A Clustering Algorithm for Computer-Assisted Process Organization

Amathematical programming clustering model that forms groups based on total group membership interactions is extended to include precedence relationships, group size limits, and group time limits. The extended clustering model is most appropriate for structured design of information systems as described by the computer-assisted process organization (CAPO), which requires certain ordering and may have limits on development and production capacity. An efficient algorithm for optimizing the CAPO criteria along with computational results is presented. The results show that the method is viable for the CAPO problems reported in the literature.     

Complicating the Coming Out Narrative: Becoming Oneself in a Heterosexist and Cissexist World

Traditional stage models of LGBTQ identity development have conceptualized coming out as a linear process from “closeted” to “out” that all queer/trans individuals must follow if they are to be considered healthy and well adjusted. These stage models have been critiqued for their rigidity and absence of a dynamic understanding of the coming out process. In this article we explore the findings from a qualitative photovoice study with 15 LGBTQ youths in a small urban center in Ontario that supports these critiques. We explore the efficacy of the photovoice technique in investigating questions of sexual and gender identity. This article identifies some contextual factors that are important in understanding coming out as a social (rather than internal) process; it also identifies some of the ways in which these youths’ experiences challenge normative understandings of the “good, out queer.”     

S/M (sadomasochistic) interests as an issue in a child custody proceeding

This article describes a child custody case centered on the fitness of the mother, who was involved in an SM relationship with her live-in boyfriend. Although the investigation confirmed that no child abuse had occurred, that the child was unaware of the mother's sexual interests, that there were no incidents of inappropriate sexual activities in front of the minor, and that the child was doing well, the court severely limited the mother's visitation and custody arrangements and ended her alimony. Practitioners of alternative sexual lifestyles have not fared well in child custody hearings, and this case is no exception. The present case indicates how the family court system can be biased against sexual minorities in general and SM practitioners in particular. In addition, the present case demonstrates how the DSM diagnostic criteria can be misused in dealing with alternative lifestyle practitioners. Recommendations for further education of the court and for future research are made.     

Photogrammetry procedures applied to anthropometry

This study aims to evaluate the reliability and establish procedures for the use of digital photogrammetry in anthropometric measurements of the human hand. The methodology included the construction of a platform to allow the placement of the hand always equivalent to a distance of the camera lens and to annul the effects of parallax. We developed a software to perform the measurements from the images and built up a subject of proof in a cast from a negative mold, this object was subjected to measurements with digital photogrammetry using the data collection platform in caliper and the Coordinate Measuring Machine (MMC). The results of the application of photogrammetry in the data collection segment hand, allow us to conclude that photogrammetry is an effective presenting precision coefficient below 0.940. Within normal and acceptable values, given the magnitude of the data used in anthropometry. It was concluded photogrammetry then be reliable, accurate and efficient for carrying out anthropometric surveys of population, and presents less difficulty to collect in-place.     

House Price Shocks and Individual Divorce Risk in the United States

Households in the United States hold a significant portion of their total wealth in owner-occupied housing. Thus, changes in housing prices may have an important impact on the marital surplus the household enjoys. What happens to marriages of homeowners when there is a shock to housing prices? This question was addressed using household data from the panel study of income dynamics (PSID) and a quarterly MSA level house price index from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, controlling for local labor market conditions. House price shocks were calculated as the cumulative sum of residuals of a second order autoregressive model from the previous four years. Results showed that positive house price shocks stabilized marriage for all couples. A one standard deviation increase in the house price shock decreased the risk of divorce in the following year by about 13–18%. The results were driven by the younger cohort of households in the PSID, those with lower educational attainment, and those with relatively low family income. The findings are discussed in the context of theories on changes in marital surplus, and changes in the transaction costs surrounding divorce.     

Tests on asymmetry for ordered categorical variables

Skewness is a well-established statistical concept for continuous and, to a lesser extent, for discrete quantitative statistical variables. However, for ordered categorical variables, limited literature concerning skewness exists, although this type of variables is common for behavioral, educational, and social sciences. Suitable measures of skewness for ordered categorical variables have to be invariant with respect to the group of strictly increasing, continuous transformations. Therefore, they have to depend on the corresponding maximal-invariants. Based on these maximal-invariants, we propose a new class of skewness functionals, show that members of this class preserve a suitable ordering of skewness and derive the asymptotic distribution of the corresponding skewness statistic. Finally, we show the good power behavior of the corresponding skewness tests and illustrate these tests by applying real data examples.     

Settler colonialism in Australia and the cashless debit card

Settler colonialism continues in Australia today. One way this occurs is through processes of assimilation such as targeting First Nations subjectivities with behavioural conditions on their social security payments. In this paper, I draw on a 13-month study examining one such programme; the Cashless Debit Card trial in the East Kimberley region in North West Australia. Through restricting cash and purchases to curb alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, and gambling, card aims to instil “responsible behaviour” such as getting a job in the capitalist economy, accumulating private property, and succeeding in English education. Through drawing on critical discourse analysis, I ask, what does the Cashless Debit Card tell us about the settler state's attempts of continued assimilation? The paper explores specific ways the state legitimising assimilation through provoking narratives of First Nations dysfunction, depoliticising poverty and colonisation, constructing evidence around success of policy, and constructing ideas of “community” in order to regulate who speaks and who is overlooked. Although assimilation attempts are made, there is resistance and pushback in the trial site. Attempts of assimilation, not actual assimilation, can only be observed.     

A normalization procedure for correcting biased response data

This paper presents a method for normalizing grouped data that exhibits response or sample bias as reflected by unequal marginal totals. The use of the method is illustrated on triad data of judged similarity of meaning collected in Guatemala. The model should have wide utility in the social sciences.