Employee Volunteering and Social Capital: Contributions to Corporate Social Responsibility

As employee volunteering (EV) is increasingly regarded as a means of improving companies' community and employee relations, we investigate the contribution of EV to corporate social responsibility, specifically whether and how it contributes to social capital. We investigate the dynamics of EV in three UK companies. We explore the social relations and resources which underpin social capital creation; the roles of opportunity, motivation and ability in bringing the actors together and enhancing their capacity for cooperation; and the ways in which alternative EV modes inform the different dimensions of social capital – networks, trust and norms of cooperation. Our paper contributes to our understanding of EV and the factors that enable it to create social capital. Finally we assess the contribution of EV to the overall corporate social responsibility agenda of companies.     

Environmental Inequity: An Analysis of Large‐Scale Hog Operations in 17 States, 1982–1997*

Abstract This study extends ideas of environmental equity to large‐scale hog operations. We investigate counties in 17 hog producing states to determine whether large‐scale hog operations are more likely to be sited and expanded in areas that have a disproportionate number of Black, Hispanic, and/or economically disadvantaged residents. The data for this work come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Bureau of Census. We discover evidence of racial inequity, but only in those states where large‐scale operations are being rapidly sited and expanded (i.e., Iowa, North Carolina, and Minnesota). There is no evidence of ethnic or economic inequality. We conclude that reductions in community quality of life attributable to large‐scale hog operations are more likely to be found in counties that are disproportionately Black than White if located in states that are expanding the number of large‐scale hog operations.     

Seven tenths incorrect: heterogeneity and change in the waist-to-hip ratios of Playboy centerfold models and Miss America pageant winners

Drawing on an article by Singh (1993), many discussions of the evolutionary psychology of heterosexual male preferences have reported a remarkable consistency in the waist-to-hip ratios of Playboy centerfold models and Miss America pageant winners over time. We reexamine the measurement data on these American beauty icons and show that these reports are false in several ways. First, the variation in waist-to-hip ratios among these women is greater than reported. Second, the center of the distribution of waist-to-hip ratios is not 0.70, but less than this. Third, the average waist-to-hip ratio within both samples has changed over time in a manner that is statistically significant and can be regarded as mutually consistent. Taken together, the findings undermine some of the evidence given for the repeated suggestion that there is something special--evolutionarily hard-wired or otherwise--about a specific female waist-to-hip ratio of 0.70 as a preference of American heterosexual males.     

Time to “Get” Religion? An Analysis of Religious Literacy Among Journalism Students

A survey (N = 503) tested religious knowledge for journalism students and nonjournalism students. Journalism students scored poorly on basic religious knowledge and fared no better than nonjournalism students. When advertising and public relations majors were added to the journalism majors to create a new mass communication major variable, that group scored higher than students studying something else. Within the mass communication major, there were differences by chosen field, with photojournalism, print journalism, and public relations students scoring highest. The results indicate that while journalism students and nonjournalism students agree on the need for journalists to have religious literacy, journalism schools are falling short of making sure journalistic training is resulting in proper levels of religious literacy.     

Prevalence of Problem and Pathological Gambling in Parkinson’s Disease

Pathological gambling (PG) has been identified in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) treated with dopamine agonists suggesting that dysregulation of brain dopaminergic activity may contribute to the development of gambling problems. The current study was undertaken to further establish the prevalence of problem and PG in patients with PD, identify any clinical correlates, and determine if psychiatric or substance use co-morbidity contributes to the increased prevalence of problem and PG. A cross-sectional survey of 140 serially recruited moderate to severe PD patients was undertaken utilizing the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Drug Abuse Screening Test, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Mini-Mental State Exam augmented by chart review, completed over an 8 month period. The 12 month prevalence of problem and PG in PD was 9.3% compared to 1.6% in the general population within a comparably aged sample. The increased prevalence of problem and PG in the PD group was related to dopamine agonist use and younger age, but not co-morbidity. Most subjects with problem and PG reported their gambling increased after being diagnosed with PD and starting treatment. The results suggest that brain dopaminergic activity is involved in the underlying neurobiology of problem and PG.     

Vertical modeling: analysis of competing risks data with a cure fraction

In this paper, we extend the vertical modeling approach for the analysis of survival data with competing risks to incorporate a cure fraction in the population, that is, a proportion of the population for which none of the competing events can occur. The proposed method has three components: the proportion of cure, the risk of failure, irrespective of the cause, and the relative risk of a certain cause of failure, given a failure occurred. Covariates may affect each of these components. An appealing aspect of the method is that it is a natural extension to competing risks of the semi-parametric mixture cure model in ordinary survival analysis; thus, causes of failure are assigned only if a failure occurs. This contrasts with the existing mixture cure model for competing risks of Larson and Dinse, which conditions at the onset on the future status presumably attained. Regression parameter estimates are obtained using an EM-algorithm. The performance of the estimators is evaluated in a simulation study. The method is illustrated using a melanoma cancer data set.

     

Sequential imputation for models with latent variables assuming latent ignorability

Models that involve an outcome variable, covariates, and latent variables are frequently the target for estimation and inference. The presence of missing covariate or outcome data presents a challenge, particularly when missingness depends on the latent variables. This missingness mechanism is called latent ignorable or latent missing at random and is a generalisation of missing at random. Several authors have previously proposed approaches for handling latent ignorable missingness, but these methods rely on prior specification of the joint distribution for the complete data. In practice, specifying the joint distribution can be difficult and/or restrictive. We develop a novel sequential imputation procedure for imputing covariate and outcome data for models with latent variables under latent ignorable missingness. The proposed method does not require a joint model; rather, we use results under a joint model to inform imputation with less restrictive modelling assumptions. We discuss identifiability and convergence‐related issues, and simulation results are presented in several modelling settings. The method is motivated and illustrated by a study of head and neck cancer recurrence. Imputing missing data for models with latent variables under latent‐dependent missingness without specifying a full joint model.     

Bullying Victimization Trajectories for Sexual Minority Adolescents: Stable Victims,Desisters, and Late‐Onset Victims

Sexual minority adolescents are bullied more frequently than heterosexual peers. Research is lacking on their rates of general and sexual orientation bullying victimization. The present study identified (1) the rate, onset, and desistance of general and sexual orientation bullying victimization, (2) the rate of bullying victimization trajectories, and (3) risk and protective factors across trajectories. A life history calendar method and thematic analysis were employed with a sexual minority adolescent sample (N = 52, 14–20 y/o). General bullying began at age 5 and declined after age 12, with sexual orientation bullying increasing throughout adolescence. Late‐onset victim (34.6%) was the most common trajectory, followed by stable victim (28.9%), desister (23.1%), and nonvictim (13.5%). Differences in risk and protective factors were found across trajectories.     

Intergenerational Neighborhood Attainment and the Legacy of Racial Residential Segregation: A Causal Mediation Analysis

Advances in mediation analysis are used to examine the legacy effects of racial residential segregation in the United States on neighborhood attainments across two familial generations. The legacy effects of segregation are anticipated to operate through two primary pathways: a neighborhood effects pathway and an urban continuity pathway. The neighborhood effects pathway explains why parent’s exposure to racial residential segregation during their family-rearing years can influence the residential outcomes of their children later in life. The urban continuity pathway captures the temporal consistency of the built and topographical environment in providing similar residential opportunities across generations. Findings from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and U.S. Census data indicate that the legacy effect of racial residential segregation among black families operates primarily through the neighborhood effects that influence children growing up. For white families, there is less support for the legacy effects of segregation. The findings are supported by a comprehensive mediation analysis that provides a formal sensitivity analysis, deploys an instrumental variable, and assesses effect heterogeneity. Knowledge of the legacy of segregation moves neighborhood attainment research beyond point-in-time studies of racial residential segregation to provide a deeper understanding into the ways stratified residential environments are reproduced.