Regranting identity to the outgraced – narratives of persons with learning disabilities: methodological considerations

Good research should be relevant and useful, it may even be enlightening or symbolic, but it can also be emancipatory. Qualitative research can be useful in challenging structures, policies and practices that disempower and marginalize segments of the population. However, could it be that the empowerment of the participant ends where the weakness of the researcher begins? In qualitative studies the researcher seems to have a number of favourite interviews. In a study on the relational and sexual experiences of 46 people with learning disabilities, 12 interviews were withdrawn from the general data on the basis of lack of relevance. It is important to re‐examine why the voice of some people fell out of the in‐depth analysis and whether this was justified. In this article some methodological opportunities and pitfalls to re‐grant identity to these silenced narratives are considered and discussed.     

Pseudolikelihood ratio test with biased observations

This paper explores testing procedures with response-related incomplete data, with particular attention centered to pseudolikelihood ratio tests. We construct pseudolikelihood functions with the biased observations supplemented by auxiliary information, without specifying the association between the primary variables and the auxiliary variables. The asymptotic distributions of the test statistics under the null hypothesis are derived and finite-sample properties of the testing procedures are examined via simulation. The methodology is illustrated with an example involving evaluation of kindergarten readiness skills in children with sickle cell disease.     

A MODEL OF ETHNIC CONFLICT

We present a model of conflict in which discriminatory government policy or social intolerance is responsive to various forms of ethnic activism, including violence. It is this perceived responsiveness—captured by the probability that the government gives in and accepts a proposed change in ethnic policy—that induces individuals to mobilize, often violently, to support their cause. Yet, mobilization is costly and militants have to be compensated accordingly. The model allows for both financial and human contributions to conflict and allows for a variety of individual attitudes (“radicalism”) towards the cause. The main results concern the effects of within‐group heterogeneity in radicalism and income, as well as the correlation between radicalism and income, in precipitating conflict.     

Sidak-type simultaneous confidence intervals for the risk measures rsmr,based on proportional mortality measures in epidemiologic 1 studies involving several competing risks of death

In the present paper, simultaneous confidence interval estimates are constructed for the mortality measures RSMR. based on propor¬tional mortality measures SPMR. in epidemiologic studies for several competing risks of death to which the individuals in the study are exposed. It is demonstrated that, under a reasonable assumption, the joint sampling distribution of the statistics X. = RSMR./SPMR. for M competing risks9 may be approximated by means of a multi-variafe normal distribution, Sidak's (1967, 1968) mulfivariate normal probability inequalities are applied to construct the simultaneous confidence intervals for the measures RSMR., i=l3 2, ..., M. These are valid regardless of the covariance structure among the risks, As a particular case if the risks may be assumed as independent, our confidence intervals reduce to those for a single measure RSMR., which are narrower than those of Kupper et al., (1978), In this sense, our paper generalizes the results presently available in the literature in two directions; first, to obtain narrower confidence limits, and second3 to discuss the case of competing risks of death irrespective of their covariance structure.     

From blind spots to hotspots: How knowledge services clusters develop and attract foreign investment

This paper explores local and global dynamics underlying the development of knowledge services clusters, which we define as new geographic concentrations of technical talent and service providers offering upstream technical and knowledge-intensive business services to regional and global clients. Taking a co-evolutionary perspective on the development of knowledge services clusters in Latin America, based on data from the Offshoring Research Network (ORN), we find that cluster growth results from intersecting trajectories: the emergence of local talent pools and capabilities initially serving local and regional demand; broadening global search for talent and expertise by multinational corporations; and internationalization strategies of service providers competing to serve global clients. Findings suggest that increasing commoditization of knowledge services opens up windows of opportunity for new clusters, but also involves challenges for sustainable growth. Results may stimulate future research on global sourcing and cluster development.     

Ethical frameworks of “Tomorrow’s Business Leaders”

This research explores the influence of five ethical frameworks on business students’ decision regarding the resolution of an ethical dilemma in a simulation. The frameworks of ethical tests are: Utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number); Self-interest (maximizing the benefits to the individual); Categorical Imperative (universal principles of morality); Legality (rules, laws, etc.); and Light of Day (possibility of one’s actions being discovered). Results showed that the strongest influences were the Categorical Imperative, Self-Interest, and Legality. Among demographic variables, only age was related to the students’ decision or the ethical tests.     

Planning models in the UK: A survey

This paper presents the results of a survey on the use of computer-based models in the broad areas of planning and strategy formulation in UK companies. This survey updates and complements other recent surveys, which exclusively considered the use of corporate models, and shows a continued increase in the numbers of these models in use. In particular, models in the following broad categories were examined: forecasting, marketing, personnel, production and models of ‘one-off’ situations, as well as corporate and financial models. For such models the paper includes details of: frequencies of occurrence and relationship to company size; professional roles of the model-builders and users respectively; frequencies of use. In these and more subjective ways, the survey attempts to assess the place and value of computers in planning.     

Embourgeoisement among Blue-collar Workers?*

This paper examines the notion that blue-collar workers have been converting from working-class to middle-class orientations as a consequence of gains in income and education over the past few decades. Cross-sectional analysis of survey data for white workers and spouses reveals that a considerable manual-nonmanual subjective class schism persists when remaining differences in income and education are taken into account. The gap is maintained both by an adherence to working-class identification among blue-collar workers at all socioeconomic levels and by a weaker tendency for these workers, compared with white-collar workers, to use income and educational status as criteria for self-placement in the class system. Longitudinal analysis further indicates that embourgeoisement among blue-collar workers has been slight and suggests that the manual-nonmanual gap in class orientations is widening.     

Secular Trends in Substance Use: The Conflict and Young People in Northern Ireland

The resolution of political conflict has led some to suggest that Northern Ireland will now face a range of social problems that have been ignored or suppressed by the Troubles. One such area is adolescent drug use. In this article, a review of a range of data sources shows that drug use, with few exceptions, has increased since the emergence of the ongoing peace process. Social and political changes and enhanced paramilitary involvement in the drugs trade appear to have somehow created an environment where drug use has flourished. In reviewing current drug policy and practice, the article highlights the lack of prevention, treatment, and harm reduction services established in Northern Ireland as a cause for concern .