EFFECTS OF A PREPAID NONMONETARY INCENTIVE ON RESPONSE RATES AND RESPONSE QUALITY IN A FACE-TO-FACE SURVEY

We conducted a randomized experiment on a face-to-face interviewsurvey in order to test the effects on response rates of a prepaidnonmonetary incentive. Results showed a statistically significantincrease in response rates, mostly through reduction in refusalrates, in the half sample that received the incentive (a gift-typeballpoint pen) as compared with a no incentive control group.The effect appears to be due to greater cooperation from incentiverecipients at the initial visit by an interviewer. Unexpectedly,the incentive group also showed a significantly higher rateof sample ineligibility, possibly due to easier identificationof vacant residences or nonexistent addresses. In addition,evidence suggests greater response completeness among respondingincentive recipients early in the interview, with no evidenceof increased measurement error due to the incentive.     

The Life and Death of the Care Order (Criminal)

Professor Robert Harris, Department of Social Policy and Professional Studies. The University of Hull. Hull, HU6 7RX. Summary This paper traces the life history of the care order (criminal)from its inception in the 1969 Children and Young Persons Actto its abolition in the 1989 Children Act. It is argued thatthe care order (criminal) is a microcosm of the central ambiguityof the juvenile justice system, and that its history accordinglymirrors that of juvenile justice itself. An empirical studyis then reported which demonstrates that the role of the provisionsince 1983 has been complex, but that it has catered for threedistinct groups of offenders, of whom only one poses a policyproblem. The ‘residence requirement’ solution tothis problem in the 1989 Children Act is welcomed as havinga better chance of sustaining the different tasks of the juvenilejustice system.     

ASYMPTOTIC EXPANSIONS APPLIED TO F-TEST CRITERIA

Using asymptotic expansions of the Kummer hypergeometric function, the sequential. F-test criterion is evaluated asymptotically in terms of the sample size. The continuation region inequalities for the test are inverted and expressed in terms of known test criteria. A rapidly converging algorithm for carrying out the sequential procedure is provided. This makes the F-test easier for the practitioner to use. Almost sure finite termination of the sequential. F-test is asserted by appealing to the continuation inequalities and a heuristic asymptotic expansion of the test criterion. Average stopping times of the sequential procedure for a variety of population means and population number configurations are tabulated. The computer symbolic manipulation program MAPLE was used to derive some formulae.     

Statistical inference concerning weighted Poisson rates under some natural order restrictions

A conditional Poisson model is proposed for situations where one wants to compare the rate parameters for several populations, adjusting for a 'size' parameter and the random e ects of the subjects. Sometimes the physical nature of the problem makes it logical to consider some order restrictions on the rate parameters. The rate parameters are estimated and tested for under such order restrictions. This investigation is motivated by a real-life example on butterfly behavior, and the estimation and tests of hypotheses are illustrated over this data set.     

Gender and the Pursuit of Respectability: Dilemmas of Daily Life in a Home for Adolescents

Summary Our attention in this paper centres on aspects of daily lifein a local authority Home for Adolescents. We focus on the contradictionsand dilemmas surrounding the staff's efforts to regulate theexperiences of their charges; especially, on the tensions arisingfrom attempts to channel the residents', the ‘children's’sexuality. In so doing, we seek to relate local, managerialconflicts to broader, to societal issues; in particular, toissues surrounding conceptions of gender, respectability, familylife. Drawing on a participant observation study, we argue thatsexuality pervades the administration of such a home. We describethe socio-spatial features of the institution, the daily routinesof its occupants and the boredom evidenced by residents—theircharacteristic response to the routines imposed on them. Further,we record aspects of the residents' experiences when releasedfrom the Home; their visits to boyfriends, to girlfriends, toclubs and pubs. In short, we contrast the pursuit of respectabilitywithin the Home with the search for pleasure outside its confines.     

The Portrayal of Blacks in Magazine Advertisements: 1950-1982

This article compares the frequency and social characteristicsof blacks and whites in advertisements in Time and Ladies' HomeJournal during 1950 and 1980. The occupational level of blacksportrayed has risen considerably, and blacks are no longer presentedas maids or servants. However, white authority figures are stillfrequently shown aiding poor blacks or supervising black children.Furthermore, ads show friendly and informal social relationshipsbetween individual whites much more frequently than they showsuch relationships between whites and blacks. Finally, in anextended analysis the frequency of black ads in 1980, 1981,and 1982 is examined for Time, Newsweek and LHJ. Blacks arestill somewhat underrepresented, and recent fluctuations inthe use of black advertisements are considered. The articlebegins and ends with a discussion of three different modelsthat might account for the way blacks are presented in advertisementsin the United States.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF CONSUMER DEMAND BEHAVIOR USING LABORATORY ANIMALS*

Using laboratory animals as subjects, two series of experimental studies of consumer demand behavior are reported. The experiments show that laboratory animals will change consumption patterns in response to changes in the budget set, consuming more of the lower priced commodities and less of the higher priced commodities. Large rotations in the budget line for essential commodities resulted in severe disruption of consumer behavior. The experiments demonstrate the feasibility of using non-human subjects in laboratory studies of economic behavior.     

Institutionalized Ambivalence: Social Work and the Children and Young Persons Act 1969

Summary Partly through political ambivalence, partly through internalcontradictions, the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 hasfailed to reconceptualize the relationship between justice andwelfare in the juvenile court. The social work role is now characterizedby the potential for role conflict and inappropriate exerciseof discretion. Nevertheless, it is argued that the Act raisesissues which must be addressed and the capacity of the ‘backto justice’ movement to do so is critically assessed.