Shaping the future of retail banking

The first half of this article considers recent developments in the retail banking market and, with the aid of tables, describes the present state of the market. Emphasis is placed on the increased competitiveness of the market with more institutions involved in providing more products than ever before, and with more attention being focused on the unbanked sector of the population. The second half of the article considers the factors which are most likely to influence the ruture development of the market—both external influences such as the political, economic and regulatory environment and factors which lie more directly under the control of the banks themselves, such as the introduction of new services and branching policy. The article ends by stressing the scope for individual banks to pursue distinctive policies in this market in future.     

Modeling the Effects of Expressed Emotion,Psychiatric Symptomology,and Marital Quality Levels on Male and Female Verbal Aggression

Previous research has linked expressed emotion (EE) levels and psychiatric symptomology, whereas other empirical efforts have examined the relationship between EE and marital relationship variables. Still other research has linked psychological conditions with acts of aggression, and the impact of marital issues within this domain of inquiry also has been explored. The study presented here examined the combined effects of EE, marital quality, and psychiatric symptomology on displays of verbal aggression by both relationship partners. Both husbands' and wives' reports of marital quality were predictive of both husbands' and wives' verbal aggression levels; here, reports of lower marital quality were associated with higher levels of verbal aggression. Additionally, husbands' and wives' reports of psychological symptomology in self and partner were important paths to marital quality, as were husbands' and wives' reports of EE levels. Further, some evidence was generated that supports the mediating role of marital quality with regard to EE and psychological symptomology. However, the overall fit indices of the models tested in this empirical effort were modest. Limitations that concern the instruments utilized in the present study are discussed in this regard.     

Gender Competition and the Preservation of Community in the Allocation of Administrative Positions in Small Rural Towns in Montana: A Research Note1

Abstract Assignment of administrative positions in a sample of rural towns is demonstrated to be significantly associated with gender. Most civil administrators are women, while most legal and educational administrators are men. The difference indicates structural assignment of positions by gender. Gender and administrative position are demonstrated to have zero-order correlations with perceptions of two important behaviors for community: migration and social problems. The characteristics of the occupation and of the administrators are qualitatively different. The data are compiled from interviews with seventy administrators in five pairs of small towns in Montana, ranging in size from about 200 to approximately 7,000 residents. Each pair contains one agricultural and one scenic recreational town. Comparatively, more women were employed in agricultural towns. Many rural women who become administrators, particularly long-term administrators, may be selected for reasons that help preserve the community by providing opportunities for themselves and their families.     

Catholicism, Job Security Regulations and Female Employment: A Micro-level Analysis of Esping-Andersen's Social Catholicism Thesis

This article explores the religious roots of job security regulations in Western democracies by putting Esping-Andersen's famous social Catholicism thesis to the test. Esping-Andersen argues that due to religious socialization, Catholics exhibit more conservative family values, i.e. they tend to support the male breadwinner model. To sustain this model of family organization, Catholics are expected to support job security regulations. These regulations have been described in the literature as important determinants of gender-segregated labour markets and low female employment rates. Data from this article show that while Catholics indeed support more conservative family models, so do Reformed Protestants and religious persons in general. Furthermore, no relationship between religious denomination and preferences for job security regulations can be observed. The analysis thus refutes Esping-Andersen's social Catholicism thesis.     

The influence of riparian corridor width on ant and plant assemblages in northern Sydney,Australia

Protecting riparian corridors is a commonly applied environmental policy in urban landscapes. However, empirical data demonstrating their efficacy for biodiversity conservation outcomes is scarce. In this study we investigated whether riparian corridor width influences the diversity and community structure of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and vascular plant assemblages therein. Eighteen corridors of differing widths were selected from within the Ku-ring-gai Local Government Area, Sydney Australia. Ants were sampled using pitfall traps positioned within rectangular vegetation transects (30 × 10 m). Both ant and plant species richness, when standardised for sampling effort, were unrelated to riparian corridor width. However, significant compositional differences between sites were evident with increased width up to ~50 m. Narrow corridors contained greater abundances of opportunistic ant species and higher proportions of exotic plants. We interpret this to be the result of the greater disturbance/edge influence derived from adjacent upland urban environments. Site beta diversity did not increase with corridor width, suggesting that the exclusion of novel upslope habitats in narrow riparian corridors is not a significant cause of community assemblage modification at these sites. To minimise the impact of deleterious edge effects on ant fauna, environmental managers should seek to retain riparian corridors wider than ~50 m. However, we observed substantial between-site variability of biotic assemblages, irrespective of corridor width. Therefore we recommend that environmental management practice needs to take a catchment-wide approach and consider other parameters that may contribute to riparian health so as to optimise the protection of riparian biodiversity.     

The Beginnings of Child Welfare Research in the United States

The author reviews the beginnings of child welfare research in the United States with an emphasis on the contributions of several outstanding individuals as well as the conflict between hereditarian and reformist values and attitudes. Both hereditarian and reformist values and attitudes had tremendous influence on the development of child welfare research as well as the helping professions.     

Accountability and the Camera Perspective Bias in Videotaped Confessions

Prior research indicates that altering the perspective from which a videotaped confession is recorded influences assessments of the confession's voluntariness. The present study examined whether increasing decision makers' sense of accountability attenuates this biasing effect of camera perspective. Participants in a high-accountability (but not a low-accountability) condition were told that they would have to justify their judgments concerning the voluntary status of a video-taped confession to a trial judge. Although supplementary measures indicated that high-accountability participants processed information contained in the video-taped confession more carefully and thoroughly, the camera perspective bias persisted. This result adds to a growing body of work indicating that the criminal justice system needs to be seriously concerned with how it acquires and utilizes videotaped confession evidence.     

Empirical Bayes Small-Area Estimation Using Logistic Regression Models and Summary Statistics

Many of the available methods for estimating small-area parameters are model-based approaches in which auxiliary variables are used to predict the variable of interest. For models that are nonlinear, prediction is not straightforward. MacGibbon and Tomberlin and Farrell, MacGibbon, and Tomberlin have proposed approaches that require microdata for all individuals in a small area. In this article, we develop a method, based on a second-order Taylor-series expansion to obtain model-based predictions, that requires only local-area summary statistics for both continuous and categorical auxiliary variables. The methodology is evaluated using data based on a U.S. Census.     

Impact of Hazardous Substances Regulations on Small Firms in Delaware and New Jersey

Regulations under the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act impose significant requirements on firms handling hazardous chemicals. The nature of the regulations would suggest that small firms, because of limited resources and other structural limitations, would experience more difficulty complying with the regulations than large firms. To understand the difficulties imposed by the regulations on small firms, we interviewed ten small firms in Delaware and New Jersey, states with existing hazardous regulations similar to those being considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and evaluated their responses to state regulations. The impacts of the environmental regulations on the firms and on the risk levels of their businesses are discussed. Propositions for research into small firms compliance are developed. Possible means for reducing the regulatory burden on small firms while enhancing regulatory effectiveness are suggested.     

Inégalités et mondialisation financière: le rapport qui tombe à pic

Cette note présente la nouvelle publication annuelle de l'Institut international d'études sociales de l'OIT, le Rapport mondial sur le travail 2008, dont le thème est les inégalités de revenu à l'épreuve de la mondialisation financière. Cette publication tombe à point nommé au moment où l'on s'inquiète de l'ampleur, de la durée et des conséquences économiques et sociales de la crise financière. Le rapport traite des déterminants de l'accroissement des inégalités de revenu, et de ses liens avec la mon‐dialisation financière, les institutions du marché du travail, les emplois – création et caractéristiques –, et les politiques de redistribution.