Collective decision making by committee

Implicitly or explicitly, economic decisions always contain elements of compromise. However, the bargaining models of economic theory treat only the two decision maker case with linearly aggregated priorities; i.e. compromise decisions under Pareto optimality and no side payments. Even then the relative importance of the decision makers remains indeterminate. This paper proposes a simplified bargaining model with three new features: (a) it allows multiple participants; (b) it uses optimal voting patterns to combine the policy proposals, rather than the policy priorities, to form those compromise decisions; and (c) it determines the relative power of each participant endogenously. Perhaps more important, the method does not depend on each decision maker knowing the preferences of his colleagues exactly.     

Ladies against women: Explaining the political participation of traditional- and modern-role females

Data from the 1980 National Election Study are used to examine how well participation theory variables and group consciousness variables account for the nonvoting political activity of traditional-role women. Of the little variance in this activity that is explained by a regression analysis among these women (.070 after adjustments for number of respondents and variables, compared to .240 among modern-role women), most is due to two participation theory variables: party identification and efficacy. However, a discriminant function analysis emphasizes two group consciousness variables (gender consciousness and religious consciousness) and only one participation theory variable (political ideology) as the main forces that distinguish active traditional-role from active modern-role women. These findings indicate the need to make clear which comparison group — other traditional-role women or politically active modern-role women — is being used in efforts to understand traditional-role women's political conduct. The findings also call for new theoretical directions about traditional-role women's nonvoting participation, because of the weak explanatory ability exhibited by all fourteen variables together.     

Alcohol-related problems and collegiate drinking patterns

Six kinds of collegiate problem drinking were examined utilizing a ceptualized relationship among the variables of student religious commitment, parental attitude toward drinking, neutralization of drinking behavior, drinking before college, anticipated ethos of college life, social orientation in college, and quantity-frequency of alcohol consumption. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 534 college students and analyzed by path analysis, which explained up to 47% of the variation in certain kinds of problem drinking. The strongest single predictor of problem drinking was found to be quantity and frequency of consumption, but precollege drinking was also important.     

Sudden epilepsy deaths and the forensic pathologist

Sudden unexpected deaths in epileptic persons are not rare events, most commonly encountered by the forensic pathologist rather than the clinician. Such deaths may represent 1-1.5% of all "natural" deaths certified by the medical examiner or coroner. The typical victim is a black male about 30 years of age who tends to abuse alcohol, with a history of generalized epilepsy for more than 1 year and likely for more than 10 years. There are a lack of obvious anatomic causes for the death at autopsy, but 60-70% of cases will have a lesion in the brain (most commonly old trauma) to explain the epilepsy. Most victims have no blood levels of anticonvulsant medications at the time of death. We have evolved a form for use by medical examiner/coroner's investigators at the scene to collect relevant information which will be of assistance to the pathologist in interpreting the case. Estimated prevalence of sudden epilepsy death, mechanisms, and other features of such cases are reviewed briefly.     

Promoting awareness and prevention of child sexual victimization using the Red Flag/Green Flag program: An evaluation with follow-up

This study describes an evaluation of a school-based sexual abuse awareness and prevention program that featured the “Red Flag/Green Flag People” coloring book and included presentation of a film (“Better Safe than Sorry II”) and discussion of hypothetical and actual experiences involving inappropriate physical touching. Children, parents, and teachers from two experimental schools participated in the program and were compared to similar groups from a control school. Outcomes were evaluated using pre-post (2-month) assessment questionnaires. Among the findings obtained, experimental group children reported learning more about the differences between good and bad touching, and being more likely to both report instances of sexual victimization and utilize program-specific preventive skills, relative to controls. Parents exposed to program materials acknowledged greater improvements in knowledge about program goals and more positive communication at home about abuse. Although no significant differences were obtained for teachers, the ratings for one experimental group were consistently higher than those of the other groups. Staff volunteers evaluated the program as overwhelmingly positive and without adverse effects. Still, some children from all groups reported being touched inappropriately. Some of these improvements were also noted for the experimental group at 6-month follow-up assessment. The findings were discussed in the context of conceptual, clinical, training, and empirical considerations.     

Malice in Maasailand: The historical roots of current political struggles

Current struggles for power, land and resources in Kenyan Maasailandcan only be understood in a one hundred-year context, by returningto the forced moves and land losses of the 1900s and closelyexamining subsequent complaints about their alleged illegalityand long-term impacts. Drawing upon archival research and oraltestimony, this article explains why the Maasai community'ssense of loss and betrayal is so enduring. Maasai grievancesstem from a feeling that they have been betrayed by the British,from the political ambitions of particular Maasai leaders, andfrom historical divisions between different groups of Maasai.Entangled with all these reasons for grievance is the use ofhistory and myth in constructing nationalist and bounded identities.