On Models and theories of inference; structural or pivotal analysis

Recent material is surveyed concerning the foundations of statistical models, the definition and logic of statistical inference, and the additives used in various applications of theories of inference. This background is then used to compare structural/structured models [Fraser 1966, 1968, 1979] and pivotal models [Barnard 1974, 1981]; the models are found to be identical except for nomencalture and basic justification which supports the structural format. An outline is given of the development of the structural/structured model and of the corresponding mode of inference. The recent pivotal methods of analysis are assessed with this development as background.     

THE SYSTEMIC TREATMENT OF SHAME IN COUPLES

Shame remains largely a hidden phenomenon in the treatment of couples. It can manifest itself as a determining factor in events ranging from entrenched blaming to missed appointments. Although there is a growing body of literature on individual shame dynamics and, to a lesser extent, on couple and family shame dynamics, there is little written on how to incorporate these theories into treatment. This paper offers working definitions of shame, proposes a systemic definition of shame as seen in couples, reviews the literature on coule shame dynamics, and explores issues of therapeutic stance and treatment techniques in working with shame in couples therapy.     

“It was a plot got up to convict me”: The case of Henrietta Cook versus the state of Kansas, 1876

In the late spring of 1876, a Kansas farm woman, Henrietta Cook, was brought to trial and found guilty of deliberately and maliciously poisoning her husband with strychnine. A close reading of the evidence today would suggest that the jury could just as easily have found Mrs. Cook innocent of the crime. But they did not. Out of the cultural and ideological materials at hand the jury actively fashioned a truth that allowed them to deal with the heinous crime of marital murder. Drawing on Foucault, the article shows how and why one form of discourse or truth came to triumph at the trial. In the lonely frontier settlement of Osborne, Kansas, people made a clear distinction between nature, which they were trying to overcome, and civilization, which they were trying to impose. The trial demonstrated what happened when nature, in the form of the woman, Henrietta Cook, challenged not only the fragile definition of community that had been constructed, but also the vocabularly of order, rationality, and progress that gave people hope. A voice with another message could not be heard.I would like to thank Gisela Hinkle, Sally A. McNall, Mary Candace Moore, and Shulamit Reinharz, as well as the three anonymous reviewers ofQualitative Sociology, for their insightful remarks and helpful suggestions.     

Health care cost containment in the 1980s.

Benefits administrators--and their employers--can no longer ignore the skyrocketing costs of health care. The wide range of measures explored here for controlling these costs include negotiating with providers, analyzing medical claims, enlisting the aid of employee/patients, structuring benefit programs to eliminate excesses, and setting up wellness programs to alter the lifestyles--smoking, drinking, poor nutrition--that result in crippling, even fatal diseases.     

Cultural influences upon psychopathology: Clinical and practical implications

Information on the role of cultural factors in abnormal behavior and experience is selectively reviewed, and several conclusions are drawn about the nature, extent, and impact of such influence. Although a number of demonstrated universals exist in the manifestations of schizophrenia and depression, the scope of cultural variation in all aspects of psychopathology is vast. Both universalist and relativist positions in their pure or exclusive form are rejected and the view is espoused that psychological manifestations are the joint result of panhuman and culture-specific factors. Several conclusions concerning the operation and the results of such influences are presented and the issues that are as yet unresolved are identified. The self is introduced as the key concept in explaining both the constancy and the variation of experience across cultures and four dimensions derived from Hofstede's worldwide multicultural research are described. Their potential relevance is spelled out for systematically investigating the culturally preferred and/or characteristic modalities of psychotherapy.     

The relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in a metropolitan aggregate, 1989–1991

This paper presents the results of an ecological analysis of the relationship between infant mortality and economic status in a metropolitan aggregate comprised of seven of the larger cities in Ohio during the three years centering on the 1990 census. Using a summary income score derived for the census tract of mother's usual residence, the census tracts in the seven metropolitan centers were divided into broad income groupings and three-year average infant mortality rates were computed for each area, by age, sex, race, and selected causes of death. The most important conclusion to be drawn from the data is that in spite of some remarkable declines in overall levels of infant mortality during the past few decades, there continues to be a very clear and pronounced inverse association between income status and infant mortality. The general inverse association is observed for both sexes, for whites and nonwhites, and for all major causes of infant death. At the same time, the data reveal notable differences in the magnitude of the relationship by sex, and especially by age at death, race, and cause of death. Explanations of these differences are suggested, and a conclusion notes some of the difficulties encountered in developing programs aimed at closing the infant mortality gap between the richest and poorest segments of the society.This is an expanded version of a paper presented at the annual meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society in Baltimore, Maryland (March 17–20, 1994).     

DEVIATIONS FROM CONSTITUENT INTERESTS: THE ROLE OF LEGISLATIVE STRUCTURE AND POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE STATES

This paper investigates the determinants of state spending over 1960—1990. Recent empirical studies suggest that state government expenditure is greater than the electorate desires. Our main finding is that expenditure was positively related to the number of seats in a state's legislature. This is consistent with the hypothesis that logrolling leads representatives to spend more than their constituents would like. We also find that political parties do not have a pronounced effect on overall levels of expenditure, but do influence the composition of spending. In particular, Democratic control of state government is associated with higher levels of welfare spending.     

Non-existence of an optimum estimator in a class of ratio estimators

A number of estimators formulated in the field of the ratio method of estimation has been presented. A class of estimators encompassing these estimators is constructed. It is noted that an optimum estimator does not exist uniformly in this class. The “Optimum” so obtained reduces to the usual regression estimator.     

Estimation of trade-offs with capture-recapture models: A case study on the lesser snow goose

Trade-offs between traits such as fecundity or survival are fundamental to much of our understanding of the evolution of life histories. There has been much renewed interest and controversy concerning methods for estimating trade-offs, in the wild or in captivity, and with or without experimental manipulations. In this paper, we assess the general question of the utility of modern capture-recapture methods as a robust tool for estimating trade-offs in natural populations. We present results from analyses of two forms of trade-offs: the cost of present reproduction on future survival and the cost of present reproduction on the probability of breeding in the future. We apply the methods to data from a long-term study of a snow goose population, and generally discuss the advantages and potential problems with various approaches.