Theory and implementation of coalitional analysis in cooperative decision making

Stability definitions for describing human behavior under conflict when coalitions may form are generalized within the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution and algebraic formulations of these definitions are provided to allow computer implementation. The more general definitions of coalitional stabilities relax the assumption of transitive graphs capturing movements under the control of decision makers, either independently or cooperatively, and allow the convenient expansion to the case of coalitions of the four basic individual stabilities consisting of Nash stability, general metarationality, symmetric metarationality, and sequential stability. To permit the various coalitional stabilities to be efficiently calculated and conveniently encoded within a decision support system, algebraic expressions for the coalitional stabilities are provided in this research. Furthermore, a range of the theorems establish the mathematical credibility of employing the innovative algebraic approach to conflict resolution when coalitions are present. Finally, a conflict over the proposed exportation of bulk water from Lake Gisborne within the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador is modelled and analyzed to illustrate the practical application of the different coalitional stabilities and the strategic insights they provide.     

Computing factors for exact two-sided tolerance limits for a normal distribution

A self-contained FORTRAN subroutine is provided which computes factors for Wald-Wolfowitz type tolerance limits allowing arbitrary combinations of sample size n and degrees of freedom ν. The exact calculations from our program reveal inadequacies of two existing approximations, especially when ν ? n. Numerous applications where ν ≠ n ? 1 are cited; two of these are discussed and illustrated.     

Gatekeeper's response: A rejoinder

Gender, marital status, age, and race were considered in relation to the amount and assessment of social ties among 1,124 unmarried men and women aged 40 and over. When there were significant effects of marital status, widowed people tended to be advantaged in amount and supportiveness of their informal ties, although the influence of marital status was affected by age and race. Contrary to some literature, gender differences in social relationships favoring women were not consistently observed. The oldest never married may have the greatest potential needs for affective and instrumental support.     

Short notices

Howard M. Gitelman, Workingmen of Waltham: Mobility in American Urban Industrial Development, 1850–1890 (1975), xvi+192 (Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore and London, £5.50).

Michael J. Cullen, The Statistical Movement in Early Victorian Britain. The Foundations of Empirical Social Research (1975), xii+205 (Harvester Press, Hassocks, £7.50).

Raymond Wolters, The New negro on Campus: Black College Rebellions of the 1920s (1975), viii+370 (Princeton University Press, £7.90).

Marie B. Rowlands, Masters and Men in the West Midland Metalware Trades before the Industrial Revolution (1975) x+198 (Manchester University Press, Manchester, £8.00).

Dwight L. Smith (ed.), Afro‐American History: A Bibliography (1974), xvi+856 (ABC Clio Inc., Santa Barbara and Oxford, £22.50).

Hugh Cunningham, The Volunteer Force: a Social and Political History 1859–1908 (1975) 168 (Croom Helm, £6.50).

Leslie Clarkson, Death, Disease and Famine in Pre‐Industrial England (Dublin, 1975), iii+188 (Gill and Macmillan, £8.75).

Arnold J. Bauer, Chilean Rural Society front the Spanish Conquest to 1930 (1975), xviii+265 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, £7.90).

R. Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials: Their Foundation in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300–1500 (1976), x+181 (Routledge and Kegan Paul, £5.25).

David Elliston Allen, The Naturalist in Britain: a Social History (1976), xii+292 (Allen Lane, £9.00).

Paul Smith (ed.), The Historian and Film (1976), viii+208 (Cambridge University Press, £4.95).

Katherine S. Naughton, The Geentry of Bedfordshire in the 13th and 14th ceaturies (1976), 90 (Leicester University Press, Leicester, Local History Occ. Papers. 3rd series, No. 2. £3.75).

Thomas J. Archdeacon, New York City, 1664–1710: Conquest and Change (1976), 197 (Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, £6.35).     

Shylock is not Heartless: The Function of Separation in Men's Emotional Development

‘Shylock is not Heartless’ uses poetry, film and the popular press to illustrate men's adherence to the traditional male tasks of protector and provider. Some men shift from protector and provider to the negative equivalent, controller and possessor, at the crisis point of separation. For others, separation provides the impetus for a journey inward toward self. The metaphor of the Iceberg and the Ocean has been found useful in helping some men observe the differences between them and their female partners.     

Organisational buying behaviour in changing times

In a recent paper, Johnston and Lewin (1996) analyse the stream of research on organisational buyer behaviour published over the past 25 to 30 years isolating eight propositions which they encapsulate in their ‘Risk Continuum'. Our paper, reports a comparison between Johnston and Lewin's analysis of the extant literature and current buying practices as revealed by interviews with senior UK buyers. We found that business practice has changed in the intervening years. New, process-driven management styles are changing the way in which UK buyers and suppliers interact, yet work reflecting this change (by, for instance, the European based IMP Group) is under-represented in textbooks and teaching. We question the continuing predominance of the established risk management view of organisational buyer behaviour based upon research conducted in the USA 30 years ago.     

Risk Perception in the U.K. Oil and Gas Production Industry: Are Expert Loss‐Prevention Managers' Perceptions Different From Those of Members of the Public?

This article investigates potential differences in risk perception between experts (loss-prevention managers in the U.K. oil and gas production industry) and nonexperts (managers and students). Extant research on expert versus nonexpert perceptions of risk is reviewed, followed by the present study concerning risk perceptions of seven pen-picture scenarios involving the occurrence of hazardous events in the U.K. oil and gas production industry. In contrast to many of the earlier studies of expert versus nonexpert perceptions of risk, the present analysis concludes that experts did not judge the overall riskiness of the portrayed hazardous events as less risky than the nonexperts. Nevertheless, the experts believe more strongly than our nonexperts that the risks portrayed in the scenarios pose little threat to future generations, are more precisely known, and are relatively controllable. Use of multiple regression analysis to help uncover the basis of overall riskiness assessments for expert and lay respondents was inconclusive, however. Finally, little evidence was found that nonexperts were any more heterogeneous in their risk perceptions than experts. It may be that the nature of the risks assessed in the present study may account for the general lack of clear expert versus nonexpert differences in overall perceptions of the riskiness of hazardous events in the North Sea. Earlier findings of strong expert versus nonexpert differences in risk perception assessed hazards of major public concern. It is inferred that using such extreme hazards may have resulted in an exaggerated view of differences in expert versus public (nonexpert) perception of risk.     

Perceptions of Partners' Attributions for Depression in Relation to Perceptions of Support and Conflict in Romantic Relationships

People's attributions for their own psychological problems are linked to their interpersonal behaviors and attitudes. However, depressed individuals' inferences about their romantic partners' attributions for their depressive symptoms have yet to be studied in relation to their perceptions of relationship quality. This study examined perceived support from and conflict with partners in relation to perceptions of partners' attributions for depression in 165 individuals experiencing at least mild depressive symptoms. After controlling for relevant demographic characteristics, perceived internal/controllable psychological attributions were related to greater perceived conflict and lower perceived support, and perceived controllable biological attributions were related to greater perceived conflict. Perceived external/uncontrollable psychological and uncontrollable biological attributions were unrelated to perceived support and conflict. Findings suggest that perceived attributions may help explain the link between depression, support, and conflict in romantic relationships.