Maximum likelihood estimation of sensitive proportion using repeated randomized response techniques

Randomized response techniques are designed to obtain usable data on sensitive issues while protecting the privacy of individuals. In this paper, based on repeating the randomized response technique, a new technique called repeated randomized response is introduced to increase the protection of privacy and efficiency of estimator for proportion of sensitive attribute. By using this technique, the proportion of academic cheating is estimated among students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.     

Engaging men for gender justice: Overcoming barriers to girls' education in the Pashtun tribes of Pakistan

Resistance to girls' education is a social justice and human rights issue in many countries. In Pakistan, where the lowest school enrollment for girls is in Pashtun areas bordering Afghanistan, it is especially problematic. Pashtun society is patriarchal: Men have the power to construct obstacles to girls' education, and to remove them. This article therefore explores a different way of overcoming barriers to gender justice, namely through the participation of men. A qualitative Delphi process and in‐depth interviews with Pashtun men led to their consensus on seven key points of leverage where action could be taken. Participants agreed that progress toward gender parity could be achieved only by making allies of powerful community leaders, especially religious leaders, and by utilizing existing institutions, such as the mosque, Jirga (council of elders), and the men's guest house. For each point of leverage, a policy recommendation is made for increasing girls' participation in education.     

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Citizenship Behaviours: The Contingent Role of Public Service Motivation

In this paper we examine whether the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) is contingent on public service motivation (PSM). We propose that PSM may reduce the motivational influences of transformational leaders’ behaviours on followers’ OCBs in public sector organizations. Using a sample of Mexican employees we tested this proposition with structural equation modelling. Our results show that the motivational effects of transformational leadership were less for public sector followers higher in PSM than for those lower in PSM. A follow‐up study in private sector organizations did not reveal a similar interaction effect. These findings appear consistent with previous research demonstrating that PSM is more aligned to the goals and values of public rather than private sector organizations. Nevertheless, the direct effects of PSM on OCBs remained in the private sector.     

Control charts for attributes with maxima nominated samples

We develop quality control charts for attributes using the maxima nomination sampling (MNS) method and compare them with the usual control charts based on simple random sampling (SRS) method, using average run length (ARL) performance, the required sample size in detecting quality improvement, and non-existence region for control limits. We study the effect of the sample size, the set size, and nonconformity proportion on the performance of MNS control charts using ARL curve. We show that MNS control chart can be used as a better benchmark for indicating quality improvement or quality deterioration relative to its SRS counterpart. We consider MNS charts from a cost perspective. We also develop MNS attribute control charts using randomized tests. A computer program is designed to determine the optimal control limits for an MNS p-chart such that, assuming known parameter values, the absolute deviation between the ARL and a specific nominal value is minimized. We provide good approximations for the optimal MNS control limits using regression analysis. Theoretical results are augmented with numerical evaluations. These show that MNS based control charts can yield substantial improvement over the usual control charts based on SRS.     

Extended Weibull type distribution and finite mixture of distributions

An extended form of Weibull distribution is suggested which has two shape parameters (m and δ). Introduction of another shape parameter δ helps to express the extended Weibull distribution not only as an exact form of a mixture of distributions under certain conditions, but also provides extra flexibility to the density function over positive range. The shape of density function of the extended Weibull type distribution for various values of the parameters is shown which may be of some interest to Bayesians. Certain statistical properties such as hazard rate function, mean residual function, rth moment are defined explicitly. The proposed extended Weibull distribution is used to derive an exact form of two, three and k-component mixture of distributions. With the help of a real data set, the usefulness of mixture Weibull type distribution is illustrated by using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), Gibbs sampling approach.     

回鹘文文献研究的新成果——《俄罗斯藏回鹘语文献研究》介绍

日本回鹘语文学家、京都大学教授庄垣内正弘先生所撰《俄罗斯藏回鹘语文献研究》(ロシア所藏ゥィゥル语文献の研究,京都,2003)一书是对俄罗斯科学院东方学研究所圣彼得堡分所所藏回鹘文文献的最新研究成果,具有较高的参考价值。 《俄罗斯藏回鹘语文献研究》内容分两个部分,第一部分为回鹘文字表记汉文佛典与汉字音的再构拟。内容包括：第一章是对各文献的编号和文献内容的介绍,第二章到第四章分别是对回鹘文表记汉语佛教文献《圣妙吉祥真实名经》、《四分律比丘戒成本》、《礼忏文》的原语言对照转写,第五章和第六章是回鹘文表记汉语音的再构拟及各文献的差异和汉字音的确认,第七章是对汉文《天地八阳神咒经》难字音注释及其回鹘文汉字音的研究,第八章研究了《千字文》片段及其回鹘文汉字音,最后部分是回鹘文字音目录和结束语。     

Improved two phase sampling exponential ratio and product type estimators for population mean of study character in the presence of non response

Improved two phase sampling exponential ratio and product type estimators for population mean using known coefficient of variation of study character in the presence of non response have been proposed and their properties are studied under large sample approximation. The proposed estimators are compared with the other existing estimators by using the MSE criterion and the conditions under which the proposed estimators perform better are obtained. An empirical study is also given to judge the performance of the proposed estimators. At the end, simulation studies have been carried out to verify the superiority to the proposed estimators.     

Household welfare and women empowerment through microcredit financing: Evidence from Malaysia microcredit

Microcredit financing is considered a crucial vehicle to flourish the socioeconomic conditions of women and women empowerment, especially among those who are from low-income households and deprived of access to financial services. Nevertheless, the literature arrived with a conflicting conclusion about its effect and women demonstrate that microcredit has small or no effect. This study is intended to scrutinize the impact of a productive loan provided by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) on women household welfare and empowerment. A cross-sectional survey was employed through the distribution of a questionnaire to 495 of old and new borrowers. We observe that microcredit has significant positive effects on borrowers’ household income and personal asset acquisition. However, even though the effect of microcredit empowers women borrowers in households’ decisions-making, it has no effect on women control over minor financials.     

Avoiding Ranking Contradictions in Human Development Index Using Goal Programming

This paper builds on the extensive literature of the rank reversal issue in multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques. It is a continuation of the study of Sayed et al. (Soc Indic Res 123(1):1–27, 2015) that exhibited this problem in the human development index (HDI) framework. The proposed methodology, the Goal Programming Benefit-of-the-Doubt (GP-BOD), aims to overcome this problem and obtain consistent and stable rankings. For investigating the credibility of the proposed method in solving this issue, it has been applied to the HDI dataset in 2012. The resulted HDI rankings are compared with those evaluated from eleven overlapping sub-groups that are internationally categorized based on geographic regions and income levels. The results show a solution to the ranking contradictions problem. Among other merits, the results prove two additional features of the proposed GP-BOD model. First, the resulted countries’ rankings are distinguishable and absolutely tie-free. This enhances the discriminating power of the proposed rank preservation model. Second, the GP-BOD weights are evaluated on a common base to compare all countries on the same scale. Moreover, a lower bound is endogenously imposed on these weights to avoid the problem of zero weights. Finally, the validity of the proposed GP-BOD technique has been thoroughly examined using sensitivity tests. The results show stability in the rankings when different methods of normalization and weighting are applied.     

VIOLENCE

This qualitative research study explores determinants of child labor in two low‐income urban communities in Beirut and reveals that violence against children, both at home and at school, is a recurring theme. Our analysis of interviews with and observations of working children and their parents in their homes and at the children's work places shows that violence is an important determinant of child labor. Findings reveal that, contrary to the importance usually placed on family and school for children's well‐being, certain home and school environments may indeed be unfavorable for learning and development and thereby play a role in a child's decision to leave school and start work at a young age.