SORTING OUT THE CUCKOO'S NEST: A FACTORIAL SURVEY APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF POPULAR CONCEPTIONS OF MENTAL ILLNESS

Research relevant to understanding how mental illness is popularly conceptualized owes much to the methods pioneered by Star in 1950. However, while her six vignettes have been used extensively over the last 30 years to test the public's ability to recognize mental illness, subsequent research has provided little insight into which factors contribute most to the judgment process. This study introduces a factorial survey research method that is more appropriate for the task. A sample of 143 college undergraduates responding to the experimentally designed vignettes were found to be most influenced by a vignette person's behavioral impairment, followed by the psychological attributes of depression, obtrusive thoughts, beliefs, conflict, engagement/withdrawal, fear, and anxiety. Other factors that significantly affected mental illness ratings included a vignette person's past history of mental illness and the relationship of the vignette person to the rater. These ten dimensions were found to be considerably more important than sociodemographic characteristics in judging persons mentally ill.     

Social Policy and the Politics of Hispanic Aging

Abstract

This study examines the contributing factors to job satisfaction and commitment among lower-income, older (age 55 and over), part-time employees (N = 164). Job satisfaction index (JSI) scores were relatively high for all subjects and did not differ significantly for age, gender, or Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) status. While not particularly low, white employees were significantly less satisfied with their employment experiences than Hispanic or African American workers. The scarcity of fringe benefits was the least satisfying aspect of employment. Older Hispanics, whites, and men reported less interference between job, family, and home life than African Americans and women. Multiple regression analysis revealed that race/ethnicity, skill utilization opportunities, perceived views of elders held by younger workers and supervisors, availability of fringe benefits, and suitable work days explained the majority of variance in JSI scores. Opportunities to interact with others and stay active were more important than financial supplementation in these elders' assessment of the benefits of part-time employment. Findings provide further understanding of those elders likely to be placed successfully in part-time employment.     

Measures of Powerlessness in Simple Games

Consider a simple game with n players. Let ψ_i be the Shapley–Shubik power index for player i. Then 1-ψ_i measures his powerlessness. We break down this powerlessness into two components – a `quixote index' Q <sub>i</sub> (which measures how much of a `quixote' i is), and a `follower index' F <sub>i</sub> (which measures how much of a `follower' he is). Formulae, properties, and axiomatizations for Q and F are given. Examples are also supplied. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

‘Situative cognition’: barrier to teaching across cultures

In an unsettled world, the migration of significant numbers of individuals across national and even continental boundaries has changed the demographics of many nations with profound effects on their schools. Frequently, teachers are confronted with classes characterized by ethnic and cultural diversity for which they are either underprepared or totally unprepared. Despite their dedication, teachers have been shaped by their own cultural upbringing, and there may be a disconnect between their cultural values and identities and those of the children in their transformed classrooms. This disconnect has been called ‘situative cognition’. The challenge for teacher educators, particularly in western nations, is to enable prospective teachers to understand the complexity of educational dynamics in diverse classrooms, to examine their own experiences with diverse groups especially regarding culture, race, ethnicity and social class, and to develop strategies for working proactively with students in their own increasingly diverse communities.     

THE EMERGING ROLE OF THE MEDICAL SOCIOLOGIST IN PALLIATIVE CARE SETTINGS

The demographics of a rapidly aging society and the chronic nature of contemporary illness intersect in the twenty-first century to confront medicine with the challenge of reenvisioning health care at life's end. Using analytic, interpretive, and reflexive tools, the medical sociologist can assist health care teams in improving quality of life terminally ill patients and their caregivers. In this article, we explore the role of the medical sociologist in palliative care settings, discuss ways to integrate that role into the day-to-day processes of palliative medicine, and identify three areas of intervention where medical sociologists can bring a unique perspective to end-of-life settings. We conclude by examining impediments to the inclusion of the medical sociologist on the clinical team and discussing how these barriers can be addressed.     

Little Magazine Interview Index 2003

Abstract

Reports on the 2005 Potomac Technical Processing Librarians Conference, Annapolis, Maryland, and the 25th Annual Charleston Conference in South Carolina.     

“That Model is Sooooo Last Millennium!” Residential Long-Term Care as a System,Not a Place

The current quandary with the design of existing long-term care settings results from focus on structures (“institutions”) instead of on a system of supports and services that transcends physical and traditional boundaries across settings, including nursing homes, assisted living residences, and the home. Supported by analyses of the commonalities, socio-historical and political contexts, core values, and fallacies of social and medical models in existing and emerging long-term care options, a holistic model is proposed based on new core values that facilitate community and family integration and that asserts dignity and personhood as universal attributes in an array of settings.     

How does transnationalism affect the perceptions of discrimination among Dominicans,Puerto Ricans and Cubans?

Transnationalism provides first- and second-generation immigrants with a dual frame of reference that shapes perceptions of their experiences in the United States (USA). For Caribbean Latino/as, who are likely targets of racial and ethnic discrimination, transnational ties can impact their interpretations of discriminatory incidents. This study explores the relationship between transnationalism and perceptions of discriminatory experiences of 1,577 Caribbean Latino/as Dominicans (n = 335), Cubans (n = 420), and Puerto Ricans (n = 822). These Latino/as were selected from the 2006 Latino National Survey. Suggested by our study findings, after having controlled for demographic and immigration variables, transnational Caribbean Latino/as are more likely to perceive discrimination than those not maintaining transnational ties. We conclude with a discussion of the research and practice implications.     

Comprehensive assessment of youth violence in five Caribbean countries: Gender and age differences

Differences in gender and age have been established in the context of crime, violence, and prevalence of risk and protective factors. These studies are often notable only in the Western Hemisphere. Despite growth in crime and violence in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), relatively little understanding of violence in CARICOM member states exists. In light of these concerns, the major purposes of this study include: (1) comprehensively assessing the scope of the four behaviors (i.e., engagement, victimization, witness, and report) in relation to violence and youth’s perceptions of risk and protective factors in family and school domains, and (2) examining how they differ by youth’s gender and age. This study draws on assessment data on youth violence in five CARICOM Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago using a completed 51-item quantitative questionnaire from approximately 512 students. The results suggest that violence engagement, victimization, witness, and report significantly differed by gender and age. Male students were more likely to engage in violence, but less likely to report such violence to adults. Similarly, older students reported that they were more likely to engage in and witness violence. For risk and protective factors, female students reported significantly higher scores on domestic violence, whereas male students had higher scores on the access to drugs/weapons. Older students also tended to report higher levels of some school risk factors and lower levels of some protective factors in both family and school.