Factors predicting satisfaction judgments: A comparative examination

A number of psychological processes (e.g. social comparison, aspirations) may explain why people differ in their satisfaction with various life domains. This study compared the impact of a number of such processes on satisfaction judgments in a sample of 149 college students. Social comparison and positive affect were strong predictors of satisfaction across most domains. Objective conditions and aspirations were predictive of satisfaction in few domains. The relevance of Multiple Discrepancies Theory (Michalos, 1983) for the present findings is discussed. Limitations of the present study are noted and suggestions for future research are offered. Researchers need to focus on the reasons underlying the predictability of different domains from different processes.     

On the total outer-connected domination in graphs

A set S of vertices of a graph G is a total outer-connected dominating set if every vertex in V(G) is adjacent to some vertex in S and the subgraph induced by V?S is connected. The total outer-connected domination number γ _toc (G) is the minimum size of such a set. We give some properties and bounds for γ _toc in general graphs and in trees. For graphs of order n, diameter 2 and minimum degree at least 3, we show that $\gamma_{toc}(G)\le \frac{2n-2}{3}$ and we determine the extremal graphs.     

Informality and Employment Relationships in Small Firms: Humour,Ambiguity and Straight‐talking

This paper presents in‐depth qualitative research on three small professional service firms whose owner‐managers sought to introduce greater degrees of formality in their firms’ working practices and employment relationships. We focus on humour as an ambiguous medium of informality, yet viewed by owner‐managers as a tool at their disposal. However, while early studies of humour in small and medium‐sized enterprises support such a functionalist view, our findings indicate its significant limitations. We argue that humour obscures but does not resolve disjunctive interests and it remains stubbornly ambiguous and resistant to attempts to functionalize it. Our findings contribute to studies of humour in small and medium‐sized enterprises by challenging its utility as a means of managerial control or employee resistance. They also contribute to studies of employment relationships by exploring humour's potentially disruptive influence within the formality–informality span, especially as small and medium‐sized enterprises seek greater degrees of formalization, with implications for how those relationships are conducted and (re)negotiated on an ongoing basis.     

Control charts for monitoring the median in non-negative asymmetric data

Statistical Methods & Applications - Control charts are commonly used for monitoring the mean of processes. However, there are practical applications in which asymmetric data are the standard....     

A Critical Analysis of Australian Television Coverage of Election Opinion Polls

Much recent attention has focused on the nature and possibleeffects of media coverage of opinion polls. Accordingly, thisarticle reports the results of a detailed critical analysisof Victorian television news coverage of election opinion pollsduring the 1980 Australian federal election campaign. Five aspectsof the coverage were analyzed: its extent, focus, completeness,accuracy, and critical balance. The results of the study indicatethat the coverage was seriously, perhaps irredeemably, flawed     

Using an alternative evaluation measure for assessing juvenile diversion programs

This paper describes the effectiveness of six juvenile diversion programs in the metropolitan area of Denver, Colorado. Program success was measured by recidivism reduction. However, by using a one-for-one statistical client-baseline matching method and a variable definition of recidivism, we managed to overcome drawbacks that often occur when using recidivism as an outcome indicator. Together, program participants showed a 26% reduction in recidivism rate over that of a matched baseline sample. Although four of the six programs studied accounted for the overall success rate, we explain why two of the programs showed no significant reductions in recidivism rates.