Estimation of bivariate and marginal distributions with censored data

Summary. Consider a pair of random variables, both subject to random right censoring. New estimators for the bivariate and marginal distributions of these variables are proposed. The estimators of the marginal distributions are not the marginals of the corresponding estimator of the bivariate distribution. Both estimators require estimation of the conditional distribution when the conditioning variable is subject to censoring. Such a method of estimation is proposed. The weak convergence of the estimators proposed is obtained. A small simulation study suggests that the estimators of the marginal and bivariate distributions perform well relatively to respectively the Kaplan–Meier estimator for the marginal distribution and the estimators of Pruitt and van der Laan for the bivariate distribution. The use of the estimators in practice is illustrated by the analysis of a data set.     

Is this the Price for Integration? Some thoughts on the limited intergenerational achievements of second generation Germans in Australia

There is only limited educational and occupational advancement between first and second generation Germans (and Dutch) (aged 25‐34) in Australia. Second generation Germans (and Dutch) are also not performing as well as their Southern‐European counterparts, the Greeks and Italians. It is proposed that the convergence to Australian education values of the German second generation was precipitated by the German migrant parents’ desire to submerge into a different culture, by a high degree of out‐marriages, but also by the general acceptance of second generation Germans by the Australian host society. Some comparison is made to the educational achievements of children of ‘guest‐workers ‘ in Germany and to children of immigrants in Sweden.

     

Disability,social groups,and political citizenship

The problem raised in this article is whether disabled people can and should be considered as a social group with respect to political representation. The question is first discussed on the basis of theories of social and status groups. Next, the article examines how the topic is reflected empirically at the local political level in Norway, expressed by party political leaders and elected disabled representatives. The authors suggest that disabled people can and should be considered as a social group in relation to political representation. Not doing so, they argue, will in effect delay the process towards full recognition and active political citizenship.     

Women at work in workplaces designed for men: Anthropometry and ergonomics

Abstract

This article considers one of the sources of stress faced by modern working women: that of having to work in environments largely designed for men. It outlines how this problem has arisen, and examines the different ways in which it can be overcome, pointing up some of the main ergonomic issues that should be addressed in the design of work environments and facilities.     

Low-Income Women Speak out About Housing: A High-Stakes Game of Musical Chairs

This review of the social science literature examines correlates of homelessness. The review is supplemented by the voices of 12 low-income women who are temporarily housed or living in public housing. Homelessness for women is associated with teen pregnancy and parenting, domestic violence, working at minimum-wage jobs, and waiting lists of several years for subsidized housing. We conclude with a summary of women's experiences accessing government housing programs. Public policy recommendations regarding housing programs are made. Government housing programs are briefly described in an Appendix to the article.     

A Smooth Nonparametric,Multivariate, Mixed-Data Location-Scale Test

Abstract

A number of tests have been proposed for assessing the location-scale assumption that is often invoked by practitioners. Existing approaches include Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Cramer–von Mises statistics that each involve measures of divergence between unknown joint distribution functions and products of marginal distributions. In practice, the unknown distribution functions embedded in these statistics are typically approximated using nonsmooth empirical distribution functions (EDFs). In a recent article, Li, Li, and Racine establish the benefits of smoothing the EDF for inference, though their theoretical results are limited to the case where the covariates are observed and the distributions unobserved, while in the current setting some covariates and their distributions are unobserved (i.e., the test relies on population error terms from a location-scale model) which necessarily involves a separate theoretical approach. We demonstrate how replacing the nonsmooth distributions of unobservables with their kernel-smoothed sample counterparts can lead to substantial power improvements, and extend existing approaches to the smooth multivariate and mixed continuous and discrete data setting in the presence of unobservables. Theoretical underpinnings are provided, Monte Carlo simulations are undertaken to assess finite-sample performance, and illustrative applications are provided.     

A study of the impact of environmental surroundings on personal well-being in urban China using a multi-item well-being indicator

We examine the relationship between atmospheric and water pollution, traffic congestion, access to parkland and personal well-being using a survey administered across six Chinese cities in 2007. In contrast to existing studies of well-being determinants by economists which typically employ single-item indicators, we use the Personal Well-being Index (PWI). We also employ the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) to measure job satisfaction, which is one of the variables for which we control when examining the relationship between environmental surroundings and personal well-being. Previous research by psychologists has shown the PWI and JSS to have good psychometric properties in western and Chinese samples. A robust finding is that in cities with higher levels of atmospheric pollution and traffic congestion, respondents report lower levels of personal well-being ceteris paribus. Specifically, we find that a one standard deviation increase in suspended particles or sulphur dioxide emissions is roughly equivalent to a 12–13% reduction in average monthly income in the six cities.     

Service robotics: an emergent technology field at the interface between industry and services

The paper at hand analyzes the economic implications of service robots as expected important future technology. The considerations are embedded into global trends, focusing on the interdependencies between services and industry not only in the context of the provision of services but already starting at the level of the innovation process. It is argued that due to the various interdependencies combined with heterogenous application fields, the resulting implications need to be contextualized. Concerning the net labor market effects, it is reasonable to assume that the field of service robotics will generate overall job creation that goes along with increasing skill requirements demanded from involved employees. It is analyzed which challenges arise in evaluating and further developing the new technology field and some policy recommendations are given.     

Nationality and the European union competing identities in the visual design of four European cities 1

In this study, we integrate visual and linguistic research to analyze the relationship between a city's regional, national, transnational, and European identities as the face of four cities depicts it. We explore the cultural identity of Brussels, Luxembourg, Munich, and Dortmund through the study of public signs found in these cities. We examine how the choice of language, layout, typography, accompanying images, and positioning of city signs reflect the tensions involving the change from a national or regional identity to a Pan‐European identity. Our methodology combines an ethnographic approach and neutral observations with interviews of city inhabitants. By combining interpretive analysis with a meta‐discursive approach to how signs are read and perceived, we consider both the production and reception ends of the signs.     

Gestaltungsspielräume und Zwänge der politischen Rolle

The lecture presented here in slightly modified form was held in June 1999 at the 9^th ?Constraint and Spontaneity“ conference sponsored by the group dynamics section of the DAGG. Ingrid Stahmer, who was born in 1942, has been serving in the Berlin government as Senator for Schools, Youth and Sport since 1996. Her political career goes back nearly twenty years beyond that, during which time she sat on the Berlin-Charlottenburg borough council and served as Senator for health and social affairs. The document covers her life in public office, which she vividly reflects upon and analyses using numerous examples from her personal experience. She observes how the possibilities for influencing and shaping policy develop and change along with the levels of political activity as responsibilities increase and administrative and organisational challenges become more complex. One thesis that can be deduced from this is: ?A gain in power (in the political sense) has a reciprocal impact on the range of influence and because accompanied by additional constraints reduces one’s capacity to act effectively.“ The speech contains an analysis of the constraints that work within an administrative body on different levels. The politician’s relationship to her ?roots“, the political party, is analysed as well as the interdependence between politics and the omnipresent power of media. The experience with political consultancy by professional, external and internal counselling runs through the text as well as through the politicans’s life. Also in that sense it is true that the influence on the ?soft“ factors of the organizational development diminishes with the rise in the political hierarchy.