Citizens Show Strong Support for Climate Policy, But Are They Also Willing to Pay?

To what extent citizens are willing not only to support ambitious climate policy, but also willing to pay for such policy remains subject to debate. Our analysis addresses three issues in this regard: whether, as is widely assumed but not empirically established, willingness to support (WTS) is higher than willingness to pay (WTP); whether the determinants of the two are similar; and what accounts for within-subject similarity between WTS and WTP. We address these issues based on data from an original nationally representative survey (N=2500) on forest conservation in Brazil, arguably the key climate policy issue in the country. The findings reveal that WTP is much lower than WTS. The determinants differ to some extent as well; regarding the effects of age, gender, and trust in government. The analysis also provides insights into factors influencing how much WTS and WTP line up within individuals, with respect to age, education, political ideology, salience of the deforestation issue, and trust in government. Our findings provide a more nuanced picture of how strong public support for climate change policy is, and a starting point for more targeted climate policy communication

(Des-)Integration jugendlicher Migrantinnen und Migranten - Schule und Jugendverbände als Vermittler sozialer Kompetenzen

Harring M. (Des-)Integration jugendlicher Migrantinnen und Migranten - Schule und Jugendverbände als Vermittler sozialer Kompetenzen. In: Rohlfs C, Harring M, Palentien C, eds. Kompetenz-Bildung. Soziale, emotionale und kommunikative Kompetenzen von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften; 2008: 253-274

Bildung, Kompetenz, Kompetenz-Bildung - eine Einleitung in die Thematik

Rohlfs C, Harring M, Palentien C. Bildung, Kompetenz, Kompetenz-Bildung - eine Einleitung in die Thematik. In: Rohlfs C, Harring M, Palentien C, eds. Kompetenz-Bildung. Soziale, emotionale und kommunikative Kompetenzen von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften; 2008: 9-18

The effect of extreme response and Nonextreme response styles on measurement invariance

Extreme response style and non-extreme response style are prevalent in survey research using Likert-type scales. Their effects on measurement invariance (MI) in the context of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are systematically investigated through a Monte Carlo simulation study. More specifically, using the parameter estimates of a TIMSS data, we set up a population model. Two groups of original data and contaminated data with either one of the response styles are generated and analyzed via multi-group CFA with different constraints of MI. Preliminary results indicate the negative effects of response styles on MI has long been underestimated. The lack of MI between groups may be caused by the response styles, not the measured factors of focal interest

Piecewise latent growth models: beyond modeling linear-linear processes.

Piecewise latent growth models (LGMs) for linear-linear processes have been well-documented and studied in recent years. However, in the latent growth modeling literature, advancements to other functional forms as well as to multiple changepoints or knots have been nearly non-existent. This manuscript deals with three extensions. The first is to a piecewise latent growth model incorporating higher-order polynomials. The second is to extend the basic framework to three phases. The last extension is to inherently nonlinear functions. In these extensions, the changepoint(s) is a parameter to be estimated and may be fixed or allowed to vary across subjects as an application warrants. The approaches are developed and two illustrative empirical examples from psychology are used to highlight the methodological nuances. Annotated statistical software is provided to make these elaborations accessible to practitioners and methodologists

Evaluation of Three Multiplex Flow Immunoassays Compared to an Enzyme Immunoassay for the Detection and Differentiation of IgG Class Antibodies to Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2▿

The diagnosis of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections is routinely made based on clinical findings and supported by laboratory testing using PCR or viral culture. However, in instances of subclinical or unrecognized HSV infection, serologic testing for IgG class antibodies to type-specific HSV glycoprotein G (gG) may be useful. This study evaluated and compared the performances of three multiplex flow immunoassays (AtheNA Multi-Lyte [Zeus Scientific], BioPlex 2200 [Bio-Rad Laboratories], and Plexus HerpeSelect [Focus Diagnostics]) for the simultaneous detection of gG type-specific IgG antibodies to HSV types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2). Serum specimens (n = 505) submitted for routine gG type-specific HSV IgG testing by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (HerpeSelect; Focus Diagnostics) were also tested by the three multiplex flow immunoassays. Specimens showing discordant results were tested by HSV type-specific Western blotting (WB). For HSV-1 IgG, the AtheNA, BioPlex, and Plexus assays demonstrated agreements of 94.9% (479/505 specimens), 97.8% (494/505 specimens), and 97.4% (492/505 specimens), respectively, with the results of EIA. For HSV-2 IgG, the AtheNA, BioPlex, and Plexus assays showed agreements of 87.9% (444/505 specimens), 97.2% (491/505 specimens), and 96.8% (489/505 specimens), respectively, with EIA results. Timing studies showed that the AtheNA, BioPlex, and Plexus assays could provide complete analysis of 90 serum specimens in 3.1, 1.5, and 2.9 h, respectively, versus 3.1 h by EIA. These findings suggest that the gG type-specific HSV IgG multiplex immunoassays may be beneficial to high-volume clinical laboratories experiencing significant increases in the number of specimens submitted for HSV serologic testing. The evaluated systems provide comparable results to those of EIA, while reducing hands-on time and eliminating the necessity to aliquot specimens prior to testing