Make the best use of measurement approaches that gauge social behavior Here is a state-of-the-art examination of various approaches to measuring and assessing client functioning and specific aspects of clients' social environments. It examines numerous age groups and ethnic populations and makes use of cutting-edge methodologies in its examinations of measuring depression in children, measuring the neighborhood from a child's perspective, measuring and assessing family functioning, measuring spirituality, and measuring psychosocial problems in seriously mentally ill families. Helpful tables in each chapter make complex information easy to access and understand. Inside Approaches to Measuring Human Behavior in the Social Environment you'll find: a psychometric evaluation of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Childhood Diagnoses (KID-SCID) (with 4 tables) a clinical/psychometric perspective on using self-rating scales for assessing severely mentally ill individuals (with a chapter appendix and 2 tables) vital information on assessing the influence of tradition upon Chinese elders in order to provide culturally sensitive services (with 4 tables) a report on the psychometric properties of the Rap Music Attitude and Perception (RAP) Scale, an instrument designed to measure attitudes toward and perceptions of rap music (with 6 tables) a report on the assessment of self-esteem in people with severe mental illness (with 2 figures and 4 tables) a qualitative study of fourth and fifth graders' views of the neighborhoods they live in (with 5 figures and 2 tables) an NIMH- and USDHHS-funded study examining the reliability and validity of the Preschool Symptom Self-Report (PRESS) which measures depression in maltreated young children (with 4 tables) a study of advances designed to improve the reliability/validity of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS) as it relates to placement and the prediction of future placement within the context of Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) (with 1 figure and 7 tables) conformatory factor analyses of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) (with 3 figures and 4 tables) a report illustrating the development and empirical testing of the Spiritual Strategies Scale (SSS)a measure of spiritual supports used by older adults in managing challenges in their lives (with 4 tables) an examination of the validity of college students' responses to the Scale for the Identification of Acquaintance Rape Attitudes (SIARA), a measure designed to assess attitudes believed to be supportive of sexual violence within dating relationships (with 3 figures and 5 tables) Approaches to Measuring Human Behavior in the Social Environment is vital reading for master's and PhD level social workers, psychologists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychiatrists, and researchers in these fields.

Showcases practical approaches to doing oral history work in qualitative educational research Considers how to best do both methodology and output of oral history research Written in the editors' typical accessible style with a range of contributing voices, making it particularly suitable for early career researchers

Conventional statistical methods have a very serious flaw. They routinely miss differences among groups or associations among variables that are detected by more modern techniques, even under very small departures from normality. Hundreds of journal articles have described the reasons standard techniques can be unsatisfactory, but simple, intuitive explanations are generally unavailable. Situations arise where even highly nonsignificant results become significant when analyzed with more modern methods.

Without assuming the reader has any prior training in statistics, Part I of this book describes basic statistical principles from a point of view that makes their shortcomings intuitive and easy to understand. The emphasis is on verbal and graphical descriptions of concepts. Part II describes modern methods that address the problems covered in Part I. Using data from actual studies, many examples are included to illustrate the practical problems with conventional procedures and how more modern methods can make a substantial difference in the conclusions reached in many areas of statistical research.

The second edition of this book includes a number of advances and insights that have occurred since the first edition appeared. Included are new results relevant to medians, regression, measures of association, strategies for comparing dependent groups, methods for dealing with heteroscedasticity, and measures of effect size.

This fourth volume in the series discusses such topics as building a sense of history in a first-grade classroom, teaching for understanding in a third-grade geography lesson, and social studies education in an urban fourth-grade classroom.

Continuing to be THE guide to the whole qualitative research process for students, this book looks at both the theory behind qualitative research and how to put it into practice in your own work. For students across a range of social science disciplines and beyond, this is a must to help you enhance your research project. This edition introduces: a decolonisation of methodologies a range of indigenous, queer and feminist perspectives on methodologies assistance with defending a viva and alternative forms of assessment to suit a changing world. More additions to this seventh edition include a section on the subjectivity of a researcher, and how your identity will shape your research. The further reading has been curated to include more than just western voices, providing you with global perspectives on qualitative research. This text introduces how to sensitively undertake ethical and inclusive research with marginalised groups. This book will help you master a comprehensive understanding of qualitative research.

This title consists of 19 essays dealing with the medical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside of the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Indian, Egyptian, and Tibetan medicine, the book includes essays on comparing Chinese and western medicine and religion. The essays address the connections between medicine and culture and relate the medical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book should fill a gap in both the history of medicine and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.

This book examines multilateral interventions in civil conflicts and the evolution of the role of such interventions in world politics. It focuses primarily on the Cold War and post-Cold War eras and the differences between them. It contests the notion that there is an emerging norm of humanitarian intervention in international politics, arguing that political interests remain essential to the practice of intervention.

Research in Community and Mental Health

Gini's mean difference (GMD) was first introduced by Corrado Gini in 1912 as an alternative measure of variability. GMD and the parameters which are derived from it (such as the Gini coefficient or the concentration ratio) have been in use in the area of income distribution for almost a century. In practice, the use of GMD as a measure of variability is justified whenever the investigator is not ready to impose, without questioning, the convenient world of normality. This makes the GMD of critical importance in the complex research of statisticians, economists, econometricians, and policy makers. This book focuses on imitating analyses that are based on variance by replacing variance with the GMD and its variants. In this way, the text showcases how almost everything that can be done with the variance as a measure of variability, can be replicated by using Gini. Beyond this, there are marked benefits to utilizing Gini as opposed to other methods. One of the advantages of using Gini methodology is that it provides a unified system that enables the user to learn about various aspects of the underlying distribution. It also provides a systematic method and a unified terminology. Using Gini methodology can reduce the risk of imposing assumptions that are not supported by the data on the model. With these benefits in mind the text uses the covariance-based approach, though applications to other approaches are mentioned as well.

This introductory volume includes worked examples from a variety of data sets about the most frequently used models and computer programs for MDS, as well as techniques for collecting data and assessing MDS results. It covers the design, execution, and analysis of multidimensional scaling experiments and includes detailed descriptions and examples of six major MDS computer programs: MINISSA, POLYCON, KYST, INDSCAL/SINDSCAL, ALSCAL and MULTISCALE. These six approaches are sufficiently fundamental that continuing developments in the field will build on the principles presented in this volume.

'This 'must read' volume will challenge every researcher to re-examine their assumptions and approach to research with families. Munford and Sanders emphasise the positive contribution research can make through the development of an inclusive research process. Their model extends the principles of the action research method by emphasising the contribution of families at each stage of the research, and dissemination of results through an easily assessable 'range of research products'. The thought-provoking case studies articulate the strengths and realities of applying their model in a wide variety of settings in different countries.' - Angeline Barretta-Herman, Professor of Social Work, University of St Thomas'This book tackles the hard issues which are becoming of vital importance for all researchers. How our research can make a difference to research participants and our communities, and also satisfy the needs of other players, are some of the difficult questions this book addresses. The book's direct approach, and its inclusion of work from around the globe, make it widely applicable.' - Professor Jan Fook, La Trobe UniversityDoing research with families poses particular challenges in social work and welfare. The families are generally clients of social services, and can be in a vulnerable position. Also, it is important that family research contributes to improving practice in clinical and community work.Making a Difference in Families discusses key approaches to research with families, including action research, focus groups and participant observation. Contributors explore both qualitative and quantitative methods, and examine ways in which researchers can involve participants in the research process. Detailed case studies are provided of research in a variety of settings, and with different kinds of family situations.

This book discusses the personal and professional challenges of conducting fieldwork in the difficult, sometimes threatening contexts of the transforming societies of post-socialist Europe and China. Field research is a distinctly human effort and the social relationships between researchers, third parties and respondents directly affect the quality of research findings. With unusual frankness, the authors share their personal field experiences and discuss both the imaginative strategies they have devised to cope with problems and the methodological lessons they have learned.

Hierarchy is a form of organisation of complex systems that rely on or produce a strong differentiation in capacity (power and size) between the parts of the system. It is frequently observed within the natural living world as well as in social institutions. According to the authors, hierarchy results from random processes, follows an intentional design, or is the result of the organisation which ensures an optimal circulation of energy for information.

This book reviews ancient and modern representations and explanations of hierarchies, and compares their relevance in a variety of fields, such as language, societies, cities, and living species. It throws light on concepts and models such as scaling laws, fractals and self-organisation that are fundamental in the dynamics and morphology of complex systems.

At a time when networks are celebrated for their efficiency, flexibility and better social acceptance, much can be learned about the persistent universality and adaptability of hierarchies, and from the analogies and differences between biological and social organisation and processes. This book addresses a wide audience of biologists and social scientists, as well as managers and executives in a variety of institutions.

Written for social science students who will be working with or conducting research, Mathematics for Social Scientists offers a non-intimidating approach to learning or reviewing math skills essential in quantitative research methods. The text is designed to build students' confidence by presenting material in a conversational tone and using a wealth of clear and applied examples. Author Jonathan Kropko argues that mastering these concepts will break students' reliance on using basic models in statistical software, allowing them to engage with research data beyond simple software calculations.

This is the tenth volume in a series discussing research on occupations and professions. Topics covered in this title include: rural Chinese household workers in Beijing; immigration, tradition, community and gender; the professionalization of real estate sales work; and, legal practice boundaries.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This state-of-the-art book takes a forward-looking perspective on the field of Human Resource Management (HRM). Each contribution takes a view, or position, on the likely development of the HR function, and identifies interesting areas and subjects of research that would help address this future positioning. The book's expert contributors provide short and succinct reviews of 12 key topics in strategic HRM, including HR strategy and structure, talent management, selection, assessment and retention, employee engagement, workplace well-being, leadership, HR analytics, productivity, innovation, and globalisation. Each chapter identifies the strengths and gaps in our knowledge, maps out the important intellectual boundaries for their field, and outlines current and future research agendas and how these should inform practice. In examining these strategic topics the authors point to the key interfaces between the field of HRM and cognate disciplines, enabling researchers and practitioners to understand the models and theories that help tie this agenda together. Offering a comprehensive guide to current research and pioneering perspectives for future avenues of inquiry, this Research Agenda will be essential reading for academics, practitioners and researchers in the field of HRM. Contributors include: J.W. Boudreau, C. Brewster, S. Cartwright, W.F. Cascio, A.H. Church, J. Coetsee, D.G. Collings, C. Cooper, P.C. Flood, J.A. Gruman, A. Hesketh, K. Jiang, J. Kautz, D. Lepak, V. Lin, A. McDonnell, J. McMackin, W. Mayrhofer, L. Otaye-Ebede, R.E. Ployhart, A.M. Saks, K. Sanders, H. Shipton, A. Smale, P. Sparrow, H. Yang

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This series aims to publish research on various dimensions of communities, with discussions of theoretical and methodological issues, and empirical research. Special focus will be on cross-cultural comparative, interdisciplinary and critical studies on community structure/change problems, policy-planning and related issues. This volume explores a variety of new communities that have emerged within recent decades. They are multidimensional and multilevel constructs that have manifested in a diversity of ways. Various researchers in this volume focus on myriad kinds of new communities and different facets of this phenomenon. They devote considerable attention to the diversity of ways in which these new communities are constructed and are perceived as such by their members. Most of these new communities are related to a variety of contemporary social issues. Consequently, some studies focus on the problems and policy implications of knowledge about new communities in both enhancing and retarding individual and community well-being. The studies in this book demonstrate diversity both in subject matter and in theoretical perspective. The new communities included in this book should help us better understand the micro-foundations of community and could provide some clues about the macro-level integration of society.

A volume in International Social Studies Forum: The Series Series Editors Richard Diem, University of Texas at San Antonio and Jeff Passe, Towson University A team of researchers from 35 states across the country developed a survey designed to create a snapshot of social studies teaching and learning in the United States. With over 12,000 responses, it is the largest survey of social studies teachers in over three decades. We asked teachers about their curricular goals, their methods of instruction, their use of technology, and the way they address the needs of English language learners and students with disabilities. We gathered demographic data too, along with inquiries about the teachers' training, their professional development experiences, and even whether they serve as coaches. The enormous data set from this project was analyzed by multiple research teams, each with its own chapter. This volume would be a valuable resource for any professor, doctoral student, or Master's student examining the field of social studies education. It is hard to imagine a research study, topical article, or professional development session concerning social studies that would not quote findings from this book about the current status of social studies. With chapters on such key issues as the teaching of history, how teachers address religion, social studies teachers' use of technology, and how teachers adapt their instruction for students with disabilities or for English language learners, the book's content will immediately be relevant and useful.

Focusing primarily on reading and writing, this book presents summaries of state-of-the-art theory and research dealing with academic competence in school. The editors thoroughly utilize both information-processing and social-collaborative models as interventions. An enlightening final section discusses how this research could better prepare educators to teach reading and writing. It examines the role of NP-movement vs. lexical rules in accounting for alternations in grammatical functions. It presents the role of the lexicon in syntactic theory. It offers debates between major practioners in the field. It includes the nature of argument and structure. It examines the relation of argument nature to constituent structure and binding theory.

This book set is a valuable new collection of resources for the academic consumer researcher'...'I recommend that academic libraries purchase this collection.' - ACR News, Mark Tadajewski

This book brings together a diverse, international array of contributors to explore the topics of news "quality" in the online age and the relationships between news organizations and enormously influential digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Covering topics ranging from internet incivility, crowdsourcing, and YouTube politics to regulations, algorithms, and AI, this book draws the key distinction between the news that facilitates democracy from news that undermines it. For students and scholars as well as journalists, policymakers, and media commentators, this important work engages a wide range of methodological and theoretical perspectives to define the key concept of "quality" in the news media.