Changes in financial status influencing level of satisfaction in households

This study explores the impact of changes in family financial status over a four year period on level of satisfaction with various aspects of household finances. Data were collected through personal interviews with 123 families in 1982 and 1986. Information was obtained on household income, assets, liabilities, and on the satisfaction of the money managers with seven aspects of household finances. Two-tail pairedt-tests were used to compare differences in financial and satisfaction variables between the two time periods. Regression analyses were applied to ascertain factors affecting the satisfaction of the money managers. The financial status of households improved during the 4 year period as reflected by net worth. The mean net worth, with and without real estate, increased significantly during this time period. In spite of this improvement, money managers are less satisfied with various aspects of their household finances.This research was supported by the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station Project No. 2773 (Journal Paper No. J-13098).Tahira K. Hira is a Professor and Alyce M. Fanslow is a Distinguished Professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences; Patricia Titus is an Instructor in the College of Education; all are at Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1120. Dr. Hira's research interests include consumer bankruptcies and various aspects of household economic well-being Dr. Fanslow's and Dr. Titus' research interests include competencies of household money managers.     

Switching commuters from car to public transit: a micro modelling approach

This paper examines the perceptions and values of commuters in Toronto concerning public transit and the private car. Interviews were conducted at an office location readily accessible by car, bus or subway. Respondents were characterized by their predominant commuting mode and provided ratings of the perceived benefits of the modes available. Respondents then completed a conjoint analysis task designed to estimate their trade-offs, or the extent to which they were prepared to sacrifice on one aspect of a commuting journey in order to gain on another. The conjoint analysis used a fractional factorial design allowing main effects and two way interactions to be estimated.The conjoint analysis methodology is used to develop benefit segments and evaluate methods of marketing public transit.     

An Ecological Model of Social Interaction between Deaf and Hearing Students within a Postsecondary Educational Setting

Deaf students are enrolling in postsecondary educational institutions in the United States in greater numbers than ever before. However, attrition rates remain high. Models for explaining persistence in college link success to student integration within the informal and social fabric of their institution. The research reported in this paper is the result of a study of social integration of deaf and hearing students within a residence hall on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology. It was found that characteristics of both the individual and of the postsecondary environment are important in explaining interaction levels. An ecological model is proposed as a framework for describing and analyzing student integration within informal and social dimensions of college life.     

Dual-careerism and the conjoint-career couple

This article introduces and defines the concept of conjoint-career couples, marital partners that work in the same field or profession. Drawing on the narratives of three couples with structurally varied experiences (older man/younger woman, older woman/younger man, peers), we describe and analyze some of the problems and issues confronting a growing number of academics in the current labor pool. We conclude by discussing some of the overarching patterns common to this situation and the advantages and disadvantages associated with it. Finally, we propose a variety of social policies which academic institutions may want to consider to help meet the challenge of these changing market demographics. Currently she is writing and teaching in the areas of deviance, social theory, and the sociology of children. She is the author ofWheeling and Dealing (Columbia University Press, 1985) and coeditor (with Peter Adler) ofThe Social Dynamics of Financial Markets (JAI Press, 1984). He is the author ofMomentum (Sage, 1981),Membership Roles in Field Research (co-authored with Patricia A. Adler, Sage, 1987), and the editor, along with Patricia A. Adler, ofJournal of Contemporary Ethnography andSociological Studies of Child Development. Her special interests are divorce and remarriage and she is the author (with R.H. Rodgers) ofDivorced Families (W.W. Norton, 1987). His areas of interest are family dynamics with a focus on myth and ritual formation in families. His interests are in social control and political economy. He is the author ofCastles of Our Conscience: Social Control and the American State, 1800–1985, Polity Press, forthcoming. She is the author of books and articles on deviance and social control, qualitative methods, and gender, includingGender Issues in Field Research (Sage, 1988),Madwives: Schizophrenic Women in the 1950s (Rutgers University Press, 1987),The Court of Last Resort: Mental Illness and the Law (University of Chicago Press, 1982).     

JOB MATCH, TENURE AND WAGES PAID BY FIRMS

Using a new data set consisting of a matched sample of workers and firms, and including explicit measures of match quality, the authors estimate a structural model and find new evidence of a strong positive relation between wages and tenure. Inclusion of firm-fixed effects does not significantly reduce the estimated returns to tenure. The results also shed light on the relative importance of human capital and job matching theories.     

Decoding deception: A look at the process

This study examined the effects of sex and response format on the process of decoding deceptive messages. A videotape was made containing 32 items (16 honest and 16 dishonest) in which encoders described a person they liked and a person they disliked both honestly and deceptively. Two response formats were used: (1) the rating of items on a six-point liking scale and a six-point deception scale and (2) a forced choice format whereby subjects had to choose between the four types of items. Decoders were given five sets of scores: (a) accuracy scores, (b) awareness of deception scores, (c) confidence scores, (d) cues scores, which were the number of items on which they mentioned using a particular type of cue (verbal, nonverbal, or both combined), and (e) a measure of response time for each item. In the accuracy analyses, there were so significant main effects for sex for either format. However, when decoding males, females (relative to males) tended to read the overt rather than the covert, affect. Females, however, were more aware of the possibility of deception but did not differentiate between honest and dishonest items. Males were more confident and took less time than females to make a decision. Females mentioned the use of cues more than males did. There were no significant correlations between accuracy and the process variables although for males, but not females, there were significant correlations among the process variables for both honest items and dishonest items.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Applied Psychology Congress (IAAP), Jerusalem, Israel, July, 1986.