Estimation of size and mean of a sensitive quantitative variable for a sub-group of a population

In the present paper, a new problem in survey sampling has been considered and an attempt has bcen made to find its solution. The procedures available in literature deal with the estimation of mean of a sensitive quantitative variable for the whole population. Sometimes the investigator may be interested in estimating the mean of a sensitive quantitative variable for a sub-group of the population. At the same time, he/she may also be interested in estimating the size of this sub-group. In this paper, we have obtained estimators of these parameters. Approximate bias and variance expressions are also obtained for these estimators.     

“It's Complicated”: Collective Memories of Transgender,Queer, and Questioning Youth in High School

Using the qualitative participatory action methodology, collective memory work, this study explored how transgender, queer, and questioning (TQQ) youth make meaning of their sexual orientation and gender identity through high school experiences. Researchers identified three major conceptual but overlapping themes from the data generated in the transgender, queer, and questioning youth focus group: a need for resilience, you should be able to be safe, and this is what action looks like! The researchers discuss how as a research product, a documentary can effectively “capture voices” of participants, making research accessible and attractive to parents, practitioners, policy makers, and participants.     

Identity,Othering and belonging: toward an understanding of difference and the experiences of African immigrants to Australia

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to contribute to understanding of difference and knowledge on the analysis of the concepts of identity, Othering and belonging not only from a theoretical perspective, but more importantly by relating them empirically to the Australian context in a way that sheds a better light on the experiences of African immigrants to Australia. It draws on data from interviews conducted with 30 black Africans living in South East Queensland. Their racialized identities impacted on how they felt, were defined, related to and constructed, in Australia. Their accounts suggest that Othering practices can marginalize, exclude and affect migrants and refugees’ ideas and sense of belonging. The findings indicate the need for a more inclusive Australia, the accommodation of difference, the fostering of new identities, the rejection of negative representations and stereotypes of the Other, and the recognition that Othering is one of the important factors to understanding the marginalization, exclusion and challenges of ethnically and racially marked people in Australia.     

A Virtual Field Practicum: Building Core Competencies Prior to Agency Placement

ABSTRACT

Providing effective services to clients with increasingly severe challenges in an era of fiscal constraints calls for schools of social work to assume greater responsibility for preparing interns for clinical practice. This article describes a virtual field practicum (VFP), an online skill-building experience designed to meet this need and reports preliminary findings. The VFP employs client simulation and other experiential activities; its intent is to foster student acquisition of core competencies prior to agency placement. Longitudinal data were collected on VFP students and their traditional counterparts across 4 semesters. Results show that VFP students performed as well, if not slightly better, on competency measures than traditional students, suggesting that this model is a viable option for educators to consider.     

On random grouping in goodness of fit tests of discrete distributions

We consider the problem of random grouping of data from discrete distributions to form χ² goodness of fit tests. In general the random partitions need not converge to the partition one gets using the true distribution function and the same partitioning scheme. We present a method of guaranteeing the convergence of the random partition and yielding the usual χ² asymptotics.     

Testing multiple slippages

A class of invariant Bayes rules is derived for testing homogeneity of k (≥2) different populations against (^k_t) slippage alternatives that some (unknown) subset of size t of the given populations has parameter larger than the remaining k-t, where t is a given integer between 1 and k-1. For a similar problem in nonparametric situations, locally best tests based on ranks are derived.     

Efficient Job Scheduling Algorithms with Multi-Type Contentions

In this paper, we consider an interesting generalization of the classic job scheduling problem in which each job needs to compete not only for machines but also for other types of resources. The contentions among jobs for machines and for resources could interfere with each other, which complicates the problem dramatically. We present a family of approximation algorithms for solving several variants of the problem by using a generic algorithmic framework. Our algorithms achieve a constant approximation ratio (i.e., 3) when there is only one type of resources or certain dependency relation exists among multiple types of resources. When the r resources are unrelated, the approximation ratio of our algorithm becomes k+2, where k≤ r is a constant depending on the problem instance. As an application, we also show that our techniques can be easily applied to optical burst switching (OBS) networks to design more efficient wavelength scheduling algorithms.This research was supported in part by an IBM faculty partnership award, and an IRCAF award from SUNY Buffalo.     

Force steadiness in the lower extremities as an independent predictor of functional performance in older women

The relationship between isometric force control and functional performance is unknown. Submaximal steadiness and accuracy were measured during a constant force-matching task at 50% of maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MVC) of the knee extensors in 19 older women (70-89 years). Other variables included MVC, rate of torque development, and EMG activity. Functional performance was assessed during maximal performance of walking endurance, chair rising, and stair climbing. Isometric steadiness (but not accuracy) was found to independently predict chair-rise time and stair-climbing power and explained more variance in these tasks than any other variable. Walking endurance was related to muscle strength but not steadiness. These results suggest that steadiness is an independent predictor of brief, stressful functional-performance tasks in older women with mild functional impairment. Thus, improving steadiness might help reduce functional limitations or disability in older adults.