Loan repayment plans as sequences of instalments

Loan repayment can be viewed as a sequence of instalments. Instalments can either fall over time (i.e., repaying more in the beginning and less in the end), rise or stay constant. Three studies investigated whether the well-established preference for improvement (i.e., falling profiles) can also be observed in a loan context. Results show that consumers do prefer falling profiles over rising profiles; however, also a strong preference for constant profiles was found. These preferences for improvement and spreading even outweigh financial benefits. Consumers, hence, may sometimes opt for the financially worse loan option. Financial capability programs could benefit from including information about the perception of sequences.     

Does the death of the sociology of deviance claim make sense?

Colin Sumner (1994) argued that the sociology of deviance “died” in 1975. This paper critically examines Sumner’s argument and finds that it does not mean what it he claims it means. In fact, it is about a decline in the supposed ideological function of the field for the ruling elite and not its declining intellectual vitality. Miller, Wright, and Dannels (2001 ) claim to test Sumner’s argument and find some empirical support for it. This paper finds Wright et al.’ s tests flawed and suggests alternative explanations for their findings. Some implications of this issue for the current state of the field are discussed. While the sociology of deviance has declined in theoretical vitality since the 1960s and 1970s, it leaves a legacy of influence in other fields, it remains an ongoing academic enterprise, it still attracts a fair number of students, and its textbooks ate cited in the field of sociology.     

Not Friend,Not Foe: The Rocky Road of Enfranchisement of Muslims into Multicultural Nationhood in Australia and New Zealand

This paper compares the images of citizenship available through multicultural policy provisions to the Muslim minority in Australia and New Zealand. Its enfranchisement is fraught with difficulties in both countries. A comparison between the two nations, however, shows some striking differences. Not only is there a considerable discrepancy between the images of citizenship and the images projected by this minority, but despite many similarities that both nations have in common, but this discrepancy also appears to be much larger in Australia. Some explanations for this difference will be offered.     

Copulas Constructed from Horizontal Sections

In analogy with the study of copulas whose diagonal sections have been fixed, we study the set _h of copulas for which a horizontal section h has been given. We first show that this set is not empty, by explicitly writing one such copula, which we call horizontal copula. Then we find the copulas that bound both below and above the set _h. Finally, we determine the expressions for Kendall's tau and Spearman's rho for the horizontal and the bounding copulas.     

Activist online resource mobilization: Relationship building features that fulfill resource dependencies

This study examined activist group websites (N = 300) to determine how activists are engaging in resource mobilization online and provides a benchmark for current mobilization practices by activists. Website features asking visitors to donate, join the organization, and links to other activist groups were most common on the sites. The study positions resource mobilization in terms of online relationships and organizational linkages, argues that resource dependencies drive mobilization efforts and that resource-based relationships with publics may be established in the mobilization process.