Gender and Sexual Orientation Bullying Victimization are Associated with Gun Carrying Among Adolescent Boys

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - Gun carrying and bullying victimization are associated among adolescent boys, however the type of the bullying remains relatively unknown. This study...     

Market Microstructure Invariance: Empirical Hypotheses

Using the intuition that financial markets transfer risks in business time, “market microstructure invariance” is defined as the hypotheses that the distributions of risk transfers (“bets”) and transaction costs are constant across assets when measured per unit of business time. The invariance hypotheses imply that bet size and transaction costs have specific, empirically testable relationships to observable dollar volume and volatility. Portfolio transitions can be viewed as natural experiments for measuring transaction costs, and individual orders can be treated as proxies for bets. Empirical tests based on a data set of 400,000+ portfolio transition orders support the invariance hypotheses. The constants calibrated from structural estimation imply specific predictions for the arrival rate of bets (“market velocity”), the distribution of bet sizes, and transaction costs.     

Young Adult Moral Exemplars: The Making of Self Through Stories

The purpose of our research was to explore the differences between young adult moral exemplars and comparison individuals by studying their life stories. Moral exemplars were nominated for their extraordinary moral commitment to the social organizations where they volunteered or worked. Forty moral exemplars, along with 40 matched comparison individuals (total N=80), participated in a life narrative interview. These interviews were coded for specific narrative features such as narrative tone, awareness of others' suffering, helpers and enemies, agency and communion themes, redemptive experiences, contamination scenes, personal ideology, and future goals. Moral exemplars differed from comparison individuals on agency themes, redemptive experiences, contamination scenes, awareness of others' suffering, enemies, ideological depth, and future goals. These findings are discussed within a narrative identity development framework.     

Male involvement in the abortion decision and college students’ attitudes on the subject

College students’ attitudes concerning male involvement in the abortion decision-making process were investigated with the aid of 94 participants. A t test supported the first hypothesis that no significant difference exists between males and females regarding levels of male involvement. A t test also supported the second hypothesis that pro-life participants will endorse higher levels of male involvement. A Pearson correlation revealing no significant relationship between level of male involvement and number of religious worship services attended during the last month did not support the third hypothesis that more religious participants would endorse higher levels of male involvement. A multiple linear regression was used to investigate the research question, “Do gender, race, and religiosity significantly predict levels of male involvement in abortion decisions?” Regression results indicate that the linear combination of these variables significantly predicted level of male involvement.     

Nature of the Interactions among Organizational Commitments: Complementary,Competitive or Synergistic?*

Although organizational commitment is a multidimensional construct, researchers have tended to examine the independent effects of its different forms. However, doing so creates potential problems of model misspecification and under‐prediction if interactions exist among different commitments. In this paper we discuss theoretically plausible interactions among different commitments, the patterns of which are expected to vary depending on the nature of the criterion and the foci of commitment. We then test these predictions via empirical data. Results revealed a ‘synergistic’ pattern of effects for discretionary outcomes, such that levels of organizational citizenship behaviour and strain were most favourable when employees reported high levels on multiple commitments. Importantly, no evidence was found for competitive effects between commitments, such that high levels on multiple commitments are detrimental. We discuss the implications of our findings for research and practice.     

Invertebrate diversity in newly established mulch habitats in a Midwestern urban landscape

The invertebrate fauna in artificial urban habitats has yet to be systematically investigated. The current field study in central Ohio was undertaken to assess the numbers and types of macroinvertebrates in mulched and unmulched plots during a one-year period. Invertebrates quickly infiltrated the plots with bare soil (control) and any of four types of mulch (shredded hardwood, shredded recycled wood, pine bark mini-nuggets, and pea gravel). One month after establishing the plots, invertebrates were present in numbers comparable to subsequent months. Invertebrates found in the plots were primarily saprophytic taxa: millipedes (32.6%), segmented worms (19.8%), isopods (6.7%), and various beetle families (1.5%). Predatory taxa included centipedes (9.8%), ants (9.7%), carabid beetles and staphylinid beetles (7.3%), and spiders (0.9%). Types of invertebrates were similar in all ground cover types, but numbers of invertebrates differed significantly. Invertebrates were present year-round in mulched plots, and plots with organic mulch harbored significantly more invertebrates than plots mulched with pea gravel. Bare soil always contained the fewest number of invertebrates. There was no significant difference in numbers of invertebrates based on the cardinal side of the building.     

Young People and Political Involvement in Northern Ireland

This article reports some of the findings from the Pathways study which traced influences on the developmental pathways of adolescents and young adults in Belfast (Northern Ireland) and in Dublin (Republic of Ireland). Sample size was 130 aged 27 (66 male, 74 female) and 311 aged 17 (142 male, 169 female) most of whom had participated in earlier waves of the project at age 12. The study explored relationships between the participants' actual or intended involvement in politics and other factors, including family support, educational and occupational level, religious practice, and experience of the Troubles. The study concludes by looking at the relationship between these variables over time using a life-course approach within the socio-ecological model.     

Land grabbing: a preliminary quantification of economic impacts on rural livelihoods

Global demands on agricultural land are increasing due to population growth, dietary changes and the use of biofuels. Their effect on food security is to reduce humans’ ability to cope with the uncertainties of global climate change. In light of the 2008 food crisis, to secure reliable future access to sufficient agricultural land, many nations and corporations have begun purchasing large tracts of land in the global South, a phenomenon deemed “land grabbing” by popular media. Because land investors frequently export crops without providing adequate employment, this represents an effective income loss for local communities. We study 28 countries targeted by large-scale land acquisitions [comprising 87 % of reported cases and 27 million hectares (ha)] and estimate the effects of such investments on local communities’ incomes. We find that this phenomenon can potentially affect the incomes of ~12 million people globally with implications for food security, poverty levels and urbanization. While it is important to note that our study incorporates a number of assumptions and limitations, it provides a much needed initial quantification of the economic impacts of large-scale land acquisitions on rural livelihoods.