Symmetric two-stage contests with budget constraints

The impact of a budget constraint on individual expenditures is examined in two models of two-stage contests with homogenous and risk-neutral players competing to win a single, indivisible, commonly valued rent. The set of players is partitioned into equally sized groups. In the first model, one contestant from each group survives to compete on the second stage against the other survivors. In the second model, one group survives the first stage and its members compete against each other on the second stage. We derive and discuss the symmetric subgame perfect equilibrium solution for each model.     

ADVISING THE GOVERNMENT: THE FAMILY LAW COUNCIL

Abstract: The Family Law Council was established in November 1976 with the responsibility of advising the Attorney-General on the operation of the Family Law Act 1975. This paper examines the role, membership and operation of the Family Law Council and its performance as a body providing policy advice to government. Statistical data is included on a number of matters. Although the paper draws mainly on the experience of the Family Law Council, some of the comments and suggestions made are possibly appropriate, in varying degrees, to other advisory bodies of a similar type. The paper suggests that such bodies are capable of offering inexpensive and representative advice to government and, if certain disadvantages can be overcome, more use of some existing advisory bodies may be desirable and this may even result in economies. It also suggests that there is a need to examine the whole advisory body field and that it is also desirable that the need for some ground rules for the creation and the operation of advisory bodies should be looked into.     

Reducing Intimate Partner Violence Among Latinas Through the Moms’ Empowerment Program: an Efficacy Trial

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is a particularly prevalent public health concern among Latina populations, the evidence-based treatment options for Latinas who experience IPV are limited. The present study tested the efficacy of the Moms’ Empowerment Program (MEP), an intervention for Spanish-speaking Latina mothers who had recently experienced IPV. Participants (N?=?95) were assigned to a Treatment (n?=?55) or a waitlist Control (n?=?40) condition, and those in the Treatment group completed a 10-week intervention designed to address the problems associated with IPV. Intent-to-treat analyses using multiple regression revealed that Latinas’ participation in the MEP was associated with reductions in IPV exposure. These findings provide preliminary evidence that the MEP may reduce exposure to physical violence among Spanish-speaking Latinas.     

Religion and Political Action in Postcommunist Europe

Patterns of political identification in postcommunist Europe are still weakly formed. The churches, however, command high levels of confidence, in sharp contrast to political parties. Representative surveys in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine in late 1997 and early 1998 indicate high levels of confidence in the churches in three of these nations, but not in the Czech Republic for reasons that appear connected to its forced conversion to Catholicism. The religious, as in other countries, are disproportionately female, but attenders in postcommunist Europe are not more likely to be elderly or resident in the countryside. There was little difference between church attenders and national populations in attitudes to the market, NATO membership, or the current government; there were rather larger differences between the countries, with Bulgarians the most favourable to the market, NATO and pro-market parties, and Ukrainians the least favourable. A multiple regression analysis found that church attendance of itself had little effect on attitudes or party preferences in either the Czech Republic or Slovakia; it did, however, increase support for the market, for joining NATO and for pro-market parties in Bulgaria and Ukraine. The relatively modest effects of overt religiosity are likely to be helpful to the formation of a democratic political culture, although account must also be taken of a strong association between the Muslim minorities in these countries and the political parties that seek to represent their interests.     

The Mediating Roles of Stress and Maladaptive Behaviors on Self-Harm and Suicide Attempts Among Runaway and Homeless Youth

Runaway and homeless youth often have a constellation of background behavioral, emotional, and familial problems that contribute to stress and maladaptive behaviors, which, in turn, can lead to self-harming and suicidal behaviors. The current study examined the roles of stress and maladaptive behaviors as mediators between demographic and psychosocial background characteristics and self-injurious outcomes through the lens of the stress process paradigm. The model was tested in a sample of runaway and homeless youth from Los Angeles County (N = 474, age 12–24, 41 % female, 17 % White, 32.5 % African American, 21.5 % Hispanic/Latino). Background variables (gender, age, sexual minority status, parental drug use history, and emotional distress) predicted hypothesized mediators of maladaptive behaviors and recent stress. In turn, it was hypothesized that the mediators would predict self-harming behaviors and suicide attempts in the last 3 months. Females and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) youth were more likely to have self-harmed and attempted suicide; younger participants reported more self-harming. The mediating constructs were associated more highly with self-harming than suicide attempts bivariately, although differences were modest. Maladaptive behaviors and recent stress were significant predictors of self-harm, whereas only recent stress was a significant predictor of suicide attempts. All background factors were significant predictors of recent stress. Older age, a history of parental drug use, and greater emotional distress predicted problem drug use. Males, younger participants, and participants with emotional distress reported more delinquent behaviors. Significant indirect effects on self-harming behaviors were mediated through stress and maladaptive behaviors. The hypothesized paradigm was useful in explaining the associations among background factors and self-injurious outcomes and the influence of mediating factors on these associations.     

Intellectuals and Political Change in the Modern Middle East and North Africa

This article introduces the special issue on Intellectual dynamics in the modern Middle East. It discusses key themes of the contributions, including intellectuals as social and political actors, intellectuals, power and the state, and history, tradition and regional temporality.     

Gendered Academic Adjustment among Asian American Adolescents in an Emerging Immigrant Community

Research on the academic adjustment of immigrant adolescents has been predominately conducted in large cities among established migration areas. To broaden the field’s restricted focus, data from 172 (58% female) Asian American adolescents who reside within a non-traditional or emerging immigrant community in the Southeastern US were used to examine gender differences in academic adjustment as well as school, family, and cultural variables as potential mediators of gender differences found. Results suggest that girls report significantly higher educational goals, intrinsic academic motivation, and utility value of school compared to boys. These gender differences are statistically mediated by ethnic exploration and family processes, most prominently, family respect. School connectedness and perceived discrimination are also associated with academic adjustment at the bivariate level, suggesting that academic success may be best promoted if multiple domains of influence can be targeted.