Working with Deaf People

Whilst 17% of the population experience some degree of hearing loss, sociology has largely neglected the study of services to this group. This article attempts to move the debate from a sociology of the deaf community to a sociology of deafness that includes an examination of how professionals define the needs of hearing impaired people. Despite differences between different constructions, deafness workers offer a combination of social work, information, and interpreting services. Practice rules have been developed by deafness workers to control workloads, and to work in their preferred way. This article is based on a multi-layered approach with a contextual analysis, a survey of 123 deafness workers, 32 semi-structured interviews, and my own personal experience of deafness work.     

Generalized Laplacian approximations in Bayesian inference

This paper presents a new Laplacian approximation to the posterior density of η = g(θ). It has a simpler analytical form than that described by Leonard et al. (1989). The approximation derived by Leonard et al. requires a conditional information matrix R_η to be positive definite for every fixed η. However, in many cases, not all R_η are positive definite. In such cases, the computations of their approximations fail, since the approximation cannot be normalized. However, the new approximation may be modified so that the corresponding conditional information matrix can be made positive definite for every fixed η. In addition, a Bayesian procedure for contingency-table model checking is provided. An example of cross-classification between the educational level of a wife and fertility-planning status of couples is used for explanation. Various Laplacian approximations are computed and compared in this example and in an example of public school expenditures in the context of Bayesian analysis of the multiparameter Fisher-Behrens problem.     

The Farm Crisis and Mental Health: A Longitudinal Study of the 1980s1

Abstract This paper examines rural/urban differences and trends in mental health during the farm crisis of the 1980s in a large panel sample from a midwestern state. A community research perspective, which attributes differences to life styles, culture, and community context, is contrasted with an economic stress perspective, which focuses on individual differences in economic circumstances as determinants of rural-urban differences in mental health. Survey samples from 1981, 1986, and 1989 are used to examine differences among seven categories of community type. Multiple regression analysis of the trend and panel data provide support for both the individual economic distress and community context models.     

Evaluation of an educational intervention upon knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning drinking/drugged driving.

The Contra Costa County educational program for juveniles found guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) was evaluated. Over 600 juveniles convicted of DUI from 1983 to 1988 formed the study group for this research and of these over 100 participated in the educational program. Assessment of program participants was conducted for knowledge, attitudes and behavior. Participants demonstrated increased knowledge, stronger attitudes against driving under the influence, and less risky alcohol and automobile related behaviors. County juvenile records analyzed by the logit procedure showed that class participants had a significantly lower number of repeat offenses compared to non-program participants that could not be explained by race, offense severity, age or gender.     

School governing bodies: Reshaping education in their own image?

Recent educational reforms in England have given considerable responsibilities for the overall administration of schools to governing bodies largely comprised of lay people. The paper explores the knowledge of education possessed by lay governors. Issues considered include: the systematicity of that knowledge; its possible sources, and how gender, ethnicity and social class influence the knowledge held and used by governors. Also examined are the question of whether governors are always knowledgeable actors within the context of education and the implications of this for schools and democratic participation in their governance. Data is derived from a four year qualitative multi-site case study of ten school governing bodies in two English local education authorities undertaken by the authors between 1988 and 1992.     

MINING ERROR VARIANCE AND HITTING PAY-DIRT:

According to traditional error theory, sentiment measurements vary unsystematically from individual to individual. However, we find some patterned deviation in sentiments that characterize subsets of respondents within a seemingly homogeneous population. After demonstrating the existence of such patterns, we report an exploratory study aimed at identifying social characteristics of people with different patterns of sentiments. People embedded in multiple social networks have exaggerated sentiments that contour cultural patterns, and people with few social associations have attenuated sentiments conveying cultural detachment. In addition, people with disciplinary parents and romantic privation have some distinctive sentiments, depending on their gender.