“Here One Moment… and Gone the Next?” Remittance as a Social Visibility Tool

Human labor is as much an export as any good. Remittances are a critical source of income for left‐behind families and communities. Transnational labor migrants often describe themselves as ‘invisible’: neither present in the lives of left‐behind families nor members of the receiving community. Building on social remittances literature, we argue that remittances serve as a remedy for this ‘invisibility.’ Through analysis of interviews with 26 temporary labor migrants from 11 countries resident in Israel, we find remittances can render migrants visible to transnational families and provide identity benefits to labor migrants. If visibility benefits decline because of familial role changes, reduced value as a remitter, cost exceeding benefits or because contracting partners change, remittance practices will change. Contrary to previous literature, our findings show that remittances decisions are dynamic, revealing why remittances practices change and even cease. Findings have implications for understanding the multibillion‐dollar remittances industry and immigrant incorporation.     

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) in a Sample of Lesbian and Bisexual Women

The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) assesses propensities for sexual excitation (SE) and inhibition (SI). Previous research utilizing the SESII-W included samples comprised exclusively or almost entirely of heterosexual women. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the SESII-W and assess its relation to aspects of sexual function within a sample of lesbian and bisexual women. The sample included 974 self-identified bisexual (n = 733) or lesbian/homosexual (n = 241) women who completed an online survey including items assessing women’s sexual behaviors, feelings, and functioning, sociodemographics, and the SESII-W. The sample was split; exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the first half, yielding eight lower-order factors with two higher-order factors. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the second half and suggested reasonable model fit. SI was positively correlated with sexual problems and negatively correlated with sexual pleasure; the correlations were significant but small. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between SESII-W scores and sexual problems/sexual pleasure, controlling for age, relationship duration, and relationship status. Four lower-order factors predicted reports of sexual problems. Findings indicated the SESII-W has similar psychometric properties among sexual minority women as it does among heterosexual women.     

Near‐Misses and Future Disaster Preparedness

Disasters garner attention when they occur, and organizations commonly extract valuable lessons from visible failures, adopting new behaviors in response. For example, the United States saw numerous security policy changes following the September 11 terrorist attacks and emergency management and shelter policy changes following Hurricane Katrina. But what about those events that occur that fall short of disaster? Research that examines prior hazard experience shows that this experience can be a mixed blessing. Prior experience can stimulate protective measures, but sometimes prior experience can deceive people into feeling an unwarranted sense of safety. This research focuses on how people interpret near‐miss experiences. We demonstrate that when near‐misses are interpreted as disasters that did not occur and thus provide the perception that the system is resilient to the hazard, people illegitimately underestimate the danger of subsequent hazardous situations and make riskier decisions. On the other hand, if near‐misses can be recognized and interpreted as disasters that almost happened and thus provide the perception that the system is vulnerable to the hazard, this will counter the basic “near‐miss” effect and encourage mitigation. In this article, we use these distinctions between resilient and vulnerable near‐misses to examine how people come to define an event as either a resilient or vulnerable near‐miss, as well as how this interpretation influences their perceptions of risk and their future preparedness behavior. Our contribution is in highlighting the critical role that people's interpretation of the prior experience has on their subsequent behavior and in measuring what shapes this interpretation.     

When Futures Meet the Present

In this essay, I respond to Mische's work on projection and the research of future action. Further, I suggest a tri-partite framework of mechanisms—one I have termed "political semiosis"—that allows historical actors to materially and figuratively reorient and realign the past, present, and future in projects of transformation.     

The effectiveness of job specific training on the occupational performance of student nurses

Body mechanic checklist scores during a one-person pivot transfer, and boosting up in bed were evaluated to determine the effectiveness of training on the work performance of female student nurses from a local college. Thirty subjects participated in the study and were divided into a control group, an experimental group that received basic body mechanic training, and an experimental group that received job specific training. A one-way ANCOVA was calculated to examine the effects of the experimental procedures on the subjects' performance. This revealed a statistically significant difference between the groups (patient transfer F = 10.11, p value < 0.001; boosting F = 38.62, p value < 0.001). A post hoc analysis (Bonferroni procedure) indicated that the job specific training group (mean 11.65, SD 0.66) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in their performance compared to the other two groups (control group mean 7.5, SD 0.67; BBMT mean 9.66, SD 0.67).     

Revisiting the relationships among gender,marital status,and mental health

Three decades ago, Grove introduced his sex-role theory of mental illness, which attributes women's higher rates of psychological distress to their roles in society. Central to his hypothesis is that marriage is emotionally advantageous for men and disadvantageous for women. This article revisits this topic with data from the National Survey of Families and Households. The analyses indicate that the emotional benefits of marriage apply equally to men and women, but that men and women respond to marital transitions with different types of emotional problems. The implications of these findings for future research on gender and mental health are discussed.     

Absorptive and transformative capacities in nanotechnology innovation systems

We identify managerial challenges offered by an emergent nanotechnology innovation system in which knowledge is dispersed, asymmetric and contested. We argue the proposed models of knowledge absorption and transformation enhance existing theories of knowledge and emergent technology by recognizing how and why knowledge flows among the actors in emergent technology innovation system. We base our argument on combined research evidence from a Delphi study concerning the future of European manufacturing, from which a selected statement has been analyzed, and from analysis of the NanoManufacturing Institute at Leeds University, UK; specifically its work in building ties between different actors associated with nanotechnology. We conclude our paper with suggestions for future research.     

Accommodating diverse clients' needs in evaluation capacity building: A case study of the Tobacco Control Evaluation Center

In this case study, we detail and analyze how the Tobacco Control Evaluation Center (TCEC), an evaluation technical assistance center that serves approximately 100 local tobacco control organizations in California, endeavors to build capacity among the state-funded local providers it serves by using evaluation capacity building activities with an utilization-focused evaluation framework. We call this a "blended approach" and describe these methods. Satisfaction and demand for TCEC services are documented to provide measurements for evaluation capacity building. Final evaluation report scores from two intervention cycles (2004-2007 and 2007-2010) submitted to the California Health Department, Tobacco Control Division are also assessed and compared. These measures demonstrate an increase in evaluation capacity by local projects under TCEC's purview.