How you “act your age” when you watch TV

Americans watch a great deal of television. But the factors traditionally considered to determine or explain television usage—availability of free time, low income or class status, low education, emotional difficulties, and lack of structured social interactions—are not generalizable across the adult life span. The television viewing of people over the age of 30 has been understudied—a research bias that mirrors society's youth orientation and essentially excludes older adults from this model. The author analyzed data collected in the National Opinion Research Center's 1988 General Social Survey to assess the determinants of television viewing for adults of all ages. Results indicate that as persons perceive themselves to be in different stages of life and take on age-appropriate roles, tasks, and perspectives, they have distinctively different reasons for viewing. Second, the factors considered to determine TV viewing in the traditional model fit the pattern of younger adults' viewing best while predicting the behavior of the elderly least. The author proposes an interpretation of the findings, and discusses future research avenues including the development of age-sensitive models and theories.An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society in April 1992.     

Do you reward and punish in the way you think others expect you to?

This paper addresses three questions: (1) When deciding on whether to reward or punish someone, how does how you think others expect you to behave affect your decision? (2) Does it depend upon whether others expect you to reward them vs. punish them? (3) What is the interpretation of such a causal effect? We investigate these questions using a modification of the lost wallet trust game (a simplified version of the trust game) that permits punishment. Like previous studies, we collect data on what second-movers think that first-movers expect them to do by directly eliciting the second-movers’ expectations. Unlike previous studies, we ensure exogeneity of these expectations by instrumenting for them. The instrument is the expectations of neutral observers which are disclosed to second-movers prior to the elicitation of second-movers’ expectations. We find that what you think others expect you to do has a zero causal effect on both reward and punishment decisions. We also find that it is important to instrument for second-order expectations because they are endogenous. We interpret these findings in terms of models of guilt-aversion and intentional reciprocity.     

Differential response in child protection: How much is too much?

Recurring maltreatment can have devastating, lifelong consequences for children who are victims of abuse and neglect. The primary mission of child protection services (CPS) agencies is to prevent the recurrence of child maltreatment by offering families services designed to prevent future maltreatment. In order for these services to be effective, however, families must actually engage in them. This study focuses on how differential response programs impact families' successful engagement in services as indicated by long-term child safety outcomes.Differential response refers to a dual track system that allows public CPS agencies to respond to accepted reports of child abuse or neglect with either a traditional investigative response (TR) or an alternative response (AR). The AR is designed to be a less authoritative and less adversarial approach to families presenting a low- to moderate-risk of maltreatment. The AR involves collaboration with the family in a comprehensive assessment of the family's needs, risks and strengths and a referral to services on a voluntary basis. States implementing DR systems statewide vary greatly in the percentage of accepted reports that are assigned to the AR track. The goal of this study is to determine what rate of AR utilization is most effective in reducing subsequent reports of abuse and neglect for cases assigned to the AR.This study compares child safety outcomes for children assigned to the AR and those assigned to the TR within each of the fourteen states which implemented DR statewide between 2000–2012. The analysis uses Cox proportional hazards regression. Data for this observational study are drawn from the 2000–2012 data in the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) child files. Child safety is measured by re-reporting of the child to CPS.The theoretical model underpinning the study is McCurdy and Daro's (2001) Integrated Theory of Participant Involvement (ITPI) which outlines a conceptual model of parental engagement in services. This study hypothesizes that AR utilization rates affect the risk level of cases assigned to the AR. The ITPI model offers a possible explanation as to why higher risk cases may not be as responsive to the AR approach which depends upon the family's voluntary participation in services.The key finding of this study is that, in states assigning > 33% of reports to the AR, children on the AR track are being re-reported at equal or higher rates than those on the TR track. Only in those states utilizing the AR track for < 33% of the cases are AR cases being consistently re-reported at lower rates than those on the TR track. This article explores ways to improve the accuracy of track assignment decisions to prevent the assignment of higher risk families to the alternative response.     

"How much do you spend gambling?" ambiguities in survey questionnaire items

The validity of a survey's findings is dependent upon the clarity and lack of ambiguity contained in each individual item yet minimal attention has been directed to this issue in most prevalence studies. Researchers have shown a tendency to accept the uncritical assumption that respondents interpret seemingly simple and straightforward items such as 'how much do you spend gambling?' in a consistent manner. No attempt is made to confirm the uniformity of responses by clarifying the mathematical formulae used by respondents to derive their answers. The purpose of this paper was to examine the consistency shown by a sample of 181 medical undergraduate subjects in estimating the level of gambling expenditure in a series of five case vignettes describing various scenarios of wins and losses during a session of gambling. Results revealed a wide variation in calculated figures depending upon whether or not subjects interpreted the item to mean net expenditure or turnover. Only two thirds or less of subjects calculated the figure to be the difference between the initial amount risked and the residual at the conclusion of the session. It is suggested that more attention be paid in prevalence and clinical studies to providing subjects with clear instructions on how to calculate expenditure estimates.     

How much does reducing inequality matter for global poverty?

The Journal of Economic Inequality - The goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and working towards a more equal distribution of incomes are part of the United Nations’ Sustainable...     

Editorial: Where should we go from here?

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior -     

Should we expect commitment?

And I, who felt my head surrounded by horrors, Said: Master, what then is it that I am hearing? And what people are these, so crushed by pain?     

How are you doing? Patient evaluations of nursing actions

1. Quality of patient care can be enhanced if we know what nursing actions psychiatric patients perceive as helpful. Previous research has focused on perceptions of patients on medical-surgical units. 2. Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder tended to see nursing actions as more helpful and performed more frequently than patients diagnosed with substance abuse. 3. Although positive feedback was identified as one of the most helpful nursing actions, it was rated only average in frequency of performance. 4. Even patients who had histories of long hospitalization did not want nursing staff to do things for them that they could do for themselves. Nurses need to focus on teaching self-care skills rather than "doing for" the patient.     

大学生创业系列谈创业之"How much"

How much--多少钱?这是创业的成本分析.在创业准备过程中,资金的筹措是最为关键和重要的.没有资金,即使有再好的项目也无法启动,资金是企业生存的血液.台湾一家咨询公司总结了近一千家企业创业失败的原因,创业资金的匮乏是重要因素.     

So you want to earn a Ph.D. in economics: how much do you think you'll make?

Using data from individuals who earned a Ph.D. in economics in 1996-97, this study identifies factors associated with securing full-time permanent positions and determinants of starting salaries for new Ph.D. economists. Where individuals attend graduate school and factors including the field of specialization and work as a teaching/research assistant impact whether graduates obtain full-time permanent jobs. Choice of graduate program and amount of time spent in the program influence starting salary, as does obtaining a position outside academia or in a research-oriented academic institution, both of which entail higher salaries relative to employment at a B.A.-level academic institution.