Repeat and Non-returning Volunteers: The Promise of Episodic Events for Volunteer Recruitment and Retention

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - In this article, we are concerned with the recruitment potential of one-off episodic events for attracting and retaining...     

Portfolio rebalancing with an investment horizon and transaction costs

In this paper we consider the problem of rebalancing an existing financial portfolio, where transaction costs have to be paid if we change the amount held of any asset. These transaction costs can be fixed (so paid irrespective of the amount traded provided a trade occurs) and/or variable (related to the amount traded). We indicate the importance of the investment horizon when rebalancing such a portfolio and illustrate the nature of the efficient frontier that results when we have transaction costs. We model the problem as a mixed-integer quadratic programme with an explicit constraint on the amount that can be paid in transaction cost. Our model incorporates the interplay between optimal portfolio allocation, transaction costs and investment horizon. We indicate how to extend our model to include cardinality constraints and present a number of enhancements to the model to improve computational performance. Results are presented for the solution of publicly available test problems involving up to 1317 assets.     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Career Thoughts and Communication Apprehension

This study examined relationships among dysfunctional career thoughts and levels of communication apprehension. Undergraduate students, 88 women and 87 men, completed the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI; J. P. Sampson, G. W. Peterson, J. G. Lenz, R. C. Reardon, & D. E. Saunders, 1996) and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA‐24; J. C. McCroskey, 1984b). Analysis of correlation coefficients found significant mild‐to‐moderate correlations among scales of the CTI and the PRCA‐24. The results indicated that individuals with average and high levels of communication apprehension had greater decision‐making confusion, commitment anxiety, and external conflict than persons with low levels of communication apprehension. Implications for counseling and further research are discussed in light of these results.     

A Multi-state Piecewise Exponential Model of Hospital Outcomes after Injury

To allow more accurate prediction of hospital length of stay (LOS) after serious injury or illness, a multi-state model is proposed, in which transitions from the hospitalized state to three possible outcome states (home, long-term care, or death) are assumed to follow constant rates for each of a limited number of time periods. This results in a piecewise exponential (PWE) model for each outcome. Transition rates may be affected by time-varying covariates, which can be estimated from a reference database using standard statistical software and Poisson regression. A PWE model combining the three outcomes allows prediction of LOS. Records of 259,941 injured patients from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample were used to create such a multi-state PWE model with four time periods. Hospital mortality and LOS for patient subgroups were calculated from this model, and time-varying covariate effects were estimated. Early mortality was increased by anatomic injury severity or penetrating mechanism, but these effects diminished with time; age and male sex remained strong predictors of mortality in all time periods. Rates of discharge home decreased steadily with time, while rates of transfer to long-term care peaked at five days. Predicted and observed LOS and mortality were similar for multiple subgroups. Conceptual background and methods of calculation are discussed and demonstrated. Multi-state PWE models may be useful to describe hospital outcomes, especially when many patients are not discharged home.     

Personal Aspects of Career Counseling: Three Examples

In this article the author describes three fictitious university counseling center clients who are struggling with career issues related to their personal development. Suggestions are given regarding ways to conceptualize their situation as well as methods of individualized career guidance.     

Reviews

Barry Hindess and Paul Q. Hirst, Pre‐capitalist Modes of Production (1975), 354 (Routledge & Kegan Paul, £7.50).

Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity (1975), xiii+265 (Schocken Books, New York, $8.95).

Alan Macfarlane (ed.), The Diary of Ralph Josselin 1616–1683 (Records of Social and Economic History, New Series, III, 1976), xxvi+728 (Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press, £20).

Cissie C. Fairchilds, Poverty and Charity in Aix‐en‐Proveace, 1640–1789 (1976), xii+197 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, £9.70).

Ansley J. Coale (ed.), Economic Factors in Population Growth (1976), xviii+600 (Macmillan, £20.00).

Ira Berlin, Slaves Without Masters: The Free Negro in the Antebellum South (1974, paperback ed. 1976), xxi+423 (Pantheon Books, New York, $15.00; Vintage Books, New York, $4.95).

K. S. Inglis, The Australian Colonists: an Exploration of Social History 1788–1870 (1974), xxii+316 (Melbourne University Press and Prentice Hall, Melbourne, £10.40).

Christer Winberg, Folkökning och proletarisering. Kring den sociala stnikturomvandling på Sveriges landsbygd under den agrara revolutionen (1975), 344 (Meddelanden från Historiska Institutionen i Göteborg 10, Gothenburg). (Population growth and proletarianization. The transformation of social structures in the Swedish countryside during the agricultural revolution)

Uno Gustafson, Industrialismens storstad. Studier rörande Stockholms sociala, ekonomiska och demografiska struktur 1860–1910 (1976), 290 (Monografier utgivna av Stockholms kommunalförvaltning, 37, Stockholm). (Industrialism's Metropolis. Studies in the social, economic and demographic structure of Stockholm 1860–1910)

John M. Merriman (ed.), 1830 in France (1976), 232 (Croom Helm and New Viewpoints, London and New York, £5.00).

Derek Fraser (ed.), The New Poor Law in the Nineteenth Century (1976), 218 (Macmillan, £5.95, paperback £2.95).

C. A. Bayly, The Local Roots of Indian Politics: Allahabad 1880–1920 (1975), xviii+314 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, £10.00).

Roger Chickering, Imperial Germany and a World Without War. The Peace Movement and German Society, 1892–1914 (1976), xiv+487 (Princeton University Press, Princeton, £16, paperback £6.20).

Sean Glynn and John Oxborrow, Interwar Britain: A Social and Economic History (1976), 276 (George Allen and Unwin, £5.95, paperback £2.95).     

Life Satisfaction Across the Lifespan: Findings from Two Nationally Representative Panel Studies

Two large-scale, nationally representative panel studies (the German Socio Economic Panel Study and the British Household Panel Study) were used to assess changes in life satisfaction over the lifespan. The cross-sectional and longitudinal features of these studies were used to isolate age-related changes from confounding factors including instrumentation effects and cohort effects. Although estimated satisfaction trajectories varied somewhat across studies, two consistent findings emerged. First, both studies show that life satisfaction does not decline over much of adulthood. Second, there is a steep decline in life satisfaction among those older than 70. The British data also showed a relatively large increase in satisfaction from the 40s to the early 70s. Thus, age differences in well-being can be quite large and deserve increased empirical and theoretical attention.     

Predictors of Regional Well-Being: A County Level Analysis

The current study takes a novel approach to studying the correlates of subjective well-being. Unlike previous studies, which typically examine group-level well-being at the state or national level, we analyzed correlates of well-being at the county level within the United States. Using nationally representative data, we found that reliable variance in well-being exists across counties. Furthermore, this variance was associated with a number of objective factors, including income, population density, health and education. Continued study of these factors at the regional level may have important implications for developing community programs and public policy.