The Use of Common Area <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-Sample Test in Evaluating Targeting Methodologies: An Application to the Case of Egypt

The quality of life (QOL) is a measure of social wellbeing and life satisfaction of individuals in an area. Measuring its spatial dynamics is of great significance as it can assist the policy makers and practitioners in improving the balance between urbanization and living environment. This study proposes an approach to spatially map and examine the relationships between QOL, land use/land cover (LULC) and population density in an urban environment. The city of Lahore, Pakistan was selected as the case study area. The QOL was evaluated through the data related to physical health, psychological, social relationships, environment (natural and built), economic condition and development, and access to facilities and services. The weights/relative importance of each QOL domain was determined through the analytic hierarchy process by processing the data collected from local field experts. Overall QOL was computed by applying the domain weights to the data; spatial mapping of QOL domains and overall QOL was conducted afterwards. The spatial dynamics of QOL were examined, and its interrelationships with LULC and population density were analyzed. The relationship between these three variables turned out to be spatially dynamic. The proposed approach assists the spatial mapping and analyses of QOL, LULC and population, and by examining the spatial dynamics of these variables, contributes to devising appropriate land management and QOL improvement strategies and policies in the metropolitan regions.     

Fitting the Lognormal Distribution to Surgical Procedure Times*

Minimum surgical times are positive and often large. The lognormal distribution has been proposed for modeling surgical data, and the three‐parameter form of the lognormal, which includes a location parameter, should be appropriate for surgical data. We studied the goodness‐of‐fit performance, as measured by the Shapiro‐Wilk p‐value, of three estimators of the location parameter for the lognormal distribution, using a large data set of surgical times. Alternative models considered included the normal distribution and the two‐parameter lognormal model, which sets the location parameter to zero. At least for samples with n > 30, data adequately fit by the normal had significantly smaller skewness than data not well fit by the normal, and data with larger relative minima (smallest order statistic divided by the mean) were better fit by a lognormal model. The rule “If the skewness of the data is greater than 0.35, use the three‐parameter lognormal with the location parameter estimate proposed by Muralidhar & Zanakis (1992), otherwise, use the two‐parameter model” works almost as well at specifying the lognormal model as more complex guidelines formulated by linear discriminant analysis and by tree induction.     

The confidential patient: the social construction of therapeutic relationships in general medical practice

The interpersonal relationship between doctor and patient is fundamental to general medical practice. In this paper we explore the ways in which general practitioners make sense of the changing political economy of this relationship, as it is restructured by ideas about the patient as consumer, and as it increasingly constitutes the consultation as a point of interaction that may be intrinsically therapeutic. In particular, we explore the ways in which the consultation is the site of negotiated power relations between doctor and patient, and is the site of the doctor's negotiation of powerful discourses of professional and institutional identity.     

Emotional and behavioral problems of Asian American adolescents: A comparative study

Social, academic, emotional functioning and social support of 99 ninth-grade Asian American students were investigated using standardized measures. When compared to 404 ninth-grade Caucasian adolescents who had attended the same school, Asian American students exhibited less delinquent behavior and performed better academically. However, they were significantly more isolated, more depressed and anxious, less apt to be involved in after school activities or seek help for their problems, and internalized their social problems. Also, they had fewer role models and less social support, underscoring the psychosocial and emotional plight of Asian American adolescents and the dire need to establish proactive outreach programs.This work was supported by NIMH grant #MH41569-07.     

A MADM justification of a budget reduction decision

In 1988, a significant budget reduction at the University of Wyoming left the Athletic Department nearly $700,000 short on operating funds compared to the previous biennium. In order to make the necessary monetary cuts, the Athletic Department eliminated the men's and women's varsity ski teams from University sponsorship, thus removing one of the most successful and popular programs from the athletic family. A protest of this action quickly spread throughout the state and the Athletic Department received harsh criticism. However, through the cardinal preference techniques of Multiple Attribute Decision Making, it was determined that the criticism of the Athletic Department for dropping the ski programs was unfounded. But in light of the politics of the situation, after several months of deliberation, the ski programs were eventually reinstated with a greatly reduced budget and the team committed to raise a certain percentage of their monetary requirements through their own fund raising efforts.     

Who killed whom?: victimization and culpability in the social construction of murder

Based on in-depth interviews with relatives of people convicted of murder, this article examines the ways in which everyday understandings of 'murder' are socially constructed, as revealed by the narratives of murderers' relatives. To this end, interviewees' explanations of the killings are analysed and a distinction is drawn between interviewees who understood the killings committed by their relatives as manslaughter and those who accepted the murder verdict. In defining the offences in this way, interviewee s identified the significance of victimization and culpability to understandings of interpersonal violence. Through the analysis of interview data, it is possible to examine the ways in which 'murder' is seen to have occurred only when particular criteria of victimization and culpability are met.     

语言意识形态和语言秩序:全球化与美中两国的多语(教育)战略

全球化给美国和中国的多语教育带来什么挑战?美中两国采取何种语言战略应对全球化挑战?这些都是全球化时代大国在政治斗争和软实力较量中不可回避的问题.针对这些问题,本文提出语言意识形态和语言秩序两个概念,并以这两个概念为理论框架,对美中两国的语言意识形态、语言秩序及语言战略的历史和现实做出初步分析.全球化正在改变美中两国的语言意识,并重组两国的语言秩序,从而给多语教育带来挑战和机会.     

Are abused women mentally ill?

A secondary data analysis study was conducted on Derogatis Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) data derived from a larger intervention study of community-based abused women (N = 50). The purpose was to improve understanding of the effect domestic violence has on mental health, given the symptomatology observed in this population. A psychological distress symptom profile was developed and compared with BSI normative data. Findings were unexpected and suggest the necessity to re-examine the assumptions harbored about interpersonal violence in research and practice.