Accountability in action?: the case of a database purchasing decision 1

The increasing prevalence of audit in university settings has raised concerns about the potentially adverse effects of invasive measures of performance upon the conduct of research and generation of knowledge. What sustains the current commitment to audit? It is argued that in order to address this question we need to understand how and to what extent notions of accountability are played out in practice. This is illustrated through the analysis of materials from an ethnographic study of ‘good management practice’ in the deployment of technologies in university settings. The paper examines the ways in which ideas of accountability — involving considerations such as ‘value for money’— inform the practical processes of deciding about the purchase of a new database technology.     

Testing privatization of "long arm" service of process

The research addresses questions about the desirability of privatizing a key component of the child support enforcement process, namely, the serving of legal documents or "service of process" for cases in which the noncustodial parent is living in another state. Child support enforcement cases that require this type of "long arm" service of process were randomly assigned to a private vendor and to out-of-state sheriff offices using an experimental research design. The author finds that although there is no difference in the time it took the two groups to process cases, the private vendor was more successful, on average, at performing this function. Furthermore, he finds that the higher success rate of the private vendor is sufficient to produce a substantively important increase in collections in child support enforcement cases. Additional questions about the suitability of privatizing "service of process" and other like services are also discussed.     

Age,religious beliefs,and sexual attitudes

Age effects on sexual attitudes were examined using the Hendrick and Hendrick (1987a) Sexual Attitude Scale. The study was cross-sectional, including people from various age groups, from young adults to older adults. The religious beliefs variable, which covaries substantially both with age and sexual attitudes, was controlled. Three main questions guided the study: (a) Is the four-factor structure (Permissiveness, Instrumentality, Communion, and Sexual Practices) previously identified in a sample of young students able to accurately account for data gathered over a full range of adult ages, (b) are older adults much less permissive and less instrumentalist than young people, and (c) to what extent are believers less permissive and instrumentalist than young people when age is taken into account? Factor analyses showed that at least five correlated factors were needed to account for the data; the fourth factor, Sexual Practices, divided itself into two distinct factors: Pleasure and Responsibility. Older adults and believers were shown to be less permissive than young people and nonbelievers, and this result held regardless of the participants educational level. As regards to instrumentality, however, the pattern of differences was extremely complex.     

Physical exercise and improvements in mental health

1. Walking groups provide activity and support for their members. 2. Exercise competes with anxiety and depression and may diminish these negative affects. 3. Most YMCAs provide financial aid by reducing fees for people with disabilities.     

Preventing workplace aggression and violence--a role for occupational therapy

Workplace aggression and violence is the fastest growing societal concerns in USA. The review of literature indicates that violence is a substantial contributor to occupational injuries and death. Preventative strategies for minimizing the risk of workplace violence include, cash-handling policies, physical separation of workers from customers, environmental modifications; good lighting, security devices, escort services, and employee training. Studies also suggest that as a preventive measure, employers will attract and retain the best workers if high-risk behaviors are discouraged and appropriate behaviors are supported. Proactive strategies reduce stress, increase productivity, and enhance creativity. A role for occupational therapy practitioners in the prevention of workplace violence is proposed.     

Gay youth and gay adults: bridging the generation gap

Recent discussion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) youth has included two emphases: the burgeoning trend toward youth-supportive organizations and focus on risk factors experienced by these youth. In practice, the two are intertwined: the need for youth-supportive endeavors is typically demonstrated by appeals to the risks LGBT youth face. Relatively little attention has been given to relationships between youth and adults in LGBT communities. This article employs data from a long-term qualitative study with LGBT youth, supported by information from numerous other settings to suggest that a failure on the part of both groups fully to comprehend the experience of the other hampers the optimal functioning of everyone involved. In particular, we suggest that the discourse about the dangers faced by LGBT youth, despite its being thoroughly well-intentioned. may actually place these teens at greater risk.     

"I Am the Man!" Performing gender and other incongruities

The following essay details the genesis of the performance "I Am the Man" for the First International Drag King Extravaganza. In it the authors explain both their autobiographical performances and the relationship between their drag performances and transgender theory by linking Shakespeare to queer theory and by overlapping their personal narratives.     

Gays and lesbians in local races: a study of electoral viability

Although lesbians and gays are more visible in the political arena than in the past, there is little published research on their electoral viability. This article helps to fill that void by presenting results of experimental research featuring respondents' reactions to a hypothetical candidate for a non-partisan city council seat. Sex and sexual orientation of the candidates were manipulated so that six categories were tested: a straight woman, a lesbian, a woman rumored to be lesbian, a straight man, a gay man, and a man rumored to be gay. The findings suggest that openly gay and lesbian candidates are seen as less viable than straight candidates or those rumored to be homosexual. Hence, the extent to which a candidate portrays his or her sexual orientation appears to make a difference in the chance to win elective office.     

Legal aspects of regulating bathhouses: cases from 1984 to 1995

Public health measures regulating or closing bathhouses and other businesses facilitating consensual sexual activity among strangers have generally been upheld by courts. Using standard legal research methods, this study sought (1) suits brought by government authorities to close a sex-facilitating business (SFB) based at least in part on health concerns, and (2) suits filed by SFBs to invalidate state laws or local ordinances banning closed booths or other architectural features that facilitate sexual activity. The research yielded eight published and unpublished trial or appellate opinions between 1984 and 1995 in which local health or other officials filed a law suit to close or otherwise interfere with sex at a bathhouse or other SFB. In seven of the eight cases, the state prevailed entirely or in large part in securing the relief it sued for. Factors influencing these results include the traditional deference of courts to public health officials, stigma, and limited legal recognition of a right to public sexual activity. Major questions include the extent to which coercive health measures increase stigma or social hostility towards gay men, whether closure actions "educate" at risk-individuals about the danger of anonymous unprotected sex, and what effect legal action has on the frequency of unsafe behavior.