The Power of The Right Stuff: A Quasi-Experimental Field Test of the Docudrama Hypothesis

A field test of 966 moviegoers found that a significant numberof them were favorably influenced toward John Glenn's candidacyfor president by the film The Right Stuff. The docudrama reinforcedpositive images of Glenn and sustained those impressions fora longer than expected period.     

The Multirole Practitioner in the Generic Orientation to Social Work Practice

Summary Generic Social Work practice theory is at a promising stageof development. Utilizing concepts from systems theory a numberof new holistic practice models are now available which canbe applied in any setting. A further frame of reference is requiredthat captures the wide range of social work activity. The aim of this paper is to propose eight tasks and thirteencommon roles of practice which are presented in the form ofa model designed to delineate the role and task matrix of thegeneric practitioner. Practice experience suggests that these tasks and roles constantlymerge into, or follow one another. Some of the roles and tasksseem better understood and theoretically developed than others. The formulation that is offered is currently being empiricallytested. Practitioners, educators and practice researchers areinvited to specify the roles and tasks they regard as centralto practice, to check these against the model offered here,and to present any fundamental differences in forms that lendthemselves to empirical research.     

Toward Generic Social Work Practice--a Review and Some Innovations

Summary This essay reviews the development of the generic concept andoffers three models and several concepts that are seen as relevantto the progress of generic theory for social work practice.A major gap in professional social work has been identified.The generic approach is seen as having exciting potential foreducating and training multi-skilled social workers, but a greatdeal of head and heart work is necessary before the idea ofgeneric social work can become a practical and viable reality     

REPUTATION EFFECTS IN THE MARKET OF CERTIFIERS: EVIDENCE FROM THE AUDIT INDUSTRY

Certifiers verify unobserved product characteristics for buyers and thereby alleviate informational asymmetries and facilitate trade. When sellers pay for the certification, however, certifiers can be tempted to bias their opinion to favor sellers. Indeed, accounting scandals and inflated credit ratings suggest sellers may prefer to select dishonest certifiers. I test this proposition by estimating the effect of adverse quality signals on audit demand. Exploiting the natural experiment of Arthur Andersen's demise, I find that auditors with worse quality signals experience a fall in demand. This suggests that reputation effects are at work even in the presence of conflicts of interest. (JEL L15, L8, M4)     

The worker,the workplace,and the need for unemployment insurance*

Le chômage et la dépendance des prestations de l'assurance chômage qui en découle ne peuvent s'expliquer uniquement en termes de compétence naturelle, d'éducation, de formation professionnelle ou d'expérience préalable du travailleur en tant qu'individu. Lorsqu'on analyse ces attributs, on constate que leurs effets sont médiatisés par l'influence du lieu de travail. Pour explorer cette proposition, nous nous servons d'un modèle segmentaire d'établissements identifiés comme étant marginaux ou centraux dans le monde du travail, et fonctionnant selon une analyse des facteurs des caractéristiques de l'établissement. Les données sont tirées d'un échantillon vraisemblable de réclamants de prestations d'assurance chômage de la région canadienne de l'Atlantique. Nous comparons les travailleurs du monde marginal du travail à ceux du monde central en termes de l'usage possible de prestations. La portée théorique et la ligne de conduite de nos conclusions sont soumises à la discussion. Unemployment and subsequent dependence on unemployment insurance benefits cannot be explained solely in terms of the natural abilities, education, training or previous job experience of individual workers. When these attributes are analyzed, their effects are mediated through the influence of the workplace. To explore this proposition we use a segmentation model where establishments are identified either within the marginal or central work world operationalized through a factor analysis of establishment characteristics. The data are drawn from a probability sample of unemployment insurance claimants in Atlantic Canada. We compare workers in marginal and central work worlds in terms of potential benefit use. We examine through regression analysis the net effect of work world location, its importance in prediction, and its interactive effects with selected personal characteristics on potential benefit use. The theoretical and policy implications of our findings are discussed.     

QUANTIFYING BIAS IN DRIVING‐UNDER‐THE‐INFLUENCE ENFORCEMENT

As the marginal suspect and propensity to commit crime are unobserved across racial categories, it is difficult to quantify racial bias with law enforcement outcomes data. We test for racial bias in driving‐under‐the‐influence of alcohol enforcement. The assessment outcome variable, blood alcohol content (BAC), provides information about motorist's choices and allows for a more refined test for racial bias compared with other law enforcement outcome data. We find no evidence of racial bias in the relevant range where our model applies. However, we do find differences in find rates at the lowest levels of BAC, where there should be no impairment. (JEL J7, K42)     

THE COLLECTIVE DECISION PROBLEM, AND A THEORY OF PREFERENCE

This paper generalizes the "strength priority" idea of conventional majority preferences to select stronger preference patterns over weaker reverse preferences that contradict them. This generalization implies the existence of one and only one strength priority ranking that is transitive. Thus the ordering obtained can be viewed as a direct generalization of the traditional majority concept and is offered as a solution to the collective decision problem.