Pooled Cross-Sectional and Time Series Data: A Survey of Current Statistical Methodology

A data base that provides a multivariate statistical history for each of a number of individual entities is called a pooled cross-sectional and time series data base in the econometrics literature. In marketing and survey literature the terms panel data or longitudinal data are often used. In management science a convenient term might be management data base. Such a data base provides a particularly rich environment for statistical analysis. This article reviews methods for estimating multivariate relationships particular to each individual entity and for summarizing these relationships for a number of individuals. Inference to a larger population when the data base is viewed as a sample is also considered.     

Measuring Mutual Help Willingness and Criteria among Hong Kong People: Confirmatory Factor Analyses

Mutual help has been often found to be beneficial for people’s well-being in clinical settings. Research in the general population, however, is relatively limited, partly due to the lack of applicable measurement tools. The present study attempted to develop two scales to measure mutual help willingness and criteria and test their psychometric properties among a community sample of Hong Kong people (n = 951). Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the hypothetical models fitted the data very well. Results also indicated that though the willingness to seek help and to give help was significantly correlated, Hong Kong people were generally more willing to give help than to seek help. Age had a negative effect on help-seeking willingness, which can not be explained by education level. A set of criteria were applied similarly when people decided on help-giving and help-seeking. Agreement with the criteria was negatively correlated with age but the associations became negligible when education level was controlled. Research and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Preventing unsuitable people from working with children—the criminal justice and court services bill

The continuing concern to safeguard children from abuse in schools, children's homes and similar settings has led to proposals to make it an offence for those with convictions against children to even apply for work with children. The Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill will introduce ‘disqualification orders’ for such offenders. The background development of this Bill is considered, together with the way the new orders will fit with existing criminal record check arrangements, current bans and the role of the forthcoming Criminal Records Bureau, which will tie all these systems together in a ‘one‐stop shop’. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Willingness to speak out about gay laws reform: some cause for optimism

We examined the extent to which people's private attitudes to gay law reform are influenced by the attitudes of others. Ninety-six university students were told that they were either in a minority or in a majority relative to their university group on their attitudes to gay law reform. Contrary to a number of assumptions made in the social psychological literature, participants who supported gay law reform were more prepared to act in line with their attitudes than were those who opposed gay law reform. Furthermore, anti-gay law reform participants appeared to reassess their attitudes when they were told they were in a minority; in contrast, pro-gay law reform participants were unaffected by the group norm. This suggests that anti-gay law reform attitudes are softer and more easily influenced than are pro-gay law reform attitudes. The implications of these results for activists are discussed.     

Public attitudes toward the use of psychiatric medications for children

Psychiatric medication use for children has increased dramatically over the past three decades. Despite substantial media attention to the issue, little is known about how the lay public feels about the use of psychiatric medications for children. Drawing on theories of medicalization, we describe and analyze Americans' attitudes towards the use of psychiatric medications generally and Prozac specifically for children described as having three types of behavioral problems. Using data from the 1998 General Social Survey's Pressing Issues in Health and Medical Care Module, we find that more Americans (57%) are willing to use psychiatric medications for children who have expressed suicidal statements than for "oppositional" behaviors (34.2%) or for hyperactivity (29.5%). Across the board, respondents are less willing to give Prozac than the general class of psychiatric medications. While socio-demographics do little to identify Americans with differing positions, the strongest and most consistent correlates of willingness to give psychiatric medications to children are trust in personal physicians, general attitudes towards psychiatric medications, and the respondent's expressed willingness to take psychiatric medications herself or himself.     

Practical Methods for Meeting Remediation Goals at Hazardous Waste Sites

Risk-based cleanup goals or preliminary remediation goals (PRGs) are established at hazardous waste sites when contaminant concentrations in air, soil, surface water, or groundwater exceed specified acceptable risk levels. When derived in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency's risk assessment guidance, the PRG is intended to represent the average contaminant concentration within an exposure unit area that is left on the site following remediation. The PRG, however, frequently has been used inconsistently at Superfund sites with a number of remediation decisions using the PRG as a not-to-exceed concentration (NTEC). Such misapplications could result in overly conservative and unnecessarily costly remedial actions. The PRG should be applied in remedial actions in the same manner in which it was generated. Statistical methods, such as Bower's Confidence Response Goal, and mathematical methods such as "iterative removal of hot spots," are available to assist in the development of NTECs that ensure the average postremediation contaminant concentration is at or below the PRG. These NTECs can provide the risk manager with a more practical cleanup goal. In addition, an acute PRG can be developed to ensure that contaminant concentrations left on-site following remediation are not so high as to pose an acute or short-term health risk if excessive exposure to small areas of the site should occur. A case study demonstrates cost savings of five to ten times associated with the more scientifically sound use of the PRG as a postremediation site average, and development of a separate NTEC and acute PRG based on the methods referenced in this article.     

The Significance of Community to Business Social Responsibility1

Abstract In this paper, I focus attention on one aspect of business social responsibility, the relationship between businesses and community. Specifically, I explore the impact of business operators' perceptions about norms of collective action in their communities on the level of their support for and commitment to their communities. This relationship was elaborated using data from interviews with 1,008 business owners and managers randomly selected from 30 small Iowa communities (500 to 10,000 in population). Findings indicate the majority of small business operators report that they are committed to and provide support for their community. Also, it is concluded that operators' educational levels and lengths of residence, the success and age of their businesses, and their perceptions of community levels of collective action are significantly associated with levels of business social responsibility.