Depth‐Oriented Values Extraction

The author examines the role of values in the career decision‐making process and describes Depth‐Oriented Values Extraction (DOVE) as a process that translates various types of psychological data (e.g., Holland‐type themes) into values‐based terms and language that facilitate career decision making. The author presents a case study to demonstrate the implications of DOVE for career counseling and makes suggestions for counselors.     

Policy, management, and political activities: A current evaluation of the time allocations of mayors and managers in small cities and towns

This study examines executive time allocations in cities and towns with populations between 2,500 and 25,000. The majority of previous research has focused on municipalities with populations greater than 50,000. Do mayors and managers in small municipalities spend the same amount of time on policy, management, and political activities as their counterparts in larger municipalities? Four-hundred-sixty-seven surveys from mayors and city managers are evaluated, and the data reveal that a significant relationship between form of government and the time these individuals devote to policy, management, and political activities does exist. This analysis confirms that managers in small cities and towns do spend more time on policy and management activities, and less time on political activities than mayors in small cities and towns. Also, the research demonstrates that differences in time devoted to these three activities can be seen when small and large municipalities are compared.     

SPACE–TIME MODELLING OF SYDNEY HARBOUR WINDS

This paper develops a space‐time statistical model for local forecasting of surface‐level wind fields in a coastal region with complex topography. The statistical model makes use of output from deterministic numerical weather prediction models which are able to produce forecasts of surface wind fields on a spatial grid. When predicting surface winds at observing stations , errors can arise due to sub‐grid scale processes not adequately captured by the numerical weather prediction model , and the statistical model attempts to correct for these influences. In particular , it uses information from observing stations within the study region as well as topographic information to account for local bias. Bayesian methods for inference are used in the model , with computations carried out using Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. Empirical performance of the model is described , illustrating that a structured Bayesian approach to complicated space‐time models of the type considered in this paper can be readily implemented and can lead to improvements in forecasting over traditional methods.     

Privatization and some economic and social consequences: Higher incomes,greater inequalities

The past 14 years have witnessed profound political, social, and economic changes in the various countries that previously comprised the “Soviet bloc.” The antecedents to and the process of Hungarian privatization are examined in the present study, followed by an evaluation of some of the economic and social consequences of the systemic change. The change from one-party rule to a pluralistic democracy and from “goulash communism” to a market economy has been successful overall, but the necessary rationalization of production also resulted in growing inequalities in income and wealth and the appearance of social conflict.     

Rates of missing responses in personal digital assistant (PDA) versus paper assessments

This article describes rates of missing item responses in personal digital assistant (PDA) assessments as compared to paper assessments. Data come from the evaluation of a classroom-based leisure, life skills, and sexuality education program delivered to high school students in Cape Town, South Africa. Analyses show that the paper assessments had much higher rates of missing-ness than PDA assessments. This association is moderated by item order. Certain analyses also suggest that paper assessments have higher rates of missingness for items pertaining to participants' sexual behavior. Implications of these results for evaluation research will be discussed.     

Sleep and behavioral correlates of napping among young adults: a survey of first-year university students in Madrid, Spain

Objective: Between November 2002 and March 2003, the authors assessed the prevalence and correlates of napping among Spanish university students. Participants: The sample comprised 1,276 first-year university students; the mean age was 18.74 +/- 1.24 years, and 35.45% were men. Methods: The study was cross-sectional, and the students completed self-report, anonymous questionnaires provided during an in-class survey. Results: Almost half (44%) of the sample reported napping (90% did so after lunch for longer than 1 hour). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that experiencing an irregular sleep-wakefulness pattern, having a morning school schedule, and being male were significant predictor variables of napping. Further significant outcome variables related to napping were having excessive daytime sleepiness, missing classes because of tiredness, better ability to concentrate later in the afternoon, and a perception of deeper nighttime sleep. Conclusions: Habitual napping is common among Spanish university students and associated with an irregular sleep-wakefulness pattern. Taking long postlunch naps seems to be used by students to cope with insufficient sleep and daytime sleepiness.     

Lottery Promotions at the Point-of-Sale in Ontario, Canada

We documented the extent of point-of-sale (POS) lottery promotions in Ontario, Canada and the relationship between lottery promotions and store and city characteristics. This is the first quantitative study of POS lottery promotions. A total of 366 stores—independent and chain convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores—were visited across 20 cities in Ontario. Data collectors unobtrusively observed the type of lottery promotions in each store and completed a data collection checklist. A lottery promotion index was created and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was conducted to examine the relationship between extent of lottery promotions and independent variables such as neighbourhood socioeconomic status and city prevalence of lottery ticket purchasing. POS lottery promotions were widespread across Ontario, with the highest level of promotion found in independent convenience stores. In the multivariable HLM model, none of the remaining independent variables remained statistically significant, except for store type. Lottery promotions are extensive at the POS in Ontario. These findings can help initiate discussions around the appropriateness and possible future regulation of this form of advertising.     

Estimating Damages in a Class Action Litigation

In a class action litigation, actual damages are not known exactly and must be estimated. Various estimators are proposed and assessed by using a model that identifies possible sources of error. Estimators that have been used in practice are shown to be seriously biased. An empirical Bayes estimator and an empirical minimal mean squared error estimator are found to be more satisfactory methods for estimating damages.     

Unemployment and Political Partisanship: Support for the Null Hypothesis

Abstract

Analysis of survey data from faculty at fifteen colleges and universities in a large Midwestern metropolitan area supports earlier speculations that certain attributes unique to academia are predictive of differential participation in several aspects of socio-political life. Scholarly commitments and working in a field that studies socio-political issues per se are associated with liberal attitudes, casting votes for liberal candidates, and overt involvement in radical political activities. Tendencies for these associations were observed in both secular and church-related schools. Contrary to critics of the recent Ladd and Lipset studies, there is a clear tendency for faculty with liberal covert attitudes to translate them into overt participation in liberal and radical political activities.