Social Coping and Life Satisfaction in Adolescents

This study examined the relationships among early adolescent social coping behavior and measures of subjective well-being, specifically global life satisfaction and friend satisfaction. A total of 1,011 students in grades 7–8 at a southeastern US middle school completed measures of global life satisfaction, friend satisfaction and coping, on two occasions, 5 months apart. Social support seeking coping behavior at Time 1, but not problem-solving, distancing, internalizing or externalizing coping behaviors at Time 1, uniquely predicted global life satisfaction and friend satisfaction at Time 2. Implications for research and promoting adolescent well-being are discussed.     

Application of ordinal correspondence analysis for submerged aquatic vegetation monitoring

The European Water Framework states that macrophyte communities (seaweeds and seagrass) are key indicators of the ecological health of lagoons. Furthermore, the restoration of these communities, especially the Zostera meadows, is one of the main objectives of the Berre lagoon restoration plan. Consequently, a monitoring programme of the main macrophyte species still present in the lagoon was initiated in 1996. This monitoring resulted in a sequence of 11 spatially structured annual tables consisting of the observed density of these species. These tables are processed in this study. First, we specify the principles of Beh's ordinal correspondence analysis (OCA), designed for ordered row/column categories, and compare this method to classical correspondence analysis (CA). Then, we show that OCA is straightforwardly adaptable for processing a sequence of ordered contingency tables like ours. Both OCA and CA are afterwards used to reveal and test the main patterns of spatio-temporal changes of two macrophyte species in the Berre lagoon: Ulva and Zostera. The results we obtained are compared and discussed.     

Randomized response multivariate designs for categorical data

Three approaches to multivariate estimation for categorical data using randomized response (RR) are described. In the first approach, practical only for 2×2 contingency tables, a multi-proportions design is used. In the second approach, a separate RR trial is used for each variate and it is noted that the multi­variate design matrix of conditional probabilities is given by the Kroneeker product of the univariate design matrices of each trial, provided that the trials are independent of each other in a certain sense. The third approach requires only a single randomization and thus may be viewed as the use of vector response. Finally, a special-purpose bivariate design is presented.     

Bayesian estimation of proportions with a cross-entropy prior

This paper suggests estimators of the frequencies (N₈) or proportions {N₈/N) of N distinguishable objects contained in S categories; given various types of information, We consider information in the form of exact constraints on the N₈, sample frequencies, and frequencies of related data, The analysis uses Bayesian methods, where the prior distribution is assumed to be a function of the cross-entropy between the N₈ and a reference distribution, We show the relationship between our estimator and the log-linear and logit models and also present a sampling experiment to compare our proposed estimator with the iterated proportional fitting estimator.     

Kernel density estimation for hierarchical data

Abstract

Multistage sampling is a common sampling technique employed in many studies. In this setting, observations are identically distributed but not independent, thus many traditional kernel smoothing techniques, which assume that the data are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.), may not produce reasonable density estimates. In this paper, we sample repeatedly with replacement from each cluster, create multiple i.i.d. samples containing one observation from each cluster, and then create a kernel density estimate from each i.i.d. sample. These estimates will then be combined to form an estimate of the marginal probability density function of the population.     

How Security Agencies Control Change: Executive Power and the Quest for Autonomy in the FBI and CIA

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency gain autonomy when they exercise executive power, performing tasks that are so urgent, secretive, or forceful that they cannot be anticipated by law. The FBI exhibited a clear instance of autonomy when, with a view to its long term responsibilities, it resisted remaking itself as a counterterrorism agency to the degree that politicians requested. The second case, involving the CIA, produced more mixed results. The agency appeared to exhibit autonomy by exercising its powerful security tasks, including control over information and covert operations, and by resisting a consensus for major organizational change. Nevertheless, its large number of administrative and analytical rather than executive tasks prevented the agency from developing the coherent, independent perspective necessary for a high degree of true autonomy.

Working Under a Black Cloud: How to Sustain Organizational Identification after a Merger*

This article argues against the merger folklore that maintains that a merger negatively affects well‐being and work attitudes primarily through the threat of job insecurity. We hold that the workplace is not only a resource for fulfilling a person's financial needs, but that it is an important component of the self‐concept in terms of identification with the organization, as explained by social identity theory. We unravel the key concepts of the social identity approach relevant to the analysis of mergers and review evidence from previous studies. Then, we present a study conducted during a merger to substantiate our ideas about the effects of post‐merger organizational identification above and beyond the effects of perceived job insecurity. We recommend that managers should account for these psychological effects through the provision of continuity and specific types of communication.