Following a moving target—Monte Carlo inference for dynamic Bayesian models

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling is a numerically intensive simulation technique which has greatly improved the practicality of Bayesian inference and prediction. However, MCMC sampling is too slow to be of practical use in problems involving a large number of posterior (target) distributions, as in dynamic modelling and predictive model selection. Alternative simulation techniques for tracking moving target distributions, known as particle filters, which combine importance sampling, importance resampling and MCMC sampling, tend to suffer from a progressive degeneration as the target sequence evolves. We propose a new technique, based on these same simulation methodologies, which does not suffer from this progressive degeneration.     

Violence against and the Harassment of Women in Canadian Public Housing: An Exploratory Study*

Aucune étude nord-américaine n'a examiné de façon systé'matique l'importance des divers types degressions sexuelles, notamment le harcèlement sexuel et racial, que subissent les femmes dans les logements sociaux. Les logements sociaux et les rues des quartiers pauvres du centre-ville sont les endroits typiques où se jouent les relations de force entre les sexes et où l'influence de la drogue a exacerbé la violence exercée contre les femmes. À l'aide de données provenant du Quality of Neighbourhood Life Survey, dans lequel sont interrogés des ménages habitant dans six logements sociaux situés dans un centre urbain de Test de l'Ontario, cet article permet de combler une lacune importante dans la recherche. On y étudie les données exploratoires sur l'incidence de la violence conju-gale et de la violence extérieure ainsi que trois types de harcèlement vécus par des femmes vivant dans des logements sociaux. No North American study has systematically examined the extent of various types of woman abuse in public housing, including sexual and racial harassment. Public housing communities and inner-city ghetto streets are key arenas where gendered power relations are played out, and where the influx of drugs has exacerbated the degradation and abuse of women. Using data from the Quality of Neighbourhood Life Survey, administered to households in six public housing projects in an urban centre in Eastern Ontario, this paper helps fill a major research gap. Exploratory data on the incidence of intimate violence, stranger violence, and three types of harassment experienced by women in these dwellings are discussed. As men on the street lose their former authoritarian power in the household, they lash out against the women and children they can no longer control. Men are not accepting the new rights and roles that women are obtaining; instead, they are desperately attempting to reassert their grandfathers' lost autocratic control over their households and over public space.     

Class and gender inequalities in different types of welfare states: the Social Citizenship Indicator Program (SCIP)

Korpi W. Class and gender inequalities in different types of welfare states: the Social Citizenship Indicator Program (SCIP) Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This article considers the role of legislated welfare state institutions as mediators of effects of political and structural forces on citizens' levels of living of relevance to inequalities in health and mortality. The focus is on institutional structures of welfare state programmes relevant to class inequality, as indicated by income inequalities, and to gender inequality, conceived of as differences in agency. I introduce the Social Citizenship Indicator Program, a database providing quantitative and qualitative information on structures of main social insurance programmes in 18 countries from 1930 to 2000, on about 300,000 data points. It is used to delineate types of distributive institutions of relevance for income inequality. Institutions relevant for gendered agency inequality affect choices by women, especially mothers, between unpaid and paid work. Driving forces behind the emergence of differences in distributive institutions are discussed, and patterns of class and gender inequalities are outlined.     

Viewing Intergroup Relations in Europe through Allport's Lens Model of Prejudice

This article employs Allport's (1954) lens model of the causes of prejudice to analyze the articles in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues . The lens model specifies that historical, socio cultural, personality, and situational factors contribute to prejudice. The articles in this issue examine a number of variables at each of these levels of analysis, and many employ multilevel designs in which variables at more than one level are examined within the same study. Suggestions for future research on intergroup relations in Europe are offered including conducting more comparative and multilevel studies and creating comprehensive theories that integrate different levels of analysis. Some implications of the findings of these studies for intergroup relations programs are also discussed.     

Introduction to Improving Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel: Theory and Practice in Coexistence Educational Programs

Israeli Jewish and Arab experts within Israel have developed innovative intergroup relations programs, educational efforts designed to improve relations between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. Social scientists, educators, and practitioners on both sides of the Arab-Jewish conflict have dedicated themselves to lessening the hostility between these two groups within Israel through coexistence educational training. This issue presents theory, methods, and data from these coexistence educational programs. The introductory article presents a brief history of this conflict; the groups' differing perceptions regarding the dispute; some information about the role of culture, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity in the discord; and some of the social psychological processes that perpetuate and recreate the hostilities. Last, it provides a brief preface of this issue's articles.     

That was then: elderly survivors of incest.

1. Psychosocial ramifications of incest last a lifetime for some and may be of crucial importance in treating patients in the later developmental stages of life. 2. Nursing assessments that include current and past history of violence are important for understanding presenting symptomology and interpersonal dynamics, but they are often neglected. 3. There is a need for nursing research that looks at all facets of elderly incest survivors, including incidence, late life symptomology, and special treatment needs.