Social Capital in the LEADER Initiative: a methodological approach

This paper focuses on the introduction of a suitable method for the measurement of social capital in the context of rural development policies. We present an empirical application of the method to four case studies from the south of Italy. In order to overcome some limits affecting previous empirical research, we have grounded the measurement framework upon a clear decomposition of the concept of social capital characterizing three main dimensions: structural, relational and cognitive. This has allowed us to build five direct indicators for the core components of social capital created within the EU local agencies for rural development (the Local Action Groups). Moreover we have set a synthetic measure capturing the specific configuration of the internal social capital of the groups as a whole.     

Comparison of the accuracy of multiple binary tests in the presence of partial disease verification

In the presence of partial disease verification, the comparison of the accuracy of binary diagnostic tests cannot be carried out through the paired comparison of the diagnostic tests applying McNemar's test, since for a subsample of patients the disease status is unknown. In this study, we have deduced the maximum likelihood estimators for the sensitivities and specificities of multiple binary diagnostic tests and we have studied various joint hypothesis tests based on the chi-square distribution to compare simultaneously the accuracy of these binary diagnostic tests when for some patients in the sample the disease status is unknown. Simulation experiments were carried out to study the type I error and the power of each hypothesis test deduced. The results obtained were applied to the diagnosis of coronary stenosis.     

La escala «directiveness» de Ray y el autoritarismo

Resumen

La escala «directiveness» de Ray (1976) es uno de los instrumentos diseñados para la medición del autoritarismo. En este trabajo se estudia la relación de esta medida con el dogmatismo, orientación política, edad y sexo, variables de interés en el campo de las actitudes socio-políticas, los resultados obtenidos nos permiten concluir que la escala «directiveness» no es ütil para el fin pretendido. También se subraya la necesidad de proceder a un debate teórico más riguroso en torno al autoritarismo político.     

Literature review of theory and research on the psychological impact of temporary employment: Towards a conceptual model

The increased use of temporary contracts has instigated debates on possible implications for employees’ attitudes, well‐being and behaviour. The complex issues related to this debate are reviewed from a theoretical, empirical and conceptual point of view. First, the definitions of temporary employment that are currently used in OECD countries are reviewed. Second, theoretical views concerning possible determinants are elaborated. The theoretical frameworks discussed include Work Stress Theory, Social Comparison Theory and Social Exchange Theory. The determinants proposed in these theories have served to form the basis of hypotheses on differences between temporary and permanent workers on various psychological outcomes. Third, research on associations between temporary employment and the variables job satisfaction, organizational commitment, well‐being and behaviour are reviewed. These variables are most frequently used in the realm of temporary work research. This review concludes that research results have been inconsistent and inconclusive, unlike the predictions that follow from the theoretical frameworks. This leads to a fourth section in which potential explanations for these inconsistent findings are advanced. In conclusion, a conceptual model is developed to inspire future research.     

The Emergence of Lowest‐Low Fertility in Europe During the 1990s

Lowest‐low fertility, defined as a period total fertility rate at or below 1.3, has rapidly spread in Europe during the 1990s. This article traces the emergence of this new phenomenon to the interaction of five factors. First, tempo and compositional distortions reduce the total fertility rate below the associated level of cohort fertility. Second, socioeconomic changes—including increased returns to human capital and high economic uncertainty in early adulthood—have made late childbearing a rational response for individuals and couples. Third, social interaction effects reinforce this behavioral adjustment and contribute to large and persistent postponement in the mean age at birth. Fourth, institutional settings favor an overall low quantum of fertility. Fifth, postponement–quantum interactions amplify the consequences of this institutional setting when combined with ongoing delays of child‐bearing. The article concludes with speculations about future trends in current and prospective lowest‐low‐fertility countries.     

Modernity and the Contingency of the Public

The idea of a public contingent on its participants is the analogue of resonance to music because neither would make sense without the other. This article introduces the concept of modernity as a framing device and explains the occlusion of the private by the public. Secondly, the article illustrates the Legal-Autonomous Public Model, and the Multiple Public Model in the work of John Dewey, Walter Lippmann, and Kenneth J. Arrow. Public space is what Foucault was alleged to have called '´ecriture', which refers to a convergence of and intermixing of signifiers within a de-gendered setting (hence ´ecriture, as opposed to l'´ecriture). The great contest between Lippmann and Dewey in the 1920s signified a clashing of the two interpretations of the public with one arguing about the need for a return to a constitutionally guaranteed, left-of-centre public philosophy that would entertain the elite while taking care of the poor, and the other a plea for a rationalistic recourse that surmised and envisaged rational public discourse as only one of several possible publics. The article concludes with the notion that the constructions of public space defined by Dewey, Lippmann, and Arrow promote distinct yet related interrogations of public space that is more than an agora of resonating ideas, but includes a kind of automatic reverberation on its own axes.     

What Does it Take for a Canadian Political Scientist to be Cited?*

Objectives. The article examines the factors that influence the frequency whereby scholarly articles published by Canadian political scientists are cited. Method. We collected data on 1,860 journal articles published between 1985 and 2005 by 758 Canadian political scientists and listed in the Social Science Citation Index. Using these data, we performed OLS and tobit estimations to identify factors influencing citation frequency. Results. The regressions show that the reputation of the journal in which the article is published, though important, does not explain everything. The gender of the author(s), the number of authors, the geographical focus of the article, the field, and the methodology also matter. Conclusion. An article is more likely to be widely cited if it is published in a prestigious journal, if it is written by several authors, if it applies quantitative methods, if it compares countries, and if it deals with administration and public policy or elections and political parties. Faculty members who belong to larger departments and those who are women are more cited.     

Clinical social work practice in the private sector: A survey

Although a great deal is known about mental health services provided by the public sector, few systematic data exist on service provision in the private sector. Despite this, the relative roles and merits of private-versus public-sector practice are issues of considerable contention within the social work profession. This survey, based on the responses of 253 social workers providing clinical services in the private sector in Colorado, sheds new light on this debate. Information reported includes the personal characteristics of providers, characteristics of clients seen, and other characteristics of practice.