Valuing publicly sponsored research projects: Risks,scenario adjustments,and inattention

Survey-based choice scenarios used to value non-market public goods typically preclude any risk that the benefits described may not be delivered. Our survey specifies explicit risks of (a) outright program failure and (b) program redundancy due to possible private sector substitutes. Additionally, most analyses assume that survey subjects fully accept these scenarios and that all provided information receives their complete attention. Our discounted expected utility model of choice accommodates both these objective risks and the possibility of subjective scenario adjustment or selective inattention by respondents. We then counterfactually simulate willingness-to-pay in the absence of these distortions.

Understanding sources and types of social capital in Peru

Social capital is broadly defined as the ‘value’of social relationships. A substantial amount of work has beenconducted into the role of social capital, but little of ithas focused on Latin America and Peru in particular. Standardtools are often used to measure social capital in differentcultural settings. We argue that while there are common themes,the exact nature of social capital is dependent upon the specificnorms of behaviour, networks and organizations that characterizea given setting. Social capital is a multidimensional and culturallyspecific concept. The contribution that different organizationsand networks make to different aspects of social capital variesby setting (rural/urban), person involved (male/female), andover time, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive measures.Two approaches are used to describe the characteristics of socialcapital in Peru: a literature review of research on social capitalin Peru, and qualitative in-depth interviews with twenty respondentsfrom one rural and two urban areas of Peru.     

‘What did you think about that?’ Researching children's perceptions of participation in a longitudinal genetic epidemiological study

This paper examines how empirical study of children's involvement in non‐therapeutic health research can contribute to our understanding of the significance of the research to the children themselves. This raises issues that are pertinent to, and which will guide policy relating to ethical protection in research. The paper begins with a brief review of the literature considering how children perceive research in general, and non‐therapeutic health research in particular. The empirical study is then described, outlining the approach to sampling, recruitment and the focus group method used. This is followed by consideration of several key issues relating to research with children, with particular reference to ethical protection. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE MYTH OF THE UNFEELING STRATEGIC THERAPIST

This paper explores what the authors consider to be a widespread myth: that strategic therapists ignore, avoid, or neglect client feelings in treatment. This myth is promulgated by trainers' admonitions and strategic theorists' injunctions against dealing with client affect. It is also cultivated by omission of this topic in the strategic literature. The myth is destructive in that it misrepresents what strategic practitioners actually do in a therapy session. Seven elements of the myth are delineated and the corresponding fallacies are illustrated.     

The assault on the self: Stages in coping with battering husbands

From interviews with women who have left battering relationships, we learn of their shifting definitions of the situation and their changing responses to their husbands' assaults. While some women may be more at risk for victimization than others, we see that victimization is a gradual process rather than an inherent quality of individual women. The process involves five stages: entering a violent relationship, managing the violence, experiencing a loss of self, re-evaluating the violent relationship, and restructuring the self. As the stages are discussed, variations in the definitional work of these women are also explained.