Inference Methods for Correlated Left Truncated Lifetimes: Parent and Offspring Relations in an Adoption Study

The associations in mortality of adult adoptees and their biological or adoptive parents have been studied in order to separate genetic and environmental influences. The 1003 Danish adoptees born 1924–26 have previously been analysed in a Cox regression model, using dichotomised versions of the parents’ lifetimes as covariates. This model will be referred to as the conditional Cox model, as it analyses lifetimes of adoptees conditional on parental lifetimes. Shared frailty models may be more satisfactory by using the entire observed lifetime of the parents. In a simulation study, sample size, distribution of lifetimes, truncation- and censoring patterns were chosen to illustrate aspects of the adoption dataset, and were generated from the conditional Cox model or a shared frailty model with gamma distributed frailties. First, efficiency was compared in the conditional Cox model and a shared frailty model, based on the conditional approach. For data with type 1 censoring the models showed no differences, whereas in data with random or no censoring, the models had different power in favour of the one from which data were generated. Secondly, estimation in the shared frailty model by a conditional approach or a two-stage copula approach was compared. Both approaches worked well, with no sign of dependence upon the truncation pattern, but some sign of bias depending on the censoring. For frailty parameters close to zero, we found bias when the estimation procedure used did not allow negative estimates. Based on this evaluation, we prefer to use frailty models allowing for negative frailty parameter estimates. The conclusions from earlier analyses of the adoption study were confirmed, though without greater precision than using the conditional Cox model. Analyses of associations between parental lifetimes are also presented.     

Trust in the face of uncertainty: a qualitative study of intersubjective trust and risk

Contemporary trust research regards trust as a way of dealing with uncertainty and risk. Predominantly, it suggests that trust reduces uncertainty by means of risk assessment and rational calculation. However, phenomenological research proposes that trust is an alternative way of relating to uncertainty rather than a way to reduced uncertainty. This paper investigates these propositions in an interview study on intersubjective trust. The study focuses on the modes of uncertainty management employed in trust and risk, and particularly on how knowledge, experience, familiarity, and decision-making are combined in the act of trusting. The main finding is that trust and risk are better characterised as different ways of perceiving the social and managing uncertainty, than as different elements of the same decision process. The concept of ‘risk compartmentalisation’ is developed to describe the different ways people work to contain risk and maintain trust by combining adaptation and familiarity.     

Gambling-related embezzlement in the workplace: a qualitative study

People with severe gambling problems typically first spend all their available money on gambling and then resort to borrowing, selling personal property and other ways of procuring more money for gambling. Some problem gamblers commit economic crimes. This investigation examined gambling-related embezzlement in the workplace, an aspect of problem gambling that may severely harm the gambler, significant others and the employer. The methods used are the study of newspaper articles and qualitative interviews with 18 informants, including professionals in workplace security and drug-use prevention, therapists specializing in problem gambling treatment, counsellors from mutual support societies, and recovered problem gamblers who had embezzled. Gambling-related embezzlement often progresses in a characteristic sequence shaped by specific processes in which the gambler’s thoughts and emotions interact systemically with the monetary losses caused by participating in commercial gambling and the opportunity to embezzle money in the workplace. In this study, criminological theory of white collar crime usefully complemented psychological theories of problem gambling. It is concluded that a processual perspective, in addition to consideration of psychological and environmental factors, is valuable for understanding the progression to severe problem gambling.     

Having a soul or choosing a face? Nation branding,identity and cosmopolitan imagination

If nation branding is about constructing and promoting national identity, what kind of ‘identity’ could it possibly be? This article analyses how the branded nation qualitatively differs from earlier forms of imagined communities by focusing on the tension between inward- and outward-directed dimensions of nation branding. A particular focus is placed on the concept of ‘identity’, which, it is argued, is insufficiently problematized in previous research. The discussion takes its departure in a case study of Ukraine, where all nation branding attempts came to an abrupt halt when political unrest broke out in late 2013. The political unrest led to a rapid shift in forms of concern over Ukraine, since nation branding can only be conducted in times of relative social harmony. The case further illustrates the argument that collective identity is not a main issue when branding a nation, and it is argued that a perspective of cosmopolitanism can bring new insights to the phenomenon.     

Goodness of fit tests for estimating equations based on pseudo-observations

Lifetime Data Analysis - We study regression models for mean value parameters in survival analysis based on pseudo-observations. Such parameters include the survival probability and the cumulative...     

Coordination Quality in Central Government – the Case of Norway

Public Organization Review - This article focuses on perceived coordination quality among Norwegian civil servants. It explains how they assess the quality of coordination in their own field of...     

A Classroom Approach to the Construction of an Approximate Confidence Interval of a Poisson Mean Using One Observation

Even elementary statistical problems may give rise to a deeper and broader discussion of issues in probability and statistics. The construction of an approximate confidence interval for a Poisson mean turns out to be such a case. The simple standard two-sided Wald confidence interval by normal approximation is discussed and compared with the score interval. The discussion is partly in the form of an imaginary dialog between a teacher and a student, where the latter is supposed to have studied mathematical statistics for at least one semester.     

French and Swedish teachers' social representations of social workers

Collaboration on children at risk is essential, but our knowledge about inter-professional collaboration between social workers and educators is limited. The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to describe French and Swedish teachers' social representation of social workers; and (2) to compare these social representations. The French sample group is composed of 77 secondary school teachers (of students from 11 to 18 years old), and the Swedish sample group is composed of 94. The method used was a ‘free association task’, commonly used to access the semantic content of social representation. Two different social representations of social workers were revealed, one for the French and one for the Swedish teachers. The French representation is characterised by highly positive aspects such as support, listening and competence. Swedish teachers' social representation of social workers is completely different: negative associations were common (44%), and among these, professional secrecy and law and regulations dominated. One plausible explanation is the difference of French and Swedish teachers' roles regarding collaboration with social workers.     

The impact of a participatory organizational intervention on job stress in community health care institutions

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a short-term participatory intervention in health care institutions in Norway on workers' control, other job characteristics, job stress, subjective health and job satisfaction. Participants (including managers and supervisors) were randomly allocated to intervention groups and to a control group. Actions to solve problems based on the employees' own perceptions of the main problems were seen as the key motivators for organizational improvement and increased control at the task and office level in the work situation. The main stressors identified by the participants in this study were lack of information, communication and respect between professions, as well as the need for professional and personal development. The participatory intervention had a positive, but limited effect on work-related stress, job characteristics, learning climate and management style, and seemed to have started a beneficial change process. There were no negative short-term effects on work-related stress and job demands. Organizational interventions may be a potential training ground for acquiring participatory skills and resources, and if sustained after the intervention period, they can have long-term effects on problem solving, job stress and employee satisfaction.