Obtaining Differentiation Premiums in the Presence of Fee Regulation in the Residential Real Estate Appraisal Industry

In the context of the customary and reasonable pricing standard imposed by the Dodd–Frank Act, this article considers whether residential real estate appraisers are able to obtain differentiation premiums for their services. Regression models estimated using data from the Commonwealth of Virginia offer some evidence that professional certifications and the complexity of an appraisal task are positively associated with fee levels in this type of regulatory environment. However, differentiation premiums appear more difficult to obtain across geographies and when an appraisal is procured by an appraisal management company. The findings suggest appraisers can differentiate themselves from competitors, but also that policymakers should be mindful of the potential for commodification on the residential appraisal industry in select market settings. Since appraisals are a critical component of the mortgage underwriting process, and the majority of housing transactions utilize mortgage debt, developing new understanding of how policies influence appraisers and how the appraisal process makes an important contribution to the housing policy literature.     

When States Choose to Die: Reassessing Assumptions About What States Want

In order to explain the creation and maintenance of a number of important international institutions, scholars must reconsider a commonly held assumption about what states want. Structural realists show that the assumption that states desire survival explains a wide range of outcomes. Yet the survival assumption prevents both realists and liberal institutionalists from offering a plausible account of international organizations that are costly to autonomy. The cultures of anarchy argument helps explain when the desire to survive is more or less salient but is burdened with the survival assumption nonetheless. I argue that it is useful to assume that states pursue the national interest and that survival is only a potential means to that end. By employing this assumption within the cultures of anarchy framework, we can begin to formulate an explanation for the willingness of states to cede autonomy to international institutions.     

Can Genetics Predict Response to Complex Behavioral Interventions? Evidence from a Genetic Analysis of the Fast Track Randomized Control Trial

Early interventions are a preferred method for addressing behavioral problems in high‐risk children, but often have only modest effects. Identifying sources of variation in intervention effects can suggest means to improve efficiency. One potential source of such variation is the genome. We conducted a genetic analysis of the Fast Track randomized control trial, a 10‐year‐long intervention to prevent high‐risk kindergarteners from developing adult externalizing problems including substance abuse and antisocial behavior. We tested whether variants of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 were associated with differences in response to the Fast Track intervention. We found that in European‐American children, a variant of NR3C1 identified by the single‐nucleotide polymorphism rs10482672 was associated with increased risk for externalizing psychopathology in control group children and decreased risk for externalizing psychopathology in intervention group children. Variation in NR3C1 measured in this study was not associated with differential intervention response in African‐American children. We discuss implications for efforts to prevent externalizing problems in high‐risk children and for public policy in the genomic era.     

Structural Topic Models for Open‐Ended Survey Responses

Collection and especially analysis of open‐ended survey responses are relatively rare in the discipline and when conducted are almost exclusively done through human coding. We present an alternative, semiautomated approach, the structural topic model (STM) (Roberts, Stewart, and Airoldi 2013; Roberts et al. 2013), that draws on recent developments in machine learning based analysis of textual data. A crucial contribution of the method is that it incorporates information about the document, such as the author's gender, political affiliation, and treatment assignment (if an experimental study). This article focuses on how the STM is helpful for survey researchers and experimentalists. The STM makes analyzing open‐ended responses easier, more revealing, and capable of being used to estimate treatment effects. We illustrate these innovations with analysis of text from surveys and experiments.     

The link between fast food and the obesity epidemic

OBESITY: Over thirty percent of adults are obese and over fifteen percent of children are considered obese. RESEARCH STUDY: Fat, sugar, and cholesterol have addictive qualities similar to the drug nicotine.     

Toxic waste and public procurement: The defense sector as a disproportionate contributor to pollution from public–private partnerships

Public procurement is a large sector of the economy with most procurement going to the defense sector. Procurement by the defense sector includes purchases made through contracts to private businesses that manufacture durable goods. Manufacturing of these goods results in pollution production with toxic wastes being among the most dangerous pollutants for public health. Despite green purchasing policy goals, most transactions in the United States through defense contracts result in disproportionately high-toxic pollution releases by manufacturers. We find that persistent exemptions granted defense agencies from following green purchasing policy result in a landscape where contractor environmental performance is unchanging with defense contractors persistently polluting in high amounts. Further, we find that defense contractors are linked to most toxic releases from procurement meaning that exemptions may be hindering potential advancements from green purchasing policy. Results can inform the design of new guidance about procurement and expand understanding of environmental inequality.     

Should Science Class Be Fair? Frames and Values in the Evolution Debate

Communicators try to shape public opinion to their advantage by invoking social values. We examine a vivid example of this value framing in the debate over teaching evolution in the public schools. Supporters of intelligent design (ID) theory have pressed for greater acceptance in public schools by framing the issue as a question of fairness. A survey experiment revealed overwhelming agreement that including ID in science class is fairer than excluding it. This belief had a greater impact on tolerance for ID when the issue was framed with respect to fairness. A second study showed similar effects from a pro-ID documentary film. A final study showed that training in scientific reasoning counteracts the impact of the fairness value, thereby decreasing tolerance for ID. Combined, these studies show how political debate can be understood as a contest over which values deserve greatest consideration or emphasis.     

Association of the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) Validity Scales with Structured Malingering Criteria

The current study examined the validity scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008) in relation to the structured malingering criteria developed to assess malingered neurocognitive dysfunction and pain-related disability. These criteria examined a sample of 251 individuals undergoing compensation-seeking evaluations, who completed a battery of response bias measures. The MMPI-2-RF over-reporting scales yielded large effect sizes in contrasting those in the probable/definite malingering groups from the incentive only groups. The largest effects were found for the Infrequent Responses and Gervais et al. (Assessment, 14, 196–208, 2007) Response Bias Scale, an experimental scale that can be scored on the MMPI-2-RF. Classification analyses were also utilized to examine various cut scores for the individual validity scales, as well as their use in combination. These results suggest that the MMPI-2-RF validity scales can be used to screen for malingering, as they exhibited good sensitivity at lower cutoffs. The implications of these results and their use in forensic evaluations are discussed.