Requests, Blocking Moves, and Rational (Inter)action in Survey Introductions

We draw on conversation analytic methods and research to explicate the interactional phenomenon of requesting in general and the specific case of requesting participation in survey interviews. Recent work on survey participation has given much attention to leverage-saliency theory, but has not engaged how the key concepts of this theory are exhibited in the actual unfolding interaction of interviewers and potential respondents. We do so using digitally recorded and transcribed calls to recruit participation in the 2004 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We describe how potential respondents present interactional environments that are relatively discouraging or encouraging, and how, in response, interviewers may be relatively cautious or presumptive in their requesting actions. We consider how the ability of interviewers to tailor their behavior to their interactional environment can affect whether the introduction reaches the point at which a request to participate is made, the form that this request takes, and the sample person's response. Our analysis contributes to understanding how we might use insights from the analysis of interaction to increase cooperation with requests to participate in surveys.     

Weighted Integral Test Statistics and Components of Smooth Tests of Fit

This paper considers families of statistics for testing the goodness-of-fit of various parametric models such as the normal, exponential or Poisson. Each family consists of weighted integrals over the squared modulus of some measure of deviation from the parametric model, expressed by means of an empirical transform of the data. Letting the rate of decay of the weight function tend to infinity, each test statistic, after a suitable rescaling, approaches a limit that is closely connected to the first non-zero component of Neyman's smooth test for the parametric model.     

Chemically exposed children: The child welfare response

Child Welfare Agencies, especially in urban areas, are confronted with multiple problems as they attempt to deal with the complex needs of chemically dependent families. Maternal chemical use places children at an elevated risk of placement and other negative events. This article critiques research on incidence and consequence of maternal chemical use and suggests strategies Child Welfare Agencies can employ in working with these vulnerable families.This work was supported by a grant from the Program for International and Crosscultural Social Welfare, School of Social Work, University of Illinois.     

Using Thin Slices for Behavioral Coding

This study investigated whether brief segments of nonverbal behavior or “thin slices” would be representative of behavior across a longer interaction. It was hypothesized that behavioral slices would correlate with behavior across a full 15-minute interaction. Five commonly investigated nonverbal behaviors were coded: gazing, gestures, nods, smiles, and self-touch. The findings showed moderate to high positive correlations between the thin slices (1-minute slice, total of two 1-minute slices, total of three 1-minute slices) and the full interaction for all five behaviors. In regards to behavioral coding, the thin-slice methodology proposed could save nonverbal researchers considerable time, energy, and money by decreasing resources dedicated to coding behavior in some types of interactions. Such results suggest that thin slices could represent an individual’s behavior across a longer length of time. Nora A. Murphy is now at the Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. The data was collected at Northeastern University and the research was supported by National Science Foundation grant SBR 97 09032 awarded to Judith A. Hall.     

The multiple service needs of drug dependent mothers

Maternal drug use has been the subject of much political discussion. Increases in the foster care population are reported to be a result of drug use by mothers. However, there is little information about the characteristics and service needs of drug using mothers. This study obtained data on drug dependent mothers referred to a child welfare agency, and suggests the need for coordinated treatment.     

Robust estimates for GARCH models

In this paper we present two robust estimates for GARCH models. The first is defined by the minimization of a conveniently modified likelihood and the second is similarly defined, but includes an additional mechanism for restricting the propagation of the effect of one outlier on the next estimated conditional variances. We study the asymptotic properties of our estimates proving consistency and asymptotic normality. A Monte Carlo study shows that the proposed estimates compare favorably with respect to other robust estimates. Moreover, we consider some real examples with financial data that illustrate the behavior of these estimates.     

Fathers’ Childcare: The Differences Between Participation and Amount of Time

The main research question of this article was whether and how predictors of fathers’ participation in childcare, defined as zero versus more than zero minutes of childcare, differed from predictors of participating fathers’ amount of time on childcare, measured as minutes on the survey day. The sample was drawn from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) and covered surveys from ten industrialised countries from 1987 to 2005. Results showed that there were some similarities, but also remarkable differences between factors influencing participation in childcare and factors affecting participating fathers’ time spent with children. Thus they call for caution regarding findings from existing studies not distinguishing participation from participating fathers’ childcare minutes.     

Death in Public Child Welfare

Child welfare workers are in a unique position to help children and youth in out-of-home care who have experienced the death of a significant person. This article discusses the response of children to death from a developmental perspective and offers suggestions on how child welfare workers can use an ecological perspective to help youngsters cope with their grief.