Abstract: Purpose and Scope. This article reviews the health and social science research relevant to both the role of powerlessness as a risk factor for disease, and the role of empowerment as a health-enhancing strategy. The research literature surveyed includes studies that address these key concepts from the fields of social epidemiology, occupational health, stress research, social psychology, community psychology, social support and networks, community competence and community organizing. Definitions are provided to operationalize these sometimes loosely-applied terms. Important Findings. Powerlessness, or lack of control over destiny, emerges as a broad-based risk factor for disease. Empowerment, though more difficult to evaluate, can also be demonstrated as an important promoter of health. Major Conclusions. Given the importance and currency of these concepts of powerlessness and empowerment, a model of empowerment education is proposed for health-promotion practitioners. Measurement of empowerment ...

Abstract: Author(s): Smith, DA; White, DR | Abstract: This article reports results from a quantitative network analysis of international commodity trade flows designed to measure the structure of the world economic system and to identify the roles that particular countries play in the global division of labor. It improves on previous network-analytic studies of the world-economy in two ways. First, by using a newly developed measure of regular equivalence, this operationalization of a nation's roles in the international system is methodologically superior to previous work. Second, we have built a dynamic aspect into the analysis by examining international trade networks at more than one point in time (1965, 1970, and 1980). This allows us to answer questions about change both in the overall structure of the world-economy and in the positions of particular countries in the system. Our findings generally conform to the theoretically expectations of the world-system perspective as well as qualitative descriptions of recent changes in the international division of labor. © 1992 The University of North Carolina Press.

Abstract: This article presents the case that inconsistencies between retail store image conceptualization and operationalization signal a critical separation between theory and measurement within the paradigm. The authors attribute the separation to the influence of two rival, middle-level information processing theories. The first, piecemeal-based processing theory, has historically dominated retail store image operationalization and measurement within the area. The authors argue, however, that the time has come for a new information processing theory—category-based information processing—to challenge piecemeal processing as the positive heuristic within the store image paradigm. The advantages of adopting category-based processing over piecemeal processing are discussed both from a positive and normative perspective. Recommendations for managers and propositions for future research are offered.

Abstract: Research on media communication of risks has become a reasonably well funded and popular domain for scholars around the world. Although one can find a great deal of collaboration among these scholars within countries, cross-cultural collaborations are far more rare. In this article, an American and a German scholar attempt to bring results from studies in both their countries to bear on some of the more popular questions being asked by risk communication researchers and practitioners. With a few exceptions, studies from the two countries demonstrate highly consonant results, suggesting great similarities between (1) the general social and technological cultures of these two developed countries, (2) the ways in which their scientific and journalistic cultures deal with the concept of risk, and (3) the ways in which risk communication researchers in these two countries conceptualize and operationalize this domain of inquiry. The review concentrates on studies that examine the construction of risk stories by...

Abstract: The diverse nature of the prevailing conceptualizations of skills required for successful managerial performance hinders our understanding of the phenomenon. This paper examines the limitations to our understanding of the nature of managerial skills based on the analysis of managerial jobs that are often non-routine, unprogrammed, and ill-structured. A framework that distinguishes between managerial "skills" and "competencies" along several dimensions such as specific-generic, task driven-person driven, and transferable non-transferable is suggested as a possible alternative mode of conceptualization. Competencies representing fundamental generic cognitive characteristics are viewed as managerial resourcefulness. Integrating research from the fields of cognitive, clinical, personality, and social psychology, the paper identifies and explicates various components of resourcefulness which have implications for selection and training of managers. Developing appropriate operationalization, assessment, and tra...

Abstract: The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has promoted the concept of sustainable development since the mid-1970s yet no universally agreed definition of the concept exists within the organization. IIED declines to rigorously define sustainable development based on the belief that it is sufficiently powerful as it is commonly understood to be useful to development practitioners. It is however pointed out in the text that sustainable development involves trade-offs between biological economic and social systems. This paper introduces a book in which visions for a sustainable developing world and policies required to get there are put forth. Current world conditions are such that income disparities between and within nations are widening; the poor are being marginalized; population is growing rapidly; and the natural resource base and environment are being destroyed. Some macro international factors may be necessary but not sufficient to realize sustainable development on a national level. It is however clear that efforts must be focused at the grass roots or community level when trying to operationalize sustainable development. In so doing processes may meet basic needs while protecting the environment and empowering the poor; such steps may be termed under the rubric of primary environmental care. Further while political commitment and able leadership are needed to implement these visions the authors think that leaders in developing countries have the necessary political will to foster sustainable development for the future. Necessary knowledge is available for them to call upon when they are ready to act.

Abstract: An integrative model of health care quality is presented. "Health care quality" is defined as provider conformance to patient requirements at three benefit levels: core, intangible, and tangible. The model is operationalized and tested in a clinical setting, a large center for fertility studies with more than 5000 patients. Health care "process variables" such as physician and patient interactions were not as important in patients' evaluations of health care quality when successful outcomes occurred (pregnancy). However, when patients experienced unsuccessful outcomes (no pregnancy), health care "process variables" were important and had a significant influence on patient perceptions of health care quality. Hence, service outcomes can significantly affect the measurement and interpretation of health care quality. Implications for health care management and research are discussed.

Abstract: This article critically examines the burden concept, its lack of clear definition, the inconsistency between its conceptualization and operationalization, its inappropriate use within the stress pa...

Abstract: Acknowledgements. 1: Introduction. Environmental science in The Netherlands and the position of this study. Theory and the aims of science. Problem-oriented environmental science. Aim, structure and overview of this study. Annex 1.I: Research subjects 1986, 1990. Annex 1.II: Empirical, normative, applied: A general image. 2: A Discipline for Interdisciplinarity. Introduction. Exploring the terminology. Mono-, multi- and interdisciplinarity at the studies level. A discipline for interdisciplinarity: what it is and how to make one. Interdisciplinarity at the theory level. Annex 2.I: Principles of curriculum design. 3: Problem-in-Context: A Conceptual Framework for Environmental Science. Sources and preview of Problem-in-Context. Flashes in the noosphere. An applied studies example. Range of application of the Problem-in-Context framework. Types of research in the Problem-in-Context framework. Values and normative contextualization. Social causes as reflected EMIC order (or: people-environment systems regained). Formalizing the social causes. Formalizing the environmental problem. Problem-in-Context summarized. Designing research. 4: Values, Functions, Sustainability. Introduction. Final variables, functions, quality: The basic relations. Final variables, functions, quality: Strengthening the system. Working in the structure: Parameter identification and aggregation. The world will speak through us when we let go of the metaphysical voice. Operationalizing for the intrinsic values of nature and people-nature relationships. Functions of the environment. Economic evaluation, I: Sustainability in the national accounts. Economic evalu tion, II: Sustainability and project appraisal. Annex 4.I: Sustainability as the foundational modelling variable. 5: Action-in-Context: Researching the Social Causes of Environmental Problems. Introduction. First principle: actors, viewed holistically. Guidance and field methods. The core: actions, actors, options, motivations. Going farther: the actors field. Goi the single-actor schema. Actor models. Round-up: policy options. 6: Participation in Environmental Management. Exploring the concept. Social depth of participation. Substantive depth of participation. The influence of the participants. Annex 6.I (with S.M. Zanen): Enhancing participation of local people - Some basic principles and an example from Burkina Faso. 7: Interpretative Directions in Environmental Science. Summary. Scientific storytelling. Exploring hermeneutic science. What is interpretable? Arranging the quantifying and qualifying worlds. The empirica status of 'deep' results. Why do it? Wilderness solitude and health of nature: Interpretation forractice. 8: Partnership with Nature: A Philosophy for Practice. Introduction. Four views of the relationship between Man and Nature. Views in Dutch mainstream culture. Partnership with nature in the words of others. Partnership, women, feminism. Partnership and faith. Partnership values and partnership ways.

Abstract: This review presents several theoretical approaches relevant to the study of death anxiety in adult and old age. Several philosophical approaches (existential and logical) are considered. The review of psychological approaches includes theories, such as personal construct theory, that have made an important contribution to the study of death anxiety. Other theories, which have been used less extensively, or which have not been used at all in research on death anxiety, are reviewed for their relevance to this area. They include approaches such as the self-concept discrepancy theory or theories of intellectual development in middle and old age. The discussion identifies several challenges faced by researchers in this field: operationalization of vague theoretical concepts, creative application of theories, integration of several approaches, and use of appropriate methods such as longitudinal or experimental designs.

Abstract: Although it is clear that appropriate social skills are related to job success, little agreement has been reached on how to define and measure social skills. In this article a definition of social skills was proposed that will begin to identify the components that need to be considered when teaching social skills to individuals with mental retardation in employment settings. In addition, three measurement approaches were discussed that further operationalize these components. Current social skills training research in employment settings was reviewed and discussed with respect to the measurement approaches proposed in this article.

Abstract: Construct measurement in management information systems (MIS) is still very much in its infancy and has not yet produced instruments of adequate reliability and validity, thereby raising questions about the robustness of substantive findings. User satisfaction (US) and user involvement (UI) are two central MIS constructs which have been conceptualized and operationalized in a number of different ways and from divergent theoretical perspectives. The most commonly used measures of US and UI are critically evaluated here against a set of traditional psychometric criteria. Based on this evaluation, a number of psychometric and substantive problems regarding the scales are identified which are categorized as scale, sample, reliability, methodological and reporting problems. A variety of methods and techniques designed to overcome the measurement problems analyzed in this research are discussed to increase the quality of construct measurement in MIS and recommendations for an ongoing program of coostruc...

Abstract: The definition and measurement of service quality as a 5-dimensional construct, as in SERVQUAL, appears to suffer from a number of methodological shortcomings. A review of the potential problems and the findings from an empirical study are presented in this article. The findings suggest that the dimensionality of service quality may depend on the type of services under study. The use of mixed-item wording and the current operationalization of service quality on the basis of gap scores appear in the process of using SERVQUAL, the results of this study suggest to exercise caution. Suggestions are provided with implications for theory development and measurement in the service marketing area.

Abstract: If one wishes to identify the effects of information technology on organizational structure, strategy and performance, one must be able to characterize IT for operationalization purposes as a construct within a research framework. An initial requirement consists of developing and validating an instrument designed to measure an organization's level of sophistication in the use and management of IT. A preliminary version of such an instrument was built to be applied in small manufacturing enterprises and tested with a sample of 101 organizations. The results of this study constitute a first step toward developing an understanding of IT sophistication and provide initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the proposed instrument.

Abstract: Based on an empirical study of 184 Swedish manufacturers. Provides an operationalization of manufacturing strategy. Bases the definition of a manufacturing strategy on the competitive means which the business units emphasize to compete on the market, and the nature of manufacturing objectives. Formulates and tests hypotheses within areas of manufacturing strategy that have been identified as missing themes in the literature. Shows that companies that have a manufacturing strategy are significantly more profitable than those without one. They are also significantly better in competing with dependable deliveries. Argues that companies with a manufacturing strategy, regardless of the direction of the strategy, have identified quality programmes and other preventive actions as being fundamental issues in manufacturing. Thus gives support to the research that suggests that competitive priorities should be sequentially applied in manufacturing.

Abstract: Gerontological nurses are currently using life review and reminiscence with clients. The terms are used interchangeably in practice and in the literature as though both were the same modality. Much confusion has resulted from lack of definitions of the modalities. Therefore, potentially effective nursing interventions are neither clearly understood nor correctly operationalized. This paper presents an analysis of each modality in an effort to clarify differences and further elucidate the current usage of them as concepts in nursing practice.

Abstract: The paper describes how the apparent move towards rationality in allocating resources in the National Health Service using statistically based formulae is illusory. This is not just a technical problem of poor application of statistical techniques. The basic problem is to find a combination of factors reflecting dimensions of need and then appropriate weights with which to combine them within the context of the guiding principles of equity and efficiency. The paper explains how there has been little consistency in measuring need and how statistical methods have often masked the lack of appropriate data and models. Alternative approaches to measuring need within a policy context are discussed and a research agenda is outlined which, rather than concentrating on evermore complex statistical techniques, focuses on the necessity for more validly operationalizing 'needs' and their resource implications.

Abstract: textIn this paper the relationship between adaptive selling and organizational behavior is analysed. Specifically, it is discovered that adaptive behavior is a multifaceted concept which is not linearly related to the organizational characteristics in the way it was operationalized in a former study by Sujan and Weitz. In order to gain a better insight into the functioning of adaptive selling within organizations, a different methodology is suggested. By means of more inductive research more detailed models should be generated, which then can be tested for robustness with a more deductive approach. Concept creation should have a more empirical foundation before concepts are entered into a theoretical network.

Abstract: In recent formulations of the concept of health promotion, such as Achieving Health for All and the Ottawa Charter, emphasis is clearly placed on comprehensivity and the integration of individual and social determinants of health, broadly defined. This paper is premised on the observation that despite evidence of a paradigm shift in the way we talk about health promotion at a conceptual level, we have yet to properly articulate a 'new' research methodology to accompany the 'new' health promotion. The paper has three main sections. First, some of the limitations and contradictions that separate the rhetoric of health promotion from its current operationalization in research practice are discussed. In asserting the inherent links between theory, methodology and method, the need for a new research paradigm is demonstrated. In the second section, seven key issues derived from the literature on sociological theory are identified and discussed in terms of their implications for choosing a new research methodology for health promotion. In the third section it is suggested that using these issue areas as a 'decision map' leads to the selection of a preferred strategy which brings together both interpretive and critical perspectives to bear on our understanding of social reality as it affects health. Elements of both of these approaches and the nature of their potential complimentarity are considered. Throughout these deliberations the reader is encouraged to consider the potentially conservative or activist orientations that alternate methodologies imply, and to critically evaluate how these mesh with the emerging rhetoric of fostering empowerment that is the cornerstone of the 'new' health promotion.

Abstract: The article analyses the critical reception of Serge Moscovici's theory of social representations in Anglo-Saxon literature (Harre 1984; Potter and Litton 1985; Jahoda 1988 and Billig 1988). The criticism is examined with regard to three themes: the unclarity of the theory, the definition of the group and the concept of consensuality, and the process of formation and development of representations. It appeared that the 'social' in Moscovici's theory, however, though largely held to be its chief contribution, is not discussed by these critics, with exception of Harre. The criticism mostly concentrated on pointing out the unclarity of the concepts and the problems of operationalization which derive from it. One may ask whether the aim is to make Moscovici's thoughts familiar by anchoring them onto the individualism of our culture and by objectifying them into the demand of operational definitions. The question is raised, however, as to how lonely a paradigm the theory of social representations actually represents. Finally it is proposed that the 'social' promised by Moscovici's theory should be approached as a problem of the relationship between scientific and everyday conceptions, i.e. in the context of specific aspects of social reality.

Abstract: This article describes a conceptual model of kechnology absorption and adaptation leading to a country's export-based conipetitiveness in high-technology products, and the results of the model's application to empirical data on 29 countries. The model is one output of a recently-completed, five-year investigation of indicators of high-technology development. The model's seven conceptual variables were operationalized by combining statistical data with expert-derived measures to produce composite indicators. The seven indicators include four “leading” or infact indicators that are expected to be predictive of a nation's competitiveness, in high-techndogy products i n approximately 15 years, and three output indicators of current competitiveness: world market share, national emphasis on high technology products for export, and recent rate of change in world market share. Extensive assument of the validity and reliability of the indicators leads to the conclusion that the model is a useful tool, for both pol...

Abstract: ion, that these were indeed rights, in practice the consensus would break down very quickly into debate about progress. This has been a very important aspect of the reluctance to talk about economic rights. Second, in the area of first generation rights, you have an infinite opportunity to express them. To be sure, if everyone insists on a right to speak on the same street corner at the same time, equal enjoyment would mean no enjoyment. But with a certain amount of management, roughly equal opportunity is achievable. When, however, it comes to the division of the gross national product, whether it is inter-generationally or within a single generation, only a finite amount of the valued thing is available. No consensus criteria exist for deciding how to make the requisite allocations. Different societies at different times, even different groups within a society, will disagree about the appropriate criteria. Allow me to conclude by disagreeing slightly with many of my colleagues by suggesting that we should try to operationalize the right to participate at the macro-level. The ability to participate through the traditional or classical modality of elected representatives is diminished by two phenomena of our time. First, of course, is privatization. As privatization continues, the state has fewer tools and less opportunity to make decisions on matters that vitally affect the quality of life of the electorate. But even if privatization does not occur, as long as the aspiration to increase the gross national product survives, then the consequent participation of the country in the global economy reduces the ability of national policy makers to influence outcomes. If we focus on participation on the micro or project level, I believe the key issue is the nature of the right to participation. Is it a right to be informed or to have one's views heard? Is it a right to veto projects when the local deprivation is great and the general benefits are uncertain or modest? Is it a right not to suffer a disproportionate burden in contributing to a possibly very great increase in the economic welfare of the society? Or, is it simply a right to compete for the benefits which result from growth? This question brings us back to the macro-level. Here one might look to demands for more education and training, antitrust laws, harsh taxation of inherited wealth, and so on. [VOL. 8:1 15 1992] HIERARCHY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 119 I would say finally that perhaps the deepest element of conflict between rights to development and rights to participation, both of which are group rights, and the classic first-generation concerns of human rights groups, relates to the fundamental question of what human rights are about. Some people think of human rights ultimately as a means to permit individuals to invent and re-invent themselves or to maintain their peculiar personal identity (to be, in G.K. Chesterton's words, "their own petty little selves"). Others think of these rights as a means for groups to prosper and to maintain their identity or to change their identity. Harsh conflicts arise between individual rights and other kinds of rights. In the process of seeking to maintain their identity, groups often must practice or wish to practice forced inclusion and exclusion, and often such group practices are incompatible with the whole notion of human rights as a basis for individual creation and recreation.

Abstract: Summary •Although numerous definitions have been presented and several attempts have been made to operationalize the concept of empathy, no theoretical framework exists that addresses the concept in depth. •This paper focuses on the concept of empathy as it is presented in the literature by comparing the different theoretical and operational approaches pertaining to the concept. •A theoretical definition of the concept of empathy is developed. •The appropriateness of the different definitions of empathy will be considered in terms of their pragmatic adequacy for nursing.

Abstract: The relationship between decentralization and governance has not been adequately explored in the literature. Many past studies have failed to assess fully the impact of decentralization because of the lack of a set of independent, comparative indicators of the quality of decentralization being implemented in a given country. The authors adopt the working hypothesis that decentralization, both as a process and as an end state in terms of organization and operations, is closely related to the quality of governance in developing countries. In order to provide an empirical basis for a comparative assessment, the authors have developed a model based on the scope, intensity and commitment to decentralization in a country. Each of these concepts is operationalized in terms of a set of empirically measurable variables. The method is then applied to the case of Tunisia and assessed as a tool for the comparative study of decentralization and governance. Decentralization in Tunisia is shown to have an important relationship to the quality of governance in that country. The methodology developed here for the analysis of the quality of decentralization appears, based on the examination of a significant case, to be worth pursuing cross-nationally.

Abstract: This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities that multiculturalism presents to library and information science education. Multiculturalism here is synonymous with cultural diversity and denotes the recent critical concepts that are counterposed to ethnocentrism, cultural monolithicism, and the assumption of epistemological universality. The aim of this essay is to develop conceptual strategies that will contribute to the operationalization of a multicultural curriculum. To provide that framework, the discussions draw upon concepts and literature from a variety of research fields that deal with the role of culture in human cognitive processes and informational behaviors