Evaluating the impact of utility company billing plans on residential energy consumption

Many utility companies offer their customers the choice of participation in an average payment plan, which enables them to pay a fixed sum for their utility bill each month (with final settlement at the end of the billing year), instead of the conventional “pay as you go” billing procedure. Because customers on average payment plans are protected from paying large bills during peak energy-use seasons and because the information about monthly energy use and its cost is perhaps less salient to them, it was hypothesized that customers on the average payment plan would use more electricity than customers not on the plan. Using a nonequivalent control group design, the electricity consumption of a selection of customers of two utility companies (Ns = 475 and 74) was examined. The results showed that there was no evidence to support the hypothesis. Since the logic of hypothesis testing does not permit the ready acceptance of the null hypothesis, several procedural, methodological, and statistical points were made to buttress the conclusion that the average payment plans had no effect on electricity consumption.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Egalitarianism and Affective Bias: Avenues to Reducing Prejudice Among Adolescents

In an era during which affirmative action in education is in jeopardy, it is important to understand how the ideologies of high-status ethnic group members maintain (or reduce) social inequality. We examine the extent to which the relationship between egalitarianism and prejudice among European American and Asian American adolescents can be explained by outgroup orientation (i.e., how much one values interacting with members of other ethnic groups) and strength of identification with one's ethnic group. Using structural equation modeling, we tested whether these two variables mediate the relationship between egalitarianism and intergroup prejudice. Results revealed that outgroup orientation was a mediator, but ethnic identity was not. Implications for mutual acculturation theory, prejudice-reduction programs, and affirmative action in education are discussed.     

The TRIPs agreement and technological innovation

In this paper we attempt to evaluate the possible spill-over of the international agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPs for short), underwritten in 1994, regarding economic growth for both wealthy and developing countries. We find that the TRIPs convention has prompted, at the same time, innovation in developing countries and a rise in the per capita income for all the economies involved in international commerce. As a by-product of our research we find that, despite the strong growth of resident patents application after 1995 (the year in which TRIPs came into force), most of the increase in the gross domestic product per capita in developing countries is attributable to the international transfer of technologies, via foreign direct investments.     

Combined survival analysis of cardiac patients by a Cox PH model and a Markov chain

The control and treatment of dyslipidemia is a major public health challenge, particularly for patients with coronary heart diseases. In this paper we propose a framework for survival analysis of patients who had a major cardiac event, focusing on assessment of the effect of changing LDL-cholesterol level and statins consumption on survival. This framework includes a Cox PH model and a Markov chain, and combines their results into reinforced conclusions regarding the factors that affect survival time. We prospectively studied 2,277 cardiac patients, and the results show high congruence between the Markov model and the PH model; both evidence that diabetes, history of stroke, peripheral vascular disease and smoking significantly increase hazard rate and reduce survival time. On the other hand, statin consumption is correlated with a lower hazard rate and longer survival time in both models. The role of such a framework in understanding the therapeutic behavior of patients and implementing effective secondary and primary prevention of heart diseases is discussed here.     

Oriental Othering and National Identity: A review of Early Israeli Anthropological Studies of Palestinians

Israeli culturalism, like Israeli identity at large, is premised on a two-pronged negation-that of the Jewish diaspora and that of the Arab East. Its emergence was assisted, directly or indirectly, by academic anthropology. The formative cohort of Israeli anthropology, mainly male researchers who came of academic age in the 1960s and 1970s, displayed stronger preoccupation with the Palestinian citizens of Israel than is normally recognized. This preoccupation, and the marginal status of Palestinians as a minority trapped within the ethno-territorial Jewish project, render the relationship between anthropological knowledge, Israeli statehood and constructions of Israeli identity particularly suggestive. The combination of these elements, so deeply integrated into Israeli public discourse, resurfaces in a grotesque, exaggerated form, as Israelis grapple to make sense of the Palestinian Intifada of 2000-2001 and of Wahabist inspired terrorism and America's 'War Against Terror' further a field.     

Some New Regression Methods for Predictive and Construct Validation

Social Indicators Research -     

The Many Faces of Asset Specificity: A Critical Review of Key Theoretical Perspectives

This paper presents a review of the concept of asset specificity and of the impact which asset specificity is expected to exert on the performance of buyer–supplier relationships. The paper begins by unpacking the complex definitional features of asset specificity and how its multifaceted nature is reflected in an inconsistent and rather ad hoc operationalization of the construct in the extant empirical literature. Following a comprehensive examination of the many dimensions of asset specificity, the review then focuses on the expected role of asset specificity in inter‐firm relationships according to three different theoretical perspectives: transaction costs economics, the resource‐based view and relational exchange theory. Considerable ambiguities and inconsistencies are highlighted by reviewing hypotheses typically developed within their respective theoretical framework. The paper concludes by identifying key challenges and new directions in order to derive maximum benefit from future research.     

The haircut: Its meaning in childhood

This article is an attempt towards understanding precipitants of anxiety experienced by a child when he gets a haircut. The danger posed by this experience is compared to a surgical procedure and seen as unique because unlike surgery, a haircut is not actually painful. Nonetheless, haircuts can precipitate great anxiety in children. Some sources of the anxiety caused by haircuts across libidinal lines of development are considered, and examples are presented. Ways to help ease the anxiety of this experience are discussed.     

Lessons Learned from an LGBTQ Senior Center: A Bronx Tale

This article describes an interdisciplinary pilot study exploring the impact of LGBTQ senior centers on the lives of center members. Many LGBTQ adults face the future having experienced stigma and bias, restricted rights, and rejection from family of origin, and are now growing older without the support of a partner and adult children. As a result, older LGBTQ adults experience higher rates of depression, loneliness and isolation, and shortened life expectancy as compared to non-LGBTQ peers. Findings from focus group and key informant interviews highlight features of LGBTQ senior center experiences that can significantly improve members’ quality of life. These include providing family, acceptance and a home, which can have an impact on outlook and outcomes. Moreover, findings suggest the need for re-thinking hetero-normative definitions of “community” in the context of LGBTQ aging.

Beyond sharing findings from the study, suggesting a conceptual framework for deepening understanding about LGBTQ aging, and identifying lines of future inquiry, the article articulates implications for social work research, practice and education. Ultimately, the article argues that social work is well positioned to improve quality of life for this under-served population when it adopts a cultural humility stance in research, practice and education.