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.     

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.     

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.     

The Measurement of a Middle Position in Attitude Surveys

Five split-ballot experiments, plus replications, were carriedout in several national surveys to compare the effects of offeringor omitting a middle alternative in forced-choice attitude questions.Explicitly offering a middle position significantly increasesthe size of that category, but tends not to otherwise affectunivariate distributions. The relation of intensity to the middleposition is somewhat greater on Offered forms than on Omittedforms (less intense respondents being more affected by questionform than those who feel more strongly), but in general formdoes not alter the relationship between an item and a numberof other respondent characteristics. Finally, in one instancethere is evidence that form can change the conclusion aboutwhether two attitude items are related, but the results areof uncertain reliability.     

Attitude Measurement and the Gun Control Paradox

The discrepancy between public support for gun registrationas measured in national surveys and legislative inaction onthesame issue leads to questions about the adequacy of traditionalpoll measures of public opinion. Hypotheses about three kindsof shortcomings are tested: (1) gun registration sentiment tendsto vary appreciably with question wording, and therefore isless crystallized than survey data suggest; (2) anti-gun registrationopinions are held with greater intensitythan are pro-gun registrationopinions, and therefore have different consequences for politicalaction; (3) opposition to gun registration is located particularlyamong those with greater political knowledge and influence,and thus has a disproportionate impact on legislators. Althoughthere is some evidence in support of the first two hypotheses,it does not appear sufficient to explain the discrepancy. However,the study produces a valuable finding about the use of intensitymeasures in attitude surveys, particularly the importance ofdesigning such measures for maximum sensitivity to nonlinearrelations