The homosexual escort agency: deviance disavowal

This article examines the management of deviance disavowal techniques by a commercial organization. Ball's abortion clinic ethnography (1972:158-86) paved the way for an analysis of the neutralization of disreputable encounters. This study, based on research conducted in London, England during 1981, attempts to explore how stigmatizing sexual liaisons are routinely managed by an escort agency. The article is based on interviews conducted with one homosexual escort agency owner and twenty-eight male escorts and discusses the neutralization of moral approbrium through the organization of names, space and structure.     

DO MEN “NEED” A SPOUSE MORE THAN WOMEN?: PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF MARRIAGE FOR MEN AND WOMEN

This study examines how important men and women feel marriage is for men and for women. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, we find that both men and women feel that men need to be married more than women do. Women are more likely than men to think that both men and women can have satisfying lives without marriage, but they are also more likely to think that only women can have satisfying lives without marriage. Younger, more educated people are less likely to emphasize marriage. On the other hand, religious people and those who are married with children are particularly likely to think that neither men nor women can have satisfying lives without marriage.     

The Nonprofit Almanac: what are the issues?

Conclusion Despite the issues raised here, theNonprofit Almanac represents an extremely valuable addition to the source materials on the non-profit sector in the United States. The estimates of some of the key parameters of non-profit finances and employment provided in theAlmanac represent an important contribution to research and information in this field. In addition, theAlmanac does a good job of pulling together its own research findings with those already available and presenting them within the confines of a single, coherent volume.At the same time, however, theAlmanac buries, or at least neglects to surface clearly enough, a number of very significant issues that could affect how the document is interpreted and used. As we have seen, some of these involve lack of clarity about methods and procedures and could presumably be remedied fairly easily. Others are more substantive. Whatever the source, however, it is important that these issues be clearly understood so that this extraordinary document can be put to its most effective use.     

Foundations as investment managers part II: The performance

Foundations divide roughly into two groups in their investment behavior. Most follow an inactive, risk-averse style, focusing on income maximization rather than total return. Another, smaller group of foundations are more activist and aggressive, focusing on total return. This article analyzes the investment performance associated with these different approaches, showing that while a significant number of foundations are performing well, many others lag in their investment returns.     

EFFICACY OF FAMILY THERAPY FOR DRUG ABUSE: PROMISING BUT NOT DEFINITIVE

Drug abuse is an enormous public health problem with consequences not only for individuals using drugs but also for families, communities, and society. Moreover, research evidence and clinical experience agree that drug abuse is one of the more difficult problems to treat. Despite considerable research on the connection between family factors and drug use, and the existence of family therapy models for drug abuse, comparatively few controlled efficacy studies have been conducted. This article presents a critical review of controlled treatment outcome research in the area of family therapy for drug abuse in both adults and adolescents. A number of studies from different clinical research groups demonstrate that different versions of family intevention can engage and retain drug users and their families in treatment, significantly reduce drug use and other related problem behaviors, and enhace particular domains of prosocial functioning. Moreover, a smaller number of comparative efficacy studies have shown family therapy to be more effective than nonfamily therapies. Family therapy of adolescent drug abuse is more developed at present than family therapy of adult drug abuse. Although the results of the reviewed studies are promising, a blanket confirmation of family therapy's efficacy for drug abuse cannot be made at this time because of the relatively small number of studies and the noted methodological limitations of the studies published to date. Nonetheless, substantial progress in this clinical research area has occurred, and if research and funding support continue or can expand, significant breakthroughs in the treamtment of drug abuse with family-based treatments are possible.     

Helping family members manage medication administration hassles

Managing the medication regimens of dependent older adults in the home is a complex issue for family caregivers. The tasks involved can include helping the older adults manage their own medications or may require involvement in the purchasing, scheduling, and administering of multiple medications for serious conditions. The hassles associated with this responsibility are now known to be associated with increased caregiver strain. In this article, we provide an overview of the body of research on medication administration hassles and offer a tool to assess family caregivers who are involved in this important aspect of care.     

Women,Karate, and Gender Typing*

When women have the physical ability to overcome men, a major basis of cognitive categorization is violated and dissonance created. Two dissonance-resolving mechanisms take place-derision and denial. A study of women trained in Karate¹ provided an opportunity to examine these dissonance-reducing mechanisms. Results from fieldwork and questionnaires administered to both participants in Karate and a sample of students reveal that dissonace created by women's skills is most often resolved by denying skill. rather than by denigration of the woman's self. Field observations suggest that a psychology of tokenism operates; men discount women's achievement presumably gained by satisfying gender-independent criteria.     

Conflicts of interest in vaccine safety research

Conflicts of interest (COIs) cloud vaccine safety research. Sponsors of research have competing interests that may impede the objective study of vaccine side effects. Vaccine manufacturers, health officials, and medical journals may have financial and bureaucratic reasons for not wanting to acknowledge the risks of vaccines. Conversely, some advocacy groups may have legislative and financial reasons to sponsor research that finds risks in vaccines. Using the vaccine-autism debate as an illustration, this article details the conflicts of interest each of these groups faces, outlines the current state of vaccine safety research, and suggests remedies to address COIs. Minimizing COIs in vaccine safety research could reduce research bias and restore greater trust in the vaccine program.     

Micro-Level Estimation of Optimal Consumption Choice With Intertemporal Nonseparability in Preferences and Measurement Errors

This article investigates the presence of habit formation in household consumption, using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We develop an econometric model of internal habit formation of the multiplicative specification. The restrictions of the model allow for classical measurement errors in consumption without parametric assumptions on the distribution of measurement errors. We estimate the parameters by nonlinear generalized method of moments and find that habit formation is an important determinant of household food-consumption patterns. Using the parameter estimates, we develop bounds for the expectation of the implied heterogenous intertemporal elasticity of substitution and relative risk aversion that account for measurement errors, and compute confidence intervals for these bounds. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.