How Method Actors Create Character Roles

Sociological Forum - This paper studies character-role creation by Method actors to begin developing a sociological understanding of artistic creativity and shed light on the construction of social...     

NETWORKS AND SELECTION IN INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION TO SPAIN

We offer fresh evidence on the effect of migrant networks on two essential aspects of migration: (1) the total scale of migration and (2) the skill composition of migration. Our analysis is for the remarkable case of Spain, which experienced a full‐blown immigration boom from the mid‐1990s up to the Global Financial Crisis. To accommodate flexible substitution patterns across alternative migrant destinations, we use a three‐level nested multinomial logit model. We find a strong positive network effect on the scale of migration and a strong negative effect on the ratio of high‐skilled to low‐skilled migrants. Simplifying restrictions on the structure of cross‐destination substitutability are rejected by the data. (JEL F22, J61)     

Taking it to scale: evaluating the scope and reach of a community-wide initiative on early childhood

In implementing broad community initiatives, the ability to assess the delivery of services is a distinct challenge. Yet, understanding both the magnitude and cross-usage of services by target populations is often a precursor to effective program evaluation, program improvement and additional program planning. This research examines the extent to which a comprehensive early childhood initiative successfully reached young children and their families in a large urban county. By linking birth records and administrative datasets at the level of the individual child, the study tracks the experiences of children in respect to engagement in program services and their receipt of public benefits. The study shows both the rapid growth in programs and the reach of the program elements to the majority of newborns in the target county after 5.5 years. The research highlights the challenges of effectively using individual-level data from a variety of sources for the purposes of documenting program receipt by participants.     

How to study multilingualism of the past: Investigating traditional contact situations in Daghestan

Reconstructing contact situations for an unwritten language is a challenging task, as the sociolinguistic past of such speech communities is very rarely documented. The paper describes research in which a method of retrospective family interviews is applied, where respondents’ recollections about recent multilingual past and, in particular, about the language repertoires of their elder relatives, are converted into quantitative data. It is a case study of three neighboring villages in the mountains of Daghestan, each of which has its own first language. It is shown that the multilingual pattern in the cluster is now shifting from the knowledge of neighbor languages towards Russian – an external lingua franca which is not native to any of the communicants.     

The World Bank's “Employing Workers” index: Findings and critiques – A review of recent evidence

This note provides an update on the ongoing debate over the World Bank's Doing Business project with a particular focus on its “Employing Workers” index, which is intended to measure difficulty of hiring, rigidity of working hours and difficulty of firing. The authors review the findings of studies that have used this index or been influenced by it and of those that inspired its construction. They go on to examine criticisms of this instrument, highlighting both conceptual and empirical problems. Their paper concludes with suggestions for alternative approaches and future research.     

A cross-cultural examination of scientists' perceived importance of work characteristics

This study examines the attitudes of scientists of different sociocultural backgrounds to a set of work characteristics. Two samples of scientists who have recently immigrated to Israel—from the USSR and the United States—are investigated. Drawing on the idea that science is not culture-free or context-independent, it is proposed that the two groups will differ in their valuation of certain job characteristics. Application of the Facet Approach and Smallest Space Analysis show a marked structural similarity between the Soviet and the American scientists in reference to all job factors investigated except one. Namely, the “opportunity to contribute to society” is perceived as a social activity and goal by the Russians, whereas American scientists view this aspect as part of the professional attributes of their work.     

Reuniting Children with their Families: Reconsidering the Evidence on Timing, Contact and Outcomes

This paper discusses key issues emerging from a review of theliterature on reuniting children in public care with their families,examining the basis for common assumptions about reunification.It focuses on three important issues: the evidence on the timingof discharge, the evidence on parental contact and the viewthat reunion is necessarily a positive outcome for children.Reviewing the research on the links between time in care andthe probability of reunification, it argues that this researchevidence has sometimes been misinterpreted. This has also beenthe case in relation to studies of the links between contactand reunification. The paper then presents the limited evidenceon the outcomes of reunification, including evidence on re-entry,re-abuse and psychosocial outcomes, arguing that such evidenceas exists clearly indicates a need for caution when returningabused or neglected children to their families. It is arguedthat greater attention to assessment, planning and follow-upsupport is needed if children are to be successfully reunitedwith their families and that more research is needed into theoutcomes of reunification.     

“I Amn Not a Utistivc on Thje Typ” (“I'm Not Autistic on the Typewriter”)

Facilitated communication involves hand-over-hand or hand-on-forearm support of students as they communicate through pointing at pictures, letters or other objects. Over time, it is expected that the hand and arm support can be faded back. This observational study describes an effort to introduce facilitated communication to 22 students, ranging in age from 3 years 10 months to 21 years, in several US public schools. The students are all labeled autistic and do not speak or speak only with echolalic phrases. The findings include observations of the students communicating with facilitation, language samples, and conversations by the students. The students reveal unexpected literacy and numeracy skills. The appearance of these abilities raises a number of questions concerning prior assumptions about autism, communication, independence and interdependence, and the education of students with and without disabilities.