Hidden information acquisition and static choice

This note explores the consequence of hidden information acquisition for static choice theory. We show that any choice function in the observable problem can be consistent with some well-behaved choice function in a metaproblem with unobservable costly information acquisition. This illustrates how choices may not satisfy consistency conditions because a decision maker's decision process (in this case, information acquisition) depends on her feasible set. It also illustrates the importance of modeling the source of violations of consistency conditions, rather than simply weakening axioms on preferences.     

AGE-OF-RECALL EFFECTS ON FAMILY-OF-ORIGIN RATINGS

Family rating scales, particularly those tapping one's view of family of origin, rely heavily on one's summary impressions, perceptions, and recall of the family. Previous research has demonstrated that fairly consistent age, gender, and parent/offspring differences exist in ratings of current family functioning, but little information exists on such differences in rating one's family of origin. The present study had college-age subjects rate current family, family when they were elementary-school age, and family when they were 16 years old. Subjects were 141 college students (93 women, 48 men) who completed the self-Report Family Inventory (SFI) of the Beavers Systems Model of Family Functioning separately for the three specified recall periods (age 10, age 16, and current family). Significant differences were found between age-of-recall groups, with recall ratings from age 10 significantly more competent, cohesive, and less conflicted than those from age 16; current family ratings were intermediate. Relatively few gender by age interactions were significant. Implications for the use and interpretation of family ratings and family-of-origin scales are discussed.     

An approach to the treatment evaluation of Hodgkin's disease

Hodgkin's disease is a cancer of the lymphatic system. The major feature influencing the type of treatment employed, and the ultimate prognosis, is the stage or extent of disease prior to therapy. This paper is concerned with evaluating the difference in patient progress of two staging procedures. One (pathological staging) procedure is more extensive than the other (clinical staging). The evaluation is carried out by firstly developing a mathematical model of patient progress for pathologically staged patients and then using this model to predict what would have happened to clinically staged patients if they had been treated according to their pathological stage. Comparison of these predictions with actual results suggests that pathologically staged patients appear to remain in disease free survival (remission) following radio-therapy longer than clinically staged patients.     

Financial Sustainability Within UK Charities: Community Sport Trusts and Corporate Social Responsibility Partnerships

The change in political leadership in the UK in 2010 has created financial uncertainty and instability for many third sector organisations. In a shifting funding landscape, it is clear that an over-reliance on Government funding is a risky strategy and that there is a need to diversify and seek out alternative sources of revenue. This article considers the impact of political change on the financial sustainability of community sports trusts associated with Premier League and Football League clubs in England. It explores sources of revenue through the analysis of financial statements, revealing that on average community sports trusts receive a significant proportion of income from grant funding whilst sponsorship income is relatively small. The article goes on to discuss the potential for community sports trusts to diversify revenue streams by developing social partnerships that address the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas of commercial organisations. It illustrates that although commercial sponsorship can provide benefits including the provision of additional funding that can enable financial stability, key issues include the balance of power, the impact on organisational flexibility, whether there is a need to restructure, and the development of long-term partnerships. Although the findings from this article are focused on a particular type of charity, given the importance of CSR partnership income for the charities sector they may also have broader implications for other charitable organisations.     

Life Experiences and Vulnerabilities of Homeless Women: A Comparison of Women Unaccompanied Versus Accompanied by Minor Children,and Correlates With Children’s Emotional Distress

The histories and service needs of 2 groups of homeless women, those unaccompanied by minor children (n = 46) and those accompanied by minor children (n = 22), were compared, on the basis of their responses to a biennial survey of homeless people in a midsize city in the southeast United States. Mothers of children aged 2-10 also completed a measure of stress symptoms for their children (n = 20). Irrespective offamily status group, problems such as substance abuse, history ofmental illness, health problems, chronicity of homelessness, and crime victimization tended to cluster together. The findings also suggest that declining and/or inadequate levels ofpublic benefits, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Medicaid-funded health care in particular, have adversely affected the 2 groups, particularly families with children. The young children in this sample experienced elevated levels ofstress, and significant associations were found between children’s stress levels and certain riskfactors oftheir mothers. Implications for service delivery are discussed.     

Unofficial Hanoians: Migration,Native Place and Urban Citizenship in Vietnam

Independent migration to Hanoi has surged dramatically over two decades of deepening market reforms, blurring the distinctions between urban and rural lives once maintained so carefully by the Communist Party of Vietnam. However many urban migrants face ongoing legal and social obstacles in Hanoi, tied to an outmoded system of household registration (ho khau), and widespread anxieties about the ‘floating population’ threatening to overwhelm the city. This article shows how one group of ‘unofficial Hanoians’—migrant motorbike taxi drivers from Nam Dinh Province—navigate a system of differentiated urban citizenship by forging communities and mutual assistance networks around shared ‘native places’ (que huong) to find employment, housing and social support in the city. It also reveals how Hanoi's marginal urban spaces—home to entrenched migrant communities of ambiguous legality—emerge as key arenas in the negotiation of Vietnamese citizenship, forcing national leaders, city officials, landlords and residents to grapple with questions of free movement and the rights of rural citizens to transgress urban space.