The Place and Use of Knowledge in Social Work Practice
In: Social work: a journal of the National Association of Social Workers
ISSN: 1545-6846
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In: Social work: a journal of the National Association of Social Workers
ISSN: 1545-6846
In: Social work: a journal of the National Association of Social Workers
ISSN: 1545-6846
In: Public opinion quarterly: journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Band 18, Heft 2, S. 121-141
ISSN: 0033-362X
In A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION Alper feels flattered that PO research has entered the halls of the US Congress and points to the dangers from not paying 'appropriate heed to... the knowledge, skill & practical arts ... developed over the yrs... to establish, on a logically firm and mathematically sound basis the science of PO measurement.' Failure to heed methodological considerations may lead to: (1) inaccurate & misleading poll results, (2) unfavorable attitudes toward polls on the part of the public, (3) unfavorable attitudes by Congressmen to requests from Executive agencies for support of opinion & attitude surveys, (4) the misuse of polls as a guide to public policy because of unwarranted reliance on responses to questionnaire items. Hawver reports in THE CONGRESSMAN AND HIS PUBLIC OPINION POLL, a survey of members of the US House of Representatives (N=438) on their use of polls during 1953. Findings were: (1) an inverse relationship between poll use and the age of the Congressman. (2) Republicans report 3 times as much use of polls as Democrats. (3) The greater the time served as Congressman the less frequently polls are used. (4) Survey methods are haphazard. (5) PO polls are valuable as instruments of improving a Congressman's public relations rather than as a means of determining PO; as propaganda tools through 'loaded' ?'s; to determine wherein the constituents' opinions differ from the Congressman's, with the differences becoming the subject-matter for speeches, radio, TV, & newspaper releases. Cantwell in THE CONGRESSIONAL POLL- SIX YEARS' EXPERIENCE, reports on Congressman Charles R. Howell's polls in 1949 (6,000 mailed 2,150 returned), 1953 (25,000 mailed & 3,353 returned), & 1954 (30,000 mailed & 4,000 expected). The sampling consists of the universe of individuals who have correspondent with the Congressman. A validation of representativeness for the 1953 poll was done by comparing the % distribution of questionnaire returns from 2 counties and the 1950 census distribution of pop of same counties: showing a perfect match in %. A 2nd validation was made of Rs' expressed political affiliation with actual Presidential vote in 1952. This too showed high similarity of %'s. Question wording & issue selection for questionnaire construction is discussed. DeVany in THE 'TOWN MEETING' POLL in South Dakota, reports on polls taken via p&p questionnaire before and after `town meetings' at which Congressman Harold O. Lovre speaks. The experience gained from 'town meetings' is (1) too much weight ought not to be placed on the ability to guess what people think at home, (2) congressional mail does not always reflect the thinking at home, (3) there is a great divergence of opinion within districts on most issues, though not always apparent, & (4) a member of Congress should look over his shoulder to see if his constituents are keeping up. Kriesberg in TOWARDS THE IMPROVEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL POLLS suggests various agencies and organizations which can aid Congressmen in securing help with the technical side of questionnaire construction, sampling and analysis. L. P. Chall.
In: Journalism quarterly, Band 33, Heft 1, S. 42-99
A technique first presented as a way of testing the readability of English prose has been found to have many additional uses. It also works in Korean and with spoken materials. Further, it indexes individual differences in comprehension, intelligence and knowledge; and it gauges the "entropy" of prose context.
In: Public opinion quarterly: journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Band 20, Heft 1, S. 221-229
ISSN: 0033-362X
A study to evaluate the effectivenss of an art exhibit sent as a good-will gesture by the Japanese Gov to the US in 1953. 800 interviews were conducted with a cross-section of exhibit viewers in Seattle, Chicago, & Boston. Heavy publicity in Seattle led to high attendance of persons motivated by publicity build-up & community pressure rather than by interest in art &/or Japan. The % of visitors who liked the exhibit was lowest in Seattle; highest in Boston, where a small selective audience attended. 'Enjoyment of the exhibit' was crucial in determining att's toward Japanese artists & people. Study confirms findings of earlier opinion res in point to greatest 'effectiveness' with best-informed viewers, while persons who came without some previous knowledge most often said they 'learned nothing' from viewing the exhibit. AA.
In: American political science review, Band 41, Heft 3, S. 517-527
ISSN: 1537-5943
Like his colleagues generally in the social sciences, the political scientist has prided himself upon the subject-matter content of his teaching. His responsibility has been to enlarge the understanding of the dynamic process by which men govern and are governed. Teaching and research have been coördinate elements of that responsibility. Constantly seeking to find better techniques for observation and measurement of political phenomena, ever trying to define more exactly the field of interest and knowledge, the political scientist has always focused attention upon the subject-matter of his specialization. He has had little time to devote to the problems of teaching methodology.The very fact that higher education has been selective is another possible explanation for our seeming indifference to improvements in teacher-student communication. From necessity, teachers' colleges and the educational profession have given considerable attention to teaching techniques. Primary and secondary schools are intended for mass education. If they fulfill their purpose, they reach virtually all of the population from six to sixteen years of age. The college teacher has had no such mass obligation. Traditionally, only some ten per cent of our high school population continue with higher education, and they are usually divided among the various fields of learning represented in colleges and universities. Selectivity and a limited audience have encouraged the college instructor to concentrate upon subject-matter and to ignore methodology.Political scientists certainly have no reason to offer any apologies for their primary interest.
In: Knopf publications in psychology. Core series
"It was our aim to write a book which addresses itself to the logic of the statistical method for its own sake, and it was our purpose to show and explain to the student one of man's greater rational accomplishments irrespective of whether the student might expect to find immediate application of his knowledge. Thus, we do not limit ourselves to the preparation of a book of formulas by which answers may be ground out with little or no understanding of the processes involved. We explain and discuss, for example, not seven or eight different methods of correlation, but only two methods. However, we discuss these two in detail, because we believe that when the student understands the principles underlying these, he will understand the special varieties of correlation when and if he has occasion to make use of them. In short, we address ourselves not only to the student who may have an occasion to calculate a mean or a correlation coefficient, who may take the advanced course for which statistics is a prerequisite, and who may carry out a graduate thesis, but also (and primarily) we address ourselves to the student who wishes to undertake an adventure of the mind and to the instructor who wishes to conduct the expedition." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).
In: American political science review, Band 52, Heft 2, S. 321-338
ISSN: 0003-0554
she mathematical problem of predicting Supreme Court decisions from a knowledge of the facts in the case can be perfectly--but trivially--solved, given that no explicit reversal occurs in the line of cases considered. However, perfect prediction does not guarantee that the method used to predict means anything or that factors given positive weight are considered by the Court. Analysis only of cases heard by the Court is unlikely to yield information about the relative importance of the really interesting factors. The method used by F. Kort (See SA 7149) is largely meaningless & fails simple empirical tests. There do exist, however, well-known statistical techniques for efficient analysis of this problem. Given the no-reversal condition, prediction will not be materially aided, since the observations necessary to construct a perfect predictor would be such as to ensure that all future cases were covered by clear precedents. Understanding of the behavior of the Court may well be enhanced by such analyses in the future, but, here & in general, quantitative analysis of pol'al phenomena undertaken without sufficient grounding in the use of quantitative methods is undesirable. AA-IPSA.
In this paper, emphasis is placed on the necessity of adequate preparation of the surface, of procuring the proper paint for the job, and of applying the paint under favorable conditions. The information presented is based on modern technical knowledge and experience and on the results of paint failure investigations. ; Peer reviewed: No ; NRC publication: Yes
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In: Newer dimensions of patient care pt. 1
"In recent years emphasis has been shifting in the medical and other health professions from almost exclusive concentration upon the diagnosis and treatment of disease to the diagnosis and treatment of persons in their totality. This shift in emphasis is being reflected in fresh consideration of how patient care should be provided to the sick or injured who are obliged to go to a hospital. In any such consideration the psychosocial, as well as the technical, aspects of patient care assume importance. The writer has attempted to explore some of these psychosocial aspects as patient care is now provided or might be provided in general hospitals. In this monograph, designed to be the first of three proposed publications, attention is devoted to one direct and obvious way for facilitating the treatment of patients as persons; namely, through the planned use of the physical and social environment of the hospital. The subject matter itself deals with the customary things and the everyday practices, attitudes, and opinions characteristic not only of the hospital but of the home and community that are used for comparative purposes. Because the content is largely concerned with the obvious, it is easy to read. But the very fact of the obviousness of the practices and attitudes mentioned may be one of the reasons so little change has been achieved. Many of the practices and attitudes have existed so long that few in daily contact with them are even aware of them. Many of the omissions are not noted because no one has made an assessment within a frame of reference that would bring them to light. Besides, it is often easier and seemingly more rewarding to examine new and distant problems than to try to define and seek to solve those closest at hand. Part II of the study as projected will consider the changes that could be made in the social system of the hospital which might tend to increase the motivation, competence, and productivity of staff working directly with patients, and which might facilitate the flow of ideas throughout the social system and the implementation of those ideas in behalf of improved patient care. Part III is planned to draw upon knowledge and methods of research developed by sociology and social anthropology that might supplement those developed by psychology and psychiatry and that could be used in determining what sociocultural factors were important in individualizing patient care"--Create. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
In: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22303
Two introductory chapters have been used to give the necessary background to the main subject-matter of the thesis. The first of these chronologizes the significant steps in the development of aerial photographic interpretation from the first recorded aerial photograph to the present day respected position of the art in both military and civilian professional circles. The second introductory chapter deals with the fundamental principles involved in airphoto interpretation and of their specific application to soil engineering mapping for road projects in Southern Africa. This is followed by the major theme of the thesis, which concerns the direct location by aerial photographic interpretation of the various classes of material used in the construction of a modern day road. Although aerial photographs have been employed in recent years for direct interpretation and interpolation of certain specific road building materials, their use in this manner has been limited to a few special cases. This thesis sets out to show that under certain conditions, which pertain in many regions of the world, airphoto interpretation can be used for the direct location of 1materials possessing particular engineering characteristics. Further, it sets out to show, that this can be done for the full range of engineering properties required of materials for all the significant layers of construction, despite the fact that the materials involved may be of widely differing composition and geological origin. The actual interpretation is based on the fundamental recognition of the elements of form, tone, and texture making up the total photographic pattern. Similar features reflected on photographs are shown to be comprised of similar materials, not merely geologically speaking, but more especially in respect of their significant engineering characteristics; it is still further demonstrated that this is applicable even when such features are situated some considerable distance apart. Variations of notable engineering importance within one and the same geological occurrence, are also shown to be identifiable on the aerial photographs. For major road projects in areas subjected to certain environmental conditions, these possibilities form the basis of a new prospecting technique, which incorporates the full use of the science or art of interpretation. The basic concept governing the applicability of this technique and the steps necessary to ensure the development of the full potential of aerial photography in its application, are discussed and illustrated by detailed accounts of a number of specific projects. These projects incorporate both materials appraisals of wide strips of country for route location purposes and intensive prospecting along chosen routes. The techniques thus developed, constitute a new approach to materials investigations for major road projects and in this respect contribute to knowledge in this field. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the relative merits of materials investigation methods in current use in South West Africa and on how these methods affect the different organisations involved in the planning and construction of major road projects. The use made of airphoto interpretation for similar engineering works in other countries, as well as the possible future scope for the application of the particular method of materials investigation described in this thesis, are also covered.
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In: U.S. news & world report, Band 52, S. 42-45
ISSN: 0041-5537
In: Commentary, Band 25, Heft 4, S. 343-349
ISSN: 0010-2601
A polemical exchange touched off by an earlier article by Meyerhoff. McCall: Many of the eulogists, including Mr. Meyerhoff, used the occasion of the centennial for broadsides against the so-called cultural deviationists. The revisionists are highly vulnerable targets. They substitute one monism for another, their theories are as unsusceptible as Freud's to verification, & the results of their treatment are equally questionable. But the Freudians do not attack them on methodological but on philosophical grounds. To attack them methodologically would mean opening the Freudian system itself to examination. Instead, the revisionists are accused of being light-minded optimists. But is a pessimistic theory founded on false premises any `deeper' than an optimistic theory founded on false premises? The Freudians are attacking, through the revisionists, the tradition of the Enlightenment which holds that man is a rational animal who can solve his problems through the use of his intelligence. Meyerhoff: Freud never claimed infallibility for himself- as Jones has shown abundantly in his biography. Greatness will do for praise. There is little enough in our world as it is; & compared with his critics & his epigones, Freud looms like a giant. It is embarrassing to have to defend him again--at this time, in these pages, & against such scurrilous charges. Freud would not have thought it worth bothering. J. A. Fishman.
In: American political science review, Band 50, Heft 4, S. 1074-1092
ISSN: 0003-0554
A systematic retracing of Adams' attempt to gain objective knowledge of soc forces by accepting the assumptions of positivists, empirical sci shows him to expose the task as hopeless. He consequently played with self-annihilation & counselled silence regarding all matters of interest or value to man. Yet while despairing of the possibility of possessing conclusive knowledge, of obtaining a genuine 'education', he compromised his counsel, expressing himself by relying on the artistic technique of irony. Much of contemporary soc sci, rightly rejecting the artist's deliberate use of irony & ambiguity for coming to terms with history & society, embraces as exclusively valid the very approach which Adams saw as demanding silence. In failing to perceive & abide by Adams' conclusion, soc sci - as Adams' work reveals - becomes conservative, activist & elitist. AA-IPSA.