The passage,settlement, and occupational characteristics of Louisiana's Italian immigrants

This paper explores the general pattern of Italian immigration to Louisiana and describes the occupational attributes of the immigrants in five settlements in the state. The data indicate that unlike the national scene Italian immigration to Louisiana peaked before the 20th century and drew immigrants mainly from Sicily. The great majority of these immigrants were recruited for work on the sugar plantations of southern Louisiana. However, in New Orleans the majority soon became small merchants involved in every aspect of the food industry. This comparatively rapid entrance of Sicilian peasants into the lower ranks of the middle class is explained by the size of the immigrant population, by their distinctive cultural values and social experiences in southern Italy and Sicily, by the custom of gambling, and by the friendly compatability of the host culture in southern Louisiana. Also, tight incontestable family loyalties, hard work, and the custom of thrift made it possible for these economic individualists to make their niche in the social and economic life of Louisiana.     

Is religion a health resource for the poor?

This paper uses data from the 2004 General Social Survey to examine the relationship between religious belief and practice (religiosity), spirituality, social support, and health status. Health status is conceptualized first in terms of a subjective assessment and, second, as two objective indicators of physical problems. These relationships were examined first within the total GSS sample, and then separately for respondents who reported below or above the median annual income. Results indicate that spirituality is a positive predictor of respondents’ subjective assessment of their health in the overall sample, but not in either separate income group. Social support does not predict positive subjective or objective health outcomes in the entire sample or for any income group. However, religiosity is a positive predictor of physical health, but only for the most severe of the physical health problems measured, and only for respondents whose annual income is below the national median. Thus, it appears that religiosity is a health resource for those below average income.     

Multiple-Stage Decision-Making: The Effect of Planning Horizon Length on Dynamic Consistency

Many decisions involve multiple stages of choices and events, and these decisions can be represented graphically as decision trees. Optimal decision strategies for decision trees are commonly determined by a backward induction analysis that demands adherence to three fundamental consistency principles: dynamic, consequential, and strategic. Previous research (Busemeyer et al. 2000, J. Exp. Psychol. Gen. 129, 530) found that decision-makers tend to exhibit violations of dynamic and strategic consistency at rates significantly higher than choice inconsistency across various levels of potential reward. The current research extends these findings under new conditions; specifically, it explores the extent to which these principles are violated as a function of the planning horizon length of the decision tree. Results from two experiments suggest that dynamic inconsistency increases as tree length increases; these results are explained within a dynamic approach–avoidance framework. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Promotive: A Verbal Operant Related to Production

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - The promotive, as a component of the contingency of production, is offered as a conceptual tool for analyzing verbal behavior involved in the production of useful...     

An adaptive estimatcr frequently used in material fatigue testing

Small sample sizes in material fatigue tests give rise to an adaptive estimator of the 100(1-P)% normal percentile, which is the 100P% survival load. The mean squared relative efficiency of the best invariant estimator of normal percentiles to the adaptive estimator is dependent upon the unknown parameters only through the coefficient of variation. The adaptive estimator is shown to be more locally efficient than tl-:ebest invariant estimator over a subset of the parameter space. However, in the extreme values of P the coverage probabilities of the adaptive estimator provide little more protection than a traditional point estimator over the range of preference based on mean squared relative efficiency.     

Religious tattoos at one Christian university

More than one quarter of Americans now have tattoos. The proportion is even higher among younger adults. Tattoos express affiliation and identity. For some, tattoos also express religiosity. Very little research exists on religious tattoos. The purpose of this study is to profile religious tattoos among students at one Christian university in the southwestern United States. We analysed 752 photos of tattoos on campus. One in five photos depicted an overt religious image or text. Men were more likely than women to have a religious tattoo. In addition, the size, placement, and direction of religious tattoos differed by gender. Men’s religious tattoos were larger in size and in more prominent places on their bodies. Women’s religious tattoos were smaller and in more easily concealed locations. We conclude with a discussion of the practical and theoretical implications of our findings.