BIAS IN LIST-ASSISTED TELEPHONE SAMPLES

A number of researchers have suggested list-assisted samplingfor the selection of telephone households to overcome some ofthe operational difficulties associated with the Mitofsky-Waksbergmethods of random digit dialing (RDD). An advantage of a list-assistedmethod of RDD is that an equal probability systematic sampleof telephone numbers can be selected and the variances of estimatesfrom such a sample are usually lower than from a clustered designlike the Mitofsky-Waksberg method. The main disadvantage ofthe list-assisted method is that it excludes some householdsfrom the sample, thus creating a coverage bias in the estimates.This article describes research on the coverage bias for a particularmethod of list-assisted sampling. The two key determinants ofcoverage bias are the proportion of households that are noteligible for the sample and the differences in the characteristicsof the covered and not covered populations. The results showthat about 4 percent of all households are excluded in nationalsamples using this method of sampling. Furthermore, they showthat the differences between the covered and uncovered populationsare generally not large. The coverage bias resulting from theseconditions may often be small.     

Ethnicity, migration and health: A population-based study of 338 refugees from Latin America, 396 nonrefugee immigrants from Finland and 161 from southern Europe and 996 age-, sex- and education-matched controls from Sweden

This article shows the influence of being a refugee from Latin America or a nonrefugee immigrant from southern Europe or Finland on self-reported illness, controlling for social factors and lifestyle. The study population consisted of 338 Latin American refugees, a random sample of 396 Finnish and 161 southern European immigrants and 996 age-, sex- and education-matched Swedish controls. The data were analysed unmatched with logistic regression (multivariate analysis) in main effect models. The strongest independent risk indicator for long-term illness was being a Latin American refugee (estimated odds ratio (OR)=2.96, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.19–3.82). There was a significant association between being a Latin American refugee and period prevalence, ill health and unsatisfied need for care. Being a southern European or Finnish immigrant was a risk indicator of ill health but was not associated with the other dependent factors. Not feeling secure in daily life was a strong risk indicator for long-term illness and ill health (estimated OR=1.89, 95% CI=1.26–2.76 and OR=3.04, 95% CI= 1.97–4.48) respectively). Being a Latin American refugee was equal in importance to traditional risk factors such as overweight and not taking regular exercise for long-term illness and ill health.     

The arithmetic of growth: Methods of calculation

This is a tutorial on the relations between population data and the rates of growth that are calculated from the data. For the calculation of rates of growth, discrete and continuous compounding will be compared so that the reader can see the reasons for using the mathematics of continuous compounding, which is the mathematics of exponential growth. Some properties of exponential growth are developed. Semi-logarithmic graphs will be discussed as a device for representing the size of growing populations and for analyzing the nature of the growth. Illustrative examples will be worked out in order to emphasize applications and utility.     

对开拓中医药成人高等教育潜在市场的思考

我国的成人高等教育 ,在实现从计划经济到市场经济转变后 ,出现了前所未有的竞争场面。作为行业性很强的中医药成人高等教育 ,要想生存和进一步发展 ,必须在积极参加市场竞争的同时 ,根据自身的优势和特点 ,从社会发展的高度 ,大力开拓潜在市场 ,努力寻找中医药成人高等教育的发展空间     

近代中国农业现代化滞后原因初探

在近现代经济结构的现代化转型过程中 ,农业较之工业显得缓慢和滞后。这其中固然有中国固有的农业基础薄弱、战争破坏以及世界经济危机等多种因素的影响 ,但本文力求抛开这些表面上的因素 ,试从政府决策、市场结构、农业传统文化这三方面对近代中国农业现代化滞后原因加以探求。     

积极财政政策与扩大高等教育供给

长期以来 ,我国高等教育存在的最突出、最根本的问题是投入问题。无论是宏观背景从计划体制到市场化改革 ,还是从控制规模的精英教育到连续扩招的大众化推进 ,包括高校收费制度改革 ,我国高等教育投入和经费困扰的基本状况没有重大改变 ,这种现象长期化存在本身 ,表明高等教育的投入严重不足问题 ,不应仅仅归结为“财政压力”和认识问题。客观上 ,这种机制障碍 ,已经成为一种制度性约束。作者在我国已经连续五年实施积极财政政策的背景下 ,从改善和扩大供给的角度 ,探讨在根本解决高等教育投入不足的公共财政体制性改革之前 ,运用作为非正式制度变迁手段的财政政策 ,面对加入WTO后的高等教育国际竞争挑战 ,利用国债资金 ,调整支出结构 ,阶段性、分层次、集中加大对高等教育的公共财政投入 ,全方位改善高等教育的长期供给 ,拉动消费需求 ,促进经济增长     

经络黑箱方法研究及意义

经络的特异实质结构至今尚未探明 ,但已初步研究掌握了经络现象的规律性。古代和现代对于经络的研究常有黑箱方法的一些最基本特征。现代系统科学的黑箱方法 ,不是直接考察经络的内部结构 ,而是利用外部观察和试验来考察经络系统的输入输出及其动态过程 ,研究经络的功能和特性 ,探索其结构和机理的科学方法。现代经络黑箱方法的研究 ,也为经络诊断和治疗提高了精确性和有效性 ,并为经络的实质结构研究奠定理论和技术基础