Cracking the Code: Race,Class, and Access to Nightclubs in Urban America

Using ethnographic data collected in the downtown nightlife of Athens, Georgia, we explore black males’ responses to being rejected from nightclubs via dress code enforcement in predominately white settings. We contrast these responses to the general experiences of other black males who gained access. Although race is a factor in the enforcement of dress codes, we find a fluid relationship between race, class, and taste that influences black males’ responses and experiences. We illustrate how the nuanced reality of lived racial and class experiences for many young black males problematize the narrow interpretation of a black cultural essence.

Competitive and Collaborative Quality and Warranty Management in Supply Chains

Product quality and product warranty coverage are two important and closely related operational decisions. A longer warranty protection period can boost sales, but it may also result in dramatically increased warranty cost, if product quality is poor. To investigate how these two decisions interact with each other and influence supply chain performance, we develop a single‐period model with a supplier that provides a product to an original equipment manufacturer, which in turn sells it to customers. Customer demand is random and affected by the length of the product warranty period. Warranty costs are incurred by both the supplier and the manufacturer. We analyze two different scenarios based on which party sets the warranty period: manufacturer warranty and supplier warranty. Product quality is controlled by the supplier, and the manufacturer determines the ordering quantity. We analyze these decentralized systems and provide the structural properties of the equilibrium strategies. We also compare the results of centralized and decentralized systems and identify the conditions under which one system provides a longer warranty and better product quality than the other. Our numerical study further shows that, in decentralized settings, when the warranty period is determined by the firm sharing the larger proportion of total warranty costs, the supply chain can achieve greater system‐wide profit. Both parties can therefore benefit from properly delegating the warranty decision and sharing the resulting additional profit. We further design a supplier‐development and buy‐back contract for coordinating decentralized supply chains. Several extensions are also discussed.     

How do risk attitudes affect pro-social behavior? Theory and experiment

Theory and Decision - We explore how risk preferences affect pro-social behavior under uncertainty. We analyze a modified dictator game in which the dictator can, by reducing her own sure payoff,...     

Changes in psychosocial well-being during stages of gay identity development

The current study evaluated the stage theory of Homosexual Identity Formation (HIF) developed by Cass (1979), in terms of the relationship between stage of gay identity development and psychosocial well-being. Four hundred twenty-five males (12 to 64 years, M = 29.2) reporting sexual attraction to other men provided demographic information and completed psychosocial measures: the Happiness-Sadness Scale (McGreal & Joseph, 1993), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985), the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau & Ferguson, 1978), the Index of Self-Esteem (Hudson, 1982), and the Gay Identity Questionnaire (Brady & Busse, 1994). Correlation analysis and ANCOVAs controlling for age and nationality demonstrated that the 6 sequential stages of HIF were associated with a U-shaped function for the psychosocial variables. Well-being was high during the initial Confusion and Comparison stages of HIF, was reduced during the middle Tolerance and Acceptance stages, and was again high in the later Pride and Synthesis stages. Each of the psychosocial variables was significantly different according to stage of development (p <.001). Qualitative analysis of subjects' comments also revealed support for the U-shaped pattern.     

Parent-adolescent concordance on perceived need for mental health services and its impact on service use

Mental health service underutilization among African American adolescents is well documented, yet not fully understood. Discordance between adolescents and their parents on perceived need for seeing a counselor for an emotional need or psychiatrist for psychiatric or medical services may help explain low service use among this population. This exploratory, prospective study examined the relationship between parent-adolescent concordance on perceived need for emotional counseling or psychiatric services and mental health service use. The relationships between gender and perceived service need and concordance and adolescent severity of depressive symptoms were also explored. Parent-adolescent dyads (n = 108) receiving community-based adolescent outpatient mental health services responded to interview questions concerning their perception of whether an emotional counselor and a psychiatrist were needed in the past six months. Findings revealed low parent-adolescent concordance on perceived need for an emotional counselor and a psychiatrist. A greater proportion of adolescents reported a need than parents. There was no association between gender and perceived need for an emotional counselor and a psychiatrist. Lower rates of parent-adolescent concordance were found among youth reporting elevated depressive symptoms compared to youth reporting normal range symptoms. Concordant dyads kept a higher number of appointments than discordant dyads. Implications for clinical social work practice and future research are discussed.     

Friendship and Gender Differences in Task and Social Interpretations of Peer Collaborative Problem Solving

Investigations of peer collaboration often vary task or social aspects of collaborative contexts and assume that these aspects of the context are experienced similarly by individuals. The present study examined how social aspects (group friendship and gender) of a peer collaborative context related to differences in adolescents' interpretations of task and social problems that occurred while collaborating with peers in a naturalistic classroom setting. Eighth-grade adolescents ( N = 82, 44 females) worked with peers on a six-week Spanish project at school. Adolescents chose to work primarily with same-gender peers and friends. Task and social interpretations of problems were assessed twice. The salience of task problems decreased over time; social problems became somewhat more salient. Social problems were less salient to females than to males. Greater group friendship was associated with the lesser salience of task problems early in the project. The salience of social problems, gender, and friendship were important for understanding performance on the project. The value of considering the context of peer collaborative problem solving from individuals' perspectives is discussed.     

Bottleneck identification and ranking model for mine operations

Abstract

Mining has a long history of production and operations management. Considering the increasing complexity of reserves, declining metal grades, and worldwide price volatilities, mines have to operate more efficiently than ever. In recent years, companies have been adopting innovative solutions and technologies to reduce costs and remain competitive in the global market. Specifically, management of bottlenecks has been in the focus of the manufacturing industry for decades now. The mining industry has made significant advancements in process improvement tools using equipment, human, and asset tracking capabilities. However, to date, there is no holistic approach or system to identify and manage the bottleneck in the entire value chain of mining. This research proposes a new method to identify and rank the bottlenecks in a mine value chain. The method is applied in a coal mine and the results are presented in the case study.     

The Social Context of Perceived Drought Vulnerability1

Abstract This paper examines perceptions of drought vulnerability among residents of the southern San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern County, California. The area is unique in the western United States because of its complex water delivery infrastructure and its intensive level of agricultural production supported by agricultural labor. The area is interesting to rural sociologists because it was part of Goldschmidt's research on the social implications of agribusiness. We argue that the relationship between resource production and social stratification suggested by Goldschmidt's research presents some important implications for understanding perceptions of resource scarcity in the present day. We explore perceptions of drought vulnerability by several dimensions of stratification—primary occupation, location of residence, length of residence, household income, and racial/ethnic background. While our findings illustrate that agricultural owners/operators perceive the greatest levels of concern about severe drought, the unique character of agricultural production in the area is related to perceptions of vulnerability among broader segments of the local population. The findings suggest that dependence upon existing water utilization patterns may present substantial obstacles to effective drought policy and planning.     

Do Americans Trust Other Nations? A Panel Study*

Objectives. This study examines Americans' generalized beliefs about how much the United States can trust other nations, as well as changes over time in such beliefs. Methods. We analyze original panel survey data collected in 2001 and 2002. Results. Although only a minority of panel respondents expressed generalized trust in other nations immediately after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, even fewer expressed such trust when reinterviewed almost a year later. Social trust, political trust, and party loyalties predicted individual‐level change in this form of trust from 2001 to 2002. Conclusions. Declining trust in other nations may have important implications for public opinion and, ultimately, public policy regarding world affairs.