Solving Resource Allocation Problems When Earning Effects Are Present

Learning effects play an important role in certain resource allocation problems, and several authors have proposed models for these problems that capture the relevant relationships. However, the models may be difficult to implement or have shortcomings in the prescribed solution procedures. In this paper, we selectively review the work to date and present a simple reformulation that facilitates solution by off-the-shelf software.     

Propaganda, Persuasion and Symmetry: Local and Central Government Perspectives on Communicating with the Citizen

The paper gives a brief resumé of the major public relations models and relates these to central and local government communication with the public. It gives central government's perspective on the Citizen's Charter and shows how this translates into a construct of reality based on four perceptions. Next, these four perceptions are subjected to scrutiny from the local government perspective, drawing on the results of a research project undertaken during 1995 on the publication of performance indicators (PIs). The paper concludes by questioning central government's wisdom in trying to prescribe a communications model which does not fit local circumstances.     

PARAMETERIZE!: Notes on Mathematical Modeling for Sociology

Radius is parameter to circles. Mathematical modeling contributes best to sociological theory through parameterizing. Parameters form a seam linking quantitative and qualitative panels of theory. All social construction comes through feedback, and modeling its outcomes requires use of parameters.     

Quality management as knowledge sharing: experiences of the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency

Lacking a coordinated effort in utilizing data and tracking program outcomes, one agency developed a Quality Management (QM) division to facilitate and manage more effective data use. To support this process, the agency sought to develop a collective, agency-wide understanding and investment in improving and measuring client outcomes. Similarly, the agency also focused efforts on creating a culture of transparency and accountability, with goals of improving service, increasing agency integrity, meeting regulatory compliance, and engaging in effective risk management. Operationalizing the QM initiative involved developing procedures, systems, and guidelines that would facilitate the generation of reliable and accurate data that could be used to inform program change and decision-making. This case study describes this agency's experience in successfully creating and implementing a QM initiative aimed at engaging in greater knowledge sharing.     

A Habit of Social Action: Understanding the Factors Associated with Adolescents Who Have Made a Habit of Helping Others

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Youth social action—activities such as volunteering, campaigning, and fundraising—has gained traction in the...     

Beliefs and Behaviors of Pregnant Women with Addictions Awaiting Treatment Initiation

Substance use during pregnancy poses clear risks to children’s healthy development. However, women with addictions face unique barriers to accessing substance abuse treatment and often delay or avoid treatment seeking. The objective of this study was to examine women’s beliefs about the impact of use on the developing baby and to examine the protective behaviors that women with addictions engage in during the period of time between when they first find out they are pregnant and when they begin substance abuse treatment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 women who were either pregnant or postpartum and who had used illicit substances during pregnancy. All participants were currently receiving inpatient substance abuse treatment services to address their addiction and were asked to retrospectively report on their experiences. Interviews were transcribed, imported into a qualitative data analysis software, and iteratively coded for themes. Women reported being concerned about the impact of substance use on the developing baby, in particular, about the physical and long-term developmental consequences of prenatal exposure. Given these concerns, women described trying to protect the baby from harm on their own, outside of accessing traditional treatment services. They sought information anonymously, increased their engagement in health-promoting behaviors, and decreased their use of alcohol and other drugs. The results suggest that women who use alcohol and other drugs during pregnancy are often motivated to protect their baby from harm and are engaging in harm reduction behaviors prior to accessing treatment services.     

Forging an Identity as a Newly Qualified Worker in the Non-government Community Services Sector

Forging a professional identity is commonly assumed to be a key objective for new graduates transitioning to work. However, the extant literature on professional identity development gives minimal consideration to the role of contemporary work conditions such as increased contract-based employment and occupational instability in carving out a work identity. These workforce trends are particularly pronounced in the non-government community services sector, where worker mobility is high and workers often occupy roles that are not profession-specific. In light of these trends, this article seeks to broaden existing understandings of professional identity development. Focus groups were conducted with 24 newly qualified workers with degree-level qualifications in social work and the human services employed in the community services sector in Queensland. The findings suggest that these workers held a variety of allegiances, which were not necessarily aligned with a profession but instead shaped by the interplay of personal, professional, and organisational factors.     

Modern Playhouses: an architectural history of Britain’s new theatres, 1945–1985

Susan Reynolds, Kingdoms and Communities in Western Europe 900–1300 (1984), viii + 387 (Clarendon Press, £28.00).

David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch‐Zuber, Tuscans and their Families. A Study of the Florentine Catasto of 1427 (1985), xxiv+404 (Yale University Press, New Haven and London, £32.00).

Guido Ruggiero, The Boundaries of Eros. Sex Crime and Sexuality in Renaissance Venice (1985), viii+223 (Oxford University Press, New York and London, £25.00).

Mary Prior (ed.), Women in English Society 1500–1800 (1985), xvi + 294 (Methuen, £14.95, paperback £7#lb95).

Olivia Smith, The Politics of Language 1791–1819 (1984), xiii+269 (Clarendon Press, £25.00).

K. C. Phillips, Language and Class in Victorian England (1984), 190 (Basil Blackwell in association ‘with Andre Deutsch, £19.50).

Dorothy Thompson, The Chartists (1984), v+399 (Temple Smith, £19.50).

David J. V. Jones, The Last Rising. The Newport Insurrection of 1839 (1985), 273 (Clarendon Press, £12.50).

Ivor Wilks, South Wales and the Rising of 1839 (1984), 270 (Croom Helm, £18.95).

Rosalind O'Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology: Mahatma Jotirao Phule and low caste protest in nineteenth‐century western India (1985), xiv+326 (Cambridge University Press, £30.00).

Hal S. Barron, Those Who Stayed Behind: Rural Society in Nineteenth‐Century New England (1984), xiv+184 (Cambridge University Press, £20.00).

Clair Goldberg Moses, French Feminism in the Nineteenth Century (1984), xiii+311 (Albany, State University of New York Press, $39.50).

Jane Rendall, The Origins of Modern Feminism: Women in Britain, France and the United States, 1780–1860 (1985), x+382 (Macmillan, £20.00, paperback £7.95).

Roger Penn, Skilled Workers in the Class Structure (1984), x+259 (Cambridge University Press, £25).

Royden Harrison and Jonathan Zeitlin (eds.), Divisions of Labour. Skilled Workers and Technological Change in Nineteenth‐Century Britain (1985), ix+254 (The Harvester Press, Brighton, £22.50).

Jane Lewis, Women in England 1870–1950: Sexual Divisions and Social Change (1984), xv+240 (Wheatsheaf, £16.95, paperback £5#lb95). Elizabeth Roberts, A Woman's Place. An Oral History of Working‐Class Women 1890–1940 (1984), vii + 246 (Basil Blackwell, £14#lb95).

John Scott and Catherine Griff, Directors of Industry: The British Corporate Network 1904–1976 (1984), 226 (Polity Press, £19#lb50).

R. P. T. Davenport‐Hines, Dudley Docker: The Life and Times of a Trade Warrior (1984), xii+295 (Cambridge University Press, £25.00).     

Violence in children's programmes on British television

This paper presents a study of violence on children's television in Britain. A total of 943 children's programmes were coded in an exercise which content analysed more than 4,700 hours of programmes broadcast on eight television channels. Thirty nine per cent of these children's programmes contained violence. More than 4,000 violent acts and 7.2 hours of violence occurred in these programmes. More than half of the violence occurred in general children's programmes, with somewhat under half being found in children's cartoons. The violence mostly involved shootings or various forms of physical assault, using hand-held weapons or the hand or foot. Much of the violence occurred in a crime context or following an argument between two or more individuals. Violence was usually committed for negative purposes, rather than to serve socially positive interests. Violent acts were rarely followed by painful consequences. Perpetrators of violence were most likely to be white, male, young adults, or cartoon characters. Results are discussed in relation to implications for effects upon children and those with responsibilities for children.     

Characteristics of “state of the art” leaders: Productive narcissism versus emotional intelligence and Level 5 capabilities

Articles appearing in the Harvard Business Review over the past few years have suggested contrasting sets of characteristics associated with effective leadership. The purpose of this study was to investigate “state of the art” leaders to determine which of these sets tends to be most prevalent in their leadership style and behaviors—those reflective of emotional intelligence and Level 5 or those indicative of productive narcissism. Results showed that our sample of 15 executives possessed characteristics of each set.