Benefits of preventive dentistry in children: Cost factors and public policy

Dental caries in children is now recognized as a preventable disease. The use of fluoride and sealants has produced a major reduction in caries prevalence among school aged children in the United States and other countries. A portion of the child population who are educationally and socioeconomically disadvantaged are not fully receiving these benefits. Public policy, insurance and medicaid groups must be made aware of these preventative measures and strategies developed to implement them.     

The Effects of ROTC Program Participation on Socioeconomic Status and Life Satisfaction*

Using mail survey data based on a stratified systematic sample [N = 686] of 1983–1988 graduates of a medium-sized state university, this research evaluates whether ROTC program participation constitutes an independent source of human capital in civilian labor markets by comparing postgraduate earnings (annual income), prestige and authority, and life satisfaction of ROTC program participants with those of nonparticipants. The results revealed no statistically significant ROTC program participation effects, independent of subsequent military status. ROTC program participation paid off in terms of occupational prestige and authority for those on active duty, but not for those in national guard or reserve units. Neither ROTC participation nor current military status affected income or life satisfaction levels.     

Undercover Drug-Use Evasion Tactics: Excuses and Neutralization

Although research has examined the corruptive influences of undercover drug operations on agents (Girodo 1991 b; Manning and Reddlinger 1977, 1978), it has not examined the processes by which these influences can be neutralized. In this paper, I address these neutralization processes through a typology of routine and non-routine drug-use evasion tactics. Routine tactics involve excuses based on greed, business constraints, and role obligations (occupational, legal, and interpersonal). Nonroutine tactics involve two components: reverse accusation and simulation. Discussion focuses on excuses where I provide a dramaturgical interpretation that accentuates their deceptive and fraudulent nature, unlike traditional interpretations (e.g., Scott and Lyman 1968) which highlight their role as a reparative technique and aligning action (Margolin 1990). Data were drawn from ethnographic interviews with 35 light undercover narcotics agents located in a moderate-sized midwestern municipality.     

A solution of the externality problem using strategic matching

This paper develops a Coase-like solution of the problem of inducing Pareto optimal behavior in the presence of reciprocal externalities. In place of Coasean direct compensation between the parties to an externality problem, actors strategically match each other's externality-producing activity, and thus induce counterparts to internalize the external benefits or costs of their actions. The analysis suggests a general framework for analyzing social interactions in the presence of reciprocal externalities. As an application of the theory, a solution of the duopoly problem is noted.We are indebted to L. Danziger, D. Samet, participants in faculty seminars at Bar-Ilan and New York Universities and at the University of Maryland, and two anonymous referees for helpful comments and discussions. All remaining errors are our own.     

ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL DECISION MAKING

In this paper we argue for the importance of a sociologically informed study of organizational accounting practices. By making the nexus between accounting and decision making problematic, instead of given, we move issues of interpretation and hierarchical control to the center stage of understanding the social construction of accounting practices. We suggest that inductive case studies of the organizational setting is a promising methodological strategy for identifying how accounting operates as an organizational control system. We focus on debates and proceedings of the board of directors as an overlooked source of data on decision making and organizational practices. We show how accounting practices are part of the strategic control system that functions to interpret the environment and direct the adaptation of the organization in a manner particular to the substantive rationality of corporate decision makers. We illustrate these contentions with a case study of accounting practice changes over a six year period.     

Modified cross-validation in density estimation

We propose a new modified (biased) cross-validation method for adaptively determining the bandwidth in a nonparametric density estimation setup. It is shown that the method provides consistent minimizers. Some simulation results are reported on which compare the small sample behavior of the new and the classical cross-validation selectors.     

Construction and selection of tightened-normal-tightened sampling inspection scheme of type TNT-(n1, n2; c)

A table is presented for the construction and selection of tightened-normal-tightened sampling scheme of type TNT-(n1, n2;c). Efficiency of TNT-(n1, n2;c) scheme over conventional single and double sampling plans is discussed.     

THE INFLUENCE OF ECONOMICS ON ANTITRUST LAW

Economists today play prominent roles in formulating antitrust policy and litigating antitrust cases. This paper explains why economics influences antitrust law and describes how economic theories enter and shape the antitrust system. Antitrust policy and doctrine change over time in response to developments in economic theory, and the decentralization of the antitrust adjudication system and the wide latitude accorded judges in interpreting antitrust statutes ensure that legal rules will reflect advances in the economic literature concerning the appropriate content of standards governing business conduct.