Male partner violence against women in stepfamilies: an analysis of risk and explanations in the Canadian milieu

Using a representative sample of 2,703 Canadian women living in either a stepfamily or a biological family, this investigation assesses the extent of women's elevated risk for violence in stepfamilies relative to biological families as well as explanations for this relationship. Canadian women living in stepfamilies are shown to be twice as likely as their counterparts in biological families to experience violence. Differences between the two groups are greatest on some of the most severe forms of violence, suggesting that women in stepfamilies are at particular risk for severe violence. Institutional incompleteness (number of children; depression; alcohol consumption), duration of relationship, evolutionary psychology (sexual possessiveness; sexual jealousy; female employment; education compatibility) and selection factors (previous marriage/common-law union; previous partner violence; marital status) are applied and tested. Results show partial support for each explanation and that no explanation alone accounts for the disproportionate risk of violence in stepfamilies. Rather, a combination of elements from all explanations is required to account for the higher odds of violence against women in stepfamilies.     

How Much Is Leisure Worth? Direct Measurement with Contingent Valuation

This paper uses a contingent value survey in a Rocky Mountain city to measure the national income accounting value of leisure activities. Such direct measurement avoids shortcomings of the previously used labor value approach and individually values various types of leisure, e.g., napping and socializing. The results of the study indicate promise for this measurement approach but also raise some issues that require further research. Included are suggestions for overcoming problems discovered with this method and for future research.The authors wish to thank two anonymous referees of this journal who provided insightful comments and suggestions which improved the paper significantly.     

Marginal Means/Rates Models for Multiple Type Recurrent Event Data

Recurrent events are frequently observed in biomedical studies, and often more than one type of event is of interest. Follow-up time may be censored due to loss to follow-up or administrative censoring. We propose a class of semi-parametric marginal means/rates models, with a general relative risk form, for assessing the effect of covariates on the censored event processes of interest. We formulate estimating equations for the model parameters, and examine asymptotic properties of the parameter estimators. Finite sample properties of the regression coefficients are examined through simulations. The proposed methods are applied to a retrospective cohort study of risk factors for preschool asthma.     

Assessing nontraditional couples: validity of the marital satisfaction inventory--revised with gay,lesbian, and cohabiting heterosexual couples

Thirty-one gay male couples and 28 lesbian couples were compared with 36 cohabiting heterosexual couples using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (MSI-R), a multidimensional measure of relationship functioning intended for use with both traditional and nontraditional couples. Analyses of scales' internal consistency and factor structure supported the construct validity of this measure with nontraditional couples. Analyses of mean profiles on the MSI-R indicated that cohabiting opposite-gender and same-gender couples were more alike than different, and were more similar to nondistressed samples of married heterosexual couples from the general community than to couples in therapy. Implications of current findings for clinical assessment and intervention are considered, and directions for future research are proposed.     

Conflicting evidence and decisions by agency professionals: an experimental test in the context of merger regulation

Many important regulatory decisions are taken by professionals employing limited and conflicting evidence. We conduct an experiment in a merger regulation setting, identifying the role of different standards of proof, volumes of evidence, cost of error and professional or lay decision making. The experiment was conducted on current practitioners from 11 different jurisdictions, in addition to student subjects. Legal standards of proof significantly affect decisions. There are specific differences because of professional judgment, including in how error costs and volume of evidence are taken into account. We narrow the range of explanations for why professional decision making matters.     

Modeling Imbalanced Economic Recovery Following a Natural Disaster Using Input‐Output Analysis

Input‐output analysis is frequently used in studies of large‐scale weather‐related (e.g., Hurricanes and flooding) disruption of a regional economy. The economy after a sudden catastrophe shows a multitude of imbalances with respect to demand and production and may take months or years to recover. However, there is no consensus about how the economy recovers. This article presents a theoretical route map for imbalanced economic recovery called dynamic inequalities. Subsequently, it is applied to a hypothetical postdisaster economic scenario of flooding in London around the year 2020 to assess the influence of future shocks to a regional economy and suggest adaptation measures. Economic projections are produced by a macro econometric model and used as baseline conditions. The results suggest that London's economy would recover over approximately 70 months by applying a proportional rationing scheme under the assumption of initial 50% labor loss (with full recovery in six months), 40% initial loss to service sectors, and 10–30% initial loss to other sectors. The results also suggest that imbalance will be the norm during the postdisaster period of economic recovery even though balance may occur temporarily. Model sensitivity analysis suggests that a proportional rationing scheme may be an effective strategy to apply during postdisaster economic reconstruction, and that policies in transportation recovery and in health care are essential for effective postdisaster economic recovery.     

Book Review: Making a Life in Yorkville: Experience and Meaning in the Life-Course Narrative of an Urban Working-Class Man. By Handel,Gerald. Westport,CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. 149 pages,hardback, ISBN: 0-313-31307-5

Qualitative Sociology -