The effect of proximity in perceptual dialectology

This article examines the effect of proximity on perceptual dialectological data gathered in Northern Great Britain. It underlines the key effect that proximity has on respondent mental maps of language variation, and demonstrates this by discussing area recognition levels and map‐based data. The article demonstrates that the effects of physical proximity can be modified by various factors. These factors include the ‘barrier effect’ of national borders such as the Scottish‐English border, along with other, more subjective, psychological boundaries such as the North‐South divide. In addition to demonstrating that these barrier effects increase the effect of proximity, this article will also show that proximity effects can be reduced by factors such as ‘cultural prominence’ (in which culturally important locations feature more prominently in mental maps of dialect areas).     

Changing Lives: what is really changing for Scottish social work?

In 2004 the then Scottish Executive launched the 21st Century Social Work Review. The review report, Changing Lives, addressed perceived shortcomings in statutory social work services, claiming to offer a fundamental review of the profession. This paper argues that, rather than offering any significantly new principles or policies, the drift of the Changing Lives process was chiefly to refurnish the discourse in which statutory social work is conducted. Specifically it shifts that discourse away from a long-standing Scottish concern to promote social welfare on a community basis towards an individualised conception of well-being. Central to that process is the Review's advocacy of personalisation of services. It is argued therefore that Changing Lives is best understood as an exercise in the ‘problematics of government’—a reassertion of control by reshaping expectations, rather than a substantive reform of services.     

Life Experiences,Locus of Control,and School Satisfaction in Adolescence

This research investigated models of theinterrelationships among adolescents' lifeexperiences, locus of control, and schoolsatisfaction reports. Demographic variables(e.g., SES) did not relate to schoolsatisfaction. Environmental experiences (acutemajor events and chronic life experiences, bothpositive and negative) moderately related toadolescents' school satisfaction. Althoughadolescents' locus of control orientation didnot moderate school satisfaction, it didmediate the relationship between negative lifeexperiences and school satisfaction. It wasconcluded that theories of adolescent schoolsatisfaction should incorporate intrapersonalcharacteristics as well as environmentalstressors and resources. The promotion ofpositive attitudes toward school will likelynecessitate attention to a variety of schooland non-school contextual factors (e.g., familyresources and stressors) in addition tointrapersonal risk and protective factors.     

An Index of the Condition of Children: The Ideal and a Less-than-Ideal U.S. Example

This paper uses recent data on U.S. children from the National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF) to create indices that tally the number of problems or risks that individual children experience. We compare results with those from indices developed elsewhere that assess the change across sets of population-level indicators. While the two types of indices show similar trends over time, specific changes, as well as trends, depend on the specific domain of well-being or context examined, highlighting the importance of the distinction between well-being and context. Children with problems in multiple domains tend to be socio-economically and demographically disadvantaged compared with other children. We preface this work by providing an overview of the history of child well-being indicators and distinguish indices of child well-being from indices of the condition of children.

对历史的反思

德国著名"社会史"派(Gesellscha ftsgeschichte)因在(德国)历史研究中应用社会学现代化理论以及政治哲学现代化理论(sociological and politological modernization theories),为大众所熟知。汉斯.乌尔里希.韦勒(Hans-Ulrich Wehler)倡导现代化理论,并将其作为转变"传统"德国历史的方法:以少数"伟人"为中心的国家政治史,转变为综合比较的德国社会史,即政治之外的社会结构。1914年至1945年,德国处于灾难政治时期———德国"特殊道路",这段时期的政治被视为政治体制"延后的现代化"。同时,德国历史学家提出了能够解释社会结构和社会进程的社会科学理论及方法,以替代那些强调个人理解的"传统"研究方法。20世纪70年代和80年代初期,德国社会史学家通过运用现代化理论及社会科学方法对德国历史进行分析,在国内取得了主导地位。然而,80年代之后,这些社会史学家越来越受到"文化转向"支持者的批评,批评他们不是把文化融入社会史中,而是把政治归入社会,把个人归入到社会结构中。本文不仅认为这些批评基本正确,更认为这些与社会史相关的问题是概念倒置的结果。社会史学家所做的基本上就是将他们所批评的"传统"立场进行倒置(例如马克思对黑格尔学说的倒置)。这样一来,那些被批评的问题并没有得到解决,只是将立场倒置了一下而已。"传统"立场强调个人,倒置为"现代"立场强调结构;"传统"立场强调文化,倒置为"现代"立场强调结构;"传统"立场强调理解,倒置为"现代"立场解释因果。有人提出,社会史学家有必要提出一种新理论来摆脱倒置概念的陷阱。     

Cancer premiums and latency effects: A risk tradeoff approach for valuing reductions in fatal cancer risks

Many studies estimate individuals’ values for avoiding fatality risks; however, most value-of-statistical-life studies focus on accident-related deaths. Consequently, little is known about preferences for avoiding other fatal risks, such as cancer. Cancer may engender strong feelings of dread, leading to a “cancer premium,” but cancer latency periods may have the opposite effect. Using a national survey, we elicit relative preferences for avoiding fatal cancer and auto-accident risks. We find strong preferences for avoiding cancer risks. With a 5-year latency, they are valued roughly three times greater than immediate accident risks, declining to 50% greater for a 25-year latency.