The objects of transformation in higher education

This paper reviews the purposes of higher education in South Africa through to lens the 1997 Education White Paper. It is argued that, while the principles of the White Paper have shaped the development of the higher education system over the following decade the primary objectives of transformation have yet to be realized.     

The analysis of sex segregation: When is index measurement not index measurement

In their paper in this issue. Grusky and Charles (1998) make a number of dubious claims about the measurement and interpretation of sex segregation. First, they incorrectly claim that only log-odds measures yield margin-free measures of segregation. Second. the estimation and testing of a limited class of log-linear models does not provide an independent test of the appropriateness of a log-odds ratio index to measure segregation. Their estimation informs them of the statistically justifiable degree of occupational disaggregation, not whether a log-odds ratio is superior to, say, a linear index in the measurement of segregation. Finally, their index A is beset with problems of interpretation. not withstanding their arguments. and their additional measures, A_w and A_B, suffer similar problems. Grusky and Charles are. however, correct in arguing that measurement procedures should be margin-free. Further, I concur with the view that the adoption of a single annual summary measure of segregation cannot be justified. because it is premised on the assumption that individual occupations, or groups of occupations. exhibit similar trends in sex segregation.     

Discomfort With Homosexuality: A New Measure Captures Differences in Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbians

This study describes a creative and psychometrically sound method that allows researchers to measure homonegativity at a lower threshold than existing measures and to differentiate between homonegativity toward gay men and lesbians. Four hundred and thirty-one undergraduate students at a Western comprehensive university were asked to respond to a series of vignettes describing situations in which heterosexuals sometimes experience discomfort in the presence of homosexuals, indicating the degree to which they would feel comfortable or uncomfortable. The 12-item Homonegativity as Discomfort Scale (HADS) has adequate alpha reliability (.92) as well as good criterion and construct validity. Suggestions are made as to how the measure could be employed in research. Testing on this sample shows greater discomfort with gay men than with lesbians and greater discomfort among men than among women.     

Changes in Objective and Self-Reported Measures of Physical Capacity After an Intervention in Obese Older Women

The aim of this study was to determine if objective and self-reported measures of physical capacity are two equivalent methods to detect changes following an intervention in obese older women. 36 obese women aged between 55 and 75 years participated in a 3-month study with the aim of improving physical capacity by caloric restriction and/or resistance training. Physical capacity was measured objectively with 10 different tests and self-reported with the SF-36 physical functioning score (SF-36 PF score). Then the performance-to-objective tests were computed using quartiles to provide a baseline global physical capacity score. The mean percentage of change of the 10 tests as well as the SF-36 PF score were also calculated after the study. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray (DXA) absorptiometry. The baseline global physical capacity score and the SF-36 PF score were significantly correlated at baseline (r = 0.43; P < 0.01). Eight out of the 10 objective tests of physical capacity improved after the intervention, while no improvement was observed for the SF-36 PF score. On average, percentage of change in physical capacity was 4.1 ± 5.9% for the SF-36 PF score and 11.1 ± 2.9% for the objective measures. However, no significant correlation was observed between percentage of changes between the two approaches after the intervention (r = 0.32; P = 0.07). Based on these results, the method used to quantify physical capacity after an intervention may have major implications on the outcomes. The methods used should be carefully analyzed in regard to the objective of the study.     

Relations sociales et ajustements à la crise: une analyse microstatistique comparative franco‐britannique

Dans cette étude comparative sur la France et la Grande‐Bretagne, les auteurs analysent les liens entre relations professionnelles et ajustements (des effectifs et des salaires) face à la crise de 2007–2008, en s'appuyant sur deux enquêtes au niveau des établissements, fortement comparables, l'une britannique (WERS), l'autre française (REPONSE), collectées en 2010–2012. Malgré des contextes différents (composition du tissu productif, temporalité et impact de la crise), les liens entre relations sociales et stratégies d'ajustement semblent proches (la présence syndicale ne suffisant pas à empêcher les ajustements). La différenciation des systèmes de relations professionnelles ne permet donc pas d'expliquer les divergences de modes d'ajustement constatées au niveau macroéconomique.     

Vertical capitalism: Skyscrapers and organization

This paper employs the skyscraper to show how culture and economy are necessarily intertwined. I begin with the idea of the sublime, and then move on to consider representations of the tall building from the 1870s to the present day in order to illustrate what these artefacts are understood to ‘mean’. But skyscrapers are not merely symbols of modern organization, they are themselves forms of economic organizing and the second section of the paper notes the various ways in which the tall building, and the divisions of labour that enabled it, began by ‘making the land pay’ in cities with a burgeoning rental market for small firms. This shift involves partly displacing the architect and the corporation, and instead focussing on project organization and rental values. I conclude by suggesting that the term ‘organization’, because of its mutability, can provide a bridge between culturalist and economic representations.