Describes the relationship of self-determination theory to elective physical activity motivation, offering the following recommendations for physical activity practitioners: give positive feedback, promote moderately difficult goals, provide choice of activities, provide a rational for activities, promote the development of social relationships,…

Predictions from Polachek's theory explaining occupational sex segregation are tested and found to be false. The data do not show that women are penalized less for intermittent employment if they choose predominantly female occupations. There is no evidence that such a choice is economically rational. (Author/SK)

An emphasis on logic is the basis of argumentation theory and practice, both past and present; the policy systems model of debate--which is based on the assumption that argumentation is a means for injecting rationality into choice--sharpens and clarifies traditional ideas and suggests significant new approaches, while retaining existing…

The budget decision making process at Stanford University, California, from 1970 through 1979 was evaluated in relation to the allocation of general funds to 38 academic departments. Using Simon's theory of bounded rationality and an organizational level of analysis, the Stanford decision process was tested for its rationality through…

This paper presents two types of approaches to media selection--rational-choice approaches and social-influence approaches. It is argued that designers should combine the two types of approaches in a bottom-up/top-down media-selection process. As examples of the two types of approaches, two conceptual frameworks are described--task/media fit and…

The chaos theory of careers emphasises continual change, the centrality and importance of chance events, the potential of minor events to have disproportionately large impacts on subsequent events, and the capacity for dramatic phase shifts in career behaviour. This approach challenges traditional approaches to career counselling, assumptions…

Expectancy theory and decision theory research predicting occupational preference and choice were reviewed to assess the usefulness of such approaches. Each investigation produced substantial support for the use of such models suggesting that both theories can provide practical insights for occupational guidance and counseling. While theoretical,…

Four philosophers, familiar with the work of economists, comment on the foundations and substance of applied economics. Joseph Pitt, in "Philosophy in Applied Economics," focuses on rationality and rational choice as a foundation for economics and stresses the idea of relevance in relating data to applied economics. He believes rational…

Government expansion of child care services is based on the assumption that both parents are employed (the adult worker model) and make cost-benefit calculations in choosing child care (the rational economic choice model). This paper addresses this assumption, based on research examining mothers' assessments of appropriate child care. These…

After decades of development and use in a variety of application areas, Quantitative Structure Property Relationships (QSPRs) and related descriptor-based statistical learning methods have achieved a level of infamy due to their misuse. The field is rife with past examples of overtrained models, overoptimistic performance assessment, and outright…

Examines recent history of British public administration from the 1970s era of eclecticism, organizational theory, and policy analysis through the 1980s New Right Ideology and emphasis on rational choice to the 1990s, when the Economic and Social Research Council is investing significant research funds in administration. (SK)

What is the cause of crime? One can find answers in many places: in Genesis, in the plays of Sophocles and Shakespeare, in Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment" and "Brothers Karamazov." The many answers include impiety, appetite, rage, and even the lure of transgression itself. For many, religious and poetic insights still offer the most…

The paper raises theoretical insights against central premises underlying the policy of parental choice and educational market from the standpoint of the institutional theory of organization. It discusses how the institutional theory may explain the barriers to diversity, responsiveness, and improvement, all of which are assumed to be driven by…

Discusses how political science has shaped educational politics. Examines educational politics' contribution to political science theory-building, highlighting federalism, multiple power centers, race relations, and democratic schooling issues. Explores why educational politics researchers diverge from the new political science paradigm (the…

This pamphlet describes SIGI, a computer-based System of Interactive Guidance and Information designed to help students in community and junior colleges make career decisions. SIGI is based on a humanistic philosophy, a theory of guidance that emphasizes individual values, a vast store of occupational data, and a strategy for processing…