The effect of illegitimacy on U.S. general fertility rates and population growth

Illegitimacy and bridal pregnancy has attracted the attention of scholars concerned with a variety of plausible causes and consequences ofbirths conceived out of wedlock. Sociologists have expressed concern with the impact of such births on maternal and child health, family stability and the economic status offamilies. Although demographers have described trends in various populations, and have occasionally suggested that births conceived out of wedlock influence general fertility rates and cohort fertility, measures of the demographic impact of illegitimate or premaritally conceived births have not been assessed. While it seems obvious that a change in births conceived out of wedlock will affect change in a general fertility rate, this finding would not automatically allow the conclusion that cohort fertility would change because a change in the rate of births conceived out of wedlock occurred.     

论现代维吾尔语新词语的产生渠道及其特点

现代维吾尔语词汇在改革开放的近三十年来，发生了巨大的变化，产生了成千上万的新词语。文章根据这些变化。主要分析和归纳了现代维语新词语产生的造词、挖掘、借词等渠道及其仿造性、形象性、单一性、生疏性等特点。     

Rethinking measures of migration: On the decomposition of net migration

The purpose of this paper is to “resurrect” the measure of net migration and defend its continued use under specific research circumstances, despite the current dissatisfaction with the measure as expressed by some scholars. We employ data from the 1980 Census of Population to compare five measures of migration, including net migration rates, in- and out-migration rates, migration efficiency ratios and migration turnover rates. We demonstrate the additivity of in- and out-migration rates with net migration rates and migration turnover rates. Also, we show how the migration efficiency ratio and turnover rates are conceptually and mathematically related. Finally, a simple multivariate model is estimated to show how regression coefficients from in-and out-migration rate models are related to net migration and migration turnover rates.     

Women’s empowerment and its effect on community development in Oman: predictive model and indicators for best practices

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the level of women’s empowerment in Omani society from the point of view of female university students from three public universities with respect to educational opportunity, equality in employment and their social status in the community. The study proposes a model for how to empower women based on the perceptions of university females and the factors that must be considered for improving the status of women in Oman. The model also provides indicators for social and community practices using confirmatory factor analysis and Path Analysis to determine pertinent factors and their effects on women’s development. The results showed a strong direct effect of women’s empowerment in Oman on community development. Despite the latest developments in Oman, as long as cultural rigidity remains, tradition upholds a conservative viewpoint of women, and families adhere to their uncompromised principles, women will remain subordinated by these factors according to the viewpoint of participants. This study concludes with recommendations for further research, including enrolment of females in all areas of specialisation creating more job opportunities for women, encouraging women’s leadership, and additional education of women’s rights and needs.     

Similarity-based model for ordered categorical data

In a large variety of applications, the data for a variable we wish to explain are ordered and categorical. In this paper, we present a new similarity-based model for the scenario and investigate its properties. We establish that the process is ψ-mixing and strictly stationary and derive the explicit form of the autocorrelation function in some special cases. Consistency and asymptotic normality of the maximum likelihood estimator of the model’s parameters are proven. A simulation study supports our findings. The results are applied to the Netflix data set, comprised of a survey on users’ grading of movies.     

Constructing quantile confidence intervals using extended simple random sample in finite populations

This paper constructs quantile confidence intervals based on extended simple random sample (SRS) from a finite population, where ranks of population units are all known. Extended simple random sample borrows additional information from unmeasured observations in the population by conditioning on the population ranks of the measured units in SRS. The confidence intervals are improved using Rao-Blackwell theorem over the conditional distribution of sample ranks given the measured sample units. Empirical evidence shows that the proposed confidence intervals have shorter lengths than confidence intervals constructed from an SRS sample.     

A psychometric evaluation of a Dutch version of the Job Content Questionnaire and of a short direct questioning procedure

Using the demand-control-support perspective on job stress, a Dutch translation of an adapted version of the Job Content Questionnaire (AJCQ) was administered to a large population ( N = 3638) of Flemish workers in a variety of jobs, together with the General Health Questionnaire, and a negative affectivity scale. Overall, the AJCQ was shown to be a solid measurement instrument as indicated by several estimated reliability indices and validity of the subscales. A factor analysis largely reproduced the a priori structure of the AJCQ. A short 10-item direct questioning procedure was constructed to measure the 10 subscales of the AJCQ and the results of this procedure were compared with the AJCQ in a subsample ( N = 660). The correlations with six criterion variables showed that single questions were equally predictive than the much longer version of the AJCQ.     

当代哈萨克族的萨满教信仰:仪式及其变迁

文章探讨了哈萨克民族萨满教在新的历史时期与社会政治、经济、科技、文化等发展和变革相适应的情况,在调适自己与社会发展相适应的过程中,萨满教在形式上发生了较大的变化,而本质上却延续了其古老的传统.     

Androgen deficiency in the adult male

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between severity of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), erectile dysfunction (ED) and metabolic syndrome.

Methods. Our study population included a consecutive series of 190 patients with LUTS (International Prostate Symptom Score-IPSS >7) with or without manifestations of the metabolic syndrome. The diagnoses of diabetes mellitus and hypertension were obtained from the patient's medical history. Data on blood pressure, waist measure, body height and weight were collected and body mass index were calculated. Patients were assessed based on the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) for ED and IPSS and IPSS-Quality of Life for LUTS. Blood samples were drawn from fasting patients to determine, fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol and serum total testosterone levels.

Results. In severe LUTS patient group, IIEF erectile function domain scores were significantly lower than moderate LUTS patient group (p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed that presence of ED was the most predictor of severe LUTS. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher in patients with severe LUTS (26%vs. 46%, p = 0.009). The severe form of the LUTS was significantly correlated with waist circumference >102 cm (p < 0.05), blood pressure ≥130/85 mmHg (p < 0.05) and FBG >110 mg/dl (p < 0.01).

Conclusion. Obesity, high plasma level of FBG and hypertension constitute risk factors for the development of severe LUTS. Metabolic syndrome may play a key role in the pathogenesis in both ED and LUTS. Presence of ED is the most predictor of severe LUTS.