Favorites and underdogs: Strategic behavior in an experimental contest

Conflicts between favorites and underdogs are everyday phenomena. We examine their strategic behavior in an experimental contest, and find behavior partially consistent with predictions. Favorites given a first-mover advantage do overcommit effort relative to Nash. Underdogs often select the best response effort level given the favorite's move. Overall dissipation of the prize was significantly higher with the strategic commitment relative to Nash. qu]Life is not so mathematically idiotic that it allows only the big to eat the small, for it happens just as often that the bee kills the lion, or at least drives it mad.     

Urban youth under stress: Empirical identification of protective factors

Explored the influence of life stress as mediated or moderated by locus of control, family environment, social support, and coping style on psychological adjustment and school performance in 164 ninth graders from Baltimore. Gender differences in findings were shown. For boys, family cohesion was the only variable found to protect against the effects of stress. Family cohesion did not serve protective functions for girls, and along with overall social support, was associated with increased vulnerability to school problems. The report of problem-focused coping strategies exerted a number of protective functions for girls only. External locus of control was found to increase boys' and girls' vulnerability to the effects of life stress. Empirical development of interventions to improve the psychosocial adjustment of inner-city adolescents is discussed.Received Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1991. Research interests include evaluation of school mental health services, empirical development of interventions for children, and the impact of violence on urban youth.Received B.A. from Cornell University. Interests include stress and coping in children, identification of resilience factors, and evaluation of child mental health systems of care.Received Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1967. Research interests include psychophysiology, sleep disorders, and biofeedback and instrumentation.Received B.A. from Loyola College. Interested in applied work with adolescents and adults.Received M.D. from Duke University in 1968. Research interests include training in child and adolescent psychiatry, adolescent psychopathology, and the development of school mental health programs.     

Professional associations and the free rider problem: The case of optometry

Political influence by a professional association, like the influence of any special interest group, is a collective good for the members of the profession. This paper investigates the variables affecting the ability of state optometric associations to overcome the free rider problem and induce optometrists to join the association. Although the empirical results show little evidence that organization costs are reduced by concentration in urban areas, the results do strongly support the hypothesis that there will be less free riding in smaller groups. The results also support the hypothesis that selective incentives enable latent groups to overcome the free rider problem. By providing continuing education at reduced fees to members of the association, optometric associations have increased the percentage of optometrists who are association members in those states with statutory continuing education requirements.     

Two Cheers for Paperwork: The Value and Burden of Federal Reporting

In principle, reporting by state and local governments to thefederal government is essential to the design and implementationof national policy. In practice, reporting often engenders resentmentof federal intrusion and is often dismissed as a waste of stateand local resources. Is reporting useless? Does it strengthenthe federal government at the expense of state and local governments?We asked federal, state, local, and site officials about thevalue and burden of five specific reporting systems in elementaryand secondary education. Common assumptions about reportingdid not correspond to respondent reactions. Both value and burdencascade through the intergovernmental system, reaching policymakersin all governments. Although critics seldom discriminate betweentypes of reporting, we found that reporting designed to improvecompliance with federal standards evoked different judgmentsof value and burden than reporting designed for assistance.These results suggest some new approaches to federal policygoverning the collection of information and to the design ofindividual reporting systems.