Abstract Measuring features of the local food environment has been a major challenge in studying the effect of the environment on diet. This study examined associations between alternate ways of characterizing the local food environment by comparing Geographic Information System (GIS)-derived densities of various types of stores to perception-based measures of the availability of healthy… Continue reading Comparing Perception-Based and Geographic Information System (GIS)-Based Characterizations of the Local Food Environment

Record check studies-involving the comparison of survey responses with external record evidence-are a familiar tool in survey methodology. The findings of a recently conducted reverse record check study are reported here. The analyses examine match rates between survey reports and police records, employing more or less restrictive match criteria-e.g., using various computer algorithms versus human… Continue reading Matching Survey Responses to Official Records: An Exploration of Validity in Victimization Reporting

Many formal organizational structures arise as reflections of rationalized institutional rules. The elaboration of such rules in modern states and societies accounts in part for the expansion and increased complexity of formal organizational structures. Institutional rules function as myths which organizations incorporate, gaining legitimacy, resources, stability, and enhanced survival prospects. Organizations whose structures become isomorphic… Continue reading Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony