Characterizations of the β- and the Degree Network Power Measure

A symmetric network consists of a set of positions and a set of bilateral links between these positions. For every symmetric network we define a cooperative transferable utility game that measures the “power” of each coalition of positions in the network. Applying the Shapley value to this game yields a network power measure, the β-measure, which reflects the power of the individual positions in the network. Applying this power distribution method iteratively yields a limit distribution, which turns out to be proportional to the well-known degree measure. We compare the β-measure and degree measure by providing characterizations, which differ only in the normalization that is used.      

A Preliminary Examination of the Knowledge of Normative Infant Development (KNID) Inventory Using Structural Equation Modeling

Structural equation modeling is a general statistical model that combines confirmatory factor analysis, multiple regression, and path analysis. It provides a comprehensive approach for testing the adequacy of measures, but virtually no applications of this approach exist in the social work literature. This article presents a new measure of parental knowledge of normative infant development, it describes the use of structural equation modeling to analyze the results of a study of 273 mothers designed to test this measure, and it discusses general considerations in the use of structural equation modeling to test measures. Results indicate that the Knowledge of Normative Infant Development (KNID) inventory measures two uncorrelated factors, early and late expectations of infant development. Each of these factors is distinct from but correlated positively with maltreating expectations, as predicted. Contrary to predictions, neither factor is correlated with family conflict.     

Parametric multi-attribute utility functions for optimal profit under risk constraints

We provide an economic interpretation of the practice consisting in incorporating risk measures as constraints in an expected prospect maximization problem. For what we call the infimum of expectations class of risk measures, we show that if the decision maker (DM) maximizes the expectation of a random prospect under constraint that the risk measure is bounded above, he then behaves as a “generalized expected utility maximizer” in the following sense. The DM exhibits ambiguity with respect to a family of utility functions defined on a larger set of decisions than the original one; he adopts pessimism and performs first a minimization of expected utility over this family, then performs a maximization over a new decisions set. This economic behaviour is called “maxmin under risk” and studied by Maccheroni (Econ Theory 19:823–831, 2002). As an application, we make the link between an expected prospect maximization problem, subject to conditional value-at-risk being less than a threshold value, and a non-expected utility economic formulation involving “loss aversion”-type utility functions.     

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of two scales of work–family conflict among Ghanaian employees

This study examines the psychometric properties of Carlson, Kacmar, and Williams’ (2000) multidimensional scale of work–family conflict and Matthews, Kath, and Barnes-Farrell’s (2010) abbreviated version of the instrument in Ghana. Five hundred and forty-one (541) employees selected from different organizations responded to structured questionnaires administered in English. Results from confirmatory factor analysis supported the six-dimensional factor structure of Carlson et al.’s (2000) measure. The instrument was found to have good internal consistency, adequate convergent validity and discriminant validity, as well as invariance of factor structure across gender. The results also supported the two-dimensional factor structure of Matthews et al.’s (2010) abbreviated version of the work–family conflict scale. The dimensions of work–family conflict on the abbreviated measure correlated strongly with respective dimensions of the original multidimensional version. Latent mean comparisons suggested that men reported more work–family conflict than women on both measures. The study demonstrates the applicability of both the six-dimensional work–family conflict scale and the abbreviated work–family conflict measure for research in Ghana.     

College Attendance and Choice of College Majors Among Asian‐American Students*

Objective. This study explores how various measures, ranging from assimilation, to human capital, to family capital, and Holland's career‐development theories, affect Asian‐American students' choice of college majors. To test our hypotheses, we examine choice of college major using a unique measure based on the early earning potential of a large number of specific majors. Methods. Our data come from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS88). We use the Heckman selection approach to adjust for the nonrandom selection of college attendance and choice of college majors. Results. The findings of the study show little difference between Asian men and white men. On the other hand, there are significant differences among women. Conclusions. Chinese, Filipino, and Southeast Asian women are all more likely to choose more lucrative college majors than white women, controlling for all the other factors. Interestingly, effects of our assimilation, psychological, and some of the family capital measures are quite different for men than for women.     

Individual cheating in the lab: a new measure and external validity

This paper investigates to what extent laboratory measures of cheating generalise to the field. To this purpose, we develop a lab measure that allows for individual-level observations of cheating whilst reducing the likelihood that participants feel observed. Decisions made in this laboratory task are then compared to individual choices taken in the field, where subjects can lie by misreporting their experimental earnings. We use two field variations that differ in the degree of anonymity of the field decision. According to our measure, no correlation of behaviour between the laboratory and the field is found. We then perform the same analysis using a lab measure that can only detect cheating at the aggregate level. In this case, we do find a weak correlation between the two environments. We discuss the significance and interpretation of these results.

     

Biology,Social Environment,and Health: How Family History and Social Conditions Affect Adult Asthma*

Objective. We examine how multiple measures of both biological (family history of asthma) and social risk factors (home environment quality, socioeconomic status, and demographic characteristics) influence asthma risk among U.S. adults. Method. Using logistic regression models, we analyze data from a sample of 6,337 adults from the 2003–2004 National Asthma Survey. Results. Prevalence rates of current asthma are four times higher among adults with a family history of asthma, and the odds of having asthma are influenced most strongly by having asthmatic parents or grandparents (and, to a lesser extent, asthmatic siblings). We also find that social factors, especially characteristics of the home environment, significantly increase the odds of suffering from asthma as an adult. Conclusion. Our results show that all measures of family history are strongly linked to adult asthma prevalence, even when social factors are controlled. Social factors are also important, but very little of this is as a mediating influence that links family history and adult asthma; rather, family and social conditions have mostly independent effects.     

What's in a name? Current effects of family politicization on legislative candidates’ career start in Belgium

In this article we measure the effect of inherited political capital in the form of family politicization on legislative candidates’ recruitment age and early careers. We differentiate the concept of family politicization between a narrow (i.e., party political) and a broad (i.e., non-party-political) interpretation. Results indicate that narrow family politicization is the only type that plays a role in speeding up political recruitment. However, only the route to candidacy is affected by family politicization, whereas for the route to power other factors absorb this effect, mainly the candidates’ pre-electoral party engagement. This implies that candidates from narrowly politicized families do not merely rely on inherited political capital to get elected, which rejects a popular opinion. On the other hand, the result that parental talking and brokerage professions speed up the candidates’ election, indicate that the home environment does not play a neutral role in the early career path either.     

Psychometric properties of an adapted version of the parental sense of competence (PSOC) scale for Portuguese at‐risk parents

Parental sense of competence is one of the central dimensions targeted on psychosocial interventions aimed at supporting at‐risk families. Researchers and practitioners need reliable instruments to assess the parental role adapted for these families. Although the parental sense of competence (PSOC) scale has been frequently used to assess this construct, there is still no adapted version for Portuguese parents. In this study, the reliability, validity and factor structure of the PSOC scale is examined with a clinical sample of 146 mothers from at‐risk families receiving psychosocial interventions for family preservation from Child Protective Services. Results show that the Portuguese version of the PSOC measures three distinct constructs with acceptable psychometric properties: efficacy, dissatisfaction and controllability. As expected, the obtained factors were significantly and positively related to parenting alliance and family cohesion, and negatively associated with parenting stress. In sum, the proposed Portuguese version shows reliability and validity evidences to measure three relevant dimensions of parental self‐evaluation, and it constitutes a cost‐ and time‐effective instrument suited for at‐risk mothers.     

Age Differences in the Correlates of Perceived Dominance*

Previous evidence indicates that the correlates of dominance vary over studies. We hypothesized that one source of this variability is that dominance shifts with age from being associated with aggression to being more associated with prosocial behavior and sociometric status. To test this, we examined 10 vs. 13 year-old boys' perceptions of dominance, using a measure that assessed the perceived outcomes of dyadic agonism. In a sample consisting predominantly of lower- and middle-SES boys from public schools attending a racially integrated summer program for youths with behavior problems, we examined the relation between perceived dominance, sociometric status, and measures of social behavior, including physical and verbal aggression. Perceived dominance was associated with hitting and bullying among 10 year-olds, whereas among 13 year-olds it was more closely associated with sociometric status. The measure of perceived dominance we present produced rigidity scores comparable to those found using behavioral measures of dominance.     

The BMI as a somatotypic measure of physique: A rejoinder to Jeremy E.C. Genovese

In 2008, Maddan, Walker and Miller promoted the use of the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a viable alternative to Sheldon's technique of somatotyping. Utilizing the BMI, Maddan Walker and Miller re-analyzed the original data from the Sheldon studies. This analysis indicated a statistically significant relationship between the two measures of somatotyping. Genovese wrote a response to this work suggesting the BMI is not a useful proxy for somatotyping individuals. We respond to Genovese's critique by providing a full explication of the Sheldon somatoype measure and an analysis of Sheldon's original data accounting for all of the different somatotypes identified. Analyses here indicate that the original somatotype measure was very subjective. Although not without flaws, the BMI provides an objective somatotype measure that is comparable, if not superior, to the measure promulgated by Sheldon.     

The impact of the European Youth Guarantee on active labour market policies: A convergence analysis

The European Union’s (EU) Youth Guarantee aims to improve the labour market situation of young people. Rather than prescribing a uniform policy model, it acknowledges that supportive measures need to align with national, regional and local circumstances. It thus seeks to promote mutual policy learning through the open method of coordination. As an innovative measure, the EU has deployed funding programmes to support the domestic measures related to the Youth Guarantee. We therefore examined in this study whether this mix of recommendations and financial incentives has entailed a convergence of member state policies. Our analysis of policy outputs for the period 2007?2014 yields a mixed empirical picture. There is catching‐up convergence regarding policies’ sectoral coverage but increasing divergence concerning the number of adopted policy instruments. The first two years of financial incentives did not produce any effect on enhancing policy experimentation among less active member states. We offer an optimistic and a pessimistic interpretation of these findings.     

自评一般健康的信度和效度分析

本文利用2008年“中国流动与健康调查”（IMHC）数据,分析了自评一般健康指标的信度和效度。研究发现,自评一般健康具有较好的信度,被访者先后两次回答的结果高度一致,两次回答结果的微小变动表现为随机性的波动,而非系统性偏差。该指标在一定程度上会受到调查中题目次序效应的影响。关于自评一般健康指标效度的分析发现,该指标能够有效反映被访者自我感知的各种健康状态和个体既有的关于自身健康的知识,但不能很好地反映个体无法感知的机体变化等健康问题。自评一般健康存在较为复杂的回答偏误问题,受不同年龄、社会经济地位群体关于健康的评价标准、期望与认知差异的影响,其回答结果在不同人群中的可比性值得商榷。     

教育的同型婚姻与中国社会的家庭工资收入不平等:1996—2012

近年来，关于同型婚配的研究在社会学界得到越来越多的关注。本文采用LHSC1996与CGSS2012两个截面数据，首先用对数线性模型测量调查数据中夫妻教育匹配的同型程度，用相关系数测量工资收入上的相似程度。然后使用模糊置换检验估量在控制年龄、城乡和地域之后，夫妻受教育程度的匹配对家庭工资收入不平等指数泰尔指数（Theil Index）的影响，并通过比较两个截面数据考察其变化趋势。在研究方法上本文有所贡献，本文所使用的改进的置换检验方法可以更好地控制年龄等定距变量。     

Financial efficiency and accounting quality: The impact of institutional micro-factors on FDI

In this paper, we explore whether factors such as financial markets and accounting qualities contribute to foreign direct investment (FDI). We use a unique data source: the survey data from World Economic Forum, to measure the efficiency of the financial markets and the quality of accounting standards. With this unique data, we demonstrate that financial markets and accounting quality are important factors of FDI inflow into a country. In particular, FDI is positively correlated with the strength of financial audits and reporting standards and venture capital availability for all countries. We also show that accounting quality measures are more important for developing and emerging countries than for developed countries. On the other hand, financial market measures, especially the access to venture capital, have a bigger impact in attracting FDI flow into developed countries. These results support the hypothesis that local financial markets and accounting quality affect FDI. The results have strong policy implications for governmental regulatory agencies.     

Researching Quality of Life in Early Old Age: The Importance of the Sociological Dimension

Measurement of quality of life has become a major feature of much social and epidemiological research in health and social care settings. It is seen as an important alternative to more process‐based outcome measures but remains poorly defined. A major weakness is the absence of any coherent theoretical underpinning whether sociological, psychological or philosophical. Into this conceptual vacuum proxies for quality of life have been introduced. Quality of life [QoL] research into older populations has focused on measures of health and illness as equivalents of QoL. This paper argues that this response is inadequate as it reduces old age to a dimension of health, disability and disease. Instead, we argue that it is necessary to create a theoretically based measure of QoL in early old age which relates to those aspects of later life that are not defined by health. We present a model of QoL that is derived from aspects of contemporary social theory as they relate to the ontology of late modernity. In particular, we utilize a model based upon needs satisfaction. The model contains four domains: Control, Autonomy, Pleasure and Self‐realization. The measure consists of a 19‐item scale. The four domains load on to a single latent QoL factor. We argue that the CASP 19 scale offers an approach to QoL that integrates a sociologically based model of quality of life with a meaningful and valid research instrument.     

Evaluating the psychometrics of the SSIS SEL in a socio-economically diverse sample

The increasing interest in implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions within schools calls for more reliable and valid assessment tools to measure the effectiveness of SEL programs. We investigated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Social Skills Improvement System – Social-Emotional Learning Edition (SSIS SEL) with a group of ethnically and socio-economically diverse grade 3 students in Ontario, Canada (n = 427). The SSIS SEL is an age-normed measure used for the evaluation of interventions and prevention initiatives. Data collected included both teacher-report and student self-report measures. The factor structure proposed by the scale developers was not replicated using this smaller single grade sample. However, the study demonstrates evidence of good construct and convergent validity supporting the novel factor structure. Results from this study suggest that more research on the SSIS SEL's application in real-world intervention research programs is needed.     

Poverty and family structure effects on children's mathematics achievement: Estimates from random and fixed effects models

As children grow up, they may encounter changing family structures and poverty status. Any attempt to measure the effects of these statuses on children's school achievement runs the risk of spurious effects due to child- and family-heterogeneity. An analytic strategy for avoiding these spurious effects is to use longitudinal data on families, children, and their academic achievement to estimate random coefficient growth-curve models in which a large number of causally prior control variables are allowed to impact both the intercept and slope of the child's achievement trajectory, while poverty and family structure at each point in time enter the model as time-varying covariates. An even more powerful strategy is to use Allison's [Allison, P. D. (2005). Fixed effects regression methods for longitudinal data using SAS. Cary, NC: SAS Institute, Inc.] “hybrid” version of this model, in which a fixed-effects specification differences away all unchanging child and family characteristics. We use CNLSY79 data to estimate both types of models for the effects of poverty status and family structure on children's mathematics achievement between ages 5 and 14. We find that poverty status exerts a modest, statistically significant negative effect on math achievement, but only among younger children. The correlation between family structure and children's mathematics achievement is largely spurious, due instead to child- and family-heterogeneity on causally prior variables.     

Development of Two Measures of Climate for Scientific Organizations

The aim of this article is to describe the development of two measures of ethical climate for scientific organizations. The first measure utilizes a traditional climate measurement approach and was developed in order to understand the various ethical and creative aspects of organizational climate, or academic departmental climate in university settings, in organizations where scientific and academic research is conducted. The second measure utilizes a biodata measurement approach, a set of career event scales applicable in university and research settings. Such a measure is intended to identify those experiences unique to scientific work that may influence research climate at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Specifically, these measures will be used to predict integrity in the early part of a scientist's career based on various situational influences that occur in scientific organizations.     

On the Measurement of Job Risk in Hedonic Wage Models

We examine the incidence, form, and research consequences of measurement error in measures of fatal injury risk in U.S. workplaces using both Bureau of Labor Statistics and National Intitute of Occupational Safety and Health data. Of the various measures examined the NIOSH industry risk measure produces implicit value of life estimates most in line with both economic theory and the mode result for the existing literature. Because we find non-classical measurement error that differs across risk measures and is not independent of other regressors, innovative statistical procedures need be applied to obtain statistically improved estimates of wage-fatality risk tradeoffs.