The Cognitive Domain of the Quality of Life of University Students: A Re-Analyses of an Instrument

This paper presents the re-analysis of a previouslypublished instrument, based on Bloom's taxonomy,developed to measure the cognitive domain of thequality of life of university students. The items inthis instrument were assessed using Guttman's SmallestSpace Analysis. The findings generally supportBloom's conceptualization, identifying 5 of 6dimensions in the taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension,Application, Analysis, and Evaluation. The findingsprovide support for the enduring utility of Bloom'staxonomy, and reinforce the ongoing need to testtheoretically informed instruments using sophisticatedstatistical techniques.     

Power,Status, and Affect Control

Abstract

Power, status, and the evaluation, potency, and activity dimensions of affect control theory may be interrelated to a degree allowing for bridges between these theories. This paper makes two preliminary hypotheses: (1) Occupational power will significantly predict occupational status and (2) The potency of an occupation will significantly predict the power of the occupation. Two reliable scales developed from theories of power and status tap respondents' assessment of the power and status of various occupations. Two samples of undergraduates at a large Midwestern university rate the power and status of different but overlapping lists of occupations. Results are consistent across samples and support both hypotheses. Regression analyses produce coefficients establishing affect control theory's EPA (evaluation, potency, and activity) profiles for the fundamental concepts of power from network exchange theory and status from status characteristics theory. These profiles may be useful for theoretical development bridging fundamental theories of group processes.     

How to Do Things with Prayer Utterances

While the social scientific study of prayer is growing, little work has investigated prayer utterances—or statements where social actors say the term “prayer” or various cognates—in everyday talk. Drawing on insights from ordinary language philosophy, I argue that prayer utterances are performative utterances that help social actors accomplish a variety of actions in social interactions. To illustrate the performative nature of prayer utterances, I describe three types of actions that prayer utterances can accomplish: (1) aligning potentially problematic or questionable conduct with cultural expectations, (2) signaling to others an intense yearning for an object or occurrence on the behalf of oneself or others, and (3) signaling to others authentic feelings of care for another person or group of people. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of the analysis.     

‘He enjoyed it more than I did’!: young British Sikh women negotiating safe sex in heterosexual encounters

ABSTRACT

Sex education and relationship strategy of the U.K. allows parents to withdraw their children from sex education, which has left many young people especially those from Black Minority and Ethnic communities with low or no sex education. Similarly, the government's policy environment enables faith schools to teach these subjects under the tenets of their faith. This empirical research was carried out in South-West London using 12 qualitative interviews with women and men (ages 18–20 years) discusses young women's experiences of their first sexual encounter who navigate their reputations, relationships as well as negotiate safe sex in the absence of appropriate relationships and sex education. Sex education not only brings into focus sensitivities around gender but also tensions around religion in the U.K. Evidence from the study suggests that despite the importance placed by the Indian community on maintaining virginity, young women asserted that religion and culture did not prohibit them from exploring their sexuality. In this study, the priority is to present young women's voices and experience of sexual encounters.     

An Anguished Relationship: The White Aged Institutionalized Client and the Non-White Paraprofessional Worker

Surprisingly little has been written about the polarization between the white, aged, institutionalized client and the nonwhite paraprofessional despite the pervasiveness of this phenomena and its adverse effects. This paper explores the discrepancy between cultural values and practice. The ethnocultural factors that influence conflict and provide the background of behavior which is determined by programming that the person carries around with her/himself are discussed. In sum, some pithy questions highlight the view that changed managerial attitudes, more innovative staff development techniques, and changed practice interventions are needed to obviate an intractable wrong.     

Gambling among young Thai people in Melbourne,Australia: an exploratory study

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to explore the gambling behaviours of young Thai people resident in Melbourne, Australia; the meaning that gambling had for this group; whether the attitudes of these young Thai people towards gambling changed as a result of their location in a society with more relaxed attitudes towards gambling than in Thailand; whether any such changes of attitude were reflected in gambling participation; and whether such participation had demonstrably negative impacts. It was also hoped to gain some insight into whether pre-existing beliefs and attitudes provided a protective factor in relation to the respondent's gambling. Fifty young people aged 18 to 25, forming five natural friendship networks, were observed on over 180 occasions in relation to their gambling and leisure behaviours. A number of major themes were identified from the observational data including money, fortune and luck, consumerism, entertainment, spirituality and superstition, gambling and family values. It was found that despite high levels of gambling participation there was little, if any, evidence of problematic play or its consequences. Strong adherence to values espoused in families of origin and to complex beliefs about luck in the context of beliefs about spirituality and the location of gambling within the context of a range of leisure pursuits served as protective factors for these young people.