Making the Randomized Response Technique Work

The ability of the randomized response technique to obtain sensitiveinformation on surveys was compared to two other methods involvingself-administered questionnaires. Using a national probabilitysample, and extending upon a number of developmental changeswhich have evolved over the years, the randomized response techniqueproved to be decidedly superior to the other methods.     

Models of social mobility

Properties of measures and models of social mobility are analyzed in relation to the conceptualization of mobility. Two main objectives of mobility research are identified. One is the study of determinants of occupational achievement, the other is the study of mobility as a characteristic of social systems. It is shown that the realization of both objectives is hindered by a failure of commonly used models and measures of mobility to separate out the various individual and structural factors responsible for mobility.     

Determining the importance of an independent variable: A path analytic solution

Various methods have been proposed for evaluating the importance of an independent variable in determining a given dependent variable. This paper suggests that the analysis of direct and indirect effects in a recursive causal model can provide a more satisfactory evaluation than the ordinary correlation and regression techniques commonly used. The interpretation of an independent variable's impact derived from a path model is generally more adequate because it is able to take into account the operation of indirect effects and spuriousness. To demonstrate this contention, data gathered by the author to explain organizational innovation are presented.     

The Powers of Australian Teachers in the Political System of School Government

The views of a sample of Australian teachers were obtained regarding the powers exercised by teachers and administrators in decisions relevant to internal school government. The teachers perceived themselves as playing a delegated-leadership role within the classroom and a subordinate role in decision areas external to classroom management. On the other hand, they expressed a desire to extend their delegated-leadership role to important matters concerning the instructional organization and administration of the school. The evidence suggested that teachers wished to change the perceived balance of power in schools in the direction of a more ‘democratic’ style of school government.     

Reorganization of Psychiatric Services in the Sydney Metropolitan Area

An outline is given of the historical background of current attempts to modernize State psychiatric services in New South Wales. A four-phase developmental pattern in the current decentralization of facilities is described, with special reference to some traditional institutional obstacles to progress in the task of attaining an enhanced relatedness of services to community needs. It is concluded that a major deficiency in the current organization of the State-sponsored services is the lack of systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of programmes established in the past few years.     

Mental health citizen surveys: a comparison of two within household telephone sampling techniques.

Two within household telephone sampling techniques for collecting citizen survey data for community mental health center's needs assessments were compared on the basis of respondent demographic characteristics; response, completion, and refusal rates; and, administrative costs. Initially, all households were chosen via random digit dialing. Then, one technique allowed the surveyor to interview any adult member of a household who answered the phone. The other technique used was developed by Troldahl and Carter and required the use of a reference table procedure to determine the appropriate respondent. While more expensive, the Troldahl-Carter method produced significantly better representativeness of the population for a rural county. Factors relating to a decision regarding which technique to employ are discussed.