Armenian crafts in the Ottoman Empire: Armenian identity and cultural exchange

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes how the dominant narrative of Armenian national identity shapes perceptions of Armenian culture and offers examples of Ottoman Armenian craft art to bring to light an under acknowledged, yet intrinsically valuable, dynamic within Armenian cultural identity. Within studies of art history, cultural exchange between Ottoman Armenians and Turks has been ignored due to its inconvenience to the conflictual understanding of Armenian-Ottoman relations central to Armenian national identity. These artifacts speak out against reductive norms and offer an important addendum to the understanding of what it meant and continues to mean to be Armenian.     

Using the Pao as the primary sampling unit. Some notes and reflections on the possibilities of a census of China by sampling

Recently sample surveys of the population have been taken in Greece and the United States. In this paper the author considers how far the methods adopted in these two sample surveys may be applied to a study of the Chinese population. In particular, the pao-chia system of administration would make it possible to have a sampling scheme in which the pao (or district) would be the primary sampling unit. A sampling scheme of this kind has been worked out and is presented at the end of the paper.     

An exploratory factor analysis of workplace learning,job satisfaction,and organizational commitment in small to midsize enterprises in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify the factor structures associated with three Western-developed instruments (Small Business Workplace Learning Survey, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, hereinafter referred to as SBWLS, MSQ, or OCQ) used to assess workplace learning, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment when applied in a non-Western setting; and (2) to determine if individuals who differed in terms of selected demographic variables, differed in terms of the derived constructs. The factor analytic structure of each instrument which was originally established using Western samples was compared to the factor structure results obtained for an Eastern sample. Quantitative data were collected from employees in 26 small to midsize IT companies in Taiwan. A total of 206 valid surveys were obtained and analysed out of 450 that were distributed. The factor structure of each instrument generated from this study appeared to be substantially different from those obtained for the original instruments. The researchers suggest that the highlighted structure deviations reflect some culturally oriented factors which might be useful for developing more indigenous instruments. Regarding the participants' demographic variables, no differences in terms of SBWLS, MSQ, or OCQ were found for Gender, Age and Tenure. Marital status was significant in terms of MSQ and OCQ. Educational level was significant for SBWLS and OCQ.     

Social work in Israel: professional characteristics in an international comparative perspective

This article employs a comparative framework in the analysis of the professional characteristics of social work in Israel. Using the attributes and the power approaches to professions, Israeli social work is analysed according to eight variables: a protected 'trademark', monopoly over social care and delivery of services within state welfare systems, occupational autonomy, length of training and control over training, internal differentiation by levels of expertise and competence, professional organisation, a sanction-backed code of ethics, and material and symbolic rewards. The analysis reveals that Israeli social work has undergone an extensive professionalisation process and that it has characteristics that are not common in other countries. Initial explanations for this process are offered and discussed.     

Minimum statuses of connected graphs with fixed maximum degree and order

The status of a vertex in a connected graph is the sum of distances between the vertex and all vertices. The minimum status of a connected graph is the minimum of statuses of all vertices of this graph. In this paper we obtain the sharp lower bound and the sharp upper bound on the minimum status of a connected graph with maximum degree k and order n. All the graphs attaining the lower bound are obtained, and a necessary condition is given for those graphs attaining the upper bound.     

On the Estimation of the Probability Density by Trigonometric Series

We present in this article an estimator based on a new orthogonal trigonometric series. We give its statistical properties (bias, variance, mean square error, and mean integrated square error) and the asymptotic properties (convergence of variance, convergence of the mean square error, convergence of the mean integrated square error, uniform convergence in probability, and the rate of convergence of the mean integrated square error). The comparison by simulation on a test density between the estimator obtained from a new trigonometric series with Fejer estimator also based on orthogonal trigonometric series, shows that our estimator is more performant in the sense of the mean integrated square error.     

An alternative estimator for randomized response sampling with continuous distributions from a dichotomous population

In this paper, we introduce an alternative estimator of a population proportion from a dichotomous population when using randomized response sampling with continuous randomizing distributions. We also propose the alternative use of exponential randomizing densities. The estimator is obtained by method of moments and is compared with Franklin's (1989) estimator using normal and exponential distributions. The proposed estimator is more efficient than Franklin's (1989) estimator under suitable conditions for the two distributions.     

Recall of Nonverbal Cues: Exploring a New Definition of Interpersonal Sensitivity

Interpersonal sensitivity, defined as the accurate recall of another person’s nonverbal behavior, was measured in two studies. In Study 1, nonverbal recall accuracy (NRA) was based on recall of cues expressed by a man and/or woman being interviewed on videotape. Retest reliability after 2 weeks was satisfactory and the male and female tests demonstrated sufficient convergence. Participants could assess their own recall accuracy at better than chance levels; ability to decode the meanings of visual nonverbal cues was positively related to NRA; discriminant validity of NRA was demonstrated with regard to general cognitive ability; and women had higher NRA than men. In Study 2, NRA was based on recall of a live interaction partner. Women again had higher NRA than men; NRA was significantly better than chance; and higher NRA was associated with more smiling and self-reported positive affect during the interaction. Nonverbal recall accuracy is a promising new definition of interpersonal sensitivity.