Cross cultural comparisons of quality of life of Thais and Americans

Comparisons of quality of life (QOL) measures across cultures of countries in different stages of economic development have been very scarce. This study attempts to fill the void in the literature by investigating the level of overall life satisfaction and satisfaction with various domains of lives of Thais and Americans. Additionally, the relationships between satisfaction with domains of life and overall life satisfaction in each culture have been explored. The results of this study indicate that Thais are less satisfied with their lives in general and most of the domains of their lives than Americans. However, both Thais and Americans tend to be more satisfied with their personal domains of lives than environmental domains of lives. In addition, satisfaction with material possessions is found to contribute significantly to overall life satisfaction of Thais but not Americans. This suggests that material wealth or economic development is still a vital mechanism for enhancing QOL of people in Thailand, but is not important for enhancing QOL of people in the U.S.     

Explaining the association of race and ethnicity with the HIV/AIDS-related attitudes,behaviors and skills of high school students

This study deals with intervening factors such as family composition, religiosity, and HIV/AIDS knowledge in understanding the association of race and ethnicity with HIV/AIDS-related attitudes and behaviors. Data represent Wave 1 of a five-month panel design involving 10th grade students in eight public high schools in Dade County (greater Miami) Florida. Significant differences in attitudes and behaviors were found among racial/ethnic groups. Specifically, Hispanics had more negative attitudes about condom use than blacks or whites. Whites had the most permissive, and blacks the least permissive, sexual attitudes. Hispanics felt least confident and blacks felt most confident about interpersonal sexual skills. Blacks were most likely to have had sexual intercourse, and whites least likely. Religiosity was found to be a significant intervening variable in the less permissive sexual attitudes of both blacks and Hispanics. The most significant implication of this study is that racial/ethnic differences in sexual behavior can be explained more fully by socio-environmental factors such as family structure or religiosity than by knowledge or attitudes. Thus, interventions directed toward minority populations should focus on the development of alternative social environments that would support more positive behaviors. More specifically, extended family, religious youth groups, and other community organizations should be brought into the HIV/AIDS risk-reduction arena.     

Understanding Life-Threatening Risks

Modern science and medicine, and increasing prosperity, have brought many benefits to our society, but not without costs. One cost is that some of the technological innovations and new activities bring with them different and perhaps greater risks that threaten our lives. Any problem involving life-threatening risks is complex, so it is difficult to think through all the implications of the alternatives proposed to address it. This paper presents a number of "facts" to guide constructive thinking about decisions concerning life-threatening risks. The intent is to help us appraise alternatives, design public policy and laws, and communicate about specific risk problems.     

Forecasting intraday time series with multiple seasonal cycles using parsimonious seasonal exponential smoothing

This paper concerns the forecasting of seasonal intraday time series that exhibit repeating intraweek and intraday cycles. A recently proposed exponential smoothing method involves smoothing a different intraday cycle for each distinct type of day of the week. Similar days are allocated identical intraday cycles. A limitation is that the method allows only whole days to be treated as identical. We introduce a new exponential smoothing formulation that allows parts of different days of the week to be treated as identical. The result is a method that involves the smoothing and initialisation of fewer terms. We evaluate forecasting up to a day ahead using two empirical studies. For electricity load data, the new method compares well with a range of alternatives. The second study involves a series of arrivals at a call centre that is open for a shorter duration at the weekends than on weekdays. Among the variety of methods considered, the new method is the only one that can model in a satisfactory way in this situation, where the number of periods on each day of the week is not the same.     

A Shared Presentation: Two Disabled Women on Video

In this paper we share our collaborative experience of making a video in which disabled women present their lives as they wish to portray them. We undertook what we hope will be perceived as emancipatory research, in which disabled and non-disabled women work together to create audio-visual teaching materials. We include a preliminary discussion about the representation of disability on British television broadcasts between October 1991 and March 1992. We look at negative imagery, charity fund raising, and positive images. The paper uses comments by disabled broadcasters and disabled academics, and reflects on their work.     

Cosmetic research: working for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority*

A research project undertaken for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) in 1980–1 is seen as representative of a trend towards contract research and of the problems this creates for sociologists. The project entailed an examination of the ‘housing needs’ of the Authority's tenants in tied houses in the North of Scotland It is suggested that the UKAEA was less interested in forecasts of housing needs than in ‘expert’ identification of trends with which the Authority was already familiar. The ‘experts’' final repon would then be used by the UKAEA to ease the progress of Authority policy in a sensitive area. The research contract did not inevitably produce a study which could be used by the UKAEA as a cosmetic but the Authority directed the research to this end. Nevertheless, the project did produce contacts and opportunities for independent research which would have been inaccessible. An example is given in the form of an account of the UKAEA's housing policy.     

The Social Networks of Leaders in More and Less Viable Rural Communities1

Abstract The relationship between the social networks of leaders and community viability is examined in a comparative study of leaders (N = 75) in five rural communities (population range, 1,000 to 2,500). The analysis looks at leaders' connections to organizations outside of their communities and at different kinds of linkages between leaders within their respective communities. Leaders in more and less viable communities do not differ much in characteristics such as age, education, and occupations, but the presence of women in leadership positions is associated with community viability. In addition, there is some support for the expectation that leaders in more viable communities are more likely to have formal linkages to statewide and national networks. The most important finding, however, is that the way in which leaders relate to each other in instrumental tasks within their respective communities is associated with community viability.