Positive and negative affect: A maximum-likelihood approach

Using the LISREL maximum-likelihood program, the relation between Bradburn's positive affect and negative affect scales is examined for three age groups of adults. It is found that (a) unequal item loadings fit significantly better than equal item loadings; (b) the best-fitting loadings for the elderly are significantly different from those of the non-elderly; (c) the positive and negative affect scales are substantially correlated and (d) correlations with related variables are stronger when positive and negative affect scales are formed by maximum-likelihood loadings rather than by unit loadings. Given the widespread use of Bradburn's scales, implications of these results for subjective well-being are discussed.     

The influence of macroeconomic variables on the probability of union decertification

This study focuses on the role macroeconomic factors play in explaining the proportion of decertification elections lost by the union movement in the postwar period. Previous research has neglected the importance of such macroeconomic variables. Our results indicate that the union-nonunion wage differential, inflation, strikes, state of the labor market, and union density are related to the phenomenon of decertification. The authors would like to thank Greg Hundley, Mike Bognanno, Paul Schumann, Jim Scoville, the editor, and a reviewer for valuable comments and Michael Wachter and William Wascher for providing some unpublished data.     

Artificial intelligence and formal models of international behavior

During the past five years, models and techniques developed in artificial intelligence (AI) have been applied to a wide variety of topics in international relations (IR). These applications build on a theoretical base established at MIT during the 1970s, and the expansion of the applications reflects both changes in AI research and limitations of alternative models such as statistical modeling and rational choice approaches. Current applications in IR/AI tend to fall into three categories. First, there have been extensive applications of if-then rules in expert systems and simulations. Second, many models emphasize the role of historical precedent in IR decision making. Third, a variety of approaches employing natural language are under development. These AI techniques have extended considerably the range and complexity of formal models of international behavior. He has spent the past four years working on applications of artificial intelligence to the problem of making short-term predictions of international behavior. He is author ofMicrocomputer Methods for Social Scientists (Sage 1987) and numerous articles on mathematical modeling.