A Semi‐empirical Bayesian Chart to Monitor Weibull Percentiles

This paper develops a Bayesian control chart for the percentiles of the Weibull distribution, when both its in‐control and out‐of‐control parameters are unknown. The Bayesian approach enhances parameter estimates for small sample sizes that occur when monitoring rare events such as in high‐reliability applications. The chart monitors the parameters of the Weibull distribution directly, instead of transforming the data as most Weibull‐based charts do in order to meet normality assumption. The chart uses accumulated knowledge resulting from the likelihood of the current sample combined with the information given by both the initial prior knowledge and all the past samples. The chart is adapting because its control limits change (e.g. narrow) during Phase I. An example is presented and good average run length properties are demonstrated.     

Examining the effects of negative affectivity on self- and supervisor ratings of job stressors: the role of stressor observability

In this study, we investigated job stressor ratings through Lazarus' transactional stress theory and the usefulness of supervisor ratings as an alternative to employee self-reports. Based on the finding that negative affectivity (NA) causes incumbents to over-report job stressors, we hypothesized that supervisors may also be affected by their NA when appraising an incumbent's job stressors. Building upon the literatures on judgement processes and social-cognitive information processing, we further hypothesized that stressor observability is an important boundary condition. Specifically, we hypothesized that the impact of NA on both self- and supervisor-reported job stressors should increase as stressor observability decreases. Moreover, we hypothesized that incumbent and supervisor ratings would converge less as stressor observability decreases. Data from 260 incumbent-supervisor dyads showed that stressor observability reduced the impact of supervisor NA on supervisor ratings (but not the impact of incumbent NA on incumbent stressor ratings). Further, as hypothesized, incumbent and supervisor ratings showed less convergence the less observable the stressor was. The results highlight the importance of personal and situational factors in the stressor appraisal process – an issue that advances both research and practice in the field of stressor ratings.     

Les déterminants des déplacements de la courbe de Beveridge (et de l'appariement sur le marché du travail)

Les auteurs s'interrogent sur les politiques et facteurs qui influent sur la correspondance entre offre et demande de travail. Ils repèrent d'abord les déplacements de la courbe de Beveridge dans douze pays de l'OCDE (2000–2013) – avec trois méthodes complémentaires – avant de les expliquer avec un modèle à variable dépendante limitée. L'analyse montre que la croissance de la population active et la législation protectrice de l'emploi facilitent l'appariement, à l'inverse des qualifications moyennes et du chômage de longue durée. De même, l'effet favorable des politiques actives (partage d'emploi, aide à l'entrepreneuriat) contraste avec un effet nettement défavorable des politiques passives (allocations chômage, imposition du travail).     

Addressing the sex trade in Thailand: Some lessons learned from NGOs, part I1

This is the first in a series of articles stemming from Project Hope International's month long visit to Thailand in June 2002. Project Hope International is a non-governmental organization based in greater Washington, D.C., which fights against child sexual exploitation and trafficking in girls and women into the international sex trade, specifically in Thailand and the United States. Thailand undeniably deals with serious problems of child sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as trafficking of children into the sex trade. However, the sex trade in Thailand today is not the same as it was thirty years ago. There has been a gradual decrease in the numbers of Thai women and girls in the sex trade, and an increase in the numbers of females from neighboring countries in the Mekong sub-region, as well as non-citizen, hill-tribe girls from Northern Thailand. The goals of our research trip to Thailand were threefold: first, we wanted to learn about the current problems of the sex trade and how they have changed over the last ten years; second, we wanted to visit the child welfare centers, and meet the most prominent activists in Thailand who are targeting the political, social, and economic problems surrounding the child sex trade in Thailand; and, finally, we wanted to be able to bring the information we acquired to dispel myths promulgated by many nearsighted NGOs who work on trafficking issues. In this article, problems of researching the sex trade in Thailand are discussed, and a brief overview of the current situation surrounding the trafficking of females into Thailand is provided. In examining the extraordinary efforts of non-governmental organizations and international organizations, we place these issues in the context of how Thailand fits into the broader international anti-trafficking movement. We then provide some information on the most recent court cases that have prosecuted sex offenders and pedophiles and look at some of the reasons why girls get involved in prostitution, albeit on an increasingly voluntary basis in certain regions. Finally, evidence is provided that the government and police are slowly committing themselves to fighting trafficking in females for sexual exploitation. Christina Arnold is an undergraduate in the School of Public Affairs at American University, majoring in Political Science and Justice. Ms. Arnold spent her childhood in Southeast Asia and as a result was drawn to a career in public service. She is the Executive Director of Project Hope International (PHI), a non-for-profit organization, dedicated to combating human trafficking in the U.S. and Thailand by partnering with organization that provide direct services to women and children in their receovery, repatriation, and reintegration processes. She won a $20,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in 2001 for research on human trafficking in Thailand. Andrea M. Bertone is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Govenment and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she is writing her dissertation on the ways in which NGOs and international organizations cooperate in Thailand and Kosovo on anti-trafficking projects. She is also the Associate Director of Project Hope Internation, an NGO in Washington, D.C., working on issues of child prostitution and trafficking in females in Southeast Asia and the United States. She is the author of “International Political Economy and the Politics of Sex,” Gender Issues 18 (1). She is the co-editor of numerous publications published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. We thank Sudarat Serewat of FACE for her invaluable help and time in Thailand.     

Speaking on Behalf of Others: A Qualitative Study of the Perceptions and Feelings of Adolescent Latina Language Brokers

Children of Latino immigrants are often called upon to interpret and mediate linguistic and cultural information for adults in a process termed language brokering. The present qualitative study examined the experiences of nine female first- and second-generation Latina adolescent language brokers. Results showed that mothers were the persons for whom participants translated the most. In addition, school-related issues were the most frequently reported reason for brokering activities as well as the most stressful. Age, gender, and birth order influenced the range of brokering experiences, whereas language fluency influenced the frequency of brokering experiences. Additionally, the presence of another sibling who brokered was related to fluency. Finally, participants reported several familial responsibilities, other than language brokering, as being more important contributions to their families' well-being. The findings are discussed in terms of how language brokering affects the academic and linguistic activities as well as the family roles of young Latinas.