Bank Loan Officers' Perceptions of Business Owners: The Role of Gender

There is a widely held belief that banks may be discriminating against female business owners. This study was designed to explore the perceptions held by bank loan officers of male and female business owners, using Bourdieu's theory of practice and Kelly's personal construct methodology. The research literature might lead to an expectation that the characteristics of the business owners would be relatively homogenous but that men and women business owners would be construed differently (for example women might be seen to lack drive). However, the results demonstrate heterogeneity in the constructs held by bank loan officers, and a particular concern with the character of the business owner. Significant gender differences were observed in only 20 of the 325 constructs elicited from 35 bank loan officers. Female bank loan officers were as likely as male bank loan officers to draw gender distinctions between business owners. Detailed multivariate analyses confirmed no evidence of systematic gender differences in the constructs held by bank loan officers of business owners.     

Exploring internalized ableism using critical race theory

This paper is an attempt to theorize about the way disabled people live with ableism, in particular internalized ableism. Typically literature within disability studies has concentrated on the practices and production of disablism, examining attitudes and barriers that contribute to the subordination of people with disabilities in society. My exploration occurs through examining the insights of critical race theory (CRT) and the contribution that CRT can further make to thinking through the processes, formation and consequences of ableism. A focal concern is the possible ways that the concept of internalized racism, its deployment in CRT and application to critical disability studies. The paper is interested in working through points of difference between the way internalized racism/ableism are mediated in the processes of subjectification and identifying points of convergence that can benefit dialogue across varied sites of scholarship. The author concludes that the study of ableism instead of disability/disablement may produce different research questions and sites of study.     

Moving Beyond Statistical Validity in Economics

Social Indicators Research -     

The Attributes of Effective NGOs and the Leadership Values Associated with a Reputation for Organizational Effectiveness

Building on prior research characterizing organizational effectiveness as a social construction, this article identifies the perceived attributes of effective transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the leadership values associated with higher reputations for organizational effectiveness. Results are based on an in‐depth, mixed‐method interview study of 152 NGO leaders located in the United States and representing all major sectors of organizational activity. Among the twenty‐nine attributes that leaders identified in peer organizations that they regarded as particularly effective, leaders stressed instantiation of sound principles or strategy, a grassroots approach, large organizational size and resources, being collaborative, singleness of focus, campaigning abilities, funding and fundraising prowess, global scope, and quality people. Furthermore, statistical analysis reveals that NGOs with leaders who value similarities with peer organizations, grassroots approaches, diversity of strategies, dedication, professionalism, and distributed organizational structures have significantly higher reputations for effectiveness.     

RESPONSES TO DEATH IN COMPLEX INDUSTRIAL WORK SITES: THE NEXUS BETWEEN WORKPLACE SAFETY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

This article is concerned with the effect of the current economic, political and regulatory climate on the future of health and safety at work. This climate includes a push for increased efficiency and flexibility through industrial restructuring leading to the growth of the secondary labour market of subcontractors, casual labour in increased self employment. Measured against this is the increased regulatory expectations in the area of health and safety including legislation which places major contractors as primarily responsible for all employees on site, whether their own or not. The sets up a potential conflict between the economic and regulatory imperatives. It is this potential conflict which is the focus of concern. The data used to explore the issue are the responses organisations made to a fatality they experienced on a complex industrial worksite. The nature of their response was related to their ideology concerning business success, which was in turn related to the influence they held at the worksite. While these findings tentatively support legislation to increase the responsibility of major contractors, this should not be seen as a panacea. The growth of the secondary labour market as well as the culture of success which motivates large contractors to comply with such legislation is dependent upon the broader economic climate making the a viable success strategy.     

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Risk-Reduction Strategies for Consumer Chemical Products

Communication about risks offers a voluntary approach to reducing exposure to pollutants. Its adequacy depends on its impact on behavior. Estimating those impacts first requires characterizing current activities and their associated risk levels, and then predicting the effectiveness of risk-reduction strategies. Characterizing the risks from chemical consumer products requires knowledge of both the physical and the behavioral processes that influence exposures. This article presents an integrated approach that combines consumer interviews, users' beliefs and behaviors, and quantitative exposure modeling. This model was demonstrated in the context of consumer exposure to a methylene chloride-based paint stripper, showing how it could be used to evaluate current levels of risk and predict the effectiveness of proposed voluntary risk-reduction strategies.     

Is deviance “Deadℍ? The decline of a sociological research specialization

Colin Sumner has declared that the sociology of deviance as a research specialty was “dead? by 1975; later influential studies on norm-violating behavior appeared only in the specific area of criminology. We subjected this argument to empirical test through an analysis of the most-cited scholars and works in 263 textbooks, articles, and research notes appearing in the sociology of deviance from 1993 to 1999. We found some support for Sumner's claims: The majority of the most-cited scholars in devi-ance today conduct research in other areas, primarily in criminology. Furthermore, among the 31 most-cited works in our analysis, only two of 15 studies classified in the sociology of deviance appeared after 1975. We conclude with some thoughts about the factors that contribute to the rise and fall of research specializations in sociology.     

Acknowledgements

This article explores whether it is possible to understand the perspectives of people with whom we find it difficult or impossible to empathise, because their moral and political views are very different to our own. Focusing on our dilemmas in carrying out qualitative research with conservative evangelicals and anti‐abortion activists, we take issue with the assumption that understanding is connected with the presence of rapport and empathy in research interviews. This article argues instead that a reflexive approach, which considers researchers’ orientations towards their subject and their respondents and their emotional journeys through the research process, will enable more comprehensive interpretation of our research material.