Race Differences in Family Experience and Early Sexual Initiation: Dynamic Models of Family Structure and Family Change

We examine the effects of family structure on age at first sexual intercourse before marriage for a recent cohort of women. Previous research on the linkage between family structure and sexual initiation has employed relatively crude measures of family structure—typically a snapshot of the respondent's family structure at age 14. We use retrospective parent histories from the 1979–1987 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to construct dynamic measures of family structure, using information on the number and types of parents in the respondent's household between birth and age 18. We use these measures in proportional hazard models to test the effects of prolonged exposure to a single‐mother family, prolonged absence of a biological father, parental presence during adolescence, and family turbulence. For White women, age‐specific rates of first sexual intercourse are significantly and positively associated with the number of family transitions; for Black women, age‐specific rates are significantly and positively associated with having resided in a mother‐only or father‐only family during adolescence. Net of other effects of family structure, we find no significant effects for White or Black women of being born out of wedlock, prolonged exposure to a single‐mother family, or prolonged absence of a biological father. Our results for White women are consistent with a turbulence hypothesis, whereas for Black women our results suggest the importance of family structure during adolescence. For neither White nor Black women are our results consistent with hypotheses positing earlier initiation of sexual activity for women with prolonged exposure to a single‐mother or father‐absent family.     

MARKET PENETRATION AND LOCATIONAL CONFLICT IN FRANCHISE SYSTEMS*

This paper addresses the questions of market penetration and locational conflict in a franchise system of distribution. The models developed provide a means to evaluate alternative scenarios and the effects of various franchise policies. It is shown that the market penetration and location goals of the members of a franchise system coincide only under a very limited set of circumstances.     

Private Ownership versus Institutional Ownership: Exclusion Pricing of Initial Public Offerings

The authors examine the literature with respect to the pricing of initial public offerings and focus upon the relationship of pricing to the structure and conduct of the investment banking industry. Using a data base of all share offerings undertaken in the United States over a two and a half year period, the authors find that there is considerable evidence for the proposition that large, prestigious, and well capitalised investment banks tend to price their share offerings at a higher absolute level than those not meeting such characteristics. Using classical statistical methods, the authors find that the pricing strategy of investment banks is connected to their affiliation with investment funds and unit trusts. The motives for such pricing strategies, the authors argue, lie with the affiliation of investment banks with investment funds, suggesting that the pricing of new share offerings may be a means of excluding retail investors from participating in the strong returns such issues exhibit. The authors raise legal and regulatory implications of their findings in the context of the general consolidation observed within the investment banking industry. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS WITH INTERACTION EFFECTS

The purpose of this paper is to extend the sensitivity analysis methodology as it applies to linear programming. The methodology developed herein is concerned with those changes in a technological coefficient that cause simultaneous changes in the relevant cost coefficients of the objective function. By proceeding from the definitions of feasibility and optimality, the authors develop formulas for determining bounds on the extent to which a technological coefficient, which has a predetermined effect on the corresponding cost coefficient, can vary without changing the optimal set of activities. After the formulas are developed, their use is demonstrated on a product-mix problem. This technique is of interest because changes in the rate at which an input is utilized can be expected to change the cost per unit of a resulting product. This interdependence should be recognized whenever a sensitivity analysis is performed on a technological coefficient of either a cost minimization or a contribution margin maximization problem.     

关键时刻的语境大串联——关于文化研究的对话

这里刊出的是两位著名文化研究学者的一篇对话,主题自然是文化研究。劳伦斯.格罗斯伯格早年学习历史与哲学,后在英国伯明翰大学当代文化研究中心做研究,师从文化研究领军人斯图尔特.霍尔。他撰写和主编的大量论著在文化研究领域具有广泛影响,许多成为经典性论著。他主编的《文化研究》杂志,创刊于1987年。20年来,该杂志发表了近千篇学术论文,对文化研究领域的形成和发展有举足轻重的意义。刘康现担任美国杜克大学公共政策学院中国传媒中心主任、教授,南京大学兼职教授。照对话者的看法,文化研究的要旨在于如何“讲好故事”,路径之一乃是“串联”(articulation,又译作“接合”)。“串联”概念源出于斯图尔特.霍尔,旨在将不同事物联系起来构成新东西。对话者首先提出了跨学科的“串联”,以问题为中心,将不同学科的视角、方法、观念和理论相互碰撞,必然会产生各种新的观念。以问题为核心,就是强调回到问题本身是研究之宗旨所在。这就触及到所谓的“激进的语境主义”,也就是将特定问题带回到它们出现的那个特定社会、政治、经济和文化背景之中。提倡从问题出发、反对理论先行,这就击中了当前一些文化研究普遍存在的弊端。“关键时刻”概念特指社会矛盾激化的重要时刻,是语境的另一种描述,中国和西方目前都处在这一时刻。劳动的贬值,共同价值的衰落,文化的经济化,消费社会的崛起,传媒的影响等,都作为关键时刻的问题凸现出来,向文化研究提出了挑战。理论如何与大众“串联”,是对话又一重要主题,将文化研究变成公共知识,而非学院派的密语,看来是今后文化研究所面临的难题。在这方面右派比左派做得更好,也更有效,倒是一个发人深省的问题。于是,文化研究议程的创新,特别是在中国,如何从理论消费转向理论生产,乃是一个不容忽视的重大问题。     

Work and Work Alternatives for Disabled Young People

This paper presents results from a population based action research study in East Devon of the needs of 383 young people aged 16-25 years with a whole range of impairments and disabilities, and 152 able-bodied controls. A comparison between these two groups is made of their current and past experiences of work and work alternatives. The aspirations and expectations of the disabled young people are also compared with those of their families and service providers, and the preferred occupations of the young people, with various profiles of disability, are explored. Although the analysis pinpoints groups of disabled young people with particularly high levels of employment handicap, there is, throughout the study group, a need for progress out of static or unstable occupational paths. The handicapping features of employment services that impede this progress are discussed together with an examination of society's response to high levels of unemployment among disabled people. The research findings, set within this context, provide a basis for action research now being undertaken in local communities within East Devon to improve employment opportunities.     

Who Cares about Water Pollution? Opinions in a Small-Town Crisis*

A survey was conducted in a small New England town following the discovery that the town's water supply had become contaminated by industrial chemicals. Principal findings include: (1) respondents from more affluent households were more concerned about the pollution problem; (2) long-term or older residents tended to be less concerned; and (3) women with young children viewed the problem as particularly serious. The first two findings are consistent with previous research on similar “technological catastrophes” and on environmental protection in general. The third finding has not appeared in environmental protection research, but it is consistent with reports from Three Mile Island. Such technological catastrophes transform environmental issues into safety issues, thereby raising parents’anxieties about the safety of their children–perhaps more so for women than for men. These safety concerns may eventually be generalized to broader environmental issues, as toxic waste and other disasters continue to occur.