Stability of the roots of random algebraic polynomials

In this paper we consider the behavior of the roots of random algebraic polynomials. A code was developed which generates a sample of random algebraic polynomials, calculates the roots of each sample polynomial, and then calculates the averages of the roots. Finally, the roots of the deterministic algebraic polynomial whose coefficients are the averages of the sample coefficients are calculated. These data are then tabulated and graphically displayed. The relationship between the averages of the roots of the sample polynomials and the roots of the average polynomial is discussed.     

Danger and Dementia: Caregiver Experiences and Shifting Social Roles During a Highly Active Hurricane Season

This study examined disaster preparedness and decision-making by caregivers of community-dwelling persons diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia (ADRD). Interviews were conducted with 20 caregivers in South Florida. Twelve of these interviews include caregiving experiences during the highly active 2004–2005 hurricane seasons. Results indicate that persons in earlier stages of ADRD can, and often do, remain engaged in the disaster preparation and planning process. However, during the early stages, persons may also resist evacuation, even if the caregiver felt it was necessary. During later stages of the disease, caregivers reported less resistance to disaster-related decisions, however, with the tradeoff of less ability to assist with preparation.     

Sequential sampling without recall from a dirichlet process

The problem of sequential sampling without recall from a Dirichlet process is studied. An individual observes a sequential sample p₁, p₂, … . At each stage the observer can either accept the current value p_i or continue sampling. The total cost to the observer is the current value plus a cost for each observation taken after the first. A concrete context for the problem is provided by a shopper who must buy a particular item and can elicit price quotations sequentially but must pay for each quotation. Qualitative properties of optimal search rules are derived which establish that the problem is well behaved. In particular, the reservation-price property is shown to hold. The results extend those in Christensen (1986).     

Sensitivity to nonverbal cues as a function of social competence

The hypothesis that sensitivity to nonverbal messages is an important component of social compentence was tested employing 24 female subjects. It was predicted that subjects low in social competence would experience a high level of anxiety in a social interaction and that this would interfere with their ability to attend to the nonverbal behaviors of others. Subjects were given the task of interviewing a confederate. They were instructed to change the interview topic if the questioning appeared to produce discomfort in their partner. The confederate displayed a series of nonverbal cues indicating mounting tension while responding to certain questions. Two measures of sensitivity to the cues were obtained: (1) how quickly the subject changed the interview topic in response to the cues and (2) how many nonverbal cues the subject reported observing. The findings indicated that low-competence subjects reported having observed as many of the nonverbal messages as the high-competence subjects but failed to respond to them. An explanation for this is offered based on information gathered during a postexperimental interview. No difference was found between groups for level of anxiety experienced during the interaction. This is discussed in terms of the experimental design employed, which may have served to reduce anxiety in the subjects.This study was conducted by the first author as part of the requirements for the master's degree at the University of Connecticut. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Suzanne Weiss, who served as the confederate and assisted in the analysis of the data.     

Administrative Reform Policy: The Challenges of Turning Symbols into Practice

Administrative reform policies are often characterized by a large number of reform symbols. While these are generally aimed at furthering the legitimacy of the political leadership, they can have the opposite effect and generate problems in implementing reform practice. This paper starts by discussing the theory of reform symbols and relates it to theories of instrumental, negotiation and cultural features of reforms. We illustrate this discussion by analyzing interview data collected among the central political and administrative elite in Norway. The analysis shows the relevance of reform symbols even in Norway, a country with a reluctant reform tradition and few incentives for reform. The respondents often perceived reform symbols as negative, something that creates problems for the political leadership in reconciling symbols with practice and leads it to engage in double-talk. Political and administrative leaders on different levels have differing attitudes towards administrative reform symbols, reflecting different roles and perspectives. The conclusion is that symbols are a main feature of administrative reform but also that reforms are not only symbols. Symbols matter, but turning symbols into practice is not an easy task to do.     

The union wage effect in Canadian manufacturing industries

Data for Canadian manufacturing industries, at the two-digit level, are used to examine the component elements of the union wage effect. The results show that absence of compulsory union membership for all employees in the bargaining unit served by a union does not significantly impair the ability of the union to negotiate wage gains. That is, our results imply that there is little reason for unions to devote much effort to negotiating the stronger forms of union security — union or closed shops. A second implication of our results is that significant bargaining advantages may accrue to unions with an international (U.S.) link, relative to Canadian national unions.     

Exploring the Dynamics of Volunteer and Staff Interactions

The quality of the relationships between volunteers and paid staff can have far‐reaching consequences for organizations that utilize volunteer programs to support service delivery. We utilize a mixed methods case study design to explore volunteer and staff perceptions of their mutual interactions within a large library system in the southeastern United States. We consider which areas of these interactions might be vulnerable to conflict. Our findings suggest that conflict is likely to arise due to communication problems, behavioral or attitudinal issues, perceptions of job vulnerability, divergent expectations, lack of trust, and workflow integration hurdles. We argue that to avoid these tensions and promote effective service delivery, staff members must have appropriate training and preparation to interact successfully with volunteers.     

All risk-taking is not the same: examining the competing effects of firm risk-taking with meta-analysis

Although researchers have vigorously studied organizational risk-taking for over 35 years, relatively little emphasis has been placed on theoretically differentiating the unique relationships between the many risk-taking choices organizations make and firm risk or firm performance. In this research, we propose a new framework that builds from March’s exploration–exploitation model to argue that different risk-taking choices can have substantially different influences on firm outcomes. We use meta-analysis to examine the unique and at times competing effects of four of the most commonly studied risk-taking choices on firm risk and firm performance. Results from a meta-analysis of 257 unique studies (N = 499,808) demonstrate support for our proposed framework and cast significant doubt on the idea that commonly studied firm risk-taking choices theoretically aggregate into one overarching risk-taking construct.     

Loneliness,immigration background and self-identified ethnicity: a nationally representative study of adolescents in Denmark

Migration is an increasing worldwide phenomenon that creates multicultural societies with a growing number of adolescents who have experienced a process of migration or who have an ethnic background other than that of the majority. Migration may lead to loss of social relations and create challenges related to acculturation in the new country. These experiences may induce feelings of loneliness. Research on ethnic and migrant disparities in loneliness among adolescents is limited and inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to examine how adolescents’ immigration background and self-identified ethnicity are associated, independently and combined, with loneliness. We used data from the Danish 2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey which included a representative sample of 3083 13- and 15-year-olds. The results suggest that immigrants but not descendants of immigrants have an increased risk of loneliness compared to adolescents with a Danish origin. The results also suggest that adolescents’ self-identified ethnicity plays an essential role but differently for immigrants and descendants: identifying with the Danish majority was protective against loneliness among immigrants, whereas identifying with an ethnic minority group was protective against loneliness among descendants.