The Contours of Loss

Lost Bodies: Inhabiting the Borders of Life and Death by Laura E. Tanner. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006. Pp. 264. $21.00 paper.

Should advertisers use skinny models?

The size of the models you show in advertising affects how consumers feel about themselves and your products. A woman’s body image is an important source of her self-esteem, yet approximately 50% of girls and young women report being dissatisfied with their bodies

The Effects of Reciprocity in a Triadic Relationship

This study offers an investigation of the influence of the norm of reciprocity on recommendation decisions in a triadic relationship. We evaluate the effects of a sample in the context of a salesperson-healthcare provider-patient relationship, where the sample may be transferred through the triad or retained by the physician for his or her own use (dyad). This research attempts to resolve competing hypotheses about the comparative strength of obligations in the dyad and triad. Based upon the findings of a pretest, we propose an experimental study with physician assistants as subjects, and we plan to utilize indirect-report questioning formats in order to mitigate social desirability bias

Dependence among randomly acquired characteristics on shoeprints and their features.

Randomly acquired characteristics (RACs), also known as accidental marks, are random markings on a shoe sole, such as scratches or holes, that are used by forensic experts to compare a suspect\u27s shoe with a print found at the crime scene. This article investigates the relationships among three features of a RAC: its location, shape type and orientation. If these features, as well as the RACs, are independent of each other, a simple probabilistic calculation could be used to evaluate the rarity of a RAC and hence the evidential value of the shoe and print comparison, whereas a correlation among the features would complicate the analysis. Using a data set of about 380 shoes, it is found that RACs and their features are not independent, and moreover, are not independent of the shoe sole pattern. It is argued that some of the dependencies found are caused by the elements of the sole. The results have important implications for the way forensic experts should evaluate the degree of rarity of a combination of RACs

Priming, Shifting Selves and Decision Making: The Role of Personal Meaning Systems in Consumer Choice

Much research has established that an individual\u27s preferences are contingent on elements of the decision environment, such as the response mode or framing of choices (Payne, Bettman & Johnson, 1992). In addition, it is well established that activating a product category (Herr, 1989) or product feature (Yi, 1990) in a consumer\u27s memory can influence subsequent judgments. However, this dissertation takes a subtler route, by priming higher level concepts that are seemingly unrelated to consumption preferences. Three separate essays establish that the activation of these subtler concepts, such as an individual\u27s self-conception or feelings about mortality, can also influence purchase decisions. The first essay, entitled, “Constructing Preferences Online,” shows that a variable as subtle as the background design of a web page can also change preferences. An individual examining a web page can be primed by the background pictures or colors, which then affect attribute weights and ultimately product choice. A series of experiments found that these background stimuli influenced both the order of external information search and the participants\u27 choice of products. The second essay, entitled, “Terror Management and Marketing,” demonstrates that exposure to death-related material activates one\u27s desire to be an exemplary member of society, thereby increasing interest in high-status products. Individuals who were subtly reminded of their own impending mortality evaluated high-status items more favorably than did control subjects. In contrast, mortality salient subjects rated low-status and non-status products slightly less favorably than did their control counterparts. The third essay, entitled, “Shifting Selves and Decision Making,” illustrates how priming different self-construals can impact consumers\u27 decision making. Experiment I showed that individuals whose interdependent selves were activated were more risk-seeking in their choices of gambles, and more likely to choose products that conformed to social norms, than were those whose independent selves were activated. Follow-up experiments further examined the conditions under which self-construal priming can influence choice, and used implicit memory measures to explain the underlying mechanism behind this phenomenon

Priming, shifting selves and decision making: The role of personal meaning systems in consumer *choice

Much research has established that an individual\u27s preferences are contingent on elements of the decision environment, such as the response mode or framing of choices (Payne, Bettman & Johnson, 1992). In addition, it is well established that activating a product category (Herr, 1989) or product feature (Yi, 1990) in a consumer\u27s memory can influence subsequent judgments. However, this dissertation takes a subtler route, by priming higher level concepts that are seemingly unrelated to consumption preferences. Three separate essays establish that the activation of these subtler concepts, such as an individual\u27s self-conception or feelings about mortality, can also influence purchase decisions. The first essay, entitled, “Constructing Preferences Online,” shows that a variable as subtle as the background design of a web page can also change preferences. An individual examining a web page can be primed by the background pictures or colors, which then affect attribute weights and ultimately product choice. A series of experiments found that these background stimuli influenced both the order of external information search and the participants\u27 choice of products. The second essay, entitled, “Terror Management and Marketing,” demonstrates that exposure to death-related material activates one\u27s desire to be an exemplary member of society, thereby increasing interest in high-status products. Individuals who were subtly reminded of their own impending mortality evaluated high-status items more favorably than did control subjects. In contrast, mortality salient subjects rated low-status and non-status products slightly less favorably than did their control counterparts. The third essay, entitled, “Shifting Selves and Decision Making,” illustrates how priming different self-construals can impact consumers\u27 decision making. Experiment I showed that individuals whose interdependent selves were activated were more risk-seeking in their choices of gambles, and more likely to choose products that conformed to social norms, than were those whose independent selves were activated. Follow-up experiments further examined the conditions under which self-construal priming can influence choice, and used implicit memory measures to explain the underlying mechanism behind this phenomenon

Language and politics, political theory and practice : a study of the relationship between language, action and conceptual change

This essay is premised on two assumptions: first, that concepts change their meaning; second, that the examination of the relationship between language and action - two central components of the public sphere - illuminates the process of change. Three models of conceptual change are critically discussed through their language-action axis. The first, adduced by German historian of concepts Reinhart Koselleck, assumes that conceptual change results from a gap between language and action. The second, put forward by historian of political thought Quentin Skinner, argues that conceptual change is produced by political theorists that are doing something when writing; language, according to this model is (sometimes) a form of action. The third model is derived from the American PC movement, which, it is argued here, presents us with a theory and a practice of conceptual change. According to this model, conceptual change results from a deliberate change of language by social agents. Language, as maintained by this model, is the world; action cannot be discussed separately from language since everything exists only through language. As we move from one model to the next we see that the place language assumes in both political theory and practice is increasing in relation to, and at the expense of, action. This essay argues that the mid-twentieth century "linguistic turn," coupled with the growing influence of postmodernism on political theory and practice, results in a distorted picture of the polls. This weakens the ability of political theory to make intelligible the world around us, and also its effectiveness as a guide for action. This tendency must be remedied i f political theory and practice wishes to remain relevant to the public sphere.Arts, Faculty ofPolitical Science, Department ofGraduat