A Perspective on Nuclear Waste

The management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste has the deserved reputation as one of the most intractable policy issues facing the United States and other nations using nuclear reactors for electric power generation. This paper presents the author's perspective on this complex issue, based on a decade of service with the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and Board on Radioactive Waste Management of the National Research Council.     

A Dialectic Technological Science Perspective: Reply to Bell

Abstract Bell's (1995) critique of our discussion of a technological science perspective for sociology is a helpful effort to maintain a balance between our emphasis on agency and creativity and on the constraining side of society. We emphasize agency as part of a dialectic between human effort and societal resistance for three reasons. First, it forces reconceptualization of the nature of the science of sociology by shifting from a positivist mode to one that is pragmatic. The meaning of scientific findings changes. Second, agency has been ignored historically while constraint has been over-emphasized. We seek to establish a balance by reentering the notion of agency into sociological discourse. Third, agency is a mechanism for modifying constraints and solving the problems associated with social technologies. In the closing paragraphs of the reply, we suggest that the view under discussion be seen as an ethical pragmatism. Agency forces us to ethical questions and a pragmatic understanding of science.     

Rhythmic organization of social interaction and observer ratings of positive affect and involvement

Many investigators have speculated that a high degree of rhythmic patterning of social interaction and close coupling between the activity rhythms of partners are associated with positive affect, attachment, and interpersonal attraction. Others suggest that predictable or rhythmic patterning is an indication of inflexibility, and that close linkages between the physiological arousal of partners are associated with negative affect. In the present study, spectral and cross spectral analyses were applied to vocal activity and heart rates recorded during 12 conversations. Indexes of rhythmicity and strength of coupling were derived and used as predictors of observer ratings of pleasantness of affect and degree of involvement. There was a curvilinear relationship between affect and rhythmicity of vocal activity, such that moderately rhythmic social interactions were evaluated most positively. This relationship remained statistically significant even when other variables (such as mean and standard deviation of amount of vocal activity) were statistically controlled. Strength of coupling between partner vocal activity patterns and strength of coupling between the vocal activity and heart rate within speaker were not statistically significant predictors of ratings of pleasantness. Results suggest that there may be an optimum degree of rhythmicity in social interaction, with moderately rhythmic interactions evaluated most positively.We gratefully acknowledge support from the Central University Research Fund and from the Office of the Dean of Liberal Arts at the University of New Hampshire. Thanks to Kim Mooney, Charles Dufour, Mark Henn and Jay Goober for their contribution in developing the coding system.     

Healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Theoretical Model

Childhood sexual abuse is a prevalent social and health care problem. The processes by which individuals heal from childhood sexual abuse are not clearly understood. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical model to describe how adults heal from childhood sexual abuse. Community recruitment for an ongoing broader project on sexual violence throughout the lifespan, referred to as the Sexual Violence Study, yielded a subsample of 48 women and 47 men who had experienced childhood sexual abuse. During semistructured, open-ended interviews, they were asked to describe their experiences with healing from childhood sexual abuse and other victimization throughout their lives. Constructivist grounded theory methods were used with these data to develop constructs and hypotheses about healing. For the Sexual Violence Study, frameworks were developed to describe the participants' life patterns, parenting experiences, disclosures about sexual violence, spirituality, and altruism. Several analytic techniques were used to synthesize the findings of these frameworks to develop an overarching theoretical model that describes healing from childhood sexual abuse. The model includes four stages of healing, five domains of functioning, and six enabling factors that facilitate movement from one stage to the next. The findings indicate that healing is a complex and dynamic trajectory. The model can be used to alert clinicians to a variety of processes and enabling factors that facilitate healing in several domains and to guide discussions on important issues related to healing from childhood sexual abuse.     

Life satisfaction and regional development: A case study of Oklahoma

This paper analyzes the relation between regional development and perceived life satisfaction measures. Using Oklahoma it is identified that people in less developed regions tend to be equally (or more) satisfied in almost every aspect of their lives. This leads to the conclusion that aspirations, in addition to the attainment of aspirations, depend on the level of development.     

Subfield history: use of model organisms in the search for human aging genes

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) started a program in 1993 to identify genes involved in the regulation of longevity in a variety of species, including yeast, nematodes, fruit flies, and mice. The initial success of this program has attracted the interest of many investigators working with these organisms. Of primary interest are single-gene mutants that have identified genes and processes involved in longevity regulation across species. These processes include the insulin-like signaling pathway, stress resistance, and most recently, chromosome and nuclear architecture. Mutations in genes that regulate these processes indirectly are also being identified in this program. The ultimate goal of this program is to extend these results to humans to identify the major biological risk factors for age-related decline of function in human physiological systems.     

Communicatively Managing Religious Identity Difference in Parent-Child Relationships: The Role of Accommodative and Nonaccommodative Communication

Guided by Communication Accommodation Theory, we examine the communicative management of religious difference in parent-child relationships. Using survey data from emerging adults (N = 409), we found that religious difference is associated with decreases in relational satisfaction and shared family identity. Further, parents’ religious communication has the potential to promote relational well-being. Accommodative communication (religious-specific supportive communication and respecting divergent values) was associated with increases in relational satisfaction and shared family identity. Two forms of nonaccommodative communication (inappropriate self-disclosure and emphasizing divergent values) were associated with decreases with relational satisfaction and shared family identity; giving unwanted advice was associated with decreases in relational satisfaction but not shared family identity. Giving unwanted advice moderated the relationship between religious difference and relational satisfaction. Differences were also discovered between families with inter- and intrafaith parental dyads. Findings suggest theoretical and methodological contributions to family communication, religious, and intergroup research.     

The Retirement Life Course in America at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century

As the baby boom cohorts expand the number of U.S. retirees, population estimates of the employment, withdrawal and reentry behaviors of older Americans’ remain scarce. How long do people work? How frequently is retirement reversed? How many years are people retired? What is the modal age of retirement? And, how do the patterns for women compare to those for men? Using the 1992–2004 Health and Retirement Study, we estimate multistate working life tables to update information on the age-graded regularities of the retirement life course of men and women in the United States. We find that at age 50 men can expect to spend half of their remaining lives working for pay, while women can expect to spend just one-third. Half of all men and women have left the labor force by ages 63 and 61, respectively. Although the majority of retirement exits are final, variation in the nature and duration of the retirement process is substantial, as about a third of men’s and women’s exits are reversed. By quantifying these patterns for men and women, we provide a sound empirical basis for evaluating policy designed to address the financial pressures population aging places on public and private pension systems.     

Market Forces for the Unemployed? Training Vouchers in Germany and the USA

Vouchers are meant to increase competition and consumer choice in public service markets. Using the example of training vouchers for the unemployed in the USA and Germany, we show, however, that deficits, both on the demand and the supply side of the market, create problems with preference alignment and market formation. Information asymmetries undermine choice by the unemployed and reduce government control over the training system. Ironically, restrictions meant to compensate for these information deficits further inhibit competitive market formation. Evaluation data on training vouchers from both countries show that voucher systems do not increase choice, but weaken the partnerships public employment agencies previously had with training providers, and may lead to a shortage of high‐quality and specialized training, as well as creaming in the selection of training participants. Theoretical justification for vouchers is based on the notion of choice and consumer sovereignty. Using this framework to analyse the changed relationship between government, private training providers, and jobseekers, we challenge the efficacy of vouchers as a delivery mechanism in complex public service markets such as job training.