Elite Interviewing: Approaches and Pitfalls

Interviews are one of the major tools in qualitative research, although there is a limited literature on the subject of interviewing generally and elite interviewing particularly. The aim of this article is to introduce some of the issues involved in elite interviewing to researchers new to the use of the technique. Emphasis is also placed on the need for the interviewer to know his/her subject thoroughly, and to be prepared to be flexible in an interview situation. The information is based on the author's own recent experience of interviewing a number of top civil servants, both serving and retired.     

Institutions and the convergence hypothesis: The cross-national evidence

DeLong and others have shown that cross-country convergence in per capita incomes is limited to samples of currently-industrialized nations, or universal-literacy nations. In particular, income dispersion has failed to decline in groups of ex ante rich nations. This study finds strong convergence in per capita incomes among nations with institutions (namely secure property rights) conducive to saving, investing, and producing. Incomes are shown to converge even within ex ante rich samples when measures of institutional quality are held constant.     

The sporting life: Athletic activities during early adolescence

The decline in sports participation that begins in early adolescence has been well documented, and there has been considerable controversy regarding the reasons for this attrition. The present study addressed the attrition process by focusing on the subjective experience of sports as a function of grade, gender, and sport context. Following the procedures of the Experience Sampling Method, 401 5th–9th-grade boys and girls carried electronic pagers, similar to those worn by doctors, for one week, and filled out self-report forms on their activities and subjective states in response to signals received at random times. Older respondents spent less time in sports than their younger peers. This age difference was due primarily to a decline in informal sports participation, with less pronounced attrition from organized sports. Our findings suggest that the reasons for attrition from sport may be context specific. While informal sports were experienced more positively than gym class or organized sports, perceptions of skill were lowest during informal sports and declined with age. It seems youngsters stop participating in organized sports because these activities are less enjoyable to them, while attrition from informal sports is more performance based. Boys spent more time in sports than girls, and this difference was based primarily upon significant gender differences in informal sports participation. In spite of their differential rates of participation, boys and girls reported similar levels of affect, arousal, and skill during sports.This research was supported by NIMH grant number MH38324, Stress in Daily Life During Early Adolescence, awarded to Reed Larson, and was carried out while the first author was a Dissertation Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago.Received Ph.D. in psychology from Loyola University of Chicago. Current research interests include athletic, involvement during early adolescence, body image, and adolescent mental health.Current research interests are stress and coping during early adolescence, and the adaptive use of leisure time.Received Ph.D. from the Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago. Current research interests include pubertal development, the precursors of eating disorders, and the effects of maternal employment of young adolescents.     

Classwork and homework in early adolescence: The ecology of achievement

Recent studies have questioned whether the nation's educational system is adequately preparing children to function productively in today's society. To examine this issue, the present study utilized the Experience Sampling Method to investigate the amount of time young adolescents spent doing classwork and homework, their inner subjective experience while doing so, and their companions while doing homework. The relationship between these variables and students' academic performance was also examined. Results revealed that students spent only 15.5 hours per week engaged in school work and only 6 hours per week doing homework, with increased homework time associated with better academic achievement. In addition, students were found to complete homework primarily alone or in classes, although doing homework with their parents was associated with better academic performance. Lastly, students' affect was found to be relatively neutral when doing classwork, but comparatively more negative while doing homework, particularly when doing homework alone. The implications of these findings for understanding the socializing influence of school are discussed.This research was supported by NIMH grant number MH38324, Stress in Daily Life During Early Adolescence, awarded to Reed Larson. This paper was prepared while the first author was a Schmitt Dissertation Fellow at Loyola University of Chicago.Received her Ph.D. from Loyola University of Chicago, Current Research interest are familial and intrapsychic influences on adolescents' academic performance.Current Research interests are pubertal development, precursors of eating disorders, and the effect of maternal employment on young adolescents.     

A Comparison of Dependent and Self-Critically Depressed Hospitalized Adolescents

One hundred ninety-four hospitalized adolescents were administered the Adolescent Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ-A). The DEQ-A factors (dependency, self-criticism) correlated well with independent measures of depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and suicide risk. After controlling for depression, self-criticism and dependency showed differential associations with hopelessness, violence potential, and impulsivity. A subgroup of 84 inpatients identified as either highly self-critical or highly dependent based on the DEQ-A was also compared for differences in personality and symptomatic behavior. Self-critical and dependent patients exhibited equally high levels of depression, hopelessness, suicidality, and low self-esteem. Few differences were observed in personality or symptomatic behavior between the two groups. These findings, while extending previous research that relied on community samples of young adults, provide only mixed support for a distinction between these two categories of depression.     

Documents Received

Publications Received

Documents Received     

The negligence of prison authorities and the protection of prisoner’s rights

This article looks at the potential for legal action brought by prisoners (and their dependants) who have suffered from the alleged neglect of the prison authorities. The article will examine the case law in this area to assess the success of prisoners’ negligence claims and whether such claims are unduly fettered by judicial attitudes and other more practical issues such as the difficulty in establishing a breach of duty. In particular the article will consider whether the law and its application has been, or should be, modified in the light of new obligations imposed on public authorities, including the courts, by the Human Rights Act 1998 and by the developing case law of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Convention rights such as the right to life and freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment.     

Suspect/Foil Identification in Actual Crimes and in the Laboratory: A Reality Monitoring Analysis

Four reality monitoring variables were used to discriminate suspect from foil identifications in 183 actual criminal cases. Four hundred sixty-one identification attempts based on five and six-person lineups were analyzed. These identification attempts resulted in 238 suspect identifications and 68 foil identifications. Confidence, automatic processing, eliminative processing and feature use comprised the set of reality monitoring variables. Thirty-five verbal confidence phrases taken from police reports were assigned numerical values on a 10-point confidence scale. Automatic processing identifications were those that occurred “immediately” or “without hesitation.” Eliminative processing identifications occurred when witnesses compared or eliminated persons in the lineups. Confidence, automatic processing and eliminative processing were significant predictors, but feature use was not. Confidence was the most effective discriminator. In cases that involved substantial evidence extrinsic to the identification 43% of the suspect identifications were made with high confidence, whereas only 10% of the foil identifications were made with high confidence. The results of a laboratory study using the same predictors generally paralleled the archival results. Forensic implications are discussed.