Starting Relationships with Neighbors After a Move Later in Life: An Exploratory Study

The authors examined eight personal and contextual conditions associated with starting new relationships with neighbors after short- and long-distance moves. A total of 625 Dutch movers and 1,936 non-movers (57–93 years old) were selected from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. OLS linear regression analyses showed that short-distance movers mainly started relationships with neighbors when they did volunteer work. Long-distance movers who moved to rural areas and felt safe in their new neighborhood or moved to areas with lower priced homes also started new relationships with neighbors. Contextual conditions appear to play a larger role than personal ones, especially after long-distance moves.     

Estimating sexual behavior parameters from routine sexual behavior data

In mathematical models for predicting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the rate of acquisition of new sex partners and concurrency, the number of simultaneous sexual partnerships, are important parameters. Yet, information on these parameters is rarely obtained in routine sexual behavior surveys; instead, questions about the total number of sex partners during specific periods are often asked. We present two methods that estimate the rate of partnership acquisition and concurrency from reported numbers of sex partners in two overlapping periods. The first method assumes homogeneous behavior, while the second method also takes account of heterogeneity in sexual behavior. Both methods assume random (Poisson) partnership acquisition and the possibility of overlap in relationships. For both methods it might be relevant to distinguish individuals who are in a stable relationship from those who are not.     

Facing the situation: Testing a biosocial contingency model of leadership in intergroup relations using masculine and feminine faces

Using an evolutionary psychology framework we propose that leadership and followership are evolved traits to solve recurrent group coordination problems. We argue that adaptive problems such as those concerning intergroup conflict or cooperation activate different cognitive leadership prototypes, and the face conveys diagnostic information about the suitability and emergence of intergroup leadership. Consistent with hypotheses we find that followers expect masculine-faced leaders to behave competitively and feminine-faced leaders cooperatively in intergroup relations. Furthermore, individuals prefer leaders whose facial cues match the adaptive problem. For example, a masculine-looking leader is preferred in a competitive intergroup setting. Also, this match between face and situation is reinforced with a consistent leadership message such as a masculine-looking leader expressing the need for competition. An evolutionary perspective provides a deeper understanding of the biological aspects of leadership and generates many novel hypotheses about how markers such as the human face affect leadership emergence and effectiveness.     

Salinization alters ecosystem structure in urban stormwater detention ponds

Stormwater ponds now comprise a significant portion of standing water in urban areas. These ponds act to sequester excess run-off and pollutants, such as road salt deicers. While these man-made ponds are not intended to serve as freshwater ecosystems, it is becoming clear that they do provide habitat for many organisms, but we know little of their ecosystem structure, function and interactions with pollutants. From April through June 2009, we surveyed 8 stormwater ponds in the Red Run Watershed, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA to describe patterns in aquatic food webs associated with a gradient in road salt inputs. Periphyton, phytoplankton and zooplankton samples were collected from each pond every 4–6 weeks. Specific conductance, a measure of chloride salt loading, among the 8 ponds varied widely throughout the survey, ranging from 99 μS cm⁻¹ to 19,320 μS cm⁻¹. Low (average = 404 +/− 82.6 (SE) μS cm⁻¹) and medium (average = 1749 +/− 267 (SE) μS cm⁻¹) conductance ponds had lower algal biomass and higher densities of zooplankton taxa relative to high (average = 7231 +/− 2143 (SE) μS cm⁻¹) conductance ponds, which were largely devoid of all zooplankton through the end of May. The observed decline in zooplankton density along an increasing chloride gradient is consistent with experimental results of road deicer effects, suggesting algal resources are possibly freed from grazing pressure as zooplankton consumers are negatively impacted by road salt exposure. Our results highlight the potential for both direct and indirect effects of road deicers on freshwater communities.     

Asymptotic approximations to the gain of the 2shi over stein estimators in linear regression models when the disturbances are small

The paper considers a new family of explicit or fully operational two-stage Stein or hierarchial information (2SHI) estimators for linear regression models, and provides an expression for the difference between the risks of these estimators and the usual Stein-rule estimator when the variance of the disturbance is small. The condition under which the 2SHI estimators have smaller average MSE than the Stein-rule estimator is also given.     

From parental engagement to the engagement of social work services: discussing reductionist and democratic forms of partnership with families

Social work has moved from a child protection discourse towards a child welfare discourse that views the relationship between social workers and families as a partnership. Partnership with families in the field of child protection and child welfare, however, mirrors diverse ideological motives of social policy, civil society and practice. We engage in a theoretical discussion of different interpretations of partnership. We draw a primary distinction between reductionist and democratic forms of partnership with families. In a reductionist approach, social workers activate parents in order to realize the goals set by social work. A democratic approach to partnership refers to a shared responsibility between social workers, parents and children. In this approach, effective partnership is not something to be realized as an outcome, but a point of departure that implies a joint search for meaning and an experiment with which social workers engage. This engagement presents ‘non‐participation’ not as problematic but as an essential element of participation. The focus then shifts from a methodical approach to partnership – how to activate people to participate in the care process – to the question of how the engagement of social workers can be constructed together with families.     

Finding symbolons for cyberspace: Addressing the issues of trust in electronic commerce

E-commerce is growing rapidly, but a majority of the Internet users is still hesitant to become involved in it. One big hurdle is lack of trust. This paper deals with trust in ecommerce and measures to increase it. It discusses one particular so-called web assurance service for business-to-consumer commerce in detail. It also analyses if such services remain viable in an era of more mature e-commerce, and how they should be adjusted to the business-to-business environment.     

The Relationships of Information Efficacy and Media Literacy Skills to Knowledge and Self-efficacy for Health-Related Decision Making

Abstract

Objective: To compare the extent to which information efficacy (confidence for acquiring useful information) and media literacy skills predict knowledge and self-efficacy for preventing or treating the health threat of influenza. Participants: A random-sample survey of 1,379 residential students enrolled at a northwestern public university was conducted in fall 2009. Methods: Students accessed an Internet survey through a link provided in an e-mail. Results: Students who self-diagnosed correctly demonstrated higher levels of media literacy skills than those who self-diagnosed incorrectly. Among those who self-diagnosed incorrectly, the only predictor of knowledge was accessibility of information sources; low accessibility was associated with reduced knowledge. Information efficacy predicted self-efficacy for both groups. Conclusions: The results illustrate the limitations of information efficacy in the absence of media literacy skills. To decrease health risks, college health practitioners should promote media literacy while also ensuring easy access to high-quality information.     

Cross-docking: State of the art

Cross-docking is a logistics strategy in which freight is unloaded from inbound vehicles and (almost) directly loaded into outbound vehicles, with little or no storage in between. This paper presents an overview of the cross-docking concept. Guidelines for the successful use and implementation of cross-docking are discussed and several characteristics are described that can be used to distinguish between different cross-dock types. In addition, this paper presents an extensive review of the existing literature about cross-docking. The discussed papers are classified based on the problem type that is tackled (ranging from more strategic or tactical to more operational problems). Based on this review, several opportunities to improve and extend the current research are indicated.     

Social security coverage extension: A review of recent evidence

This article reports the findings of 13 studies undertaken as part of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) project on “Examining the existing knowledge on coverage extension”. It reviews recent evidence that highlights how cash benefits and health‐care coverage, financed on the basis of contributions or tax revenue or both, can be extended and maintained in low‐, middle‐ and high‐income countries. The article also highlights a number of priority areas and issues for coverage extension, including realizing improved protection for informal‐economy and migrant workers.