DDMA-charts: Nonparametric multivariate moving average control charts based on data depth

Summary: This paper studies the DDMA–chart, a data depth based moving–average control chart for monitoring multivariate data. This chart is nonparametric and it can detect simultaneously location and scale changes in the process. It improves upon the existing r– and Q–chart in the efficiency of detecting location changes. Both theoretical justifications and simulation studies are provided. Comparisons with some existing multivariate control charts via simulation results are also provided. Some applications of the DDMA–chart to the analysis of airline performance data (collected by the FAA) are demonstrated. The results indicate that the DDMA–chart is an effective nonparametric multivariate control chart.*Research supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Security Agency, and the Federal Aviation Administration. The discussion on aviation safety in this paper reects the views of the authors, who are solely responsible for the accuracy of the analysis results presented herein, and does not necessarily reect the official view or policy of the FAA. The dataset used in this paper has been partially masked in order to protect confidentiality.     

NAFTA and labor: A Canadian perspective

The North American Agreement on Free Trade (NAFTA) has stirred passionate debates in Canada. Proponents predicted that increased trade liberalization would create more jobs, greater multinational investment, and an overall better standard of living. Opponents, however, argued that NAFTA would lead to wage cuts, job losses, the erosion of labor standards, and the harmonization of labor laws to the lowest common denominator. I systematically examined the evidence and found that with some exceptions, the predicted negative effects have not materialized. Furthermore, the NAFTA labor side agreement has enjoyed moderate success in bringing labor concerns to the fore. This paper is part of a larger project on NAFTA and Industrial Relations done with Roy J. Adams (McMaster University). I am very grateful for his insightful views and assistance. I also thank Frantz-Pierre Jerome, Senior Policy and Program Officer at the Canadian NAO, for reviewing a previous draft of this article.     

Neighborhood: the “outside” space for girls in urban India

Singh S. Neighborhood: the “outside” space for girls in urban India
Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 206–214 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This study explores the perspective of adolescent girls on the neighborhood as a social space that plays a role in the formation of their identity and agency. The study applies the ‘identities’ conceptual framework, which is a global, interdisciplinary, theoretical approach to understanding female identity. The study participants were girls enrolled in grades 7–10, from five schools in a district in the Northern State of India, who participated in structured focus group discussions. The study reports on the reduced relevance of neighborhood for girls and illustrates, through quotes, the reasons for their limited interaction.     

General class of estimators in multi-character surveys

In this paper, a general class of estimators for the estimation of a finite population total in multi-character surveys is proposed. It is shown that the estimators proposed by Arnab (2002), Amahiaet al. (1989) and Bansal and Singh (1985) are the special cases of the proposed class of estimators. The proposed class of estimators is always more efficient than the estimator proposed by Rao (1966).     

Wage determination in U.S. manufacturing 1958–1976: A collective bargaining approach

This paper presents a cross-section collective bargaining approach to the analysis of inter-industry wage movements of production workers in U.S. manufacturing over the period 1958–1976. A Hicksian model is used to classify the determinants of wage change according to their likely influence on the concession and strike costs of management and unions. Three variables which are classified as management concession and strike costs are consistently significant in empirical testing: change in value productivity, labor intensity, and the profit rate. On the basis of this finding it is suggested that inter-industry wage changes are generally a function of management concession costs. The authors acknowledge the helpful comments of an anonymous referee.     

Estimation of pinnule area in chickpea leaves: an errors-in-variables approach

The pinnule area of a chickpea leaf is estimated using its pinnule length and width. A number of regression models with andwithout measurement errors in the pinnule length and width are compared. The relationship was estimated as the pinnule areaequals 0.632 times the product of the pinnule length and width. Based on a sample of 80 pinnules, this relationship showed less than 5% difference from observed values of the pinnule area in 50% of the pinnules, less than 10% in 80% of the pinnules, and less than 15% in 92.3% of cases.     

A NOTE ON THE USE OF INCOMPLETE MULTI-AUXILIARY INFORMATION IN SAMPLE SURVEYS

In this paper an estimation procedure has been suggested making use of multivariate auxiliary information when information on some of the auxiliary variables is not available for the whole population, instead it is known for some parts of the population only.     

New systematic sampling

In this paper a new systematic sampling procedure has been suggested which provides the unbiased estimator of sampling variance, besides maintaining simplicity. On comparing the efficiency of the suggested procedure with usual systematic sampling and simple random sampling, it has been observed that in situations where usual systematic sampling performs better than simple random sampling the suggested procedure also leads to similar results, and for some situations it may provide better results than even usual systematic sampling.