Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Relevant literature on celebrity film tourism and celebrity culture is reviewed in relation to movie star home tour guides, people active in both reproducing and consuming celebrities. Analysis of preliminary data gathered through participant observation revealed five core themes related to the reproduction of celebrities in movie star home tours: tour guiding as work, tour guiding as performance, celebrity encounters, following the media’s lead, and negotiating class through movie star homes tours.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Texas is unique among the American states in its approach to human resources (HR). Specifically, the state has no central HR (or ?personnel?) office and no comprehensive set of centrally prescribed HR policies and procedures. Instead, the HR function is almost completely decentralized, giving state agencies considerable latitude in designing and implementing their respective HR programs. Given that contemporary calls for HR reform emphasize themes like decentralization and deregulation, Texas represents an excellent case study for understanding the practical implications of this approach to HR. After describing Texas? complicated HR system, the paper reports findings from a survey of the state?s HR directors. Respondents generally had favorable feelings about HR effectiveness in their respective agencies, and they did not readily perceive the most egregious forms of equity and political abuse. However, a comparison of respondents with and without reported HR expertise revealed significant differences of opinion on many important HR issues.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: How do democracy and external security concerns influence interstate reconciliation? This study examines the prospects of moving from a lower stage of peace to a higher stage of peace among former belligerents. I identify three categories of peace: pre-peace, negative peace, and positive peace. Specifically, I maintain that the effects of democracy and external security will have different effects on the prospects of interstate reconciliation based on what level of peace they are occurring at. I control for several other factors here that capture the effect of the last war, interest similarity, international factors, domestic politics, past conflict and opportunity factors. I test my arguments using duration analysis on a dataset that contains information on all former belligerents since 1816. The results give support to my contention that what matters at one stage will not necessarily have the same impact at another. In addition, it is found that many dyads move out of the lowest level of relations but that states find it rather hard to reach the highest level of peace. The results also show that both democracy and external security considerations do contribute to the highest level of peace being attained but the story is more complicated when it comes to leaving the lowest level of peace.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: There is growing concern in the United States that adolescents and young adults have become increasingly unrealistic about their future achievements. Ample research evidence confirms that achievement expectations infrequently correspond to what is likely to occur. For example, contemporary teenagers expect to attain much more post-secondary education than their cohort will eventually attain. Yet what researchers have failed to show is whether unrealistic plans are necessarily problematic, despite the popular belief that they lead to frustration, wasted resources, and demoralization. This paper uses the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the mental health consequences of holding unrealistic expectations about getting a four-year college degree. Lagged panel regression models confirm that failing to achieve one’s college expectations is associated with lower levels of self-esteem and mastery and higher levels of depression. The negative impact of failing to complete a four-year degree is largest among those with little academic potential – that is, young adults whose plans were unrealistic given their academic potential – and larger for men than it is for women. However, teenagers who held unrealistic plans fared better than those of comparable academic potential who did not plan to complete a college degree. These findings suggest that “shooting for the stars” and falling short has offsetting benefits that boost students’ mental health beyond that experienced by young adults who “planned for the probable” and expected early on they would not get a college degree. Possible explanations for the surprising benefits of unrealistic plans are discussed.