The role of informal social support in needs assessment: proposal and application of a model to assess immigrants' needs in the south of Spain

Needs assessment models have been generally focused on the identification and prioritization of needs, analysing formal resources available in the community as possible solutions for existing problems. These kinds of models have assumed that formal services are the primary source of support for individuals in need. However, a great deal of the investigations in the field of Social Psychology have shown that the main source of help and support when facing a problem is not formal organizations, but people's own informal networks. In this article, we therefore propose a needs assessment model that emphasizes the importance of analysing both formal and informal social resources. The application of this model to assess Moroccan immigrants' needs in the south of Spain shows the anticipated low level of utilization of formal services and programmes, one that contrasts with the high use of informal networks as an essential source of social support for this group of immigrants. These results reveal the limitations of traditional needs assessment models, and the importance of incorporating the analysis of informal social support as a key resource for need satisfaction, particularly in the case of immigrant populations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Six types of fallaciousness: Toward a realistic theory of logical criticism

I begin by formulating the problem of the nature of fallacy in terms of the logic of the negative evaluation of argument, that is, in terms of a theory of logical criticism; here I discuss several features of my approach and several advantages vis-à-vis other approaches; a main feature of my approach is the concern to avoid both formalist and empiricist excesses. I then define six types of fallaciousness, labeled formal, explanatory, presuppositional, positive, semantical, and persuasive; they all involve arguments whose conclusion may be said not to follow from the premises, that is, they involve the logical evaluation of relationships among propositions. I also provide a set of data consisting of four historical cases or nine specific instances of fallacious arguments; these all pertain to the Copernican controversy about the earth's motion in the seventeenth century. I end with a discussion of further problems and inquiries that deserve attention.     

Reasoned use of expertise in argumentation

This article evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of arguments based on appeals to expertise. The intersection of two areas is explored: (i) the traditional argumentum ad verecundiam (literally, appeal to modesty, but characteristically the appeal to the authority of expert judgment) in informal logic, and (ii) the uses of expert systems in artificial intelligence. The article identifies a model of practical reasoning that underlies the logic of expert systems and the model of argument appropriate for the informal logic of the argumentum ad verecundiam.     

What motivates men to offer sperm donation via the internet?

To investigate why men offer sperm donation via the internet, a questionnaire was disseminated via 39 Dutch-language websites thought to be visited by potential sperm donors. Nine internet donors completed the survey, men who typically knew the women they were donating to. Their responses were compared with those of a control group of 35 general sperm bank donors who were recruited using flyers in Dutch sperm banks, and who were typically unaware of the identity of the eventual recipients. The findings shed light on the motives and attitudes of internet donors. Both groups of donors indicated that their primary motivation for donating was altruism (>80% of all respondents). However, internet donors had a more pronounced desire to procreate than sperm bank donors (6 out of 9, i.e. 66 vs. 22%, respectively) and more often felt that they had good genes they wished to pass on (5 out of 9, i.e. 55 vs. 31%, respectively). The main reason internet donors gave for donating via the internet was that they wanted to know the prospective parents and be kept up to date on the progress of the offspring conceived from their donations. This distinguishes them significantly from sperm bank donors. A further finding was that they were not prompted to avoid the formal donation circuit for which, by law in the Netherlands, pregnancies resulting from donations have to be registered in a central database. This study is subject to several, in some cases inevitable, limitations, but it provides an interesting starting point that future studies can seek to confirm and extend.     

Sales management control systems: review,synthesis, and directions for future exploration

Sales management control systems (SMCSs) are designed to align salespeople's activities and actions with organizational objectives. This article reviews and synthesizes over 50 SMCS articles published in sales, marketing, and management journals over the past 30 years. We begin by building a comprehensive framework that enables us to classify prior research into digestible categories (e.g., SMCSs as antecedents, SMCSs as consequences). Next, we present an analysis of gaps in the literature. Among other findings, our analysis reveals that there is an overwhelming focus on the use of formal (specifically behavior- and outcome-based) controls as compared to their informal control counterparts. Finally, we suggest avenues for future research: (1) mapping and understanding the full spectrum of control mechanisms, (2) developing a fuller understanding of the often-overlooked forms of control (e.g., input and cultural controls), and (3) more thoroughly analyzing how controls operate (or do not operate) as an integrated system.     

Understanding injuries in sports: Self-reported injury and perceived risk of injury among adolescents

IntroductionAlthough exposure and perceived risk of injury in sports among adolescents is a well-known phenomenon today, their understanding remains poorly explored.ObjectiveThis study examines the relationships between demographics, sport motives, and sport-related characteristics in a sample of French adolescents involved in sports.MethodsThe sample included 394 adolescents involved in sports, between 13 and 19 years old. The adolescents filled out a questionnaire requesting information about their age, sex, sport motives, sport-related characteristics, the number of injuries, and perceived risk of injury in their preferred sport.ResultsThe findings showed that the number of injuries was related to age, sex, type of sport and the participant's motives. The will to play to the limit increased with the exposure to injury. Participation in risky sports and the will to play to the limit were predictors of the adolescents’ risk of exposure to sports injuries. Time devoted to sports appears to be a confounding factor. Moreover, boys exhibited higher number of injuries than girls, and they perceived their preferred sport as riskier.ConclusionExposure to the risk of injury in sports and the exacerbated perception of that risk may provide a means of enhancing one's self-image, procuring an emotional experience, and constructing one's masculinity.     

Rhetoric and Dialectic in the Twenty-First Century

The paper presents a historical overview of some characteristic differences between rhetoric and dialectic in the pre-modern tradition. In the light of this historical analysis, some current approaches to dialectic are characterized, with special attention to Ralph Johnson's concept of dialectical tier.     

Dialogue theory for critical thinking

A general outline of a theory of reasoned dialogue is presented as an underlying basis of critical analysis of a text of argument discourse. This theory is applied to the analysis of informal fallacies by showing how textual evidence can be brought to bear in argument reconstruction. Several basic types of dialogue are identified and described, but the persuasive type of dialogue is emphasized as being of key importance to critical thinking theory.     

Rationale for a pragma-dialectical perspective

Starting from a concept of reasonableness as well-consideredness, it is discussed in what way science could serve as a model for reasonable argumentation. It turns out that in order to be reasonable two requirements have to be fulfilled. The argumentation should comply with rules which are both problem-valid and intersubjectively valid. Geometrical and anthropological perspectives don't meet these criteria, but a critical perspective does. It is explained that a pragma-dialectical approach to argumentation which agrees with this critical perspective is indeed problem-valid and that strong pragmatic and utilitarian arguments can be given for its intersubjective validity. Thus, conventional validity is promoted for a code of conduct for discussants who want to resolve their disputes reasonably by way of a critical discussion.