Declining incomes and growing income inequality have led to a rise in poverty in the transition economies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This study examines poverty and social assistance in six countries--Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Russia, and Kyrgyz Republic--to compare the poverty profiles and the correlates of poverty between the two regions. The study finds that the profile of poverty is more sharply defined in Eastern Europe than in the former Soviet Union, where poverty is more widespread. This holds the potential for better targeting of social assistance in Eastern Europe, and the study proposes a novel two-step approach to identify the poor.

This book is a sustained argument for a creative and progressive social science. Modern social theory, despite an optimistic gloss, is profoundly pessimistic about social life and social inquiry. This pessimism is traced to the explanatory failures of social theory: failures that are shared by apparently disparate schools of thought. The book traces these similarities across non-Marxist and Marxist writings and in British, continental European and North American authors. It also shows the persistence of negative features over time, tracing cycles of hope to despair in successive generations.;Specific examples of explanatory problems given unprogressive treatment are chosen from the mainstream of current sociology. How the re-definition of categories and processes can solve these problems progressively is demonstrated. The object is to turn social science towards the real problems of society whose creative solution will expand human competence and practical resources.

This handbook for the Methodology of Societal Complexity describes the theoretical development of the field and lays the foundation for the application of the Compram Methodology in the context of addressing complex societal problems. As such, it offers a valuable resource for scientists, practitioners, politicians, master and PhD students in the fields of methodology, the social sciences, operational research, management and political science and for all others who are professionally involved in handling complex societal problems. These problems are the kind that fill the front page of quality newspapers; they have a huge impact on society, involve a variety of phenomena and actors, and are therefore difficult to handle. The structured Compram Methodology provides sound guidelines for handling real-life societal problems democratically, sustainably and transparently. Examples of the use of the Compram Methodology are provided in the domain of global safety with regard to healthcare, economics, climate change, terrorism, large city problems, large technological projects and floods.

Complex societal problems must be treated as multi-disciplinary, multi-actor, multi-level and often as multi-continental issues. As such, they call for a multi-disciplinary and multi-actor approach that takes into account the emotional aspects of the problem and the problem handling process, including the micro, meso and macro level, which can be accomplished using the methods, models and tools from the field of the Methodology of Societal Complexity.

The Compram Methodology improves the problem handling process and increases the quality of interventions and therefore the quality of life. Handling complex societal problems can reduce conflicts, save money and ultimately even save lives.

Dorien J. DeTombe is an internationally recognized expert and founder of the theory of the Methodology of Societal Complexity and the Compram Methodology.

Introduction to the Taxometric Method is a user-friendly, practical guide to taxometric research. Drawing from both classic and contemporary research, it provides a comprehensive introduction to the method. With helpful tools and guidance, the book is intended to teach those new to the method, as well as those already familiar with it, tips on how to conduct and evaluate taxometric investigations. The book covers a broad range of analytic techniques, describing their logic and implementation as well as what is known about their performance from systematic study. The book opens with the background material essential to understanding the research problems that the taxometric method addresses. The authors then explain the data requirements of taxometric analysis, the logic of each procedure, factors that can influence results and lead to misinterpretations, suggestions for choosing the best procedures, and methodological safeguards to prevent erroneous conclusions. Illustrative examples of each procedure and consistency test demonstrate how to perform analyses and interpret results using a variety of data sets. A checklist of conceptual and methodological issues that should be addressed in any investigation is included. The downloadable resources provide a variety of programs for performing taxometric analyses along with simulations and analyses of data sets. Introduction to the Taxometric Method is ideal for researchers and students conducting or evaluating taxometric studies in the social and behavioral sciences, especially those in clinical and personality psychology, as well as those in the physical sciences, education, biology, and beyond. The book also serves as a text for courses on this method, or as a supplement in psychological assessment, statistics, or research methods courses.Familiarity with taxometrics is not assumed.

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.

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.

"The Handbook of Survey Research, Second Edition" builds on its widely-recognized 1983 predecessor by updating its previous historical account of the development of survey research and the evolution of social science before going on to examine new and expanded usages of survey research during the past half century. Editors Peter Marsden (Harvard University) and James D. Wright (University of Central Florida), long-time editor of Elsevier's Social Science Research, have created an authoritative reference book and an excellent starting point for anyone requiring a broad examination of the field. Detailed chapters include: sampling; measurement; questionnaire construction and question writing; survey implementation and management; survey data analysis; special types of surveys; and integrating surveys with other data collection methods. This handbook is distinguished from other texts by its greater comprehensiveness and depth of coverage including topics such as measurement models, the role of cognitive psychology, surveying networks, and cross-national/cross-cultural surveys. Timely and relevant it includes materials that are only now becoming highly influential topics.

'A tour-de-force of trust research methodologies, from surveys methods to critical incidents to hermeneutics. . . will prove invaluable to trust researchers of every stripe. - Aks Zaheer, University of Minnesota, US 'This book fills an important gap. The burgeoning field of trust research has employed a wide variety of definitions and methods, but until the appearance of this Handbook there was no comprehensive overview of them. Its contributions, many written by leading international experts, cover conceptual issues as well as qualitative and quantitative methods. The editors are all working at the frontiers of trust research and in this Handbook they have compiled an indispensable source of reference for years to come.' - John Child, University of Birmingham, UK 'This is the right book at the right time. Central to the advancement of research on trust is the need to address a host of methodological, empirical, and analytical challenges. This Handbook provides a vital resource for doing so and holds the promise of infusing the literature with novel and enhanced approaches for studying and understanding trust. Researchers new to the field as well as established experts will find a wealth of insights contained herein.' Bill McEvily, University of Toronto, Canada The Handbook of Research Methods on Trust provides an authoritative in-depth consideration of quantitative and qualitative methods for empirical study of trust in the social sciences. As this topic has matured, a growing number of practical approaches and techniques has been utilized across the broad, multidisciplinary community of trust research, providing both insights and challenges. This unique Handbook draws together a wealth of research methods knowledge gained by trust researchers into one essential volume. The contributors examine different methodological issues and particular methods, as well as share their experiences of what works, what does not work, challenges and innovations. Identifying innovative methods for researching trust, this important Handbook will prove invaluable for students and academics in the social sciences that are interested in trust, particularly postgraduates planning empirical research on trust, undergraduates researching issues of trust, faculty teaching research-based courses on trust and related topics, and experienced trust researchers looking for reflection, discussion and inspiration.

Traditional research discourses continue to present academic work as rational, detached, objective and free from emotion. This volume argues that the presentation of research as 'objective' conceals the subject positions of researchers, and the emotional imperatives that often drive research. The collection engages with the emotional experiences of researchers working in different traditions, contexts and sites, and demonstrates their centrality in data production, analysis, dissemination and ethical practice. This edited volume offers contributions from a range of well-established and early career scholars who argue for an emotional rebellion in the academic world. The authors reflect on their own experiences of research, generously sharing their approach to their craft, and the uncertainties, concerns, enjoyments, and questions it entails. The contributors are based in a range of disciplines across the humanities, social sciences and STEM, and in the museum sector. This provides a unique opportunity for reflection on differences between and similarities across disciplinary boundaries, shedding new light on common problems and opportunities stimulated by emotion in research. The collection demonstrates how emotion can be valuable and meaningful in the activities of research, reflection and dissemination: offering authenticity to the academic voice, bringing clarity to interpretive biases, producing engaging outputs which connect with diverse readerships, and potentially reshaping disciplinary foundations and relations. Emotion and the Researcher: Sites, Subjectivities and Relationships will be an invaluable companion for researchers, postgraduate students and other academics with an interest in the emotional elements of conflict, negotiation, relationality and reflexivity, within and beyond the research encounter.

First published Open Access under a Creative Commons license as What is Diary Method?, this title is now also available as part of the Bloomsbury Research Methods series. This book provides an up-to-date, concise, and engaging introduction to solicited diary method, aimed at researchers and students who want to employ this methodology in their projects. Its primary focus is on the use of solicited diary method in the context of social and health-related research, but it also offers useful guidance on the everyday practice of diary-keeping. The authors draw on published research that makes use of this method, including their own independent studies involving older adults and family carers. The book opens with an overview of the development of diary techniques and a discussion of the value of the method, and provides an overview of the different ways of collecting and using diary data and techniques for analysing it. Key ethical issues are sensitively discussed. The book engages with new and novel developments in solicited diary method by engaging with the use of technology including discussion of how digital devices, email exchanges, social media such as Facebook, weblogs and micro-blogging such as Twitter, have the potential to change the meaning and nature of diary-keeping. The book includes a variety of visuals to enhance understanding, including a tabulated summary of the main strengths and limitations of using diary method, and strategies for mitigating limitations.

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.

In an age when continued financial and other support for teaching and research in sociology cannot be taken for granted, sociologists have been surprisingly slow to provide a clear statement of the achievements of sociology in the western world since 1950. What Has Sociology Achieved? does this by assembling twelve essays specially commissioned from distinguished authors, to which the editors add an introduction setting out the issues and a concluding chapter which draws together recurrent themes.

It is only just recently that people have the tools to judge how well they are doing when making decisions. These tools were conceptualized in the seventeenth century. Since then many people have worked to sharpen the concepts, and to explore how these can be applied further. The problems of decision-making and the theory developed correspondingly have drawn the interest of mathematicians, psychologists, statisticians, economists, philosophers, organizational experts, sociologists, not only for their general relevance, but also for a more intrinsic fascination. There are quite a few institutionalized activities to disseminate results and stimulate research in decision-making. For about a decade now a European organizational structure, centered mainly around the psy chological interest in decision-making. There have been conferences in Hamburg, Amsterdam, Uxbridge, Rome and Darmstadt. Conference papers have been partly published]. The organization has thus stabilized, and its re latively long history makes it interesting to see what kind of developments occurred, within the area of interest."

This bibliography is a current source of information for researchers, practitioners, and planners interested in the older volunteer. The authors conducted an extensive search of material on the older volunteer, with emphasis on those works published between 1980 and 1991. After identifying approximately 700 sources, the authors selected nearly 400 for inclusion in this reference. The entries are grouped in seven topical chapters, and each entry includes a succinct annotation. Included are entries for books and articles on particular programs, characteristics of older volunteers, sources of statistical information, empirical research, and special population groups. Author and subject indexes conclude the work.

Predictions about the world have the power to grip whole societies, and shape the actions of many groups whether working in politics, ecology or religion. At the end of epochs and eras humans tend to reflect on the shape of things to come. Most recently, fears about the 'millennium bug' had thousands rushing to stock up on candles and food in the weeks before New Year's Eve.
Concerns about the future have been expressed differently throughout history. This book explores the historical context surrounding various debates, decisions and beliefs about the future in recent centuries. Religious, political, literary and ecological visions of the future in America and Germany are addressed comparatively. In particular, scholars from the United States and Germany explore the meaning of eschatological and utopian thoughts pursued during the last three centuries and tackle subjects ranging from science fiction to religious radicalism, utopian social experiments, and visions of race relations. This book delves into the hopes and fears for the future that have shaped the past and will be of interest to comparative historians as well as to historians of Europe and the United States intrigued by the subject of utopias.

Polls are at their best as indicators of public opinion when they allow comparisons over extended periods of time. Yet all too often changes in question working and in questionnare content make over-time comparisons impossible. This work overcomes this difficulty by bringing together for the first time a compendium of results using identically worded questions on a wide range of social, political, and economic topics of importance to the American people. Chapter introductions summarize trends in the various areas surveyed and discuss problems of interpretation. The chapters on political behavior and attitudes present findings on party identification, political tolerance, voting, civil liberties, international affairs, and related issues. Chapters on work, the family, and sexuality cover such topics as job prestige and satisfaction, the role of women, divorce, family size, sex education, abortion, premarital and extramarital sex, homosexuality, and pornography. Other issues addressed include crime and violence, race, death and dying, life style, and general attitudes toward life. Trend analysis based on General Social Surveys conducted regularly by The National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago since 1972 is supplemented by data from 25 other sources extending as far back as the 1930s. The questions chosen are meaningful and standardized and have been asked in interviews over a significant period. Survey results are displayed in a highly readable format that facilitates comparisons over time. An appropriate choice for the library reference collection, this book is a valuable research tool and source for scholars in political science, psychology, and sociology, as well as journalists, policy makers, and other professionals concerned with public opinion.

This volume, from the Policy Studies Organization, examines the role of presidential leadership in the development and implementation of civil rights policy in the United States. Covering a broad time period, the work takes a social scientific approach to the understanding of civil rights, utilizing both quantitative and archival research. The editors attempt to place and analyze civil rights in context--as a policy arena representative of broader presidential leadership concerns--and look at the development of civil rights policy since Brown v. Board of Education from the perspectives of (1) the public, (2) government institutions, and (3) particular policy arenas.

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

In "The Coming Famine", Julian Cribb lays out a vivid picture of impending planetary crisis - a global food shortage that threatens to hit by mid-century - that would dwarf any in our previous experience. Cribb's comprehensive assessment describes a dangerous confluence of shortages - of water, land, energy, technology, and knowledge - combined with the increased demand created by population and economic growth. Writing in brisk, accessible prose, Cribb explains how the food system interacts with the environment and with armed conflict, poverty, and other societal factors. He shows how high food prices and regional shortages are already sending shockwaves into the international community. But, far from outlining a doomsday scenario, "The Coming Famine" offers a strong and positive call to action, exploring the greatest issue of our age and providing practical suggestions for addressing each of the major challenges it raises.

This book is based on the papers presented at a conference on "New Issues in Industrial Economics" held at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, June 8-10, 1987. The conference was organized by the Research Program in Industrial Economics (RPIE) in the Department of Economics at CWRU and was sponsored by The Cleveland Foundation, the Eaton Corporation, and The Standard Oil Company (later renamed BP America, Inc.). Their generous support is gratefully acknowledged. All of the papers have been revised, in several cases extensively, since their presentation at the conference. One of the primary reasons for organizing the conference was the concern that Industrial Economics has become too narrowly focused in most academic programs, largely being confined to Industrial Organization, i.e., issues of public policy towards enterprise with emphasis on antitrust and regulatory policy. This subject definition leaves out a number of interesting and important questions about how industries evolve over time, what the role of technological change (and organizational change) is in that process, and the associated structural changes within industries and firms. The object of this book is to derme these issues and suggest a framework within which they can be analyzed. I would like to thank all the conference participants for their contributions, particularly my colleagues at CWRU, Asim Erdilek and William S. Peirce, without whose encouragement and support the conference would not have taken place.

Theoretical Discussions of Biography: Approaches from History, Microhistory, and Life Writing offers comprehensive overviews by 14 academic scholars of the actual state of the field of Biography Studies. In the volume, edited by biography scholars Hans Renders and Binne de Haan, specifically the connections between biography and the fields of microhistory, journalism, and Life Writing illuminate key challenges and problems in studying individual lives. Different perspectives are provided on the ways in which biography contributes to scholarship in the humanities in general and academic historiography in particular. The contributing authors are academic experts in these fields and include Richard D. Brown, Carlo Ginzburg, Nigel Hamilton, Marlene Kadar, Giovanni Levi, Sabina Loriga, Matti Peltonen, and James Walter.

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.

Research in Community and Mental Health