Sex,sex roles,and self-image

The purpose of this research was to compare the self-images of male and female children in order to determine whether females were at a particular disadvantage and, if so, why. A random sample of 1988 children from grades 3–12 were interviewed in Baltimore in 1968. Findings show more disturbance among White adolescent females than among White males or Black females: White girls become much more self-conscious and show greater self-image instability and somewhat lower self-esteem. Three sets of factors appear to explain part of these differences: (1) attitudes toward present and future sex role, (2) peer relationships in general and opposite sex relationships in particular, and (3) attitudes toward changing looks in adolescence.The work of the first author is currently supported by a Research Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, No. 5-K1-MH-41, 688-03. The work was also partly supported by USPHS Grants 1-F3-MH-41, 688-01 and MH-197541-01.The data were collected in 1968.Received her Ph.D. from Columbia University and has been interested in the social determinants of the self-image and in studies of the social psychological consequences of organ transplantation.Received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and is interested in social psychology in general and sex roles in particular.     

An institutional assessment of the public interest and accountability committee (PIAC) in Ghana’s oil and gas sector

ABSTRACT

Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management Act 815 (amended to Act 893 in 2015) established the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) in 2011 with the mandate to ensure accountability and transparency in the management and usage of oil and gas revenue. This paper critically examines the activities and operations of the PIAC from 2011 vis-à-vis its legally reposed mandate. It points to severe deficit in accountability but improvements in transparency in the management of oil and gas revenues in spite of the existence and operations of the PIAC. After eight years of operation, the PIAC continues to suffer monumental challenges that undermine its effectiveness in serving as an accountability and transparency initiative in Ghana’s oil and gas sector. The paper makes some recommendation based on the empirical challenges of the PIAC identified to strengthen the PIAC to deliver effectively on its mandate.     

Dynamic Models for Dynamic Theories: The Ins and Outs of Lagged Dependent Variables

Nathan J. Kelly Department of Political Science, University of Tennessee, 1001 McClung Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996-0410 e-mail: luke.keele{at}mail.polisci.ohio-state.edu (corresponding author) e-mail: nathan.j.kelly{at}gmail.com A lagged dependent variable in an OLS regression is often usedas a means of capturing dynamic effects in political processesand as a method for ridding the model of autocorrelation. Butrecent work contends that the lagged dependent variable specificationis too problematic for use in most situations. More specifically,if residual autocorrelation is present, the lagged dependentvariable causes the coefficients for explanatory variables tobe biased downward. We use a Monte Carlo analysis to assessempirically how much bias is present when a lagged dependentvariable is used under a wide variety of circumstances. In ouranalysis, we compare the performance of the lagged dependentvariable model to several other time series models. We showthat while the lagged dependent variable is inappropriate insome circumstances, it remains an appropriate model for thedynamic theories often tested by applied analysts. From theanalysis, we develop several practical suggestions on when andhow to use lagged dependent variables on the right-hand sideof a model.     

Eyewitness Identification Accuracy and Response Latency

Eyewitness identification research has reliably shown that accurate identifications are faster than inaccurate identifications. Recently, D. Dunning and S. Perretta (2002) claimed that an identification latency of 10-12 s not only best discriminates between accurate and inaccurate identifications but also produces extremely high accuracy rates, approaching 90%. Consistent with predictions from recognition memory theory, however, we show that the optimum time boundary varies with overall response latency under manipulations of retention interval and nominal lineup size, and that the accuracy rate inside the optimum time boundary is much less impressive than previously reported. We outline directions for clarifying the accuracy and latency relationship to assist the reliable diagnosis of identification accuracy.