Dealing with Ties in Failure Time Data

In dealing with ties in failure time data the mechanism by which the data are observed should be considered. If the data are discrete, the process is relatively simple and is determined by what is actually observed. With continuous data, ties are not supposed to occur, but they do because the data are grouped into intervals (even if only rounding intervals). In this case there is actually a non–identifiability problem which can only be resolved by modelling the process. Various reasonable modelling assumptions are investigated in this paper. They lead to better ways of dealing with ties between observed failure times and censoring times of different individuals. The current practice is to assume that the censoring times occur after all the failures with which they are tied.     

A controlled donor imputation system for a one-number census

Summary. The 2001 UK census was a one-number census. An integral part of such a process has been the creation of a transparent census database that has been adjusted for the underenumeration in the 2001 census. The methodology for creating this database is based on a controlled donor imputation system that imputes individuals and households estimated to have been missed in the census. This paper describes this methodology and provides results from a statistical assessment of its performance using data that realistically simulate the census process.     

Neighbourhood in a high rise, high density city: some observations on contemporary Hong Kong

Most of the contemporary literature on the neighbourhood comes from US or European sources where there are sharp contrasts with East Asian cities in terms of the physical form, residential densities and in relation to ideas of community and kinship. This paper reports on a study carried out in Hong Kong which was designed to explore the extent to which western preoccupations with neighbourhood resonate in a high rise, high density Chinese city. As a precursor to a larger scale study interviews were carried out with fifteen individuals in three contrasting locations: a New Town estate, an older, inner city area and a middle class housing estate. The interviews explored inter alia neighbourhood perceptions, ideas of community, sense of belonging and sense of place among contemporary Hong Kong residents. When Yuan Ssu became Confucius' steward he was given nine hundred measures of grain, which he declined. The Master said, ‘Can you not find a use for it in helping the people in your neighbourhood?’ (The Analects, Book VI).     

The effects of communicator characteristics on patterns of reciprocity and compensation

This experiment examined gender, reward valence, and level of involvement as potential discriminators between dyadic partners who reciprocate, compensate, or do not respond to the communicator's changes in involvement. Fifty-one dyads engaged in a baseline interview followed by a second interview during which one participant increased or decreased involvement significantly. Partner's resultant change in involvement level was examined for reciprocity, compensation, or nonaccommodation. A gender by involvement interaction and a near significant reward by involvement interaction obtained. Female partners were more responsive to a communicator's involvement change than were men and subjects were generally more responsive to a high reward than a low reward communicator. However, contrary to predictions, females and partners of high reward communicators were most likely to reciprocate decreased involvement and compensate increased involvement.An earlier version of this article was presented to the Speech Communication Association annual meeting in Boston, November 1987.     

Migration as a Family Business: The Role of Personal Networks in the Mobility Phase of Migration

Formulée pour la première fois par John Salt et Jeremy Stein dans International Migration en 1997, la conception de la migration en tant qu'activité commerciale a transformé la perception de ce phénomène aussi bien auprès des spécialistes que des médias grand public. Cependant, bien que ce modèle propose un nouvel outil utile pour étudier les déplacements des individus dans le monde, sa popularité en tant que métaphore a eu pour conséquence d'occulter d'autres aspects du sujet qu'il n'arrivait pas à intégrer. Comme l'auteur cherche à le démontrer par l'analyse d'entretiens avec des migrants du Maroc et du Sénégal en Espagne et d'Egypte et du Ghana en Italie ainsi que par les profils de divers migrants aux Pays-Bas, la métaphore de l'activité commerciale n'apporte qu'une réponse partielle. Elle ne permet pas d'expliquer l'importance primordiale que revêtent pour la plupart des migrants les réseaux d'amis, de parents et de connaissances au moment d'entreprendre leur voyage.