Revealing information in electoral competition

Electoral competition between two expert candidates may lead to inefficient platform choices. The present paper studies electoral competition between two experts and a third uninformed candidate. The latter behaves populistically. This seemingly useless candidate restores efficiency. The paper then endogenizes information acquisition. If the information acquisition costs are low, then equilibria with (i) three expert candidates or (ii) two experts and one uninformed candidate may arise. There are costs such that the latter equilibrium is the only pure strategy equilibrium in which information is transmitted.     

A population study of polyurethane foam fragments recovered from the surface of 100 outer-garments

One hundred outer-garments were examined for microscopic fragments of polyurethane foam. Low power stereomicroscopy was used to classify fragments into 18 groups according to macroscopic colour. Amber, pale yellow and black were the most frequently encountered, whilst navy, pale blue, bright pink, beige, brown, pale green, peach and white were the least frequently encountered. High power comparison/fluorescence microscopy was used to discriminate 166 populations within 16 colour groupings. The majority (95.2%) of populations consisted of three fragments or less. This study demonstrates that the background population of foam fragments on an outer-garment consists of low numbers representing various colours. Therefore, finding a large population of microscopically indistinguishable fragments within a casework situation has the potential to be considered highly significant evidentially.     

The ecology of adolescent activity and experience

Twenty-five adolescents reported their daily activities and the quality of their experiences for a total of 753 times during a normal week, in response to random beeps transmitted by an electronic paging device. In this sample adolescents were found to spend most of their time either in conversation with peers or in watching television. Negative affects were prevalent in most activities involving socialization into adult roles. Television viewing appears to be an affectless state associated with deviant behavior and antisocial personality traits. The research suggests the importance of a systemic approach which studies persons' activities and experiences in an ecological context. The experiential sampling method described in this paper provides a tool for collecting such systemic data.The research reported herein was partially funded through PHS Grant 5-R01MH-22883-03.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Latest books includeBeyond Boredom and Anxiety (1975), dealing with the experience of enjoyment, andThe Creative Vision (1976), about problem finding in art.Current interests are problems of juvenile delinquency and aging.Received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Research interests include the sociology of science and the role of women.     

The Korean ‘Examination Hell’: Long Hours of Studying,Distress, and Depression

The goal of this study was to investigate whether the higher rates of clinical depression found among Korean than American adolescents was related to Korean's daily ordeal of studying and schoolwork in preparation for the competitive college entrance examination. A sample of 56 high school seniors in Korea and 62 seniors in the United States provided time-sampling data on the amount of time they spent in daily activities and their affect states during these activities. The Korean adolescents were found to spend much more time in schoolwork and less time in discretionary activities than their American counterparts. Korean adolescents' affect states across daily activities were more negative relative to American adolescents. In the combined sample of Korean and American adolescents spending less time in active leisure activities and experiencing more negative affect states during schoolwork, socializing, and passive leisure activities were related to higher depression. These findings suggest that the effect of the college exam in generating depression in Korean adolescents may be partly mediated through its effect on their daily experience.