Women and Religion: The Transformation of Leadership Roles

This paper explores women's leadership roles in the sociology of religion. I focus on the women presidents of three social science research organizations that specialize in the study of religious phenomena: the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, the Association for the Sociology of Religion, and the Religious Research Association, and make some comparisons with women presidents of the American Sociological Association. This paper draws on the work of Marie Augusta Neal for a sociological perspective on women and religion. It suggests policy implications for women and other marginalized groups, and concludes with personal reflections on the transformation process.     

MULTIPLE ASSESSMENT OF MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS: INTERRATER AGREEMENT AND CONSENSUS IN EFFECTIVENESS MODELS

Research has consistently identified poor interrater agreement among multiple assessments of managerial performance. Three alternative sources of dissensus in the effectiveness ratings were examined: rating errors, selective perceptions, and variations in criteria type or weight. As the available empirical evidence and theoretical analysis show, all three causes provide plausible reasons—though in varying degrees—for the low agreement coefficient. However, an empirical study designed to test three specific hypotheses on criterion type and criterion weights found consensus in the effectiveness models of superiors, subordinates, and peers. Consensus among different raters was high on both the role behaviors and on the personal traits of the managers as criteria for effectiveness. While these findings supported Biddle's role theory (1979), disagreement on the relative weights of these criteria was evident. These observations underscore the need for further conceptualization on the preference functions of raters as a primary source of the low convergent validity coefficients among multiple raters. Further research is also desirable on contextual and cognitive factors that may lead to shifts in criterion type and criterion weight, as well as on actual rating error tendencies among different raters.     

Self-reported change in health behaviour after a mass media-based health education campaign

A comprehensive short-term fund-raising campaign, was launched in 1987 by a health charity organization in cooperation with the only Norwegian TV-channel covering the whole country. The campaign which was extensively announced on TV and other media and which involved large proportions of the population, finished up with a six hour TV-show on the fund-raising day. Because a considerable amount of information on prevention of heart disease was presented in connection with the campaign, it is presently evaluated as a nationwide health education campaign. Twenty-two per cent of the population reported changes in one or more habits in connection with the campaign (one third of them took more exercise, while one quarter reduced/quit their smoking). Health behaviour change among family/friends, reported new knowledge of health and worry created by the campaign, were the factors most clearly associated with self-reported behaviour change. The paper discusses the magnitude of the effects of the campaign in relation to the study design, and the importance of social environment and fear arousal on health behaviour.     

Psychological and Social Ramifications of Battering: Observations Leading to a Counseling Methodology for Victims of Domestic Violence

This article offers a profile of men who batter, a set of the common characteristics observed among victims and an analysis of the destructive forces that keep the victims captive.