Time Use and Well-Being in Older Widows: Adaptation and Resilience

Research on widowhood mostly emphasizes negative outcomes, but some studies suggest widows are resilient. This study evaluated the in-depth daily experiences of older widows compared to married women. Participants included 75 widows and 125 married women from the National Study of Daily Experiences II, who completed daily diaries over 8 days. For long-term widows, there were no differences compared to married women in daily and general well-being, and a few differences in time use. Results add to the literature by using daily diary data to illustrate the general resilience of older women many years after the death of a spouse.     

"I was a dark horse in the eyes of her family": the relationship of cohabiting female couples and their families in Hungary

This article focuses on the relationship of female couples with their parents, siblings, and other relatives by exploring various patterns of coming out and family attitudes. After reviewing existing literature in this field, the article explores the extent to which my interviewees are out to their family, the reasons for and the possible complications about staying in the closet. Next the parents' reactions are discussed, which range from complete rejection through not admitting the truth to themselves to acceptance. Parents find it difficult to come out about their daughter to their immediate environment, as they fear prejudice and being blamed for her sexual orientation. This can also lead to conflict and alienation between parents and daughter. Accepting a person's sexual orientation and relationship, however, is only the first step toward her full integration into the family. Full inclusion in the family is only present when the person's same-sex partner is treated as kin to the same extent as an opposite-sex partner would be. This is demonstrated in a variety of ways, such as the names used (especially by the couple's children) and the system of obligations and favors constituting a formative element of kinship. There might be conflicts, however, when the two partners have different backgrounds and thus different expectations of family relations.     

A comparative study of three leadership approaches in India

We examined the validity of three leadership approaches in an organization in India. We used a multi-theory and multi-method design to competitively test transformational leadership theory, the nurturant–task leadership model, and a local organization-specific leadership model. Transformation leadership theory is one of the most widely studied and accepted theories in Western countries and is viewed as a universalistic leadership approach. The nurturant–task leadership model was developed in India and viewed as a culture-specific leadership approach. We also developed a local leadership model, called RDO, a pseudonym for the organization, and viewed it as an organization-specific leadership approach, using a qualitative analysis of interview data. The overall results of our qualitative–quantitative work provide strong support for the RDO leadership model, some support for a nurturant–task leadership model, and minimal support for transformational leadership theory. These results suggest that research designs that include a multi-theory, multi-methods approach in a single culture have the potential to increase our understanding of leadership processes.     

Markov random-field models for estimating local labour markets

Summary. This work is motivated by data on daily travel-to-work flows observed between pairs of elemental territorial units of an Italian region. The data were collected during the 1991 population census. The aim of the analysis is to partition the region into local labour markets. We present a new method for this which is inspired by the Bayesian texture segmentation approach. We introduce a novel Markov random-field model for the distribution of the variables that label the local labour markets for each territorial unit. Inference is performed by means of Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The issue of model hyperparameter estimation is also addressed. We compare the results with those obtained by applying a classical method. The methodology can be applied with minor modifications to other data sets.     

Supporting family life: A survey of homeless shelters

Survey data from a national sample of homeless family shelters (N=59)were analyzed to describe the family support programming available to residents. Data were reported on facility and resident characteristics and family support programming, as well as on facility admission criteria and program participation requirements. Four independent variables (length of stay, shelter capacity, sponsorship, and program philosophy) were examined for their relationship to the family-oriented services offered. Facilities sheltered an average of 17 families, with a range of 2–200; the average length of stay for families was slightly over 5 months. Regarding family programming, services of an educational nature were more popular than those focused on providing support or therapy/intervention; services to parents to further adult development were more often offered than those either directed to parents in their parenting roles or to the family as a unit. Virtually all shelters (98%) applied eligibility criteria to families seeking admission. The most common reasons for exclusion were active drug (86%) and alcohol (83%) abuse by a family member; 40% also refused acceptance to families with adolescent males. Seventy-eight percent of facilities mandated participation in some support services. Smaller shelters operated with greater numbers of exclusions (¯x=5.98773; p<.05);larger shelters had higher percentages of mandatory family programming (¯x= 9.21823; p<.06).These findings shed light on shelter directors' beliefs about the etiology of family homelessness and proper steps to solve the problem.     

Married female labor force participation and suicide in Canada, 1971 and 1981

The cultural context affects the relationship between women's involvement in the labor force and the odds of suicide for both men and women. In this study, we examine this relationship in Canada in 1971 and then again in 1981, when cultural conditions were significantly different. Two hypotheses are evaluated: (1) in 1971 the effects of married female labor force participation increase suicide risk for both men and women, due to the relative antipathy of society toward women's participation in the labor force; and (2) in 1981 the effects of married female labor force participation decrease the risk of suicide for both sexes, for there are net positive gains (psychic and material) in a context of widespread acceptance of women's involvement in the paid economy. The empirical analysis provides support for these two hypotheses.     

驱动企业持续成长的关键

有些企业所处的行业在很多人眼里看来毫无希望, 它们为何获得了高速增长? 我和学生曾对全球市值超过10亿美元的企业做过一项调查。我们发现,在美国企业中,只有583个公司达到5％的年增长率;而美国以外的公司,达到5％增长率的只有 348家。看来,企业可持续成长真的是一件很难的事情。有些公司会利用收购或者重组来获得增长,但也有些公司能够脱离这种常规的模式,而且他们所处的行业都是人们觉得毫无希望、不能继续增长的成熟行业。这些案例让我们深思:驱动企业持续成长的关键因素到底是什么?     

Application of Correspondence Analysis in the Assessment of Mine Tailings Dam Breakage Risk in the Mediterranean Region

A new statistical approach for preliminary risk evaluation of breakage in tailings dam is presented and illustrated by a case study regarding the Mediterranean region. The objective of the proposed method is to establish an empirical scale of risk, from which guidelines for prioritizing the collection of further specific information can be derived. The method relies on a historical database containing, in essence, two sets of qualitative data: the first set concerns the variables that are observable before the disaster (e.g., type and size of the dam, its location, and state of activity), and the second refers to the consequences of the disaster (e.g., failure type, sludge characteristics, fatalities categorization, and downstream range of damage). Based on a modified form of correspondence analysis, where the second set of attributes are projected as "supplementary variables" onto the axes provided by the eigenvalue decomposition of the matrix referring to the first set, a "qualitative regression" is performed, relating the variables to be predicted (contained in the second set) with the "predictors" (the observable variables). On the grounds of the previously derived relationship, the risk of breakage in a new case can be evaluated, given observable variables. The method was applied in a case study regarding a set of 13 test sites where the ranking of risk obtained was validated by expert knowledge. Once validated, the procedure was included in the final output of the e-EcoRisk UE project (A Regional Enterprise Network Decision-Support System for Environmental Risk and Disaster Management of Large-Scale Industrial Spills), allowing for a dynamic historical database updating and providing a prompt rough risk evaluation for a new case. The aim of this section of the global project is to provide a quantified context where failure cases occurred in the past for supporting analogue reasoning in preventing similar situations.