Quantifying perceived differences in type styles: An exploratory study

This article reports on the results of an experiment to determine whether type style is a significant influence on readers' affective response to print. A repeated-measures, full-factorial design employing 250 subjects revealed that readers respond differently to both serif and sans serif general print types and to specific types within these major classifications. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The measurement of left-right and libertarian-authoritarian values: A comparison of balanced and unbalanced scales

In this paper we compare the performance of balanced and unbalanced Likert scales of two core dimensions of political attitudes: left-right and libertarian-authoritarian values. The balanced scales control for the effects of acquiescence response sets, whereas the unbalanced scales do not. Using data from two panel surveys, balanced and unbalanced scales are compared for reliability, stability and validity both with each other, and with other measures of political ideology and values (left-right self-placement and postmaterialism). Both balanced and unbalanced versions of the left-right and libertarian-authoritarian Likert scales are found to be more stable and strongly associated with social characteristics than are the other measures. The unbalanced scales have slightly higher reliability than the balanced scales; they are also orthogonal, whereas balanced left-right and libertarian-authoritarian scales are moderately correlated. Unbalanced scales also display a slightly stronger relationship with social characteristics, but they do not differ in their pattern of association with political preferences. Differences between balanced and unbalanced scales are attributed to the effects of acquiescence bias. This needs to be considered when using the scales for substantive analyses, but its effects are not problematic.     

Overt sexuality in advertising: A discourse analysis of gender responses

Recent developments in advertising imagery often involve the use of overt sexuality. Consumer responses to advertisements using a range of sexual explicitness are explored using a discourse analytic approach. The dominant negative themes articulated across sex and age groups concerned the use of sex-role stereotypes and the objectification of women. Dominant positive themes shared by both sexes involved equality in sexual representations and sexuality as art. Younger consumers' discourse concerned how advertising can add symbolic value to consumption by investing the products with a romantic style of sexuality which becomes a potent cultural form drawing its energy from the desires of the body. The shared dominant themes were supported by gendered interpretive repertoires. The unexpected gender consistency in dominant themes is discussed in relation to the cultural function of advertising as art in allowing women to speak more easily of their desires through consumption choices.

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Zusammenfassung Offene Darstellung von Sexualität in der Werbung: Diskursanalyse geschlechtstypischer Reaktionen Die neuere Entwicklung werblicher Darstellungsformen ist gekennzeichnet durch hÄufigere Darstellung von Sexualität. Konsumentenreaktionen auf Werbeanzeigen mit variierender sexueller Deutlichkeit werden mit Hilfe eines diskursanalytischen Ansatzes untersucht. Dominante negative Themen, die bei beiden Geschlechtern und quer durch alle Altersgruppen zur Sprache kamen, betrafen die Verwendung von Geschlechterstereotypen und die Darstellung von Frauen als Objekten. Dominante positive Themen, die ebenfalls von beiden Geschlechtern genannt werden, sind die Gleichrangigkeit der Darstellung der Geschlechter und die Darstellung der Sexualität in künstlerischer Form. Jüngere Konsumenten beschÄftigten sich mit der Frage, wie Werbung den Konsum mit symbolischem Wert anreichern kann dadurch, da\ den Produkten eine romantische Sexualität angeheftet wird. Die eigentlich nicht erwartete übereinstimmung beider Geschlechter bei den dominanten Themen wird im Zusammenhang mit der kulturellen Funktion von Werbung als neue Kunstform diskutiert, die es Frauen erlaubt, ihre Bedürfnisse leichter durch Konsumakte zu Äu\ern.

     

Tax evasion as a<Emphasis Type="Italic">de facto</Emphasis> vote of disapproval of PAC contributions

In this study, it is hypothesized that higher (rising) real PAC election campaign contributions may lead the public to increasingly distrust and resent politicians because of the perceived political influence that these contributions exercise. It is further hypothesized that to express that distrust and resentment, the public may make greater efforts to evade income taxation so as to deny tax revenues to the Treasury and “influence-peddling” politicians. Instrumenatal Variable (IV) estimates in first differences that allow for income tax rates, IRS audit rates, IRS penalty assessments on detected unreported income, and the public's dissatisfaction with government per se, find strong, albeit only preliminary, empirical evidence that tax evasion is an increasing function of real PAC election campaign contributions. The author is indebted to Jim Alm, Mike McKee, Joel Slemrod, and Thomas Stratmann and to the University of Miami Economics Seminar faculty and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Economics Seminar faculty for ideas and helpful comments.     

Modeling response to repetitive promotional stimuli

Marketers frequently include promotional stimuli which elicit some form of response from the recipient among the tactics used to market products or services. Print ads, including 800 numbers which allow consumers to respond, and direct mail campaigns are examples of such activities. Promotions of this nature are often repeated a number of times, thus providing several opportunities to respond. Understanding consumer response to such campaigns is critical for more efficient design and use of these activities. A conceptual framework of response to repetitive stimuli is proposed, and stochastic models of alternative response patterns are developed. Alternative contexts in which such models are useful are also noted. Variations of the models are provided for those situations when only a fraction of the target population will ever respond. Estimation of model parameters is discussed, and data from actual campaigns are used to demonstrate how to apply the models. He received his Ph.D. in mathematical statistics from Michigan State University. He joined the Terry College of Business after a 15-year career in industry, including 10 years in consumer research at Procter & Gamble. His research interests include discrete choice models, market response to promotional stimuli, forecasting marketing potential from initial sales results, and, in general, applications of quantitative methods to business problems. He has published articles in such journals as theAnnals of Mathematical Statistics, Annals of Statistics, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, and theJournal of Advertising. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University and has served as assistant and associate professor of marketing at New York University, as visiting assistant professor at Columbia University, and as visiting associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a member of the editorial review boards ofMultivariate Behavioral Research andJournal of Marketing Channels. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, andManagement Science, among others. His research interests include the study of brand extensions, relationship marketing, strategic alliances, and television program scheduling. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Georgia. His current research interests include marketing strategy, strategic alliances, relationship marketing, and the implications of new technologies on business research and practice. He has published in various conference proceedings and theInternational Business Review.     

Transportation, Sorting and House Values

In this paper, we examine the importance of accessibility to employment and transportation system attributes for residential location choice, car ownership and house values. Using the 1980 Census of Housing and Journey to Work data merged with transportation system data, we find strong evidence of residential sorting based on employment location. We find that suburban areas with good commuter rail access to the CBD have significantly greater fractions of their labor force working in the CBD, own fewer cars and have higher house prices than similar neighborhoods and houses in census tracts without service. The house value premium is over 6.4%.     

Determinants of Geographic Differentials in the Voter Participation Rate

Voter participation rates vary widely across the 50 states. This empirical study seeks, within the context of a broadened version of the ‘rational voter model,’ to identify determinants of this interstate variation. Using the 2004 general election as the study period, it is found that the voter participation rate in a state is positively related to the percent of the state's adult population with at least a high school education, the state's unemployment rate, the percent of the state's population age 65 and older, and the female labor force participation rate in the state. In addition, it is found that voter turnout in a state is negatively related to the state's median family income and the percentage of its population that is Hispanic.     

The Conditional Probability of Foreclosure: An Empirical Analysis of Conventional Mortgage Loan Defaults

This paper analyzes the factors affecting the conditional probability that defaulted residential mortgage loans will foreclose. We analyze a large national sample of conventional loans, which have been in default at least once during the 1988 to 1994 period. For such loans, lenders and borrowers either individually or jointly make choices which lead to the following outcomes: (1) resumption of payments, (2) termination by prepayment, or (3) foreclosure. Our estimates of a logit model indicate that termination option values and local area economic and housing market conditions affect default resolution probabilities. Perhaps more importantly, simulations using the logit model indicate that the efficiency of the default resolution process may be substantially improved by legal and regulatory reforms.