Changing marital and family patterns: a test of the post-modern perspective

"Four central constructs of the post-modern perspective are extended and tested using secondary analysis of [U.S.] Census data and the NORC General Social Survey: 1972-94 data sets. The modified postmodern themes of: (1) the decline of a single universal family organizational standard, and (2) growing cultural diversity...were supported by examining changes in American family structure, attitudes toward such structural changes, and changing attitudes toward marital and family patterns over the last quarter century. However, little support was found for the greater use of, and reliance on, (3) the mass media. Mixed results were found on the fourth construct, greater variance in, and/or loss of, personal happiness or personal or family life satisfaction."     

New Results for Computing Blaker’s Exact Confidence Interval for One Parameter Discrete Distributions

The authors state new general results for computing Blaker’s exact confidence interval limits for usual one-parameter discrete distributions. Specific results for implementing an accurate and fast algorithm are made explicit for the binomial, negative binomial, Poisson and hypergeometric model.     

Regression model for surrogate data in high dimensional statistics

Abstract

This paper deals with the problem of estimating the regression of a surrogated scalar response variable given a functional random one. We construct an estimator of the regression operator by using, in addition to the available (true) response data, a surrogate data. We then establish some asymptotic properties of the constructed estimator in terms of the almost-complete and the quadratic mean convergences. Notice that the obtained results generalize a part of the results obtained in the finite dimensional framework. Finally, an illustration on the applicability of our results on both simulated data and a real dataset was realized. We have thus shown the superiority of our estimator on classical estimators when we are lacking complete data.     

Views on inter-enterprise relationships

The paper gives an overview of major scientific approaches to inter-enterprise relationships. A distinction is made between approaches that focus on business process integration (Supply Chain Management, Costing approaches), approaches that focus on organizational collaboration (Transaction Cost Theory, Agency Theory), and approaches that focus on the business environment (Strategic Management, Network Theory, Resource Dependency Theory). Although these approaches are different with regard to their perspectives on collaboration, variables and methods, the paper shows that they are complementary tools in the analysis and design of inter-enterprise relationships.     

On the generalization and decomposition of the Bonferroni index

A simple algorithm is proposed which defines the Bonferroni as the product of a row vector of individual population shares, a linear mathematical operator called the Bonferroni matrix and a column vector of income shares. This algorithm greatly simplifies the decomposition of the Bonferroni index by income sources or classes and population subgroups. The proposed algorithm links also the Bonferroni index to the concepts of relative deprivation and social welfare and leads to a generalization where the traditional Bonferroni and Gini indices are special cases. The paper ends with an empirical illustration based on EU-SILC data for the year 2008.     

Cognitive‐behavioral bibliotherapy for sexual dysfunctions in heterosexual couples: A randomized waiting‐list controlled clinical trial in the Netherlands

In a randomized waiting‐list controlled clinical trial cognitive‐behavioral bibliotherapy was investigated in heterosexual couples with sexual dysfunctions. After a 10‐week treatment participants (N = 199 couples) reported fewer complaints of low frequency of sexual interaction and general improvement of their sexual problem, and lower male posttreatment ratings of problem‐associated distress. At follow‐up gains with respect to frequency of sex and problem‐associated distress had eroded. Female participants with vaginismus posttreatment reported less complaints of vaginismus. However, female participants with dyspareunia reported more complaints of vaginal discomfort. These differences were maintained at follow‐up. An “intention‐to‐treat” analysis showed that the effects were robust to participant attrition. Treatment compliance was positively associated with outcome in females at posttreatment.     

Book Reviews

In censuses and surveys in most African countries it has become the practice to estimate informants' age by the method of the historical calendar. This involves an attempt to relate a remembered historical event, occurring during the subject's childhood, with his age at the time.

This paper attempts a first evaluation of the method with particular reference to the 1961–63 multi-round survey in rural Morocco. It is shown that in practice the method is highly complex and easily misunderstood by interviewers and respondents. An attempt to lay down a precise procedure by means of a very detailed questionnaire appeared to yield at best only marginally more accurate results than the simpler procedure used in an earlier round. The more complex questionnaire did, however, introduce new patterns of misuse by the interviewer. There was evidence that the historical calendar gave somewhat better data than eye estimates, but results were highly defective for both methods.

It is clear that the method is far from perfect. Interviewer training and supervision remain the key to accurate age determination. If the potential benefits of the complex historical calendar method are to be realized, training and supervision need to be even more thorough than where simpler methods are used.