A Comparison of Approaches to Mitigate Hypothetical Bias

We compare two approaches to mitigating hypothetical bias. The study design includes three treatments: an actual payment treatment, a contingent valuation (CV) treatment with a follow-up certainty question, and a CV treatment with a cheap talk script. Our results suggest that both the follow-up certainty treatment and the cheap talk treatment produce willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates consistent with the actual payment treatment. However, the follow-up certainty treatment provides response distributions at all offer amounts that are statistically similar to the actual payment treatment, while the cheap talk treatment provides similar responses only at some offer amounts. Furthermore, the cheap talk treatment is effective only for inexperienced individuals. We conclude that the follow-up certainty approach is more consistent than the cheap talk approach for eliminating hypothetical bias.contingent valuation, hypothetical bias, follow-up certainty, cheap talk, nonmarket valuation, Environmental Economics and Policy, Public Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

A Dichotomy Theorem for Circular Colouring Reconfiguration

The "reconfiguration problem" for circular colourings asks, given two $(p,q)$-colourings $f$ and $g$ of a graph $G$, is it possible to transform $f$ into $g$ by changing the colour of one vertex at a time such that every intermediate mapping is a $(p,q)$-colouring? We show that this problem can be solved in polynomial time for $2\leq p/q <4$ and is PSPACE-complete for $p/q\geq 4$. This generalizes a known dichotomy theorem for reconfiguring classical graph colourings.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

Evaluation of community level interventions to address social and structural determinants of health: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background: In London and the rest of the UK, diseases associated with poor diet, inadequate physical activity and mental illness account for a large proportion of area based health inequality. There is a lack of evidence on interventions promoting healthier behaviours especially in marginalised populations, at a structural or ecological level and utilising a community development approach. The Well London project financed by the Big Lottery 'Wellbeing' Fund and implemented by a consortium of London based agencies led by the Greater London Authority and the London Health Commission is implementing a set of complex interventions across 20 deprived areas of London. The interventions focus on healthy eating, healthy physical activity and mental health and wellbeing and are designed and executed with community participation complementing existing facilities and services. Methods/Design: The programme will be evaluated through a cluster randomised controlled trial. Forty areas across London were chosen based on deprivation scores. Areas were characterised by high proportion of Black and Minority Ethnic residents, worklessness, ill-health and poor physical environments. Twenty areas were randomly assigned to the intervention arm of Well London project and twenty 'matched' areas assigned as controls. Measures of physical activity, diet and mental health are collected at start and end of the project and compared to assess impact. The quantitative element will be complemented by a longitudinal qualitative study elucidating pathways of influence between intervention activities and health outcomes. A related element of the study investigates the health-related aspects of the structural and ecological characteristics of the project areas. The project 'process' will also be evaluated. Discussion: The size of the project and the fact that the interventions are 'complex' in the sense that firstly, there are a number of interacting components with a wide range of groups and organisational levels targeted by the intervention, and secondly, a degree of flexibility or tailoring of the intervention, makes this trial potentially very useful in providing evidence of the types of activities that can be used to address chronic health problems in communities suffering from multiple deprivation. Trial Registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN6817512

Elections, Neutrality Agreements, and Card Checks: The Failure of the Political Model of Industrial Democracy

The secret-ballot election is the National Labor Relations Board’s preferred method for employees to determine whether they wish to be represented by a union. Employer domination of the election process, however, has led many unions to opt out of elections and instead to demand recognition based on authorization cards signed by a majority of employees. The primary objection to this “card check” process is that it is less democratic than the secret-ballot election. This Article places the issue in the context of the theoretical basis for claims of industrial democracy and argues that card checks are more consistent with the basic premises of industrial democracy than are extant Board elections. Labor and Employment Law Under the Obama Administration: A Time for Hope and Change? Symposium held November 12-13, 2010, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana

Elections, Neutrality Agreements, and Card Checks: The Failure of the Political Model of Industrial Democracy

The secret-ballot election is the National Labor Relations Board’s preferred method for employees to determine whether they wish to be represented by a union. Employer domination of the election process, however, has led many unions to opt out of elections and instead to demand recognition based on authorization cards signed by a majority of employees. The primary objection to this “card check” process is that it is less democratic than the secret-ballot election. This Article places the issue in the context of the theoretical basis for claims of industrial democracy and argues that card checks are more consistent with the basic premises of industrial democracy than are extant Board elections. Labor and Employment Law Under the Obama Administration: A Time for Hope and Change? Symposium held November 12-13, 2010, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana

Refugee Law and Policy: A Comparative and International Approach

The fourth edition of Refugee Law and Policy, which includes all legal developments through mid-2010, provides a thoughtful scholarly analysis of refugee law, and related protections such as those available under the Convention against Torture. The book is rooted in an international law perspective, enhanced by a comparative approach. Starting with ancient precursors to asylum, the casebook portrays refugee law as dynamic across time and cultural contexts. This edition of the casebook has incorporated substantial new materials on the cutting edge area of social group claims, and their relevance to claims for protection based on gender-persecution and LGBT status. It includes an extensive discussion of the concept of “social visibility” which has become one of the most controversial interpretive issues in U.S. refugee law. Although Refugee Law and Policy is directed to students of U.S. law, it draws on the legislation, jurisprudence and guidelines of other Refugee Convention and Protocol signatories, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The casebook is up to date on developments to harmonize refugee policy within the European Union, and includes discussion of relevant E.U. directives. In its treatment of both U.S. and global trends, Refugee Law and Policy examines and contrasts some of the most controversial contemporary issues in refugee law, such as the denial of access to the territory of the country of asylum, through use of expedited removal and similar “accelerated” procedures, the increased use of detention, and the ongoing debate over gender-based claims for protection. Refugee Law and Policy also compares current trends in refugee law to parallel trends in human rights and humanitarian and international criminal law, with special reference to the work of the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court. The materials Musalo, Moore and Boswell present in the book are more fully examined through the extensive use of notes and comments, which also serve to highlight essential themes and concepts of the text and to make them more accessible to the reader. Since the casebook addresses both substance and procedure, with a focus on practice as well as theory, it is an excellent text not only for students, but for practitioners and those in government agencies as well.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facbookdisplay/1036/thumbnail.jp