A solution of the externality problem using strategic matching

This paper develops a Coase-like solution of the problem of inducing Pareto optimal behavior in the presence of reciprocal externalities. In place of Coasean direct compensation between the parties to an externality problem, actors strategically match each other's externality-producing activity, and thus induce counterparts to internalize the external benefits or costs of their actions. The analysis suggests a general framework for analyzing social interactions in the presence of reciprocal externalities. As an application of the theory, a solution of the duopoly problem is noted.We are indebted to L. Danziger, D. Samet, participants in faculty seminars at Bar-Ilan and New York Universities and at the University of Maryland, and two anonymous referees for helpful comments and discussions. All remaining errors are our own.     

HIV-infected woman. Illness cognition assessment.

1. Special attention is particularly important in addressing the mental health needs of HIV-infected women. These needs may involve issues such as concerns about present or future pregnancy; child-rearing, often as single parents; poverty, illicit drug use or addiction; and the potential lack of support services. 2. Diagnosis of HIV infection in women may be overlooked, as the clinical signs that routinely trigger the suspicion of HIV illness in men are often interpreted to reflect depression or psychological factors, such as stress or overwork, rather than raise the suspicion of HIV infection in women. 3. Understanding a woman's illness cognition is an important component of designing strategies that can enhance coping. The picture a woman generates regarding her illness is a composite of her experiences and responses, and determines to a large extent what she will do in response to her illness.     

Gender-specific changes in students' sexual behaviors and attitudes at a southeastern university between 1973 and 1988.

This study investigated the gender-specific, self-reported sexual behaviors and attitudes of never-married college students attending a southeastern university in 1973 and 1988. Data were collected by means of a mailed questionnaire that remained essentially unchanged for both years. The authors found that both men and women reported an increase in heterosexual relationships that included sexual intercourse and a decrease in nonsexual relationships with the other gender. The majority of the students perceived themselves as adequately informed about sexuality and satisfied with their relationships, although the proportion of men who reported being satisfied with their relationships declined over the 15 years. The students indicated that sexuality education should focus primarily on information about AIDS and on preparation for marriage.     

Sociological computing: An opportunity missed?

Rapid advances in sociological computing are changing virtually every aspect of scholarly sociological work. These changes offer an opportunity for sociologists to improve the quality of their work and bring new insights and approaches to bear on important sociological problems. Nevertheless, sociologists display a profound ambivalence toward computer work by other sociologists. Left unchecked, this ambivalence threatens to turn sociological computing into an opportunity missed. Inadequate rewards, lack of training, and a general failure to understand the importance of computing in sociology threaten to stifle the development of quality soft-ware, push sociologists competent in computing into other fields, and jeopardize the quality of sociological scholarship. This article documents these ambivalent tendencies and proposes reasonable steps the discipline should take to assure that sociological computing does not become an opportunity missed.     

A response to “the emotional consequences of physical child abuse” by Annaclare van Dalen

The author responds to the article by Annaclare van Dalen (1989), disputing her statement that there is little in the literature about the emotional consequences of child abuse. The author reviews the pertinent literature, which is abundant. The author disagrees with van Dalen's statement that the child experiences physical abuse outside the body, and with the statement that the child experiences sexual abuse as pleasurable. In addition the author disagrees with van Dalen's sharp differentiation between physical abuse and sexual abuse, and proposes that sexual abuse be regarded as a variant of physical abuse.     

Children and well-being: A comparison of employed and non-employed women

While employment improves health, having children at home does not. Indeed, the most likely work-family conflict for women is having children at home. In this study the effect of children on well-being was predicted to differ for employed and non-employed women. In addition, only amongst the employed women was locus of control hypothcsized to moderate this relationship. In a sample of women with partners (n = 116), using multiple-regression analysis, the results indicated that the number of children living at home, rather than the presence of young children, was associated with increased happiness in women. Employment was not predictive of women's well-being. However, it moderated the effect of number of children on their levels of happiness. In addition, non-employed women showed a U-shaped relationship between number of children and psychological distress. Finally, contrary to prediction, locus of control did not moderate the relationship between number of children and women's well-being. The findings are discussed in terms of the role expansion hypothesis.     

Pen Dudley''s name finally disappears from the public relations marquee

When the public relations firm D-A-Y was dissolved into Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations November 1, 1988, the longest lived public relations agency disappeared into the sands of time that enveloped the first four agencies started in the first decade of the waning century. The D in D-A-Y stood for Pendleton Dudley, a venerable pioneer in this vocation, who had opened his agency in Wall Street in 1909 at the urging of his good friend, Ivy Lee. Dudley, a rugged, independent product of frontier America, headed his firm for fifty-seven years—a longevity record surpassed only by that of Edward L. Bernays, who started his firm in 1919 in the Post World War I public relations boom.Pendleton Dudley—known to his close friends as Pen and to his associates in his firm as PD, was born September 8, 1876, in a small frontier town of Troy, Missouri, when America was an agricultural nation. He came to pioneer as a counselor to the corporate giants, AT&T among them, in a complex, interdependent corporate industrial America. Pen Dudley did much to infuse this field with respectability in a time when it was viewed with suspicion or disdain in its early years. He was a strong advocate of research as the only sound basis for planning and executing programs to influence public behavior. He was also active in the Public Relations Society of America after it was formed in 1948 and was in the forefront of those creating the now extinct Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education. In 1965, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the New York PRSA Chapter. He died at the age of 90 in 1966.The author is Dean Emeritus of Journalism at the University of Georgia, and co-author Effective Public Relations, 6th Ed.     

Uncertainty Analysis for Computer Model Projections of Hurricane Losses

Projecting losses associated with hurricanes is a complex and difficult undertaking that is wrought with uncertainties. Hurricane Charley, which struck southwest Florida on August 13, 2004, illustrates the uncertainty of forecasting damages from these storms. Due to shifts in the track and the rapid intensification of the storm, real-time estimates grew from 2 to 3 billion dollars in losses late on August 12 to a peak of 50 billion dollars for a brief time as the storm appeared to be headed for the Tampa Bay area. The storm hit the resort areas of Charlotte Harbor near Punta Gorda and then went on to Orlando in the central part of the state, with early poststorm estimates converging on a damage estimate in the 28 to 31 billion dollars range. Comparable damage to central Florida had not been seen since Hurricane Donna in 1960. The Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology (FCHLPM) has recognized the role of computer models in projecting losses from hurricanes. The FCHLPM established a professional team to perform onsite (confidential) audits of computer models developed by several different companies in the United States that seek to have their models approved for use in insurance rate filings in Florida. The team's members represent the fields of actuarial science, computer science, meteorology, statistics, and wind and structural engineering. An important part of the auditing process requires uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to be performed with the applicant's proprietary model. To influence future such analyses, an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis has been completed for loss projections arising from use of a Holland B parameter hurricane wind field model. Uncertainty analysis quantifies the expected percentage reduction in the uncertainty of wind speed and loss that is attributable to each of the input variables.     

WHOSE GAY COMMUNITY? SOCIAL CLASS,SEXUAL SELF‐EXPRESSION,AND GAY COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The visible and political gay community has been characterized as an increasingly middle-class, white institution. It is hypothesized that this middle-class nature requires economic and psychosocial resources that are not available to the working class and, thus, may limit the expression of sexual orientation for the working class. An analysis of data from the multicity Urban Men's Health Study supports this hypothesis. Nine of 14 hypothesized effects are statistically significant and indicate that working-class men who are homosexually active are less likely to describe themselves as gay, are more likely to have heterosexual experience, and are less likely to be involved in the gay community. Thus, it is important to incorporate class differences when addressing the social and the political dynamics of sexual orientation.