On the relative accuracy of certain bootstrap procedures

We show the second-order relative accuracy, on bounded sets, of the Studentized bootstrap, exponentially tilted bootstrap and nonparametric likelihood tilted bootstrap, for means and smooth functions of means. We also consider the relative errors for larger deviations. Our method exploits certain connections between Edgeworth and saddlepoint approximations to simplify the computations.     

The male voice in women’s magazines

All social groups live according to a variety of rules or social norms. In many societies, many of these norms govern female sexual behavior. This article explores the male voice and the potential governance of female sexuality in women's magazines. A ten-year textual analysis of two women's magazines targeted to different racial readerships revealed the strong presence of male authors in these magazines. Some of these male authors helped women to better understand men and build stronger relationships, but others attempted to govern the sexuality of women in a variety of ways. Her current projects explore gender, race, and sexuality in media.     

白先勇小说同性恋者的悲剧命运探微

白先勇的小说脍炙人口,其中不乏以同性恋为题材的小说。1988年,白先勇公开了自己的性取向。因此,从白先勇的小说看同性恋的世界,不再是雾里看花。白先勇以他独特的小说技巧描述同性恋者的悲剧命运。同性恋者的命运是充满悲剧的,同性恋者一生被流在血液里的生理欲望孽魔纠缠。年轻俊美时,尚能容易满足生理欲望孽魔的需要;随着时光流逝,年岁增长,面容逐渐衰老,再也无法轻易满足生理欲望孽魔的需要。为此,老同性恋者得奔波劳碌、伺机寻找可以满足他们生理欲望孽魔需要的青春鸟,不少的同性恋者也因着得了爱滋病而离开世界。同性恋者一生的命运是悲哀的,白先勇悲天悯人的情怀让读者更深入地了解了同性恋者的世界和他们黑暗的国度。     

Some Issues of Particular Concern to Sociologists As Academic Administrators

As a sociologist who has served in deanships and other university administrative positions in the past 15 years, the author has been particularly concerned with race/class/gender issues in academia. This paper identified some of the issues and discussed the relevance of sociological training in addressing them.     

Graduate Training and Initial Job Placement*

This study examines the extent to which professional credentials accrued during graduate school are related to postgraduate employment. The undergraduate and graduate records, demographic characteristics, and initial job placements of 711 Ph.D. recipients from the University of California, Santa Barbara, are analyzed. We find that several aspects of graduate training (e.g., holding research assistantships) have greater influence on the initial placement of women than men. Further, coauthored publications with the mentor influence the initial placement of men and women somewhat differently. Given the importance of initial placement in determining career productivity (e.g., Long and McGinnis, 1981; Reskin, 1978). these differences may have considerable impact on professional life chances.     

Effect of COVID-19 on Household Food Insecurity and Poverty: Evidence from Ghana

Social Indicators Research - Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and its heavy toll on the global community and humanity, a fierce debate on the pandemic and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)...     

Comparing the Monetary and Living Standards Approaches to Poverty Using the Australian Experience

This paper compares the monetary and living standards approaches to poverty using Australian data for the period 2006–2017. The aim is to highlight the conceptual and empirical strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches and identify the similarities and differences that emerge when both are applied to examine what happened over the period and to a limited degree, why. The acknowledged limitations of estimating poverty rates by comparing household income with a poverty line have to a degree been addressed by developments in deprivation research that have generated estimates that are more directly related to living standards, more democratic and more credible. But this approach also has limitations, so its growing popularity need not signify the end of poverty line studies. This paper compares the two approaches, with specific attention paid to ensuring that the estimates are internally consistent over time and comparable at a point in time. Both show a consistent pattern of modest improvement in social disadvantage over the period examined, but they reveal different aspects of change. The monetary approach highlights the role of housing costs in driving changes in poverty, while the more nuanced explanation generated by estimates of deprivation provides detailed insights. The results suggest that each has a positive role to play in better understanding the nature of poverty and identifying the factors driving change over time.

     

Expectations and Practice in Social Citizenship: Some Insights from an Attitude Survey in a Chinese Society

This paper draws on empirical evidence from an attitude survey in a Chinese society to show that the universal ideals of social citizenship have strong appeal among the Chinese in Hong Kong, even though the latter are conventionally seen as having low expectations in the area of social rights. It is also shown that high expectations of social responsibilities do not imply low expectations of social citizenship. However, this does not mean that cultural context or tradition does not matter. Findings of strong support for the responsibility of parents to care for children, but in a westernized and modern context, suggest that cultural variations in beliefs about social citizenship and practice continue, but framed by an understanding of, and moral commitment to, more universal values of social citizenship.