A comparioson of nonparametric unweighited and length-biased density estimation of fibres

Two sampling procedures used to estimate the distribution of the length of textile fibres are studied . Estimators of the density function of fibre length and the asymptotic propertiesof these estimators are discussed. Simulations were undertaken to compare mean square errors of the estimators for various saniple sizes.     

Paradigms Lost

“Paradigms Lost” is a socionarrative which can be read or performed. Through a variety of literary techniques (e.g., the flashback, dialogue, rhythm, enjambment, etc.), I detail the wide-ranging consequences to my life and my family of a body-trauma and coma. Through the tacit sociological framework, I concretely show how a self reconstructs itself through language; how conceptually separable social institutions permeate each other; and how the mind and body split does not work as a meaning-making paradigm. I intend the article to work on multiple levels and to reach diverse audiences, including those who have experienced similar trauma. The debt immense of endless gratitude. John Milton     

Parameter estimation in a highly non-linear model using simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation

Often it is necessary to estimate the parameters of a model or unknown system. Various techniques exist to accomplish this task, including Kalman and Wiener filtering, least-mean-square (LMS) algorithms, and the Levenberg-Marquardt(L-M) algorithm. These techniques require an analytic form of the gradient of the function of the parameters to be estimated. A key feature of the simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) method is that it is a gradient-free optimization technique (Spall; 1992,1998a,b, 1999). In the current problem, the function of parameters to be identified is highly non-linear and of sufficient difficulty that obtaining an analytic form of the gradient is impractical. Therefore, in this paper the

performance of the SPSA algorithm will be examined in terms of parameter selection, data requirements, and convergence performance on this non-linear problem. Results will be reported on both a first-order "standard" implementation of SPSA and on a second-order version of SPSA that tends to enhance convergence.     

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.     

Innovations in parenting support: an evaluation of the YMCA's ‘Parenting Teenagers’ initiative

This paper describes the evaluation of a three year Initiative run by the YMCA. The aim of the Initiative was to set up 30 different projects in YMCA centres in England, to provide help and support to the parents of teenagers. The Initiative was evaluated by the Trust for the Study of Adolescence. Funding was agreed for 29 projects, which included group‐based courses, ‘Dads and Lads’ projects, mediation schemes, transition evenings, and families and computing courses. A variety of outcomes from these projects are identified, both for parents, young people, project workers, and the YMCA as an organisation. Key issues and learning points from the Initiative are also identified. Finally, some general comments are made about strategies to provide support to the parents of teenagers. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Letting Go: A Mother's View

Parents whose son or daughter has a mental handicap face a difficult decision about when is the right time to 'let go'. Many are highly ambivalent, torn between their own wish to keep their son or daughter with them and their concern that he or she might need to leave home in order to develop greater independence. Making the break raises fundamental questions about relationships within the family and family members' needs for one another. This article explores these questions through the use of an interview with one mother, whose son had left home two years earlier. Some comments on the issues raised are also provided, including some recommendations for local practice.     

Strong consistency in nonlinear regression with multipucative error

Sufficient conditions are given to ensure the existence of a sequence of strongly consistent estimators of the true parameter for a nonlinear regression model naving random regressors and a multiplicative disturbance term. Special cases of this result include the least absolute value and the least squares estimation procedures.