Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mesolithic Stone Tool Function And Site Types In Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic, Bruce Hardy, Jiří Svoboda

Bruce Hardy

Connectivity Analysis Reveals A Cortical Network For Eye Gaze Perception., Lauri Nummenmaa, Luca Passamonti, James Rowe, Andrew Engell, Andy Calder

Andrew Engell

Private Information Of Nonpaternalistic Altruism: Exaggeration And Reciprocation Of Generosity, Yuk-Fai Fong

Yuk-Fai Fong

Applying techniques developed by Geanakoplos et al. (1989), this paper analyzes the gift exchange between agents with privately observed nonpaternalistic altruism. I find that gift giving between agents under private information of altruism can be analyzed as a conventional signaling game. After applying standard refinements of signaling games, I show that, over nondegenerate ranges of parameter values, private information introduces systematic biases in agents' behavior. First, agents tend to give larger gifts than under full information. Second, despite that fact that agents have no intrinsic concern for reciprocity or fairness, the more altruistic the recipient is, the more the donor …

Using Treated Wastewater To Save Wetlands Impacted By Climate Change And Pumping, Don J. Mcfarlane, Anthony Smith, Elise Bekele, John Simpson, Sorada Tapsuwan

Sorada Tapsuwan

Wetlands occur where the watertable which underlies much of Perth intersects the land surface. Regional groundwater levels have been falling since the 1970s as a result of lower rainfall and increased extraction causing a loss of environmental and social values. This paper examines a scheme to add almost 2 GL/yr of treated wastewater to infiltration galleries immediately down-gradient of Perry Lakes so that the wetlands may be restored. Modelling suggest that groundwater levels would be raised up-gradient of the galleries, increasing both lake levels and groundwater supplies in the vicinity. It is not envisaged that wastewater will enter the lakes. …

Providing Efficient Police Services:A Cost-Benefit Analysis, Serdar Kenan Gul, Cemil Dogutas

Serdar Kenan Gul

This case study evaluates and compares several alternatives for increasing efficiency in the Kent State University (KSU) Police Department in Ohio, USA by using Bardach’s Eightfold Path Model. The KSU Police Department provides money escort services despite the recent decrease in the number of personel allocated to routine police services. The community expects the campus police to be more visible and respond to calls for service more swiftly. In order to increase efficiency in terms of visibility and rapid response on campus, this study recommends contracting out the money escort services to a private company and redeploy police officers to …

An Index For Assessing Demographic Inequalities In Cumulative Environmental Hazards With Application To Los Angeles, California, Bhavna Shamasunder, Jason G. Su, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Bill M. Jesdale, Amy D. Kyle, Michael Jerrett

Bhavna Shamasunder

Researchers in environmental justice contend that low-income communities and communities of color face greater impacts from environmental hazards. This is also of concern for policy makers. In this context, our paper has two principal objectives. First, we propose a method for creating an index capable of summarizing racial−ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities from the impact of cumulative environmental hazards. Second, we apply the index to Los Angeles County to illustrate the potential applications and complexities of its implementation. Individual environmental inequality indices are calculated based on unequal shares of environmental hazards for racial−ethnic groups and socioeconomic positions. The illustrated hazards include …

An Evaluation Of The Rational Choice Theory In Criminology, Serdar Kenan Gul

Serdar Kenan Gul

Rational choice theory is an approach used by social scientists to understand human behavior. This approach has long been the dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent decades it has become more widely used in other disciplines. It is basically about how incentives and constraints affect behavior. This article discusses rational choice theory in criminology. This study provides the basic assumptions of the rational choice approach, and then evaluates this approach by giving several examples of its use. The first example is about rational choice model of illegal sales of tobacco products to underage youths, which places a strong emphasis …

Organizational Culture, Professional Ethics, And Guantanamo, Greg Mcneal

Greg McNeal

In this symposium essay I draw attention to the intersection between the social scientific literature on organizational culture and the legal ethics literature. Drawing from the organizational theory literature I detail a framework for assessing organizational culture and explain how organizational culture reflects more than rules and structure within an organization, but rather represents deeper values, practices, and ways of thinking. While organizational culture is difficult to change, it can be modified or sustained through power, status, rewards, and other mechanisms. After establishing a baseline for assessing organizational culture I highlight efforts by the Bush administration to exercise control over …