Suchergebnisse

SummaryThe superiority of men over women in chess has been cited as evidence that there are fundamental differences in male and female intelligence (Howard, 2005a, 2006; Irwing & Lynn, 2005). An alternative interpretation of the difference is that it is due to differential male and female participation rates in chess (Charness & Gerchak, 1996; Bilalić & McLeod, 2006; Chabris & Glickman, in press). This has been dismissed by Howard (2006) on the grounds that changes in the difference in skill level between top male and female players in recent years are not correlated with changing relative participation rates. Here it is shown that Howard's analysis is misleading. The data are consistent with differential participation rates as the explanation of the gap between the performance of women and men in chess.

Researchers face considerable ambiguity and controversy regarding the issue of informed consent. Decisions about consent procedures can affect study participation rates and prevalence estimates among specific populations. Changing from passive to active parental consent procedures was examined in a case study with an anonymous survey of sixth- through eighth-grade students' substance use. Four types of procedures for obtaining parental consent were examined. Results suggest that certain types of consent procedures can yield high levels of participation. This study also demonstrates that low participation rates with some active consent procedures can cause biases in sample characteristics and outcome data.

STUDIES OF STATE POLICY HAVE CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATED A STRONG RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC VARIABLES AND EXPENDITURE LEVELS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES. POLITICAL VARIABLES WERE FOUND TO HAVE LITTLE INDEPENDENT INFLUENCE ON POLICY EXPENDITURES. DEFIINING AND OPERATIONALIZING POLICY EXPENDITURES AS EFFORTS RATHER THAN LEVELS OF EXPENDITURES, THIS WORK REPORTS A MODEST YET INDEPENDENTIMPACT OF A KEY POLITICAL VARIABLE, PARTIICIPATION, ON PUBLIC POLICY.

This study examines changes between 1974 and 1984 in the registration and turnout rates of Mexican American females in a small West Texas county. It compares their participation rates to those of their male counterparts. Political participation rates of the females increased significantly over the decade and now exceed those of Mexican American males. Age, education and women's role as agents of social change may help to explain the process