Asymptotic bootstrap validity for finite markov chains

Two methods of bootstrap, viz., standard, and conditional, are presented for estimating the transition probabilities of a finite state Markov chain. Asymptotic validity of the bootstrap estimates are established for both methods. An applica- tion to a bootstrapped statistic for testing independence is briefly discussed together with some simulation results.     

Analysis of human capital development in Puerto Rico: summary and conclusions

This study explored whether perceptions of organizational business ethics differ by hierarchical levels. The study sample included more than 40,000 executives, mid-level managers and non-managerial employees from business organizations in six countries: Brazil, China, Germany, India, the UK and the US. We found that executives provided the most positive assessment of ethical business culture within their respective organizations. Employees’ assessments were less positive, and mid-level managers’ assessments fell in the middle. Organizational size and respondents’ age were not related to differences in responses. Statistically significant differences among hierarchical levels were found in Brazil, the US, Germany, the UK and China. Differences were not significant in India. Executives with longer tenure at the same organization tended to provide higher ratings of organizations’ ethical cultures, while managers’ and employees’ ratings tended to decrease with time.     

Developing a strategy for an Industrial Training Board—a participative approach

The article presents the experience of the authors of designing and working in a participative strategic review and decision making process which involved representatives of employers, trade unions and education; and the analysis and presentation of the results on behalf of an Industry Training Board (a government funded organization) to the Manpower Services Commission, its parent body and link to Government. It considers past practice and the new approach adopted in October 1975, with particular reference to: The Overall Programme of Activities The Review Process The Strategic Workshop Process and gives the authors' conclusions and thoughts to date on the results together with possible developments and improvements to both the process and their own organization's future strategy.     

The effects of distance and individual differences in arousability on nonverbal involvement: A test of discrepancy-arousal theory

Mutual influence in human interaction refers to the tendency for persons to alter their verbal, vocal, and kinesic behaviors in response to the intensity, frequency or duration of those behaviors emitted by their partners. Numerous explanations of these processes have been put forward involving principles of approach-avoidance conflict, arousal, reward, and cognitive processes. These explanations are reviewed with special attention given to an arousal based theory, discrepancy-arousal. This theory holds that mutual influence is primarily the result of arousal changes due to the degree of discrepancy of partner's behavior from the receiver's expectation.The theory predicts that persons who differ in reaction to arousal should also differ in their response to a partner's immediacy. This hypothesis was tested on high and low sensation seekers under conditions of near and normal distances during an interview. Several different behavioral responses were coded, including eye gaze, posture and orientation, smiles and laughter, object- and body-focused gestures, vocalization, pauses, and latencies to respond. The hypothesized interaction did not materialize with a median split on sensation seeking. A measure of state-trait sensation seeking (STSS) was developed. The interaction between distance and a median split on the state-trait measure was significant for eye gaze and posture and orientation, with the high STSS subjects compensating less than the low STSS subjects.     

Harnessing the reliability of outcome measures

A method is presented for engineering the necessary levels of measurement reliability for evaluating ongoing programs. Two studies of levels of client functioning at a community mental health center (CMHC), in which an outcome measure, the Global Assessment Scale (GAS), did not perform as expected, drew attention to the need for better control of outcome measure reliabilities. Drawing from generalizability theory, a study was conducted of three sources of GAS score variance — clients, raters, and training in the use of the scale. Several estimates of reliability (ERs) were developed, depending on the manner in which the GAS ratings were, or would be, obtained in the CMHC. The differences among these ERs clarified why the GAS had lower reliability when used in our setting. Finally, two hypothetical examples are described to illustrate the utility of applying generalizability theory to achieve higher reliabilities for outcome measures.     

Effect of Level of Disaggregation on Conjoint Cross Validations: Some Comparative Findings*

Early formulations of conjoint models focused on part-worth estimation at the individual level. As the methodology's popularity grew so did industry demands for increasingly larger numbers of attributes and levels. In response to these demands, new approaches, based on partial or full data aggregation (such as clusterwise/latent class conjoint and choice-based conjoint), have appeared. This paper suggests that pooled-data models will often be successful in predicting market shares when researchers employ monotonic attributes. In these cases more of a good attribute (or less of a bad attribute) is always more preferred. In the more realistic case, in which some of the attributes may be nonmonotonic, we find that data aggregation does not predict holdout sample preferences as well as individual part-worth models.     

The Quality of Skill Acquisition in Young Workers' First Job

Young workers' experiences of their first job form an important stage in the transition from school to work, and the quality of that experience is likely to have a strong bearing on future chances in the labour market. We provide evidence on a key aspect of that experience, namely, whether the skills acquired during the first job are firm-specific or in some degree transferable. More than one in six young people acquired only firm-specific skills in their first substantial job. High levels of prior human capital, short training spells or training leading to qualifications tend to raise, while being in casual or temporary jobs tends to lower, the likelihood that transferable skills are acquired.     

Client Experiences of Trauma-Informed Care in Social Service Agencies

This paper describes a qualitative study of individual client interviews (n?=?26) from four social service agencies to understand how clients experience trauma-informed care services and implementation challenges. We used the Fallot and Harris framework to explore client experiences of the five core concepts of trauma-informed care (safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment) using semi-structured interview questions with each client. The four agencies consisted of: refugees (n?=?4), substance abuse (n?=?8), older adults (n?=?12), and maternal/child health (n?=?2), and the agencies varied in size, service goals, and clientele. The results of the study suggest that clients’ experience of these concepts was shaped by the actions of other clients, and these experiences were either mitigated or hindered by actions of the agency employees. Agency policies either supported or enhanced their experiences as well. The results also suggest that it was challenging for agencies to provide for all of the trauma-informed care (TIC) concepts at the same time. We discuss the implications of these findings for social service delivery in a range of agency types. Future research should examine the effects of trauma-informed policies on client experiences of each TIC domain.