The minimal overlap rule revisited

This paper provides an analysis of the Minimal Overlap Rule, a solution for bankruptcy problems introduced by O’Neill (1982). We point out that this rule can be understood as a composition of Ibn Ezra’s proposal and the recommendation given by the Constrained Equal Loss Rule. Following an interpretation of bankruptcy problems in terms of TU games, we show that the Minimal Overlap Value is the unique solution for bankruptcy games which satisfies Anonymity and Core Transition Responsiveness.     

Ethical challenges in conducting research with hard to reach families

This paper reflects on some of the ethical challenges encountered by the authors whilst undertaking sensitive qualitative research with parents and children who are traditionally hard to reach. The research aimed to provide more holistic and in‐depth accounts of parenting on a low income in diverse social circumstances than already exist. The nature of the sample and the subject matter that was covered inevitably raised many familiar ethical dilemmas and some that are less often encountered in practice, particularly in relation to child protection. In this article we discuss our approach to ethics, some of the ethical challenges we encountered undertaking work with families and discuss the complexity of decision‐making around risk of harm to children. We conclude that a clear framework to avoid harm should be developed at the outset and a transparent approach to child protection issues should be used. Additional time and resources need to be incorporated at the planning stage of similar projects in order to develop appropriate methods, ensure effective decision‐making and support researchers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

To Check In or Not to Check In? That Is the Question!

The University of South Florida Tampa Library discontinued checking in print journals and periodicals for a trial period of one year from July 2005 to June 2006. This article discusses the reasons behind such a decision, the challenges, and final results. Though the trial proved inconvenient for public and technical services alike, few specific problems were reported via e-mail, online forms or in person. The library derived several benefits from this project, particularly in terms of the timing, since it happened just as the library moved to a new integrated library system, from NOTIS to Aleph.     

“Every Place Has a Ghetto…”: The Significance of Whites' Social and Residential Segregation

The residential and social segregation of whites from blacks creates a socialization process we refer to as “white habitus.” This white habitus limits whites' chances for developing meaningful relationships with blacks and other minorities spatially and psychologically. Using data from the 1997 Survey of College Students' Social Attitudes and the 1998 Detroit Area Study, we show that the spatial segregation experienced by whites from blacks fosters segregated lifestyles and leads them to develop positive views about themselves and negative views about blacks. First, we document the high levels of whites' residential and social segregation. Next, we examine how whites interpret their own self‐segregation. Finally, we examine how whites' segregation shapes their racial expressions, attitudes, cognitions, and even their sense of aesthetics as illustrated by their views on the subject of interracial marriage.     

Creating Tactile Space during a University Extension Field Day Event: The Case of a Sustainable Agriculture Innovation

Drawing on the concept of “tactile space,” we evaluate the experiential learning environment of a university extension field day event focused on a sustainable agriculture innovation: biodegradable plastic mulch. Introduced by sociologist Michael Carolan, “tactile spaces” are sensuously rich learning environments where participants interact with each other and the environment in an “embodied” and “embedded” manner leading to long‐lasting attitudinal and behavioral change. In our study, farmers, extension professionals, crop consultants, and mulch manufacturers participated in a field day event designed to provide both embodied and embedded experiences in an effort to stimulate interest in biodegradable plastic mulch, an economically and environmentally sustainable alternative to polyethylene mulch. Field day participants engaged in hands‐on demonstrations preceded and followed by focus group sessions. Enhancing the learning environment in these ways improved the success of the field day event by encouraging practice‐based forms of learning, which supplemented and reinforced the claims made about biodegradable plastic mulch. However, the tactile space could have been enriched by providing more opportunities for participants to become embedded within the environment, and by adding elements to overcome the temporal limitations of the field day event. This research contributes to the broader literature on participatory research and extension.     

New flexible models generated by gamma random variables for lifetime modeling

In this paper we introduce a new three-parameter exponential-type distribution. The new distribution is quite flexible and can be used effectively in modeling survival data and reliability problems. It can have constant, decreasing, increasing, upside-down bathtub and bathtub-shaped hazard rate functions. It also generalizes some well-known distributions. We discuss maximum likelihood estimation of the model parameters for complete sample and for censored sample. Additionally, we formulate a new cure rate survival model by assuming that the number of competing causes of the event of interest has the Poisson distribution and the time to this event follows the proposed distribution. Maximum likelihood estimation of the model parameters of the new cure rate survival model is discussed for complete sample and censored sample. Two applications to real data are provided to illustrate the flexibility of the new model in practice.     

Religion and World Change: Violence and Terrorism versus Peace

Our article portrays religion as a double-edged sword that can both encourage and discourage world change, and can facilitate both violent and peaceful activism. The article demonstrates how the meaning system approach to religion can shed light on the complicated relationship between religion and world change by illuminating the meaning of world change and the means to achieve it, inherent differences across religious groups, the complexity and malleability of religious meaning systems, and processes that can facilitate either the status quo or violent and peaceful activism. The article discusses context and personality variables that may determine whether religion supports world change and either violent or peaceful activism. It recommends intensive collaboration between researchers, policy–makers, and religious leaders in the contexts of national and international conflicts and religious terrorism.