Two Decades of Research Comparing For‐Profit and Nonprofit Health Provider Performance in the United States*

Objective. This article reports on a systematic review of data‐based, peer‐reviewed scientific assessments of performance differences between private for‐profit and private nonprofit U.S. health care providers published since 1980. Methods. Computerized bibliographic searches of all relevant databases yielded 149 studies (179 assessments) that compared the performance of for‐profit and nonprofit health care providers on four performance criteria (access, quality, cost/efficiency, and/or amount of charity care). Reported findings on performance were coded in one of three ways: for‐profit superiority, nonprofit superiority, or no difference/mixed results. Results. Overall, the nonprofits were judged superior 59 percent of the time, the for‐profits superior only 12 percent of the time, and for the rest (29 percent), no difference was found or results were mixed. Conclusions. Caution is warranted on policies that encourage private for‐profit entities to replace private nonprofit providers of health care services in the United States.     

Parents, Power and Public Participation: Sure Start, an Experiment in New Labour Governance

This paper examines parent participation in local Sure Start partnerships within the broader context of public involvement in policy‐making processes. Public participation is set against a background where an emphasis on participatory democracy is seen as a solution to shortcomings identified with policy‐making and implementation. However, the meaning of public participation is by no means straightforward and gives rise to problems at several levels. Many of these problems emanate from concerns with power and legitimation. While these concerns highlight important aspects of public participation in public and social administration, this paper, drawing on Foucault's concept of “pastoral power”, examines whether public participation is better viewed as a predictable part of governance in modern Western democracies where subjects need to be recruited to exercise power over themselves.     

Ethnicity Effects on Sentence Outcomes in Large Urban Courts: Comparisons Among White,Black, and Hispanic Defendants*

Objective. This study examines Hispanic‐black‐white differences in sentences imposed on offenders appearing in state felony courts. Methods. The present study uses data collected by the State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics for the years 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996. Results. Hispanic defendants are sentenced more similarly to black defendants than white defendants. Both black and Hispanic defendants tend to receive harsher sentences than white defendants. Also, ethnicity effects are the largest in the sentencing of drug offenders, whereas race effects are largest in the sentencing of property offenders. Furthermore, the present study demonstrates that the failure to consider defendants' ethnicity in comparing black‐white sentence outcomes is likely to result in findings that misrepresent black‐white differences. Conclusions. The results clearly demonstrate the necessity of considering not only defendants' race (i.e., black‐white differences) in sentencing but expanding our focus to also include defendants' ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic‐white and Hispanic‐black differences).     

The South Carolina LGBT Needs Assessment: A Descriptive Overview

Limited quantitative information exists about the demographics and needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in South Carolina, a predominately rural Southern state. Responses to a needs assessment survey (n = 715) were analyzed to understand the diversity and needs of members of the LGBT community in SC. The purpose was to inform future programming and guide the development of a more comprehensive portfolio of services to be offered by a local LGBT community center. Findings suggest that a diverse LGBT community exists in SC and needs include increased programming for community members as well as efforts to provide policy-level support and increased acceptability and understanding of LGBT persons in South Carolina.     

Social Comparisons and Life Satisfaction Across Racial and Ethnic Groups: The Effects of Status,Information and Solidarity

This paper explores the role of within group social comparisons on the life satisfaction of different racial and ethnic groups in the US. For Whites, we find that higher group income levels are associated with lower levels of life satisfaction, a result that is consistent with a preference for within group status. In contrast, life satisfaction is increasing in group income for Blacks. This result is consistent with the existence of social norms that emphasize Black solidarity. It is also consistent with an information effect in which Blacks rely on peer income levels to form expectations regarding their future prospects. We introduce a theoretical framework to help to distinguish between solidarity and information effects. Our empirical results provide strong support for the hypothesis that solidarity rather than information accounts for the positive relationship between average Black income and the subjective wellbeing of US Blacks. Finally, we consider two theories of social solidarity and find support for social salience but not social density in determining the strength of solidarity effects.     

What Are They Really Selling? A Content Analysis of Advertisements During Religious Television Programming

This study quantitatively analyzed the content of television commercials aired during religious programs to determine the categories of products being promoted and the primary method used by advertisers to appeal to highly religious consumers. Medical- and life-related products are the largest category. Fear-related appeals occurred in the advertisements at the high rate of 81%. The results suggested that marketers attempt to appeal to Christian fundamentalist viewers with fears, anxieties and doubts.     

Clients’ perceptions of marriage and family therapists’ way‐of‐being: a phenomenological analysis

Previous research highlights the influence of therapist factors on treatment outcomes. One therapist factor proposed as fundamental to the process of therapy is the therapist's way‐of‐being, a relational concept that refers to how the therapist regards a client—either as a person or object (Fife et al., [2014] Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 40, 20–33). Although this case has been made conceptually, there is little empirical research on therapists’ way‐of‐being with clients. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate clients’ perceptions of their therapists’ way‐of‐being. Utilizing a common factors perspective, the study seeks to explore: (a) how clients experience their therapists’ way‐of‐being and (b) the influence therapists’ way‐of‐being has on clients’ engagement. Phenomenological methods were used to gain a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. Qualitative data were collected through semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews with clients (N = 10) who received individual therapy from a marriage and family therapist. Results were organized into two main themes: core tenets (attunement, congruency, and aligning with clients) and operational tenets (providing affirmation and validation, balancing flexibility and structure, and accomplishing goals). Findings are used to make a case for adding the concept of way‐of‐being as an overarching construct for several well‐established therapist factors. Clinical and training implications are discussed.