On the Relative Strengths of Altruism and Fairness

Some researchers have attributed deviations from selfish behavior to fairness. Violations of fairness theories, however, are observed in experimental dictator games with transfer rates greater than 1 (a transfer of x from the dictator yields an income of tx for the beneficiary, where x < tx): the dictator’s final income is less than the beneficiary’s. We theoretically propose that dictator giving also involves altruism, further supporting our claim with empirical evidence from four separate samples of dictator game experiments. Our nonlinear specification allows the relative measurement of the independent motives in dictator behavior.     

Can cities be held responsible for early school leaving? Evidence from the Netherlands

This paper examines if ‘naming and shaming’ is an effective tool to increase accountability in school dropout for cities with disadvantaged student populations. It argues that a comparison with other cities might be unfair if regional and population characteristics differ. It discusses the example of two Dutch new towns. The new town policy deliberately attracted low- and medium-income households in the past, such that today the population of those cities differs from other cities. We use a matching analysis to account for observed differences in population and regional characteristics. The results point out that ‘naming and shaming’ may be a dangerous policy to increase accountability: early school leaving differences are driven, to a large extent, by observed differences in population and regional characteristics.     

Genericism and Specialization: The Story since 1970

Using the first three years of the British Journal of SocialWork, 1971–74, as a starting point, this paper tracesthe difficulties which have beset the social work professionin establishing a sound coherent basis both for a generic foundationand for subsequent specializations. It examines the factorswhich have contributed to these difficulties, in education,in practice and in relation to external factors, notably political.It concludes that social work has been blown off course butthat there are hopeful indications of a new impetus to restoreand regenerate the essence of good practice.     

The prospects for higher domestic savings rates in Latin America

This paper analyzes the prospects for raising domestic saving rates to permit increased investment and/or reduced dependence on foreign-capital inflow in Latin America. We analyze the question of rising saving rates by applying a random-coefficients approach: treating the parameters estimated in time-series analysis for individual countries as observations drawn from an international cross-section of savings behavior. Correlation analysis is then applied to clarify the conditions associated with international differences in savings parameters across a sample of 21 Latin American countries.     

On the predictive efficiency of the core solution in side-payment games

This paper reports the first cross-study competitive test of thecore solution in side-payment games where the core is nonempty and nonunique (i.e., larger than a single point). The core was tested against five alternative theories including the Shapley value, the disruption nucleolus, the nucleolus, the 2-center, and the equality solution. A generalized Euclidean distance metric which indexes the average distance between an observed payoff vector and the entire set of predicted payoff vectors (Bonacich, 1979) was used as the measure of goodness-of-fit. Analysis of data assembled from six previously reported studies (encompassing a total of 1,464 observations over 56 3-person and 4-person side-payment games) showed the core to predict less accurately than the Shapley value, disruption nucleolus, and nucleolus solutions (p < 0.01). These findings are consistent with previous empirical results that show the core to have a low level of predictive accuracy in side-payment games.This research was supported by grants SOC-7726932 and SES-8015528 from the National Science Foundation. Data analysis was performed at the Madison Academic Computing Center.     

The family educator: a professional resource for families.

The family educator works with the client's family members to help in their understanding of their ill relative and to assist with managing the stress of the caregiver role. Families come to understand that they can join forces with the clinical team in helping their relative engage in a trial of treatment. Each treatment recommendation is explained to the family and decisions are arrived at by consensus through partnership meetings. Role modeling effective interaction approaches and providing assistance in generating alternative solutions to problematic situations are important functions of the family educator.     

Dimensions of Family Conflict and Their Influence on Child and Adolescent Adjustment

Using the first (1987-1988) and second (1992-1994) waves of the National Survey of Families and Households, this study examines the concurrent and longitudinal influences of interparental conflict and parent-child conflict on child and adolescent adjustment. Analyses focus on 542 intact families, each with a randomly selected focal child aged 5 to 11 at time 1 and aged 10 to 17 at time 2. Results indicate that both parent-child and parent-adolescent conflict are critical predictors of children's and adolescents'socioemotional adjustment. Interparental conflict, by contrast, is less important for adjustment in middle and late childhood as well as in adolescence. The findings extend previous research by suggesting that the salience and threat of interparental conflict subside as children make the transition into adolescence.