Rural Black Women and Depression: A Contextual Analysis

We use ecological systems theory to guide our investigation of depression among a sample of 102 married Black mothers residing in the rural South. Using self‐report data collected via computerized interviews during home visits, we conduct multivariate regression analyses, exploring the associations between depression and (a) spousal support and conflict, (b) cocaregiver support and conflict, (c) child conduct difficulties, and (d) socioeconomic risk. We hypothesize that each of these variables are associated with mothers' depression scores and that the extent to which these familial variables and depression are associated will vary across socioeconomic contexts. Socioeconomic risk, child conduct difficulties, and conflict with a cocaregiver were associated with women's depression in the full model. The moderational hypotheses were upheld for the variables of spousal support and child conduct difficulty. Spousal support and depression have a strong negative association under conditions of high socioeconomic risk and a nonsignificant relationship when socioeconomic risk is low. The association between child conduct difficulty and depression was exacerbated under high socioeconomic risk.     

Marketing Strategies and Market Prospects for Environmentally-Friendly Consumer Products1

Recent evidence suggests that the extent of consumer adoption of ‘green’ products is much less than would be indicated by the enthusiastic opinion poll evidence concerning public attitudes towards environmentally-friendly consumption. This paper reports on an empirical analysis of firms' marketing strategies and their influence on consumer demand for green products. In twenty 2–3 hour interviews with senior managers, four representative groups of markets were analysed household detergents, paper (recycled), petrol (unleaded) and automobile technology (focusing on catalytic converters). According to managers, firms' marketing strategies influenced consumer demand by making green technologies available in the fwst instance. However, barriers to supplying green products that show panty with, or better performance than, conventional technologies constrain pricing and communication efforts Managers stressed that, in the absence of clarity of green products' environmental benefits, product performance and other attributes, not green benefits, remain the main determinants of product preference and choice. Promotions focused much more on consumers than distribution channels, yet channel acceptance and support of green innovations are paramount in facilitating sales. Firms see the costs of generating and promoting desirable green technologies as barriers to diffusion in the immediate future. Legislation and/or economic incentives may help, but manufacturers are not optimistic that future green consumption rates will accelerate. The results also highlight several propositions concerning the discrepancy between consumer environmental concerns and purchasing actions which warrant further testing: there is mis-specification of green products in relation to consumers'needs; there are barriers to perceptions of green products' environmental impact and consumers' free ride due to individual self-interest.     

How Innovative are UK Firms? Evidence from the Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey on Synergies between Technological and Organizational Innovations

Using data from the Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey this paper explores the diffusion of a range of innovative activities (encompassing process, product, machinery, marketing, organization, management and strategic innovations) across 16,383 British companies in 2004. Building upon a simple theoretical model it is shown that the use of each innovation is correlated with the use of all other innovations. It is shown that the range of innovations can be summarized by two multi‐innovation factors, labelled here ‘organizational’ and ‘technological’, that are complements but not substitutes for each other. Three clusters of firms are identified where intensity of use of the two sets of innovations is below average (56.9% of the sample); intermediate but above average (23.7%); and highly above average (19.4%). Distinctive characteristics are found to be common to the companies in each cluster. Finally, it is shown that innovativeness tends to persist over time.     

It takes a sister: sisterhood and Black womanhood in families of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

This study explores the sibling relationships of Black women with sisters who have intellectual and developmental disabilities in the southeast United States including Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. The researchers used disability/critical race theory to understand the perceptions and stigmas associated with disability relating to social, cultural, and psychological structures within sibling relationships. Results were captured in four themes: cultural perceptions of family and extended kin; sibling relationships; beliefs about the self as a sister; and siblings’ identities. The findings from this study will contribute to research in disability studies by providing a better understanding of the intersections of identities and the familial experiences of diverse families.     

The Diffusion of Unleaded Petrol: An Anglo-Italian Comparison

This paper explores and contrasts the factors contributing to the differences between Italy and the UK in the diffusion of unleaded petrol. Although subject to similar regulatory environments the countries exhibit very different patterns in the use of unleaded fuel. It is shown that differences in the composition of the car stock, different price incentives and different patterns of changes in taste are the main contributory factors to this, with changes in taste being the dominant factor.