Spatial Variation in Seasonal Water Poverty Index for Laos: An Application of Geographically Weighted Principal Component Analysis

In this paper we analyze the preferences about job security using tools from behavioral economics. We focus on the non-pecuniary value of job security and specifically whether this value depends on the current position of employees as tenured or non-tenured. Using a sample of 107 Israeli social workers, randomly allocated between tenured and non-tenured positions, we demonstrate that the non-pecuniary value of job security is about 20% of the wage. We also found that this value depends on the point of reference of the employees. Those with tenure place a higher value on job security, as do those with a higher level of loss aversion.     

OUTCOME UNCERTAINTY,FAN TRAVEL,AND AGGREGATE ATTENDANCE

The uncertainty of outcome hypothesis (UOH) informs economists' understanding of consumer decisions to attend sporting events and team revenue generation. We develop a model of fan behavior based on standard expected utility methods which incorporates fan heterogeneity in terms of decisions to travel to away games and strong preferences for wins. The model reflects aggregate attendance outcomes across local and visiting fans, generates predictions consistent with the UOH, and gives rise to concave league-wide revenue functions. Empirical analysis of game outcomes and attendance at regular season National Basketball association games from 1979 to 2013 supports key predictions of the model. (JEL L83, D12, Z20)     

The Intensity Effect in Adolescent Close Friendships: Implications for Aggressive and Depressive Symptomatology

This study examined the effect of close friendship intensity as a potential amplifier of an adolescent's preexisting tendencies toward depressive and aggressive symptoms. A diverse community sample of 170 adolescents and their closest friends was assessed via multiple methods, and adolescents were followed from age 16 to 17. Results supported the hypothesized effect, with more intense close friendships interacting with higher baseline levels of behavioral symptoms to predict greater relative increases in symptoms over time. Effects were observed for both depressive and aggressive symptoms, and appeared with respect to multiple observational measures of friendship intensity. Findings are interpreted as suggesting that seemingly disparate phenomena (e.g., co‐rumination for depression and deviancy‐training for aggression) may both be dependent upon the intensity of the adolescent's social connections.     

Critical standpoint: Leaders of color advancing racial equality in predominantly white organizations

Organizations are often core sites for the production and perpetuation of social inequality. Although the United States is becoming more racially diverse, organizational elites remain disproportionately white, and this mismatch contributes to increasing racial inequality. This article examines whether and how leaders of color within predominantly white organizations can help their organizations address racial inequality. Our analysis uses data from a national study of politically oriented civic organizations and ethnographic fieldwork within one predominantly white organization. We draw on institutional work research, the outsider‐within concept, and insights from critical whiteness theory to explain how leaders of color can use their position and “critical standpoint” to help guide their organization toward advancing racial equality. The qualitative analysis shows how such leaders, when empowered, help their organization address race internally by (a) providing alternatives to white‐dominated perspectives, (b) developing tools to educate white members about racial inequality, and (c) identifying and addressing barriers to becoming a more racially diverse organization. The qualitative analysis also shows how leaders of color help their organization address race externally by (a) sharing personal narratives about living in a white‐dominated society and (b) brokering collaborations with organizations led by people of color. This research has implications for organizations seeking to promote social equality: Organizational leaders from marginalized status groups can help their organizations address social inequality, if those leaders possess a critical standpoint and sufficient organizational authority.     

Managerial Responses to Online Reviews: A Text Analytics Approach

This study tests the effects of online managerial responses and returning customers’ future satisfaction (measured as review ratings) by performing social media text analytics on a hotel sample. Essentially, this paper provides insight into meaningful differences in future ratings between responding and non‐responding hotels, as well as differences in response styles between ratings improvement and non‐improvement. The results indicate that: (1) subsequent ratings are higher if customers receive responses to their previous online reviews; (2) increase in ratings is more significant among low‐satisfaction customers, and a decrease in ratings is mitigated if responses are provided; (3) responding to loyal customers – those who have visited and rated the same hotel more than three times – has a limited impact on ratings; (4) responses are longer and sentiment is slightly lower in scenarios where subsequent ratings are improved, but there is no significant difference in the effect of response speed between the two groups; (5) changes in ratings also affect styles of responding to current reviews – if customer satisfaction has improved, response length tends to be shorter and sentiment level tends to be higher. The findings offer both theoretical and managerial implications by demonstrating the utility of social media text analytics.     

Homosexuality,Religion, and Science: Moral Authority and the Persistence of Negative Attitudes*

The liberalization of attitudes toward homosexuality in the United States over the past 30 years is well documented. Despite these changes, substantial resistance to equality for gay men and lesbians remains. Previous studies indicate that beliefs about the etiology of homosexuality are central to this discussion. Those who believe homosexuality is innate are more favorable, while those who believe it is the result of a choice are more negative. Moreover, experimental research indicates that those with negative views actually become more opposed when a natural explanation is proposed. This study highlights the importance of perceived sources of epistemic and moral authority for understanding views of homosexuality. Using stances on culturally controversial issues involving “science and religion” as indicators of where individuals place authority, we outline the connection between perceptions of moral authority and attributions about homosexuality. Analyses of a national survey of American adults show that, net of controls, one’s stance on moral authority is the strongest predictor of attributions about whether homosexuality is chosen or innate.     

Quality of College Life (QCL) of Students: Further Validation of a Measure of Well-being

This paper reports a study designed to further validate a measure of quality of college life (QCL) of university students (Sirgy, Grzeskowiak, Rahtz, Soc Indic Res 80(2), 343–360, 2007). Two studies were conducted: a replication study and an extension study. The replication study involved surveys of 10 different college campuses in different countries. The results of the replication study provided additional nomological (predictive) validation support of the measure based on a theoretical model mapping out the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction with college life. With respect to the extension study, the focus was to further test the nomological validity of the QCL measure by arguing and empirically demonstrating that the consequence of QCL is life satisfaction. The extension study involved a survey of three college campuses in different countries. The results were also supportive of the nomological validity of the QCL measure.     

Ethnic Community and Ethnic Boundaries in a “Sauce‐Scented Neighborhood”1

This article investigates the problem of ethnic boundary making in a changing context. Our case is Boston’s North End, a historically Italian neighborhood undergoing changes to its social and physical environment, making the ethnic definition of neighborhood identity and belonging more difficult though not less salient. Consequently, participants in the workings of the neighborhood—residents, business owners, politicians—face challenges of both boundary placement (who is Italian and who is not?), as well as cultural content (what does it mean to be “Italian”?). Rather than viewing Italian ethnicity as simply weakening over time, we argue that the North End shows ethnicity is in a stage of category divergence, where the still‐dominant ethnic identity is juxtaposed not against another ethnic out‐group, but at various times against boundaries of class and race, commercial and community values, even city political boundaries. Drawing on ethnographic research and in‐depth interviews, we describe three group identity frames that illustrate these processes and reveal how Italian ethnicity continues to animate discourse and action in the neighborhood.     

Trust,perceptions of corruption,and demand for regulation: Evidence from post-socialist countries

While the tradeoff between market failure and government failure has been explored both theoretically and in practical policy design, the question of whether this trade-off appears in the calculus of citizens’ demands for government regulation remains underexplored. We first clarify the channels through which concerns for market failure, as proxied by trust in market participants, and concerns for government failure, as proxied by perceptions of corruption, jointly affect individuals’ demand for government regulation. We then investigate these effects empirically, using data from post-socialist countries. Our analysis confirms the previously established result that trust has a negative effect on demand for regulation. Perceived corruption, however, affects demand for regulation primarily via a negative interaction effect with trust. Our findings suggest that, in post-socialist countries, both concerns for market failure and concerns for government failure are indeed in citizens’ minds and that concerns about the anticipated ‘grabbing-hand’ effect from government involvement are particularly salient.