General location transform of the order statistics from the exponential,pareto and weibull,with application to maximum likelihood estimation

Based one some common distribution properties of the order statistics and the transformation theory by Efron(1982), we determine unified explicit general location transformations, which map the distributions of the order statistics from the Exponential, Pareto and Weibull to a standard normal distribution. This result is used to derive analytical formulas for the maximum likelihood estimators of the shape parameter of these distributions of order statistics. The presented exact method is applied to catastrophe earthquake life reinsurance.     

Institutionalizing Scientific Knowledge: The Social and Political Foundation of Empirical Economic Research

Scientific knowledge is an essential component of modern society. Consequently, sociologists are interested in its production process and have conducted a broad variety of studies showing how social patterns influence the definition and the boundaries of scientific knowledge. In this paper, I ask how social factors influence the transformation of a ‘normal’ field of knowledge into a ‘scientific’ one. First, I give a brief overview of the development of the sociology of scientific knowledge exploring different approaches to the social foundations and boundaries of scientific knowledge. Second, I present a case study of the transformation of empirical economic research in the 1920s from a field of knowledge produced by journalists and civil servants into a prestigious scientific domain. I use neo‐institutionalist ideas to show that knowledge needs a socially legitimated organizational frame in order to count as ‘scientific’ and I examine how political needs to ‘manage the economy’ build boundaries around economic knowledge and define it as ‘scientific’ in order to control its production, distribution, and communication.     

Infant Auditory Sensitivity to Pure Tones and Frequency‐Modulated Tones

It has been suggested that infants respond preferentially to infant‐directed speech because their auditory sensitivity to sounds with extensive frequency modulation (FM) is better than their sensitivity to less modulated sounds. In this experiment, auditory thresholds for FM tones and for unmodulated, or pure, tones in a background of noise were measured for 4‐month‐old infants using a conditioned response procedure. The FM tones swept from 150 to 275 Hz or from 150 to 550 Hz. The frequency of the pure tone was either 275 or 550 Hz. The results showed that infants were slightly, but significantly, more sensitive to the sounds that included 550 Hz than they were to the lower frequency sounds, whether or not the sound was frequency modulated. It appears that infants could be somewhat more sensitive to infant‐directed than to adult‐directed speech, not because of FM per se, but because the fundamental frequency excursions in infant‐directed speech extend into a higher frequency range than those in adult‐directed speech.     

Delayed Adulthood,Delayed Desistance? Trends in the Age Distribution of Problem Behaviors

As the transition to adulthood becomes more protracted and less orderly, fewer young people occupy adult roles and experience the social control associated with these roles. One might therefore expect behaviors associated with the teenage years to spill over into older age groups, reflecting postponed entrance into full social adulthood. We test this hypothesis by examining trends over time in the age distribution of crime, substance use, and violent death. We find little evidence that behaviors typical of adolescence are moving upward to older ages. Although the achievement of adult roles is being pushed to older ages, this stretching of the transition to adulthood is not reflected in the observed patterns of substance use, violent death, and arrests.     

Undergraduate Women in Science and Engineering: Effects of Faculty,Fields, and Institutions Over Time*

Objective. Taking an institutional approach to the determinants of outcomes for women in science and engineering, we examine the effects on women's percentages among undergraduate majors and among degree recipients of four basic factors: (1) the percentage of faculty who are women in the students' major science/engineering area; (2) the students' disciplines (biology, physical sciences, and engineering); (3) the type of institution in which students are enrolled (“Research I” vs. others); and (4) a time trend (1984–2000). Method. We use longitudinal, multivariate, and multi‐institutional data from the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) and from a mail survey of registrars. Results. Over the observation period, the women's percentages have risen steadily. The effects of disciplines and departments are stronger than those of institutions. Especially notable is that the percentages of women among undergraduate science/engineering majors and degree recipients are associated with the percentages of women among the faculty in these fields. Conclusion. The findings contribute empirically to the discussion about the effects of “role models” for the participation and performance of women in science and engineering—and point to the strong effects of departments, compared to institutions, in accounting for degrees awarded to undergraduate women.