The Little Magazine Collection at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

Abstract

Serials Review visits the University of Wisconsin–Madison Memorial Library to hear about the Little Magazine Collection. This collection consists primarily of literary journals, but it also contains magazines, which reflect trends in art, society, and politics. Readers of Serials Review will recognize this collection as the source of a regular column, “Little Magazine Interview Index,” compiled by Yvonne Schofer and Barbara Richards. The author discusses the history of the collection and its current development. Serials Review 2002; 28:153–155.     

Asymptotic inference for coefficients of variation

Asymptotic inference results for the coefficients of variation of normal populations are presented in this article. This includes formulas for test statistics, power, confidence intervals, and simultaneous inference. The results are based on the asymptotic normality of the sample coefficient of variation as derived by Miller (1991). An example which compares the homogeneity of bone test samples produced from two different methods is presented.     

Determinants of CEO Age at Succession

Based on Brickley’s (2003) call for research on the CEO/turnover relation, we examine determinants of CEO age at succession. Utilizing the similarity–attraction paradigm, we propose that board members will select new CEOs that are similar to their own age. We find a strong positive relation between successor CEO age and average board member age. Thus, the similarity–attraction paradigm seems to play a role in board of director selection of CEO successors. However, we also propose that poor prior performance may mitigate similarity–attraction. Our results are also consistent with this hypothesis because we find no relation between successor CEO and board age following poor prior performance. Finally, the hiring of an age-similar CEO does not reduce the companies’ subsequent financial performance and may even have a slightly positive impact on it.     

Use of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Constituents as Markers for Exposure

The 16-City Study analyzed for gas-phase environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) constituents (nicotine, 3-ethenyl pyridine [3-EP], and myosmine) and for particulate-phase constituents (respirable particulate matter [RSP], ultraviolet-absorbing particulate matter [UVPM], fluorescing particulate matter [FPM], scopoletin, and solanesol). In this second of three articles, we discuss the merits of each constituent as a marker for ETS and report pair-wise comparisons of the markers. Neither nicotine nor UVPM were good predictors for RSP. However, nicotine and UVPM were good qualitative predictors of each other. Nicotine was correlated with other gas-phase constituents. Comparisons between UVPM and other particulate-phase constituents were performed. Its relation with FPM was excellent, with UVPM approximately 1 1/2 times FPM. The correlation between UVPM and solanesol was good, but the relationship between the two was not linear. The relation between UVPM and scopoletin was not good, largely because of noise in the scopoletin measures around its limit of detection. We considered the relation between nicotine and saliva cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine. The two were highly correlated on the group level. That is, for each cell (smoking home and work, smoking home but nonsmoking work, and so forth), there was high correlation between average cotinine and 24-hour time-weighted average (TWA) nicotine concentrations. However, on the individual level, the correlations, although significant, were not biologically meaningful. A consideration of cotinine and nicotine or 3-EP on a subset of the study whose only exposure to ETS was exclusively at work or exclusively at home showed that home exposure was a more important source of ETS than work exposure.     

What Motivates Individuals to Protect Themselves from Risks: The Case of Wildland Fires

This research investigates the cognitive perceptual process that homeowners go through when faced with the decision to protect themselves from the risk of wildfires. This decision can be examined by looking at the interaction between the integrated protection motivation theory-transtheoretical model and different levels of homeowners' subjective knowledge related to wildfire risks. We investigated the role of motivation, decision stages of risk readiness, and subjective knowledge on the number of risk-mitigating actions undertaken by homeowners living in high-risk communities. The results indicate that homeowners who are in an early or precontemplative stage (both low and high subjective knowledge) as well as low knowledge contemplatives are motivated by their perceived degree of vulnerability to mitigate the risk. In contrast, high knowledge contemplatives' potential behavioral changes are more likely to be motivated by increasing their perceptions of the severity of the risk. Risk-mitigating behaviors undertaken by high knowledge action homeowners are influenced by their perceptions of risk severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy. In contrast, the low knowledge action homeowners engage in risk reduction behaviors without the influence of any of the PMT variables; demonstrating their motivation to emulate others in their community. These results have implications for the type of information that should be used to effectively communicate risks in an effort to influence the diverse homeowner segments to engage in risk-reduction behaviors.     

On-Site Storage of High Level Nuclear Waste: Attitudes and Perceptions of Local Residents

No public policy issue has been as difficult as high-level nuclear waste. Debates continue regarding Yucca Mountain as a disposal site, and—more generally—the appropriateness of geologic disposal and the need to act quickly. Previous research has focused on possible social, political, and economic consequences of a facility in Nevada. Impacts have been predicted to be potentially large and to emanate mainly from stigmatization of the region due to increased perceptions of risk. Analogous impacts from leaving waste at power plants have been either ignored or assumed to be negligible. This paper presents survey results on attitudes of residents in three counties where nuclear waste is currently stored. Topics include perceived risk, knowledge of nuclear waste and radiation, and impacts on jobs, tourism, and housing values from leaving waste on site. Results are similar to what has been reported for Nevada; the public is concerned about possible adverse effects from on-site storage of waste.     

Are We Forgetting the Risk of COTS Products in Wireless Communications?

This paper addresses the risks associated with the exponential increase in the use of wireless communications and the implementation of wireless as a set of COTS technologies available in most large-scale computer-based systems. It describes the critical impact of these trends on information assurance, as well as on the trustworthiness of the infrastructures that are interdependent on and interconnected with wireless communications. A holistic process of risk assessment and management is suggested to prevent future problems.