Comparative Narratives: Some Rules for the Study of Action

The paper explores the concept of a Narrative which is defined as a connected structure on a set of constrained actions and forbearances. Explanation via Narratives is compared with explanation through variable centred methodology and an interpretation of correlations in terms of Narratives is also outlined.     

A Survey of Approved Social Work in England and Wales

Correspondence to Prof. P. Huxley, Department of Psychiatry, University of Manchester, Mathematics Tower, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL. Summary A survey of approved social workers (ASWs) was undertaken withlocal authorities in England and Wales, to review the provisionand organization of ASW services, and the contribution theymake towards the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensivemental health service. The findings show some variation in provisionwhich is in itself indicative of a variety of factors operatingto produce local and regional patterns of provision. Some ofthese are related directly to policy decisions, others to demographicand geographic variables, while still more are related to teamstructure, workload demands, and generic/specialist issues.The future pattern of mental health social work following theimplementation of the NHS and Community Care Act is consideredin the light of the findings from the survey.     

Chinese immigrants on the Canadian prairie, 1910-47*

Get article se penche sur l'histoire de travail d'un groupe d'immigrants chinois de première génération, ayant vécu de 50 à 70 ans au Canada. L'étude se concentre plus spécialement sur les expériences de travail vécues avant et pendant la période d'exclusion (1923-47), à une époque où le Canada interdisait l'immigration chinoise. L'analyse a pour but de tirer des conclusions générales quant à la survie économique d'une minorité ethnique ayant rencontré, au cours de son histoire, une forte discrimination et d'autres obstacles structuraux. L'utilisation d'histoires de cas donne des informations en profondeur sur l'organisation du travail chez un groupe d'immigrants et sur la façon dont ce groupe a été intégré au sein de l'économie canadienne.
This paper examines the job histories of a group of first-generation Chinese immigrants who have been living in Canada from 50 to 70 years. The study focuses on the working experience of the Chinese prior to and during the exclusion era between 1923 and 1947, when they were barred from immigrating to Canada. The purpose of the analysis is to draw some general conclusions about the economic survival of an ethnic minority which has historically encountered severe discrimination and other structural barriers. The use of case histories in this study provides detailed insights into the organization of the working world of an immigrant group, and its incorporation into the Canadian economy.     

Variation in White House Polling Operations: Carter to Clinton

Using an entirely new data source, this article presents evidencethat significant variation exists in how much different presidentialadministrations use private White House polls. Federal ElectionCommission (FEC) disclosure records reveal the amount of moneythat presidents since Jimmy Carter paid (through their respectiveparty organizations) to the designated White House pollsters.These financial figures, in turn, roughly correlate with theestimated number of polls commissioned for the White House,as determined through archival research and information providedby the pollsters themselves. Two patterns emerge: some presidentspoll heavily from the start of their administrations (RonaldReagan and Bill Clinton); others poll only lightly during thefirst 3 years in office (Jimmy Carter and George Bush). Thesefindings reinforce scholarly assessments of Reagan and Clintonas pursuing a "permanent campaign" approach to leadership, whereasCarter and Bush lacked much interest in public relations techniques.Our evidence suggests a need for a refinement of the institutionalizationconcept as found in the academic literature on White House polling.We agree that all modern presidents inherit sophisticated toolsfor understanding public opinion, but we demonstrate that theydo not use these tools with equal attention or regularity. Putdifferently, a polling capability has been institutionalizedwithin the White house, but substantial variation still existsin how much a given administration uses that capability.     

Leadership succession among the Hutterites

Quarante-deux colonies huttérites ont étéétudiées en vue de determiner jusqu'à quel point la succession des chefs s'éffectue selon un modèle de complète égalité des chances. Il est possible d'expliquer les variations dans le degré d'inégalité des chances au sein des colonies en employant une hypothèse de 'la démographie des possibilités.' Cette hypothèse est la suivante: la variation dans le degré d'inegalité des chances tel qu'il apparaît dans une colonie est directement relié au rythme auquel l'accroissement de la population (accroissement du potentiel des éventuels détenteurs de postes-clés) excède l'expansion organisationnelle (expansion des ouvertures pour les postes-clés).
Forty-two Hutterite colonies were examined in order to determine the degree to which succession to leadership positions departs from a model of complete equality of opportunity. Variation in political mobility patterns within colonies is explained by utilizing a 'demography of opportunity' hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that the degree of inequality of opportunity exhibited by a colony varies directly with the degree to which population growth (growth in the supply of potential position holders) exceeds organizational expansion (expansion in the supply of positions).     

A Study of Experimental Techniques for Telephone Interviewing

This investigation focused on the effects of experimental interviewingprocedures, which were developed in face-to-face interviews,on reporting in telephone contacts. Respondents in a nationalRDD sample (N=1,1054) were randomly assigned to be interviewedwith one of two experimental procedures, or a control technique.The experimental procedures involved two different combinationsof three interviewing techniques which had been found to beeffective in personal interviewing studies—commitment,instructions, and feedback. The techniques are designed to betterinform respondents about reporting tasks and to motivate themto perform the tasks well. The findings suggest that the experimentalprocedures can improve reporting in telephone interview, althoughthe effects in this study were not as strong as we expected.This research may be seen as a beginning step in the developmentof optimal telephone interviewing procedures.     

A Graphical Diagnostic for Identifying Influential Model Choices in Bayesian Hierarchical Models

Abstract. Real‐world phenomena are frequently modelled by Bayesian hierarchical models. The building‐blocks in such models are the distribution of each variable conditional on parent and/or neighbour variables in the graph. The specifications of centre and spread of these conditional distributions may be well motivated, whereas the tail specifications are often left to convenience. However, the posterior distribution of a parameter may depend strongly on such arbitrary tail specifications. This is not easily detected in complex models. In this article, we propose a graphical diagnostic, the Local critique plot, which detects such influential statistical modelling choices at the node level. It identifies the properties of the information coming from the parents and neighbours (the local prior) and from the children and co‐parents (the lifted likelihood) that are influential on the posterior distribution, and examines local conflict between these distinct information sources. The Local critique plot can be derived for all parameters in a chain graph model.