Avoiding type III error in program evaluation : Results from a field experiment

A common, yet questionable assumption underlying many evaluations of service intervention programs is that program clients uniformly receive the services purportedly available. The authors draw upon the experience of a randomized field experiment to point out the hazards of that assumption. They found marked differences among clients in the amount of actual service received during participation in the program evaluated. Moreover, the data suggest that program outcomes varied as a function of the amount of service received. These findings are offered as a cautionary note to other evaluators; the amount of service actually received by clients should be accurately recorded and incorporated into the analyses of program outcomes.     

Taxonomy and environment—Aging interaction: a case for small town diversity

This paper demonstrates the utility of an environment-behavior conceptual scheme proposed by Lawton for guiding the development of taxonomies of social and environmental attributes of rural small towns. A twelve-dimension psychosocial and environmental taxonomy is presented based on data gathered from 989 older residents of 18 small Kansas towns of 2500 and less in population. Implications of taxonomic development for the further conceptualization and definition of rurality is discussed. The role which taxonomic development plays in environmental design, planning and program intervention is also presented.     

Sports Sociology’s Still Untapped Potential

Following up on Zirin’s (2008) challenge that sports sociologists “get off the bench,” and Karen and Washington’s (2001) plea to make sports sociology more central to analyses of social power, this article empirically reviews and assesses the sociology of sports from 1977–2008. Using a sample of 441 articles selected from the three major sports sociology journals during that period, we conclude that sports sociology exhibits a strong and increasing bias toward micro‐level analyses of (for example) how the content of sports frames and constructs the social world. A smaller and shrinking body of work examines more macro‐oriented issues such as the economics and politics of sports, and there seem to be few attempts to meaningfully synthesize these micro and macro orientations. We think this partiality toward micro‐oriented frameworks is rooted in factors unique to sports sociology while also reflecting larger trends within sociology as a whole. As advocates of popularly accessible public sociology, we respectfully suggest that sports sociologists try harder to weave macro analyses into their work, not necessarily replacing micro‐level approaches, but complementing them. We believe that sports sociology is well‐positioned to become a standard bearer for public sociology, but only if it pays more attention to the way organized sports intertwines with the organizational, political, and economic forces that perpetuate and exacerbate social inequality.     

Managing occupational identity threats and job turnover: How former and current fundraisers manage moments of stigmatized identities

Maintaining a strong group of fundraisers amidst high turnover rates is essential to the financial health of nonprofit organizations. One issue potentially harming fundraisers' success and continued presence in the field is the negative reputation sometimes associated with fundraising work. This exploratory study uses Stigma Management Communication Theory and content analysis of in‐depth interviews with current and former university fundraisers to investigate how fundraisers communicatively manage stigmatizing messages associated with their occupation. The findings suggest that current fundraisers use a greater number and variety of stigma management strategies than former fundraisers described using. The findings also highlight the potential consequences and distinctions among ways of using humor to manage stigma messages. These findings can be translated into orientation and training programs for fundraisers, teaching them successful ways of framing their occupations and work.     

Recent Suicide Attempts Across Multiple Social Identities Among Gay and Bisexual Men: An Intersectionality Analysis

This study draws from intersectionality to describe variations in recent suicide attempts (RSA) among gay and bisexual men (GBM) across sociodemographics. Using survey data, logistic regression modeling explored RSA in two analytical stages: (1) the individual effects of each sociodemographic were measured; (2) two-way interaction terms between sociodemographics were tested and added to the models created in stage A. In stage A, only education and income achieved significance. In stage B, the study found that (a) education and income interacted significantly such that the odds of RSA increased for those with a lower income and a lower education; (b) sexual orientation and partnership status interacted, resulting in decreased odds among bisexual men in heterosexual partnerships; and (c) income and education interacted with geography; the effects of these variables were significant only among urban men. These findings suggest that GBM are at unequal risk of RSA according to intersecting sociodemographics.     

SESAME STREET FOR DECISION SCIENCES

In Part I, several problems confronting learning and teaching in Decision Sciences are examined and possible solutions presented. Students dislike and fear mathematics, treat it as a foreign language (a dead one at that), and are subjected to archaic teaching methods. Teachers suffer from poor training, incongruent goals, and inadequate models. As the popularity of the Decision Sciences dwindles, teaching becomes even more critical in our profession. In Part II, three designs for teaching operations research or statistics with organizational behavior are presented. These have all been implemented during the last three years. These designs attempt to take advantage of principles learned in organizational behavior to enhance the learning situation in the quantitative courses in decision sciences.     

Evaluating the Use of Commercially Available Wearable Wristbands to Capture Adolescents’ Daily Sleep Duration

Commercially available wearable devices are marketed as a means of objectively capturing daily sleep easily and inexpensively outside of the laboratory. Two ecological momentary assessment studies—with 120 older adolescents (aged 18–19) and 395 younger adolescents (aged 10–16)—captured nightly self‐reported and wearable (Jawbone) recorded sleep duration. Self‐reported and wearable recorded daily sleep duration were moderately correlated (r ~ .50), associations which were stronger on weekdays and among young adolescent boys. Older adolescents self‐reported sleep duration closely corresponded with estimates from the wearable device, but younger adolescents reported having an hour more of sleep, on average, compared to device estimates. Self‐reported, but not wearable‐recorded, sleep duration and quality were consistently associated with daily well‐being measures. Suggestions for the integration of commercially available wearable devices into future daily research with adolescents are provided.