Understanding the Risk of an Avian Flu Pandemic: Rational Waiting or Precautionary Failure?

The precautionary principle (PP) has been proposed as the proper guide for the decision-making criteria to be adopted in the face of the new catastrophic risks that have arisen in the last decades. This article puts forward a workable definition of the PP based on the so-called alpha-maximin expected utility approach, applying it to the possible outbreak of the avian flu disease among humans. Moreover, it shows how the shortage and/or lack of effective drugs against the infection of the virus A(H5N1) among humans can be considered a precautionary failure.     

Heteronegativism? The attitudes of gay men and lesbians toward heterosexuals

Although many studies have been conducted on homophobia, little information exists about the attitudes of homosexuals toward heterosexuals. In order to compare the attitudes of both groups, a well-known homophobia questionnaire (Hudson & Ricketts, 1980) was reworded to assess the attitudes of homosexuals toward heterosexuals, forming a "heterophobia" questionnaire. The less clinical term "heteronegativism" is introduced here to refer to the range of negative feelings that gay individuals could possess regarding heterosexuals. Sixty homosexual students were matched with 60 heterosexual psychology students on sex, age, race, and education. Each group was given its respective "phobia" questionnaire. Hypotheses that homosexual participants would report less phobia and more negative experience than heterosexuals and that gay women would report more phobia than gay men were supported. Hypotheses that level of abuse in closeted homosexuals would be positively correlated with phobia scores and that being "out of the closet" would be negatively correlated with phobia scores were not supported.     

The effects of income inequality and income level on mortality vary by population size in Texas counties

OBJECTIVES: This study uses the counties of Texas to empirically test the predictions of Wilkinson's theory on the role of income and inequality in explaining health differentials in populations. Wilkinson predicts (1) that health is affected more by income inequality than average income in areas with large population, and (2) that health is affected more by average income than income inequality in areas with small population. We investigate how large the population of a unit must be for income inequality within the unit to affect mortality. METHODS: Measures of income inequality were computed from the 1990 U.S. census data and mortality was computed from Vital Statistics data. Poisson regressions estimated the age-adjusted relative risk of the top quintile relative to the bottom quintile for equality and for income among selections of Texas counties based on population size. County ethnic composition, educational level, and health care access were controlled for. RESULTS: Among counties with populations greater than 150,000, the risk of death was lower in counties with more equal income distribution than in counties with less equal income distribution. Among counties with population less than 150,000, median income affected relative risk in counties with less than 30 percent Hispanics, but not in those with more than 30 percent Hispanics. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides some support for the predictions of Wilkinson's theory.     

Effects of a peer-led AIDS intervention with university students

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a major health threat to university students. This study evaluated a peer-led AIDS intervention program with university students (1) increase knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission and infection; (2) change attitudes to reflect scientific information on AIDS-related facts; and (3) change behavioral intentions to correspond with safer sexual practices. Subjects were students (N = 142) from four undergraduate classes and were predominantly female (65%), white (82%), and sexually active (86%). A non-equivalent control group design was used, with two classes receiving the intervention and two classes receiving no information. For the intervention, peer educators presented AIDS-related information, modeled ways to use condoms safely and ways to discuss condom use with sexual partners, and led discussions on HIV infection and use with sexual partners, and led discussions on HIV infection and AIDS, relationships, sexuality, and condom use. A questionnaire was administered to assess differential changes in AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions between the intervention and control groups. The results showed significant improvements among intervention subjects on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions scales compared with the control group.     

Sampling television programs for content analysis of sex on TV: how many episodes are enough?

Content analysis is widely used to analyze sexual themes and messages on television. Although researchers generally use a sampling procedure to identify programs for analysis, there is currently no gold standard for the number of episodes needed to establish a valid, representative sample. This study sought to explore how many episodes of weekly television programs should be examined for an accurate assessment of sexual content present throughout the season. Various sampling strategies were used to select episodes from programs that ran in the 1998-1999 season, and results were compared with data collected from all episodes of these programs to test representativeness. Findings suggest that to provide a representative assessment of sexual content on television programs for behavior-level variables, a random sample of five episodes of weekly television programs is sufficient, while three episodes may be acceptable if variation is minimal. A random sample of seven episodes is needed for character-based analyses.     

Multidimensional Pigou–Dalton transfers and social evaluation functions

We axiomatize, in the multidimensional case, a social evaluation function that can accommodate a natural Pigou–Dalton principle and correlation increasing majorization. This is performed by building upon a simple class of inframodular functions proposed by Müller and Scarsini under risk.     

Efficiency, growth, and concentration: an empirical analysis of hospital markets

Taking an evolutionary view, Harold Demsetz hypothesized that firms differ persistently in efficiency and that industry concentration results from growth of efficient firms at the expense of inefficient ones. We test this idea with microdata from the hospital industry. Initial hospital efficiency and subsequent growth (and profitability) are significantly and positively related. Also, greater initial variation in hospital efficiency within local markets is positively related to subsequent growth in market concentration. Our findings support the evolutionary efficiency hypothesis, though they cannot confirm the stronger idea that variation in efficiency is the dominant explanation for changes in concentration.     

Sampling Television Programs for Content Analysis of Sex on TV: How Many Episodes are Enough?

Content analysis is widely used to analyze sexual themes and messages on television. Although researchers generally use a sampling procedure to identify programs for analysis, there is currently no gold standard for the number of episodes needed to establish a valid, representative sample. This study sought to explore how many episodes of weekly television programs should be examined for an accurate assessment of sexual content present throughout the season. Various sampling strategies were used to select episodes from programs that ran in the 1998–1999 season, and results were compared with data collected from all episodes of these programs to test representativeness. Findings suggest that to provide a representative assessment of sexual content on television programs for behavior-level variables, a random sample of five episodes of weekly television programs is sufficient, while three episodes may be acceptable if variation is minimal. A random sample of seven episodes is needed for character-based analyses.