Gambling and other risk behaviors on university campuses

To examine the prevalence of problem gambling and its relationship to other risk-taking behaviors, the authors surveyed 1,350 undergraduates at the 4 campuses of Connecticut State University (CSU) during fall 2000. On the basis of a modified version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen, a widely used screening instrument, they found that 18% of the men and 4% of the women reported that gambling had led to at least 3 negative life consequences (eg, felt guilty, gambled more than intended), commonly defined as problem gambling. Students identified as problem gamblers, compared with other students, were significantly more likely to be heavy drinkers, report negative consequences of alcohol consumption, and be regular tobacco and marijuana users. Problem gambling was related to binge eating and greater use of weight-control efforts. University athletes were also found to have significantly greater problem gambling rates than nonathletes. The majority of students gambled but experienced few of the negative consequences reported by problem gamblers.     

An Approach to Vulnerability Analysis of Complex Industrial Systems

The concept of vulnerability of complex industrial systems is defined and discussed in relation to risk and system survivability. The discussion is illustrated by referring to a number of previous industrial accidents. The various risk factors, or threats, influencing an industrial system's vulnerability are classified and discussed. Both internal and external threats are covered. The general scope of vulnerability analysis is compared to traditional risk analysis approaches and main differences are illustrated. A general procedure for vulnerability analysis in two steps, including building of scenarios and preparation of relevant worksheets, is described and discussed.     

Having one's cake and eating it, too: combining true experiments with regression discontinuity designs

Both true experiments and regression discontinuity (RD) designs produce unbiased estimates of effects. However, true experiments are, of course, often criticized on equity grounds, whereas RD designs entail sacrifices in terms of statistical precision. In this article, a hybrid of true experiments and RD designs is considered. This hybrid entails smaller sacrifices in statistical efficiency than RD designs and also is likely to be judged as being considerably more fair than true experiments and possible even RD designs. Moreover, unlike pure RD designs, the hybrid design considered here can be employed in situations in which the variable on which assignment to treatment condition is based takes on only a discrete set of values.     

HOTEL OVERBOOKING AS A MARKOVIAN SEQUENTIAL DECISION PROCESS*

This paper deals with the problems of hotel overbooking and the scientific determination of hotel booking policies. The general hotel reservations system is described, and a Markovian sequential decision model is proposed for it. An application of the model is presented, based on an actual sample of hotel data. Because of the significance of the cancellation phenomena in the sample, the model prescribes a substantial amount of overbooking. The paper concludes with comments regarding the necessity for and course of future research in this area.     

Inducing Development: Social Remittances and the Expansion of Oil Palm

This paper investigates the relationship between social remittances and land‐use change in the context of South–South migration. Focusing on the cyclical movement of Filipino oil palm workers between the Philippine province of Palawan and the Malaysian State of Sabah, we show how migrants transmit social remittances, such as ideas of prosperity associated with oil palm development and knowledge of production practices and land impacts of oil palm plantations. These social remittances affect farmers’ decisions to engage in oil palm development within the migrants’ home province, possibly transforming subsistence agricultural systems into large‐scale, monocrop plantations. We argue that such land development outcomes are an understudied aspect of how migration affects developing countries, especially in the context of South–South migration. Research findings also suggest how migrants’ social remittances are transmitted, diffused, and utilized at broader social and political units, beyond return migrants’ households and immediate communities in Palawan. Decision outcomes, however, are variable, with households and communities either engaging in or opposing oil palm development, depending on how social remittances are interpreted.     

Good Boundaries Make Good Neighbors: Boundary Management—Tearing Down the Walls and Fostering Organizational Change

This article focuses on the ubiquitous problem of bureaucratic fragmentation experienced by organizations of all kinds. It proposes the strategy and practice of boundary management as a way of addressing the problem while creating organizational change. Based on a classic case of an aging Midwestern steel mill, the purpose of the article is threefold: (i) to define the problem of bureaucratic segmentalism and fragmentation as having to do with the formation of divisive and impenetrable barriers and walls, (ii) to suggest the importance of developing and maintaining permeable boundaries designed to open up and integrate the organization, and (iii) to develop the concept and practice of boundary management and its usefulness in tearing down the walls and creating organizational change.     

Kazakhstan's Nonprofit Sector at a Crossroad on the Great Silk Road

The Republic of Kazakhstan is developing a nonprofit sector, albeit slowly. It still suffers from the experience of 70 years of Communism but is now moving forward with development. This survey reviews the history, evolution, scope, and currency with a focus on the legal underpinnings of the nonprofit sector in Kazakhstan. In addition to discussing the traditions and cultures affecting development, the survey mainly concentrates on the legal and legislative obstacles that discourage rather than encourage more rapid development of the third sector in this Central Asian state.     

Relationships Between Perceived Family Gambling and Peer Gambling and Adolescent Problem Gambling and Binge-Drinking

The study systematically examined the relative relationships between perceived family and peer gambling and adolescent at-risk/problem gambling and binge-drinking. It also determined the likelihood of at-risk/problem gambling and binge-drinking as a function of the number of different social groups with perceived gambling. A multi-site high-school survey assessed gambling, alcohol use, presence of perceived excessive peer gambling (peer excess—PE), and family gambling prompting concern (family concern—FC) in 2750 high-school students. Adolescents were separately stratified into: (1) low-risk, at-risk, and problem/pathological gambling groups; and, (2) non-binge-drinking, low-frequency-binge-drinking, and high-frequency-binge-drinking groups. Multinomial logistic regression showed that relative to each other, FC and PE were associated with greater likelihoods of at-risk and problem/pathological gambling. However, only FC was associated with binge-drinking. Logistic regression revealed that adolescents who endorsed either FC or PE alone, compared to no endorsement, were more likely to have at-risk and problem/pathological gambling, relative to low-risk gambling. Adolescents who endorsed both FC and PE, compared to PE alone, were more likely to have problem/pathological gambling relative to low-risk and at-risk gambling. Relative to non-binge-drinking adolescents, those who endorsed both FC and PE were more likely to have low- and high-frequency-binge-drinking compared to FC alone or PE alone, respectively. Family and peer gambling individually contribute to adolescent at-risk/problem gambling and binge-drinking. Strategies that target adolescents as well as their closely affiliated family and peer members may be an important step towards prevention of harm-associated levels of gambling and alcohol use in youths.     

On estimating the box-cox transformation to normality

This paper studies four methods for estimating the Box-Cox parameter used to transform data to normality. Three of these are based on optimizing test statistics for standard normality tests (the Shapiro-Wilk. skewness, and kurtosis tests); the fourth uses the maximum likelihood estimator of the Box-Cox parameter. The four methods are compared and evaluated with a simulation study, where their performances under different skewness and kurtosis conditions are analyzed. The estimator based on optimizing the Shapiro-Wilk statistic generally gives rise to the best transformations, while the maximum likelihood estimator performs almost as well. Estimators based on optimizing skewness and kurtosis do not perform well in general.     

The impact of the minimum wage in West Virginia: A test of the low-wage-area theory

VI. Conclusions West Virginia counties do provide evidence of significant dis-employment due to the minimum wage, a finding that supports the theory that low-wage areas are more susceptible to employment losses when the legislated minimum wage is increased. My results show that a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage will reduce total employment in the average West Virginia county by 1.1 percent. The most rural counties may also respond more severely, up to 1.4 percent for the same minimum wage change. I thank Clifford Hawley, Sudeshna Bandypadhyay, George Hammond, Stratford Douglass, Brian Cushing, Tom Garrett, Victor Claar, Gary Wagner, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments.