Lifelong Learning: A Dyadic Ecological Perspective

This paper examines lifelong learning in differentiating it from formal education, and emphasizes multiple theoretical perspectives in doing so. The theoretically based approaches emphasized here include contextualism and the multi-layered nature of the environment, the dialectics of interactions among students and instructors, the zone of proximal development, and person-environment fit. Examining lifelong learning from these perspectives deepens our understanding of such learners and has implications for future research examining lifelong learning, as well as for the design and implementation of interventions designed to foster positive intergenerational relationships.     

The Combined Effect of Women's Neighborhood Resources and Collective Efficacy on IPV

This study integrates gender stratification and social disorganization theories to examine neighborhood effects on intimate partner violence (IPV). Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, multilevel models assessed the influences of women's neighborhood‐level socioeconomic resources relative to men's and collective efficacy on a woman's risk of IPV victimization by her spouse or cohabiting partner. The findings indicate that women's relative neighborhood resources protect against IPV victimization only in neighborhoods with sufficiently high collective efficacy. Likewise, the results show that collective efficacy protects against IPV victimization only when women have at least a modicum of control over neighborhood resources compared to men. The findings emphasize the importance of considering group resources along with neighborhood social organization to better understand IPV. More broadly, this study demonstrates how a group's position in a neighborhood social hierarchy helps determine the extent to which its members benefit from neighborhood social control.     

Day Labourers' Work Related Injuries: An Assessment of Risks,Choices, and Policies

Literature and theory surrounding the informal economy in international contexts suggest that informal work arrangements may entail assuming various levels of risk, and that the higher the level of risk in an employment arrangement, the higher the premium paid to the worker. This study is designed to assess if a wage compensation for risk exists within the United States' day labour job market ‐ the most visible sector of the United States' informal economy. Using data from the 2005 National Day Labour Survey we find a statistically significant wage premium indicating that a risk‐wage tradeoff within the day labour informal economy exists. Ultimately, we argue that current policy interventions facilitated through day labour centres into the day labour market appear to be effective in mitigating the risks associated with this type of employment.

• Evidence of a risk‐wage premium in the day labour market suggests there is an incentive to assume higher levels of risk in work arrangements which presents significant concerns for worker safety.
• Higher levels of work related risks assumed by day labourers, may be minimized if they receive proper safety training through a formal venue such as a worker centre.
• Worker centres only serve 20 per cent of all day labourers in the United States, suggesting a need for the establishment of additional worker centres in other connected or industry based work sites, to help mitigate potential work related risks and injuries in the day labour market.

     

出生性别比的社会经济决定因素:对2000年中国最大的36个少数民族的分析

虽然中国很多少数民族都没有实现严格的计划生育政策,但他们的生育依然受到了限制。这种生育限制增加了有男嗣偏好的家庭采取人为手段控制新生儿性别的趋向。同时,少数民族之间的传统文化、生活习惯和经济发展程度也有所不同。这些因素使各个少数民族呈现出不同的生育状况,包括新生儿性别比的高低。本文试图通过分析某些社会和经济因素对中国少数民族新生儿性别比的影响来证明社会经济对生育行为中男嗣偏好的影响。     

The Balance Point: The Blacksmiths of the Digital Age or the Economics of Serials

This column discusses the effects of real or perceived funding reductions on serials resources. The focus is on bibliographic instruction and cataloging aspects of “fee” versus “free” resources.     

Commitment and Relationship Maintenance Behaviors as Marital Protective Factors during Economic Pressure

Using a contemporary national sample of married couples (N?=?1368 couples) and a dyadic path analysis, the authors examined whether commitment and relationship maintenance behaviors facilitate marital quality resilience for wives and husbands reporting recession-related financial stressors and economic pressure. Relationship maintenance behaviors moderated the association between economic pressure and marital quality for wives. Wives reported higher levels of marital satisfaction and lower levels of divorce proneness during economic pressure when husbands reported higher levels of relationship maintenance behaviors. Unexpectedly, wives reported higher levels of divorce proneness during economic pressure when husbands reported higher levels of marital commitment.     

The space center at Colorado Springs

In the early 1980s, the Department of Defense located a fifth major installation near Colorado Springs: the Consolidated Space Operations Center. With four major facilities, contractors, and research and development firms, the city was already saturated with defense installations. Socioeconomic impact analysis would have to be different than for either defense or energy development. Planners collected data on local businesses, defense contractors, and military households. They found that indirect spending would be considerably lower than from a corresponding amount of private sector spending. Also, the military population would not grow in an intergenerational sense because its high mobility tends to inflate population projections if not adjusted.     

Disproportionality in education and employment outcomes of adult foster care alumni

Racial similarities and disparities in the education and employment of 134 African American and 574 White adults placed in foster care as children were examined. Logistic regression was used to compare differences among these young adult alumni who were served by a voluntary foster care agency in 23 U.S. communities. When controlling for demographic background, risk factors, and foster care experiences, race/ethnicity was a significant factor only in the increased odds of White alumni having income at or above poverty level, three times poverty level, and home/apartment ownership compared to African Americans.     

Inference on treatment effects for targeted clinical trials under enrichment design

After completion of a human genome project, the disease targets at molecular level can be identified. As a result, treatment modality for molecular targets can be developed. In practice, targeted clinical trials are usually conducted for evaluation of the possibility and feasibility of the individualized treatment of patients. However, the accuracy of diagnostic devices for identification of such molecular targets is usually not perfect. Therefore, some of the patients enrolled in targeted clinical trials with a positive result by the diagnostic device might not have the specific molecular targets and hence the treatment effects of the targeted drugs estimated from targeted clinical trials could be biased for the patient population truly with the molecular targets. Under an enrichment design for targeted clinical trials, we propose to use the EM algorithm and bootstrap method for obtaining the inference of the treatment effects of the targeted drugs in the patient population truly with molecular targets. A simulation study was conducted to empirically investigate the bias and variability of the proposed estimator and the size and power of the proposed testing method. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed estimator is unbiased with adequate precision and the confidence interval can provide satisfactory coverage probability. In addition, the proposed testing procedure can adequately control the size with sufficient power. A practical example illustrates the utility of the proposed method. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

现代经济理论的失败:建设性后现代思想家看全球金融危机——柯布博士访谈录

目前,美国已陷入20世纪30年代经济大崩溃以来最严重的一次金融危机。从房市泡沫破裂、次贷危机、油价与物价上涨、经济衰退到一系列大公司倒闭,一连串的人为因素造成了华尔街哀鸿遍野的败象。那么,是什么原因导致了这次美国金融危机的爆发呢?应《文史哲》杂志的邀约,带着这个问题,利用世界著名建设性后现代思想家,美国著名生态经济学家,中美后现代发展研究院院长柯布博士(JohnB.Cobb,Jr.)参加中央编译局和中美后现代发展研究院在美国克莱蒙举办的"马克思主义与生态文明国际学术研讨会"的宝贵机会,美国《世界文化论坛》报主编樊美筠博士专门采访了柯布博士。在访谈中,柯布博士从建设性后现代主义视角对当前这场金融危机进行了诊断。他精辟地指出,此次金融危机实际上宣告了现代西方经济理论特别是风靡一时的新自由主义经济学的失败,因为它是建立在现代机械哲学和个人主义之上的。他明确预言:"美国作为世界经济中心的日子正在飞快地走向终结。"并向世人发出了预警:"美国在不久的将来会成为危险的敌人",至少"它不会是一个很可靠的朋友"。