Sufficient admissibility conditions for scale parameter estimator

Although there are a number of results available for the admissibility of the best translation equivariant estimator of the parameter, there is hardly any stated explicitly for the best scale equivariant estimator of the scale parameter. In this paper, we derive sufficient conditions for the admissibility of the scale parameter estimators and compara them. The derivations use the well known results due to Brown [1], Farrell [2], and Portnoy [3]. The loss function has been taken to be quadratic.     

A method for parameter estimation of non-linear regression with autocorrelated errors

For a class of non-linear models with stationary dependent residuals an estimating procedure is introduced and its statistical properties are derived. This procedure is useful when no basis exists for assuming a specific parametric model for the error process. For application of the procedure a two step iterative method is described and a small simulation study is performed.     

The how and the why: Competences and holistic practice

Social work education and training in the UK was, in the 1990s, restructured on a competence-based model. Drawing on the literature and a survey of students from one Diploma in Social Work programme, this paper offers a critical appraisal of this approach to social work education, placing it in the context of opposing ideological frameworks. It reviews the strengths and limitations of the system and discusses some of the problems and dilemmas arising in training for work involving values conflicts and complex tasks. It argues that there is a need for a new synthesis drawn from the strengths of technical rationalism and holistic reflective practice.     

Criteria for evaluating qualitative studies

Many countries are becoming increasingly reliant upon an aging workforce. Yet, much literature positions older workers as ‘last resort’ employees, held in low esteem by employers whose preference for youth extends into decision-making about workplace engagement and support. As part of a broader study on maintaining the competence of older workers, we investigated the extent to which a group of employees in Australia aged 45 or more perceived they were discriminated against because of their age, including access to training, promotion opportunities and job security. Against expectations arising from the literature, informants reported little in the way of explicit age-related bias in their employment, opportunities for advancement and further development. Although the informants have particular characteristics and featured paraprofessional and professional workers, the contrast is noteworthy between what is reported in the literature and often premised on surveys, and our data were based on interviews. The findings indicate a need to be wary of making easy generalizations about the extent to which older workers per se are discriminated against in the workplace, while at the same time acknowledging that such discrimination exists, and perhaps for particular kinds of workers. In addition, we found a range of nuanced responses that suggest there are tensions between discriminations policies and practice that are a challenge for human resource development professionals.     

中学体育教师职业倦怠现象成因及自我调适

体育教师的职业倦怠是指体育教师因本职工作长期得不到学校及社会应有的尊重和支持而缺乏成就感,进而产生的厌烦、冷漠情感及相应的行为表现。本文结合中学体育教师的劳动特点,从主客观两方面分析了我国中学体育教师职业倦怠的原因,并从知、情、意、行的角度提出了一些自我调适的方法。     

Estimating the prevalence of xenophobia and anti-Semitism in Germany: A comparison of randomized response and direct questioning

An experimental CATI-survey (N = 2041), asking sensitive questions about xenophobia and anti-Semitism in Germany, was conducted to compare the randomized response technique (RRT) and the direct questioning technique. Unlike the vast majority of RRT surveys measuring the prevalence of socially undesirable behaviors, only few studies have explored the effectiveness of the RRT with respect to the disclosure of socially undesirable opinions. Results suggest that the RRT is an effective method eliciting more socially undesirable opinions and yielding more valid prevalence estimates of xenophobia and anti-Semitism than direct questioning (‘more-is-better’ assumption). Furthermore, the results indicate that with increasing topic sensitivity, the benefits of using the RRT also increase. Finally, adapted logistic regression analyses show that several covariates such as education and generalized trust are related to the likelihood of being prejudiced towards foreigners and Jews.     

He said, she said: The gender wage gap according to self and proxy reports in the Current Population Survey

Roughly half the labor force data in the Current Population Survey (CPS) are provided by proxy respondents, and since 1979, men’s reliance on proxies has dropped dramatically while women’s reliance on proxies has increased. Few authors, however, have examined how combining these first-hand and second-hand reports may influence our understanding of long-term economic trends. We exploit the outgoing rotation group structure of the CPS by matching individual records one year apart, and we find that self-reported wages are higher than proxy-reported wages even after controlling for all time invariant characteristics. Furthermore, we find that changes in the use of proxy respondents by men and women since 1979 have made current estimates of the gender wage gap larger than they would have been without changes in reporting status. This suggests that the gender wage gap has closed more than previously estimated. We recommend that researchers combine self and proxy responses with great care, especially when analyzing time trends or making gender comparisons.     

The Effect of Proximity to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Subsequent Hurricane Outlook and Optimistic Bias

This study evaluated how individuals living on the Gulf Coast perceived hurricane risk after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It was hypothesized that hurricane outlook and optimistic bias for hurricane risk would be associated positively with distance from the Katrina‐Rita landfall (more optimism at greater distance), controlling for historically based hurricane risk and county population density, demographics, individual hurricane experience, and dispositional optimism. Data were collected in January 2006 through a mail survey sent to 1,375 households in 41 counties on the coast (n = 824, 60% response). The analysis used hierarchal regression to test hypotheses. Hurricane history and population density had no effect on outlook; individuals who were male, older, and with higher household incomes were associated with lower risk perception; individual hurricane experience and personal impacts from Katrina and Rita predicted greater risk perception; greater dispositional optimism predicted more optimistic outlook; distance had a small effect but predicted less optimistic outlook at greater distance (model R²= 0.21). The model for optimistic bias had fewer effects: age and community tenure were significant; dispositional optimism had a positive effect on optimistic bias; distance variables were not significant (model R²= 0.05). The study shows that an existing measure of hurricane outlook has utility, hurricane outlook appears to be a unique concept from hurricane optimistic bias, and proximity has at most small effects. Future extension of this research will include improved conceptualization and measurement of hurricane risk perception and will bring to focus several concepts involving risk communication.     

Randomization with non-uniform allocations: fulfillment time distributions and bias properties

This article compares the properties of two balanced randomization schemes with several treatments under non-uniform allocation probabilities. According to the first procedure, the so-called truncated multinomial randomization design, the process employs a given allocation distribution, until a treatment receives its quota of subjects, after which this distribution switches to the conditional distribution for the remaining treatments, and so on. The second scheme, the random allocation rule, selects at random any legitimate assignment of the given number of subjects per treatment. The behavior of these two schemes is shown to be quite different: the truncated multinomial randomization design's assignment probabilities to a treatment turn out to vary over the recruitment period, and its accidental bias can be large, whereas the random allocation rule's this bias is bounded. The limiting distributions of the instants at which a treatment receives the given number of subjects is shown to be that of weighted spacings for normal order statistics with different variances. Formulas for the selection bias of both procedures are also derived.     

Grandparenthood,Life Review,and Psychosocial Development

No abstract available for this article.