bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Poverty and the environment: Can sustainable development survive globalization?
Authors: Reed David
Published: March 2003

Despite governmental commitments and promises, the decade following the 1992 World Conference on Environment and Development has not given rise to development policy or practices built on a more intimate integration of poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. Moreover, globalization, while generating considerable material benefits for certain social groups North and South, has not placed sustainable development at the centre of its economic policy prescriptions or accompanying institutional reforms. This article examines the underlying tensions between neoliberal reforms, driven primarily by the interests of advanced economies of the North, and the requisites of promoting poverty alleviation and protecting environmental assets in rural areas of developing countries. It concludes that policy makers face difficult trade–offs that must balance the pursuit of short–term economic gains of export–led growth against longer–term benefits of social cohesion, environmental stability, and steady productivity gains associated with sustainable development. The article concludes by affirming that, amidst the growing influence of corporate and northern interests shaping the development process, civil society North and South must play an expanded role in reshaping current policies and practices to support sustainable development.
The Assessment of Radiation Exposures in Native American Communities from Nuclear Weapons Testing in Nevada
Authors: Frohmberg Eric , Goble Robert , Sanchez Virginia , Quigley Dianne
Published: March 2003

Native Americans residing in a broad region downwind from the Nevada Test Site during the 1950s and 1960s received significant radiation exposures from nuclear weapons testing. Because of differences in diet, activities, and housing, their radiation exposures are only very imperfectly represented in the Department of Energy dose reconstructions. There are important missing pathways, including exposures to radioactive iodine from eating small game. The dose reconstruction model assumptions about cattle feeding practices across a year are unlikely to apply to the native communities as are other model assumptions about diet. Thus exposures from drinking milk and eating vegetables have not yet been properly estimated for these communities. Through consultations with members of the affected communities, these deficiencies could be corrected and the dose reconstruction extended to Native Americans. An illustration of the feasibility of extending the dose reconstruction is provided by a sample calculation to estimate radiation exposures to the thyroid from eating radio‐iodine‐contaminated rabbit thyroids after the Sedan test. The illustration is continued with a discussion of how the calculation results may be used to make estimates for other tests and other locations.
New Information and Social Trust: Asymmetry and Perseverance of Attributions about Hazard Managers
Authors: Cvetkovich George , Siegrist Michael , Murray Rachel , Tragesser Sarah
Published: March 2003

It has been argued that news about negative events has a much stronger effect on decreasing social trust than does news about positive events on increasing it. This asymmetry principle of trust was investigated in two surveys that also investigated the perseverance of trust. The possibility that established trust attributions persevere in the face of new information raises questions about the limits of trust asymmetry. The two studies yielded evidence that both type of news (good versus bad) and initial general trust in the nuclear power industry or the food supply industry affected level of trust. Compared to individuals trusting the industry, those distrusting the industry exhibited less trust following both bad and good news events. Study 1 also found that judged informativeness and judged positiveness of news events were affected by type of news and general trust of the industry. Individuals low in general trust of the nuclear power industry judged both bad news and good news as less positive than did those high in general trust. Those low in general trust judged bad news as more informative than good news and than did those high in general trust. An important implication of the perseverance of trust is to focus attention on including not only the effects of information about specific events and actions, but also on the judgment processes underlying social trust. The Salient Value Similarity model is suggested as one way of accounting for these psychological processes.
Generic Assessment Endpoints Are Needed for Ecological Risk Assessment
Authors: Suter II Glenn W.
Published: March 2003

This article presents arguments for the development of generic assessment endpoints for ecological risk assessment. Generic assessment endpoints would be ecological entities and attributes that are assumed to be worthy of protection in most contexts. The existence of generic assessment endpoints would neither create a requirement that they be used in every assessment nor preclude the use of other assessment endpoints. They would simply be a starting point in the process of identifying the assessment endpoints for a particular assessment. They are needed to meet legal mandates, to provide a floor for environmental degradation, to provide some consistency in environmental regulation, as exemplars for site‐ or project‐specific assessment endpoints, to allow development of methods and models, to give risk managers the courage to act, for screening and site‐independent assessments, to support environmental monitoring, to facilitate communication, and to avoid paralysis by analysis. Generic assessment endpoints should include not only a list of entities and attributes, but also explanations of each endpoint, guidance on their use and interpretation, and measures and models that could be used to estimate them.
The Influence of Trust and Perceptions of Risks and Benefits on the Acceptance of Gene Technology
Authors: Siegrist Michael
Published: March 2003

A causal model explaining acceptance of gene technology was tested. It was hypothesized that trust in institutions using gene technology or using modified products has a positive impact on perceived benefit and a negative influence on perceived risk of this technology. Furthermore, perceived benefit and perceived risk determine acceptance of biotechnology. In other words, trust has an indirect influence on the acceptance of the technology. The postulated model was tested using structural equation modeling procedures and data from a random quota sample of 1001 Swiss citizens between 18 and 74 years old. Results indicated that the proposed model fits the data very well. The same causal model explains females' and males' acceptance of gene technology. Gender differences were found for the latent variables trust, perceived benefit, and acceptance of gene technology. Females indicated more trust, perceived less benefit, and demonstrated less acceptance than did males. No significant difference was observed for perceived risk. The implications of the results are discussed.
Setting Risk Priorities: A Formal Model
Authors: Long Jun , Fischhoff Baruch
Published: March 2003

This article presents a model designed to capture the major aspects of setting priorities among risks, a common task in government and industry. The model has both design features, under the control of the rankers (e.g., how success is evaluated), and context features, properties of the situations that they are trying to understand (e.g., how quickly uncertainty can be reduced). The model is demonstrated in terms of two extreme ranking strategies. The first, sequential risk ranking, devotes all its resources, in a given period, to learning more about a single risk, and its place in the overall ranking. This strategy characterizes the process for a society (or organization or individual) that throws itself completely into dealing with one risk after another. The other extreme strategy, simultaneous risk ranking, spreads available resources equally across all risks. It characterizes the most methodical of ranking exercises. Given ample ranking resources, simultaneous risk ranking will eventually provide an accurate set of priorities, whereas sequential ranking might never get to some risks. Resource constraints, however, may prevent simultaneous rankers from examining any risk very thoroughly. The model is intended to clarify the nature of ranking tasks, predict the efficacy of alternative strategies, and improve their design.
The Beta Poisson Dose‐Response Model Is Not a Single‐Hit Model
Authors: Teunis P. F. M. , Havelaar A. H.
Published: March 2003

The choice of a dose‐response model is decisive for the outcome of quantitative risk assessment. Single‐hit models have played a prominent role in dose‐response assessment for pathogenic microorganisms, since their introduction. Hit theory models are based on a few simple concepts that are attractive for their clarity and plausibility. These models, in particular the Beta Poisson model, are used for extrapolation of experimental dose‐response data to low doses, as are often present in drinking water or food products. Unfortunately, the Beta Poisson model, as it is used throughout the microbial risk literature, is an approximation whose validity is not widely known. The exact functional relation is numerically complex, especially for use in optimization or uncertainty analysis. Here it is shown that although the discrepancy between the Beta Poisson formula and the exact function is not very large for many data sets, the differences are greatest at low doses—the region of interest for many risk applications. Errors may become very large, however, in the results of uncertainty analysis, or when the data contain little low‐dose information. One striking property of the exact single‐hit model is that it has a maximum risk curve, limiting the upper confidence level of the dose‐response relation. This is due to the fact that the risk cannot exceed the probability of exposure, a property that is not retained in the Beta Poisson approximation. This maximum possible response curve is important for uncertainty analysis, and for risk assessment of pathogens with unknown properties.
Ecological Risks of Diazinon from Agricultural Use in the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Basins, California
Authors: Giddings Jeffrey M. , Hall Jr. Lenwood W. , Solomon Keith R.
Published: March 2003

A probabilistic risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the likelihood and ecological significance of potential toxic effects of diazinon in the Sacramento – San Joaquin system. Diazinon, an organophosphorus insecticide, is used in the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Basin as a dormant spray on almonds and other tree crops, as well as for other agricultural and urban applications. Diazinon and other pesticides have been detected in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries. Diazinon exposure was characterized based on monitoring programs conducted in 1991 – 94. Diazinon effects were characterized using laboratory toxicity data for 63 species, supplemented by results from field mesocosm and microcosm studies. The assessment addressed the possibility that reductions in invertebrate populations could lead to impacts on species of fish that feed on those invertebrates. The risk assessment concluded that fish in these rivers are not at risk from the direct effects of diazinon in the water. Invertebrates are at greater risk, especially in agriculturally dominated streams and drainage channels during January and February. Cladocerans—including Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia, two common bioassay species—are especially sensitive to diazinon and other organophosphates and are likely to be subject to acute toxic effects in some locations at some times. Any ecological damage that may occur, however, is brief and limited to cladocerans. None of the fish species of concern depend on cladocerans as critical components of their diet. Invertebrates that are not affected by observed concentrations of diazinon (copepods, mysids, amphipods, rotifers, and insects) are preferred foods for fish in the Sacramento – San Joaquin system.
Assessment of Airborne Exposure to Trihalomethanes from Tap Water in Residential Showers and Baths
Authors: Kerger B. D. , Schmidt C. E. , Paustenbach D. J.
Published: March 2003

This study evaluates airborne concentrations of common trihalomethane (THM) compounds in bathrooms during showering and bathing in homes supplied with chlorinated tap water. Three homes in an urban area were selected, each having three bedrooms, a full bath, and approximately 1,000 square feet of living area. THMs were concurrently measured in tap water and air in the shower/bath enclosure and the bathroom vanity area using Summa canisters. Chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), and chlorodibromomethane (CDBM) were quantified using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method TO‐14. Air samples were collected prior to, during, and after the water‐use event for 16 shower and 7 bath events. Flow rate and temperature were measured, but not controlled. The increase in average airborne concentration (± standard error) during showers (expressed as μg/m3 in shower enclosure or bathroom air per μg/L in water) was 3.3 ± 0.4 for TCM, 1.8 ± 0.3 for BDCM, and 0.5 ± 0.1 for CDBM (n = 12), and during baths was 1.2 ± 0.4 for TCM, 0.59 ± 0.21 for BDCM, and 0.15 ± 0.05 for CDBM (n = 4). The relative contribution of each chemical to the airborne concentrations was consistent for all shower and bath events, with apparent release of TCM> CDBM. The results are therefore consistent with their relative concentration in tap water and their vapor pressures. When the shower findings for TCM are normalized for water concentration, flow rate, shower volume, and duration, the average exposure concentrations in these urban residences are about 30% lower than those reported by other investigators using EPA analytical methods. This difference is likely attributable primarily to greater air exchange rates in residential shower/bath stalls compared to more “airtight” laboratory shower chambers. This appears to be the first field study to thoroughly evaluate THM exposures from residential showers and baths, and can be used to validate previously published models of tap water volatile chemical transfer to indoor air.
A Comparison of Organic and Conventional Fresh Produce Buyers in the Boston Area
Authors: Williams Pamela R. D. , Hammitt James K.
Published: March 2003

Food safety concerns and the demand for organically grown produce have increased significantly in the United States over the last decade. Key differences in lifestyle characteristics, food safety attitudes and beliefs, perceived food safety risks, and valuation of health risk reductions between organic and conventional food buyers remain largely unknown, however. To better characterize how buyers of organic fresh produce differ from their conventional counterparts, over 700 food shoppers were sampled from ten major retail stores in the Boston area. Survey results show that self‐reported organic buyers are more likely than conventional buyers to engage in a variety of health‐promoting and environmentally friendly behaviors. Organic buyers are less trusting of federal food safety agencies than are conventional buyers, and perceive greater benefits associated with organically grown produce than do their conventional counterparts. Further, organic buyers have significantly higher risk perceptions than do conventional buyers for food safety hazards associated with conventionally grown produce. Compared to conventional buyers, organic produce buyers also perceive significant risk reductions associated with switching to organically grown produce and are willing to pay a higher price to reduce perceived food safety risks. Few sociodemographic differences between buyer types were observed, possibly due to how organic and conventional food stores were matched. Survey findings highlight the need for greater public education about a range of food safety issues and farming practices to ensure that consumers are making informed decisions in the marketplace.
Intergenerational Issues Regarding Nuclear Power, Nuclear Waste, and Nuclear Weapons
Authors: Ahearne John F.
Published: March 2003

Nuclear power, nuclear waste, and nuclear weapons raise substantial public concern in many countries. While new support for nuclear power can be found in arguments concerning greenhouse gases and global warming, the long‐term existence of radioactive waste has led to requirements for 10,000‐year isolation. Some of the support for such requirements is based on intergenerational equity arguments. This, however, places a very high value on lives far in the future. An alternative is to use discounting, as is applied to other resource applications. Nuclear weapons, even though being dismantled by the major nations, are growing in number due to the increase in the number of countries possessing these weapons of mass destruction. This is an unfortunate legacy for future generations.
Multimedia Analysis of PAHs and Nitro‐PAH Daughter Products in the Los Angeles Basin
Authors: Yaffe Denise , Cohen Yoram , Arey Janet , Grosovsky Andrew J.
Published: March 2003

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are released into the atmosphere may have health consequences that can be compounded by their nitro‐PAH atmospheric transformation products. The available literature suggests that some of the atmospheric nitro‐PAH daughter products may increase the overall environmental health risk associated with PAHs. Therefore, an important issue is whether there is merit in considering atmospheric transformation products of air toxins when conducting environmental health‐risk analyses. To illustrate the above issue, a comparative analysis of the potential risk that may be imposed by PAHs and their daughter products was carried out for the Los Angeles Basin. The analysis consisted of first assessing the multimedia environmental concentration of selected PAHs and nitro‐PAHs using a spatial‐compartmental modeling approach coupled with available monitoring data. Multimedia concentrations were then used to estimate chemical media‐specific mutagenic densities as well as average daily intake from multiple pathways, followed by cancer risk for the known carcinogens among the study chemicals. The analysis revealed that mutagenic densities of the nitro‐PAH daughter products can significantly exceed those of the parent PAHs. The results of this study suggest that there is merit in further investigation of the potential contribution of nitro‐PAHs to the overall environmental health risk associated with airborne PAHs.
Personality Correlates of Risk Perception
Authors: Bouyer Muriel , Bagdassarian Sophie , Chaabanne Sveti , Mullet Etienne
Published: March 2003

The aim of the present study was to systematically examine the variations of the effects of (1) transitional anxiety states and enduring anxiety dispositions, and (2) worldviews (hierarchic, egalitarian, individualist, and fatalist), as a function of the type of hazard considered. Ten risk factors were identified. Transitional anxiety contributed significantly to the prediction of four of these risk factors. The more anxious the respondents, the higher were their scores for the Common Individual Hazards, Pollutants, and Outdoor Activities factors, and the lower were their scores for the Public Transportation and Energy Production factor. Enduring anxiety contributed significantly to the prediction of the Psychotropic Drugs factor. The more anxious the respondents, the lower were their scores. The four worldview factors contributed significantly to the prediction of three of these risk factors. The more fatalistic the respondents, the lower were their scores for the Pollutants factor, and the higher were their scores for the Public Transportation and Energy Production factor; the more egalitarian the respondents, the higher were their scores for the Pollutants factor; the more hierarchic the respondents, the lower were their scores for the Public Transportation and Energy Production factor; and the more individualistic the respondents, the higher were their scores for the Pollutants and Deviance, Sex, and Addiction factors.
Source Credibility in Environmental Health – Risk Controversies: Application of Meyer's Credibility Index
Authors: McComas Katherine A. , Trumbo Craig W.
Published: March 2003

This article applies an existing five‐item index for measuring source credibility in the context of environmental health – risk controversy. Survey data were gathered in five upstate New York communities facing environmental health – risk issues. Analysis of the five case studies and a combined dataset (N= 870) show that the credibility index was consistently reliable across all applications. Use of the resulting index is demonstrated through a comparison of the credibility of the New York State Department of Health (active in each case), the industries associated with each case, and the newspaper providing coverage of each case. The credibility index was used to predict risk judgments in a structural equation model. Overall, the analysis demonstrated that the credibility index performed consistently well across the five cases and illuminated important differences in each. As such, the index should be a useful addition to many environmental health and risk communication studies.
Variation of Consumer Contact with Household Products: A Preliminary Investigation
Authors: Weegels M. F. , Van Veen M. P.
Published: March 2003

Little information is available on product use by consumers, which severely hampers exposure estimation for consumer products. This article describes actual contact with several consumer products, specifically dishwashing detergents, cleaning products, and hair styling products. How and where products are handled, as well as the duration, frequency, and amount of use were studied by means of diaries, in‐home observations, and measurements. This study addressed the question, “To what extent are frequency, duration, and amount of use associated?” Findings showed that there was a large intra‐ as well as interindividual variation in frequency, duration, and amount of use, with the interindividual variation being considerably larger. At the same time, results showed that, for a given activity, users tended to follow their own routine. Few relations were found among frequency, duration, and amount of use. It was concluded that among persons, frequency, duration, and amount of product act in practice as independent parameters. Diaries appear to be quite suitable for gaining insight into frequently used products. Observations of usage, recorded on video, were indispensable for obtaining particular information on product use. In addition, home visits enabled the collection of specific measurements. Although diaries and home visits are time‐consuming, the combination provided insight into variation as well as relations among frequency, duration, and amount of use.
Poliovirus Surveillance by Examining Sewage Water Specimens: Studies on Detection Probability Using Simulation Models
Authors: Ranta J. , Hovi T. , Arjas E.
Published: March 2003

Efficiency of environmental surveillance of poliovirus circulation was studied using simulation models. First, three transmission models were defined for describing different scenarios of poliovirus infections in a large unstructured population. Second, environmental factors, such as the total volume of the sewage network and losses of viruses, were modeled for computing the virus output at the sewage sampling site. Third, the effect of sampling and laboratory procedures was accounted for in the probability of detection, given the amount of polioviruses in a specimen. The simulation model can be used for theoretical assessments of the likely efficiency of environmental surveillance, compared with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance. Under reasonable assumptions in a vaccinated population, the AFP surveillance can be outperformed if the poliovirus outbreak is not large. However, this depends on the assumed case‐to‐infection ratio and on the sampling frequency of the sewage water specimens. Increasing the latter will lead to a higher detection probability, which will further enhance the method based on environmental surveillance.
Implementing PBB: Conflicting Views of Success
Authors: Willoughby Katherine G. , Melkers Julia E.
Published: March 2003

A modern budget reform, performance‐based budgeting (PBB) emphasizes the measurement of government performance by agencies and public servants. In this article we define PBB as requiring strategic planning regarding agency mission, goals and objectives, and a process that requests quantifiable data that provide meaningful information about program outcomes. Performance‐based budgeting requirements are now pervasive in the states. Of forty‐seven states with PBB requirements, thirty‐one have legislated the process to be conducted, while sixteen have initiated the reform through budget guidelines or instructions.1What remains unknown, yet of vital interest to state administrators, their staff, legislators, and citizens, regards implementation status of PBB systems. How many states are utilizing a PBB process as prescribed by law or administrative directive? And if PBB has been implemented, has it been successful regarding improvement of agency effectiveness and decision making about spending? Perhaps most importantly, has PBB influenced appropriation decisions?.

This research is based on responses to a mail survey of executive and legislative budgeters regarding the PBB system established in their state. Results discussed in this article consider budgeters’ response about PBB implementation status and effectiveness as conducted. We find that there are differing perceptions across the branches of government regarding both the extent of PBB implementation as well as its success. Results show that states with better‐known PBB systems have not necessarily realized greater success in terms of effectiveness from this budget reform than states with less popularly known systems, at least as perceived by the budgeters included in this article.
Evaluating Capital Management: A New Approach
Authors: Ammar Salwa , Duncombe William , Wright Ronald
Published: March 2003

The objective of this article is to develop a methodology for evaluating capital management performance. We have employed a new methodology, fuzzy rule–based systems (FRBS), that allows evaluators to break down complex systems into manageable components. FRBS can also use a variety of data types by converting data into ordinal input measures that are not overly sensitive to small measurement errors. In developing an overall performance measure, the evaluator under an FRBS creates explicit rules for combining inputs that can reflect the complex contextual judgments commonly made by evaluators. Using survey data on 35 large American cities from the Government Performance Project, we develop an FRBS for city capital management.
The Evolution of Social Ethics: Using Economic History to Understand Economic Ethics
Authors: Barrera Albino
Published: March 2003

In the development of Roman Catholic social thought from the teachings of the scholastics to the modern social encyclicals, changes in normative economics reflect the transformation of an economic terrain from its feudal roots to the modern industrial economy. The preeminence accorded by the modern market to the allocative over the distributive function of price broke the convenient convergence of commutative and distributive justice in scholastic just price theory. Furthermore, the loss of custom, law, and usage in defining the boundaries of economic behavior led to a depersonalization of economic relationships that had previously provided effective informal means of protecting individual well‐being. Hence, recent economic ethics has had to look for nonprice, nonmarket mechanisms for distributive justice. This is reflected, for example, in the shift in attitude from the medieval antipathy toward unions to the contemporary defense of organized labor on moral grounds.
In Defense of Unrealistic Assumptions
Authors: Kanazawa Satoshi
Published: March 2003

I argue that a theory's assumptions always are and ought to be unrealistic. Further, we should attempt to make them more unrealistic in order to increase a theory's fruitfulness. Many sociologists believe that a theory's assumptions ought to be empirically realistic. I contend that this criticism probably stems from the confusion of a theory's assumptions with its scope conditions. While Friedman's (1953) similar prescription is associated with the instrumentalist philosophy of science, I maintain that it is also consistent with the realist view if “unrealistic” is taken to mean “incomplete” rather than “untrue.” I discuss a recent theory of the value of children by Friedman, Hechter, and Kanazawa (1994) to point out how assumptions differ from scope conditions and how empirically plausible and realistic hypotheses can be logically deduced from highly unrealistic assumptions. I then discuss Kollock's (1993a, 1993b) revision of Axelrod's (1984) Cooperation Theory as an example of when assumptions need to be revised.
Why Did Adorno “Hate” Jazz?
Authors: Witkin Robert W.
Published: March 2003

Adorno's jazz essays have attracted considerable notoriety not only for their negative and dismissive evaluation of jazz as music but for their outright dismissal of all the claims made on behalf of jazz by its exponents and admirers, even of claims concerning the black origins of jazz music. This paper offers a critical exposition of Adorno's views on jazz and outlines an alternative theory of the culture industry as the basis of a critique of Adorno's critical theory. Adorno's arguments are discussed in the context of his wider theoretical commitment to a model of structuration—in both musical and social relations—that establishes a dividing line between a moral aesthetic praxis that can be approved as having “truth-value” and one that betrays and subverts the truth. In Adorno's analysis, jazz finds itself positioned on the wrong side of that line and, accordingly, is condemned. It is argued that it is Adorno's commitment to a formalist model of art works that has been superseded by modern aesthetic practice in both so-called “serious” art as well as in the works of the culture industries that binds him to a regressive model of aesthetic praxis. An alternative theory of the culture industry is outlined that explores its positive functions in enhancing the resources available for culture creation through its transmission of aesthetic codes, and in mediating relations between so-called high and low art.
Back to Inertia: Theoretical Implications of Alternative Styles of Logical Formalization
Authors: Péli Gábor L. , Pólos László , Hannan Michael T.
Published: March 2003

This article applies two new criteria, desirability and faithfulness, to evaluate Péli et al.‘s (1994) formalization of Hannan and Freeman's structural inertia argument (1984, 1989). We conclude that this formalization fails to meet these criteria. We argue that part of the rational reconstruction on which this formalization builds does not reflect well the substantive argument in translating the natural language theory into logic. We propose two alternative formalizations that meet both of these criteria. Moreover, both derive the inertia theorem from much weaker, so much less constraining, premises. While both new formalizations draw information only from the original statement of the inertia theory, they reflect two different interpretations of inertia accumulation. The two new formalizations are compatible with some recent theory extensions in organizational ecology. However, they lead to substantially different consequences when additional sociological considerations are added to their premise sets. The interplay between logical formalization and sociological content is highlighted using the example of Stinchcombe's (1965) liability-of-newness theorem. Even modest extensions of the proposed models lead to contrary implications about the age dependence in organizational mortality rates. Even “faithful” logical formalizations of arguments ordinarily involve implicit theory building.
Seizing the Moment: The Problem of Conversational Agency
Authors: Gibson David R.
Published: March 2003

In conversation, actors face constraints on when they can speak, whom they can address, what they can say, and what they can safely expect from others by way of cooperation. This is the backdrop against which people pursue their idiosyncratic interests and objectives, success at which constitutes conversational agency. In principle, agency is made possible by the “looseness” of conversational constraints. This does not create a clear path for the advancement of personal ends, however, since options are always limited by the context, and success is always contingent upon the cooperation of others. Ultimately, the most agentic people are those who readily exploit imperfect options though this means abandoning the inflexible pursuit of pre-conceived objectives.
Whatever Happened to Critical Mass Theory? A Retrospective and Assessment
Authors: Oliver Pamela E. , Marwell Gerald
Published: March 2003

Between 1983 and 1993 the authors published a series of articles and a book promulgating and explicating “Critical Mass Theory,” a theory of public goods provision in groups. In this article we seek to trace the growth, change, or decline of the theory, primarily through an analysis of all journal citations of the theory. We find that the majority of citations are essentially gratuitous or pick a single point from the theory, which may or may not be central to the theory. However, we identify four lines of theorizing that creatively use substantial parts of Critical Mass Theory in their own development: (1) theories relevant to issues in communication studies such as interaction media and shared databases; (2) Macy's work on adaptive learning models; (3) Heckathorn's models of sanctioning systems; and (4) theories that are centrally concerned with issues of influence in collective goods processes. A few additional, less-developed lines of work are also discussed. None of this work identifies itself as being itself “Critical Mass Theory,” but many of the innovations and assertions of the theory are important bases for its development.
Normality and Trust in Goffman's Theory of Interaction Order
Authors: Misztal Barbara A.
Published: March 2003

The article asserts that Goffman's concept of normality comes close to the notion of trust as a protective mechanism that prevents chaos and disorder by providing us with feelings of safety, certainty, and familiarity. Arguing that to account for the tendency of social order to be seen as normal we need to conceptualize trust as the routine background of everyday interaction, the article analyzes Goffman's concepts of normal appearances, stigma, and frames as devices for endowing social order with predictability, reliability, and legibility. For Goffman, normality is a collective achievement, which is possible because of the orderliness of interactional activities, which is—in turn—predicated “on a large base of shared cognitive presuppositions, if not normative ones, and self-sustained restraints” (Goffman 1983, American Sociological Review 48:1–53, p. 5 cited here).
Improving Structural Design by Genetic Search
Authors: Jenkins W. M.
Published: March 2003

Design optimization has long been a goal eagerly sought by engineers. The established classic methods of optimization demanded large‐scale computing facilities met only by the mainframe computers of the 1960s through 1980s. Two important developments of the last decade have changed the course of events. First, the microcomputer has arrived as a large‐capacity, rapid‐processing computing capability well up to the needs of optimization. Second, the methods of optimization have been joined by new approaches based on concepts of evolutionary or “genetic” progression in which an initial population (collection) of individuals (designs) is changed progressively in the direction of improved “fitness.” The concept of searching a large design space, notionally created by combining all possible values of the design variables and tracing a path through increasingly “better” designs, has become a realistic prospect. The purpose of this paper is to describe the ideas behind the concept of genetic search, to outline the basic principles of the genetic algorithm, to illustrate the genetic algorithm with a simple example of structural optimization, and to consider further developments in this area.
Parallelization of the Evolution Strategy for Discrete Structural Optimization Problems
Authors: Thierauf G. , Cai J.
Published: March 2003

The parallelization of a modified multimembered evolution strategy for solving structural optimization problems with discrete variables is described. Evolution strategies imitate biologic evolution and combine the concept of artificial survival of the fittest with evolutionary operators to form a robust search mechanism. An important characteristic of evolution strategies that differs from other conventional optimization algorithms is that instead of a single design point, the evolution strategies work simultaneously with a population of design points in the space of variables. This allows for an implementation in a parallel computing environment. In this paper two ways for the parallel implementation of evolution strategies, and their realization in two parallel computing environments are presented.
Intelligent Models for Collaborative Construction Engineering
Authors: Rezgui Yacine , Brown Alex , Cooper Grahame , Brandon Peter , Betts Martin
Published: March 2003

Many critical issues still need to be tackled properly in order to manage concurrent engineering projects effectively. These issues include versioning, notification, and propagation, all of which need to be addressed throughout the construction project lifecycle. To this end, the COMMIT project strives to achieve an improved level of support for the versioning of project information at both the conceptual (schema evolution) and the instance levels. Versioning, notification, and propagation are addressed through the CIMM (a generic and context‐independent information management model for supporting collaborative construction projects) and are described in this paper. The main concepts of the construction‐oriented COMMIT Canonical Model (CCM), specialized from the CIMM, are also presented, followed by a description of the first prototype implementation of the CIMM tackling information versioning. This research is ongoing and supported by a well‐established U.K. steering group.
Modal Logic to Evaluate a Knowledge‐Based Bridge Rating System
Authors: Kushida Moriyoshi , Miyamoto Ayaho
Published: March 2003

Knowledge acquisition has been recognized as a major bottleneck in the development of effective knowledge‐based systems in recent years. Therefore, many researchers are investigating knowledge‐acquisition methodologies to overcome this problem. In this article, a flexible method for expressing empirical knowledge related to bridge rating acquired from questionnaires filled out by bridge rating experts is proposed by relating the knowledge to a membership function based on fuzzy‐set theory. In this method, a membership function is regarded as a possibility distribution based on a theory of possibility, and an apparent possibility distribution expressed by an extended II function is transformed into possibility measure distribution and necessity measure distribution utilizing a concept of modal logic. Furthermore, the proposed method has been applied to a questionnaire survey conducted to evaluate the serviceability of an existing bridge. The validity of the method has been verified through comparison between the subjective rating results acquired from application of the method and objective rating results obtained from nondestructive tests conducted for evaluating the serviceability of the same bridge.
Possibility Theory Based Safety Assessment
Authors: Moller B. , Beer M. , Graf W. , Hoffmann A.
Published: March 2003

An assessment of the safety of structures may be carried out on the basis of different known safety concepts (global safety factor, semiprobabilistic approach using partial safety factors, probabilistic approximation solution using first‐ and second‐order reliability theory, probabilistic “exact” solution). The application of these concepts presupposes special knowledge concerning input values, e.g., permissible or prescribed values, quantile values, distribution functions. This especially applies to probabilistic methods. Inaccuracies and statistically nondescribable uncertainties in the input data are either ignored in these methods or only accounted for approximately using crisp bounds.

Fuzzy set theory enables such uncertainties to be described mathematically and processed in the analysis of structures. The uncertain results of fuzzy structural analysis may be evaluated by various methods. In this article a safety assessment method is described based on possibility theory. In contrast to the above‐mentioned concepts, the safety assessment of structures described here takes into account nonstochastic uncertainties and subjective estimates of objective values by experts based on possibility theory. It is possible by this means to obtain sufficiently reliable descriptions of the input data for further processing. The uncertainties introduced into the analysis are later reflected in the results. A realistic description of system behavior is obtained by applying high‐quality algorithms in the structural analysis. The uncertain results serve as a starting point for the safety assessment. The method described here forms a supplement to safety concepts already in use.
Distributed Object Environment: Using International Standards for Data Exchange in the Construction Industry
Authors: Faraj I. , Alshawi M. , Aouad G. , Child T. , Underwood J.
Published: March 2003

As a contribution to the international efforts toward the development of an integrated technology (IT) for managing project information, a major research project has been undertaken at the University of Salford. Based on advances in international standards in data models, i.e., the Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs), and communication protocols, i.e., the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), this project has successfully developed and implemented a three‐tier computer architecture environment to integrated design and construction applications. The IFC data model has been implemented as the single project database in an open and distributed computer environment whereby the World Wide Web has been used as the delivery medium. This article explains the background of this project, outlines other international efforts in this field, introduces the concept of the three‐tier computer architecture, and discusses the proposed structure for the integrated environment along with its implementation issues.
Bilevel Parallel Genetic Algorithms for Optimization of Large Steel Structures
Authors: Sarma Kamal C. , Adeli Hojjat
Published: March 2003

This article is concerned with optimization of very large steel structures subjected to the actual constraints of the American Institute of Steel Construction ASD and LRFD specifications on high‐performance multiprocessor machines using biologically inspired genetic algorithms. First, parallel fuzzy genetic algorithms (GAs) are presented for optimization of steel structures using a distributed memory Message Passing Interface (MPI) with two different schemes: the processor farming scheme and the migration scheme. Next, two bilevel parallel GAs are presented for large‐scale structural optimization through judicious combination of shared memory data parallel processing using the OpenMP Application Programming Interface (API) and distributed memory message passing parallel processing using MPI. Speedup results are presented for parallel algorithms.
Semivariance of Property Value Estimates as a Determinant of Default Risk
Authors: Noordewier Thomas G. , Harrison David M. , Ramagopal K.
Published: March 2003

Standard practice in the residential mortgage underwriting industry is to estimate collateral values via independent appraisals conducted by third parties. This paper empirically examines the role of property value (i.e., appraisal) uncertainty as a determinant of default on residential mortgage loans. Based upon an analysis of 1,428 residential loans drawn from the portfolio of a national mortgage lender, we find evidence that semivariance in property value uncertainty is related to default risk. Specifically, subject properties that are valued above the sales price of recently sold “similar and proximate” properties show evidence of greater default risk. Interestingly, a variance (range) measure of property value uncertainty is not significantly related to default risk.
Housing Return and Construction Cycles
Authors: Spiegel Matthew
Published: March 2003

This paper presents a general equilibrium model of the residential housing market. Within the model housing returns, housing construction, mortgage loan terms, and household maintenance behavior are all endogenous. These interacting elements tie expected housing returns to expected changes in family wealth. As a result: (1) families are credit constrained; (2) mortgage loan‐to‐value ratios can be used to forecast future housing returns; (3) developers acquire land when expected housing returns lie above the rate of interest and then develop when housing returns lie below. Thus, their holdings and construction decisions also forecast housing returns.
Taxpayer Disclosure and Penalty Laws
Authors: Beck Paul J. , Davis Jon S. , Jung Woon‐Oh
Published: March 2003

The consequences of a penalty exemption available to U.S. taxpayers who disclose aggressive reporting positions is examined via a game theoretic model. Results indicate that (i) the tax agency's expected revenue collections (net of audit costs) decline under the disclosure exemption, and (ii) the impact of disclosure regulations depends on the taxpayer's type. Of particular interest, we find that taxpayers who are likely to prevail on an uncertain issue decrease their expected payments although they do not disclose in equilibrium. The impact on the amount of resources absorbed by the tax collection process is also examined.
Polarization Orderings and New Classes of Polarization Indices
Authors: Wang You‐Qiang , Tsui Kai‐Yuen
Published: March 2003

This paper explores equivalent formulations of the polarization ordering first proposed by Foster and Wolfson. Motivated by the class of polarization indices proposed by Foster and Wolfson, we have developed a class of generalized Foster‐Wolfson indices. In addition, a new class of polarization indices satisfying a set of desirable axioms is also derived.