Reconciliation with the Utility of Chance by Elaborated Outcomes Destroys the Axiomatic Basis of Expected Utility Theory

Expected utility theory does not directly deal with the utility of chance. It has been suggested in the literature (Samuelson, 1952, Markowitz, 1959) that this can be remedied by an approach which explicitly models the emotional consequences which give rise to the utility of chance. We refer to this as the elaborated outcomes approach. It is argued that the elaborated outcomes approach destroys the possibility of deriving a representation theorem based on the usual axioms of expected utility theory. This is shown with the help of an example due to Markowitz. It turns out that the space of conceivable lotteries over elaborated outcomes is too narrow to permit the application of the axioms. Moreover it is shown that a representation theorem does not hold for the example.     

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) in a Sample of Lesbian and Bisexual Women

The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) assesses propensities for sexual excitation (SE) and inhibition (SI). Previous research utilizing the SESII-W included samples comprised exclusively or almost entirely of heterosexual women. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the SESII-W and assess its relation to aspects of sexual function within a sample of lesbian and bisexual women. The sample included 974 self-identified bisexual (n = 733) or lesbian/homosexual (n = 241) women who completed an online survey including items assessing women’s sexual behaviors, feelings, and functioning, sociodemographics, and the SESII-W. The sample was split; exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the first half, yielding eight lower-order factors with two higher-order factors. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the second half and suggested reasonable model fit. SI was positively correlated with sexual problems and negatively correlated with sexual pleasure; the correlations were significant but small. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between SESII-W scores and sexual problems/sexual pleasure, controlling for age, relationship duration, and relationship status. Four lower-order factors predicted reports of sexual problems. Findings indicated the SESII-W has similar psychometric properties among sexual minority women as it does among heterosexual women.     

“Here One Moment… and Gone the Next?” Remittance as a Social Visibility Tool

Human labor is as much an export as any good. Remittances are a critical source of income for left‐behind families and communities. Transnational labor migrants often describe themselves as ‘invisible’: neither present in the lives of left‐behind families nor members of the receiving community. Building on social remittances literature, we argue that remittances serve as a remedy for this ‘invisibility.’ Through analysis of interviews with 26 temporary labor migrants from 11 countries resident in Israel, we find remittances can render migrants visible to transnational families and provide identity benefits to labor migrants. If visibility benefits decline because of familial role changes, reduced value as a remitter, cost exceeding benefits or because contracting partners change, remittance practices will change. Contrary to previous literature, our findings show that remittances decisions are dynamic, revealing why remittances practices change and even cease. Findings have implications for understanding the multibillion‐dollar remittances industry and immigrant incorporation.     

Training Bodies,Building Status: Negotiating Gender and Age Differences in the U.S. Fitness Industry

What role does the body play in facilitating interaction across status differences? Whereas previous scholarly work has focused on “roles” and “specialized knowledge,” I investigate how bodies, appearances, and physical abilities are also consequential in these exchanges through the concept of “bodily capital.” Coined by Bourdieu, bodily capital provides a way to understand why individuals invest time, energy, and resources into their bodies, and what they expect to receive in return. As a concept, bodily capital is necessarily broad as it encompasses a variety of forms, including athletic prowess, attractiveness, physique, muscle tone/strength, agility, and other modes of embodiment. Because the body is integral to a variety of status distinction-making processes, individuals invest in and exchange bodily capital to increase their relative status in specific fields. Drawing on interviews with 26 personal trainers and 25 clients, as well as more than one year of participant observation, I find that trainers and clients use bodily capital to negotiate gender and age differences, either by re-arranging interactional power dynamics or resisting stereotypes. The type of bodily capital that allows for such negotiations to take place, however, is the hegemonic thin-toned ideal—a classed and largely raced form of bodily capital that has purchase in the U.S. fitness industry. Although individuals in the study were able to use this form of capital to enable successful cross-status interactions, doing so reified the dominance of middle-class, white bodily aesthetics. Thus, while bodily capital may challenge some status hierarchies, it reinforces others.     

Individuals and Communities: the Importance of Neighbors Volunteering

In this analysis, I examine the effects of community-level volunteering on an individual’s choices regarding time – whether to work and whether to volunteer. In order to better explain the decision to volunteer, a classic pure public goods structure is contrasted with a less restrictive impure public goods model that admits other possible private motivations. The results of this study undermine the neoclassical notion that volunteering can be understood solely as a pure public good that is provided less when others are seen to be contributing. In fact, individuals are found to be more, not less, likely to volunteer when others in their communities do so. An innovative instrumental variables strategy is used to account for reflection bias and the possible endogeneity caused by selective sorting of individuals into neighborhoods, which allows for a causal interpretation of these results. Employment regressions provide preliminary evidence that average volunteering relates, to some extent, with the decision of whether to participate in the labor force. Variations in the effect of average volunteering across age and gender are also explored. The present work is unique by virtue of its use of a large and representative dataset, along with rigorous statistical testing. I use United States Census 2000 Summary File 3 and Current Population Survey (CPS) 2004–2007 September Supplement file data and control for various individual and community-level characteristics.     

Winning a Battle but Losing the War? Third Sector and Social Policy in Latin America: The Case of Uruguay

This paper analyzes some aspects of the third sector’s involvement process in the provision of public social services. Using evidence garnered in previous research based on in-depth interviews, I offer elements toward an assessment of the consequences this process has produced not only in terms of the gains and losses it has produced for social policy, but also for the very identity and constitutive characteristics of the third sector. The evidence hereby compiled strengthens skepticism toward the hypothesis that sees a transformative potential in the role of the third sector in social policy in Latin America. This skepticism arises from issues detected by involved actors themselves and that are linked to the weakness of the sector as a whole.     

The Relationship Between Corporate Volunteering and Employee Civic Engagement Outside the Workplace in Russia

This paper discusses the relationship between corporate volunteering and civic engagement outside the workplace in Russia, proceeding from a mixed-method approach. The quantitative findings are based on a comparison between employees in 37 Russian companies who participated in corporate volunteering (N = 399) and those who did not (N = 402). Using binary logistic regression analysis, we demonstrate that employee participation in corporate volunteering is positively related to four forms of civic engagement outside the workplace: informal volunteering, formal volunteering, formal monetary donation, and informal monetary donation. In addition, we draw on information obtained from interviews with 10 corporate volunteers, as well as with all 37 company corporate volunteering managers, to develop a general explanation for why corporate volunteering might lead to civic engagement. We identify three primary explanations. First, trust in companies can be converted into increased trust in social institutions. Second, corporate volunteering can expose employees to other realities, thereby leading them to rethink their priorities. Third, corporate volunteering socializes employees to volunteering, thus making them more likely to incorporate volunteering into their personal repertoires of activities. Corporate volunteering appears to be an effective mechanism for stimulating civic engagement and volunteering infrastructure in post-communist countries.     

Influence of Perceived Economic Strain on the Relationship Between Caregiver BMI and Child BMI

As maternal BMI is a risk factor for higher child BMI, this exploratory study investigated perceived economic strain as a protective factor modifying this well-established relationship. Primary low-income female caregivers (n = 432) of preschoolers ages 3–5 years were interviewed using the Family Economic Strain Scale. Caregiver and child heights and weights were measured. Significant differences were found in perceived economic strain between normal versus underweight, overweight, and obese caregivers. A moderating effect approaching significance was noted such that at low levels of reported economic strain, caregiver BMI classification had no effect on child BMI z-score for normal weight, overweight, or obese caregivers. This study is the first to demonstrate that reduced perception of economic strain may act to buffer the impact of maternal overweight/obesity on child weight status. Given this biologically strong relationship, the potential for any modifiable factor to be detected is encouraging. Further collaborative research between economists and family resiliency researchers is suggested.     

Emergency Saving and Household Hardship

Households with limited income and wealth often struggle to access the financial liquidity needed to address unexpected expenses or income drops. Emergency savings can act as form of insurance against such economic shocks and reduce the risk of hardships that influence family wellbeing. Prior research has established that threshold amounts of liquid assets can reduce the risk of economic hardship. This study used a measure of self-reported emergency saving behavior to examine whether households who reported saving for emergencies were less likely to experience subsequent economic hardships in a longitudinal sample of households in disadvantaged neighborhoods from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections project. Results across a range of regression models suggest that households who saved for emergencies experienced slightly less overall hardship and were less likely to report several specific hardships, such as food insecurity and having a phone disconnected, three years later. This study supports the idea that small, unrestricted savings may play a protective role for low-income households.     

Urinary Excretion of Chromium Following Ingestion of Chromite-Ore Processing Residues in Humans: Implications for Biomonitoring

Biomonitoring programs for urinary chromium (Cr) typically attempt to evaluate occupational exposure via the inhalation route. This study investigated whether Cr can be detected in the urine of people following the ingestion of soils that contain relatively high concentrations of chromium in chromite ore processing residue (COPR). To evaluate the reasonableness of using urinary monitoring to assess environmental exposure, six volunteers ingested 400 mg of soil/day (low-dose group), two others ingested 2.0 g of soil/day (high-dose group) for 3 consecutive days, and one person ingested a placebo on each of 3 days. The soil and COPR mixture contained concentrations of total chromium (Cr) and hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] of 103 ± 20 and 9.3 ± 3.8 mg/kg, respectively. Therefore, the low-dose group ingested 41 μg Cr/day [including 3.7 μg Cr(VI)] and the high-dose group ingested 206 μg Cr/day [including 18.6 μg Cr(VI)] on each of 3 consecutive days. All urine samples were collected and analyzed individually for total Cr on the day prior to dosing, during the 3 days of dosing, and up to the first void 48 h after the last dose. No significant increases in urinary Cr excretion were found when background excretion data were compared with data following each of the 3 days of dosing or in daily mean urine concentrations of the high- vs the low-dose groups. It appears that Cr present in a soil and COPR mixture at Cr doses up to 200 μg/day is not sufficiently bioavailable for biomonitoring of urine to be informative. These results are consistent with previously published findings suggesting that incidental exposure to dusts and soils containing comparable levels of Cr will not result in increased concentrations of Cr in urine.