Outcome Expectations in Prolonged Conflicts: Perceptions of Sense of Control and Relative Deprivation

How do feelings of deprivation and a sense of control influence future expectations on the parts of Jews, Arabs, and Palestinians? We assumed that all non-Jews, but especially Palestinians, are discriminated against in Israel and that awareness of discrimination may have two related effects. First, it may strengthen feelings of relative deprivation among members of the group being discriminated against. Second, awareness of discrimination may lower the sense of control among the disadvantaged, because their life experiences diminish their ability to exercise authority and influence in order to direct and regulate their choices. However, when analyzing expectations, previous studies focused either on relative deprivation or on sense of control, not on both. Assuming that the two are related, we included both to analyze outcome expectations. We also present an alternative approach to sense of control to include an expressive dimension of control in addition to the traditional instrumental dimension. As expected, the findings indicate that Palestinians have the strongest feelings of personal deprivation and the lowest future expectations. Jews feel the lowest personal deprivation and have the highest expectations.     

Income distribution dynamics: monotone Markov chains make light work

This paper considers some aspects of the dynamics of income distributions by employing a simple Markov chain model of income mobility. The main motivation of the paper is to introduce the techniques of monotone Markov chains to this field. The transition matrix of a discrete Markov chain is called monotone if each row stochastically dominates the row above it. It will be shown that by embedding the dynamics of the income distribution in a monotone Markov chain, a number of interesting results may be obtained in a straightforward and intuitive fashion.Thanks are due to Peter Lambert and four anonymous referees for very helpful comments.     

Social Work Practice with Polygamous Families

Data are based on student files of 25 Bedouin-Arab children born to senior mothers of polygamous families, and interviews with the children's teachers and mothers. Mothers complained of somatic symptoms, economic problems, poor relations with the husband, and competition and jealousy between the co-wives and among the co-wives' children. Children had a variety of behavioural problems, and below average academic achievement. Social work practice should recognize the cultural and personal significance of polygamy to family members; appreciate the significance of polygamy to children's functioning; select children as a target system for intervention; and reinforce the Islamic value base for interventions.     

Prioritization of corporate goals in Saudi Arabia: An exploratory investigation

This paper tries to fill partially the informational gap in the area of organizational goals. Data provided by four Saudi Arabian industries-namely: petrochemicals, packaging, electric & electronics, and food processing, indicate that goal-setting processes may be influenced by several factors. Profitability, growth, and social responsibility were ranked among the top four goals in all four industries. The nature of the industry and environmental factors have a strong influence on these processes. This study highlights the importance of culture for joint ventures and its impact on goal-setting in Saudi Arabia.     

Bayesian modelling of health insurance losses

The purpose of this paper is to build a model for aggregate losses which constitutes a crucial step in evaluating premiums for health insurance systems. It aims at obtaining the predictive distribution of the aggregate loss within each age class of insured persons over the time horizon involved in planning employing the Bayesian methodology. The model proposed using the Bayesian approach is a generalization of the collective risk model, a commonly used model for analysing risk of an insurance system. Aggregate loss prediction is based on past information on size of loss, number of losses and size of population at risk. In modelling the frequency and severity of losses, the number of losses is assumed to follow a negative binomial distribution, individual loss sizes are independent and identically distributed exponential random variables, while the number of insured persons in a finite number of possible age groups is assumed to follow the multinomial distribution. Prediction of aggregate losses is based on the Gibbs sampling algorithm which incorporates the missing data approach.     

The Compassion Strategy: Race and the Gender Gap in Campaign 2000

Recent studies have shown that social "compassion" issues, andnot those directly linked to women’s interests, seem todrive the gender gap in presidential vote choice. Some of thesecompassion issues are associated with the plight of racial minoritiesin the media and in the minds of average citizens. Drawing ontheories of gender role socialization, we predict that traditionalpartisan stands on racial issues may help to explain the gendergap. Specifically, we hypothesize that the gap emerges becausemen and women react differently to cues about how compassionatecandidates are toward vulnerable social groups. In one experiment,we manipulate news information regarding George W. Bush’scommitment to blacks versus women. The gender gap is maximizedwhen Bush takes the traditional Republican stance, while itis reduced significantly when Bush espouses a more moderateposition. The gender gap is unaffected by variation in the positionthat Bush takes on women’s issues. In another experiment,we also find that the gender gap emerges when traditional partisanappeals are racialized. Finally, exposure to the 2000 RepublicanNational Convention, with its message of racial inclusion, boostedevaluations of Bush among women but not men.