Political Orientation and the Decision to Major in Economics: Some Preliminary Observations

Studies find that students major in economics for a variety of reasons. None, however, have examined students' political orientations as a possible factor in their choice of majors. Economics, as compared to other social sciences, tends to produce conservative policy recommendations. This pilot study explores whether more conservative students are attracted to economics. Our study found that men with conservative political leanings are more likely to major in economics and that male students in economics are more conservative than female students. Political orientation, however, does not appear to be a significant factor in the choice of a major for women.

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The transformative potential of technology in legal practice is well recognized. But wholly apart from how law firms actually use technology is the question of what law firms say about how they use and relate to technology—in particular, how law firms communicate whether technology matters and has value in what they do. In the past, firms in the BigLaw category, especially at the top echelon, have grounded their reputations on the credentials and achievements of their lawyers. In this paper, we explore whether elite law firms use technology similarly by describing it as an additional tool of inter-firm competition—a sort of“technocapital” that wields power in the war for clients, talent, and reputation generally. Based on an in-depth review of the websites of fifty- one nationally recognized and highly ranked law firms, the article analyzes differences in how firms use tech as a means of promoting themselves. We found that elite law firms adopt one of three distinct approaches. The most prestigious firms generally refrain from making claims about technology that might undercut the preeminence of their lawyers. Rather, tech is simply one among many organizing themes for describing what their lawyers do, whether on behalf of an industry or with regard to particular legal issues arising in the course of legal representations. A second group of firms couples their description of work for tech clients and on tech matters with claims of expertise in harnessing technology to provide conventional legal services better and faster. Finally, a small subset of firms describe tech as transformative of their practices and identities, and integral to their claims of being innovators. These firms’ descriptions of tech reveal its role as a kind of capital being used to distinguish themselves both from traditional law firms and from new entrants to the legal market. These variations in law firms’ descriptions of the importance and role of technology in their organizations offer insight into the ways in which tech serves as a new form of capital in the ongoing competition for status in the legal services market

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The transformative potential of technology in legal practice is well recognized. But wholly apart from how law firms actually use technology is the question of what law firms say about how they use and relate to technology—in particular, how law firms communicate whether technology matters and has value in what they do. In the past, firms in the BigLaw category, especially at the top echelon, have grounded their reputations on the credentials and achievements of their lawyers. In this paper, we explore whether elite law firms use technology similarly by describing it as an additional tool of inter-firm competition—a sort of“technocapital” that wields power in the war for clients, talent, and reputation generally. Based on an in-depth review of the websites of fifty- one nationally recognized and highly ranked law firms, the article analyzes differences in how firms use tech as a means of promoting themselves. We found that elite law firms adopt one of three distinct approaches. The most prestigious firms generally refrain from making claims about technology that might undercut the preeminence of their lawyers. Rather, tech is simply one among many organizing themes for describing what their lawyers do, whether on behalf of an industry or with regard to particular legal issues arising in the course of legal representations. A second group of firms couples their description of work for tech clients and on tech matters with claims of expertise in harnessing technology to provide conventional legal services better and faster. Finally, a small subset of firms describe tech as transformative of their practices and identities, and integral to their claims of being innovators. These firms’ descriptions of tech reveal its role as a kind of capital being used to distinguish themselves both from traditional law firms and from new entrants to the legal market. These variations in law firms’ descriptions of the importance and role of technology in their organizations offer insight into the ways in which tech serves as a new form of capital in the ongoing competition for status in the legal services market

Occupation, Occupational Change and Movement within the Income Distribution

The authors find considerable earnings mobility in panel data of a sample of white males and associate occupational mobility with these changes in real labor earnings, both in absolute terms and relative to an income distribution. Results of an error-components estimation reveal that occupation and movement among occupations exert strong influences on earnings changes even after controlling for a number of other factors. Effects of the interdependence of earnings and occupational mobility, the state of the pairings, and a variety of personal characteristics are also studied.

Founders, Feminists, and a Fascist -- Some Notable Women in the Missouri Section of the MAA

In the history of the Missouri Section of the MAA, some of the more interesting people who influenced the growth and development of the section through the years were and are women. In this chapter, we discuss the contributions of a few (certainly not all) of these women to the Missouri Section and mathematics as a whole, including Emily Kathryn Wyant (founder of KME), Margaret F. Willerding (who dealt with sexism in the 1940s), Maria Castellani (an official in Mussolini’s Italy before coming to America), and T. Christine Stevens (co-founder of Project NExT). Without them, and others like them, both mathematics and the Missouri Section of the MAA would be poorer

Cholesterol and the risk of grade-specific prostate cancer incidence: evidence from two large prospective cohort studies with up to 37 years' follow up

<b>Background</b> High cholesterol may be a modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer but results have been inconsistent and subject to potential "reverse causality" where undetected disease modifies cholesterol prior to diagnosis.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We conducted a prospective cohort study of 12,926 men who were enrolled in the Midspan studies between 1970 and 1976 and followed up to 31st December 2007. We used Cox-Proportional Hazards Models to evaluate the association between baseline plasma cholesterol and Gleason grade-specific prostate cancer incidence. We excluded cancers detected within at least 5 years of cholesterol assay.<p></p> <b>Results</b> 650 men developed prostate cancer in up to 37 years' follow-up. Baseline plasma cholesterol was positively associated with hazard of high grade (Gleason score[greater than or equal to]8) prostate cancer incidence (n=119). The association was greatest among men in the 4th highest quintile for cholesterol, 6.1 to <6.69 mmol/l, Hazard Ratio 2.28, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.10, compared with the baseline of <5.05 mmol/l. This association remained significant after adjustment for body mass index, smoking and socioeconomic status.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Men with higher cholesterol are at greater risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer but not overall risk of prostate cancer. Interventions to minimise metabolic risk factors may have a role in reducing incidence of aggressive prostate cancer