ASSERTION VERSUS INTERROGATION FORMAT IN OPINION SURVEYS QUESTIONS ENHANCE THOUGHTFUL RESPONDING

Two surveys on ostensibly new consumer products were administeredin order to assess the impact of presenting opinion items inan interrogation versus an assertion format. In addition tomanipulating the format of the opinion item, the back groundinformation about the product was varied so that it presentedeither a strong or a weak product attribute. In both surveys,opinions in response to the interrogation items were more polarizedthan those in response to the assertion items. These resultssuggest that the interrogation opinion format elicits more thoughtfulresponses than the assertion format.     

Occupational Gender Segregation in Canada, 1981–1996: Overall,Vertical and Horizontal Segregation*

Cet article examine les changements survenus entre 1981 et 1996 dans la ségrégation hommes‐femmes. Le niveau de ségrégation dans son ensemble a faiblement baissé, suivant en cela la tendance observée depuis les années soixante. La diminution se traduit par une décroissance de 41% de la ségrégation verticale (équité salariale) mais par une augmentation de la ségrégation horizontale (différences autres que cette équité). Les femmes ont renforcé leur point d'ancrage dans la main‐d'?uvre à plein temps et élargi L'étendue de leur participation alors que celle des hommes dans des secteurs à temps partiel et moins prisés a augmenté, et que les emplois traditionnellement occupés par des hommes ont connu un déclin et ont vu L'arrivée des femmes. This article examines changes in gender segregation in Canada between 1981 and 1996. Overall segregation declined slightly. This is a continuation of a trend occurring since the 1960s. The decline comprises a 41% decrease in vertical segregation, representing inequality associated with occupational earnings, and increases in horizontal segregation, difference without such inequality. Women strengthened their footholds in the full‐time work force and diversified their breadth of participation, just as men's participation in part‐time and less desirable enclaves began to increase, and as traditionally male occupations experienced both decline and some influx of female workers.     

RESPONSE LATENCY VERSUS CERTAINTY AS INDEXES OF THE STRENGTH OF VOTING INTENTIONS IN A CATI SURVEY

This CATI study compares two measures of attitude strength,accessibility and certainty, for the purpose of predicting discrepanciesbetween voting intentions and voting behavior. Accessibilitywas indexed by response latency to a voting intention questionand certainty by a question about the finality of the votingintention. Logistic regression showed response latency to bea better predictor of discrepancies between voting intentionsand voting behavior than certainty. The theoretical implicationsof this finding as well as the practical implications of a methodfor measuring response latencies in CATI election studies arediscussed.     

AN ESTIMATE OF THE RENT GENERATED BY A PREMIUM COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER

The National Collegiate Athletic Association limits the payments athletes can receive for their services. Colleges are effectively monosony employers so players will not be paid their marginal revenue product. Therefore, colleges capture an economic rent from players. This paper measures these rents by estimating the marginal revenue product of a top college football player. The empirical results suggest that a premium college player generates over $500,000 in annual revenues for his team.     

SEALED-BID VERSUS OPEN AUCTIONS: THE EVIDENCE

Data from U.S. Forest Service timber auctions are used to test Vickrey's original proposition that sealed-bid and open auctions yield equal revenue. Models for the high-bid in an auction are specified and estimated using three different procedures: ordinary least squares, two stage least squares, and maximum likelihood. The second two procedures include a second equation which accounts for the Forest Service's auction choice and therefore control for selection bias. These two procedures, which unlike ordinary least squares yield consistent estimators, imply a statistically and economically insignificant difference in high-bids between sealed-bid and open auctions.     

DEVIATIONS FROM CONSTITUENT INTERESTS: THE ROLE OF LEGISLATIVE STRUCTURE AND POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE STATES

This paper investigates the determinants of state spending over 1960—1990. Recent empirical studies suggest that state government expenditure is greater than the electorate desires. Our main finding is that expenditure was positively related to the number of seats in a state's legislature. This is consistent with the hypothesis that logrolling leads representatives to spend more than their constituents would like. We also find that political parties do not have a pronounced effect on overall levels of expenditure, but do influence the composition of spending. In particular, Democratic control of state government is associated with higher levels of welfare spending.     

Using a Reconviction Predictor to Make Sense of Reconviction Rates in the Probation Service

Correspondence to John Wilkinson, Research Officer, Inner London Probation Service, Lansdale House, 57 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6AJ. Summary Reducing offending is a main aim of the probation service, butfew mechanisms exist to monitor how this is achieved. This paperdescribes how information about reconvictions can provide routinefeedback about effectiveness in combating offending. Using areconviction predictor, outcome, in terms of reconviction rate,can be evaluated against predicted outcome. A predictor wasvalidated for use in Inner London using case records. Informationwas obtained retrospectively about offenders at the start oftheir probation orders, and about subsequent reconvictions overthirteen months of probation. The predictor was found to haveconsiderable predictive power. The predictor was piloted forroutine use by probation officers, and a customized versionof the predictor was developed. The research is now moving intoa third stage, of developing an end of probation order returnwhich will supply information about reconvictions. Issues relatingto the use of reconvictions as a performance indicator, aondquestions of implementation, are discussed.