Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The post socialist transformation in Hungary was a period of both persistence and change in territorial inequality. Persistence is the dominant pattern, and it appears to be associated with the location of FDI. We show that while dependence on FDI is uniform throughout the nation’s 20 counties, only certain areas have been able to use FDI to improve the quality of employment and resulting remuneration. We show that inter-area differences in the amount and types of FDI are associated with persisting differences in territorial well being, and with instances where localities either advance or decline in their material level of living. We asked whether the leading sector framework is a fruitful theoretical perspective for examining uneven spatial development within countries during the post socialist transformation, and we conclude that it is. Similar to FDI location between countries, international investors are hesitant to redistribute their capital toward lagging regions within ex-socialist countries. We believe that global investors will continue to favor local economies that have similar supply structures to their home economies. Hence,lagging regions continue to lag because investors avoid areas that are structurally different, but they are structurally different because of a lack of FDI. The system’s logic implies that lagging regions will hardly ever recover because their own efforts, and their national governments’ development policies, are simply too weak in comparison with the power of deregulated capital in the global system.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: As the number and reach of political polls grow, scholars debate the effects that polls have on citizens’ vote intentions, preferences, perceptions of candidates, expectations, turnout decisions, and ultimately, their voting decisions. In this paper, we analyze instead whether and under what conditions polls provide citizens with cues that help them to improve their decisions. Specifically, we use laboratory experiments to investigate 1) whether and when polls help citizens to make better choices than they would have made on their own and 2) whether and when citizens are willing to bear the costs of obtaining polling information. Our results demonstrate that polls can have detrimental effects on citizens’ decisions. That is, we find that polls often cause citizens to make incorrect decisions and that citizens would have made better decisions on their own. We also find that citizens are more likely to obtain polls when the decisions that they must make are difficult and when they are unsophisticated. Ironically, when the decisions that citizens must make are difficult, the pollees also tend to be uninformed about the correct choices and, therefore, do not provide much useful information. Thus, our results suggest that the fewer polls that citizens receive, the better decisions they make.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: From beginnings in the late 1960's, Internet has develop to the substantial presence we know today. Data gathering techniques for Internet access logs have been discussed as influenced by the experience of Internet pioneers with BBS such as the Wildcat BBS from Mustang Software Inc. The importance of visitor sessions in Internet access data collection still imagines the transition from BBS to Internet. The reasoning of the I T and network experts who began Internet still remains important in deciding if Internet is succeeding in realizing the social utility originally envisioned.

Publication Type: Proceeding

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The question of cetaceans exhibiting signs of culture is under investigation but the place of whales and dolphins in our own culture is un-debatable. The early colonial American experience is significantly tied to the industrialization of whale hunting, which brought financial freedom and great wealth to this country. Products made from whalebone, or dependent on spermaceti oil, were commonplace in 1800, and represent a new age of consumerism. The golden age of advertising blossomed in the 1900’s, with romanticized images of whales and whalers representing good fortune and plenty. When stocks of whales became depleted, we switched our dependence from whale oil to fossil fuels, but the whale icon continued to represent the fortunes of oil. In the 30's, American culture clung to the idealized theme of whaling, using glorified, larger than life adventures to promote everyday products. In the war era the marine mammal image slowly began to shift from heroic superiority over giants to personal search for adventure. In the post war era, increased interest in marine mammals resulted in a specialized area of scientific study, Flipper, and Dolphinaria as popular vacation destinations. In the 1970's, the sale of marine mammal products in this country was outlawed. Emerging social constructs transformed the image of the cetaceans from icons of wealth into emblems of personal, an even spiritual reflections by the 1980’s. Conservation replaced exploitation as the popular position on marine mammals, affording extensive protective measures including restrictions on tuna fisheries and the designation of marine sanctuaries. "Save the whale" became the anthem of the environmental movement and some species recovered from near extinction due in part to changes in public opinion. Today, new trends in American enthusiasm and passion for marine mammals include whale watching and swim-with-dolphin programs, and this newest aspect of media whaling continues to be reflected in modern advertising.