Asymmetry in Leader Image Effects and the Implications for Leadership Positioning in the 2010 British General Election

Using national survey data on voters' perceptions of party leaders during the 2010 British general election campaign, we use logistic regression analysis to explore the association between specific image attributes and overall satisfaction for each leader. We find attribute-satisfaction relationships differ in some respects between the three main party leaders, demonstrating that leader image effects are not symmetrical across leaders. We find evidence that negative perceptions have more powerful effects on satisfaction than positive ones, implying that parties should seek to determine a leader's image attribute perceptions measured against the public's expectations of them on the same dimensions. The positions that campaigners ought then to choose are those that will have the most beneficial effect in encouraging voting behaviour for each particular leader or discouraging voting behaviour for an opponent

The relative value of different QALY types

The oft-applied assumption in the use of Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) in economic evaluation, that all QALYs are valued equally, has been questioned from the outset. The literature has focused on differential values of a QALY based on equity considerations such as the characteristics of the beneficiaries of the QALYs. However, a key characteristic which may affect the value of a QALY is the type of QALY itself. QALY gains can be generated purely by gains in survival, purely by improvements in quality of life, or by changes in both. Using a discrete choice experiment and a new methodological approach to the derivation of relative weights, we undertake the first direct and systematic exploration of the relative weight accorded different QALY types and do so in the presence of equity considerations; age and severity. Results provide new evidence against the normative starting point that all QALYs are valued equally.This study was funded by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council project grant APP1047788

How Troublesome are Stereotypes in International Business?

Substantial concern has been raised in international business writing that national stereotypes bias perception of employees, customers, and others. That concern is certainly supported by findings in person perception research. But some constraints of that research, such as the provision of incomplete information and uninteresting stimuli may well have caused an overestimation of the impact of stereotypes in business situations. This research shows that the impact of stereotypes is likely less than previously thought. When current diagnostic information is available, that information is used, leading to unbiased assessments. Only when information is limited are stereotype-biased judgments generated. A second experiment further shows that people feel more confident in assessments based on current information than in those where information is limited. These relatively optimistic findings suggest methods that managers can use to overcome national stereotype bias in international business situations

Developing measures for valuing changes in biodiversity : final report

This document reports the findings from the DEFRA funded research project 'Developing measures for valuing changes in biodiversity'. The aim of the research was to develop an appropriate framework that will enable cost-effective and robust valuations of the total economic value of changes to biodiversity in the UK countryside. The research involved a review of ecological and economic literature on the valuation of biodiversity changes. The information gathered from this review, along with the findings from a series of public focus groups and an expert review of valuation methodologies, were used to develop a suite of valuation instruments that were used to measure the economic value of different aspects of biodiversity. Contingent valuation and choice experiment studies were administered to households in Cambridgeshire and Northumberland, while valuation workshops were conducted in Northumberland only. The data from these studies were also used to test for benefits transfer

Policies for mixed communities: faith-based displacement activity?

The belief that it is fairer if communities are ``mixed'' can be traced at least to the late nineteenth century and the founders of the Garden City Movement. The idea is now firmly established in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and national policies. This article reviews the evidence and argues that this is essentially a faith-based policy because there is scant real evidence that making communities more mixed makes the life chances of the poor any better. There is overwhelming evidence that the attributes that make neighborhoods attractive are capitalized into house prices/rents. The result is that poor people cannot afford to buy into nicer neighborhoods, which anyway have amenities of no value to them. Moreover, ``specialized neighborhoods'' are an important element in agglomeration economies and seem to be welfare enhancing. Thus, policies for mixed neighborhoods treat the symptoms rather than the causes of poverty. Efforts to improve social equity would be more effectively directed toward people themselves rather than moving people around to mix neighborhoods

STATED PREFERENCES AND LENGTH OF RESIDENCY IN RURAL COMMUNITIES: ARE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION VALUES HETEROGENEOUS?

Newer residents of rural, urban-fringe communities are often assumed to have preferences for the development and conservation of rural lands that differ from those of longer-term residents. The existing literature offers little to verify or quantify presumed preference shifts. This paper provides a systematic, quantitative examination of whether stated preferences for development and conservation tradeoffs differ according to length of residency in a rural community, and explores implications of these findings for assumptions regarding development and conservation preferences. Results are based on stated preferences estimated from a multi-attribute contingent choice survey of Rhode Island rural residents. Heterogeneity-according to length of town residency-is incorporated using Lagrangian Interpolation Polynomials. This approach models the influence of policy attributes as a polynomial function of residence time, thereby allowing estimated coefficient values to vary as a continuous function of residence duration.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Land Economics/Use,

Program for Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills: Parental Outcomes with an ADHD Sample

The goal of the current study was to examine the effect of PEERS®, a 14-week parent-assisted friendship-building program for adolescents with ADHD, on parental functioning, quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, and family functioning. Participants included 25 parents (19 mothers, 6 fathers) of adolescents with ADHD. Families completed the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®; Laugeson & Frankel, 2010). Measures of parenting stress, parental efficacy, parent-adolescent communication, parent-adolescent involvement, causal attributions for negative social interactions, and family chaos were completed by parents at pre and post-treatment. Parents demonstrated statistically significant improvements in parenting stress and parent-adolescent communication and marginally statistically significant improvement in parental efficacy. Parents also demonstrated statistically reliable change in measures of parenting stress, parent-adolescent communication, parent-adolescent involvement, and family chaos. Overall, these findings demonstrate the benefit of PEERS® at improving parental functioning, quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, and family functioning for families of adolescents with ADHD

When Does the Price Affect the Taste? Results from a Wine Experiment

We designed an experiment that examines how knowledge about the price of a good, and the time at which the information is received, affects how the good is experienced. The good in question was wine, and the price was either high or low. Our results suggest that hosts offering wine to guests can safely reveal the price: much is gained if the wine is expensive, and little is lost if it is cheap. Disclosing the high price before tasting the wine produces considerably higher ratings, although only from women. Disclosing the low price, by contrast, does not result in lower ratings. Our finding supports the notion that price not only serves to clear markets, it also serves as a marketing tool; it influences expectations that in turn shape a consumer’s experience. In addition, our results suggest that men and women respond differently to attribute information concerning wine.Price-Quality Heuristic; Attribute Information; Role of Expectations; Marketing; Blind Tasting; Wine.