THE STRENGTH OF WEAK INDICATORS: A Response to Gilles, Brown, Geletta, and Dalecki

This article responds to Gilles, Brown, Geletta, and Dalecki's (1990) claim that the Legitimate Violence Index (LVX) is invalid because of problems with eight of its twelve indicators and because it is confounded with region and population density.     

Georg Simmel and Erving Goffman: Legitimators of the Sociological Investigation of Human Experience

By originating and developing the sociological investigation of human experience, Georg Simmel and Erving Goffman have shifted social phenomena at the edge of awareness to the center of attention, and have legitimated their study for contemporary sociologists. Both Simmel and Goffman describe these subtle social phenomena by distinguishing their perceptual boundaries and crossover elements, pointing out their common features when their statuses differ, and reversing their traditional location in means-end and cause-effect chains. But Durkheim's influence on Goffman's basic conceptions of interaction, individual, and society differentiated his interpretation of these social phenomena from Simmel's. Moreover, Simmel's and Goffman's explanations of these social phenomena evolve in different directions, revealing the antithetical goals toward which spiritual transcendental Simmelians and cynical reductive Goffmanians would lead sociology.     

Quantifying the Distribution of Inhalation Exposure in Human Populations: 2. Distributions of Time Spent by Adults, Adolescents, and Children at Home, at Work, and at School

Using distributions of time spent at various ventilation levels, ranges of inhalation exposure in the population can be established. Distributions of exposure time were determined using results of a study by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) which focused on time spent by humans participating in various activities and the locations where the activities occurred. The daily at-home activities from the CARB study were assigned to one of three ventilation levels, generating aggregate time periods. Distinct age and gender populations were identified, and distributions for aggregate time were established for these populations at each of the ventilation levels. In addition to aggregate time spent at home, distributions for various ages and genders were established for aggregate time spent at school and work. By combining distributions of aggregate time with corresponding ventilation rates, the distribution of inhalation rates can be established for at home, at work, and at school exposures.     

The market for construction wood in Mopti, Mali

This paper investigates the supply networks, the structure and operation of the markets and the increasing scarcity of good quality construction poles and hewn construction timber in Mopti, Mali. Using a variety of rapid appraisal methods the research identified separate groups of agents performing retailing, transporting and wood cutting functions within the supply network. A survey of the retail sector of the open or organised wood market in Mopti found the market to involve lower than expected volumes of timber and higher than expected mark-up variability across retailers and products. It was found that some users of construction wood do not buy their wood in the open market. The paper discusses one alternative method of obtaining wood involving the formation of a rural–urban solidarity network in which wood is ‘traded’ for various forms of help and assistance. The paper concludes that the re-empowerment of local communities so that they can manage and benefit from natural resources under their jurisdiction is probably a necessary condition for sustainable improvements in the supply of construction wood to Mopti. However, additional measures may be needed to replenish the stock of trees and human and institutional capital in the wood supply areas.     

Domestic Violence Service Providers’ Needs and Perceptions of Technology: A Qualitative Study

There is growing recognition of the need to better understand the intersections between the work of domestic violence service providers and technology. Professionals who work with clients impacted by domestic violence are increasingly using technologies across different aspects of their work, including communicating with other professionals and seeking information and resources via the Internet. The current study used qualitative data from two sources—individual interviews and two focus groups—to learn about domestic violence service providers’ needs and perceptions related to technology use. The results provide insights about technologies used currently, expected benefits of future technological advances, barriers to using technology, and participants’ self-rated levels of comfort with technology.     

Speed Mentoring in Teaching and Learning: Young people with experience of the care system mentor social work students

The value of listening and talking to young people with experience of the care system has been recognised as a vital and positive contribution to social work students' learning. A model of co-production was used to develop a series of speed mentoring events whereby social work students placed in local authority children and family settings were mentored by young people with experience of the care system. This tentative review of this small-scale project shares the authors' critical reflections on the value and reliability of this model, for evaluating the outcomes of co-productive mentoring relationships between young people and social work students. The reversal of the power dynamic between student and service user contributed to the unsettling of assumptions about each other and empathy for each other's role. The student authors reflect on learning about the child's experience that has influenced their practice. The mentor authors welcomed the opportunity to participate in the development of ‘young people friendly’ social workers. Suggestions are made as to how this model could be developed to contribute to a more systematic approach to the role of service users in mentoring, advising and contributing to the supervision process of students and social workers.     

Raising Considerations: Public Opinion and the Fair Application of the Death Penalty*

Objectives. A major justification for capital punishment is its perceived public support, yet common measures of public opinion do not capture the complexity of death penalty attitudes. This research, first, examines the stability of attitudes regarding the fair application of the death penalty when those attitudes are expressed within the context of an enlarged pool of considerations about its administration and, second, evaluates the directional effect of the considerations on those attitudes. Methods. Data from a national telephone survey that capture the complexity of these attitudes are analyzed using ordered probit estimation. Results. These results indicate substantial instability in attitudes regarding the fair application of capital punishment given the context of more pertinent considerations. Furthermore, within this context respondents tend to indicate that the death penalty is less fairly applied. Conclusion. The justification for capital punishment may rest on oversimplified conceptions of attitudes toward the death penalty and its application.