Cost-benefit analysis of training— An appraisal

With the phenomenal growth in investment in training, there has been an increasing concern with evaluating the training programmes in terms of their economic efficiency—sometimes adopting the cost-benefit approach. However, since behavioural and psychological factors are so central to training, all evaluative studies have come across the problems of quantifying the costs and benefits. These apart, there are problems in enumerating the spillover and long term effects of training programmes, in assuming a discount rate and in identifying the economic life of the training project.

Recent studies purporting to have used cost-benefit analysis have failed to grapple with a number of issues making them closer to conventional financial appraisals. In this paper the limitations of such evaluations, the difficulties in making a cost-benefit analysis of training investment and its feasibility with varying situations is discussed. The article will amply point out to the corporate decision-maker the problems in using cost-benefit analysis and the training contexts where it is feasible.     

Carnosine: a versatile antioxidant and antiglycating agent

Carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) has recently attracted much attention as a naturally occurring antioxidant and transition-metal ion sequestering agent. It has also been shown to act as an anti-glycating agent, inhibiting the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Through its distinctive combination of antioxidant and antiglycating properties, carnosine is able to attenuate cellular oxidative stress and can inhibit the intracellular formation of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species. By controlling oxidative stress, suppressing glycation, and chelating metal ions, carnosine is able to reduce harmful sequelae such as DNA damage. AGEs are known contributors to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, and carnosine therefore merits serious attention as a possible therapeutic agent.     

A comparative analysis of some correlates of intra-spouse age disparity: a status determinant

Age differences between spouses in India are analyzed. The data concern 144 farm families in isolated villages and 149 families in less isolated villages in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The results show greater age differences between spouses in the more isolated villages. Reasons for this age gap are considered.     

Beyond property or beyond Piketty?

Capital and Ideology represents a significant further statement from Thomas Piketty. The arguments made by the “New Piketty” are largely compatible with those of his previous Capital in the Twenty‐First Century, but reflect broadening of scope and deepening of causal analysis, most markedly through the adoption of a world historical perspective. The result is a fuller offering for understanding inequality's pattern in the world, why it exists and how we can best respond to it. The book presents a wide range of arguments, which do not on first glance appear unified. This review essay distills these into six propositions, describes and evaluates each in turn, and identifies some threads that link them. In the process, it provides a critical assessment of Capital and Ideology.     

South African Men Who Have Sex With Both Men and Women and How They Differ From Men Who Have Sex With Men Exclusively

The label “men who have sex with men” (MSM) is used to categorize a diverse population exclusively on the basis of its sexual behavior. Understanding the diversity that this label comprises is critical for the development of health interventions that effectively reach the various populations subsumed under this label. In this cross-sectional study of South African MSM (N = 480) recruited through respondent-driven sampling (RDS), we explored differences between men who had sex with both men and women (MSMW) and men who had sex with men exclusively (MSME). We found significant differences between these two groups in terms of sexual attraction, sexual identity, sexual preferences, sexual histories, and current sexual practices. MSMW were more likely to be confused about their same-sex attraction, to experience internalized homophobia, and to have paid for sex in the previous year, while MSME were more gender nonconforming and more likely to have been forced to have sex in the previous year. These findings underscore that the MSM label comprises a diverse population and that exclusive sexual engagement with other men is a critical distinction to take into account in understanding this diversity and fully grasping the lived experiences of men who have sex with men.     

Characterizing the Performance of the Conway‐Maxwell Poisson Generalized Linear Model

Count data are pervasive in many areas of risk analysis; deaths, adverse health outcomes, infrastructure system failures, and traffic accidents are all recorded as count events, for example. Risk analysts often wish to estimate the probability distribution for the number of discrete events as part of doing a risk assessment. Traditional count data regression models of the type often used in risk assessment for this problem suffer from limitations due to the assumed variance structure. A more flexible model based on the Conway‐Maxwell Poisson (COM‐Poisson) distribution was recently proposed, a model that has the potential to overcome the limitations of the traditional model. However, the statistical performance of this new model has not yet been fully characterized. This article assesses the performance of a maximum likelihood estimation method for fitting the COM‐Poisson generalized linear model (GLM). The objectives of this article are to (1) characterize the parameter estimation accuracy of the MLE implementation of the COM‐Poisson GLM, and (2) estimate the prediction accuracy of the COM‐Poisson GLM using simulated data sets. The results of the study indicate that the COM‐Poisson GLM is flexible enough to model under‐, equi‐, and overdispersed data sets with different sample mean values. The results also show that the COM‐Poisson GLM yields accurate parameter estimates. The COM‐Poisson GLM provides a promising and flexible approach for performing count data regression.     

Child labour: A hidden form of child abuse

There is a widespread but hidden area of child abuse: child labour. One-fifth of the world's population is linked with child labour; yet it receives very little or no attention throughout the world. Where is our sense of urgency? Poverty is the repeatedly cited reason for child labour. This is an oversimplification. The origins of the problem are multi-faceted. involving such variables of development as culture, human rights, economy, population, indigenous people and environment. It is the existing paradigm of development, determined by the elite, which is responsible for the problem of child labour. Obviously, the shift from the ‘need’-based economy to the ‘want’-based economy has taken a heavy toll of children the world over. We need to forge partnerships of different groups across the world, especially in light of the increasing integration of countries across the globe and because child labour is re-emerging and assuming wide proportions in the developed countries. As we tread the path to a new paradigm of development, we must remember to walk in step with the children. For we have a lot to learn from them, and tomorrow is their concern, as it is their future.     

Using feminist ‘reflexive practice’ to explore stress and well-being of local researchers in South Sudan

ABSTRACT

This article discusses using feminist methods of reflexive practice to support and learn about the well-being of researchers working on gender-based violence research in South Sudan. In particular, we focus on the experiences of South Sudanese researchers undertaking this research in their own country. We share key findings and offer personal reflections on and suggestions for improving fieldwork. As feminists ourselves we placed a high value on sharing personal reflections on emotional challenges that the research team faced. However, our South Sudanese colleagues did not find these approaches very useful, preferring to discuss technical challenges, and placed emphasis on the importance of professionalism. This experience suggests the need for more culturally diverse feminist research tools, and for better recognition of the crucial role played by national researchers in international research projects. We end with recommendations.     

Sexual abuse and sexual functioning in a chronic pelvic pain sample

Sexual abuse, particularly childhood sexual abuse, has been linked to chronic pelvic pain and to sexual dysfunction, though the sexual functioning of survivors of sexual abuse has not been studied in a chronic pain population. Sixty-three women with chronic pelvic pain completed measures of sexual function, sexual abuse, and pain. Using an index of the extent of sexual abuse experiences in childhood and adolescence/adulthood, higher scores were related to lower rates of sexual activity, less satisfaction with orgasm and feelings of closeness with sexual partners, and greater severity of and interference from pain. Findings point to the importance of controlling for relationship status in analyses of long-term effects of sexual abuse and of assessing chronic pelvic pain patients for histories of sexual abuse using measures that address the extent or severity of abuse.