Optimal designs for discriminating between some extensions of the Michaelis–Menten model

In this paper some results on the computation of optimal designs for discriminating between nonlinear models are provided. In particular, some typical deviations of the Michaelis–Menten model are considered. A common deviation of this pharmacokinetic model consists on adding a linear term. If two linear models differ in one parameter the T-optimal design for discriminating between them is c-optimal for estimating the added linear term. This is not the case for nonlinear models.     

Neutralizing the political threat of the marginal woman: Lesbians’ beliefs about bisexual women

One might expect lesbian and bisexual women to form a strong alliance because of their common marginalization in a heterosexist and sexist society. But previous research has shown that tension exists between lesbian and bisexual women and that some segments of the lesbian community consider bisexuality a threat to lesbian politics. In this article I report data on beliefs about bisexual women gathered from 346 self‐identified lesbians via self‐administered questionnaires and discuss the relationship between lesbian and bisexual women as a special case of intergroup relations. Most lesbian respondents believed that bisexual identity is more likely than lesbian identity to be a phase or a way of denying one's true sexuality and that bisexual women are less personally and politically loyal and more willing and able to pass as heterosexual than are lesbians. Lesbians’ beliefs about bisexual women were uncorrelated with demographics, but lesbians who reported having some heterosexual feelings were less inclined to hold derogatory beliefs about bisexual women than were lesbians whose feelings were exclusively homosexual. On the basis of intergroup relations theory, I argue that lesbian‐bisexual relations are in the “amicable consensus” stage of political development (Jackman & Senter, 1983) and that lesbians’ attitudes are likely to change as the nascent bisexual political movement grows in strength. Methodological issues pertaining to the measurement of lesbians’ attitudes toward sexuality, including the reactivity of these attitudes to various measurement strategies, are discussed.     

Overcoming barriers to access and utilization of hospice and palliative care services in African-American communities

While there is ample evidence to support the need for hospice and palliative care services for African Americans, only 8% of patients who utilize those services are from African-American communities. The underutilization of end-of-life and palliative care can be attributed to several barriers to service access including incompatibility between hospice philosophy and African-American religious, spiritual, and cultural beliefs; health care disparities; distrust of the medical establishment; physician influence; financial disincentives, and hospice admission criteria. Suggestions for dismantling barriers to care access include developing culturally competent professionals in the health and human services, expanding the philosophy of hospice to include spiritual advisors from client communities, and funding national initiatives to promote improved access to health care at all stages in the life cycle of members of all underserved communities.     

Harnessing Diversity and Collective Action in the Top Management Team

Diversity has become an important issue at all levels of the company from the boardroom to the back office. It is increasingly apparent that diversity is vital to productivity, with academic research indicating an important link between diverse top management team (TMT) composition and corporate performance. However, the nature of this link remains elusive, as there is little accessible research that can help top teams to evaluate how diversity impacts on their strategic capacity. This paper seeks to fill this gap by developing a conceptual framework, illustrated with case examples, to explain the relationships between TMT diversity and TMT collective action. As collective action is difficult to attain from top teams that are high in diversity, six practical processes are developed from this framework for establishing and exploiting top team strategic capacity. The paper concludes by outlining the theoretical implications of the framework.

It is the range of skills and attributes acquired through a diversity of experiences and backgrounds that combine to create a cohesive and effective board.¹

     

The relationship between old-fashioned and modern heterosexism to social dominance orientation and structural violence

This study proposes that broader social systemic factors could have a role in the perpetuation of two types of heterosexism. Old-fashioned and modern heterosexism are discussed and differentiated. The roles of social dominance orientation and the acceptance of structural violence in the maintenance of heterosexism are explored. Results indicated that social dominance orientation and the acceptance of structural violence predicted the level of old-fashioned and modern heterosexism in a sample of 129 people. Acceptance of structural violence better predicted both modern and old-fashioned heterosexism than did social dominance orientation. Such relationships highlight the possibility that social systemic beliefs may create and support heterosexism.     

Subjective Values of Quality of Life Dimensions in Elderly People. A SEM Preference Model Approach

This article proposes a Thurstonian model in the framework of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to assess preferences among quality of life dimensions for the elderly. Data were gathered by a paired comparison design in a sample comprised of 323 people aged from 65 to 94 years old. Five dimensions of quality of life were evaluated: Health, Autonomy, Family and Social Support, Social Activities and Home Conditions. An unrestricted model was estimated and subjective preference values of dimensions were obtained. According to the subjective preferences, four groups of dimensions were established: Health-Autonomy-Home and Support-Social Activities. No differences among gender and age were found in the preference values.     

Race/Ethnic Differences in Effects of Family Instability on Adolescents' Risk Behavior

We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 7,686) to determine whether racial and ethnic differences in socioeconomic stress and social protection explained group differences in the association between family structure instability and three risk behaviors for White, Black, and Mexican American adolescents: delinquent behavior, age at first nonmarital sex, and age at first nonmarital birth. The positive association between mothers' union transitions and each outcome for White adolescents was attenuated by social protection. The association of instability with age at first sex and first nonmarital birth was weaker for Black adolescents but not for Mexican American adolescents. The weaker association was explained by Black adolescents' more frequent exposure to socioeconomic stress in the context of union instability.     

“The Cowl <Emphasis Type="Italic">Does</Emphasis> Make The Monk”: Understanding the Emergence of Social Entrepreneurship in Times of Downturn

In order to contribute to the debate about social entrepreneurship, we take an empirical perspective and describe the phenomenon in Catalonia, Spain, during the financial crises of the early twenty-first century. For this aim, we conducted 43 in-depth interviews with social entrepreneurs, launched a web-based survey with 90 responses, and built a database with 347 organizations and/or ventures settled in Catalonia with an explicit social/environmental goal. The data show that many social/environmental initiatives emerged during the economic crisis, either as a self-employment alternative to unemployment, or as a commercial venture started by nonprofit organizations as a reaction to the reduction in public expense in this sector. In addition, the crisis fueled the emergence of ventures oriented to non-market exchange and social currencies. As a whole, we argue that this new reality can be conceptualized as the emergence of an unsettled Strategic Action Field where banks, business schools and public administrations alike promote the label of “social entrepreneurship” through awards and startup services, whereas other groups claiming the same social/environmental goals contest this market-oriented definition of the field.     

Women on strike: mobilizing against reproductive injustice in Poland

The paper employs a lens of reproductive justice (RJ) to discuss the events of the 2016 mobilization against a total abortion ban proposal in Poland. By presenting the context of women’s rights in Poland, especially the abortion debates, we argue that the 2016 Women’s Strike showed that taking a stand for reproductive justice was countered by governmental actions. By using a case study approach, the paper analyzes the Strike as a tumultuous act of women’s solidarity while simultaneously assessing its implications for RJ issues. We discuss the aftermath and the socio-political reticence to acknowledge the complexities of women’s lives and reproductive choices. Further, we provide arguments for applying the RJ framework into discerning the notion of ideal citizens and gendered social control in Poland. This localized analysis has a global relevance by reflecting the impact of worldwide trends in women’s rights activism and RJ in the context of resurfacing nationalisms and populism.