Priority Topics in the Study of Environmental Risk in Developing Countries: Report on a Workshop Held at the East–West Center, August, 1988

The rapid industrialization occurring in developing regions of the world brings not only economic benefits, but changes in the types and severity of health and environmental problems that each region experiences. As the industrialized world moves toward the use of risk assessment methodologies to aid in problem evaluation and regulatory and policy decision analysis, it seems inevitable that these methodologies will be applied globally. The changes brought about by rapid industrialization, however, must be viewed within the context of societies that are still struggling with the more traditional and basic environmental problems associated with urban and rural poverty. The urgency of development and the lack of adequate resources for characterizing health and environmental changes, often present under these circumstances, offer special challenges to the application of risk assessment methodologies.     

Intraindividual and Interindividual Differences in Spontaneous Eye Blinking: Relationships to Working Memory Performance and Frontal EEG Asymmetry

The rate and timing of spontaneous eye blinking (SB) may be used to explore mechanisms of cognitive activity in infancy. In particular, SB rate is believed to reflect some dimensions of dopamine function; therefore, we hypothesized that SB rate would relate to working memory performance and to frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry. Forty, 10‐month‐old infants completed an A‐not‐B task while SB and EEG were measured throughout. We found that SB rate varied across phases of the task, variability in SB rate was positively related to working memory performance, and frontal EEG asymmetry was related to individual differences in the rate of SB. Results provide indirect, but convergent support for the hypothesis that SB rate reflects dopamine function early in human development. As such, these results have implications for understanding the tonic and phasic effects of dopamine on cognitive activity early in human development.     

A comparison of the Hosmer–Lemeshow,Pigeon–Heyse,and Tsiatis goodness-of-fit tests for binary logistic regression under two grouping methods

Algebraic relationships between Hosmer–Lemeshow (HL), Pigeon–Heyse (J²), and Tsiatis (T) goodness-of-fit statistics for binary logistic regression models with continuous covariates were investigated, and their distributional properties and performances studied using simulations. Groups were formed under deciles-of-risk (DOR) and partition-covariate-space (PCS) methods. Under DOR, HL and T followed reported null distributions, while J² did not. Under PCS, only T followed its reported null distribution, with HL and J² dependent on model covariate number and partitioning. Generally, all had similar power. Of the three, T performed best, maintaining Type-I error rates and having a distribution invariant to covariate characteristics, number, and partitioning.     

Qualitative Cowboy or Qualitative Dude: An Impasse of Validity,Politics, and Ethics?

Sociological theorists' recent critique of foundationalism, the notion that observers can accurately represent a single, objective reality, has led to calls for sociology to abandon its claim to epistemic privilege. A related debate has ensued among qualitative sociologists over ethnography's claim to produce objective, authoritative accounts of field realities. This debate over "the crisis of representation" has apparently reached an epistemological impasse, as both "modernist" and "postmodernist" participants draw on a conceptual dichotomy inherited from correspondence models of science. The impasse is ethical as well, as participants "talk past one another" as they debate the appropriate responsibilities of sociologists. A pragmatist solution to this dilemma has been offered, but gives insufficient attention to the politics that shape the criteria to be used in judging the validity of accounts in local contexts. Drawing upon "modernist" discussions of field methods and an empirical case of "studying up" in Mondragón, Spain, this paper argues that a more politically attentive pragmatism could contribute to research practice that is both epistemologically and empirically defensible.     

ARE “RISKY ASSETS” SUBSTITUTES FOR “MONETARY ASSETS”?

The paper uses an asymptotically ideal model to estimate substitution elasticities between financial assets held by the U.K. personal sector. An important innovation is to extend the range of assets to include "risky" assets as well as capital certain "monetary" assets. The most significant result is the evidence of substitution between "risky" assets and "cash" assets. Also, as risk aversion increases substitution between "risky" assets and "cash" assets generally falls. ( JEL E41)     

Patterns of practice: a reflection on the development of quantitative/mixed methodologies capturing everyday life related to water consumption in the UK

There is a growing body of research arguing the relevance of practice approaches to understand resource consumption, and to highlight alternative pathways to sustainability. These practice approaches offer an alternative conceptualisation of demand and have been demonstrated largely by qualitative research, particularly in the work on water and energy consumption in the home. However, these historical narratives and qualitative research have not, to date, lead to the development of quantitative or mixed methodologies that could potentially reflect the diversity of performances of practice across populations in a more systematic way. This paper reflects, critically, on one such attempt to scale a practice-based perspective into a quantitative survey on water consumption and practice in homes in the south and South-East of England. The use of quantitative and mixed methodology has substantial potential – from translating practice-based research to policy; developing indictors to track patterns of practices as they change over time; and the exploration of methodologies that reflect the bundling and coordination of practices associated with water use inside and outside the home. The benefits and utility of such a methodological approach are highlighted as cautions and future research directions.     

The origins of a source: Edward Long,Coromantee slave revolts and The History of Jamaica

Since the 1960s, historians of the early-modern era have been working with colonial sources to uncover the ways that Africans with connections to the Gold Coast – often known as ‘Coromantees’ in the Anglo-American colonies – shaped the history of the Atlantic World. One of the most influential primary sources used in this literature is a 32-page section of the second volume of The History of Jamaica, written by the planter-historian Edward Long in 1774. ‘The origins of a source’ uses Long’s life and works, both published and unpublished, to tell the story of this source’s creation. In doing so, it provides a detailed case study for how a prominent and controversial intellectual acquired knowledge of African culture, and then repurposed and deployed that knowledge as a tool in the abolitionist debates. It argues that the political context of abolition is essential to understanding Long’s writings on the Coromantee.     

De los Derechos Humanos: Reimagining Civics in Bilingual & Bicultural Settings

Dominant approaches to teaching social studies often marginalize bilingual and bicultural students. This is particularly troubling because the explicit goal of the social studies is to cultivate civic participation. Educational inequalities are thus tied to political inequalities. In light of this, this article shares a narrative case study of the author's own bilingual and bicultural approach to teaching middle school civics at a dual-language American school in Mexico. Through the illustration of a comparative civics curriculum that incorporates translanguaging practices, the author argues that embracing bilingualism and biculturalism in the social studies can lead to more expansive possibilities for justice-oriented civic education.