The politics of figurational sociology

Figurational sociology is so often said to distance itself from the political issues of the day. Whilst this is certainly true with regards to the present day, it in no way follows that figurational sociology seeks to distance itself from politics as such. On the contrary, as will be shown within this paper, politics is and always has been a central concern for figurational sociologists. This political concern, however, is an exclusively long term concern; figurational sociology purposively postpones present political engagement for the sake of developing a sufficiently detached sociology that would eventually facilitate in the delivery of effective practical and political measures. This paper discusses the stakes involved in, as well as the reasoning behind, the assignment of such a place to politics. It gestures towards two distinct and separate concepts of social control that exist within figurational sociology and then proceeds to offer a critical consideration of the consequences that can be derived from any temporal demarcation of the political done on their basis. The paper ultimately suggests that figurational sociology's position on politics raises a series of as yet unanswered questions, questions which can no longer remain unanswered by the contemporary figurational sociologist.     

Transition from school for youths with a disability: issues and challenges

Australian research has demonstrated that students with a disability are more likely to remain out of the full‐time workforce. These research findings have been the catalyst for a call for a comprehensive career development and transition planning approach for all students with disabilities in schools as well as for employers to rethink the role of people with disabilities in the workforce. In the Australian context the transition from school for individuals with a disability is complicated by a disparate and fragmented group of service agencies providing a range of services, including employment, supported accommodation, recreation and leisure pursuits, as well as training and placement, along with, at times, a deep‐seated prejudice towards people with disabilities in the market place. This paper reviews a number of issues and challenges confronting individuals with a disability making the transition from school to the post‐school environment.     

Technological forecasting as a guide for managerial planning

The author discusses the limitations of statistical forecasting as a guide to managerial planning, with specific reference to technological and market changes in the glass industry. He advocates the use of a Forecast Adjustment Matrix as a framework for identifying marketing and technological factors which might produce significant deviations from established trends. Finally, he suggests that the analysis and adjustment of technological and market trends should be made periodically. The whole technological forecasting operation should be formalized and it should be made the specific responsibility of one organizational unit within the company.     

Using "Bud World Party" attendance to predict adolescent alcohol use and beliefs about drinking

This study explored the association between attendance at the "Bud World Party," a family entertainment venue created by Anheuser-Busch for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and alcohol-related beliefs and current drinking behaviors for a group of 7th and 8th graders who attend a middle school in close proximity to the downtown Salt Lake City plaza where the exhibit and related events were located. Data were collected via a questionnaire administered to 283 students 30 days after the closing ceremonies.. Logistic regression was used to predict recent alcohol consumption. Significant predictors were race (non-white) (OR = 3.9), religiosity (OR = .72), having a parent who drinks (OR = 4.8), the number of best friends who drink (OR = 2.5), and the interaction for "Bud World Party" attendance and gender (OR = 33.2). Post-hoc analysis of the interaction effect indicated that the relationship between "Bud World Party" attendance and recent alcohol consumption is moderated by gender. Girls who visited "Bud World Party" were more likely than the boys to have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. In addition, the girls who visited "Bud World Party" were more likely to believe that drinking would increase their chances of popularity at school than the students who did not.     

An evaluation of collaborative interventions to improve chronic illness care. Framework and study design

The author's dual-purpose evaluation assesses the effectiveness of formal collaboratives in stimulating organizational changes to improve chronic illness care (the chronic care model or CCM). Intervention and comparison sites are compared before and after introduction of the CCM. Multiple data sources are used to measure the degree of implementation, patient-level processes and outcomes, and organizational and team factors associated with success. Despite challenges in timely recruitment of sites and patients, data collection on 37 participating organizations, 22 control sites, and more than 4,000 patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma, or depression is nearing completion. When analyzed, these data will shed new light on the effectiveness of collaborative improvement methods and the CCM.     

An integrative intervention for promoting recovery from extramarital affairs

The discovery or disclosure of an extramarital affair can have a devastating impact on partners, both individually and on the relationships. Research suggests that affairs occur relatively frequently in relationships and are a common presenting problem in couple therapy. However, despite their prevalence, there is little empirical treatment research in this area, and most therapists describe this problem as one of the more difficult to treat. In this study, we used a replicated case-study design to explore the efficacy of an integrative treatment designed to help couples recover from an affair. Six couples entered and completed treatment. The majority of these couples were less emotionally or maritally distressed at the end of treatment, and the injured partners reported greater forgiveness regarding the affair. Details of the intervention, suggested adaptations of the treatment, and areas for future research are discussed.     

Comparisons of Test Statistics Arising from Marginal Analyses of Multivariate Survival Data

We investigate the properties of several statistical tests for comparing treatment groups with respect to multivariate survival data, based on the marginal analysis approach introduced by Wei, Lin and Weissfeld [Regression Analysis of multivariate incomplete failure time data by modelling marginal distributians, JASA vol. 84 pp. 1065–1073]. We consider two types of directional tests, based on a constrained maximization and on linear combinations of the unconstrained maximizer of the working likelihood function, and the omnibus test arising from the same working likelihood. The directional tests are members of a larger class of tests, from which an asymptotically optimal test can be found. We compare the asymptotic powers of the tests under general contiguous alternatives for a variety of settings, and also consider the choice of the number of survival times to include in the multivariate outcome. We illustrate the results with simulations and with the results from a clinical trial examining recurring opportunistic infections in persons with HIV.