Showing papers by "Boise State University published in 1990"

Computer anxiety and alienation: toward a definitive and parsimonious measure

Abstract: An attempt is made to construct a useful and theoretically sound scale that can be used in future research to measure computer user anxiety and alienation. Because the measurement of either alienat...

On the efficiency of law: A public choice perspective

Abstract: Economists have not yet developed a comprehensive theoretical framework, incorporating transaction-cost economics within a public choice perspective, for predicting when there will be an efficiency problem with the law. Transaction-cost reasoning and the rent-seeking insight have not been applied systematically in a dynamic institutional context to evaluate when the law will be used to increase (or not minimize) problems of bounded rationality and opportunism. This paper takes a first step at identifying and remedying this deficiency. The paper first provides a critical review of relevant theoretical contributions made by Becker (1983, 1985), Posner (1977), Priest (1977), Rubin (1977, 1982), Williamson (1975, 1985), and others. We then show how analysis of the efficiency of law can be synthesized into a broader whole by incorporating transaction-cost economics more fully into existing understanding of rentseeking in the political realm. Thus, within the public choice paradigm, this paper develops a deeper transaction-cost analysis of the efficiency of law. Building on prior research by the authors (Crew and Rowley, 1988a, 1988b; Twight, 1983, 1988), the paper identifies variables that position legal rules on a spectrum that ranges from those that are predominantly transaction-cost

Epicompletetion of archimedean l –groups and vector lattices with weak unit

Abstract: In the category W of archimedean /-groups with distinguished weak order unit, with unitpreserving /-homomorphisms, let 3$ be the class of ^-objects of the form D(X), with X basically disconnected, or, what is the same thing (we show), the 3^-objects of the form M/N, where M is a vector lattice of measurable functions and TV is an abstract ideal of null functions. In earlier work, we have characterized the epimorphisms in 3T, and shown that an object G is epicomplete (that is, has no proper epic extension) if and only if G € 3§. This describes the epicompletions of a given G (that is, epicomplete objects epically containing G). First, we note that an epicompletion of G is just a "^-completion", that is, a minimal extension of G by a ^"-object, that is, by a vector lattice of measurable functions modulo null functions. (C[0,1] has 2 C non-equivalent such extensions.) Then (we show) the ^"-completions, or epicompletions, of G are exactly the quotients of the /-group B{Y(G)) of real-valued Baire functions on the Yosida space Y(G) of G, by ff-ideals / for which G embeds naturally in B(Y(G))/I. There is a smallest /, called N(G), and over the embedding G < B(Y(G))/N(G) lifts any homomorphism from G to a .^-object. (The existence, though not the nature, of such a "reflective" epicompletion was first shown by Madden and Vermeer, using locales, then verified by us using properties of the class 3S.) There is a unique maximal (not maximum) such /, called M(Y(G)), and B(Y(G))/M{Y{G)) is the unique essential ^"-completion. There is an intermediate a-ideal, called Z(Y(G)), and the embedding G < B(Y(G))/Z(Y(G)) is a CT-embedding, and functorial for cr-homomorphisms. The situation stands in strong analogy to the theory in Boolean algebras of free tr-algebras and ff-extensions, though there are crucial differences.

Illegitimacy, Child Abuse and Neglect, and Cognitive Development

Abstract: This study explored the relationship between illegitimate birth and cognitive development among 513 boys on probation. Prior research has shown that being part of a single-parent household leads to diminished verbal capacities and often puts a child in greater danger of abuse and neglect. Frequent abuse is thought to lead to the enhancement of visual and spatial skills relative to verbal skills through a process of "frozen watchfulness". I hypothesized that illegitimate boys from one-parent homes would have greater verbal-performance discrepancy scores than would boys from other combinations of birth status and family structure. These boys had the lowest verbal IQ and highest performance IQ scores and, hence, the largest discrepancy. These boys also suffered the highest degree of abuse and neglect of all four birth status/family structure combinations studied.

Twice Labeled: The Effect of Psychiatric Labeling on the Sentencing of Sex Offenders*

Abstract: This study explores the effects of a psychiatric referral on the sentencing of sex offenders. Data come from an examination of all felony sexual assault cases in a metropolitan Ohio county between 1978 and 1984 (N = 431). All sex offenders who were referred for psychiatric evaluation were given a label indicative of some sort of pathology. After adjusting for the effects of crime seriousness and prior record, referred/labeled offenders were just over twice as likely to be incarcerated as sex offenders who were not referred/labeled. This was not a function of punitive psychiatric recommendations; psychiatrists recommended probation for the individuals they tested significantly more often than did probation officers who processed the same individuals. It was also found that only crime seriousness, prior record, and treatment prognosis significantly affected psychiatric recommendations. Other extralegal variables—acceptance of blame, IQ, race, and SES, did not independently affect sentencing. Further, only crime seriousness and prior record significantly affected prognosis. Only labeling significantly affects sentencing after the effects of the legally relevant variables are taken into account.

Modelling Alternative Subsistence Strategies for the Middle Snake River

Abstract: This article models acquisition costs and nutritional returns for Late Archaic (post-A.D. 1200) peoples of the Middle Snake River. It is an attempt to demonstrate probable deficiencies in the ethno...

Hypermedia knowledge management for intelligent organizations

Abstract: Using a simple model consisting of individual knowledge bases, organization knowledge bases, organization actions, and environment responses, hypermedia is investigated as a technology for knowledge management in intelligent organizations. Cognitive mapping, issue-based information systems, and generalized hypertext methods are reviewed and desirable features of hypermedia organization knowledge management are proposed. These desirable features include a variety of typed hypertext nodes and links, process memory, learning support, and both automated and user-directed manipulation of knowledge bases. Interactions of the knowledge bases with organization actions and environmental responses are also discussed. >

Affirmative Action and Job Satisfaction: Self-Interested v. Public Spirited Perspectives on Social Equity—Some Sobering Findings from the Academic Workplace

Abstract: This study utilizes a national study of university faculty, including a sizeable proportion ofAfro-American and female respondents, to examine university faculty attitudes toward affirmative action. It has been argued by some that self-interested motivations underlie attitudesabout affirmative action policies, while others have argued that "public spirit" (Kelman, 1987)and "other regarding" (Wilson and Banfield, 1964) motivations more properly serve toaccount for attitudes relating to social equity and societal welfare issues. University facultywere chosen as a particularly appropriate group to study; if any segment of society is likely tobe public spirited in this way it is likely to be the best educated among us. The central questionto be investigated is: how do individuals embedded in a meritocratic system such as theUniversity perceive affirmative action and the benefits and harms it holds for both white malesand protected category persons? How, in turn, does this set of attitudes about affirmativeact...

Endocrine Response of Captive Male Brown-Headed Cowbirds to Intrasexual Social Cues

Abstract: The hormonal response to a spectrum of intrasexual social stimuli was studied in captive Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater). Males were housed in individual cages in one of four conditions: (1) in a semicircle with other males (= visual + vocal stimuli), (2) in acoustic chambers with visual access to a devocalized companion (= visual stimuli only), (3) in chambers in which a tutor tape was played daily (= vocal stimuli only), and (4) in acoustic chambers with no other input (neither visual nor social stimuli). Blood samples were taken at 2-week intervals throughout the spring and early summer and assayed for testosterone. The results indicate that the greatest increase in testosterone was in the birds receiving visual plus vocal stimuli and in those receiving only visual stimuli; males receiving only vocal stimuli had a muted endocrine response, and those receiving no social stimulation exhibited the briefest response. The relatively small response to vocal stimulation is consistent with the absence of a behavioral response to simulated territorial intrusions (i.e., song playbacks) that has been shown in previous studies in male cowbirds.

Becoming an American and Liking It as Functions of Social Distance and Severity of Initiation

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of social distance among a sample of immigrants in the process of becoming United States citizens. Using the Bogardus Social Distance Scale, a positive relationship was found between the degree of social distance and the likelihood of becoming a citizen. Social distance also serves as an important indicator of severity of initiation; the findings suggest that severity of initiation had a positive influence on reported satisfaction with life in America for those who became U. S. citizens. For those who did not become citizens, however, social distance had an inverse affect on satisfaction.

The effect of the word processor and the style checker on revision in technical writing : what do we know, and what do we need to find out?

Abstract: This article surveys and critiques the literature on using style checkers and the text-editing capabilities of the computer to assist in revising technical writing. The literature on text-editing capabilities is inconclusive because it is largely anecdotal and methodologically flawed. The literature on style checkers is similarly inconclusive. To better assess the value of the computer, we need to examine the basic premise of the research on revising and word processing: that more revising leads to higher-quality writing. We need to be sure that our evaluative techniques for measuring writing improvement are valid; to focus our attention not only on computer novices but also on computer-experienced writers; to examine other factors that affect how writers use word processing and that in turn might affect writing quality; and to examine more carefully the differences among word processors and among the different style checkers to determine their effects on writing behavior and writing quality.

A partition relation for partially ordered sets

Abstract: We introduce a partition relation which is an alternate for measuring how badly the ordinary partition relation fails, we develop its corresponding partition calculus and we determine its status for various typical partially ordered sets.

Representation of letters when mislocation errors occur.

Abstract: Errors in reporting a cued target letter appearing among a string of letters more often reflect the mislocation of a letter appearing elsewhere in the string than the intrusion of one not in the string. The current experiment was conducted to determine the representation of letters at the stage at which errors occur. Four letters (from a set of 12 chosen to contain counterpart pairs that were similar physically, phonemically, or both physically and phonemically) appeared in each exposure, with the target letter indicated by a cue in the postexposure mask. Letter strings presented to one group of subjects were flanked on either side by a pound sign (#) to assess the effect of lateral masking on the terminal letter in the string. Physical similarity dictated the pattern of mislocations between counterparts, suggesting a physical rather than phonemic or abstract representation. Lateral masking played no significant role in the difference between intrusions and mislocations.

The outmoded psychology of Aristotle's rhetoric

Abstract: (1990). The outmoded psychology of Aristotle's rhetoric. Western Journal of Speech Communication: Vol. 54, Rhetoric and historiography, pp. 204-218.

Creating an accounting culture in the classroom

Abstract: Numerous critics of accounting education have suggested that students graduating from accounting programs are well-trained but poorly educated. One reason that this may be occurring is that accounting education has become increasingly rule-oriented, focusing more on training future accountants rather than on educating those individuals. It is suggested here that accounting educators should spend more time developing an awareness in students of the culture of accounting. Two methods for accomplishing this change are suggested: (1) Focusing on the issues instead of the rules, and (2) providing students with a historical perspective of the events which have developed and shaped the practice of accountancy. By adding culture to the accounting curriculum, students will be better educated and thus be better prepared for their future careers.

Cooperative processing: an agenda for research

Abstract: The potential research agenda for cooperative processing (COP) is explored. COP is a method of processing in which communications is an integral part of the process of executing an application. The notion that new information technologies are creating innovative organizational structures that tend to alter the ways in which firms conduct their business is discussed. Topics for possible research are suggested such as: potential COP users, types of applications benefiting from the COP processing mode, and organizational and technological factors involved in COP implementation. >

Measuring the effectiveness of hypertext in decision support

Abstract: The authors suggest that developing a set of dependent variables to measure effectiveness of hypertext in decision support is an important first step in a program of research. A review of empirical hypertext research is presented, followed by a discussion of research assessing effectiveness of decision support and related systems. The role of hypertext in organizations is conceptually linked to the three main phases of the decision-making process: problem structuring, analysis, and problem resolution. A set of six classes of appropriate dependent variables for assessing effectiveness of hypertext is suggested within the context of the decision-making phases: information content and function variables are associated with problem structuring; presentation and usage variables are associated with analysis; outcome and perception variables are associated with problem resolution. >