Showing papers on "Credibility published in 1996"

Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge

Abstract: In the short, turbulent history of AIDS research and treatment, the boundaries between scientist insiders and lay outsiders have been crisscrossed to a degree never before seen in medical history. Steven Epstein's astute and readable investigation focuses on the critical question of 'how certainty is constructed or deconstructed', leading us through the views of medical researchers, activists, policy makers, and others to discover how knowledge about AIDS emerges out of what he calls 'credibility struggles'. Epstein shows the extent to which AIDS research has been a social and political phenomenon and how the AIDS movement has transformed biomedical research practices through its capacity to garner credibility by novel strategies. Epstein finds that non scientist AIDS activists have gained enough of a voice in the scientific world to shape NIH-sponsored research to a remarkable extent. Because of the blurring of roles and responsibilities, the production of biomedical knowledge about AIDS does not, he says, follow the pathways common to science; indeed, AIDS research can only be understood as a field that is unusually broad, public, and contested. He concludes by analyzing recent moves to democratize biomedicine, arguing that although AIDS activists have set the stage for new challenges to scientific authority, all social movements that seek to democratize expertise face unusual difficulties. Avoiding polemics and accusations, Epstein provides a benchmark account of the AIDS epidemic to date, one that will be as useful to activists, policy makers, and general readers as to sociologists, physicians, and scientists.

How Message Evaluation and Source Attributes May Influence Credibility Assessment and Belief Change

Abstract: Although source credibility's importance in communication, particularly in persuasion, is well documented, audience processes in assessing source credibility and the resulting impact are inadequate...

Exploring the Construct of Organization as Source: Consumers' Understandings of Organizational Sponsorship of Advocacy Advertising

Abstract: Advocacy advertising is now a mainstay of corporate advertising strategy. Though much research has been done on source credibility in general and single persona sponsor credibility, little attention has been given to what makes an organization a credible sponsor for issues/advocacy advertising. On the basis of 97 qualitative interviews with consumers, the article profiles how consumers make sense of organizational sponsorship of advocacy messages. In the analysis, the criteria consumers use to evaluate organizational sponsors are identified, and how consumers use those criteria to describe effective/ineffective advocacy messages is discussed. The article concludes with a comparison of the study results with those reported in the credibility and advocacy advertising literature, highlighting points of commonality and divergence. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Change agentry—the next IS frontier

Abstract: We wrote this essay to stimulate IS specialists' efforts to become more effective -- and more credible -- agents of organizational change. The essay describes what we believe to be a view of the IS specialists' change-agent role that is very commonly held by IS specialists. We believe this role, while well-intentioned and supported by structural conditions in IS work, often has negative consequences for organizations and for the credibility of IS specialists. Further, it does not fit the emerging structural conditions of IS. We describe two alternative models of what it means to be a change agent, their potential consequences, and the structural conditions that support or inhibit behavior in that role. We conclude that increased behavioral flexibility of IS specialists -- the ability to switch roles in different circumstances -- would improve organizational effectiveness and IS specialist credibility. Finally, we discuss the implications of our analysis for research, teaching, and practice.

Context and Antecedents of Information Utility at the R&D/Marketing Interface

Abstract: The objective of the present study was to develop a comprehensive empirically-based model of the communication interface between R&D and marketing. Following Moenaert and Souder Moenaert, R. K., Souder, W. E. 1990. An analysis of the use of extra-functional information by marketing and R&D personnel review and model. Product Innovation Management73, September 213-229., a causal model of the antecedents of information utility at the R&D/marketing-interface was postulated. A non-experimental critical incident method was used to test the model. The field survey involved 386 team members of 80 new product innovation teams in 40 companies. Path analysis was used to test the causal model. Support for several aspects of the model were found. First, the relevance and the credibility of the message had strong effects on the perception of information utility. The comprehensibility of the message had a moderate effect on the perception of information utility, whereas novelty had a small effect. Second, the quality of the relationship, the seniority and the prior experience of the message source, and the type of communication channel used had significant effects on the perception of the message. The implications of the research results for managers and researchers are detailed.

Candidates in Conflict: Persuasive Attack and Defense in the 1992 Presidential Debates

Abstract: This text provides a perspective for understanding presidential debates by analyzing the debates in 1992 among candidates Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot. It argues that candidates are able either to undermine or to preserve the vital issues of personal credibility and policy matters.

The Leader of the Future

Abstract: It appears that the variance of thought that exists within the business and academic worlds concerning leadership has greatly diminished over the last several years. Although we are far from a consensus, most thoughtful academics and practitioners no longer believe that leadership is predicated upon a set of genetic or cultivated traits, exercised by great people to engage others in activities that benefit only the leaders and their respective organizations. Rather, leadership is an episodic process that involves several people at various levels who seek to intentionally influence others to achieve personal and professional goals, benefiting both leaders and followers. With this perspective in mind, the author describes three challenging puzzles that the leader must solve to be effective in the future: the Puzzle of Doubt, the Question and Answer Puzzle, and the Puzzle of Balance. Several frameworks and approaches are presented to assist potential leaders in establishing their credibility, developing the ...

Psychology, law, and criminal justice: International developments in research and practice.

Abstract: Sixty-three proceedings papers from researchers in Europe, North America, and Australasia, assess the psychological implications of legal systems and prisons. The presentations review factors involving eyewitness testimony credibility and misinformation, techniques in suspect and victim interviewing

Patenting Culture in Science: Reinventing the Scientific Wheel of Credibility

Abstract: This article discusses the emergence of a patenting culture in university science. Patenting culture is examined empirically in the context of the increasing commerciali zation of science, and theoretically within debates over scientific "credibility." The article explores the translation of academic credit into patents, and vice versa, and argues that this process raises new questions for our understanding of scientific recognition and of scientists' networks. In particular, the analysis suggests that scientists must move between two distinct social worlds to manage the rewards that academic and patent cultures carry.

Arbitrage-Based Tests of Target-Zone Credibility: Evidence from ERM Cross-Rate Options

Abstract: This paper introduces two arbitrage-based tests of target-zone credibility using a new data source, exchange-rate mechanism cross-rate options. Using daily option prices from September 1991 to August 1994, the authors assess the credibility of the pound-mark and mark-lira target zones that collapsed in September 1992 and the ongoing mark-French franc target zone. These tests are based on restrictions that must apply to all option prices within a credible target zone and are free from specification error and estimation error. The authors also identify a minimum 'intensity of realignment,' an expression indicating the probability-weighted average realignment size. Copyright 1996 by American Economic Association.

A New Theory Concerning the Credibility and Success of Threats to Sue

Abstract: Negative-expected-value (NEV) suits are ones in which the expected litigation costs exceed the expected judgment. This paper offers a new explanation for the credibility and success of plaintiff with NEV suits. The explanation is based on the fact that litigation costs are generally not incurred all at once but rather over time; this divisibility of the litigation process is shown to play a crucial strategic role. The analysis identifies the conditions under which a plaintiff with an NEV suit will have a credible threat and succeed in extracting a settlement. It is demonstrated that plaintiffs have credible threats in a much wider set of cases - including in numerous small-stake cases - than has been suggested by prior economic analysis of the subject.

Global models meet global policy: How can global and regional modellers connect with environmental policy makers? What has hindered them? What has helped?

Abstract: Global modelling has developed over the last two decades largely because of the needs of policymaking, yet it has not yet realized its full potential in assisting policymaking. While the first wave of global models in the 1970s had a clear influence on policy discourse, these models were eventually undermined by attacks on their scientific underpinning. The second wave of global models in the 1990s had a stronger scientific footing than the first wave because they were built on a much larger base of knowledge about the global system. Although the improved scientific credibility of global models has increased their use in policymaking, a more subtle yet important factor has been the direct contact of global model developers with policymakers. Taking an example from the field of climate policy, a global modelling team has conducted formal workshops with a group of international climate policymakers with the aim to increase the relevance of modeling activities to policy issues. This interaction has inspired policyrelevant uses of a global model (IMAGE 2) and spawned the development of a new policy concept ‘Safe Emission Corridors’, which has been discussed in the frame of international climate negotiations. A preliminary conclusion is that both improved scientific credibility and improved interaction between modelers and policymakers are critical ingredients for enhancing the policy-relevance of global models.

Central bank independence and sacrifice ratios

Abstract: Do countries with independent central banks enjoy lower output costs during disinflation? Credibility should allow independent central banks to adjust quicker and thereby suffer lower output costs. The objective of this study is to test the credibility hypothesis that countries with independent central banks suffer lower output losses over a disinflationary cycle than do countries with less independent central banks.

Audit the taxpayer, not the return: Tax auditing as an expression game

Abstract: This paper examines the practice of tax auditing in the Examination Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Using data from 142 interviews of revenue agents in four different geographical locations, we analyze the audit process as an example of an “expression game” [Goffman, E., Strategic Interaction (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1969)] in which the taxpayer attempts to maintain a front as an honest, compliant citizen and the revenue agents attempt to maintain a front as a fair, competent professional who is just doing his or her job. Expression games are a generic kind of strategic interaction in which participants attempt to manage the impressions that others have of them and their credibility. While certain aspects of an expression game could be reduced to a formal dynamic game with asymmetric information, the sociological perspective on the audit interaction seeks to preserve the complexity of the moves and motivations that drive the interaction. Unlike formal game theoretic models, this perspective draws attention to the practical, working knowledge required in audit work, as well as the socio-emotional aspects of the interaction. We use this framework to help understand the limits of objectivity, formalization, and technology in work that involves strategic interactions of this kind.

Risky Thinking: Irrational Fears about Risk and Society:

Abstract: Scientists have made remarkable progress in dealing with technical challenges but not in dealing with society. Given that public concerns have grown, in the face of declining “real” risks, the common if simplistic tendency has been to blame public ignorance or irrationality and to argue that policy decisions should be based on quantitative risk estimates, effectively ignoring public concerns. Such assertions are superficially plausible, but they reflect fundamental misunderstandings of the nature of technological societies, as well as of the reasons behind declining scientific credibility and of actual strengths and weaknesses of risk assessment. Scientific credibility has been undermined not so much by shadowy enemies as by actions of self-proclaimed friends, and there are inherent limitations to the practical usefulness of risk assessment in policy disputes. If proposals for risk-based decision making were actually implemented, they could well lead not to increased credibility for specific technologies ...

A New Theory concerning the Credibility and Success of Threats to Sue

Abstract: Negative-expected-value (NEV) suits are ones in which the expected litigation costs exceed the expected judgment. This article offers a new theory for the credibility and success of plaintiffs with NEV suits. The theory is based on recognizing that litigation costs are generally not incurred all at once but rather over time; this divisibility of the litigation process is shown to play a crucial strategic role. The analysis identifies the conditions under which a plaintiff with an NEV suit will have a credible threat and succeed in extracting a settlement. It is demonstrated that plaintiffs have credible threats in a much wider set of cases--including in numerous small-stakes cases--than has been suggested by prior economic analysis of the subject.

Intergovernmental Relations and Economic Management in China

Abstract: List of Tables - List of Figures - Acknowledgements - List of Abbreviations - Introduction - Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Macroeconomic Management - Central Governmental Credibility and Local Tax Efforts: A Game Theoretic Model - Central Government Transfer under Soft Budget Constraint - Intergovernmental Relations and Monetary Management - Central Government Credibility and Monetary Expansion: A Game Theoretic Model - Intergovernmental Relations and Market Development - Bibliography - Index

Cheap Talk and Reputation in Repeated Pretrial Negotiation

Abstract: Infinitely repeated interaction between a defendant and a plaintiff can enhance the credibility of cheap talk and improve efficiency in outcomes that would be feasible without cheap talk. The basic driving force is reputation effect. If the players are concerned about their reputation, cheap talk cannot be taken as meaningless even in a game where the interests of the players are sufficiently conflicting, because possible current gains from opportunistic behavior can be wiped out by future losses in payoff from damaged.

The attributes of leadership

Abstract: Reports the conclusions of a study involving in‐depth interviews with 18 business leaders, focusing on the qualities and skills they felt to be essential for success in directing and guiding a large organization. These qualities include the ability to make sense of a complicated pattern of events and from this formulate clear goals for the organization; people and communication skills; integrity; drive and ambition. In selecting others, as potential future leaders and high‐flyers, this group of current leaders used the following criteria. There was high agreement that proven track record was vital, both as an indicator of future performance and to establish credibility. Another important characteristic is the ability to take an independent (even unpopular) line, and defend it. As could be predicted, interpersonal skills, team orientation, commitment and motivation were also seen as important.

Antecedents and Effects of Perceived Therapist Credibility: A Meta-Analysis.

Abstract: Published studies examining antecedents or effects (or both) of perceived therapist credibility were subjected to a meta-analytic review to test S. R. Strong's (1968) 2-phase model of interpersonal influence in counseling. Results conformed to the predictions of the model, with therapist credibility cues moderately related to credibility, and credibility strongly related to therapist influence. Cue type was a significant moderator of the relation between cues and credibility. Cue types were also differentially related to influence, but this relation was mediated by cue strength, or the relation of cues to credibility. Tests of differential reactivity among influence measures yielded equivocal results, as did tests of participant involvement as a moderator of the relation between cues and influence. It is suggested that a simple mediational model cannot fully account for the relations among cues, credibility, and influence.

Credibility in court : communicative practices in the Camorra trials

Abstract: 1. Introduction: men of honour, men of truth Part I. Constructing a Criminal World: 2. For a history of the present: how belonging to a community became a crime 3. The simulacra of the pentiti Part II. Constructing a convincing world: 4. On credibility (the pentito and the judge) 5. On knowledge (pentiti's narrative strategies) Part III. Constructing a Reliable World: 6. On indirectness (pentito v. defence lawyer) 7. On accountability (pentito v. judge) Part IV. Constructing an antagonistic world: 8. On respect (pentito v. defendant) 9. On truth (pentito v. pentito) Conclusions: 10. Justice, discourse, and society.

Formative and summative evaluation in the faculty peer review of teaching

Abstract: If the process of the faculty peer review of teaching is to overcome institutional marginalization, then its formative and summative components must employ rules, criteria, and standards for the identification of effective teaching that have been agreed to within a peer conversation among the faculty members of a scholarly unit. This conversation serves to collectively clarify the unit's expectations for its curriculum, teaching, and student learning. Only such a process can produce the credibility necessary to regularly effect the faculty development and personnel decisions of a unit.

Voice and Advertising: Effects of Intonation and Intensity of Voice on Source Credibility, Attitudes toward the Advertised Service and the Intent to Buy:

Abstract: Voice has been neglected in research on advertising and attitude change. In an experiment with 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design (N = 279), several hypotheses derived from the Elaboration Likelihood Model and from phonetic literature were tested; 2 linguistically similar advertising messages on financial services of high (student loan) versus low (Automatic Teller Machine cards) involvement are recorded by a professional actor using 4 types of voice (2 levels of intonation of voice x 2 levels of intensity). Analysis by a system of simultaneous equations indicated that the effects of voice are different under low and high involvement. Intensity of voice affects credibility of the source significantly more under low than high involvement; intonation of voice affects credibility more under high than low involvement. Unexpectedly, characteristics of voice affect attitudes toward the advertised service and intent to buy.

To be or not to be… credible that is: a model of reputation and credibility among competing firms

Abstract: Previous studies of corporate reputation have either confirmed its existence as an influence agent or described in general terms its effects on other attributes (quality, price, advertising, etc.). The competitive credibility model of reputation building is formulated and tested through simulation. Reports and discusses results.

Credibility, Public Trust, and the Transport of Radioactive Waste Through Local Communities

Abstract: The location of a national repository for the storage of nuclear waste remains elusive, which is due, in part, to widespread public opposition. Once a site has been selected, waste will be trucked from sources to the site. This study reports the results of a survey of 28 community leaders who live along a planned route in Oregon in which waste from Hanford, Washington, would be trucked to a disposal site under consideration in New Mexico. The results show that problems of credibility of the U.S. Department of Energy as a message source and public distrust of the agency's performance are embedded in the nsk communication of waste transport: A full partnership between the agency and local citizens may be a first step for restoring lost credibility and trust on transport issues.