An experimental test of prejudice about foreign people

This paper o¤ers two related issues: (i ) an applications of beliefs about the cooperative behavior of others to policy-oriented issues, (ii ) a method of explor- ing prejudices (toward others) where interviewees are oblivious of its purpose. We studied contributions and guesses about others?contributions through an experimental game. Prejudice is examined as an implicitly held belief by a Spanish college student towards any of the speci?ed foreign population groups (i.e. the Asians, the Africans, the Latin Americans and the Westerners). The results show that: at the individual level, there exists some subjects that harbor strong positive (and negative) prejudices toward the foreigners. The prejudice models ?tted also show that: own contributions, femaleness, individual wealth; and beliefs about income status, cultural status, religious intensity, societal co- operation and political orientation have strong in?uences on racial prejudice.Beliefs, Prejudice, Public Goods Game

Funneled angle landscapes for helical proteins

We use crystallographic data for four helical iron proteins (cytochrome c-b₅₆₂, cytochrome c′, sperm whale myoglobin, human cytoglobin) to calculate radial and angular signatures as each unfolds from the native state stepwise though four unfolded states. From these data we construct an angle phase diagram to display the evolution of each protein from its native state; and, in turn, the phase diagram is used to construct a funneled angle landscape for comparison with the topography of its folding energy landscape. We quantify the departure of individual helical and turning regions from the areal, angular profile of corresponding regions of the native state. This procedure allows us to identify the similarities and differences among individual helical and turning regions in the early stages of unfolding of the four helical heme proteins

Organizing effects of testosterone and economic behavior: not just risk taking

Recent literature emphasizes the role that testosterone, as well as markers indicating early exposure to T and its organizing effect on the brain (such as the ratio of second to fourth finger,D2:D4), have on performance in financial markets. These results may suggest that the main effect of T, either circulating or in fetal exposure, on economic behavior occurs through the increased willingness to take risks. However, these findings indicate that traders with a low digit ratio are not only more profitable, but more able to survive in the long run, thus the effect might consist of more than just lower risk aversion. In addition, recent literature suggests a positive correlation between abstract reasoning ability and higher willingness to take risks. To test the two hypotheses of testosterone on performance in financial activities (effect on risk attitude versus a complex effect involving risk attitude and reasoning ability), we gather data on the three variables in a sample of 188 ethnically homogeneous college students (Caucasians). We measure a D2:D4 digit ratio, abstract reasoning ability with the Raven Progressive Matrices task, and risk attitude with choice among lotteries. Low digit ratio in men is associated with higher risk taking and higher scores in abstract reasoning ability when a combined measure of risk aversion over different tasks is used. This explains both the higher performance and higher survival rate observed in traders, as well as the observed correlation between abstract reasoning ability and risk taking. We also analyze how much of the total effect of digit ratio on risk attitude is direct, and how much is mediated. Mediation analysis shows that a substantial part of the effect of T on attitude to risk is mediated by abstract reasoning ability

Self-identified obese people request less money: a field experiment

Empirical evidence suggests that obese people are discriminated in different social environments such as the work place. Yet, the degree to which obese people are internalizing and adjusting their own behaviour as a result of this discriminatory behaviour has not been studied thoroughly. We develop a proxy for measuring experimentally the "self-weight bias" by giving to both self-identified obese (n=90) and non-obese (n=180) individuals the opportunity to request a positive amount of money after having performed an identical task. Consistent with the System Justification Theory, we find that self-identified obese individuals, due to a preexisting false consciousness, request significantly lower amounts of money than non-obese ones. A within subject comparison between self-reports and external interviewers' evaluations reveals that the excessive weight felt by the "self" but not reported by evaluators captures the self-weight bias not only for obese but also for non-obese individuals. Linking our experimental results to the supply side of the labour market, we argue that self-weight bias, as expressed by lower salary requests, enhances discriminatory behaviour against individuals who feel, but may not actually be, obese and consequently exacerbates the wage gab across weight

Twice Displaced: Katrina and the Redevelopment of the Magnolia

Where and how to house the urban poor remains a controversial issue. Public housing residents are particularly vulnerable. Issues of race, class and gender intersect in their lives. Public-private partnerships in urban redevelopment projects and a focus on issues that arise from concentrated poverty gave rise to HOPE VI policy aimed at deconcentrating poverty via public housing demolition and redevelopment. In New Orleans, the effects of Hurricane Katrina further complicate this contested process. The purpose of this case study is to understand how residents experienced and framed the process of displacement brought on by disaster and the redevelopment of the Magnolia projects, comparing those who returned to the revitalized project to those who did not. The data I collected are 4 semi-structured interviews and one focus group with residents, 56 newspaper articles, and 60 photos. Doing so uncovered nuanced resident narratives often left out of public housing redevelopment decisions

Stolen Youth: A Co-Authored Memoir

This literary work of creative nonfiction qualifies under the literary genre of memoir, as a co-authored memoir. While the work incorporates the practices of both memoir and testimonio, the classification as a co-authored memoir recognizes a collaboration between the writer and the individual interviewed for this piece. “Stolen Youth: A Co-Authored Memoir” presents nine chapters and an epilogue, and is part of a larger creative work. The piece narrates the life of, Cirano “Cid” Lagunas, III, a dear friend who offered me the opportunity to convey his personal experiences through memoir. His memoir begins at the age of 12, following him through an adolescence influenced by physical and emotional abuse, gang and drug activity, abandonment and incarceration. Forced to become independent at a young age, he submerges himself in a lifestyle of criminal activity, and later finds the guidance and strength to survive and leave behind his stolen youth

The Healthcare System Navigator Project at the UT Health RGV Area Health Education Centers.

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) is the live example of how both, the social determinants of health and structural racism, impact the health of a whole population, and exacerbate these effects in underserved communities. The RGV is home to the cities with the lowest education rates, lowest rates of insurance, and lowest median income, as well as the highest rates of poverty, highest rates of obesity, and highest rates of unemployment. To improve healthcare in the area, the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Healthcare System Navigator (HCSN) program has the goal of assisting individuals in the underserved populations of the RGV by coordinating health related information to patients, follow-up in their care, and help clinicians provide more personalized and higher quality care. Programs like the AHEC HCSN intervention have proven successful in achieving their goals, however, our unique program has aimed to tackle some of the largest limitations these types of programs have had in the past. The overall goals of the program are to establish an effective intervention program that increases access to healthcare, as well as to provide a worthwhile learning experience to healthcare professions students, aimed at instilling empathy and emphasizing the importance of patient-centered care

My Purple Summer: A Comparative Analysis of Frank Wedekind\u27s Play Spring Awakening and Steven Sater\u27s Adaptation Spring Awakening: A New Musical

The purpose of this academic thesis is to study and analyze Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening and its adaptation Spring Awakening: A New Musical, written by Steven Sater. This study includes an analysis of musical theatre and its history, an analysis of Frank Wedekind’s original work and a comparative analysis with Sater’s adaptation. Also, the thesis explores the “Post-Modern Musical,” a new form of production currently being produced on Broadway. The main focus of the thesis is to analyze how Spring Awakening affects contemporary audiences, this is done through an analysis of the music and themes associated with the modern production

The role of personal involvement and responsibility in dictatorial allocations: A classroom experiment

Paper was revised on 2009-11-11.-- Published as article in: Rationality and Society (2009), 21(2), 1-24.fairness, dictator game, moral cost