When Does Sexuality-Based Discrimination Motivate Political Participation?

The established consensus in political behavior research is that discrimination by political institutions motivates marginalized groups to vote and protest their conditions. However, existing studies miss a comparison between states with high and low levels of political discrimination, and they miss a comparison between states before and after the development of opportunities for groups to mobilize. In particular, a growing body of research shows that sexual-minority groups face discrimination to varying degrees across Europe. Sexual minorities in states with high levels of discrimination lack the support of other minority-group members, which encourages political participation. The analysis is based on surveys of 30 European countries, conducted before and after the 2004 European Union enlargement, which provided a stronger political-opportunity structure for sexual minorities in Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe and Western Europe provided contexts with relatively high and low levels of sexuality-based discrimination, respectively. In Western Europe, those who report sexuality-based discrimination exhibited higher levels of participation, in comparison to those who did not report discrimination. In Eastern Europe, those who report sexuality-based discrimination exhibited lower levels of participation before the 2004 enlargement, but they did not exhibit these lower levels after the 2004 enlargement

SHORT-RUN INDICATORS OF FINANCIAL SUCCESS FOR SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA FARMERS

Agricultural Finance,

Pure Numbers Effects, Market Power, and Tacit Collusion in Posted Offer Markets

This paper studies the effects of seller concentration and static market power on tacit collusion in extensively repeated laboratory posted-offer markets. Contrary to the implications of some earlier research, we find that tacit collusion does not become pervasive with extensive repetition. In a ‘strong no power’ design persistently competitive outcomes are observed in markets with three or four sellers. Even duopolies are frequently competitive in this design. Unilateral market power raises prices, as predicted. However, static Nash predictions fail to organize outcomes across power treatments, because tacit collusion moves inversely with concentration. Excess capacity appears to explain observed tacit collusion levels.experiments, market concentration, market power

Assessing the impact of regulation on bank cost efficiency

The author finds that the bank production process was significantly distorted during a period typically associated with heavy industry regulation. As deregulation occurred, banks fully exploited the cost advantages associated with size and reaped significant gains from technological change. Efficiency significantly improved with deregulation.Banks and banking - Costs ; Bank supervision

Abandoning the performance narrative: Two women's stories of transition from professional sport

Despite its potential to illuminate psychological processes within socio-cultural contexts, examples of narrative research are rare in sport psychology. In this study, we employed an analysis of narrative to explore two women's stories of living in, and withdrawing from, professional tournament golf gathered through life history interviews conducted over 6 years. Our findings suggest that immersion in elite sport culture shaped these women's identities around performance values of single-minded dedication to sport and prioritization of winning above all other areas of life. When the performance narrative ceased to "fit" their changing lives, both women, having no alternative narrative to guide their personal life stories, experienced narrative wreckage and considerable personal trauma. They required asylum-a place of refuge where performance values were no longer paramount-to story their lives around a relational narrative that reinstated a coherent identity while providing meaning and worth to life after golf. © Association for Applied Sport Psychology

Designing an effective deposit insurance structure: an international perspective

Deposit insurance

Ignition overpressure study from solid rocket motor firings

The objective was to investigate, through experimental means, the basic mechanisms influencing ignition overpressure and to determine ways to suppress ignition overpressure. Ignition overpressure was studied using solid rocket motors with geometry scaled at 1 percent of the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters. Both water injection and aerosol foam were examined as a mean of reducing ignition overpressure. The results of the water injection tests indicate that a relatively small amount of water is sufficient to provide significant suppression. Of the flow rates tested, the lower water injection flow rates provided the best reduction of the ignition overpressure wave. Also, the test results show there is an optimum water flow rate range that provides the best suppression, and as this range is exceeded the effectiveness of water to reduce ignition overpressure is decreased. Aerosol foam provided very little reduction of ignition overpressure, but only small volumes of foam were used and further testing is necessary to determine its total effectiveness as a means of suppression

ICT use in the teaching of mathematics: implications for professional development of pre-service teachers in Ghana

Included in the contemporary mathematics curricula in Ghana is the expectation that mathematics teachers will integrate technology in their teaching. However, importance has not been placed on preparing teachers to use ICT in their instruction. This paper reports on a study conducted to explore the feasibility of ICT use in mathematics teaching at senior high school levels in Ghana. Interviews and survey data were used for data collection. Preliminary results showed that mathematics teachers in Ghana do not integrate ICT in their mathematics instruction. Among the major perceived barriers identified were: Lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT in lesson and Lack of training opportunities for ICT integration knowledge acquisition. To overcome some of these barriers, opportunities of a professional development arrangement for pre-service mathematics teachers were explored. Findings from the study revealed specific features of a professional development scenario that matters for ICT integration in mathematics teaching in the context of Ghana