features corresponded to changes in satisfaction, but with differing magnitudes. Specific features (e.g., different dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model) generally were unique predictors when all variables were considered. Findings regarding the importance of various features substantially deviate from employees’ reports about contributors to job satisfaction and, in some cases, also differ from findings drawn from cross-sectional data.

     

Modeling Quality-Adjusted Life Expectancy Loss Resulting from Tobacco use in the United States

Purpose  To describe the development of a model for estimating the effects of tobacco use upon Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and to estimate the impact of tobacco use on health outcomes for the United States (US) population using the model. Method  We obtained estimates of tobacco consumption from 6 years of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). In addition, NHIS data were used to impute the Quality of Well-Being (QWB) Scale using a new methodology known as QWBX1. The QWB places health status on a continuum ranging from death (0.0) to full functioning without symptoms (1.0). The method allows the adjustment of life expectancy for reduced quality of life associated with health conditions. NHIS data were matched to the National Death Index for 14,464 deaths occurring by December 31, 1997. The analysis is limited to adults between the ages of 18 and 70 years. Results  Quality of Well-Being scores were broken down by age and for six smoking categories: (1) non-smokers, (2) those who smoke 1–10 cigarettes per day, (3) 11–20 cigarettes per day, (4) 21–30 cigarettes per day, and (5) 31–40 cigarettes per day, and (6) 40 or greater cigarettes per day. There was a systematic relationship between current tobacco use and health-related quality of life at each point along the age spectrum and there was a clear and systematic separation of quality-adjusted life expectancy by number of cigarettes smoked per day. Teenagers who continue to smoke loose 3.5 QALYs between ages 18 and 70 in comparison to non-smokers. A greater portion in the loss in QALE is attributable to quality of life than to shorten life expectancy. Conclusions  The overall goal of Healthy People 2010 is to increase Years of Healthy Life (or QALE) in the United States. Each year, tobacco use results in hundreds of thousands of quality-adjusted life years lost. Combined models of morbidity and mortality incorporating a range of tobacco consumption levels are required to best represent the impact of tobacco use. Supported by a Grant 11RT-0243 from the Californian Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP)     

Public Intimacy: Dynamics of Seduction in Male Homosocial Interactions

Male‐to‐male (homosocial) friendship bonds extend from the public to the private sphere. Relying on in‐depth interviews from a sample of thirty Israeli men sharing a common background of military socialization, this article analyzes how male friends communicate intimacy in public spaces with diverse social and organizational settings. In contrast to the common depiction of men's joking‐relationship as an attempt to maintain autonomy, the author suggests that the homosocial performance is a semi‐arbitrary, ambivalent language of relatedness endorsing closeness. The men participate in humorous interactions involving idioms, nicknames, curses, nonsense talk, aggressive gestures, and embraces. These verbal and bodily expressions send an unclear message that teases the participants and draws them to engage deeper in the interaction, generating a dynamic of seduction. The men's expressive interactions are staged publicly under the guise of instrumental action. It is suggested that although this homosocial staging attempts to erase hints of homoeroticism, it is this very erasure that produces desire as its emergent outcome. Set against the backdrop of instrumental activity, this performance of pleasure serves to empower and privilege male social and organizational networks.