Career Transitions of College Seniors

In a study with 191 college students, canonical correlation analysis explored career search self‐efficacy and psychological distress (career search set) in relation to psychological resources and regulatory focus (career transition set), producing 2 significant canonical correlations. The 1st correlation dimension showed that decreased career search self‐efficacy and increased psychological distress had a moderate relationship with decreased psychological resources and minimal relationship with low promotion focus and high prevention focus. The 2nd dimension illustrated that the increase in anxiety and personal exploration efficacy were associated with increased readiness for the career transition and elevated prevention focus.     

Aggregation of smooth preferences

Suppose p is a smooth preference profile (for a society, N) belonging to a domain P ^N . Let σ be a voting rule, and σ(p)(x) be the set of alternatives in the space, W, which is preferred to x. The equilibrium E(σ(p)) is the set {x∈W:σ(p)(x) is empty}. A sufficient condition for existence of E(σ(p)) when p is convex is that a “dual”, or generalized gradient, dσ(p)(x), is non-empty at all x. Under certain conditions the dual “field”, dσ(p), admits a “social gradient field”Γ(p). Γ is called an “aggregator” on the domain P ^N if Γ is continuous for all p in P ^N . It is shown here that the “minmax” voting rule, σ, admits an aggregator when P ^N is the set of smooth, convex preference profiles (on a compact, convex topological vector space, W) and P ^N is endowed with a C ¹-topology. An aggregator can also be constructed on a domain of smooth, non-convex preferences when W is the compact interval. The construction of an aggregator for a general political economy is also discussed. Some remarks are addressed to the relationship between these results and the Chichilnisky-Heal theorem on the non-existence of a preference aggregator when P ^N is not contractible. Received: 4 July 1995 / Accepted: 26 August 1996     

Autobiographical sociology

In autobiographical sociology a sociologist probes one or more past personal experiences as a way of identifying and analyzing something sociologically relevant. The general nature and importance of autobiographical sociology, as well as illustrations of and guidelines for it, are explored.     

Identifying Career Concerns of Entering University Freshmen Using My Vocational Situation

VI scale items of My Vocational Situation for entering freshmen at a midwestern university were analyzed using a cluster analysis technique. Four major clusters were identified suggesting that vocational identity as measured by the VI scale is not a unitary construct. Discussion focused on the possible use of the procedures and results. One possible use suggested was by career planning and placement personnel in planning career programs and services. Another possible use suggested was by counselors who could use the information about entering freshmen's vocational identity in individual counseling.     

Slope rotatability over all directions designs

Slope rotatability over all directions (SROAD)is a useful concept when the slope of a second-order response is to be studied. SROAD designs ensure that knowledge of the slope is acquired symmetrically, whatever direction later becomes of more interest as the data are analyzed. Some standard second-order designs are SROAD,but here we explore designs for two and three dimensions, which do not have the full symmetries of such standard designs but which still possess the SROAD property.     

Ratings of social functioning in outpatients with schizophrenia: Patient self-report versus caregiver assessment

Patients with schizophrenia often have deficits in day-to-day functioning that are central to their disability. The ability of patients to rate their own social functioning, however, has not been established. In this study we examined the concordance between the ratings on the Social Functioning Scale of 58 outpatients with schizophrenia and their caregivers. We found a high level of overall concordance between the self and informant ratings. Items measuring the frequency of behaviors were among those with the highest concordance, while ratings of ability or social skill showed lower correlations. On only nine of 73 items did patients rate themselves significantly higher than did caregivers. There was no difference in concordance between family and nonfamily caregivers. These findings indicate that outpatients with schizophrenia can provide self-report ratings that are consistent with the ratings of their caregivers.     

Employee involvement programs: The noninvolvement of unions revisited

We employ a person-situation interaction approach to assess the consequences for unions of not getting involved in an employee involvement (EI) program. Our results demonstrate that unions experience negative selection and program effects when they remain aloof from the EI program. Our findings, in conjunction with prior research, indicate that union leaders should resolve their uncertainty about involvement in the EI process in favor of participation.     

The Call to Performance

This article presents a performance‐based approach to doing symbolic interactionist inquiry. After a discussion of the vocabulary of performance, I examine the relationship among performance, pedagogy, aesthetics, and politics, including the move to performance (auto)ethnography.