MARKET FORCES AND AIRCRAFT SAFETY AN EXTENSION

Recent work by Chalk focuses on whether market forces provide safe products via stock market reaction to unanticipated events. Chalk finds a $200 million decline in McDonnell Douglas stockholder wealth related to the 1979 DC-10 crash in Chicago. That decline far exceeds reasonable estimates of regulatory and liability costs, suggesting a market penalty for unsafe products. His results, however, do not seem consistent with the notion of efficient markets, as American Airlines maintenance procedures were quickly identified as the likely cause of the crash. This study finds no resulting shareholder wealth loss for American Airlines or McDonnell Douglas.     

CONSUMER DEMAND FOR VEHICLE SAFETY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Although numerous studies on the effects of vehicle safety regulation exist, few are devoted to consumer demands for vehicle safety. This study uses an extensive data set combining vehicle specific information with responses from a national household survey of new car buyers to estimate individual demand for safety. It finds, ceteris paribus, purchase probability rises with an increase in safety features. In particular, an index of vehicle crashworthiness is a strong determinant of purchase decisions. The results favor a policy of posting crash test results and suggest that passive restraint systems enhance the likelihood of purchasing a given model.     

The Role of Social Context in Students' Anticipatory Reaction to a “Fighting Word”

Abstract

On May 11, 1996, ValuJet flight 592 crashed in the Florida Everglades killing all 105 passengers and five crew members. The technical cause of the crash was a fire that erupted after one or more oxygen generators exploded in a cargo compartment. Governmental investigations have indicated that both ValuJet and SabreTech (an airline maintenance company) failed to comply with a host of regulations concerning the presentation, storage, and transportation of hazardous materials by air. More generally, however, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been found to be negligent in its oversight of airlines by not adequately monitoring the general safety of commercial aircraft as well as by its refusal to institute safeguards and guidelines that would have protected passengers and crews from crashes like that of flight 592. This paper follows the tradition of state-corporate crime theorizing and research by identifying the organizational and structural forces that contributed to the ValuJet crash. This includes an examination of the FAA's contradictory roles as both regulator and supporter of the airline industry, as well as a discussion of both ValuJet's and SabreTech's violations of federal air safety regulations.     

HOW NOT TO DO SCIENCE

Douglas Marshall's critique of Donald Black states the essential issues with Black's "theory." This article is concerned with the philosophy of science background to the issues with Black's claims, and presents the core issues as they have been normally and historically understood. These include the following: that the theory is literally false, and is not defensible as an approximation; that the magnitudes to which his "geometry" refers are not magnitudes according to standard measurement theory: that the form of the theory precludes testing by correlational evidence. Moreover, the phenomena are better accounted for by cognitive rather than "pure" sociological explainers.     

The information systems professional as a hermit

In this article, the contributions that Michael Thompson has made to the development of cultural theory are laid out. This is done by highlighting the ways in which Thompson has built upon the grid–group analysis of Mary Douglas. Thereafter, it is shown how cultural theory is compatible with, and can be strengthened by, the complexity theories that have been formulated within the natural sciences. The resulting theoretical framework is then applied to explain the persistent cultural gap between the business planning and the information systems (IS) departments within companies. It will be argued and demonstrated that the IS professional can usefully be understood as following the views and practices characteristic of the hermit, as defined in cultural theory.     

Anomic suicide: A Durkheimian analysis of European normlessness

ABSTRACT

According to Durkheim (1897), periods of economic, social, or political change result in a state of anomie or normlessness. Anomic periods lead to deregulation of desires and suffering. Durkheim hypothesized that, as an expression of suffering, societies and groups experience an increase in suicide rates. This paper provides two formal tests of Durkheim’s (1897) theory of anomie - a behavioral aggregate analysis and an attitudinal individual-level analysis - on the backdrop of the 2008 economic crash. The first analysis assesses the relationship between unemployment and suicide in the European Union between 2000 and 2010. Results provide conditional support for Durkheim's theory: suicide rates increased following the crash and decreased once economic stability resumed in 2010 for males only. A second attitudinal analysis identified factors contributing to the gendered relationship between anomie and suicide. Results indicated that traditional Durkheimian regulatory mechanisms, such as marriage and divorce, contributed to the gender-specific results.     

I disagree,therefore I am: how to test and strengthen cultural versatility

In the last few decades, a perspective on how to resolve wicked social problems has become increasingly prominent: the cultural theory pioneered by anthropologist Dame Mary Douglas. So far, the empirical evidence garnered in support of this approach has mostly been of a qualitative nature. Cultural theory has fared less well in survey-based, statistical tests. However, several features make it hard to test the theory with questionnaires. We overcome this research dilemma by showing how cultural theory can be tested with observational and experimental tests developed in cross-cultural psychology. We argue that this is possible due to the remarkable overlap between concepts and theories in cross-cultural psychology and Douglas' approach. We present five research designs that add up to a rigorous test of cultural theory. Finally, we sketch some contributions that cultural theory could make to the further development of cross-cultural psychology, as well as to efforts to resolve wicked problems, if it were thus confirmed.     

Doing hot and ‘dirty’ work: Masculinities and occupational identity in firefighting

Within industrial societies, firefighters are often sexualized, celebrated and elevated as respectable working‐class heroes. Drawing from fieldwork and interviews with 33 men currently employed in an Australian metropolitan fire service, I explore the making of masculinities across four stations. Utilizing Beverly Skeggs’ social exchange theory and Mary Douglas’ theory of risk and analysis of pollution, this article argues that men attempt to construct respectable masculinities, in an effort to protect their self‐image as the heroes of contemporary society. Exploring issues surrounding morality and physicality, the findings suggest that firefighters consciously distance themselves from potential sites of pollution, which include avoiding stigmatized stations. This article extends gender theory by showing how working‐class men distinguish from each other through intra‐age distinction in order to construct respectable working‐class masculinities.     

The conflict over the use of information technology in South Korean schools

This article examines the heated debate over the National Educational Information System (NEIS) in South Korea. The NEIS has been introduced by the Ministry of Education. It collects information on every South Korean primary and secondary school in regional databases, including information regarding health records, religious backgrounds, military service, grades, attendance and other sensitive information relating to individual pupils and teachers. Using the cultural theory developed by Mary Douglas, Michael Thompson and Aaron Wildavsky, it is shown in which particular ways the rivals in this debate have been talking past, and misunderstood each other. On the basis of this cultural theory, a possible way out of this impasse is sketched.     

THE IMPACT OF STOCK MARKET FLUCTUATIONS ON THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELL‐BEING OF CHILDREN

The stock market crash of 2008 caused a severe impact to households. Earlier research has explored the impacts of a stock market crash on life well‐being, psychological stress, and adult health behaviors. We extend this literature by documenting impacts of stock market fluctuations on a range of child outcomes; including effects on both mental and physical health. We show a negative effect of a market crash on hospitalizations, child reported health status, sick days from school, and an aggregate health index measure. Both graphical and regression‐based analysis reveal that our results are not driven by a preexisting trend of declining child health before the market crash and extensive sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the results are robust to multiple empirical specifications. (JEL I15, E32, J13)     

Culture and national S&T performance: A framework for analysing socio‐institutional factors in RTD policy making

Since the 1970s, policy makers and researchers have attempted to understand what factors influence national S&T performance. Whereas researchers predominantly aimed at explaining disparate economic development paths by understanding the role of innovation and technological advance in the evolution of economic systems, policy makers hoped to discover those mechanism that would enhance national S&T performance. The work of Mary Douglas provides a framework for systematically comparing organizational and institutional cultures. Although Mary Douglas originally devised the approach to explain her African fieldwork data, successive social scientists, most notably Aaron Wildavsky, Michael Thompson, and Steve Rayner, have adapted the model to suit the needs of policy analysis.     

FAST TIMES DURING SPRING BREAKS: ARE TRAFFIC FATALITIES ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE?

Every year in the United States, millions of college students travel for spring break, spending billions of dollars. We examine a potential adverse consequence of spring break that has received little attention in the literature—traffic safety. In particular, we estimate the impact of spring break season on fatal passenger vehicle crashes. Using daily county‐level longitudinal data on traffic fatalities in popular spring break destinations from 1982 to 2011, we conduct separate analyses by age groups, license status, and alcohol involvement in the crash. Our findings indicate that passenger vehicle fatalities are significantly overrepresented during the spring break season. (JEL I12, I18, H73)     

He who pays the piper,calls the tune? Examining Russia’s and Poland’s public diplomacy efforts to shape the international coverage of the Smolensk crash

The study explores Polish and Russian governments’ communication efforts to shape international news coverage of the 2010 airplane crash near Smolensk, Russia, which killed the Polish President Lech Kaczynski and most of his Cabinet. More specifically, the study attempts to assess the role of government communication in shaping the international agenda regarding the crash vis-à-vis the role of Polish and Russian media outlets which also served as information sources for international media. In addition, it examines politico-cultural proximity and economic relatedness as the factors influencing the outcomes of mediated public diplomacy efforts. The findings suggest that, in addition to the governments’ public relations messages, Polish and Russian news outlets played a significant role as their countries’ advocates in determining the international media agenda. Moreover, we found that it was economic relatedness rather than the similarity of culture or political systems that contributed to the success of governments in shaping the international agenda about the crash. Theoretical and practical implications for public relations and public diplomacy are discussed.     

The potential role of physical activity on driving performance and safety among older adults

The elderly represent the fastest growing driving population. Older drivers have a high crash rate per distance traveled, a high risk of injury or death in traffic accidents, and are commonly found to be ‘at fault’ in crashes. This reality has focused more interest on issues associated with the fitness to drive and the safety of older drivers. Many older adults depend greatly on their personal vehicle for transportation and suffer a marked loss of quality of life when, as a consequence of no longer being able or permitted to drive, their mobility becomes significantly restricted. The reasons for the deterioration of driving performance that occur during the aging process are multi-factorial and a great deal of research has focused on the identification of those factors. Nevertheless, some studies incorporating training programs have tried, with some success, to improve the driving-related abilities of older drivers. It has been demonstrated that physical activity can promote several skills that are associated with driving performance in older drivers. Few studies, though, have conducted exercise interventions among older drivers intended to enhance their driving-related abilities and promote road safety. In this context, the purpose of this work consists of examining the perceptual, cognitive, health, and physical factors related to fitness to drive in older adults and identifying possible strategies that can enhance their driving-related abilities. Moreover, potential mechanisms underlying the relationship among physical activity, driving ability, and road safety are discussed.     

A literature review of major perceptual, cognitive, and/or physical test batteries for older drivers

Driving is one of the most complex tasks that humans perform on a regular basis, placing significant demands on human perceptual, cognitive, and motor capabilities, so age-related declines in these capabilities negatively affect driving performance. Although older adults create a risk on the road because of their high crash rates, it is important to note that not all older drivers have impaired driving performance or high crash risk. Thus researchers have developed test batteries to identify at-risk older drivers. The literature pertaining to the development and testing of at-risk driver assessment tools, including major assessment tools and evidence supporting their use is reviewed.     

Dishing the dirt: gossiping in organizations

In an exercise in social theory, rather than an empirical investigation, we concentrate on the role of gossip – spreading ‘news about the affairs of another’ – in relation to the dynamics of power in organizations. Gossip has often been seen in functional terms, as both positive and negative for the organization. In this paper we challenge this functionalist approach. Gossip can be associated with what Freud called the narcissism of minor differences: the gossipers tend not to be too dissimilar from those gossiped about in terms of proximity. Propinquity may increase the animosity of gossip. We see formal organization as a self‐regulating system that constantly refines its boundaries, and gossip is the dirt that trickles in and out of these boundaries, illegitimate, formally disdained and often destructive. The writer who has done most to encourage and clarify thinking about the nature of dirt is Mary Douglas, the anthropologist, especially her notion of expressive pollution. The paper concludes with some implications for ethics in practice viewed through power relations.     

Advanced Behavioral Applications in Schools: A Review of R. Douglas Greer’s Designing Teaching Strategies: An Applied Behavior Analysis Systems Approach

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - R. Douglas Greer1s Designing Teaching Strategies is an important book directed to advanced students in applied behavior analysis for classrooms. This review...     

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES,STRATEGIC SAVINGS,AND THE DOT‐COM BOOM AND BUST

Data from the dot‐com boom‐bust episode suggest that growth opportunities played an important role in explaining firms' financing strategy during this understudied episode. The low leverage of this sector was mainly driven by high growth firms which increased their leverage following the crash despite suffering a much larger fall in their market value. We present a parsimonious dynamic firm financing model where growth opportunities alone can generate the heterogeneous patterns in the financing and performance between high and low growth information technology firms prior to and following the market crash. The calibrated model also sheds light on the role played by monetary policy during that episode. (JEL G32, E22, E5)     

Freedom Works! The Vision and Broken Heart of Jack D. Douglas

It gives me particular pleasure to publish this review of a major but neglected figure in the recent history of symbolic interactionism. I only heard Jack Douglas speak once, when he gave a plenary address to the British Sociological Association annual conference in Lancaster in the mid‐1980s. The audience treated him quite disgracefully on that occasion. Douglas made two subtle points about the need for sociologists to take contemporary research in primate ethology more seriously and to reconsider spontaneous order theories in social science. His listeners assumed that he was talking about the crasser forms of sociobiology and praising the laissez‐faire ideologies of Thatcherism, and booed him off the stage. I declined to renew my membership to the BSA for about ten years after this episode. I only rejoined when I became a department chair and it was important to be engaged with the professional association, whatever my personal views. John Johnson's paper reminds us of Douglas's important and challenging legacy of ideas, and of the support and inspiration that he gave to a whole generation of outstanding scholars. Robert Dingwall Jack Douglas published 26 books and many articles between 1967 and 1989, and by his intellectual charisma influenced a productive cohort of young scholars who have produced over 70 books and 700 articles and chapters since the 1970s. He combined phenomenology, existentialism, and naturalistic field work to create an approach he termed Existential Sociology, also the title of a 1977 anthology. His thinking has undergone significant changes during the course of a long intellectual career. Following his 1992 retirement, the development of the internet and new technologies of communication afforded Jack a “second life” with a transdisciplinary intellectual community outside of the university environment. This paper briefly summarizes a small part of his life and intellectual project.     

Crossing Borders,Crossing Seas: The Philippines,Gender and the Bounding of Cumulative Causation

In this study, we assess how the composition of migrant workers varies with migration prevalence within Filipino communities. Specifically, we test the hypothesis of past cumulative causation scholars that increased migration prevalence results in a decline in migrant selectivity. The Philippines has a social, political and geographical context that differs from that of many other countries characterized by high migration. In this study, we consider whether these different contexts and contingencies might alter the process by which the social phenomenon of cumulative causation occurs. Multiple fixed‐effects models were estimated at the municipality level, with the dependent variable in each model being a demographic characteristic related to the propensity to migrate: marital status, age, sex and years of education. We find, consistent with cumulative causation theory as posited by Douglas S. Massey, that increased migration prevalence did yield a decline in selectivity for education and marital status. However, migration prevalence had no effect on the gender composition of migrants, while time did impact the gender composition, suggesting sustained selectivity by gender attributable to global demand for specifically gendered, migrant labour.