Modeling the Modification of the Risk of Radon-Induced Lung Cancer by Environmental Tobacco Smoke

The presence of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in homes has been implicated in the causation of lung cancer. While of interest in its own right, ETS also influences the risk imposed by radon and its decay products. The interaction between radon progeny and ETS alters the exposure, intake, uptake, biokinetics, dosimetry, and radiobiology of those progeny. The present paper details model predictions of the various influences of ETS on these factors in the U.S. population and provides estimates of the resulting change in the risk from average levels of radon progeny. It is predicted that the presence of ETS produces a very small (perhaps unmeasurable) increase in the risk of radiation-induced tracheobronchial cancer in homes with initially very high particle concentrations for both active and never-smokers, but significantly lowers the risk in homes with initially lower particle concentrations for both groups when generation 4 of the lung is considered the target site. For generation 16, the presence of ETS generally increases the radon-induced risk of lung cancer, although the increase should be unmeasurable at high initial particle concentrations. The net effect of ETS on human health is suggested to be a complicated function of the initial housing conditions, the concentration of particles introduced by smoking, the target generation considered, and the smoking status of exposed populations. This situation precludes any simple statements concerning the role of ETS in governing the incidence of lung cancer in a population.     

DIFFERENTIAL ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL AND RELATIONSHIP DISTRESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUPLES THERAPY

The study examined the role of financial conflicts, problem-solving communication deficits, and global relationship distress among couples in marital therapy and couples seeking assistance at a nonprofit agency providing financial counseling services. Analyses comparing these two groups of couples with each other and with a third group of couples from the general community yielded a two-component model for differential assessment and intervention with couples experiencing financial concerns. Differences in findings for husbands and wives provided additional implications for effective interventions with these couples.     

Sex and Deviance: an Assessment of Major Sociological Variables*

This paper empirically examines the claim that many theories of deviance only have utility for explaining deviance committed by males because their conceptual development was tainted with inattention to females. Five variables representing the essence of major theories of deviant behavior are measured for a self-report sample of 1993 cases. Each variable is tested to determine how well it can account for deviance among females compared to males. In volume of deviance more males than females were classified as deviant but the underlying processes which the five theoretical variables address operated equally for members of both sexes. These findings support the position that the processes by which females come to commit deviance is similar to the processes for males. The findings suggest that exclusive focus on females is unlikely to yield more adequate explanations of female deviance.     

Sample size determination for p-charts

Two types of decision errors can be made when using a quality control chart for non-conforming units (p-chart). A Type I error occurs when the process is not out of control but a search for an assignable cause is performed unnecessarily. A Type II error occurs when the process is out of control but a search for an assignable cause is not performed. The probability of a Type I error is under direct control of the decision-maker while the probability of a Type II error depends, in part, on the sample size. A simple sample size formula is presented for determining the required sample size for a p-chart with specified probabilities of Type I and Type II errors.