Construction of fourth order rotatable designs with estimation of corresponding response surface

This paper provides the reader with a method of selectinga set of points which would form a rotatable design of order four . A fourth order response surface has been fitted and the variance function for the estimated response has been worked out.     

Group sequential analysis op a clinical trial with repeated measurements

Recently some work has been done in group sequential analysis for comparing two treatments with respect to the rate of change in a repeated measures design with staggered subject entries. We relax the involved assumption of linearity for the time-response curve and propose a group sequential procedure assuming multivariate normality with an ante-dependence structure for the repeated measurements obtained at protocol scheduled visits. The exit probabilities are determined through an a-spending function proposed by Lan and DeMets. A numerical example is given to illustrate the methodology.     

Domestic group,status of women,and fertility

An attempt is made in this paper to explain the fertility behavior of Patels; a major peasant caste in village Mogra in Rajasthan, India. The Patels make up 162 of the 404 households in the village and nearly 50% of the village's population of 2610. The Patels claim to have migrated from Gujarat a few centuries ago. This paper is based on a study of 140 randomly selected Patel households comprising 168 couples by using the method of intensive fieldwork over a period of about 6 months. Every household in Mogra, with the possible exception of 1 household of a Bania trader, is involved in agriculture in 1 capacity or another. The Patels are the major landowning caste, and all but 2 of the households in the sample of 140 own land. The Patels marry early, and the practice of child marriage remains common today. Being a patrilineal people, Patels consider sons as heirs to family property and status. Of the 140 households in the sample, 65 are complex in composition while 75 are simple. All the simple households are consequences of the partition of complex households. The consummation of marriage marks an immediate loss of independence to the woman. The Patels of Mogra have sound economic reasons for having a large number of children. They prefer to use family labor to the maximum possible extent. When labor is the major input, the land can absorb whatever labor is available. A great demand exists for labor in the domestic sphere as well. Compared to the returns, the cost of bringing up children is negligible. The expenditure on their clothing and education is minimal. Economics alone do not explain high fertility. Sons are essential to continue the line and for old age security. The marriage of daughters brings in bride price and religious merit. 1 son may find the burden of carrying out the kinship obligations inherited from his parents too high. When there are several sons, they can share the burden among themselves. Religious values and the obligations of kinship and marriage impel couples toward large families. It is this conjunction of forces rather than any single factor which is crucial. All these forces find expression in interpersonal relations within the family. The young mother is the person most interested in restricting births, but she is also interested in the additional labor supply that children would bring in. It is difficult for her to carry the load of domestic and farm work, childbearing and child rearing. When her reproductive career is at the peak, the woman's own power within the domestic group is at its lowest. It is through the process of giving birth to many children that she gains in power and status.     

Causes and outcomes in studies of fear of childbirth: A systematic review

Problem

Fear of childbirth negatively affects women during pregnancy and after birth.

Deducing a taxonomy of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness: a comparative study of effective and ineffective managerial behaviour across three EU countries

This qualitative multiple case derived etic study focuses on perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness. It explores what employees in various organizations, organizational sectors and culturally diverse nations perceive as effective and ineffective managerial behaviour. Empirical findings from six emic replication studies carried out previously within three European Union countries were subjected to cross-case, cross-sector, and cross-nation comparative analysis. High degrees of sameness and similarity were found. Further analysis led to the emergence of a behavioural taxonomy comprised of 10 positive (effective) and 9 negative (ineffective) behavioural criteria. We find that managers and non-managerial staff in British and Romanian public-sector hospitals, and in British and German private-sector companies, perceive effective and ineffective managerial behaviour in much the same way. Our findings challenge past literature which argues that managers need to adopt different managerial behaviours to be effective in different organizational sectors and countries.     

Longing for Mourning

“Longing for Mourning” is a meditation on the verities of events that establish the ostensible stability of supposedly ordinary relationships—commitment, house-buying, and marriage. Influenced by the long history of meditations and commentarial literature on loss and aesthetics, this biographical essay is written as an aesthetic embodiment of theoretical positions. It ruminates on the forms through which time, death, loss, and repeated mourning transform such verities when they are the life story of an interracial, interclass, transcontinental and transnational relationship between two women.     

Characteristics of cocaine users in a private inpatient treatment setting.

Patient records were reviewed from an eighteen-month period of a private hospital adult addictive disease unit. Of 667 consecutive admissions, sixty-five (49 males, 16 females) were diagnosed with cocaine abuse or dependence; 38 percent were from rural areas. Although mean age of males and females was similar, males had a longer duration of use (8.2 years versus 5.8 years), however, females used an average of 14 grams per week versus 9.5 grams per week for males. African-American patients were over-represented among the cocaine using sample and also among the sample who chose smoking as their route of administration. A larger percentage of males had legal problems and admitted to "dealing," when compared to females. Those from rural areas were more likely to be married and less apt to have legal problems.     

Prevalence of snoring in college students

Snoring in college students may be the earliest presentation of adult sleep-disordered breathing, yet the literature contains few studies that demonstrate its effects on learning or whether early diagnosis leads to interruption of disease progression or prevention of comorbidities. OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: The authors conducted this study in January-April 2004 to assess the prevalence of snoring in college students (N = 2,200). METHODS: They developed a questionnaire on sleep behaviors and distributed it to 18- to 25-year-old undergraduates at a California university. RESULTS: Almost one-third (30%) of participants reported snoring. The prevalence of snoring was higher among men than women (42% and 25%, respectively). The prevalence of self-reported snoring was highest in Asian students (37%). CONCLUSIONS: Snoring is highly prevalent in college students; prevalence is higher in men than women, correlates with body mass index, and varies by ethnicity.     

Perspectives of South African caregivers in receipt of Child Support Grants: Implications for family strengthening interventions

Cash transfers have delivered measurable benefits for poor and vulnerable children in low‐ and middle‐income countries. However, on its own, a cash transfer is insufficient to promote holistic child well‐being. In the quest for appropriate complementary family support services, known as ‘cash plus’ programing, this qualitative study sought to explore the perspectives of a group of South African caregivers, all of whom were in receipt of a Child Support Grant (CSG), in relation to their own caregiving and family functioning. Critical areas of support to families were identified to further scale up the already positive impacts of the CSG, such as mental health services, social supports for caregivers, decreasing levels of poverty and growing caregiving knowledge and skills. Key conclusions are that improving the quality and integration of public services and developing culturally appropriate and evidence‐based family strengthening programmes are critical to complement and boost the positive impacts of the CSG.