Sexual Orientation and Demand for the Arts*

Objective. We establish and try to explain a gay affinity for the arts. Methods. Using logit analysis on the General Social Survey, we test whether demographics, creativity, gender nonconformity, and sexual repression can explain differences between lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) and others in attendance at art museums, classical music concerts, and dance performances. Results. LGBs' higher education and probability of being childless city‐dwellers explain one‐third of the substantial attendance differences. However, LGBs do not demonstrate higher innate creativity through greater amateur production of art; gay men's affinity for the arts appears no stronger than lesbians', casting doubt on the gender nonconformity explanation; and LGB‐straight attendance differences are as large among young as older respondents, despite supposed declines in the special functions of arts attendance since gay liberation. Conclusions. LGBs are much more likely to attend the arts than demographically similar heterosexuals, but we find little support for three conventional explanations.     

Moments and efficiency of the median and trimmed mean for finite populations

Exact formulas for the expected value and variance of the median and trimmed mean are found as functions of the elements of a finite population under simple random sampling. A simulation study is performed to compare the performance of the median and trimmed mean versus the mean when sampling from various simulated finite populations. Finally, the asymptotic performance of these estimators, when sampling from infinite populations, is compared with the finite populations results.     

Variance Reduction Using Nonlinear Controls and Transformations

Nonlinear regression-adjusted control variables are investigated for improving variance reduction in statistical and system simulations. To this end, simple control variables are piecewise sectioned and then transformed using linear and nonlinear transformations. Optimal parameters of these transformations are selected using linear or nonlinear least-squares regression algorithms. As an example, piecewise power-transformed variables are used in the estimation of the mean for the twovariable Anderson-Darling goodness-of-fit statistic W ₂ ². Substantial variance reduction over straightforward controls is obtained. These parametric transformations are compared against optimal, additive nonparametric transformations obtained by using the ACE algorithm and are shown, in comparison to the results from ACE, to be nearly optimal.     

Out of mind,out of sight? Leading distributed workers to ensure health and safety

ABSTRACT

Current frameworks of leadership are based on face-to-face interaction. A growing number of workers work away from their main location of work; this makes it challenging for leaders to ensure the health and safety of distributed workers. In the present study, we explore the relationship between line managers’ health and safety leadership and distributed workers’ health and safety behaviours. We also explore the organisational procedures and practices that may enhance the impact of health and safety leadership. We included a broad range of distributed workers (in analyses, minimum N?=?626) from 11 organisations. We found that health-and-safety-specific leadership was positively related to distributed workers’ self-rated health, safety compliance and safety proactivity. These relationships were augmented by distributed workers’ sense of being included in the workplace. Knowledge sharing among colleagues was associated with safety compliance when health-and-safety-specific leadership was low. Our results indicate that one way of addressing the challenges of distributed working may be through line managers putting health and safety on the agenda.     

An Interactive Framework for Multi-Person,Multiobjective Decisions

Group decision making in the presence of multiple conflicting objectives is complex and difficult. This paper describes and evaluates an iterative technique to facilitate multiple objective decision making by multiple decision makers. The proposed method augments an interactive multiobjective optimization procedure with a preference ranking tool and a consensus ranking heuristic. Two multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) solution approaches, the SIMOLP method of Reeves and Franz [39] and the interactive weighted Tchebycheff procedure of Steuer and Choo [49], are recommended optimization strategies to be used independently or in concert. Computational experience suggests that the proposed framework is an effective decision-making tool. The procedure quickly located excellent compromise solutions in a series of test problems with hypothetical decision makers. In addition, human decision makers gave positive evaluations of the procedure and the production plans the procedure provided for a resource allocation case problem.     

Multiscale drivers of amphibian community occupancy in urban ponds

Urban Ecosystems - Urbanization has driven the loss of natural aquatic habitats while concurrently increasing the abundance of artificial urban ponds. Urban ponds are not typically designed for...     

The new grounds for deportation of European Union citizens in the United Kingdom

Politicians often mention immigration enforcement, and deportation in particular, as a means to assert state sovereignty. This article looks at deportation through exiting the European Union, an event that was interpreted as regaining sovereignty from the supra-national organisation. New immigration regulations in the United Kingdom were meant to end the EU Freedom of Movement and equalise the statuses of EU- and non-EU migrants in the United Kingdom. The research question this article addresses is the following: how do the new immigration regulations and policies affect the possibility of deportations of EU citizens in the United Kingdom? With the lens of Interpretive Policy Analysis, the article analyses primary sources and expert interviews. It concludes that the deportability of EU citizens has increased post-Brexit. It also anticipates that the deportability of EU citizens will be differentiated, as rough sleepers, former convicts and irregular migrants may be first to be targeted with deportation.     

An Integrational Framework of Organizational Moral Development,Legitimacy, and Corporate Responsibility: A Longitudinal,Intersectoral Analysis of Citizenship Reports

In this article, we outline a unique conceptual framework connecting legitimacy types (Suchman, 1995 ), theories of corporate responsibility (Brummer, 1991 ), and levels of organizational moral development based on Kohlberg's ( 1971 ) moral development stages. In addition, based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) categories, we found empirical support for our framework, by content analyzing Fortune 500 corporate citizenship reports from four different industries (i.e., chemicals, motor vehicle/auto parts, pharmaceutical, and utilities), at three data points (i.e., 2002, 2007, and 2012). Our analysis indicates that motor vehicle/auto parts and chemicals industries are at a higher developmental level, and portray moral legitimacy along with social demandingness corporate responsibility in recent years; while the pharmaceutical and utilities sectors are at a lower developmental level, showing signs of pragmatic legitimacy, alongside classical and stakeholder corporate responsibility strategies. This article contributes to the current organizational moral development literature by developing and finding empirical support of a conceptual framework of organizational moral development, legitimacy, and corporate responsibility. In particular, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the differences in moral development levels across four focal industries over a 10‐year timespan.