Body Size Estimations,Body Dissatisfaction,and Ideal Size Preferences in Children Six Through Thirteen

Results of the second year of a 3-year longitudinal study on children's body size estimations are reported. Participants were 216 male and female children age 6 through 13. Body size estimations were measured using a TV-video methodology. Three psychophysical procedures measured perceived body size, idealized size, and body dissatisfaction. Self-esteem, body esteem, birth order, number of siblings, and parents' socioeconomic status (SES) were measured. Children were accurate in estimating body size, with no gender, age, or ethnic differences. Individual estimations varied greatly over the 1-year test-retest interval. Children had a slight bias to report that their body size was distorted too wide. Both genders wanted to be thinner, with females wanting to be increasingly thinner as they became older. Females were also more dissatisfied with their body size. Taller and heavier children with high SES fathers wanted a thinner idealized body size. Taller, thinner children had less body size dissatisfaction. Children with a larger number of siblings who were one of the first born were more dissatisfied with their body size. Children who gained weight during the previous year without a concomitant growth in height were also more dissatisfied with their body and wanted to be thinner. Body size estimation is viewed as an important aspect of one's body image and is mediated by many different variables, each of which individually explains only a small part of the variance.     

Resolving the Tibet Question: Problems and prospects

The dispute over China's territorial sovereignty in Tibet has raged for more than four decades. In 1998, following remarks by Jiang Zemin at a press conference with Bill Clinton in Beijing, the prospects for negotiations over the Tibet Question seemed bright. Within months, however, it was obvious that there had been no breakthrough. This study analyzes the likely reasons for the failure to achieve negotiations in the light of the main obstacles thrown up by the two sides. It shows that internal and international factors since 1998 have put added pressure on China and the Dalai Lama's forces to compromise and that as a result more moderate positions are gradually emerging. A role in the reconciliation process for third parties, especially the United States, is also set out.     

Deficit by Design

This paper focuses on the distinguishing concern of the discourse of democratic deficit: namely, that there appear to be some striking discrepancies between democratic norms and institutional practice. I argue in this paper that the problem of democratic deficit is in fact the normal condition of the institutions of representative government. Indeed, early arguments in favour of representative government insist that it departs from and is superior to democracy itself. If representative government provides the predominant modern understanding of democracy, then democratic deficit is an integral part of its design.     

Public-Value Failure: When Efficient Markets May Not Do

The familiar market-failure model remains quite useful for issues of price efficiency and traditional utilitarianism, but it has many shortcomings as a standard for public-value aspects of public policy and management. In a public-value-failure model, I present criteria for diagnosing values problems that are not easily addressed by market-failure models. Public-value failure occurs when: (1) mechanisms for values articulation and aggregation have broken down; (2) "imperfect monopolies" occur; (3) benefit hoarding occurs; (4) there is a scarcity of providers of public value; (5) a short time horizon threatens public value; (6) a focus on substitutability of assets threatens conservation of public resources; and (7) market transactions threaten fundamental human subsistence. After providing examples for diagnosis of public-values failure, including an extended example concerning the market for human organs, I introduce a "public-failure grid" to facilitate values choices in policy and public management.     

MANUFACTURING FIRMS' VIEWS OF GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY AND COMMITMENT TO SITE: IMPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS RETENTION POLICY

Relationships between a variety of firm characteristics and perceptions of government are investigated. Then views about government are considered in connection with firms' commitment to their present location. One finding that is well supported is that taxes and regulations (at least for this sample and within this region) are a source of considerable dissatisfaction. Satisfaction with government services does not come near "offsetting" the displeasure with taxes and regulations. Larger firms are more likely to have unfavorable perceptions of government constraints, but more likely to have favorable views about government services. There is no evidence from this data that high tech firms differ significantly from other firms in their views about government. In regards to implications for business retention, the findings support the notion that state governments seeking to market their state to businesses located elsewhere might turn a greater proportion of attention to businesses currently residing in the state.     

Perception of infant cries in adolescent and adult mothers

Deficits in parenting behavior in adolescent mothers could be due to the adolescent mother's perception of her infant's behavior. The aim of this study was to compare how adolescent and adult mothers perceive the crying behavior of their newborns. The 19 adolescent and 18 adult mothers listened to a tape recording of their infants' crying and rated the characteristics of the cry on 12 seven-point scales. The sample included newborns with normal growth and newborns with compromised growth. Acoustic characteristics of the cries were extracted by computer. Adult mothers rated the cries of their infants with compromised growth toward the negative end of the scales. By contrast, adolescent mothers rated the cries of their infants with compromised growth toward the positive end of the scales. Acoustic analysis showed that the cries of the infants with compromised growth were higher pitched and more variable than the cries of infants with normal growth. Correlations between the cry ratings and the acoustic analysis showed that for adult mothers, higher pitched and more variable cries were associated with negative ratings. For adolescent mothers, higher pitched and more variable cries were associated with more positive ratings. The findings suggest that adolescent mothers differ in the perception of their infant's behavior, which may have implications for later parenting behavior.This research was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation.Received Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Main Research interests are infant crying, determinants of neontal and infant development, assessment of preterm and at-risk infants.Received Ph.D. from Harvard University. Main research interests are sociocultural aspects of development, teenage pregnancy, infant temperament, and psychophysiology.Main research interests have been in maternal and infant interactions of high risk infants.     

What Macroeconomic Measures Are Needed for Free Trade to Flourish in the Western Hemisphere?

Recent experience has made clear the importance of macroeconomic stability, and exchange rate stability in particular, in generating support for regional integration. The tensions created by exchange-rate and financial volatility are clearly evident in the recent history of Mercosur and may also hinder the development of a Free Trade Area of the Americas. This essay argues that ambitious schemes for a single regional currency are not a practical response to this problem. Nor would a system of currency pegs or bands be sufficiently durable to provide a lasting solution. Instead, countries must solve this problem at home. In practice, this means adopting sound and stable monetary policies backed by a clear and coherent operating strategy, such as inflation targeting. With such policies in place, exchange rate volatility can be reduced to levels compatible with regional integration.