Improving Scientists'Judgments of Risk

Scientists disagree in their risk analyses because they use intuitive judgments to generalize results from the laboratory to circumstances not yet studied. If this assertion is correct, techniques intended to reduce intuitive judgments and increase analytical cognition should reduce scientific dispute. The results of a test case involving allegedly high risk and sharp dispute among scientists are described.     

SOCIAL INFLUENCE, SELF-REFERENT IDENTITY LABELS, AND BEHAVIOR

Self-referent identity labels are frequently argued to be a central component of the self and to be important in the planning of conduct. Despite the attractiveness of this argument, relatively little research has yet appeared that supports it, and studies of the etiology and effects of self-referent labels often fail to control for the confounding effects of preferences, norms. or other conceptions that are known to affect conduct. In this paper, propositions are argued concerning the causes and independent effects of self-referent labels. Some of these propositions are then tested in two studies, one concerned with alcohol use among adolescents in four Western countries, the other focused on alcohol and tobacco use among American high-school and undergraduate students. Both studies found strong ties between reports of peer modeling and respondents self-referent labels and that the latter had significant and independent effects on reported behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.     

On Berry-Esseen theorem for some functions of U-statistics

The rate of convergence in the central limit theorem and in the random central limit theorem for some functions of U-statistics are established. The theorems refer to the asymptotic behaviour of the sequence {g(U_n),n≥1}, where g belongs to the class of all differentiable functions g such that g′εL(δ) and U_n is a U-statistics.     

Time to reconceptualize ‘green technology’ in the context of globalization and international relations

The focus on time is used to demonstrate that Newtonian conceptions of reality underpin the push for ‘green technology’ and its associated international relations. It brings to the surface the rationale of this technology and shows its limits and future potential by exploring underlying assumptions and principles: ‘green technology’, it is argued, is not achievable on those terms and such an approach to environmental problems is unlikely to lead to relevant action and suitable solutions. It is not simply a matter of finding the ‘right technical, economic and political solutions but, crucially, about reconceptualization and the restructuring of knowledge. Thus, conceptual revision is necessary if appropriate responses are to be found to the hazards of the industrial way of life; focus on the temporal dimension of technology and globalized political processes offers a first point of departure from the Newtonian tradition.     

Services culture: A matrix to measure diversity

Services culture differs from goods manufacturing in that customer and employee subcultures are more relevant inputs. The cultural model appears to be structurationist and bottoms-up rather than monolithic and corporate. Analogies with international business suggest adaptation of the Farmer-Richman matrix as a “culture scale” for services. The paper discusses organizational culture, services “differentness,” and the matrix. A hypothetical example drawn from the Citibank case illustrates application of the matrix to a services firm.     

Trends in Alcohol Consumption Among Undergraduate Students at a Northeastern Public University, 2002–2008

Abstract

Objective: This study examined alcohol consumption patterns and trends at a public university in the Northeast from 2002 to 2008. Participants: Stratified random sampling was used to select undergraduate students enrolled in courses during spring semesters in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008. Methods: Data were collected during regularly scheduled classes for 4 measures of alcohol consumption and 5 demographic categories using the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey. Results: Four groups showed significant increases in both frequency and volume of alcohol consumption—students who were female, over 21 years of age or over, living off-campus, or performing well academically. There were no decreasing trends for any demographic group. These results differ from national college health surveys, which have shown alcohol use remaining steady during this period. Conclusions: Campus-specific trend data can provide unique perspectives and guide programming efforts. These trends suggest a need for new intervention strategies on this campus.     

White ‘ladies’, coloured ‘favourites’ and black ‘wenches’; some considerations on sex,race and class factors in social relations in white Creole Society in the British Caribbean

The Formation of a Planter Elite: Jonathan Bryan and the Southern Colonial Frontier. By Alan Gallay. Athens &; London: University of Georgia Press, 19S9, xx, 282 pp. $35.00.

Unification of a Slave State: The Rise of the Planter Class in the South Carolina Backcountry, 1760–1808. By Rachel N. Klein. Chapel Hill &; London: University of North Carolina Press for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1990. vii, 331 pp. $34.95.

Women and Sisters: Antislavery Feminists in American Culture. By Jean Fagan Yellin. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. ix, 226 pp. £20.00/$29.95.

Virtue's Hero: Emerson, Antislavery, and Reform. By Lengougeon. Athens and London: University of Georgia Press. 1990. xiii, 408 pp. $45.00.

Race and Revolution. By Gary B. Nash. Madison: Madison House, 1990. 212pp. $27.95.

Lay My Burden Down: A Folk History of Slavery. Edited by B.A. Botkin. Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 1990. xl, 297 pp. $14.95 (paper).

Religion and the Radical Republican Movement 1860–1870. By Victor B. Howard. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. 297 pp. $32.00.

Aristocrats of Color: The Black Elite, 1880–1920. By Willard B. Gatewood. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1990. cii; 450 pp. $39.95.

Slavery in the Circuit of Sugar: Martinique and the World Economy, 1830–1848. By Dale W. Tomich. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. xiv, 353pp.

Indenture and Exile: The Indo‐Caribbean Experience. Edited by Frank Birbal‐Singh. Tsar, Toronto, 1989. 264 pp. £10.00.