Alternate adjustments to external shocks in Hungary

A multisector computable general equilibrium model is used to evaluate Hungary's response to the external price shocks in the 1970s. The model incorporates characteristics of Hungary's reformed socialist economy. The results show that although the deterioration in terms of trade was important, the policies of insulation of the economy and increases in investment had a much larger detrimental impact on the trade balance. The existence of planned CMEA trade reduced the effects of the price shocks on the trade deficit. Export promotion by means of higher export subsidies would not have been effective to reduce the trade deficit in Hungary.     

Merging data from multiple sources: pretest and shrinkage perspectives

In this article, we have developed asymptotic theory for the simultaneous estimation of the k means of arbitrary populations under the common mean hypothesis and further assuming that corresponding population variances are unknown and unequal. The unrestricted estimator, the Graybill-Deal-type restricted estimator, the preliminary test, and the Stein-type shrinkage estimators are suggested. A large sample test statistic is also proposed as a pretest for testing the common mean hypothesis. Under the sequence of local alternatives and squared error loss, we have compared the asymptotic properties of the estimators by means of asymptotic distributional quadratic bias and risk. Comprehensive Monte-Carlo simulation experiments were conducted to study the relative risk performance of the estimators with reference to the unrestricted estimator in finite samples. Two real-data examples are also furnished to illustrate the application of the suggested estimation strategies.     

Social skills and responses in simulated contraceptive problem situations

A behavioral‐analytic assessment strategy (Goldfried & D'Zurilla, 1969) was used to construct contraceptive problem situations representative of social interaction tasks which were postulated by Byrne (1983) as antecedent to the use of birth control. This study tested the hypothesis that differences in social skills (of rights assertion and expression of positive thoughts and feelings) are related to the effectiveness of participants' role‐play responses in contraceptive problem situations. A sample of 87 students (45 females and 42 males), all active daters, served as anonymous participants. Partial correlation procedures, in which variance due to knowledge of birth control was controlled, revealed that the positive self‐expression skill related to effectiveness for both sexes in initiating conversations about contraception topics. The rights assertion skill related to ability for both sexes to inquire about and request contraceptive materials from a druggist. Although both types of social skills were expected to relate to effectiveness in discussing birth control issues with a dating partner, results were less consistent for these situations. Both conceptual and methodological limitations are discussed as well as implications for the application of social skills training in human sexuality programs.     

Child custody issues and co‐occurrence of intimate partner violence and child maltreatment: controversies and points of agreement amongst practitioners

The situation of families undergoing separation in a context of co‐occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment raises certain issues related to child custody. The results presented in this paper were collected and analysed within the framework of a qualitative study aiming to identify the principal points of agreement and the main controversies amongst practitioners in several different types of organizations. Focus groups were held with a total of 43 practitioners from six different settings concerned with child custody in cases of co‐occurrence of IPV and child maltreatment. Although they agreed on the importance of ensuring the safety of victims of violence, their views diverged on three points: (1) the importance of preserving the father–child relationship; (2) collaboration between voluntary organizations and semi‐voluntary or legal agencies; and (3) consideration of cultural differences.     

Approximation of the distribution of excesses through a generalized probability-weighted moments method

The POT (peaks-over-threshold) approach consists in using the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) to approximate the distribution of excesses over a threshold. In this paper, we consider this approximation using a generalized probability-weighted moments (GPWM) method. We study the asymptotic behaviour of our new estimators and also the functional bias of the GPD as an estimate of the distribution function of the excesses. A simulation study is provided in order to appreciate the efficiency of our approach.     

Tests of serial independence based on Kendall's process

The authors propose new rank statistics for testing the white noise hypothesis in a time series. These statistics are Cramér‐von Mises and Kolmogorov‐Smirnov functionals of an empirical distribution function whose mean is related to a serial version of Kendall's tau through a linear transform. The authors determine the asymptotic behaviour of the underlying serial process and the large‐sample distribution of the proposed statistics under the null hypothesis of white noise. They also present simulation results showing the power of their tests.     

Harassment at the Workplace: A Practical Review of the Laws in the United Kingdom and the United States of America

Harassment is a major deterrent for productivity, loyalty, and commitment to one’s job and organization. Unfortunately, many employees tend to experience various forms of harassment in the workplace. The focus in this article is to understand the extent to which the law protects a person from harassment, first based on the explication and application laws in the United Kingdom. The article then provides comparative discussion of laws and practices against workplace harassment in the United States. A major objective of this article is to help employers and managers become more expert in preventing and correcting harassment.