An alternative to farmer age as an indicator of life-cycle stage: The case for a farm family age index

In studies of farming, the age of the principal decision-maker (PDM) has been associated with numerous farm structural and managerial features and has been widely accepted as a good indicator of the influence of life-cycle factors on decision-making. As such, it has become an important aspect of many quantitative studies of agricultural change. However, contemporary studies of family farming demonstrate that the concept of a single PDM in family farms is becoming an anachronism as alternative enterprises, pluriactivity and the scale of family farms force more diffuse management/operating systems. This raises questions concerning whether the age of the PDM can still be taken as representative of farm structure, strategy or life-cycle stage? Using a study conducted in the Grampian Mountains region of Scotland in 2003 this note investigates the impact of using an alternative index—compiled by averaging the age of family members working on the farm. It suggests that PDM age is a relatively poor indicator of farm structural and managerial features compared to a family age index and calls for researchers to think about alternative approaches to measuring ‘age’ as an indicator.     

Inside two commercially available statistical expert systems

A decade of research into the applications of artificial intelligence in statistics has finally resulted in the appearance of commercially available statistical expert systems. This paper takes a closer look at two of these systems, which are now commercially available on microcomputers, and shows what knowledge they actually contain and how they operate. It is concluded that although the technology and concepts that drive these systems could still benefit from further improvement, the real challenge lies in defining and constructing the statistical knowledge and strategy that should be incorporated and in presenting the results to the user's full advantage.     

An uncertain future: children of mentally ill parents.

Research reports the uncertain outcome of variables affecting the life of a child of an MI parent. Nurses must avoid stereotyping children before assessment; they are to be in the forefront in assessing self-care skills and deficits to guide planning individual interventions for children and MI parents. Long-term research theory-based interventions will enhance mental health in high-risk children and families.     

普通高师钢琴课教学模式的现状及教学对策研究

钢琴课是音乐教育专业学生学习的基础课和必修课。近年来,各校音乐专业招生规模相继扩大,报考音乐专业的学生持续增加,给我国高校音乐教育的常规教学,尤其是给传统的“一对一”钢琴授课教学模式带来了巨大冲击和严峻挑战。针对目前普遍采用的“一对多”钢琴教学模式中的一些教学难点和具体问题,进行现状分析并提出更新教学观念、改善教学方法等解决对策与措施。     

两种财产权的均衡--一种宪政隐喻的研究

在某种意义上,“公共财产神圣不可侵犯”的宪法宣言彰显了社会主义对资本主义的批判;“私有财产权不可侵犯”的神圣入宪隐喻了宪政的理性。私有财产权与公有财产权的均衡宪制是一种“社会能量守恒定律”的宪政隐喻。这两种基本财产权的均衡态势既有静态的平衡,也有动态的衡平,并展现为“一明两暗”的对立形态和以人为目的的终极关怀。由于这种均衡态势在各国宪法中展现的侧重点不同,而成为各国形成不同的宪政观念的重要原因之一,这便是宪政的隐喻所在。在三种不同模式的宪法中检讨这一隐喻,为当下解构、建构和创新中国的宪政理念与制度具有重大意义。     

Triadic Interaction among Newly Acquainted 2-year-olds

Are children as young as 2 years old able to interact in groups of three? The study applied the family triad model first introduced by Parke, Power, and Gottman (1979 ) to the case of peer interaction. In Experiment 1 , the model was refined for use in studies of peer interaction and applied to an existing dataset of 16 triads of newly acquainted 24‐month‐olds. In Experiment 2 , the triadic coding system was further refined and applied to 12 single‐sex triads of newly acquainted 2‐year‐olds. The findings demonstrated that 2‐year‐olds are capable of triadic interaction although the predominant interaction pattern in triads is still dyadic. Contrary to past reports, triadic interaction was more likely to occur when the children were not in conflict. Both girls and boys were capable of triadic interaction.     

改善全息圆锥准直线及提高准直精度的一种方法

用一张计算全息图可产生锥面波,锥面波衍射图样的中心在空间是连续的,可作为直线基准。本文提出了提高锥面波直线准直精度的一种方法即空间滤波法。实验结果与理论分析一致。     

The estimation of Chilean mortality (1860-1940): limits and possibilities

The limitations and errors in data sources, primarily censuses and vital statistics, concerning mortality in Chile from 1865 to 1940 are examined. Solutions are offered to adjust the sources' underestimations, particularly with regard to infant mortality.     

Ordinal utility models of decision making under uncertainty

This paper studies two models of rational behavior under uncertainty whose predictions are invariant under ordinal transformations of utility. The quantile utility model assumes that the agent maximizes some quantile of the distribution of utility. The utility mass model assumes maximization of the probability of obtaining an outcome whose utility is higher than some fixed critical value. Both models satisfy weak stochastic dominance. Lexicographic refinements satisfy strong dominance.The study of these utility models suggests a significant generalization of traditional ideas of riskiness and risk preference. We define one action to be riskier than another if the utility distribution of the latter crosses that of the former from below. The single crossing property is equivalent to a minmax spread of a random variable. With relative risk defined by the single crossing criterion, the risk preference of a quantile utility maximizer increases with the utility distribution quantile that he maximizes. The risk preference of a utility mass maximizer increases with his critical utility value.