In Whose Backyard?: Concern About Siting a Nuclear Waste Facility*

Proponents of hazardous and nuclear waste depositories label opponents to local siting of such facilities “NIMBYs” (Not In My Backyard). This study assesses the extent to which the NIMBY label and the strategies of industry proponents to reduce opposition function on a reasonable set of assumptions. Using survey data and multiple regression techniques, the levels of concern of residents living in the county selected as the site of a low level radioactive waste disposal facility (imminent threat condition) are compared with a statewide sample (hypothetical threat condition). Consistent with proponents' theoretical assumptions, the levels of concern are greater for respondents under conditions of imminent threat than of hypothetical threat. However, within the host county, levels of concern are lowest, albeit most polarized, in the community closest to the proposed site. A conflict theory approach enhances an understanding of these findings by suggesting that within the most proximate community levels of concern are lowest for citizens who stand to gain the most economic benefits from the facility but highest for those citizens who are least likely to derive tangible gains.     

The Boston Area Diary Study and the Moral Citizenship of Care

This paper describes the theoretical foundations, empirical findings, and practical and philosophical implications of the Boston Area Diary Study (BADS), a study of the caring behavior of 44 participants over one calendar year. In particular, the paper presents an identification theory of care and discusses how it shaped the conceptualization, collection, and analysis of the data in a year-long diary study of daily voluntary assistance. The findings from the BADS (1) theoretically confirm the identification theory of care; (2) methodologically capture how individuals perceive and carry out caring behavior as a unity; and (3rpar; empirically document the existence of a moral citizenship in America that is substantially more vigorous than is implied by the usual indicators of civic and political citizenship.     

Testing regression lack of fit without replication: a tutorial around Minitab's XLOF procedures

The tutorial is concerned with two types of test for the general lack of fit of a linear regression model, as found in the Minitab software package, and which do not require replicated observations. They aim to identify non-specified curvature and interaction in predictors, by comparing fits over the predictor region divided into two parts. Minitab's regression subcommand XLOF which gives the tests is only briefly documented in the manual and, unlike virtually all other statistical procedures in the software, it is not standard and cannot be readily found in textbooks. The two types of test are described here; they concern the predictors one-at-a-time and the predictors all-at-once. An example of their use is given. A suite of macros is available which reproduces the results of the XLOF tests in much more detail than is given by the XLOF subcommand.     

AN ALGORITHM FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF OPTIMAL OR NEAR-OPTIMAL CHANGE-OVER DESIGNS

This paper presents an algorithm for the construction of optimal or near optimal change-over designs for arbitrary numbers of treatments, periods and units. Previous research on optimality has been either theoretical or has resulted in limited tabulations of small optimal designs. The algorithm consists of a number of steps:first find an optimal direct treatment effects design, ignoring residual effects, and then optimise this class of designs with respect to residual effects. Poor designs are avoided by judicious application of the (M, S)-optimality criterion, and modifications of it, to appropriate matrices. The performance of the algorithm is illustrated by examples.     

INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Does Gender Make a Difference?

This article compares in regression models the effects of occupational status of both fathers and mothers simultaneously upon the attainment of men and women in the Irish Republic. The sample matches male respondents from the 1973/1974 Irish Mobility Study with the labour active female sibling next closest in age. Since the analysis compares working siblings and each 'matched pair' shares the same family origin characteristics, the problems attendant upon using a sample originally of men only are partially avoided. The results advance beyond previous research since, rather than separate models by gender, models include parents and children of both genders, allowing direct rather than indirect evaluation of gender-based determinants of occupational attainment. Both fathers and mothers significantly affect children's attainment, in ways that vary by the child's gender. The results highlight the salience of mothers' attainment for their children and question the 'mainstream' model of equivalent mechanisms of occupational attainment for both genders. Models of social mobility that consider men and women as special instances of a general perspective provide the most fruitful approach for further development.     

The impact of unionization,right-to-work laws,and female labor force participation on earnings inequality across states

This study examines the effect of unionization, right-to-work laws, and participation of women in the labor force on income inequality. Two distinct models are developed using 1970 and 1980 census data on the 50 states in the U.S. First, an income inequality model is specified as a beta distribution of the second kind to estimate Gini measures of income inequality. Second, these Gini estimates are used in a simultaneous equations model. The 1970 results indicate that higher unionization rates decreased inequality while right-to-work laws increased inequality. In 1980, the measure of inequality was lower in states with higher female labor force participation. We thank an unknown referee and the editor for comments and criticisms that greatly improved the paper. The usual caveat applies.     

UNDERSTANDING MAIL SURVEY RESPONSE BEHAVIOR A META-ANALYSIS

A meta-analysis of prior studies of techniques designed to inducemail survey response rates was conducted. Research encompassing184 effects (study outcomes) in 115 studies (articles) for 17predictors of response rate was examined. The average effectsize across all manipulations was r=.065, indicating an averageincrease of about 6.5 percent in response rates for manipulations.Effect sizes for specific predictors and two potential moderatorsof effects were examined. Results indicated that repeated contactsin the form of preliminary notification and follow-ups, appeals,inclusion of a return envelope, postage, and monetary incentives,were effective in increasing survey response rates. Significanteffect sizes for the predictors ranged from an increase in responseof 2 percent to 31 percent. Implications of the results forthe conduct of mail surveys and future research on mail surveyresponse behavior are discussed.