Patterns of labor mobility in a dual economy: The case of semiskilled and unskilled workers

The focus of recent stratification research demonstrates increasing recognition of the structured nature of social inequality. Among the forms these efforts have taken has been the development of a number of models drawing attention to the importance of various labor market decisions or cleavages. The crucial role which restricted labor mobility must play in maintaining these cleavages, while largely untested, has long been recognized. We argue that analysis of the patterns of job sequencing can be used to draw important inferences regarding the existence and character of labor market structures. From this premise, we use job transition data to test a number of propositions derived from dual economy theory, relating to the extent of intersectoral moves and the patterns of intersectoral and intrasectoral moves. Using log-linear methods, we find the hypothesized restricted evidence of intersectoral job shifts and also find patterns of intrasectoral moves indicative of the pervasiveness of rigidly structured internal labor markets in the core. While these results are consistent with a dualistic interpretation, they are equally as consistent with any model emphasizing the existence of strong intrafirm and intraindustry job structures.     

Using Frontier Analysis to Evaluate Company Performance

The measurement of performance is critical to nearly all managerial disciplines. Yet little is known about the aggregation characteristics of the components of performance and how our notion of a ‘good performing firm’ relates to what we use as a dependent variable. In this paper we propose an approach to the measurement of performance that uses the logic of frontier analysis and the technique of data envelopment analysis. The approach is shown to be a reasonable representation of the multidimensional nature of performance and is shown to replicate, effectively, the components that strategic management scholars typically consider when discussing performance. It is also shown to be superior to the simpler alternatives based on traditional approaches to performance measurement.     

Development of a Dose‐Response Model for SARS Coronavirus

In order to develop a dose‐response model for SARS coronavirus (SARS‐CoV), the pooled data sets for infection of transgenic mice susceptible to SARS‐CoV and infection of mice with murine hepatitis virus strain 1, which may be a clinically relevant model of SARS, were fit to beta‐Poisson and exponential models with the maximum likelihood method. The exponential model (k= 4.1 × l0²) could describe the dose‐response relationship of the pooled data sets. The beta‐Poisson model did not provide a statistically significant improvement in fit. With the exponential model, the infectivity of SARS‐CoV was calculated and compared with those of other coronaviruses. The does of SARS‐CoV corresponding to 10% and 50% responses (illness) were estimated at 43 and 280 PFU, respectively. Its estimated infectivity was comparable to that of HCoV‐229E, known as an agent of human common cold, and also similar to those of some animal coronaviruses belonging to the same genetic group. Moreover, the exponential model was applied to the analysis of the epidemiological data of SARS outbreak that occurred at an apartment complex in Hong Kong in 2003. The estimated dose of SARS‐CoV for apartment residents during the outbreak, which was back‐calculated from the reported number of cases, ranged from 16 to 160 PFU/person, depending on the floor. The exponential model developed here is the sole dose‐response model for SARS‐CoV at the present and would enable us to understand the possibility for reemergence of SARS.     

Disabled or differently-enabled? Dyslexic identities in online forum postings

This study presents a novel exploration into how people with dyslexia construct personal identities within anonymous, unsolicited, postings to an online discussion forum. An interpretational phenomenological analysis suggested three key identities: learning-disabled, differently-enabled and societally-disabled. These are discussed in terms of the extent to which they draw differentially on a discourse of disability as opposed to one of individual difference. The identities are to an extent malleable and overlapping according to context. Postings suggested overall that while some contributors constructed themselves as differently-enabled and celebrated dyslexia-related abilities, others sensed themselves having a disabled identity imposed upon them. Dyslexia is perceived as negatively construed within a society which promotes literacy and cognitive acuity as essential aspects of educational and social competence and where learning differences are poorly tolerated. In addition, this study highlights the potential of online forum contributions in the study of social influences in under-researched groups.     

Capturing temporal dynamics of fear behaviors on a moment‐to‐moment basis

Identifying patterns of fearful behaviors early and accurately is essential to identify children who may be at increased risk for psychopathology. Previous work focused on the total amount of fear by using composites across time. However, considering the temporal dynamics of fear expression might offer novel insights into the identification of children at risk. One hundred and twenty‐five toddlers participated in high‐ and low‐fear tasks. Data were modeled using a novel two‐step approach. First, a hidden Markov model estimated latent fear states and transitions across states over time. Results revealed children's behavior was best represented by six behavioral states. Next, these states were analyzed using sequence clustering to identify groups of children with similar dynamic trajectories through the states. A four‐cluster solution found groups of children varied in fear response and regulation process: “external regulators” (using the caregiver as a regulation tool), “low reactive” (low reaction to stimulus), “fearful explorers” (managing their own internal state with minimal assistance from the caregiver), and “high fear” (fearful/at‐caregiver state regardless of task). The combination of analytic tools enabled fine‐grained examination of the processes of fearful temperament. These insights may help prevention programs target behaviors that perpetuate anxious behavior in the moment.     

Decisions,Science, and Values: Crafting Regulatory Alternatives Analysis

Emerging “prevention‐based” approaches to chemical regulation seek to minimize the use of toxic chemicals by mandating or directly incentivizing the adoption of viable safer alternative chemicals or processes. California and Maine are beginning to implement such programs, requiring manufacturers of consumer products containing certain chemicals of concern to identify and evaluate potential safer alternatives. In the European Union, the REACH program imposes similar obligations on manufacturers of certain substances of very high concern. Effective prevention‐based regulation requires regulatory alternatives analysis (RAA), a methodology for comparing and evaluating the regulated chemical or process and its alternatives across a range of relevant criteria. RAA has both public and private dimensions. To a significant degree, alternatives analysis is an aspect of product design; that is, the process by which private industry designs the goods it sells. Accordingly, an RAA method should reflect the attributes of well‐crafted product design tools used by businesses. But RAA adds health and environmental objectives to the mix of concerns taken into account by the product designer. Moreover, as part of a prevention‐based regulatory regime, it implicates important public values such as legitimacy, equity, public engagement, and accountability. Thus, an RAA should reflect both private standards and public values, and be evaluated against them. This article adopts that perspective, identifying an integrated set of design principles for RAA, and illustrating the application of those principles.     

On artistic and cultural generations in Northeastern Tibet

Beginning in the 1980s, and continuing for over three decades since, a particular generation of Tibetans from the Northeastern Tibetan region known as Amdo, and particularly from the northern parts of China’s Qinghai province, has proven extremely productive. Why has this generation, born primarily between 1959 and 1967, been so incredibly successful? This article examines the contextual factors that may have contributed to the incredible success of this generation. This ranges from the policies and circumstances that affected their births, and the state of the cultural field at the time they reached adulthood. Personal experience narratives, autobiographies, and scholarly studies then reveal how this generation was able to access the intellectual field. Finally, I briefly discuss how the Amdo Tibetan intellectual field compares with other Tibetan and ethnic experiences in the People’s Republic of China.