Response of sensitive behaviors to frequent measurement

We study the influence of frequent survey measurement on behavior. Widespread access to the Internet has made important breakthroughs in frequent measurement possible—potentially revolutionizing social science measurement of processes that change quickly over time. One key concern about using such frequent measurement is that it may influence the behavior being studied. We investigate this possibility using both a population-based experiment with random assignment to participation in a weekly journal for twelve months (versus no journal) and a large-scale, population-based, journal-keeping study with weekly measurement for 30 months. Results reveal few of the measured behaviors are correlated with assignment to frequent measurement. Theoretical reasoning regarding the likely behavioral response to frequent measurement correctly predicts domains most vulnerable to this possibility. Overall, however, we found little evidence of behavioral response to frequent measurement.     

中国省域创新创业环境评价指标体系的构建研究——对全国31个省级单位的测评

围绕创新创业环境的内涵,梳理了影响创新创业环境的六类主要因素,归纳潜在指标;对各潜在指标进行"聚类—因子—权重"综合分析,提炼影响创新创业环境的主要因子,构建出以6个一级指标和20个二级指标为核心的创新创业环境评价指标体系,并建立评价模型。以中国各省为样本,对全国31个省级单位的创新创业环境在2014年的状况进行测评排序。依据各省创新创业环境综合得分情况,得出全国31省2014年创新创业环境的地理空间分布图。分地区评价结果显示,东部地区创新创业环境具有明显优势,中部、东北和西部地区发展空间较大。从准则层指出各个地区优化创新创业环境的着力点。     

Tracking weight change,insulin resistance,stress, and aerobic fitness over 4 years of college

Objective: To determine if weight gain is accompanied by development of insulin resistance (IR) during 4 years in college. Participants: Two cohorts of college students were enrolled in fall semesters 2009 and 2010 and tracked for 4 years. Methods: Following a 12-hour fast, subjects reported for measurement of body mass index (BMI), perceived stress (PSS), aerobic fitness, and blood glucose, insulin, and lipids. Results: In the first year, 33% of subjects were overweight or obese, and 20% were hyperinsulinemic. Year 4 had 29 remaining subjects with disproportionate attrition of overweight and obese individuals. Just over half the subjects gained weight (WI), whereas nearly 30% lost considerable amounts (WD). WD showed significant decline in fasting insulin, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and PSS from year 1. WI was primarily highly fit men who did not demonstrate increased IR. Conclusion: WI was not associated with IR over 4 years of college.     

“I am a fat baby,who moved to a fat child,who moved to a fat teenager,who moved to a fat adult”: Women’s reflections of a lifetime of body and weight concern

The present study explored how women aged 50–65 years reflect and make meaning of a lifetime of body and weight struggles. Seven purposefully selected women with longstanding body image challenges participated in interviews and reflected on their perceptions, thoughts, and emotions around their body and weight since childhood. Findings revealed consistent and consuming concerns about the body; prevalent body-related self-conscious emotions; influential social experiences that impact physical self-perceptions; and enduring impacts of weight bias, stigma, and discrimination. Collectively, these findings provide support for the stability of body disturbances and highlight the need to explore the unique body-related narratives of women in midlife.     

Implementing Rigorous Survey Methodology within Contexts of Social Work Education,Training and Practice: A Case Study in Substance Use

With the integration of evidence-based practice central to all areas of social work education and training across the globe, it is crucial that we continue to engage with the methodological challenges inherent in gathering this evidence, particularly when it is related to the nature of social work education itself. As a result, this paper addresses some of the methodological challenges involved in examining the education available to social workers on engaging with substance use, both within the social work academy and local authorities in England. Drawing on experiences of implementing large scale online surveys from three substantial research projects completed by the authors, this paper highlights four methodological themes: (1) Constructing a representative sampling frame; (2) Identifying participants within organisations with many departments; (3) Response rates; and (4) Questionnaire design. While these are familiar methodological considerations, this article draws attention to the specific complexities of gathering ‘representative’ knowledge to inform educational strategies on substance use within social work education and employment contexts. Finally this paper offers lessons learned and guidance for social work academics, students and practitioners who are minded to build, or draw from, an evidence-base using representative samples from and within these environments.     

Checkbooks in the Heartland: Change over Time in Voluntary Association Membership

Numerous scholars documented declines in America's social capital through the mid‐1990s but we do not know whether the trend has continued. Further, despite warnings by Robert Putnam and Theda Skocpol that the quality of Americans' voluntary association memberships has also deteriorated—moving from active, “face‐to‐face” memberships to passive, “checkbook” memberships—data have not been available to test this claim. In this article, we use both the Iowa Community Survey and the General Social Survey to explore the changing nature of voluntary association membership between 1994 and 2004. We demonstrate that not only are declines in voluntary association memberships continuing in the new century but there has been a shift in the intensity of voluntary association participation over time. We observe a decline in active membership over time and an increase in checkbook membership over time. These findings provide support for Putnam's claim that checkbook membership is increasing at the expense of more active types of memberships.     

Methodological decisions and the evaluation of possible effects of different family structures on children: The new family structures survey (NFSS)

Every social science researcher must make a number of methodological decisions when planning and implementing research projects. Each such decision carries with it both advantages and limitations. The decisions faced and made by Regnerus (2012) are discussed here in the wider context of social science literature regarding same-sex parenting. Even though the apparent outcomes of Regnerus’s study were unpopular, the methodological decisions he made in the design and implementation of the New Family Structures Survey were not uncommon among social scientists, including many progressive, gay and lesbian scholars. These decisions and the research they produced deserve considerable and continued discussion, but criticisms of the underlying ethics and professionalism are misplaced because nearly every methodological decision that was made has ample precedents in research published by many other credible and distinguished scholars.     

中国文化对外传播效果研究——对5国16所孔子学院的调查

本文通过对美国、日本、俄罗斯、泰国、黎巴嫩5个国家16所孔子学院的调查发现:当前孔子学院在全球范围内取得了一定的传播效果;但不同层次的中国文化传播效果存在较大差异;中国文化在不同文化圈层,尤其是儒家文化圈层和非儒家文化圈层中的传播效果有很大不同;国与国之间也存在较大差异.本文提出,针对非儒家文化国家,要让中国的物质文化先走出去,行为文化、精神文化可暂时缓行.     

Smart friendly liars: Public perception of public relations practitioners over time

Two national surveys of the U.S. public in 2003 and 2012 asked participants to list words describing public relations practitioners. Analyses reveal that the majority of the words related to practitioner personality and intellectual traits were positive, while the ethical terms used to portray practitioners remained predominately negative over the last decade.