Handling Missing Values in Longitudinal Panel Data With Multiple Imputation

This article offers an applied review of key issues and methods for the analysis of longitudinal panel data in the presence of missing values. The authors consider the unique challenges associated with attrition (survey dropout), incomplete repeated measures, and unknown observations of time. Using simulated data based on 4 waves of the Marital Instability Over the Life Course Study (n = 2,034), they applied a fixed effect regression model and an event‐history analysis with time‐varying covariates. They then compared results for analyses with nonimputed missing data and with imputed data both in long and in wide structures. Imputation produced improved estimates in the event‐history analysis but only modest improvements in the estimates and standard errors of the fixed effects analysis. Factors responsible for differences in the value of imputation are examined, and recommendations for handling missing values in panel data are presented.     

The Challenges in Developing an Online Applied Statistics Program: Lessons Learned at Penn State University

Numerous professional fields have an increasing need for individuals trained in statistics and other quantitative analysis techniques. Today there exists great potential to fulfill this need by providing opportunities through online learning. However, to provide a high-quality education for returning adult professionals seeking advanced degrees in applied statistics online, many challenges need to be overcome. Based on our experience developing Penn State University’s online program in applied statistics, we discuss the evolution of the program’s curriculum, recruitment and development of online faculty, and meeting the requirements of students as important areas that require consideration in the development of an online program. We also highlight program evaluation strategies employed to ensure innovation and improvement in online education as cornerstones to a program’s success.     

Health and welfare of immigrants and access to services in Australia

The main issues in relation to the provision of health and social welfare services for migrants in Australia are: (a) to ensure access and equity; (b) concern about the relatively high proportions of some groups from specific birthplaces requiring support; and (c) the complexity and costs of ethnically specific services. This article focuses on the major pensions and benefits paid by the Department of Social Security, particularly the age pension and unemployment benefit. It also examines the interrelationship between mortality, morbidity, private health insurance, use of health services and the proportions on health-related pensions. Linked with these issues is the debate about an appropriate level of immigration when the unemployment rate is high, as in the current recession, and when new arrivals have little prospect of finding a job. A second major concern is the cost of caring for elderly immigrant parents who have come to Australia under the family reunion program.     

Decomposition of the difference between two rates with hierarchical factors

A decomposition method for the difference between two rates when data are classified by two factors, one of which may be considered as a more direct factor than the other for the event under consideration, is presented in this paper. The two factors are treated as hierarchical and thus this method is conceptually different from the decomposition methods of Kitagawa (1955) and Das Gupta (1978), in which two factors are treated as symmetrical. Our method is shown to be a balanced version of the Cho-Retherford (1973) decomposition method. Analyses of neonatal mortality rates using our method are presented as an example.     

Myths and Misconceptions About University Student Volunteering: Development and Perpetuation

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This paper examines myths and misconceptions about university student volunteering. Our study explored the experiences of...     

Human capital and agency effects on CEO compensation of IPO biopharmaceutical firms and the market’s response

This paper examines the determinants of base pay and total incentive compensation packages of CEOs of biopharmaceutical firms that have recently gone public, and whether human capital and agency factors affect the market’s response to the initial public offering. We find that in terms of net proceeds, the IPO market appears to reward the firms that have founder-CEOs and CEOs with higher incentive compensation. CEOs with prior venture capital experience are associated with receiving higher incentive compensation, while CEOs with a greater ownership interest in the firm receive lower incentive compensation but higher salaries. CEOs of firms with a greater percentage of insiders are associated with lower salaries. The results should add to our understanding related to human capital and agency theories, as well as help firms and investors better understand and structure CEO compensation.     

Three Journeys Toward The Reflecting Team

The experience of familiestrainee and supervisory therapists involved in reflecting team work are explored through the metaphor of ‘journey’ and by asking a small number of our colleagues and clients about their experiences. Ideas gained from this approach are tentatively used to raise some questions about the reflecting team specifically and the current direction of family therapy. More rigorous research into this area is invited.     

Nonprofit management in Europe and Asia

The State and NGOs: Perspective from Asia, edited by Shinichi Shigetomi. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asia Studies, 2002. $28.50 cloth. The Emergence of Social Enterprise, edited by Carlo Borzaga and Jacques Defourny. New York: Routledge, 2001. $120.00 cloth.     

Cross-Cultural Supervision

A multicultural perspective is essential in the twenty-first century. It is projected that by the year 2010 twelve of our most populous states will have significant minority populations. Thus, the supervision triad of patient, psychoanalyst, and supervisor will most likely contain persons of differing racial-ethnic backgrounds who are confronting problems and concerns in a diverse social environment. This paper uses examples to illustrate how this diverse triad is played out.