The measurement of capital utilisation rates

A strategy using spline function interpolation is developed f o r estimating capital utilisation rates . Cobb-Douglas, CES and translog functional forms are used in estimation. Tests for functional forms are conducted leading t o t h e s e l e c t i o n of the Cobb-Douglas form. Quarterly series of estimated utilisation rates and excess capacity measures are presented.     

Simulations of Some Doubly Stochastic Poisson Point Processes

Computer simulations of point processes are important either to verify the results of certain theoretical calculations that can be very awkward at times or to obtain practical results when these calculations become almost impossible. One of the most common methods for the simulation of nonstationary Poisson processes is random thinning. Its extension when the intensity becomes random (doubly stochastic Poisson processes) depends on the structure of this intensity. If the random density takes only discrete values, which is a common situation in many physical problems where quantum mechanics introduces discrete states, it is shown that the thinning method can be applied without error. We study in particular the case of binary density and present the kind of theoretical calculations that then become possible. The results of various experiments realized with data obtained by simulation show a fairly good agreement with the theoretical calculations.     

A property of coefficients of variation for ordered bivariate log-normal variables

This paper considers the maximum and minimum of a pair of log-normal variables with equal mean. It shows that either order statistic has a smaller coefficient of variation than the two original log-normal variables provided the latter are of equal variance. When the variances are unequal, as the variance ratio increases, the minimum (maximum), has a smaller coefficient of variation if the correlation coefficient of the log-normal variables is small (small) and the variances are large (small).     

Contraceptive Responsibility among Male University Students

Abstract

This paper assesses the male contribution to contraceptive mismanagement and unwanted pregnancy. The subjects were 109 students at the University of Melbourne. A high incidence of risk-taking was reported, and almost one-fifth of the sexually experienced men stated that they had been involved in an unwanted pregnancy. A small group of these reported more than one such incident. The underlying reasons for poor contraceptive technique seemed to be related to two beliefs: that contraception is a female responsibility, and that sexual intercourse should be entirely spontaneous and unplanned.     

General C. L. Chennault

Because of recent legislation, many students with mild disabilities enroll in high school social studies courses in general education rather than special education settings. Therefore, teachers may have students with learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, communication disorders, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in their history, geography, economics, and political science courses. Typical characteristics of these students include lowlevel reading and writing skills, processing problems, memory disorders, language problems, organizational deficits, and behavioral problems. These characteristics present challenges for the students and social studies teachers; however, there are strategies that will help the students succeed. The author summarizes the disability categories and related characteristics and describes textbook, writing, memory, organizational, and instructional modifications to address the challenges.     

Religious affiliation and Hispanic health in Utah

Two research hypotheses are addressed in this study. (1) Do health trajectories of Hispanics in Utah differ from what has been documented in states with longstanding large Hispanic populations? (2) Do non-Mormon groups in Utah have less favorable health status than Mormons in Utah? This study employs three health outcome measures: activity limitations caused by emotional problems, activity limitations caused by physical problems, and self-rated health status using the 2001 Utah Health Status Survey. Comparisons of Hispanics in their traditional settings within the U.S. generally show more favorable health status for Hispanics than for whites. We find little difference in health status between Hispanics in Utah and their Anglo counterparts. Hispanics were more likely than Anglos to have “a little” activity limitation due to physical problems, but were not more likely to report “a little” or “considerable” activity limitations due to emotional or physical problems. Hispanics and Anglos were statistically equal in probability of self-reported fair to poor health. Important in relation to studies outside of Utah, we find little support for the epidemiologic paradox, the usual finding of more favorable health for Hispanics than for whites. As with ethnicity, we find little difference between non-Mormon and Mormons with respect to health. The most notable exception is that Mormon Hispanics are at a significantly greater risk of emotional problems than Catholic Hispanics in Utah.     

A Diamond-Stiglitz approach to the demand for self-protection

The existing research concerning the relationship between risk aversion and prudence and the demand for self-protection assumes that the loss variable follows a Bernoulli distribution, and that changes in the level of self-protection are mean preserving. The analysis here replaces these two very strong conditions with ones which are more general. When doing this, the method of analysis is also significantly modified. This modification includes representing a change in the level of self-protection using the procedure developed by Diamond and Stiglitz (Journal of Economic Theory 8:337-360, 1974) for representing a change in risk. This alternate representation allows the existing findings to be generalized considerably, and also simplifies the analysis.     

国际人类学与民族学联合会都市人类学委员会简介

都市人类学委员会(Commission on Urban Anthropology,简称 CUA)在1983年于温哥华召开的第11届国际人类学与民族学大会(International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences,简称ICAES)上正式成立.CUA的成立是人们长久以来所认识到的"将涉足都市研究并激发了这一领域的进一步研究的国际学者聚集到一起"的需要的成功结果.自正式创建以来,委员会的主要目标是:(1)组织学术会议与研讨会;(2)建设一个国际网络,以促进世界范围内的都市人类学合作.