Testing Continuity and Activity Variables as Predictors of Positive and Negative Affect in Retirement

This study tested predictions based on continuity and activity theories, examining effects of continuity and change in activity parameters on positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Retired men and women (N = 368) completed measures of everyday activities and affect, repeating the measures after 2 years. Continuity of activity parameters and affect was dominant, although number of activities decreased and ability in activities and NA increased. Changes in activity predicted changes in affect across time. Increased activity frequency, ability, ease, and future intentions predicted higher PA, and increased ability and ease in activity predicted lower NA. Maintaining same levels in activity parameters usually resulted in maintained PA. The results were interpreted as providing some support for both theories. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.

Theater Law: Cases and Materials

Although normally thought of in terms of its creative and artistic values, staging a play or musical involves numerous legal relationships and obligations. Accordingly, this casebook provides the first comprehensive overview of the law governing the theater industry. Among the subjects examined are the history of the theater; the practice of theater law; the creative rights of playwrights; the financial rights of producers and investors; the employment rights of directors, performers, and crew members; and the attendance rights of audiences. While principally concerned with Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, the final two chapters focus on road tours and amateur theater groups. The casebook\u27s 104 principal readings use the battles fought over some of Broadway\u27s biggest shows to spark student interest and promote classroom discussion. The line-up includes such hits as Annie, Bus Stop, Cats, Guys and Dolls, Jekyll & Hyde, Jesus Christ Superstar, Miss Saigon, My Fair Lady, Rent, South Pacific, The King and I, The Music Man, The Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, The Sound of Music, and Urinetown. Also taking turns are such notable figures as Jackie Mason, Ann Miller, Rosie O\u27Donnell, Eugene O\u27Neill, Lynn Redgrave, Neil Simon, Cicely Tyson, and Tennessee Williams. Supplementing the principal readings are 145 notes, 28 problems, and nine appendices. While the notes and problems help students sharpen their grasp of the underlying concepts, the appendices reproduce the essential contracts used by theater lawyers. Because the chapters have been written in stand-alone fashion, instructors are able to rearrange them to fit their interests and time requirements. Jarvis, Chaikelson, Corcos, Edmonds, Garon, Ghosh, Henslee, Kende, Palmer, Schultz, Scordato, and White have avoided squib cases, used both legal and non-legal materials, and included numerous references to secondary sources. The result is a highly-engaging work that supports both survey courses and seminars and fills the gap left by entertainment law casebooks, which tend to focus on movies and television. At the same time, it provides instructors with an opportunity to bolster their students\u27 understanding of such fields as anti-trust law, arbitration, contracts, First Amendment law, labor and employment law, professional responsibility, and torts. A 168-page teacher\u27s manual walks both new and experienced instructors through the materials, offering detailed analyses, questions to be asked in class, and suggestions for field trips, outside speakers, and extra credit assignments.https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/books/1047/thumbnail.jp

Does child gender predict older parents’ well-being?

Inconsistencies in comparisons of older parents’ well-being with that of older, childless adults may be resolved by considering the separate effects of sons and daughters on parents. The hypothesis was that older parents of only daughters have greater life satisfaction, more satisfying relations with their children, more intimate family relations, and greater social support satisfaction compared to older childless adults and parents of only sons. Childless older adults were predicted to have more intimate friends. The effect of having both sons and daughters was also explored. Longitudinal results indicated parents had greater life satisfaction than childless adults, and parents of daughters were more satisfied with relations with their children than parents of only sons. Childless adults had more relations with friends and fewer family intimate relations. Neither social support satisfaction or affect varied across groups. The findings are related to gender socialization, social support, and normative expectations

Social and Behavioral Characteristics of Young Adult Drink/Drivers Adjusted for Level of Alcohol Use

Alcohol consumption and drink/driving are positively correlated and many predictors of alcohol use also predict drink/driving. Past research has not fully distinguished the contributions of personal risk factors from the level of alcohol use in the prediction of drink/driving. As a result, the extent to which predictors are specific to drink/driving, versus due to a mutual association to alcohol use, is unclear. Methods : This study examined the unique and shared risk factors for drink/driving and alcohol use, and examined the attributable risk (AR) associated with predictors of drink/driving while adjusting for alcohol use. Study data were from a telephone survey of 3,480 Michigan-licensed young adults who were drinkers. Four groups of drink/drivers were formed based on the prior 12-month maximum severity of drink/driving: (1) never drink/driving; (2) driving at least once within an hour of 1 or 2 drinks; (3) driving within an hour of 3 or more drinks or while feeling the effects of alcohol; and (4) drinking while driving. Results : Lower perceived risk of drink/driving, greater social support for drinking and drink/driving, greater aggression and delinquency, more cigarette smoking, and more risky driving behaviors uniquely predicted drink/driving severity in models adjusted for alcohol use. The largest ARs were associated with social support for drinking and drink/driving and perceived risk of drink/driving. Conclusions : These results confirm that alcohol use and drink/driving share risk factors, but also indicate that part of the variation in these factors is specific to drink/driving. Implications for interventions to reduce drink/driving are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65300/1/j.1530-0277.2007.00350.x.pd