A microeconometric study of theatre demand

We develop a model of theatre demand with learning by consuming, and test some of its implications on a large random sample of theatregoers and non-theatregoers. This seems to be the most comprehensive econometric study of demand for the theatre from individual data. We hypothesize that each time the consumer watches a play, he experiences a degree of pleasant or unpleasant surprise on the basis of which he will revise his future expectations of his own taste. The learning phase is likely to be unusually long for highly differentiated cultural goods. Our set of data contains unique information about the full price and the fixed cost of theatre, the objective quality of the outing, past experience of and taste for the theatre, and consumption of substitute leisure activities such as reading, television and cinema. Our methodology and data enable us to infer price elasticity on survey data from knowledge of theatregoing experience and taste. After controlling for many variables, we conclude that demand for the theatre is price-elastic, which contradicts previous estimates on aggregate time-series data. Moreover, we estimate demand conditional on past attendance after controlling for selectivity bias. Satisfaction reported by consumers after the last play is also estimated and interpreted as an ordinal conditional choice.     

Arts participation: Comparing the elderly and non-elderly

Conclusions From this brief examination of the leisure activities of older Americans, several previous findings have been validated with national, representative data and a few surprises have been discovered in arts participation. As expected, those younger than 65 years of age were more active than seniors in nearly all of the leisure activities tested. In addition, the elderly were more likely to participate in in-home rather than out-of-home activities.The most intriguing finding concern the elderly's arts participation. While leisure activities decline as one grows older, participation in passive arts activities in the home and out of the home decline far less than for leisure activities and more participatory arts activities. Unlike other activities discussed, few significant difference existed between the younger and older groups in the away from home art activities. Those 65 and older were more willing to attend fine arts performances, such as opera, musical plays, stage plays, and ballet. It is also notable that the differences in frequency of the away from home arts activities are in not great between the older and younger groups. Finally, this study does dispel somewhat the idea that the elderly prefer solitary activities. The elderly are a diverse and widely varying group of citizens who in some cases maintain their patronage of the arts while other leisure activities decline.     

Macroappraisal, the Next Frontier: An Approach for Appraising Large and Complex Government Institutions

“Macroappraisal, the next frontier” describes a records disposition pilot project which was based on a refinement of the current macroappraisal methodology in use at Library and Archives Canada. Still very much a work in progress, the refined approach builds upon macroappraisal theory and methodology, and this paper presents its application to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a major federal government department in the Government of Canada. The project focused on providing the institution with total records disposition coverage based on a single archival appraisal and two Records Disposition Authorities. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of appraising records at the mandate level instead of at the function or program level. It also outlines and points to the benefits and advantages of appraising large government institutions intheir totality rather than in smaller, discrete sectors, branches, or divisions. We wish to thank the journal’s readers for their comments on an earlier draft of this article. We also wish to thank Candace Loewen for her insights, comments, and encouragement. Thanks are also extended to our colleagues who commented on various aspects of the project during Library and Archives Canada (LAC) appraisal seminars. Kerry Badgley also wishes to thank Sarah, Paul, and Shannon Badgley for providing a daily reminder of why it is important to document the past.     

Interacción y símbolo en autistas

Resumen

El análisis del autismo, desde una perspectiva interaccionista, pone de manifiesto la falta de fundamento de muchas de las posiciones «cognitivistas» y «afectivistas», mantenidas tradicionalmente en la interpretación del sindrome, y la escasa eficacia de muchos procedimientos terapéuticos basados en tales interpretaciones. La comparación del desarrollo interactivo del niño normal con el del niño autista permite una interpretación más adecuada del sindrome y sugiere vías terapéuticas para su tratamiento eficaz.     

Are males always better than females in mental rotation? Exploring a gender belief explanation

Males outperform females in the Mental Rotation Test (MRT) for biological, strategic and cultural reasons. The present research tested a motivational explanation with the hypothesis that females could do better when induced to have positive beliefs and expectations. All-female and all-male samples were divided into six groups, each having listened to different instructions: 1. men are better than women at this task; 2. women are better than men; 3. control instructions with no gender reference. Each group was further allocated to either the easy or the difficult task expectations condition. Experimental manipulation affected performance differently in relation to gender. Women's performance was affected by positive instructions about gender. Men were affected by instructions about the task difficulty. Women improved performance and reached men's scores in the MRT when they were led to believe they were better than men.     

Sexual abuse history among adult sex offenders and non-sex offenders: A meta-analysis

ObjectiveThe sexually abused–sexual abuser hypothesis states there is a specific relationship between sexual abuse history and sexual offending, such that individuals who experience sexual abuse are significantly more likely to later engage in sexual offenses. Therefore, samples of adult sex offenders should contain a disproportionate number of individuals who have experienced sexual abuse, but not necessarily other types of abuse, compared with samples of other types of offenders.MethodsWe compared rates of sexual and other forms of abuse reported in 17 studies, involving 1,037 sex offenders and 1,762 non-sex offenders. We also examined the prevalence of different forms of abuse in 15 studies that compared adult sex offenders against adults (n = 962) and against children (n = 1,334), to determine if the sexually abused–sexual abuser association is even more specific to individuals who sexually offend against children.ResultsWe observed a higher prevalence of sexual abuse history among adult sex offenders than among non-sex offenders (Odds Ratio = 3.36, 95% confidence intervals of 2.23–4.82). The two groups did not significantly differ with regard to physical abuse history (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 0.88–2.56). There was a significantly lower prevalence of sexual abuse history among sex offenders against adults compared to sex offenders against children (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.35–0.74), whereas the opposite was found for physical abuse (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.02–2.02).ConclusionThere is support for the sexually abused–sexual abuser hypothesis, in that sex offenders are more likely to have been sexually abused than non-sex offenders, but not more likely to have been physically abused. We discuss potential mechanisms for the relationship between sexual abuse history and sexual offending, including the possibility that a third factor might account for the relationship.Practice implicationsThe most obvious implications of these findings is that the prevention of sexual abuse of children, either through prevention programs directly targeting children or through treatment programs targeting individuals who are likely to sexually offend against children (e.g., known sex offenders against extra-familial boys), may eventually reduce the number of sex offenders. This implication is dependent, however, on a causal role of childhood sexual abuse, and on the effectiveness of prevention and treatment practices.