Teaching and Learning Responsible Research Conduct: Influences of Prior Experiences on Acceptance of New Ideas

Despite requirements for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, little is known about how much this training actually influences the thinking and behaviors of participants. Interview-based qualitative research methods were used to study the reactions of Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows to what was taught in an RCR course. For trainees with limited prior RCR experience, or who agreed with what was taught, it was relatively easy to influence their attitudes and how they thought they would use the new information in the future. However, if their prior experiences or existing knowledge conflicted with what was taught they resisted and often rejected new ideas that were presented. Interviews also revealed the tremendously complex process trainees must undergo trying to resolve or integrate all of the different perspectives they receive on RCR from other sources. These results revealed the importance of viewing RCR training from the perspective of learning theory and how prior knowledge influences what people learn. The results also support the need for periodic rather than one-time RCR training to counter the often conflicting views and practices young scientists experience in real-life research settings.     

TRANSACTION COST, TWO-PART TARIFFS, AND COLLUSION

When two goods exhibit demand complementarity, the sellers would generally charge lower prices under collusion than under rivalry–a cartel internalizes cross effects that independent firms ignore. For the particular case of "two-part" tariffs consisting of entrance fees and per-unit prices, this paper shows that entrance fees are indeed lower under collusion than under rivalry, but that per-unit prices are unaffected. The demand complementarity arises from transaction costs borne by consumers who enter the market. The policy implication is that collusion can be socially preferable to competition in the presence of such transaction costs.     

Developing our understanding of young people and drugs

SUMMARY. Many youngsters use drugs illicitly or illegally. They can therefore no longer be considered part of a small minority of delinquents. Still larger numbers of young people use alcohol or tobacco. However, most young people have not used drugs illegally and most have a negative attitude towards drug use. The author thus argues for more involvement of young people in prevention schemes, as they are more likely to be listened to by the target audience The article goes on to argue for variety in service provision in response to the changing nature of drug use and drug users. A. careful eclecticism should lead to co-operation between services, availability of alternatives to drug use and the involvement of the wider community     

A neglected classic: Leonard Marsh's Canadians In and Out of Work*

Depuis sa parution en 1965, La mosaïque verticale de John Porter est considéré, presque à l'unanimité, comme la première étude vraiment complète de la structure des classes dans la société canadienne. Les auteurs de cette communication contestent cette idée et soutiennent que cette distinction revient de droit — à quelques nuances près — au livre peu connu de Leonard Marsh paru en 1940 sous le titre Canadians In and Out of Work: A Survey of Economic Classes and their Relation to the Labour Market. Les auteurs présentent également une brève explication de type «sociologie de la connaissance» de l'accueil différent qu'on a réservé aux deux études. John Porter's The Vertical Mosaic, published in 1965, is generally regarded as the first comprehensive study of Canada's national class structure. This paper makes the (qualified) argument that it is Leonard Marsh's little-known volume, Canadians In and Out of Work: A Survey of Economic Classes and their Relation to the Labour Market, published in 1940, that deserves this mark of distinction. The paper also provides a brief ‘sociology of sociology’ type of explanation for the difference in the receptions accorded the two volumes.     

The Best Seller as an Indicator of Societal Narcissism: Is There a Trend?

A content analysis of the subject matter of nonfiction bestsellers was performed to assess changes in societal narcissism.A number of content categories were identified, a priori, asindicative of narcissism, conceptually defined in terms of self-absorption:e.g., concern for psychic self-improvement, mysticism, and aninterest in health, physical fitness, diet, and sexuality. Anunobtrusive measure, the Dewey Decimal Classification number,was used to sort best-selling titles into narcissistic and non-narcissisticgroups for the years 1950 through 1979. As hypothesized, societalnarcissism, as reflected in popular reading preferences, increasedover the three-decade period.