Bøger i SAGE Focus Editions serien

What is the role of fit measures when respecifying a model? Should the means of the sampling distributions of a fit index be unrelated to the size of the sample? Is it better to estimate the statistical power of the chi-square test than to turn to fit indices? Exploring these and related questions, well-known scholars examine the methods of testing structural equation models (SEMS) with and without measurement error, as estimated by such programs as EQS, LISREL and CALIS.

In the 1960s many sociologists proclaimed traditional religion to be in its death throes. But, just as secularization gained nearly universal acceptance among scholars, religious resurgence burst forth from many directions - new religious movements and the growth of Islamic fundamentalism for example. In A Future for Religion?, contributors ask whether, if such dynamic forces are at work, is religion really dying? They discuss issues usually excluded from books on the sociology of religion - including religious experience, emotional renewal, religion and the body.

Until recently, race relations research has been an understudied and stigmatized area of the social sciences. This volume traces its emergence as a central topic, highlighting the major milestones that established it as a legitimate research domain.The contributors, key figures in the post-war development of United States race research, relate their own experiences with race and racism and the developing interest in the understanding of race as a social force, giving the reader an insider's view of the field.

The transition from viewing organizations as bureaucracies towards seeing them in metaphoric terms is a contemporary break with past organizational theory. But to investigate the similarities between real organizations and the metaphors describing their functions and context, a shift in both methods of inquiry and organizational theory must take place. This volume explores the paradigm shift at three levels: an overview of historical roots; an explication of terminology, metaphors and constructs; and the practical application of these new organizational inquiry methods, especially for actual research practices and policy analysis applications.

By highlighting the commonalities across a range of disciplines, this volume provides a unique and broad-based perspective on communication and ageing. This integrative approach brings together the best of current research and theory from communication, cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics and medical sociology.Centring on three topics - cognition, language and relationships - the book explores the individual areas as well as the ways in which they intersect. It brings to light the implications of individual differences among members of the elderly population as they affect communication, and illustrates the positive as well as the negative effects of the ageing process on language production, relational satisfaction and other communication-related variables.

Much has been missed by social researchers in their attempt to understand the human experience as a series of rational, cognitive choices. Human subjectivity in lived experience, both that of the subject and that of the researcher, is the topic of this volume, an important corrective to the detached stance of most previous social research.The contributors examine various aspects of the subject - the emotions, the gendered nature of experience, the body-mind relationship, perceptions of time, place and setting, understanding of the self - and explore how these elements provide a fuller understanding of the human condition.

Changing Men assembles some of the most innovative and exciting research on men and masculinity. As such, it contributes to the demarcation of the new field of men's studies and to the examination of masculinity within traditional academic disciplines. The contributors deal with broad topical and methodological issues such as reformulating the male role, men in domestic settings, male/female relationships, sexuality, race and gender, and future directions for men's studies.

As cultural diversity is increasingly placed on the organization agenda, managers and policymakers need to learn more about the impact of Hispanics in the workplace. Little research exists on this issue, even though Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the US and comprise a significant portion of the work force. This volume presents original contributions from key researchers on such critical issues as acculturation and bias, mentoring and support systems, employment discrimination, and the special issues faced by Chicana and Puerto Rican women workers.

This book brings together information from both researchers and practitioners on a wide range of community-based services that are available to and needed by the rural elderly in the United States.Specific topics examined include: senior centres; referral systems; housing and transportation; employment and retirement; and health promotion and health care. Krout provides section overviews as well as an informative, thorough introduction and epilogue that highlight common themes and issues.

Bringing together the empirical work of researchers from a variety of disciplines, this title provides insight into the physical, psychological and social needs of the growing number of elderly people caring for adults with developmental disabilities.

Bringing together the empirical work of researchers from a variety of disciplines, this title provides insight into the physical, psychological and social needs of the growing number of elderly people caring for adults with developmental disabilities.

This volume discusses a philosophy in which the researcher is involved in the process of organizational learning and change. The contributors outline the method behind participatory action research and present a series of cases where it was used in industry and agriculture in four continents.

Why do men batter their wives? How do women define their experiences of violence? Is wife abuse related to child abuse? How do medical authorities react to wife abuse? This volume brings together well-known academics, activists and clinicians who approach these questions from a distinctly feminist perspective.

How do you gain entry into a research setting? What tricks are there to learning the rules of the community without alienating the people you came to study? How are good relations maintained with informants? What happens after you leave the field? This title addresses these questions.