Individual consumer food localism: A review anchored in Canadian farmwomen’s reflections

Local food movements have emerged in many parts of Canada to support local farmers, sustain the regional food supply, encourage the consumption of healthier foods, and address environmental concerns associated with conventional agriculture. The implementation of food localism to date, however, has remained primarily the responsibility of consumers. This paper seeks to examine the practical realities of individual consumer localism in order to understand how food localism operates at the household level. Local food scholarship and empirical data from a recent study of Canadian farmwomen’s food provisioning practices are used to assess the feasibility and implications of buy local and eat local messages for consumers. In particular, physical access to local food markets, financial constraints to buying local and food self-provisioning, and (gendered) labor requirements are examined in detail. Findings suggest that encouragement by local food advocates to ‘buy local’ and ‘grow food’ are not simple transactions for households; rather, such practices must be considered within the broader food provisioning context and the structural constraints therein. Although well-intentioned, these urgings delegitimize real constraints that exist for many individuals and households, in particular those outside of well-serviced urban areas, those who are food insecure, and those without the necessary resources (time, labor, skill, and expertise) to engage in local food provisioning. The ability of consumers to engage in individual localism will be limited as long as the broader context in which food provisioning activities are undertaken is ignored.     

LAWYERS IN VENTURE CAPITAL CONTRACTING: THEORY AND EVIDENCE

Real‐world financial contracts are sometimes so complex that it can be difficult to understand their exact payoff consequences. We develop and test a theoretical model of a venture capitalist (VC) negotiating with an entrepreneur who may overweigh or underweigh the payoff consequences of contractual downside protection (DP). A lawyer with expertise in venture capital can inform the entrepreneur about these consequences, but less expert (but otherwise high quality) lawyers cannot. We determine how a VC's decision to include DP is affected by the expected quality of the entrepreneur's project, the entrepreneur's experience, and the VC expertise of his/her legal counsel. We show that the VC's incentive to include unnecessary DP declines in expected project quality. Indeed, for inexperienced entrepreneurs involved with high‐quality projects, VCs prefer that the entrepreneur's counsel has VC expertise. This implies that, when negotiating with inexperienced entrepreneurs, VCs who invest in high‐quality companies should be more likely to negotiate with entrepreneurs who employ lawyers with VC expertise. We document broad empirical support for the model, and provide evidence against competing explanations. (JEL L24, G24, K12, L14, L24)     

Constructing the digital patient: Patient organizations and the development of health websites

In order to understand the constraints and challenges of realizing the democratic potentials of the Internet, this paper focuses on the attempts of three Dutch patient organizations to develop health websites. The authors describe how these patient organizations had to overcome specific barriers to develop their digital services. All three organizations faced certain constraints that had negative consequences for the plans they wanted to realize. Lack of financial resources and manpower were the main reasons why these patient organizations could not develop interactive parts of their website or provide personal advice services. Other barriers the patient organizations had to overcome were getting access to digital expertise to build the websites. The paper shows that the development of a website is a very demanding task, even for patient organizations that have in-house expertise with computers and Internet. Moreover, the paper shows that patient organizations do not consider the involvement of patients as crucial for the design of health websites. This research thus confirms previous research findings that users, in this case patients, are largely absent from the design process of information and communication technologies Finally, the paper shows how patient organizations' websites contribute to a redefinition of the patient from being a passive actor towards one who is an active participant in his or her care.     

Disagreement in Australian partners’ reports of financial difficulty

We use unique data in which both partners report about household finances to demonstrate that there is often disagreement about whether the household has experienced financial difficulty in the past year. Four alternative explanations for this disagreement are tested using the data. The results indicate that disagreement may be related to the severity of the underlying material hardship rather than to gender differences or individual (as opposed to household) views of financial difficulty. We find limited evidence that for some couples information asymmetries contribute to explaining disagreement about financial difficulty. This implies that standard surveys which collect information about the household’s financial position from a representative individual may fail to completely characterize the nature of material hardship.      

STRATEGIC OR NONSTRATEGIC: THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL BENEFIT IN BANKRUPTCY

A partial test for strategic behavior in bankruptcy filing may be formulated by testing whether consumers manipulate their debt and filing decision jointly, or not: that is, testing for endogeneity of financial benefit and the bankruptcy filing decision. Using joint maximum likelihood estimation of an extended discrete choice model, test results are consistent with nonstrategic filing: financial benefit is exogenous to the filing decision. This result is confirmed in two different datasets (Panel Study of Income Dynamics and Survey of Consumer Finances). This result is consistent with an ex ante low net gain from a bankruptcy filing; a type of “rational inattention” to rare events such as bankruptcy. (JEL D12, D14)     

Serious and fatal injuries to infants with discrepant parental explanations: some assessment and case management issues

The objective of this study was to examine the challenges faced by child protection systems in assessment and case management where babies and infants have received serious and fatal physical injuries in the context of discrepant parent/carer explanations. Thirty‐eight case files or review records of children under the age of 2 with serious or fatal physical injuries were examined. Qualitative methods were employed to identify issues relating to types of parent/carer explanations, factors of concern in addition to the injuries and child protection system responses to the families. Findings indicate that the initial safety response by child protection systems to babies with serious injuries with discrepant explanations can be inadequate. Assessment of further risks could be inconsistent, especially in cases where there are few other factors of concern apart from the injury. There is a need for the development in the UK of more systematic decision‐making processes to achieve more consistent standards of assessment and case management of high‐risk infants and to minimize false‐negative and false‐positive predictions of further risk. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Public Sociology on Twitter: a Space for Public Pedagogy?

Research has examined various elements of Twitter; however, no scholarship has explored how sociologists currently use the platform. This empirically driven paper explores how individuals that self-identify as sociologists on Twitter use the popular micro-blogging social media site. A total of 152,977 tweets from Twitter profiles of 130 sociologists were collected and examined using qualitative media analysis. The potential use of Twitter allows the sociologist to become both the generator and interlocutor of dialogue with publics. We frame our data analysis and discussion around the core theme of expertise - namely, the role that expertise plays in the use of Twitter by sociologists. Our findings indicate that when sociologists used Twitter as sociologists (i.e., drawing upon their stated research expertise) little direct engagement with publics occurred. Thus, while sociologists appear to be using Twitter as a space for public sociology, the use of this interactive platform is mostly limited to the generation of content, a finding consistent with Burawoy’s traditional form of public sociology. Suggestions for future research are noted.     

Juvenile court judicial expertise and children's permanency outcomes

Using a combination of survey and administrative data, the current study examines the relationship between juvenile dependency court judicial expertise and children's permanency outcomes. Specifically, based on several behaviorally-anchored questions about judicial expertise and decision-making from a survey of attorneys representing foster children, we examine the respective relationships between jurisdiction-level judicial expertise and the rates of (a) exit to different types of permanency and (b) transition between various dependency court milestones. Results suggest that judicial expertise is positively related to the rates of some dependency court transitions (e.g., entry to dispositional order approval, termination of parental rights to adoption finalization). However, because of a lack of significant associations with the rates of other transitions (e.g., dispositional order approval to reunification), judicial expertise is not found to be statistically significantly associated with the rate of exit to permanency. The findings are consistent with a growing body of evidence that suggests that the influence of juvenile-court-related factors may be limited to specific court milestones that, by themselves, do not account for a substantial proportion of the overall variability in the population-level rates of permanency exit.     

Till Marriage Do Us Part: Adult Children’s Relationships With Their Parents

Although some emphasize the integrative character of marriage, others argue that marriage undermines relations with extended kin, including aging parents. Utilizing NSFH data (N= 6,108), we find that married women and men have less intense intergenerational ties than the never married and the divorced: The married are less likely to live with parents, stay in touch, and give or receive emotional, financial, and practical help. These differences hold even when we control for structural characteristics, including time demands, needs and resources, and demographic and extended family characteristics. We conclude that marriage is a greedy institution for both women and men. Given the inadequacy of structural explanations, we suggest that cultural explanations for this greediness should be explored.     

Causes and Consequences of Migration in the Jequitinhonha Valley of Minas Gerais*

This study documents the recent development and expansion of temporary inter-regional labor migration in central-west Brazil. Several explanations for the expansion of this movement are investigated, including the financial crises that have affected Brazil's recent social and economic development. Temporary and permanent movement typologies are also examined in an attempt to discern why this region is now characterized by temporary rather than permanent moves. I suggest that permanent moves occurred primarily as a response to structural changes, while temporary movement resulted at least partially because of the country' recent economic crises. Examination of the consequences of this movement (for example, remittance usage) indicates that this temporary migration is more of a survival plan than a mobility strategy.     

In Gesundheit und Krankheit?

This Study examines the relationship between health status and the risk of marital separation. The data base is the German Socio-Economic Panel, a representative longitudinal study of private households in Germany. Controlling for marital duration and other covariates, both poor health of one partner and poor health of both partners are associated with a higher risk of dissolution. The results suggest that the higher risk of dissolution is partly caused by financial burdens which are associated with illness. Further possible explanations??social expectations addressed to the healthy partner, an increasing dependence of the sick partner on his spouse, a reduction of alternatives and a deterioration of the marriage match??are of minor importance for the risk of separation. The results are also relevant for explaining health inequalities. They suggest that better health of married people compared to unmarried people not only depends on a protective effect of marriage on health, but is also due to the fact that healthier people are more likely to stay married.     

The Impact of Board Diversity and Expertise on Nonprofit Performance

This study examined the impact of board of director characteristics on nonprofit performance. Using data collected through a survey of nonprofit colleges and universities, the author provides evidence that specific board member characteristics are vital in shaping the financial and nonfinancial success of nonprofit institutions of higher education. Results indicate that both board member diversity and expertise are associated with better‐performing organizations. This work makes important initial forays into the relationships between board of director qualities and nonprofit performance. Although limited by the relatively small sample of colleges and universities, this study is unique in its ability to analyze nonprofit boards and both financial and nonfinancial performance measures.     

Financial management, coping and debt in households under financial strain

This study looks at how households cope financially with a budget under a certain financial strain (after the birth of a new baby), and particularly examines their financial management practices and debting behaviour. Other factors associated with debt status caused by financial strain — particularly psychological variables — are also examined. A number of indexes were calculated from questionnaire data and used to measure these variables. The results showed that being in debt was significantly associated with feelings of coping less well and with better financial management. Better coping was also significantly associated with being more ‘forwardlooking’ and having a more negative attitude towards debt. Better financial strategies were significantly associated with being less materialistic and having a more stable budget. The results confirm previous findings that psychological and behavioural variables have a considerable impact on being in or keeping out of debt, but also suggest that perceived poor coping and being in debt during a period of particular financial strain may actually lead to an improvement in financial management.     

Legal Mobilisation and Justice: Insights from the Constitutional Court Case on International Standard Schools in Indonesia

Analysis of the role of courts in shaping access to justice in Indonesia has emphasised the role of judges and the incentives created for them by courts' institutional design. Alternatively, it has focused on individual justice-seekers and their capacities to choose between alternative pathways through the legal repertoire. In this paper, we suggest that ‘support structures for legal mobilisation’ (SSLMs) have also played an important role in shaping access to justice by influencing both the potential for legal mobilisation and the type of justice sought. In making this argument, we focus on a recent Constitutional Court case on ‘international standard schools’. In this case, a group of parents were able to mobilise for legal action only because NGOs provided the required technical expertise and financial resources while the central involvement of an anti-corruption NGO in the SSLM shifted the focus from parents' concerns about discrimination to corruption.     

Reactions to Motivational Accounts of Child Molesters

This study examined reactions to child molesters' accounts for their deviant behavior. Subjects (probation officers, therapists) rated various explanations for a man sexually touching his step-daughter. The results showed that almost all subjects changed their perceptions of an offender's culpability based on the accounts provided. The results suggest that authorities are most likely to be sympathetic to accounts that are perceived as credible and that minimize the offenders' responsibility for their offenses. Implications for the assessment and treatment of child molesters' "cognitive distortions" are discussed.     

THE ROLE OF NONCOGNITIVE SKILLS IN EXPLAINING COGNITIVE TEST SCORES

This article examines whether noncognitive skills—measured both by personality traits and by economic preference parameters—influence cognitive tests' performance. The basic idea is that noncognitive skills might affect the effort people put into a test to obtain good results. We experimentally varied the rewards for questions in a cognitive test to measure to what extent people are sensitive to financial incentives. To distinguish increased mental effort from extra time investments, we also varied the questions' time constraints. Subjects with favorable personality traits such as high performance motivation and an internal locus of control perform relatively well in the absence of rewards, consistent with a model in which trying as hard as you can is the best strategy. In contrast, favorable economic preference parameters (low discount rate, low risk aversion) are associated with increases in time investments when incentives are introduced, consistent with a rational economic model in which people only invest when there are monetary returns. The main conclusion is that individual behavior at cognitive tests depends on noncognitive skills. ( JEL J20, J24)     

Politique et expertise scientifique. La régulation européenne des médicaments

A study of the EU system for regulating medicinal products is used to show the usefulness of distinguishing between policy-making and scientific expertise when analyzing political decision-making. This approach presupposes identifying the characteristics of scientific expertise. The experts responsible for assessing drugs have to combine knowledge and action. Questions are raised about how work is shared between decision-makers and experts. In the case of medicinal products, the work of experts has absorbed decision-making. Lest we waver between explanations in terms either of science or else of politics, it is necessary to substantively identify expertise’s political dimensions. Two conceptions — the “healthy man’s” and the “sick man’s” — of the purpose of assessing medicinal products stand out in debates; but political authorities pay no heed to them.     

Financial inclusion through a public works programme: Does left‐wing extremism make a difference?

Using district‐level household data, the study investigates the impact of left wing extremism (LWE) violence on financial inclusion in India. Exploiting the staggered roll‐out of a major public works programme, we find that the programme has the potency to improve financial inclusion, notwithstanding the deleterious effects of higher LWE violence. These findings are, however, different in the post‐Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (Prime Minister's People Money Scheme) phase, especially in the short run wherein there is an increase in both access to and use of finance. The findings are consistent with the citizen support model and suggest that demonstrable government commitment in the form of spending on public works has the capacity to raise financial inclusion, even if the programme occurs in LWE‐affected districts.     

Financial Attitudes and Responsible Spending Behavior of Emerging Adults: Does Geographic Location Matter?

The current study examined the role of geographic location on financial achievement attitudes, financial power attitudes, and responsible spending behaviors of emerging adults from a family financial socialization model perspective. Using data from the Emerging Adult Financial Capability Study (EAFCS), the sample consisted of emerging adult college students (N?=?2847) from three unique regions in the United States as well as students from Portugal. Hierarchical linear regression and ANOVA models were used to examine the patterns of similarities and differences among regions according to the family financial socialization model. Results suggest that financial achievement attitudes, financial power attitudes, and responsible spending behaviors differ across locations. Results also revealed that greater financial achievement attitudes and power attitudes were associated with fewer responsible spending behaviors. Results did not indicate that geographic location moderated the link between financial achievement attitudes or power attitudes and spending behaviors. The results suggest that financial education be adapted and conducted in a way that targets particular financial attitudes specific to each distinct region.     

Financial planning for later life: Subjective understandings of catalysts and constraints

This paper examines the conditions under which individuals begin or do not begin making financial plans for their later years. The data are drawn from a sample of mid- and later-life individuals (n = 51) who participated in qualitative, life-history interviews. Participants identified three types of circumstances that acted as both catalysts and constraints to their planning: financial, personal and familial. Catalytic financial influences included employer programs and enrolment in retirement courses, while job loss and unforeseen expenses were viewed as constraints. Personal influences such as health and age, as well as familial transitions such as the death of a spouse, divorce, or remarriage served as both catalysts and constraints, depending on the individual. For example, divorce was viewed by some as a constraint, while others viewed it as a catalyst. Participants' locations in the social structure influenced the onset of financial preparation, however, subjective perceptions of life circumstances were also pivotal.