Political Economy,Ecological Modernization,and Energy Use: A Panel Analysis of State‐Level Energy Use in the United States, 1960–1990

The present study will examine energy consumption from two competing perspectives within environmental social science: political economy and ecological modernization. These frameworks will be evaluated with a fixed‐effects panel analysis of state‐level energy use between the years 1960 and 1990, based on data for 50 states plus Washington, DC, from the Energy Information Administration’s State Energy Data System. The results from the panel analysis show that the increase in total energy use between 1960 and 1990 depended on both increasing economic growth and urbanization, even after controlling for population size, industrialization, and inflation‐adjusted energy prices. The results challenge the claims of ecological modernization theory and support a political economic approach to the study of changes in energy use. In the conclusion, the study’s findings will be framed within the context of the early twenty‐first‐century economic and ecological crises. In light of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this study can also further advance the renewable energy debate by reminding us of the social drivers of energy use.     

Sport participation and positive development in older persons

In many Western countries, more and more people are living longer. As part of this demographic shift, increasing numbers are participating in Masters sport. In the past, sport was considered important for the development of young people; however, the potential for sport participation to affect positive development across the lifespan is now recognized. The purpose of this paper is to introduce conceptual frameworks from developmental psychology that are being used to understand youths’ positive development through sport, and to explore these frameworks in the context of sport as an avenue for positive development in older persons. To achieve this aim, we outline research on sport participation as it applies to youth development and consider relevant aspects as they broadly apply to development later in life. This discussion highlights the inherent paradox of sport participation—that it has the potential to provide considerable positive growth but also the potential for significant negative consequences. Finally, we explore areas of future research related to positive development in older persons through sport.     

Risk Perception, Federal Spending, and the Savannah River Site: Attitudes of Hunters and Fishermen

This paper examines the attitudes of 285 hunters and fishermen from South Carolina about hunting and fishing, risk, environmental issues, and future land use of the Savannah River Site. We test the null hypothesis that there is no difference in hunting and fishing rates, attitudes toward the safety of fish and deer obtained from SRS, attitudes toward future land use at SRS, and perceptions of the severity of environmental problems as a function of how far respondents lived from the site. Respondents hunted or fished an average of over 40 days a year, and only half felt that the fish and deer from SRS were safe to eat. Willingness to expend federal funds was correlated with perceptions of the severity of the problem. Preferences for future land use at SRS fell into three categories: high (environmental research park, hunting, fishing, camping), medium (nuclear production, factories, preserve only), and low (nuclear waste storage, residential). There were no differences in hunting and fishing rates, ranking of the severity of environmental problems, and willingness to expend federal funds as a function of distance of residence from SRS, but attitudes toward future land use differed significantly as a function of location of residence. Those living close to SRS were more willing to have the site used for factories, residential, nuclear material production and to store nuclear wastes than those living farther from the site. Our data on recreational rates, attitudes toward future land use, and willingness to expend federal funds to solve environmental problems reiterate the importance of assessing stakeholder attitudes toward decisions regarding future land use at DOE sites     

Enhancing life satisfaction by government accountability in China

Finding the rationale for democracy requires not merely a conceptual task but also an empirical study. One rationale is that democracy maximizes people’s happiness by satisfying everyone. A further qualification of this is that democracy minimizes the maximum regret of the disadvantaged. This is compatible with the protection theory of government, which states that the government serves to protect the powerless. These arguments lead to hypotheses that perceived government accountability enhances the life satisfaction of the citizen, especially the powerless one. The hypotheses attain support from the present study, which surveyed 732 inhabitants in Beijing, China. Accordingly, government accountability including reducing corruption and inequality and increasing tolerance and democracy showed significant effects on life satisfaction in all economic, cultural, and political aspects. Furthermore, the effects are stronger on one with lower education and occupational status, and working outside the government. These findings demonstrate the salutary effect of the legitimation policy by enhancing government accountability or democracy in China. This article evolves from a research project, solely funded by the Strategic Research Grant of the City University of Hong Kong (#7000902). Its principal investigator is Kwan-kwok Leung and the other research team members are Glenn Drover and Chau-kiu Cheung.     

How family-friendly work environments affect work/family conflict: A meta-analytic examination

We report a meta-analytic examination of the value of five facets of family-friendly work environments (FFWEs) in reducing work/family conflict (WFC). Cumulation of 38 studies (total N = 13,605) suggests that facets of FFWE may provide less assistance to workers in managing WFC than one may hope, as none explained more than seven percent of the variance in WFC. A family-friendly work culture seems most influential in reducing WFC. Importantly, spousal support and FFWEs explain different portions of variance in WFC, suggesting that FFWEs are uniquely valuable to workers in achieving work/ family balance. Implications for research and practice are discussed. When authors reported separate correlations for different subgroups (e.g., males and females), samples, administrations (as in a longitudinal study), or measures of the same construct, those correlations were examined separately. The studies included in this meta-analysis are listed in the references prefixed with an asterisk.     

A Risk-Based Approach to Setting Priorities in Protecting Bridges Against Terrorist Attacks

This article presents an approach to the problem of terrorism risk assessment and management by adapting the framework of the risk filtering, ranking, and management method. The assessment is conducted at two levels: (1) the system level, and (2) the asset-specific level. The system-level risk assessment attempts to identify and prioritize critical infrastructures from an inventory of system assets. The definition of critical infrastructures offered by Presidential Decision Directive 63 was used to determine the set of attributes to identify critical assets--categorized according to national, regional, and local impact. An example application is demonstrated using information from the Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inventory for the State of Virginia. Conversely, the asset-specific risk assessment performs an in-depth analysis of the threats and vulnerabilities of a specific critical infrastructure. An illustration is presented to offer some insights in risk scenario identification and prioritization, multiobjective evaluation of management options, and extreme-event analysis for critical infrastructure protection.     

The Relationship of Attachment Variables to Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy and Fear of Commitment

The present study indicated that both attachment bonds and self‐rated attachment style were significantly related to fear of commitment and, to a lesser extent, career decision‐making self‐efficacy. Given previous research showing that fear of commitment is related to career indecisiveness and “floundering,” the possible importance of attention to attachment bonds and styles in career counseling is suggested.     

Do universal non‐contributory old‐age pensions make sense for rural areas in low‐income countries?

The need for old‐age security coverage in rural areas of many developing countries is rapidly increasing for several reasons, including population ageing and the weakening of family support networks. These trends have generated intense interest in policies that might help respond to the growing problem of rural old‐age destitution. The focus of our analysis is on one of the most promising alternatives under consideration: universal non‐contributory old‐age pensions. This model has some limitations and it is not appropriate for all developing countries, but it would be of potential benefit to far more than the six that have already implemented variants of this approach.