The struggle over migration policy

We analyze the endogenous determination of migration quota, viewing it as an outcome of a two-stage political struggle between two interest groups: those in favor and those against the proposed migration quota. First, we compare the proposed policies of the two interest groups under random behavior of the government, with and without lobbying. We examine the effect of the status quo and government intervention in the proposal of the quota on its nature, assuming that, with and without government intervention, the uncertain approval of the proposal is the outcome of a lobbying contest between the two interest groups.

Extremism within the family

This paper considers an economic analysis of intergenerational transition of ethnic and social trait. We consider the level of social traits chosen by parents and its effect on their children’s choice of ethnic and social traits when reaching adulthood. We develop a theory that suggests that parents will chose extreme ethnic and social traits to increase the cost that their children will pay if they wish to deviate from their parents’ “ideal.” The extreme choice of the ethnic social traits of parents has an effect on the segregation of minorities and migrants.

Objective Bayesian hypothesis testing in regression models with first-order autoregressive residuals

This article considers the objective Bayesian testing in the normal regression models with first-order autoregressive residuals. We propose some solutions based on a Bayesian model selection procedure to this problem where no subjective input is considered. We construct the proper priors for testing the autocorrelation coefficient based on measures of divergence between competing models, which is called the divergence-based (DB) priors and then propose the objective Bayesian decision-theoretic rule, which is called the Bayesian reference criterion (BRC). Finally, we derive the intrinsic test statistic for testing the autocorrelation coefficient. The behavior of the Bayes factor-based DB priors is examined by comparing with the BRC in a simulation study and an example.     

Technical information via print

The amount that the staff of family planning clinics learn through technical publications is discussed in this article on the Philippine Population Center Foundation's Study of the flow of scientific information. The main questions raised include to what extent doctors, nurses and midwives learn from publications sent to their clinics, or from colleagues who have read the journals. If the latter is true, do the staff members teach one another or merely refer each other to the technical information available? 99 copies of "Population Reports" were sent out to various clinics throughout the Philippines. A 3rd of the issues were on the pill, a 3rd were on the IUD, and a 3rd were on the condom. 6 weeks after the information was sent out, tests on all 3 contraception methods were given to all staff members who were part of the survey. Ideally clinic staffs would perform best on the tests of the method on which they had received information. Tables giving breakdowns on the individual areas tested show that while clinics which had been sent information on the IUD scored best on the IUD test, clinics which had been sent pill and condom information did not do better on their respective tests than the others. Nurses and midwives from clinics with good interpersonal relations scored higher on the tests on which they had been sent information. Results also showed that the more involved a professional was with a contraceptive, the more he/she read about it. While encouragement and referral occurred between colleagues, teaching did not. A 2nd study was then run on how levels of interpersonal communication could be determined. A multiple regression analysis showed that the best predictors of intraclinic communication were age difference among clinic staff, similarity in clinic staff's length of family planning service, family planning caseload, similarity of clinic staff's reading of professional literature, average length of service of staff members in the medical profession, and average age of clinic staff.     

A special section for correspondence and controversy

This paper gives crude estimates of the environmental consequences associated with the birth of one baby in the United States. We calculate the magnitude of one hundred environmental impacts which one American born today will cause over a lifetime. The impacts are grouped under five headings: waste generation, mineral consumption, energy consumption, ecosystem alteration, and food consumption. We also consider, but do not quantify, impacts on extinctions of species and indigenous cultures. Our purpose is to emphasize the role of population growth in the creation of environmental problems, and to make potential parents aware of their ability to impact the global environment. We conclude that one especially effective way for individuals to protect the national and global environment, and hence protect the wellbeing of all existing people, is to stop creating more humans.     

Physicians' understanding of consent requirements for phase I clinical trials in cognitively impaired or highly vulnerable populations

We investigated physicians' attitudes about entering patients who cannot give informed consent or who are of a vulnerable population into clinical trials. A survey instrument asked a nationwide sample of practicing physicians about whether ten hypothetical patients could be enrolled in a phase I clinical trials. The impact of demographic variables on the number of scenarios viewed as completely or somewhat acceptable was analyzed via student's T tests or analysis of variance (ANOVA) as applicable. All significant (p<0.01) variables were entered into a multiple logistic regression model. Eighty-four percent of respondents indicated that at least one case scenario was acceptable. A majority of those who conduct clinical trials (62%), who had training in the ethics of clinical research (78%), and who sit on institutional review boards (IRBs) (83%) approved of at least one case scenario. Physicians approved of the entry of some patients who cannot give informed consent or who are of a vulnerable population into clinical trials. More effective education on the guidelines involving clinical research should be available to practicing physicians, residents, and medical students. There should also be assurance that physicians who conduct clinical trials or who sit on IRBs have the requisite knowledge about the ethics of clinical research.     

Noninformative priors for linear combinations of the normal means

In this paper, we develop noninformative priors for linear combinations of the means under the normal populations. It turns out that among the reference priors the one-at-a-time reference prior satisfies a second order probability matching criterion. Moreover, the second order probability matching priors match alternative coverage probabilities up to the second order and are also HPD matching priors. Our simulation study indicates that the one-at-a-time reference prior performs better than the other reference priors in terms of matching the target coverage probabilities in a frequentist sense.     

An exploratory study of self-esteem and quality of care of 100 children in foster care

This small-scale research study examined children's perceptions of themselves, their situation, career aspirations and hopes for the future. One hundred San Francisco children in foster care were interviewed and filled out a questionnaire. 50 of the children lived in foster family care; 50 in group homes. The Department of Social Services in San Francisco cooperated in executing this study. Children ranged in ages from 8–18. Both male and female children participated. The questionnaire contained two standarized tests, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and Parks Career Role Inventory. A section was written by the authors to examine how children in care spend their time, and how they feel about where they live and their foster care status. The last part, an open-ended section asks them which foster care setting they liked best, why, and what they would suggest to improve the foster care system. An additional question “Why do you think you are in foster care?” was designed to elicit the children's understanding of why they lived in foster care rather than their biological home.     

The Dual Mandate for Africa Revisited?

Public Organization Review -