Individuelle und kontextuelle Determinanten der Teilhabe an Sozialkapital

We ask for conditions influencing membership in social organizations as strongholds of social capital. Beside individual characteristics, contextual factors such as political, social, or economic settings are also taken into consideration to explain individual decisions to participate in social organizations. The influences of individual and contextual level factors are tested simultaneously in several multi-level analyses. The results show that membership in social associations on the one hand is affected by individual characteristics such as marked trust in others, high level of education, church attendance, strong ties with the neighbourhood, age and sex, and on the other hand by contextual factors such as a catholic social context and institutional settings. In particular, Swiss direct democracy offering larger possibilities of participation facilitates membership in social organizations.     

Item nonresponse on income questions in panel surveys: Incidence, imputation and the impact on inequality and mobility

Summary: This paper deals with item nonresponse on income questions in panel surveys and with longitudinal and cross–sectional imputation strategies to cope with this phenomenon. Using data from the German SOEP, we compare income inequality and mobility indicators based only on truly observed information to those derived from observed and imputed observations. First, we find a positive correlation between inequality and imputation. Secondly, income mobility appears to be significantly understated using observed information only. Finally, longitudinal analyses provide evidence for a positive inter–temporal correlation between item nonresponse and any kind of subsequent nonresponse.* We are grateful to two anonymous referees and to Jan Goebel for very helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of this paper. The paper also benefited from discussions with seminar participants at the Workshop on Item Nonresponse and Data Quality in Large Social Surveys, Basel/CH, October 9–11, 2003.     

Bayesian predictive power: choice of prior and some recommendations for its use as probability of success in drug development

Bayesian predictive power, the expectation of the power function with respect to a prior distribution for the true underlying effect size, is routinely used in drug development to quantify the probability of success of a clinical trial. Choosing the prior is crucial for the properties and interpretability of Bayesian predictive power. We review recommendations on the choice of prior for Bayesian predictive power and explore its features as a function of the prior. The density of power values induced by a given prior is derived analytically and its shape characterized. We find that for a typical clinical trial scenario, this density has a u‐shape very similar, but not equal, to a β‐distribution. Alternative priors are discussed, and practical recommendations to assess the sensitivity of Bayesian predictive power to its input parameters are provided. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inference for Multi‐dimensional High‐frequency Data with an Application to Conditional Independence Testing

We find the asymptotic distribution of the multi‐dimensional multi‐scale and kernel estimators for high‐frequency financial data with microstructure. Sampling times are allowed to be asynchronous and endogenous. In the process, we show that the classes of multi‐scale and kernel estimators for smoothing noise perturbation are asymptotically equivalent in the sense of having the same asymptotic distribution for corresponding kernel and weight functions. The theory leads to multi‐dimensional stable central limit theorems and feasible versions. Hence, they allow to draw statistical inference for a broad class of multivariate models, which paves the way to tests and confidence intervals in risk measurement for arbitrary portfolios composed of high‐frequently observed assets. As an application, we enhance the approach to construct a test for investigating hypotheses that correlated assets are independent conditional on a common factor.     

Human perceptions of an avian predator in an urban ecosystem: close proximity to nests increases fondness among local residents

Urban Ecosystems - How humans view their local birds influences the habitat quality for the birds. Humans that enjoy birds will often consider them when altering landscapes or may enhance their own...     

Determinants of sexual arousal and the accuracy of its self‐estimation in sexually functional males

Men with and without sexual dysfunction present with varying patterns of agreement between subjective estimates of sexual arousal and more objective psychophysiological measures of the same construct. This relative accuracy seems to be associated with sexual function, with men who have sexual dysfunction presenting less accurate estimations (mostly reporting below measured arousal levels). The purpose of this study is to clarify the processes underlying sexual arousal and the accuracy of its self‐estimation. We looked at potential predictors of sexual arousal (subjective and physiological) and accuracy in estimating objective sexual arousal in a sample of 60 sexually functional males. Predictors included pre‐existing sexual attitudes (erotophobia), both trait and state positive and negative affect, self‐focused attention, and interoceptive awareness. Results indicate that this sexually functional sample generally reported below their own erection level. Interestingly, trait negative affect was associated with somewhat lower levels of subjective arousal and higher levels of physiological arousal. On the other hand, state positive affect facilitated both subjective and objective arousal and increased somewhat the accuracy of estimates of erectile responding. Pre‐existing sexual attitudes as well as variations in self‐focused attention and interoceptive awareness evidenced little effect on sexual arousal or the accuracy of its estimation.     

Grenzen und Erweiterungsmöglichkeiten der investitionsneutralen Besteuerung nach dem ökonomischen Gewinn

We analyse the the concept of economic income taxation with regard to investment neutrality and the ability to pay principle. We build a bridge between the sum of economic incomes, net present value and the sum of total cash flows. Further it is shown, that the use of economic income for the evaluation of tax systems is distorted by two effects, the interest effect and a so called time-window effect. As to mitigate these effects we propose to include the net present value in the tax base. We apply both concepts to the field of neutrality based effective tax rates on the one hand and we discuss their limits under realistic circumstances on the other hand. In both cases our concept provides at least better results than those achieved under the traditional economic income concept.     

Hat die personzentrierte, gruppenbezogene Beratung einen Platz in der Zahnmedizin?

Group-counseling in dentistry represents an unusual subject, even though consultation and advisory services are integral parts in the daily dental practice. These are, however, almost exclusively individual consultations of patients who are only occasionally accompanied by a spouse or a parent. Moreover, such advice is almost always regarded as medical advice provided by an expert. In dentistry, and particularly in the field of chronic orofacial pains, psychological and social factors play a significant role alongside somatic problems. On the basis of the literature and my personal experience that a person-centered approach is well accepted by patients, this essay will describe why the person-centered approach in general and a person-centered group-counseling in particular represent promising alternatives for successful counseling and therapy for this clientele. Additionally, I will adress problems with the implementation in the daily routine of a dental practice and the need for scientific verification of that approach.     

XI. Neurotic children: Mandel clinic Michael Reese Hospital 1

Social workers who treat children of deployed servicemembers may feel poorly prepared to work competently with military families and will benefit from understanding the immediate and long-term effects of parental deployment upon children. This review consolidates a substantial, shifting knowledge base and establishes a coherent theoretical framework for social workers to learn about the effects of war-specific deployment cycles for servicemembers, and the relationship among family members' and children's experiences with deployment separation. The author considers important lessons learned during the Vietnam War and the unique experiences specific to current wars. This article compares the Vietnam War and the more recent wars' characteristics of military deployment, demographic characteristics of service members, servicemembers' family characteristics, and research findings about the psychosocial effects of deployment on children. A case vignette is presented to clarify how an understanding of deployment and reintegration is necessary for the treatment of servicemembers, families, and children by social workers.