bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the Performance of TDMA Protocols Under Self-Similar Traffic: A Simulation Study
Authors: Theodoridis K. A. , Papadimitriou G. I. , Pomportsis A. S.
Published: June 2003

Time division multiple-access (TDMA) protocols have been designed to operate primarily under uniform traffic patterns. However, real traffic measurements have proven to be rather self-similar. In this article, the authors examine the performance and behavior of TDMA family protocols (TDMA, RTDMA, LTDMA) under self-similar traffic. The comparison of the simulation results of the above protocols showed the superiority of LTDMA, which exhibits remarkably high throughput-delay performance.
Improvement of the Damaged Thermowell of the Monju Fast-Breeder Reactor Based on Vibration Analysis
Authors: Aoi Hideki , Zhao Yue , Hayase Tamotsu
Published: June 2003

In December 1995, the thermowell in the secondary cooling system of the Japanese fast-breeder reactor Monju was damaged, resulting in a sodium leak. Sodium flow was thought to have produced a vibration in the thermowell that then caused high-cycle fatigue that eventually destroyed the thermowell. Using the finite element method, the natural frequency of the thermowell was found to be approximately 230 Hz, which is in the region of resonance of the fluid vibration. Next, in a theoretical study, the authors altered the position at which the diameter of the thermowell changes and examined the resulting natural frequencies. They also studied the effects of thickness and diameter on the natural frequency of the thermowell and examined the case for a truncated conical thermowell. The results indicate that production of a thermowell that is not affected by vibration due to resonance is possible. This paper recommends improved shapes for the thermowell.
GaliLEO: A Simulation Tool for LEO Satellite Constellations
Authors: Franck Laurent , Potortì Francesco
Published: June 2003

The authors present GaliLEO, a simulator for the transmission of connection-oriented traffic over a constellation of LEO/MEO (low/medium earth orbit) satellites. Its scope is limited to the satellites and the stations accessing them, without any modelling of the terrestrial network, but inside this scope the goal is to study the performance of satellite-based communication networks from as many possible points of view at the network level. Typical applications include simulation of access techniques, routing policies, and fault management. The simulator is written in Java, and it makes use of dynamic loading to easily integrate user-written modules. A draft manual is available, and a preliminary version of the program was published at the end of 2000.
Improving Simulation Project Efficiency Using Web Technology
Authors: Kehris E. , Doulgeri Z.
Published: June 2003

It is argued that Web technology may support all the actors involved in and all the stages carried out during a simulation project. To demonstrate this, a prototype manufacturing system simulator has been designed upon recognizing that in any simulation project, many people with different views are involved. The explicit expression of the simulation participants’ roles, knowledge, views, and opinions during the initial stage of a simulation project is important, while the identification and resolution of possible conflicts between their views and opinions are crucial for the success of the project. The blackboard model is employed for modeling the communication between the simulation participants. The use of such a simulation environment has an immediate effect on the project lead time, the project monitoring ability, the collection and dissemination of the information gathered and generated during the simulation project, and the project’s overall cost as shown through a small-scale evaluation.
Finite Element Simulation of a Strong-Post W-Beam Guardrail System
Authors: Atahan Ali O.
Published: June 2003

Computer simulation of vehicle collisions has improved significantly over the past decade. With advances in computer technology, nonlinear finite element codes, and material models, full-scale simulation of such complex dynamic interactions is becoming ever more possible. In this study, an explicit three-dimensional nonlinear finite element code, LS-DYNA, is used to demonstrate the capabilities of computer simulations to supplement full-scale crash testing. After a failed crash test on a strong-post guardrail system, LS-DYNA is used to simulate the system, determine the potential problems with the design, and develop an improved system that has the potential to satisfy current crash test requirements. After accurately simulating the response behavior of the full-scale crash test, a second simulation study is performed on the system with improved details. Simulation results indicate that the system performs much better compared to the original design.
Simulation Analysis of Army Casualty Evacuations
Authors: Nuhut Özgür , Sabuncuoglu Ihsan
Published: June 2003

Since war games and field exercises are very expensive, mathematical models are often developed to analyze military systems. In this study, the authors investigate a brigade casualty evacuation system (BCES) via simulation. Specifically, they model the existing BCES of the Turkish Army and analyze the system to improve the patient flow processes in main facilities. The proposed model aims to provide the necessary information to the commanders in a maneuver, logistics, and medical unit about casualties such as time in medical facilities, waiting times in doctor queues, utilization of doctors, and percentages of casualties who return to duty or are sent to higher level medical facilities. The simulation model is also used to compare several alternative system designs and evaluate their impacts on system performance. The result of this study highlights the major problem areas of the system and the possible ways to deal with them.
Evaluating Design Alternatives of an Extruded Food Production Line Using Simulation
Authors: Owens Stephen F. , Levary Reuven R.
Published: June 2003

Several designs of a manufacturing line for the production of extruded foods were developed and compared with the current production line design. The manufacturing line consisted of six unit operations: batching, grinding, extruding, drying, further processing, and packing. The authors performed the comparisons by simulating the current design and the proposed alternatives. The alternatives consisted of modifications to the extruder-dryer and/or packing line designs. The simulation results indicated that all the alternate designs roughly doubled system throughput compared to current designs but did not differ significantly in performance among themselves. The doubled output is worth about $2.5 million per year. This is easily enough to justify the cost of new equipment. One design would cost less to implement than the others and thus was the preferred option.
A Sequential Stopping Rule for a Steady-State Simulation Based on Time-Series Forecasting
Authors: Mackulak Gerald T. , Park Sungmin , Fowler John W. , Leach Sonia E. , Keats J. Bert
Published: June 2003

A sequential stopping procedure should collect enough steady-state data to overwhelm the influence of initial transient bias without requiring initial data truncation. The initial transient negatively affects the efficiency of the sequential procedure, but from a practical point of view, eliminating the difficulty of determining the data truncation point can lead to a more easily implemented algorithm for determining the appropriate length of a simulation run. A sequential stopping rule is presented that uses a time-series forecasting procedure to determine appropriate trade-offs between the efficiency and simplicity of the estimate of cycle time for a relevant constant mean process. Results show that the proposed sequential stopping rule terminates a simulation output process at a point when a stable estimate is obtained. Furthermore, the rule performs as well as the crossings-of-means data truncation technique yet is easier to implement.
Refiner: A Problem-Solving Environment for Scientific Simulator Creation
Authors: Hunt Kenny , Cremer James
Published: June 2003

The science and engineering disciplines rely heavily on computer simulation as a tool for solving large, complex mathematical problems. The difficulty of creating scientific simulation code presents the need for a programming environment that is able to assist the programmer in the code development process. This paper describes a development methodology and a prototype implementation of a system that provides such assistance. Refiner, a programming environment for creating scientific simulators, provides expert users with online support for the entire development process, from mathematical modeling to low-level implementation details. Refiner is based on Posit, a high-level object-oriented modeling and programming language. Mathematical models are specified, and executable programs are then developed through the successive application of semantics-preserving program transformations. Code development is recorded in the form of a refinement tree structure where each path from root to leaf encodes a series of program transformations representing a single-solution strategy.
Second-Order Experimental Designs for Simulation Metamodeling
Authors: Batmaz Inci , Tunali Semra
Published: June 2003

The main purpose of this study is to compare the performance of a group of second-order designs such as Box-Behnken, face-center cube, three-level factorial, central composite, minimum bias, and minimum variance plus bias for estimating a quadratic metamodel. A time-shared computer system is used to demonstrate the ability of the designs in providing good fit of the metamodel to the simulation response. First, for various numbers of center runs, these designs are compared with respect to their efficiency, rotatability, orthogonality, robustness, bias, and prediction variance. Next, second-order metamodels are fit to the data collected using these designs. Metamodel fit is investigated using criteria such as average absolute error, PRESS, and the C p statistic. Results indicate that the minimum variance plus bias design is the most promising design to estimate a metamodel for the case studied.
Embedding Intelligent Planning Capability to DEVS Models by Goal Regression Method
Authors: Cho Tae Ho
Published: June 2003

This paper presents RG-DEVS (ReGression-Discrete EVent System Specification) formalism for embedding intelligent planning capability to DEVS models. RG-DEVS, an extension of classic DEVS, expands the classes of system models that can be represented in DEVS. The goal regression method of the artificial intelligence (AI) production system is exploited for the dynamic generation of the model’s sequential states and selection of state transition rules during model execution. Thus, generated states and rules form subgoals and an action plan, respectively. The mechanism for detecting missed execution of the plan and building an amended or new plan for performing corrective actions is also provided. An example application to a transportation vehicle is given to show how RG-DEVS can be applied.
Assessment of E-Business Transformation Using Simulation Modeling
Authors: Bosilj-Vuksic Vesna , Stemberger Mojca Indihar , Jaklic Jurij , Kovacic Andrej
Published: June 2003

Business renovation is a key aspect of electronic business and a high-level strategy for managing change that generally cannot be handled by continuous improvement and organizational restructuring methods. Business process modeling and the evaluation of different alternative scenarios for improvement are usually the driving factors of the business reengineering process. This study investigates business process simulation as a tool for deriving new knowledge about current business processes, such as additional in-depth understanding of how the process is executed and identifying sources of the problems observed during the process execution. The main objective of the paper is to investigate the potential benefits and outcomes of e-business transitioning that can be assessed in advance by using simulation modeling. An example is presented of how simulation modeling can be used to understand a procurement process and evaluate how the proposed improvements and the introduction of electronic business will influence system performance.
Missing Stories, Missing Lives
Authors: DeBlase Gina L.
Published: June 2003

In this critical ethnography, interpretivist methods were used to focus on the perspectives of African American, Latina, and Native American girls in an urban middle-school classroom to better understand how they constructed social identities of gender and race through their experiences with literacy. Because the enacted curriculum lacked critical awareness of the sociocultural contexts of gender and race, the perspectives of the girls in this classroom were largely missing from transactions with literacy. Consequently, girls' efforts to make intertextual links to their own lived stories were not taken up in meaningful ways. Transactions with literacy created a felt sense of fractured or compartmentalized social identities, and the girls in this study learned to separate their public, academic lives from their private lives. As a result, the girls did not take up the literature in ways that could potentially enable them to realize social and cognitive transformation in their lives.
Achieving Successful School-University Collaboration
Authors: Borthwick Arlene C. , Stirling Terry , Nauman April D. , Cook Dale L.
Published: June 2003

This research used Q methodology and follow-up interviews to investigate essential elements required to establish and maintain successful school-university partnerships as reported by principals, teachers, and university coordinators in 10 partnerships. Of the partnerships, five were voluntary and grant-related and the other five were required by the district for Chicago public schools on probation. Analysis of the 34 Q sorts (54 items based on a grounded theory of partnership process) identified five factors representing different perspectives on key elements for successful partnerships, with participants tending to load on factors based on member position and/or context of the partnership.
Gender and Gang Membership
Authors: Dukes Richard L. , Stein Judith A.
Published: June 2003

The authors investigated the relationships of gender and gang membership to latent variables of psychosocial characteristics, drug use, delinquency, weapons possession, and fear within rural and urban school districts in Colorado. They compared 1,669 self-reported gang members to a sample of 1,742 nongang members in Grades 7 through 12. Gender was related more strongly to the latent variables than was place, which tended to favor the urban districts.
Lighting Up
Authors: Delorme Denise E. , Kreshel Peggy J. , Reid Leonard N.
Published: June 2003

In this study, the authors explored young adults' autobiographical memories of their first consumption experiences with cigarettes using a form of life history. We collected and analyzed 276 first-person essays to discover the significance of conditions and factors associated with the first act of smoking. For the study's participants, the first-use experience was a symbolically significant and enduring life event. Participants were able to provide rich and detailed recollections about the contextual nature of the first smoking act and the influences and outcomes associated with the event. Suggestions for the development of intervention communication programs are offered as well as recommendations for future research.
“No Fear Comes”
Authors: Theberge Nancy
Published: June 2003

This article examines the relationship between gender, physicality, and embodiment among a group of adolescent girls. The analysis is based on interviews with 24 girls who play ice hockey. In their accounts of the practice of hockey, respondents emphasize the importance of being aggressive, which they define as being powerful and sometimes fearless in use of the body. Whereas aggressiveness is a feature of both men's and women's hockey, the men's game is generally understood to be more physical and aggressive. Players understand that contrasts between men's and women's hockey arise out of both the material advantages that boys and men enjoy and the gendered ideologies that underlie the practice of sport. The article concludes with a consideration of the potential of hockey and other confrontational sports to challenge contemporary gender constructions and the limitations and possibilities of sport as an arena for change in gender ideologies and relations.
International Tourism and its Global Public Health Consequences
Authors: Richter Linda K.
Published: June 2003

Tourism, the world's largest industry, is expected to grow to 1.6 billion arrivals by 2020. Public health officials are only beginning to understand the challenges such growth will entail. This article argues that there is a unique and growing public health crisis associated with global tourism. The threat is not only to the tourists but also host societies and the tourists' home nations. Demographics, deforestation, deregulation, decentralization, privatization, and the fragmentation of power pose a dreadful urgency to dealing with this issue. Studies of warning and advisory mechanisms, authority and political will of international bodies, and the overall importance of tourism to most nations illustrate that regulation and coordination are eroding as the need for international collaboration grows. The study concludes with an action agenda for attempting to deal with this crisis.
Urban Visitor Perceptions of Safety during a Special Event
Authors: Barker Michael , Page Stephen J. , Meyer Denny
Published: June 2003

The impact of crime on special events in the urban environment has generated a limited amount of research among tourism researchers. This article is an exploratory study of visitor perceptions of crime and safety during the hosting of a special event—the 2000 America's Cup in Auckland, New Zealand. Using factor analysis and a structural equation model, the authors analyze the factors involved with crimes against tourists in urban areas. The results indicate that distinct differences exist between domestic and international visitors in relation to the perception and experiences of tourism-related crime.
Toward the Operationalization of Resource Investments Made between Customers and Providers of a Tourism Service
Authors: Morais Duarte B. , Backman Sheila J. , Dorsch Michael J.
Published: June 2003

The purpose of this article is to describe the process of developing an instrument to assess the types of resources invested by customers and providers of tourism services. Previous literature suggested that the type of resources invested between individuals was associated with the length and intimacy of their relationship. This phenomenon was explained by some authors using Resource Theory. As a consequence, there was an opportunity of using this theoretical framework to help explain the stability and intimacy of customer-provider relationships. Thus, two scales were developed using traditional procedures and confirmatory factor analysis: Providers' Perceived Resource Investments (PPRI) and Customers' Reported Resource Investments (CRRI). Both measurement models had good fit with the data. Each model consisted of 14 items distributed in four dimensions and a second-order factor. These findings suggested that Resource Theory can be used to gain insight into customer-provider relationships.
Predicting the Duration of Theme Park Visitors' Activities: An Ordered Logit Model Using Conjoint Choice Data
Authors: Kemperman Astrid , Borgers Aloys , Oppewal Harmen , Timmermans Harry
Published: June 2003

In this article, an ordered logit model is introduced that allows one to predict the time visitors spend on each of the activities available in a theme park. The model is estimated from experimental design data based on visitors' choices and time use for various hypothetical scenarios of activity availability in an existing theme park in the Netherlands. The findings provide information on the importance of the elements in the park in terms of visitor time use.
Local Festivals and Tourism Promotion: The Role of Public Assistance and Visitor Expenditure
Authors: Felsenstein Daniel , Fleischer Aliza
Published: June 2003

Local festivals are increasingly being used as instruments for promoting tourism and boosting the regional economy. This is often reflected in the level of public assistance made available to them. However, it is difficult to assess the extent of the contribution of the festival to local economic growth, and most studies do not examine this issue beyond standard multiplier impacts. This study looks at two local festivals that take place annually in northern Israel. On the basis of detailed data on public assistance and visitor expenditure patterns, it goes beyond the basic impact analysis framework. A method is presented that accounts for net local income increase induced by the festival. The results show modest but positive local growth, suggesting some justification for public assistance for local festivals as a tourism strategy. Policy implications related to increasing the volume of visitors and their spending are discussed.
Illustrating the Utility of a Modified Gap Analysis as a Regional Tourism Planning Tool: Case Study of Potential Japanese and German Travelers to the Cowichan Region
Authors: Murphy Ann Elaine
Published: June 2003

This article explores the potential for a modified gap analysis to serve as a useful tourism planning tool for rural regions. Minimal differences or “gaps” between customers perceptions of quality and the abilities of service providers to meet these expectations lead to increased profits. Tourists' perceptions are gleaned from surveys of international Japanese and German travelers conducted by national tourism associations. The host region's perceptions of these markets are drawn from survey responses of tourism and planning professionals working in the Cowichan Region in British Columbia, Canada. While there are some notable gaps between the two study groups, overall, the differences in tourism expectations and perceptions between these groups are minor. Based on this research, the potential for using a modified gap analysis in tourism planning is recommended for attention.
Estimating Casino Expenditures by Out-of-State Patrons: Native American Gaming in Connecticut
Authors: Dense Jeff , Barrow Clyde W.
Published: June 2003

Congress's passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 led to the proliferation of Native American casinos in the 1990s. This study uses patron origination analysis to investigate the substitution effect surrounding Indian gaming in Connecticut. A survey of automobiles (n = 13,383) and buses (n = 384) was conducted to determine the state of origin of casino patrons. The majority of customers at both the Foxwoods (71.7%) and Mohegan Sun (54.0%) casinos were from states other than Connecticut. Massachusetts's residents were the most frequent out-of-state visitors at both facilities (36.0% and 22.8%, respectively). These data were used to estimate out-of-state patrons' expenditures at the Connecticut casinos. Out-of-state visitors contributed 66% of gross revenue, approximately $1.28 billion, at Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun during 1999. Implications for policymakers in casino and noncasino states are provided.
The Unavailability of the Ordinary
Authors: Pippin Robert
Published: June 2003

In Natural Right and History Leo Strauss argues for the continuing “relevance” of the classical understanding of natural right. Since this relevance is not a matter of a direct return, or a renewed appreciation that a neglected doctrine is simply true, the meaning of this claim is somewhat elusive. But it is clear enough that the core of Strauss's argument for that relevance is a claim about the relation between human experience and philosophy. Strauss argues that the classical understanding articulates and is continuous with the “lived experience” of engaged participants in political life, the ordinary, and he argues (in a way quite similar to claims in Heidegger) that such an ordinary or everyday point of view has been “lost.” The author presents here an interpretation and critique of such a claim.
Two Notions of Humanity and the Judgment Argument for Human Rights
Authors: Ferrara Alessandro
Published: June 2003

This essay is about the difficulties connected with grounding human rights philosophically in a multicultural context. These difficulties are argued to derive from the tension between our aspiration to universal validity and our shared belief in the constitutive role of life-forms, traditions, cultures, and vocabularies vis-à-vis our conceptions of justice. Rawls's and Habermas's approaches to the justification of human rights are then briefly reconstructed and assessed. A symmetrical distribution of strong and weak points is argued to obtain. In the light of this reconstruction, the author explores the potential of his judgment view of justice for providing a justification of the universality of human rights not vulnerable to the difficulties of the other examined approaches.
Skill Deficit or Differential Motivation?
Authors: MacGeorge Erina L. , Gillihan Seth J. , Samter Wendy , Clark Ruth Anne
Published: June 2003

Although researchers have proposed a skill deficit account for observed gender differences in the provision of emotional support, few studies have directly tested the claim that men are less capable of providing effective support. This study advances an alternative account for gender differences in the effectiveness of supportive communication, arguing that gender differences may emerge because men and women respond differently to situational factors that influence the motivation to provide sensitive emotional support. Participants produced emotional support messages in response to scenarios varying in target gender, target responsibility for the problem, and target effort to resolve the problem, as well as in response to the problem itself (a replication factor included to increase generalizability). Women produced messages exhibiting greater emotional sensitivity than those of men across the other factors examined, providing support for the skill deficit account and failing to provide evidence of differential motivation.
A Monte Carlo Simulation of Observable Versus Latent Variable Structural Equation Modeling Techniques
Authors: Stephenson Michael T. , Holbert R. Lance
Published: June 2003

In this study, three approaches commonly used by communication scientists to specify structural relationships using full-information maximum likelihood structural equation modeling are investigated. Specifically, a simulation study using Monte Carlo techniques was conducted to compare the structural paths generated by each of the three structural equation model types. Two of the three approaches utilized forms of latent variable modeling, and the third approach employed observed variables only. Of the three, the observed variable approach produced the most conservative structural path coefficients, whereas the hybrid latent variable approach generated the least attenuated coefficients. The appropriateness of each technique in modeling structural relationships is discussed and an argument is made for greater use of latent variable structural equation modeling in the field of communication.
He Hits, She Hits
Authors: Melton Heather C. , Belknap Joanne
Published: June 2003

Within the study of intimate partner violence (IPV), controversy exists over whether perpetration and victimization of domestic violence is gender specific (gendered). Some researchers maintain no or few gender differences in IPV offending and victimization, particularly at less severe levels. Others argue that IPV is highly gendered and perpetrated largely by men against their female partners and expartners. Using officially collected data (through pretrial services and police reports) in a large Midwestern city, this study examined 2,670 IPV cases of which 14% had female defendants. This study was an effort to further clarify the debate regarding gender differences and similarities in reports of perpetration, victimization, context, and consequences of IPV. The two political and research perspectives that guide this debate, the family violence and feminist perspectives, are also discussed.
Beyond the Gatekeepers
Authors: Hartman Jennifer L. , Belknap Joanne
Published: June 2003

This study used intensive interview and survey data from 62 municipal court professionals (judges, prosecutors, and public defenders) to expand on the limited research on the court processing of domestic violence cases. The participants reported legal variables as both what should be and what were actually most commonly used in domestic violence court decisions. Victim testimony was also reported as important, and these data suggest that domestic violence victims cooperate with the courts more often than is believed. Victim advocate and batterer intervention workers' opinions were reported as both what should be and were least influential in the case outcome. Finally, the respondents rated the case sentences as having very little impact on domestic violence recidivism.
September 11: Public Administration and the Study of Crises and Crisis Management
Authors: Rosenthal Uriel
Published: June 2003

This article applies new insights in the study of crises and crisis management to the case of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Such new insights include the notion of crisis as process, the transnational dimensions of contemporary crises, the politization of crises, the increasing importance of the media, and the revision of some conventional wisdoms of crisis management. The article pays specific attention to the role of public officials and public agencies. It explores the contributions they made in the immediate response to the crisis as well as in the subsequent periods. It is stressed that the sheer inconceivability of September 11 may indicate the risk of totally new threats. With the possible exception of the intelligence community, September 11 has fostered the reputation of public administration. This will put extra pressure on public officials and their agencies to avert and effectively cope with new threats.
Administration Versus Management
Authors: Stivers Camilla
Published: June 2003

Public administration and public management are engaged in a struggle for control in the arena of public service. At first glance, the contest seems to be between ministering, justice, duty, and practicality on the one side and results, efficiency, objectivity, and science on the other. When a critical theory based on feminism is applied, however, each of the sides is also seen to be covertly at war with itself: each advocating a “hard” approach yet showing itself dependent on an unacknowledged but constitutive “soft” factor. As an alternative to continuing the conflict, the author advocates a regrouping of both camps around the idea of publicness.
Evolutionary Theory and African American Self-Perception: Sex Differences in Body-Esteem Predictors of Self-Perceived Physical and Sexual Attractiveness, and Self-Esteem
Authors: Wade T. Joel
Published: June 2003

Evolutionary biological theory has been shown to be relevant to an understanding of how individuals assess others' physical and sexual attractiveness. This research used the Body-Esteem Scale and multiple regression to determine if this theory is also relevant to an understanding of self-perceived physical and sexual attractiveness and self-esteem for a sample of 91 African Americans. The hypotheses that regression models of physical and sexual attractiveness would differ within and across sex groups and that models of self-esteem would differ across sex groups in accordance with evolutionary theory were supported. Attributes of the body related to fecundity and successful mothering characteristics predicted for women and attributes of the body related to strength and dominance predicted for men. In addition, attributes of the body dealing with sexual maturity were stronger predictors of sexual attractiveness for women. This research indicates that evolutionary biological theory can provide relevant insight for an understanding of self-perceived attractiveness and self-esteem for African Americans.
Toward a Unified Theory of Depression among Urban African American Youth: Integrating Socioecologic, Cognitive, Family Stress, and Biopsychosocial Perspectives
Authors: Hammack Phillip L.
Published: June 2003

With the recent increase in empirical studies investigating depression among urban African American youth comes the need to refine and integrate theoretical perspectives that address culture-specific etiologic mechanisms and developmental trajectories. The purpose of this article is to review four theories of depression relevant to the study of African American adolescents and to offer suggestions for the integration of theories to enhance the culturally relevant design of empirical investigations. It is argued that all four theories—socioecologic, cognitive, family stress, and biopsychosocial—center on the role of oppression in the development of urban Black youth and that an integrated theory would assume this underlying construct as its core focus. A macrotheoretical model synthesizing the four theories is presented, with oppression identified as the key catalyst in the chain of factors that might ultimately lead to adolescent depression. Implications for further theory development and empirical research on adolescent depression are discussed.
Central Park and the Melodramatic Imagination
Authors: Schenker Heath M.
Published: June 2003

This article explores the influence of “the melodramatic imagination” on Central Park in New York in the nineteenth century. It compares the landscape of the park to the contrived plots and spectacular stagings of popular moral reform melodramas playing in New York while the park was being developed. One parallel emerges in the sensational contrast of the park landscape to its urban context, representing a strong moral polarity. Similarly, the contrived plots of popular theatrical melodramas juxtaposed extremes of good and evil, posing certain moral choices to theatrical audiences. The presentation drawings created by the park's designers, like the tableaux punctuating important scenes in theatrical melodramas, fixed these moral contrasts in public memory. Finally, the author argues that both the plots of theatrical melodramas and the design of the new park relied on a stereotypical cast of characters grounded in prevailing views of social class and gender.
Private City, Public City
Authors: Fairfield John D.
Published: June 2003

The successes and failures of the American city have resulted from struggles over the uses of public power as much as from a capitalist culture of “privatism.” Public visions of the city's possibilities have, at times, proved as powerful as private economic interests in shaping the city's future. Examined in relationship to one another, Sam Bass Warner Jr.'s The Private City and Zane L. Miller's Boss Cox's Cincinnati illustrate the clash between economic interest and civic aspiration. Both argued for the necessity of civic spirit and public action if we were to build better cities. The Private City told the story from the point of view of failure, while Boss Cox's Cincinnati examined it from the point of view of success. Miller's analysis of the politics of an urban crisis serves as an essential, hopeful complement to Warner's powerful indictment of the American tradition of privatism.
Perceptions of a Fluid Consensus: Uniqueness Bias, False Consensus, False Polarization, and Pluralistic Ignorance in a Water Conservation Crisis
Authors: Monin Benoît , Norton Michael I.
Published: June 2003

A 5-day field study (N = 415) during and right after a shower ban demonstrated multifaceted social projection and the tendency to draw personality inferences from simple behavior in a time of drastic consensus change. Bathers thought showering was more prevalent than did non-bathers (false consensus) and respondents consistently underestimated the prevalence of the desirable and common behavior—be it not showering during the shower ban or showering after the ban (uniqueness bias). Participants thought that bathers and non-bathers during the ban differed greatly in their general concern for the community, but self-reports demonstrated that this gap was illusory (false polarization). Finally, bathers thought other bathers cared less than they did, whereas non-bathers thought other non-bathers cared more than they did (pluralistic ignorance). The study captures the many biases at work in social perception in a time of social change.
Two Functions of Verbal Intergroup Discrimination: Identity and Instrumental Motives as a Result of Group Identification and Threat
Authors: Scheepers Daan , Spears Russell , Doosje Bertjan , Manstead Antony S. R.
Published: June 2003

In two studies, the authors examined the circumstances under which discrimination has an identity confirmation function or an instrumental function (instigating collective action). In Study 1, participants (N = 601) described a situation in which they had discriminated and then completed measures of functionality, group identification, and group threat. Both functions were predicted by group identification, whereas the instrumental function (but not identity confirmation) operated under group threat. In Study 2, “die-hard” soccer fans (N = 1,546) suggested soccer chants in reaction to either a group-reinforcing (own team scores) or group-threatening (other team scores) situation and rated the perceived functionality of the song. Although both of these conditions evoked discriminating songs, as predicted, these served a more identity-confirming function in the reinforcing situation but a more instrumental function (pepping up the team) in the threat situation. Results are discussed in terms of a contextual-functional model of intergroup discrimination.
Solitude Experiences: Varieties, Settings, and Individual Differences
Authors: Long Christopher R. , Seburn Mary , Averill James R. , More Thomas A.
Published: June 2003

Solitude may be positive or negative, depending on situational and personal factors. From prior research, nine types of solitude were identified. Based on data from a questionnaire study of undergraduate participants, factor analysis suggests that these nine types can be reduced to three dimensions, two positive and one negative. These are, respectively, Inner-Directed Solitude (characterized by self-discovery and inner peace), Outer-Directed Solitude (characterized by intimacy and spirituality), and Loneliness. Personality and value correlates, as well as situational correlates, of the various types of solitude also were explored.
Affect- and Self-Based Models of Relationships between Daily Events and Daily Well-Being
Authors: Nezlek John B. , Plesko Rebecca M.
Published: June 2003

The present study examined affect- and self-based explanatory models of relationships between daily events and daily well-being. Twice a week for up to 10 weeks, participants described the events that occurred each day and provided measures of their daily affect, self-esteem, and depressogenic thinking. Participants also provided trait-level measures of affect, depression, and self-esteem. Measures of daily well-being representing each model covaried jointly and independently with daily negative and positive events. Positive events buffered the effects of negative events on daily self-esteem and daily depressogenic thinking, whereas there was no buffering effect for daily affect. More depressed people were more reactive to positive events, and those higher in trait PA were less reactive to negative events. Buffering effects for self-esteem were more pronounced for those with lower trait self-esteem, and buffering effects for daily depressogenic adjustment were more pronounced for those with higher trait negative affect. The results suggest that affect- and self-based models provide complementary perspectives on relationships between psychological well-being and daily events.
Discrimination and the Positive-Negative Asymmetry Effect: Ideological and Normative Processes
Authors: Amiot Catherine E. , Bourhis Richard Y.
Published: June 2003

Research using the minimal group paradigm demonstrates that categorization and ingroup identification can foster intergroup discrimination. However, the positive-negative asymmetry effect shows that less discrimination occurs when negative rather than positive outcomes are distributed. The normative hypothesis explains this asymmetry by the stronger inappropriateness of discrimination in negative than in positive outcome distributions. Results obtained in this minimal group paradigm study (N = 257) did not replicate the asymmetry effect: discrimination occurred in both positive and negative outcome distributions, even if norms against discrimination were stronger in negative than in positive outcome distributions. The absence of the asymmetry effect is explained by the effect of the discrimination-justifying ideology.
Variation in Black Anti-White Bias and Target Distancing Cues: Factors that Influence Perceptions of “Ambiguously Racist” Behavior
Authors: Johnson James D. , Simmons Carolyn , Trawalter Sophie , Ferguson Tara , Reed William
Published: June 2003

Experiment 1 indicated that when the White supervisor's negative treatment of a Black subordinate was unconstrained, participant race had no impact on attributions. Conversely, when the treatment was constrained, Black participants reported greater racist attributions than did White participants. Experiment 2 indicated that when the supervisor reported no response or a minimal negative response (i.e., indicating that he did not support his actions) after his negative treatment of the Black subordinate, Black participants reported greater racist attributions than did White participants. Conversely, when the supervisor's negative treatment was followed by a more extreme negative response, participant race had no impact on attributions. Experiment 3 indicated that Black participants were less likely than White participants to perceive a minimal negative response as reflecting a White supervisor's lack of support for his negative actions. Conversely, participant race had no impact on attributions of a Black supervisor's negative actions.
The Invalidity of Disclaimers about the Effects of Social Feedback on Self-Esteem
Authors: Leary Mark R. , Gallagher Brittany , Fors Emily , Buttermore Nicole , Baldwin Emilee , Kennedy Kara , Mills Aaron
Published: June 2003

Despite the fact that several theories suggest that people's self-esteem is affected by social approval and disapproval, many individuals steadfastly maintain that how other people regard them has no effect on how they feel about themselves. To examine the validity of these beliefs, two experiments compared the effects of social approval and disapproval on participants who had indicated either that their self-esteem is affected by how other people evaluate them or that their self-esteem is unaffected by interpersonal evaluation. Results of both studies converged to show that approval and disapproval clearly affected the self-esteem of even those individuals who denied that social evaluations affected their feelings about themselves.
A Comparison of Selected Empirical Methods for Assessing the Structure of Responses to Test Items
Authors: Tate Richard
Published: June 2003

Selected methods of empirically assessing the structure of tests with dichotomous items were compared. The methods included both exploratory and confirmatory procedures from two different families, those based on parametric models and nonparametric methods based on conditional item covariances. The analysis conditions considered were typical of large-scale assessments, for example, the tests were composed of a relatively large number of items, and it was assumed that a relatively large sample size would be available for analysis. Comparisons of the methods were conducted for real data from a 62-item test of reading ability and for computer-generated data for multiple unidimensional and multidimensional cases. For the most part, all methods performed reasonably well over a relatively wide range of conditions. The several exceptions to this outcome occurred when the test data departed appreciably from the assumptions or inherent limitations associated with a method, for example, when guessing was present but not allowed for in the analysis or when the multidimensional test structure was nonsimple but the goal of the method was to estimate the amount of multidimensional simple structure. Index terms: test structure, test dimensionality, local item dependencies, test factors.
A Bayesian Approach to Person Fit Analysis in Item Response Theory Models
Authors: Glas Cees A. W. , Meijer Rob R.
Published: June 2003

A Bayesian approach to the evaluation of person fit in item response theory (IRT) models is presented. In a posterior predictive check, the observed value on a discrepancy variable is positioned in its posterior distribution. In a Bayesian framework, a Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure can be used to generate samples of the posterior distribution of the parameters of interest. These draws can also be used to compute the posterior predictive distribution of the discrepancy variable. The procedure is worked out in detail for the three-parameter normal ogive model, but it is also shown that the procedure can be directly generalized to many other IRT models. Type I error rate and the power against some specific model violations are evaluated using a number of simulation studies. Index terms: Bayesian statistics, item response theory, person fit, model fit, 3-parameter normal ogive model, posterior predictive check, power studies, Type I error.
MetaAnalysisCorr: An SAS/IML Program to Synthesize Correlation Matrices with Hunter and Schmidt, Hedges and Olkin, and Generalized Least Squares Approaches
Authors: Cheung Mike W.-L.
Published: June 2003

Meta-analysis, the analysis of analyses, is a standard statistical procedure for summarizing research findings in behavioral sciences. The Hunter-Schmidt approach (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990) and the Hedges-Olkin (Hedges & Olkin, 1985) approach are the two most frequently used procedures. When dealing with multivariate cases, for instance, correlation matrices, these procedures are applied to individual correlation coefficients of the correlation matrix separately. A better approach, however, is to use the generalized least squares approach, which was proposed for multivariate effect sizes (e.g., Becker, 1992, 1995; Hedges & Olkin, 1985).
Immigration, State Support, and the Economic Well-Being of the Elderly in Israel
Authors: Lewin Alisa C. , Stier Haya
Published: June 2003

The economic well-being of the elderly largely reflects their cumulative achievements in the labor market and the success of welfare policy in reducing income gaps and inequality. This article focuses on the effect of immigration, especially its timing along the life course, on economic well-being later in life. Using data from a nationally representative survey of the elderly population in Israel, we found that immigrants entering Israel at a young age were able not only to accumulate sufficient labor force experience but also to secure the types of employment that grant high levels of benefits. Thus, they could achieve economic independence by old age. The findings underscore the role of the state in compensating those who immigrated at older ages for their inability to accumulate market resources by raising them above the poverty line.