Piecewise linear rank-dependent utility

Choice under risk is modelled using a piecewise linear version of rank-dependent utility. This model can be considered a continuous version of NEO-expected utility (Chateauneuf et al., J Econ Theory 137:538–567, 2007). In a framework of objective probabilities, a preference foundation is given, without requiring a rich structure on the outcome set. The key axiom is called complementary additivity.     

Staff Development as a School Climate Intervention to Support Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students: An Integrated Research Partnership Model for School Counselors and Counselor Educators

ABSTRACT

This article posits that an integrative research partnership model can assist school counselors in addressing the marginalization of transgender students in schools through staff development. A methodological integration of action research and program evaluation through quantitative and qualitative data collection is explained, and a collaborative process is highlighted. A case example is provided to demonstrate the use of the design.     

Measuring the extent, depth, and severity of food insecurity: an application to American Indians in the USA

Within the extensive food insecurity literature, little work has been done regarding (a) the depth and severity of food insecurity and (b) the food insecurity of American Indians. This paper addresses both these topics with data from the 2001 to 2004 Core Food Security Module of the Current Population Survey. To measure food insecurity, three axiomatically derived measures of food insecurity are used. As expected, given the worse economic conditions facing American Indians, their food insecurity levels are generally higher than non-American Indians. However, the magnitude and significance of these differences differ depending on the choice of food insecurity measure.

DNA COLLECTION IN A RANDOMIZED SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDY OF COLLEGE PEER EFFECTS

We describe the DNA collection processes of an initial pilot and full study, which is designed to investigate joint peer and genetic effects on health behaviors and attitudes in a college campus setting. In the main study, 2664 (79.5%) students completed a Web survey and 2080 (78.7% of the survey completers after adjusting for the ineligible) provided a saliva DNA sample. The response rate for completing both the survey and the DNA portion of the study is 62.5%. Our DNA yields are of high quality. Overall, our experiences and results demonstrate that genetic data can be successfully collected as a part of traditional social science survey research projects. To aid others in doing so, we provide extensive details of our data collection experiences and offer recommendations to future researchers seeking to do or evaluate similar work.     

Unequal Partners? Local Government Reorganization and the Voluntary Sector

British local government has recently undergone its most far-reaching reorganization for twenty-five years. The impact of this reorganization was considerable within local authorities but it also substantially affected other organizations with which they worked at a local level. This paper explores the perspectives of voluntary sector organizations involved in social care: a set of actors which, prior to reorganization, had been encouraged by central and local government, through notions of partnership and through community care legislation, to undertake more direct roles in service delivery, consultation and strategic planning. During the consultative period prior to reorganization, many voluntary organizations reported that they had been marginal to the process. Reflecting on the process of reorganization itself, many voluntary organization respondents commented that it had been disruptive and provoked considerable anxiety. Post-reorganization, voluntary organizations felt that rebuilding of relationships was necessary and that the promise of partnership had meant little in practice at a time of potential crisis for local.     

Living and loving with dementia: Negotiating spousal and caregiver identity through narrative

In this paper, we examine how Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) affect caregivers' perceptions of change in the identity of their afflicted spouse and the ways in which accompanying changes in caregiver identity influence intimate relations. We also explore how gender shapes the ADRD caregiving experience among married couples, specifically, the extent to which intimate relations are also gendered relations. The study group was comprised of spousal caregivers recruited from support groups in the two Midwestern states and from the Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC) at a large Midwestern university hospital. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 men and 15 women whose spouses had ADRD. The intensive interviews confirmed that identity change on the part of sick spouses had important implications for intimacy, although not always in adverse ways. The majority of caregiver husbands and wives reported diminished intimacy as a result of the ADRD. Many men and women believed they would retain feelings of closeness to their afflicted spouses as long as they were alive. Wives were more likely than husbands to report that changes in their spouses' identity altered how they identified themselves within their marriage. This has important implications for intimate relations between people with ADRD and those who care for them. Our findings suggest that caregiving and intimacy are very different experiences for men and women, and point to the need for caregiver education and support.     

Reflections on the Voluntary Self-Exclusion of Gamblers and the Law-Suits against Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation

Legalized gambling in Canada is governed by Provincial legislation. In Ontario, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is responsible for all aspects of gambling in the Province. There have been a number of recent lawsuits against this Crown agency of the Government of Ontario by gamblers, most of which have been settled or otherwise resolved. A recent class-action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of Ontario gamblers against this agency raises a number of interesting questions regarding the issue of responsibility and liability. The questions surround the issue of self-exclusionary practices of gamblers who deem themselves in need of external intervention in order interesting questions regarding the issue of responsibility and liability. The questions surround the issue to abstain from further gambling. A contract is voluntarily signed by the self-excluding gamblers whereby their further attendance at gaming venues is prevented and could be punishable by law. Where the gaming venues have failed to enforce the terms of this contract, gamblers have continued to gamble at these establishments. The class-action lawsuit stems from the grievances of these self-excluded gamblers who were not turned away. Relevant psychological theories and recent findings pertaining to gambling are reviewed and questions relevant to these grievances are discussed in favor of government responsibility and liability toward gamblers.     

Dynamic Graphics for Exploring Spatial Data with Application to Locating Global and Local Anomalies

We explore the application of dynamic graphics to the exploratory analysis of spatial data. We introduce a number of new tools and illustrate their use with prototype software, developed at Trinity College, Dublin. These tools are used to examine local variability—anomalies—through plots of the data that display its marginal and multivariate distributions, through interactive smoothers, and through plots motivated by the spatial auto-covariance ideas implicit in the variogram. We regard these as alternative and linked views of the data. We conclude that the most important single view of the data is the Map View: All other views must be cross-referred to this, and the software must encourage this. The view can be enriched by overlaying on other pertinent spatial information. We draw attention to the possibilities of one-many linking, and to the use of line-objects to link pairs of data points. We draw attention to the parallels with work on Geographical Information Systems.