Covering relations,closest orderings and hamiltonian bypaths in tournaments

We show that the Slater's set of a tournament, i.e. the set of the top elements of the closest orderings, is a subset of the top cycle of the uncovered set of the tournament. We also show that the covering relation is related to the hamiltonian bypaths of a strong tournament in that if x covers y, then there exists an hamiltonian bypath from x to y.We thank B. Monjardet and an anonymous editor for helpful suggestions.     

“You Can Help People”: Adolescents’ Views on Engaging Young People in Longitudinal Research

We sought to discover adolescents’ thoughts about participation in longitudinal research and identify recruitment and retention strategies that were meaningful to them. We conducted seven focus groups with 10–15‐year‐olds in two large rural centers in New South Wales, Australia, and all focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Adolescents discussed factors salient to their involvement in focus groups, as well as factors that may influence involvement in a longitudinal study. At the outset of the focus groups, adolescents had a positive view of “research,” but were reluctant to engage in research that involved biologic samples. Effective recruitment of adolescents requires an appreciation of motivators, and time and resources to extend potential participants’ understanding.     

The Strange Career of the Canadian Beaver: Anthropomorphic Discourses and Imperial History

Abstract  This article traces the shifting representational history of the "beaver" in the Canadian imaginary through analyzing a range of images from explorers' narratives, to commercial discourses, mass media representations to the ubiquitous sexual slang. I argue that dominant representations of the national rodent have suggested important social territories, like the norms of industry, bodily decorum, sexual respectability and racial progress. At the same time, I also explore how the subterranean language of sexual slang is the logical underside of the narratives found in more "legitimate" representations.     

Psychological Wellbeing Among Same‐sex Attracted and Heterosexual Parents: Role of Connectedness to Family and Friendship Networks

Increasing numbers of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults are entering into parenthood. Previous studies indicate many of these parents receive little or no support from their families of origin due to family members' negative attitudes toward homosexuality. This study looks at the extent to which LGB parents report a lower sense of connectedness to family of origin and friendship networks than heterosexual parents and whether this has an impact on psychological wellbeing in either of these groups. Data were derived from two studies of parents: Work, Love, Play, a study of Australian and New Zealand LGB parents (n=324); and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a population‐based study of young children and parents (n=6460). Structural equation modelling was used to explore the relationships between: parent sexuality and family/friendship connectedness, family/friendship connectedness and psychological wellbeing, parent sexuality and psychological wellbeing. LGB parents reported feeling less connected to their families of origin but more connected to their friendship groups than heterosexual parents. Counter to previous studies, we found no difference in the psychological wellbeing of LGB parents compared to heterosexual parents when examining the direct effect of sexuality on psychological wellbeing. Clinical implications for counsellors and family therapists are discussed.     

Public relations and business responses to the civil rights movement

During the 1950s and 1960s, U.S. civil rights protesters targeted businesses with demands for service, jobs, and equality. Employing historical method, this study considers the role of public relations by examining magazine, newspaper, and public relations trade press coverage of business responses to the civil rights movement. The analysis shows that, although all five motivations for the adoption of the formal public relations function—profit, legitimacy, recruitment, agitation, and advocacy—were present, business was slow to respond; that riots and concerns about corporate image drove business to take a public stand; and that professional public relations participation appeared to be minimal even as it was cited in press stories as a reason for the failure of many business initiatives. In addition, the analysis demonstrates the existence of a sixth motivation: fear.     

On the core of voting games

The purpose of this paper is to analyse a special class of cooperative games called voting games in the cases where the set of alternatives is finite or a convex and compact subset of an Euclidean space. In a first part we provide a complete classification of these games according to the non-emptiness of the core. Then in a second part we prove that the set of continuous preference profiles having a core is small from a topological point of view. The contribution of the paper is mainly a simplification of the existing proofs and the introduction of a suitable topology to formulate the second question.     

Equilibrium agenda formation

We develop a definition of equilibrium for agenda formation in general voting settings. The definition is independent of any protocol. We show that the set of equilibrium outcomes for any Pareto efficient voting rule is uniquely determined, and in fact coincides with that of the outcomes generated by considering all full agendas. Under voting by successive elimination (or amendment), the set of equilibrium outcomes corresponds with the Banks set. We also examine the implications in several specific settings and show that studying equilibrium agendas can lead to sharp predictions, in contrast with well-known chaos theorems.Financial support under NSF grant SES-9986190 and an RTDF grant from the University of Warwick are gratefully acknowledged. We thank John Duggan, Martin Osborne, and an anonymous referee for valuable suggestions, and participants at the Sixth International Meeting of the Society for Social Choice and Welfare for helpful comments.     

The production and allocation of symbolic resources: an analysis of the linguistic and ethnocultural fields in Canada*

This paper presents an analysis of aspects of the recent evolution of the symbolic dimensions of Canadian society, focusing on the linguistic and ethnocultural fields. It is argued that a consideration of material or utilitarian aspects, while essential, will lead to a misunderstanding of the actions and reactions of the various groups and organizations in these fields if the symbolic interests and forces involved are not given adequate weight. Drawing from a number of theoretical approaches, some of the processes involved in creating symbolic resources and in allocating status or honour among segments of the society are considered. Special attention is given to the role of state institutions in relation to these processes and, more specifically, to some of the policies adopted in its interventions in the symbolic order. Cette étude présente une analyse des aspects de l'évolution récente des dimensions symboliques de la société canadienne, particulièrement, les domaines linguistique et ethnoculturel. On soutient qu'une considération du matériel, ou aspects utilitaires, quoiqu'essentielle, aboutira à une conception erronée des actions et réactions des différents groupes et organisations dans ces domaines, si on ne donne pas aux forces et intérêts symboliques impliqués, le poids qu'ils méritent. A partir de plusieurs approches théo-riques, quelques processus reliés à la création de ressources symboliques et à l'attribution de statut ou distinction honorifique parmi les tranches de la société, sont considérés. Une attention spéciale est portée au rôle des institutions de l'État, par rapport à ces processus, et plus particulièrement, à quelques politiques qu'elles ont adoptées dans leurs interventions dans l'ordre symbolique. NOTES