A Note on the Continuity of Parsonian Action Theory

The four structural elements of action identified in Talcott Parsons' The Structure of Social Action—means, ends, conditions, norms—can be directly assimilated to the four variables which generate the AGIL schema: instrumental, consummatory, external, internal. The former set primarily define the unit act; the latter are generalized to the action system level.     

An ergonomic comparison between mechanical and manual patient transfer techniques

Multiple studies have concluded that manual patient transfer and repositioning techniques are a significant cause of low back injuries. The objective of this study was to compare the low back stresses resulting from the use of two different mechanical patient transfer assist devices with the use of traditional manual transfer techniques. The mechanical transfer systems used were the Barton Patient Transfer System and a Sling-Suspension Lift similar to a "Hoyer Lift". The back compressive forces derived using the Michigan 3D Static Strength Model (Version 4.0) and electromyography (EMG) of the muscles of the low back were compared. This study found that the mechanical assist devices placed less stress on the low back and were more desirable to use than the traditional manual techniques. The Barton System was found to be, in general, less hazardous and more preferred than the Sling Suspension Lift.     

Religious giving in the united states

Research on religious giving in the United States contains several important lessons. Denominations differ immensely in their giving levels, with conservative Protestants giving the most, liberal Protestants giving at moderate levels, and Catholics giving the least. Personal religious commitments and the level of one's disposable income are the main determinants, but, in addition, interpersonal factors produce a strong skew in the amounts given. Annual pledging and deliberate planning of giving have clear effects.     

On the effect of correlation and unequal variances in detecting a spurious observation

Srivastava (1980) has shown that Grubbs's (1950) test for a univariate outlier is robust against the effect of equicorrelation. In this note we extend Srivastava's result by giving a more general covariance structure, which relaxes both the covariance structure and the assumption of equal variances. We also show that under the more general covariance structure, the power of Grubbs's test, as well as the significance level, is identical to the independently and identically distributed case.     

Book Review: Francie Ostrower,Trustees of Culture: Power,Wealth, and Status on Elite Arts Boards,The University of Chicago Press,Chicago, 2002, 130 pp., bibliography,notes, index, $35.00 (hbk)

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

Further properties of mixture designs for five components in orthogonal blocks

Orthogonally blocked experimental designs for mixtures of five ingredients, formed from Latin squares, were previously discussed by Prescott et al. Here, we extend this development by studying the properties of three classes of possible designs, with recommendations on their practical application. Restrictions on the design classes are explored and D-optimal (within the classes) versions are identified. Remarks on general D-optimality conclude the paper.