bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Political Participation and Metropolitan Institutional Contexts
Authors: Kelleher Christine , Lowery David
Published: May 2004

Research concerning the impact of metropolitan political structures on political participation has generated a wide range of conflicting findings. This failure to solve this puzzle results from a failure to fully characterize the many dimensions of metropolitan institutional context that bear on citizens’ political behaviors. The authors provide such a characterization and test its implications with data on turnout in local legislative elections in 336 municipalities in 12 metropolitan areas. They examine the complex debate over the role of metropolitan political contexts in fostering political participation and identify four dimensions of contextual influence on turnout. They find that these contextual influences interact in significant ways that generate surprising results. Overall, however, the results lend far greater support to those favoring the consolidation of urban political institutions than those supporting further fragmentation of local government.
Two Approaches to Using Client Projects in the College Classroom
Authors: Cooke Lynne , Williams Sean
Published: May 2004

Client projects are an opportunity for universities to create long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with businesses through an academic consultancy service. This article discusses the rationale and logistics of two models for conducting such projects. One model, used at Clemson University, is a formal academic consultancy service in which students are paid for their work with for-profit businesses. Another, used at the University of North Texas, also incorporates for-profit clients but operates in the more traditional classroom setting where student teams are not paid for their work. Whatever the approach, client projects facilitate communication between academia and business, enlist the services of professionals in a variety of fields to help shape the education of future graduates, offer opportunities for students to gain practical experience that surpasses any classroom simulation or case study, and keep instructors in touch with business trends and practices.
Activity Systems and Conflict Resolution in an Online Professional Communication Course
Authors: Walker Kristin
Published: May 2004

Conflicts often arise in online professional communication class discussions as students discuss sensitive ethical issues relating to the workplace. When conflicts arise in an online class, the activity system of the class has to be kept in balance for the course to continue functioning effectively. Activity theory and distributed learning theory are useful for studying this process of conflict resolution and online communication. Several strategies can be used to facilitate conflict resolution in online courses, based on these theories: complimenting, generalizing, and agreeing. These normalizing strategies can improve conflict resolution in online professional communication courses as well as in various online communication contexts.
The Home Health Care Social Worker: a Conduit in the Care Continuum for Older Adults
Authors: Dyeson Timothy B.
Published: May 2004

Home health care is a pivotal service in the continuum of care for older adults. It often represents a fulcrum between restored functioning and institutionalization. The home health care social worker has a unique position in this continuum because she must constantly interface with other professionals throughout the continuum. This interface is perhaps more dynamic for social workers in home health care than in any other place in the care continuum.
A Vision for Cultivating a Nation
Authors: Forbes Linda C.
Published: May 2004

Early American conservationist Gifford Pinchot (1865 to 1946) and his book The Fight for Conservation (1910) are featured in this section. Written for a popular audience, The Fight for Conservation presents Pinchot’s timely critique of the degradation of natural resources in the United States and an appeal for a comprehensive and sustainable environmental policy. With evangelical zeal, Pinchot articulated a vision for cultivating a nation, linking its resources and their use to democracy, patriotism, and morality. An advocate of progressive reform and close adviser to Theodore Roosevelt, Pinchot was America’s first chief of the Forest Service. He firmly established conservation as part of the environmental vocabulary.
A Rational Permit Fee Structure for the Street Right-of-Way Permit Program
Authors: Rajagopal Arudi
Published: May 2004

This article describes the details of a study carried out to review the city of Cincinnati’s utility cut permit program, compare the city’s street rights-of-way practices and policies with other communities, identify the true costs of permit program, and suggest a new, rational, permit fee structure. An innovative procedure has been developed to assess the monetary impact of utility cuts on street pavement. The proposed fee structure considers all the estimated direct and indirect expenses to support the permit program and to maintain the physical assets. The new structure has been extensively reviewed by the city’s engineers and legal advisors and is being considered for implementation.
Homeland Security
Authors: Kemp Roger
Published: May 2004

This article on homeland security documents trends in America in this field since September 11, 2001. It highlights positive trends in U.S. counties and cities in this new and evolving discipline. These best practices are categorized under the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Trends for the future of homeland security are also discussed. This article clearly documents that local governments are at the forefront of this new national movement.
Alternative Approaches for State Agencies to Address the Proposed Minimum Retroreflectivity Standards
Authors: Vereen Stephanie C. , Hummer Joseph E. , Rasdorf William
Published: May 2004

This work aimed to determine, quantify, and present alternative approaches for agencies to meet the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) proposed minimum levels of retroreflectivity for signs. This study based these approaches on current North Carolina Department of Transportation sign maintenance practices and sought to minimize the cost and labor required to meet FHWA standards. This article offers four approaches: Nighttime visual inspection (current method), improved nighttime visual inspection procedures, sign inventory management system (no visual inspection), and combination of alternatives #2 and #3. This study ultimately recommends alternative #4, although it is the most costly. This article also recommends that an evaluation be made periodically to determine what benefits and improvement in sign condition, if any, have resulted from implementation.
A Risk-Based Method for Evaluating NASA Technology for Use in the National Airspace System
Authors: Louis Garrick E.
Published: May 2004

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Aviation Safety Program relied on accident data to assess the safety of its technology in the National Airspace System (NAS). The approach compared accident rates before and after introducing new technology, using the decrease as a measure of improved safety. This method restricts analysis to accidents rather than incidents, which are precursors of accidents. Reliance on accident data makes NASA’s evaluation reactionary, based on changes in accident rates. This is not useful for evaluating new technology investments. A risk-based approach defines risk as the product of the conditional accident probability (given a set of related incidents) and its consequence in constant dollars. Probabilities are derived from the Aviation Safety Reporting System and National Transportation Safety Board data. These are modeled with a Poisson probability distribution. Consequences are derived from damage payments for aviation accidents reported by the Department of Transportation.
Determinants of Airport Hubbing in the United States
Authors: Bhadra Dipasis , Hechtman David
Published: May 2004

This article examines the relationship between hub status of airports and their determinants. The factors governing the status of large hubs may not be the same as those determining the status of medium and small hubs. Using a binary logit model, the authors find that hubbing is more relevant in defining an airport than classifying a broader geographical area, for example, metropolitan statistical area. Results from their choice model defined over airport sample indicate that large hubs are qualitatively different than their medium- and small-hub counterparts. Thus, aviation activities captured in all hub airports as one continuous variable, for example, passenger enplanements, may not be appropriate for modeling purposes. An appropriate modeling may require grouping two or three broad categories of airports. Finally, their model determines an optimal size of the market that is presently served by hub airport. This finding has implications for both airport planning and future investment.
Tobin’s q and Airline Performances
Authors: Li Michael Z. F. , Oum Tae H. , Zhang Yimin
Published: May 2004

This article studies the performance of the global airline industry by applying Tobin’s q, a financial market-based measure of firm value, as the primary measure. With 27 airlines from Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America over the period of 1989 to 1999 we find that the industry on average is a low q ratio industry, and European carriers generally have lower q values relative to their counterparts in the other two regions. There is a general pattern of low correlation between q and other financial measures except the variable of price-to-book-value ratio, indicating that Tobin’s q captures additional dimensions of the airline performances. Applying a regression model, we find significant relationships between q and some operational variables and economic factors of the industry.
Predicting Fatal Assault Among the Elderly Using the National Incident-Based Reporting System Crime Data
Authors: Chu Lawrence D. , Kraus Jess F.
Published: May 2004

The elderly are a group susceptible to violent crime and injury because of their increased frailty, heightened fear of crime, and perception of vulnerability by themselves and others. However, limited information on elderly violence is available due to relatively low victimization rates in the United States. A logistic model was developed to predict survival following assault from different demographic and interpersonal factors for the elderly and the general population. Five years of data were obtained from the National Incident-Based Reporting System. Results show the elderly have a higher risk of death from assault than younger age groups and there is evidence of an excessively high risk of fatality in both felony-related and firearm-related assaults for younger and older victims. Assaults involving family/known persons were also associated with a higher fatality risk than incidents involving strangers. Suggestions are made for primary and secondary prevention strategies and issues to consider for future research.
“Who Kills Whom” Revisited
Authors: Gauthier DeaAnn K. , Bankston William B.
Published: May 2004

This article addresses the extraordinarily high ratio of females to males who kill domestic partners in the United States. Using a theoretical perspective conceptualizing violence between intimates as a form of self-help social control and as involving a pattern of sex-specific motives, the authors developed an explanatory model of variance in the rates of female and male spouse killing and thereby, in the spousal sex ratio of killing (SROK). Applied to cities in the United States with populations of 100,000 or more, the model predicted a significant proportion of variance in the rates of female and male killers (1984-1996) and in the SROK. Examination of the net differences in effects on sex-specific rates allowed for the interpretation of why the SROK varies so dramatically across communities and what factors contribute to the high spousal SROK in the United States. Directions for further sociological investigation of this question are discussed.
Another Side of Multiple Murder
Authors: Messing Jill Theresa , Heeren John W.
Published: May 2004

Although both female and male multiple murderers have been studied, little attention has been paid to women who commit multiple murder. Using a national database of news paper accounts from two archives, Lexis-Nexis and ProQuest, this article isolates an exploratory sample of U.S. women who, between 1993 and 2001, killed two or more victims during a single episode of domestic violence. These 32 cases are, in some respects, similar to cases of male mass murder but are distinct in other ways. Most significantly, these murders are well planned and the victims are largely, although not entirely, the woman’s own children. These cases are examined in terms of the social characteristics of the offenders as well as their relationship to the victims and the way in which these murders appear to develop. The article concludes that especially with the child killings, there are certain common predisposing factors and precipitating events that play key roles.
Alabama’s Enterprise Zones: Designed to Aid the Needy?
Authors: Couch Jim F. , Barrett J. Douglas
Published: May 2004

The Alabama Enterprise Zone Act established 27 zones across the state. The act provides incentives to business firms that locate within an approved zone in an effort to attract desperately needed jobs. Zone status was purported to be based on economic need as measured by five variables. In this article, the selection process is closely examined. The authors find that the selection criteria were frequently ignored in favor of political concerns. The results suggest that a policy designed to help needy individuals in the state was convoluted by the political process.
Can Fiscal Decentralization Strengthen Social Capital?
Authors: De Mello Luiz R.
Published: May 2004

Countries that are rich in social capital, defined as the social and political institutions that stimulate interpersonal trust, civic cooperation, and social cohesiveness, tend to have more efficient governments, have better governance systems, and grow faster. This article provides preliminary cross-country evidence for a sample of developing and developed countries that fiscal decentralization—the assignment of expenditure functions and revenue sources to lower levels of government—can boost social capital.
The Effect of State Income Taxation on Per Capita Income Growth
Authors: Holcombe Randall G. , Lacombe Donald J.
Published: May 2004

This study examines the impact of changes in marginal state income tax rates on per capita income by comparing income growth in counties on state borders with income growth in adjacent counties across the state border. Compared to a standard cross-sectional analysis, this border-matching technique is a better way to hold constant many factors that can vary for geographical reasons, such as climate, culture, and proximity to markets. The results show that over the 30-year period from 1960 to 1990, states that raised their income tax rates more than their neighbors had slower income growth and, on average, a 3.4% reduction in per capita income.
Tax Cuts and Employment in New Jersey: Lessons From a Regional Analysis
Authors: Reed W. Robert , Rogers Cynthia L.
Published: May 2004

The Whitman administration’s 30% reduction in New Jersey’s personal income taxes from 1994 to 1996 is prominently cited as a role model for state fiscal policy. The authors investigate whether the growth benefits attributed to the Whitman tax cuts are warranted. Panel data methods are applied to annual observations of county-level employment growth fromNew Jersey and the surrounding economic region. This study’s analysis does not support the hypothesis that tax cuts stimulated employment growth in New Jersey. Although New Jersey did experience substantial employment growth subsequent to the tax cuts, most of this growth was shared by the nearby Economic Areas.
The Effect of Taxes on the Retirement of Machinery and Equipment
Authors: Billings B. Anthony , Glazunov Sergei N.
Published: May 2004

This study extends prior research explaining the role of taxes in investment decisions regarding depreciable business assets. It also assesses whether firms’U.S. alternative minimum tax (AMT) status influenced the level of machinery and equipment retired. The article shows analytically that firms paying the AMT have costs of capital lower than firms paying the regular tax when debt shares (debt-to-asset ratio) in their capital structure were lower than a critical level. Two hypotheses are tested: (a) whether firms that paid the AMT and had debt shares below a critical level retired higher amounts of machinery and equipment than other firms and (b) whether firms that paid the AMT retired lower amounts of machinery and equipment in the period following the modification of the AMT formula in 1989 than in the pre-1990 period. Analysis of COMPUSTAT data froma sample of 95 industrial firms over the 1987-1993period supports both hypotheses.
The Design of Discovery Net: Towards Open Grid Services for Knowledge Discovery
Authors: AlSairafi Salman , Emmanouil Filippia-Sofia , Ghanem Moustafa , Giannadakis Nikolaos , Guo Yike , Kalaitzopoulos Dimitrios , Osmond Michelle , Rowe Anthony , Syed Jameel , Wendel Patrick
Published: May 2004

With the emergence of distributed resources and grid technologies there is a need to provide higher level informatics infrastructures allowing scientists to easily create and execute meaningful data integration and analysis processes that take advantage of the distributed nature of the available resources. These resources typically include heterogeneous data sources, computational resources for task execution and various application-specific services. The effort of the high performance community has so far mainly focused on the delivery of low-level informatics infrastructures enabling the basic needs of grid applications. Such infrastructures are essential but do not directly help end-users in creating generic and re-usable applications.

In this paper, we present the Discovery Net architecture for building grid-based knowledge discovery applications. Our architecture enables the creation of high-level, re-usable and distributed application workflows that use a variety of common types of distributed resources. It is built on top of standard protocols and standard infrastructures such as Globus but also defines its own protocols such as the Discovery Process Mark-up Language for data flow management. We discuss an implementation of our architecture and evaluate it by building a real-time genome annotation environment on top.
Scalable Bulk Data Transfer in Wide Area Networks
Authors: Mohamed Nader , Al-Jaroodi Jameela , Jiang Hong , Swanson David
Published: May 2004

Bulk data transfer in wide area networks (WAN) requires scalable and high network bandwidth. In this paper, we identify a number of the scalability limitations that affect the full utilization of peak theoretical network bandwidth. In addition, we study and classify different offered approaches to overcome some of the identified limitations and increase network bandwidth among Grid components in WAN. With these limitations in mind, we study and evaluate the scalability and flexibility of a UDP-based multiple-network-interface socket (MuniSocket) model in WAN. The MuniSocket model is a middleware layer between the distributed applications and the multiple networks and system resources available. MuniSocket utilizes existing system resources, network interface cards, and network links to provide a scalable, reliable and high bandwidth network solution for data-intensive distributed applications, thus eliminating most of the identified limitations.
Optimizing Sparse Matrix–Vector Product Computations Using Unroll and Jam
Authors: Mellor-Crummey John , Garvin John
Published: May 2004

Large-scale scientific applications frequently compute sparse matrix–vector products in their computational core. For this reason, techniques for computing sparse matrix– vector products efficiently on modern architectures are important. In this paper we describe a strategy for improving the performance of sparse matrix–vector product computations using a loop transformation known as unrollandjam. We describe a novel sparse matrix representation that enables us to apply this transformation. Our approach is best suited for sparse matrices that have rows with a small number of predictable lengths. This work was motivated by sparse matrices that arise in SAGE, an application from Los Alamos National Laboratory. We evaluate the performance benefits of our approach using sparse matrices produced by SAGE for a pair of sample inputs. We show that our strategy is effective for improving sparse matrix–vector product performance using these matrices on MIPS R12000, Alpha Ev67, IBM Power 3, and Itanium 2 processors. Our measurements show that for this class of sparse matrices, our strategy improves sparse matrix–vector product performance from a low of 41% on MIPS to well over a factor of 2 on Itanium.
Building Performance Topologies for Computational Grids
Authors: Swany Martin , Wolski Rich
Published: May 2004

In this paper we describe the architecture, implementation and performance of a service for the delivery of dynamic performance information in Grid environments. Based on usage requirements gleaned from real applications being developed as part of the Grid Application Development Software (GrADS) project, we have implemented a highperformance service for use by Grid schedulers. The organization of the system is discussed and performance results are presented.
How to Deal with Missing Categorical Data: Test of a Simple Bayesian Method
Authors: Chen Gongyue , Åstebro Thomas
Published: May 2004

The authors analyze the efficiency of six missing data techniques for categorical item nonresponse under the assumption that data are missing at random or missing completely at random. By efficiency, the authors mean a procedure that produces an unbiased estimate of true sample properties that is also easy to implement. The investigated techniques include listwise deletion, mode substitution, random imputation, two regression imputations, and a Bayesian model-based procedure. The authors analyze efficiency under six experimental conditions for a survey-based data set. They find that listwise deletion is efficient for the data analyzed. If data loss due to listwise deletion is an issue, the analysis points to the Bayesian method. Regression imputation is also efficient, but the result is conditioned on the specific data structure and may not hold in general. Additional problems arise when using regression imputation, making it less appropriate.
Longitudinal Modeling with Randomly and Systematically Missing Data: A Simulation of Ad Hoc, Maximum Likelihood, and Multiple Imputation Techniques
Authors: Newman Daniel A.
Published: May 2004

For organizational research on individual change, missing data can greatly reduce longitudinal sample size and potentially bias parameter estimates. Within the structural equation modeling framework, this article compares six missing data techniques (MDTs): listwise deletion, pairwise deletion, stochastic regression imputation, the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, full information maximization likelihood (FIML), and multiple imputation (MI). The rationale for each technique is reviewed, followed by Monte Carlo analysis based on a threewave simulation of organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Parameter estimates and standard errors for each MDT are contrasted with complete-data estimates, under three mechanisms of missingness (completely random, random, and nonrandom) and three levels of missingness (25%, 50%, and 75%; all monotone missing). Results support maximum likelihood and MI approaches, which particularly outperform listwise deletion for parameters involving many recouped cases. Better standard error estimates are derived from FIML and MI techniques. All MDTs perform worse when data are missing nonrandomly.
A New Method of Examining Relationships between Individual Difference Measures and Sensitive Behavior Criteria: Evaluating the Unmatched Count Technique
Authors: Ahart Allison M. , Sackett Paul R.
Published: May 2004

A method is introduced for estimating the relationship between individual difference measures and sensitive behavior criteria that offers respondents greater anonymity than direct self-report. This method uses the unmatched count technique (UCT), a form of a randomized response technique, for eliciting more can-did responses regarding past engagement in counter productive behaviors (CBs). Integrity, conscientiousness, and either UCT-obtained or self-reported CB data were obtained from undergraduates. Results failed to show stronger base rates for UCT-obtained base rates of CB criteria over direct self-report criteria. Mixed results were found regarding the relationships between integrity, conscientiousness, and UCT-obtained versus direct self-report CBs.
The Development and Analysis of a Measure of Group Faultlines
Authors: Shaw James B.
Published: May 2004

Lau and Murnighan introduced the “faultline” concept into the group diversity literature. Faultlines are “hypothetical dividing lines that may split a group into subgroups based on one or more attributes. ” Faultlines result from the pattern, not just the dispersion, of attributes among group members. Measures using dispersion indices do not capture faultline potential. This article reports the development of faultline measures and the characteristics of these measures in two samples.
Factor Retention Decisions in Exploratory Factor Analysis: a Tutorial on Parallel Analysis
Authors: Hayton James C. , Allen David G. , Scarpello Vida
Published: May 2004

The decision of how many factors to retain is a critical component of exploratory factor analysis. Evidence is presented that parallel analysis is one of the most accurate factor retention methods while also being one of the most underutilized in management and organizational research. Therefore, a step-by-step guide to performing parallel analysis is described, and an example is provided using data from the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Recommendations for making factor retention decisions are discussed.
Customer Switching Patterns in Competitive and Noncompetitive Service Industries
Authors: Roos Inger , Edvardsson Bo , Gustafsson Anders
Published: May 2004

This article is about behavioral change in customer relationships. Changes in customer switching behavior are compared in five different service industries. Switching barriers and the competitive industrial situations in the comparison between industries also revealed changes in behavior in an industrial monopoly in which switching to alternative external service providers was not an option. This kind of switching was articulated as internal switching. The behavioral change was therefore assessed in terms not only of frequency but also of type of change. The switching ability to cause change, called configuration energy, even caused a change in behavior at the highest level in a noncompetitive industry in which there was a lack of switching alternatives. Total change was considered to be a result of the higher energy level driving the switching configuration than when the change was partial.
A Tale of Two Countries’ Conservatism, Service Quality, and Feedback on Customer Satisfaction
Authors: Voss Christopher A. , Roth Aleda V. , Rosenzweig Eve D. , Blackmon Kate , Chase Richard B.
Published: May 2004

This article compares the influence of service quality on customer satisfaction in the United Kingdom and the United States and considers the moderating effect of systematic customer feedback and complaint processes. Propositions are developed concerning country differences based on British conservatism. Hypotheses were tested using data from the International Service Study. The results support the conservatism hypothesis, empirically demonstrating that customer reaction to good service is similar, but U.K. and U.S. customers tend to respond differently to poor service encounters based on cultural norms. The authors propose that customer feedback is an often-overlooked factor in explaining the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. Much valuable customer feedback may be unrealized in Britain, thus losing the opportunity to improve service design and delivery and creating a vicious cycle. Without intervention, British service firms will continue to deliver levels of service lower than would be acceptable in the United States.
Agent Recruitment Planning in Knowledge-Intensive Call Centers
Authors: Bordoloi Sanjeev K.
Published: May 2004

The key ingredient in a call center’s operational efficiency is labor. Agent turnover remains a major concern for call centers. The top three reasons for turnover are low salary, lack of career path, and burnout. On average, it costs about $10 to a call center for each call, and the cost to bring on a new agent is more than $6,000. The author treats call centers as knowledge-intensive operations that are characterized by extensive knowledge required for each agent, combines control theory and chance-constrained programming in a model for workforce planning that allows for agent learning, and derives steady state workforce levels for different knowledge groups within the call center to minimize total labor-related costs. The objective is to meet stochastic demands with a desired service level. The author applies his model to an actual call center situation in the high-tech industry with adjusted data and discusses the managerial implications.
Evaluations of E-Tailers’ Delivery Fulfillment
Authors: Cao Yong , Zhao Hao
Published: May 2004

This study investigates how buyers evaluate an e-tailer’s delivery performance. The authors first develop an integrated conceptual framework that focuses on the e-tailer attributes. Buyer characteristics are also considered as covariates to control for heterogeneity. Then, the authors estimate an empirical model using the latent class technique. The estimation results show that if one is satisfied with the e-tailer’s product price, one is likely to have a more positive evaluation of its delivery fulfillment. Another factor with a significant impact is the e-tailer’s order-tracking system. The authors also find that e-tailers with a positive inventory policy receive significantly more positive evaluations from about 15% of the buyers. An integrated hybrid e-tailer also receives significantly more positive evaluations from about 15% of the buyers. Managerial implications are provided.
Performance Effects of Physicians’ Involvement in Hospital Strategic Decisions
Authors: Goldstein Susan Meyer , Ward Peter T.
Published: May 2004

In recent years, many hospitals have moved to a professional management model from one of physician dominance. One result has been that physicians in some hospitals are alienated from the strategic processes of the hospital. Extant literature suggests that both physician involvement in strategic processes and investment in capability-building programs are associated with improved performance. The literature also suggests that there is an interaction between physician involvement and capability-building investments that is positively associated with performance. We explore these notions empirically using data from a sample of hospitals to evaluate the extent to which physician involvement in strategic decision making and investments in operational capabilities are associated with hospital performance. Results indicate that such proactive involvement of physicians in strategic decision making significantly affects hospital performance. In addition, investments in capability building related to employee development also affect hospital performance.
Exploring How Intangibility Affects Perceived Risk
Authors: Laroche Michel , McDougall Gordon H. G. , Bergeron Jasmin , Yang Zhiyong
Published: May 2004

Studies have found that product intangibility increases consumers’ perception of risk. However, most of these studies measured the intangibility and perceived risk constructs unidimensionally. The primary objective of this article is to examine the effects of the multiple dimensions of intangibility on the various types of risk. An empirical investigation revealed that, of the three intangibility dimensions, physical intangibility was the least correlated to the consumers’ perception of risk in most situations, whereas mental intangibility and generality had a great impact on most dimensions of perceived risk. However, there were variations in the strength of the relationships between the intangibility dimensions and the risk dimensions when contrasting goods and services, generic products and brands, and online and offline purchase contexts. Theoretical and practical contributions to the service marketing literature are discussed.
Males, “Masculine Honor,” and Witch Hunting in Seventeenth-Century Germany
Authors: Walinski-Kiehl Robert
Published: May 2004

This article aims to contribute to the emerging cultural study of early modern witchcraft by examining one particular prosecution from the Bishopric of Bamberg—a territory in Germany that experienced very intensive witch persecutions between 1625 and 1630. The main focus of the present study is on Burgomaster Johannes Junius, a male accused in 1628 of being a demonic witch. Throughout the study, the following documents are examined for the insights they provide not only into witchcraft but also into the construction of seventeenth-century masculinity: Junius’s witch trial records and a letter written to his daughter while he was imprisoned. The article suggests that the concept of honor played a significant part in establishing and maintaining Junius’s masculine identity. The centrality that Junius attached to his honor was emphasized by the intense and dramatic manner in which he tried to defend it after he was arrested for the “dishonorable” crime of witchcraft.
The Relationship between Minority Populations and Police Force Strength: Expanding Our Knowledge
Authors: Sever Brion
Published: May 2004

Previous studies testing the percentage minority-police force strength relationship have left out many important variables from their analyses and rarely tested more than one minority population. This study attempts to correct for many of the weaknesses of past studies in this area and also tests the impact of two new minority variables on police force strength: percentage Asian and percentage Native American. Two-stage least squares regression was used to analyze data from all 1,083 U.S. cities with a 1990 population of over 25,000, as well as 114 cities with a population over 100,000 in 1980. This study found that none of the other minority populations had as consistent an impact on police strength as did percentage Black, which had a consistent curvilinear and occasional positive impact. This suggests that percentage Black may have a unique impact on police strength that is not matched by other populations.
Police Work and Culture in a Nonurban Setting: An Ethnographic Analysis
Authors: Christensen Wendy , Crank John P.
Published: May 2004

This article represents the findings of an ethnographic analysis of police patrol activity in a nonurban setting. A growing body of research describes differences between urban and nonurban police work. However, the way officers think about their work in nonurban settings is relatively unstudied and is the purpose of this research. Data were collected through descriptions of the patrol setting and interviews of deputies. Findings showed support for themes of policing widely described in literature derived from urban-based research. However, the meanings associated with those themes sometimes differed from urban-associated research. At least in regard to the research setting considered here, generalizing from research conducted in urban settings would have resulted in the exclusion of meanings that capture important local dynamics.
Investigative Interviews of Children: A Review of Psychological Research and Implications for Police Practices
Authors: London Kamala
Published: May 2004

Historically, children were considered incompetent courtroom witnesses. However, legal barriers that once prevented children from offering courtroom testimony have been largely removed. In recent decades, police agencies have been flooded with reports of child maltreatment. In response to the increasing presence of children in forensic settings, researchers have begun to examine the efficacy of methods used to interview children. The purpose of this article is to review recent research on interviewing children. Both interview practices that appear effective in eliciting accurate testimony and practices that have been shown to produce erroneous testimony from children are discussed. Implications for police practices and policy are discussed.
A More Effective Training Approach for Contemporary Policing
Authors: Birzer Michael L. , Tannehill Ronald
Published: May 2004

Training is an important tool in the process of facilitating change within police organizations. With the further implementation of community oriented policing strategies, the form and content of training curricula has increasingly become an area of scholarly focus. Likewise, the methods that police instructors use to teach subjects is of equal importance. Many police trainers rely heavily on a lecture- and teacher-centered approach when imparting knowledge to both neophyte and veteran police officers. Police trainers might benefit from a more student-centered instructional format. This article examines incorporating the theory of andragogy into police training. By utilizing andragogy, police officers will become more active and involved in the learning process. This approach may also help officers become more self-directed and in doing so reflect the trend toward community oriented policing.
Discrimination in the Ranks: An Empirical Study with Recommendations
Authors: Slonaker William M. , Wendt Ann C. , Kemper Michael J.
Published: May 2004

Successful recruitment and retention of qualified police officers is a primary concern of departments and supervisors. Employment discrimination is an onerous stress that negatively interferes with success. In this article, the authors discuss the legal concepts of employment discrimination, report the discrimination experiences of the officers in their research database, and make recommendations for confronting and preventing employment discrimination. The database includes numerous descriptive variables taken from employment discrimination claims field in Ohio during a 15-year period. It is the most complete database on employment discrimination in the United States.
Police Performance: A Model for Assessing Citizens' Satisfaction and the Importance of Police Attributes
Authors: Cheurprakobkit Sutham , Bartsch Robert A.
Published: May 2004

This study examined the attitudes of 581 residents of Midland and Odessa, Texas regarding their satisfaction with 14 police attributes and the importance of these attributes. Descriptive findings showed the citizens are generally satisfied with police performance but still rated the importance of attributes higher than the satisfaction. The satisfaction-importance graph revealed that the professional conduct factor (professional knowledge, professional conduct, honesty, quality of service, and fairness) received relatively higher satisfaction and importance scores compared to the friendliness factor (friendliness, putting one at ease, concern, politeness, and helpfulness) and the crime control/prevention factor (level of police protection, investigative skill, ability to fight crime, and ability to prevent crime). The friendliness factor received relatively moderate satisfaction scores as did the crime control/prevention factor but was considered the least important among the three factors. Finally, the findings showed the attribute that needs the most improvement is the ability to prevent crime.
Improving Shift Schedule and Work-Hour Policies and Practices to Increase Police Officer Performance, Health, and Safety
Authors: Vila Bryan , Morrison Gregory B. , Kenney Dennis J.
Published: May 2004

Fatigue among police patrol officers arising from departmental policies and practices may degrade individuals' abilities and hence the performance of organizations. Few U.S. police departments have established comprehensive shift, work-hour, and fatigue management policies despite the well understood, long-standing, and profound influences that round-the-clock schedules have on worker health, safety, performance, job satisfaction, and family life. After reviewing the sources, costs, and impacts of fatigue as well as recent research into the prevalence of fatigue among police, the authors discuss policies and practices that police executives, managers, and supervisors can employ to minimize officer fatigue.
Technology, Policing, and Implications of In-Car Videos
Authors: Maghan Jess , O'Reilly Gregory W. , Shon Phillip Chong Ho
Published: May 2004

In-car video technology has progressively gained a foothold in police departments nationwide. This trend invites an analysis of its feasibility for use in large jurisdictions, such as Chicago. This article reviews the benefits of this technology and highlights some contentious issues. These include technical glitches and possible resistance to change by police officers. Several solutions are suggested based on implementation in police departments across the country.
“Trouble on the Outside, Trouble on the Inside”: Growing Pains, Social Change, and Small Town Policing—The Eugene Police Department, 1862-1932
Authors: Laythe Joseph
Published: May 2004

This article examines a century of policing in Eugene, Oregon, from 1862 to 1932. Its central argument is that the city's early civic leaders and law enforcement officers were concerned with preserving the status quo and image of the city by restricting the entrance of the “dangerous class.” As the city expanded, however, and the police department grew to meet the demands of the changing city, the department increasingly suffered the same problems it had been designed to stop. Although the department's ability to successfully address crime and the city's targeted concerns fluctuated over time, the problems within the force remained. Eugene's law enforcement history, as a result, both substantiates the larger patterns in American law enforcement history and deviates from that pattern in unique ways
Community Policing and Job Satisfaction: Suggestive Evidence of Positive Workforce Effects from a Multijurisdictional Comparison in Washington State
Authors: Brody David C. , DeMarco Christianne , Lovrich Nicholas P.
Published: May 2004

The effects of the implementation of community oriented policing (COP) on police personnel job satisfaction remain a subject of considerable controversy. Although the dramatic changes associated with COP programs and the implementation of practices reflecting a COP philosophy commonly introduce uncertainty and insecurity in police agencies, a number of single-jurisdiction case studies of COP adoption have reported positive effects on police employee job satisfaction among officers engaged in COP activities. Using survey and archival data on job satisfaction among a cross-section of local government employees from 12 local government jurisdictions, this study finds evidence of positive effects on the mean job satisfaction levels for police officers attributable to the implementation of COP. It was found that: (a) police personnel in high COP implementation agencies report higher job satisfaction than police personnel in other agencies, and (b) the ubiquitous job satisfaction gap between police and nonpolice personnel in local governments is closed by the systematic adoption of COP.
The Evidence of Racial Profiling: Interpreting Documented and Unofficial Sources
Authors: Buerger Michael E. , Farrell Amy
Published: May 2004

This article summarizes the major cases that established the existence of racial profiling in the American public debate. The authors distinguish the widening split between the narrow, case-bound definition acknowledged by the police and the broader definition asserted by minority communities, which see the practice as widespread, affecting all areas of police-community contacts. The fact patterns of incidents substantiated on the public record set the stage for a discussion of the expected efficacy of the palliative measures nowbeing undertaken in the political domain.
How Roadway Composition Matters in Analyzing Police Data on Racial Profiling
Authors: Meehan Albert J. , Ponder Michael
Published: May 2004

Statistical analysis of racial profiling requires an accurate measure of the racial composition of roadways. This article reports on a rolling roadway composition method used to estimate the racial composition of roadways in a predominantly White suburban community bordering a predominantly African American community. The importance of roadway data when analyzing police data on racial profiling is demonstrated by comparing these roadway composition data with police mobile data terminal query and stop data. Roadway data reveal patterns of police profiling behavior that are not visible through analyses of police data alone.
Racial Profiling: A Survey of African American Police Officers
Authors: Barlow David E. , Barlow Melissa Hickman
Published: May 2004

This article is an effort to provide data on racial profiling that are not as easily dismissed as anecdotal accounts of individual motorists. The authors conducted a survey of African American police officers in the Milwaukee Police Department in Wisconsin regarding their personal experiences of having been racially profiled, defining racial profiling as any situation in which race is used by a police officer or agency to determine the potential criminality of an individual. This study was not an investigation of the Milwaukee Police Department or of racial profiling within the department but rather of the extent to which Black police officers perceive they have been subjected to racial profiling by any police officer or agency. Police officers understand the intricacies, strategies, and techniques of lawenforcement. Therefore, the observations of Black police officers on the reasonableness of situations in which they have been stopped by police have exceptional validity.
The Impact of Citizen Perceptions of Community Policing on Fear of Crime: Findings from Twelve Cities
Authors: Scheider Matthew C. , Rowell Tawandra , Bezdikian Veh
Published: May 2004

Under the community policing philosophy, reducing citizen fear of crime has become a legitimate objective for police. Using the Twelve Cities Survey, a 1998 supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, this study examines the relationship between citizen perceptions of community policing and fear of crime, including other factors such as satisfaction with police and crime prevention behaviors by citizens. It is found that perceptions of community policing have strong positive effects on satisfaction with police and crime prevention behaviors. However, citizen perceptions of community policing do not directly affect levels of fear. In half of the cities examined, crime prevention behaviors had a positive (not negative) relationship with fear of crime. Implications for community policing efforts are discussed.
The Prevalence and Visibility of Police Misconduct: A Survey of Citizens and Police Officers
Authors: Son In Soo , Rome Dennis M.
Published: May 2004

Although police misconduct has generated much social concern in the United States in recent years, there is no clear consensus among citizens, researchers, community activists, and police administrators as to the extent of such conduct in the general police force. This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence and visibility of police misconduct by analyzing a survey of 988 citizens and 665 police officers conducted in Ohio. The study found the prevalence and visibility of police misconduct varied widely depending on the type of misconduct. There were also significant differences in how various subpopulations observed and experienced this misconduct.