Work–life Balance: Is it Now a Problem for Management?

In Western Australia (WA) there is substantial interest by public sector management in work–life balance (WLB) as a strategy to address labour supply problems. This article considers whether the positioning of WLB as a problem for management provides the opportunity for change resulting in an improved quality of working life in the public sector. We report on the implementation of WLB policies in four WA public sector agencies and conclude that managers are ‘managing’ WLB in a limited way, and largely in an individualized manner, at a level that does not disrupt the usual way of organizing work and employment. For many managers, employees' requests to access WLB policies are perceived as being in conflict with operational goals. The findings highlight the inadequacy of much of the WLB discourse that obscures the tension between, on the one hand, the imperative for managers to implement WLB more effectively and, on the other, organizational practices and the broader social, political and economic context in which management and the organization are located.     

The reverse environmental gender gap in China: evidence from "The China Survey"

Objectives This article explores gender differences in attitudes about the seriousness of the environment as a problem in China using the “2008 China Survey.” Methods We use generalized ordered logit models to analyze survey respondents’ environmental attitudes. Results Our results indicate that there is indeed a “gender gap” in environmental attitudes in China, but the pattern is reversed from what has been generally found in previous work conducted in the United States and Europe. Chinese men, not women, show a greater concern about environmental problems and the seriousness of the environmental degradation in China. Further, we find that this gender gap is based largely in the substantial economic and educational differences between men and women in contemporary China. Conclusions This study emphasizes the mediating influence of socioeconomic variables in explaining gender attitudes toward the environment in China. Our findings suggest that in different contexts, women may be faced with difficult decisions between immediate economic necessities and long-term environmental concerns. The observed environmental gender gap in China will likely persist unless further economic development results in improved access to education and economic conditions for Chinese women.     

The Implications of Demographic-Specific Inflation Rates for Trends in Real Educational Wage Differentials

We use data from consumer expenditure surveys to investigate the impact on trends in real wage differentials of using group-specific price indexes. We find that inflation rates decrease monoton-ically with the education of the household head throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, and real educational wage differentials, calculated using education-specific price indexes, widened somewhat more than nominal differentials. We also find that differences by education level in fuel and energy consumption, whose relative prices increased during the 1970s, account for the majority of the educational index differences.     

Disparity,Shortfall, and Twice-Endogenous HARA Utility

We derive a mapping between the shortfall-minimizing portfolio selection based on higher-order entropy measures and expected utility theory. We show that the family of HARA utility functions has a minimum-divergence, shortfall-based representation. This facilitates an interpretation in which the risk aversion parameters and the type of risk aversion arise endogenously. We provide a numerical example illustrating this interpretation.     

Principal component analysis of canine hip dysplasia phenotypes and their statistical power for genome-wide association mapping

The aims of this study were to undertake principal component analysis (PCA) of hip dysplasia (HD) and to examine the power of the principal components (PCs) in genome-wide association studies. A cohort of 278 dogs for PCA and that of 369 dogs for genotyping were used. The distraction index (DI), the dorsolateral subluxation (DLS) score, the Norberg angle (NA), and the extended-hip radiographic (EHR) score were used for the PCA. One thousand single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (of 23,500) were used to simulate genetic locus sharing between the HD phenotypes and 1000 SNPs were used to calculate the genetic mapping power of the PCs. The DI and the DLS score (first group) reflected hip laxity and the NA and the EHR score (second group) reflected the congruency between the femoral head and acetabulum. The average hip measurements of the two groups reflected in the first PC captured 55% of total radiographic variation. The first four PCs captured 90% of the total variation. The PCs had higher statistical mapping power to detect pleiotropic quantitative trait loci (QTL) than the raw phenotypes. The PCA demonstrated for the first time that HD can be reduced mathematically into simpler components essential for its genetic dissection. Genes that contribute jointly to all four radiographic hip phenotypes can be detected by mapping their first four PCs, while those contributing to individual phenotypes can be mapped by association with the individual raw phenotype.     

Simulating Controlled Variate and Rank Correlations Based on the Power Method Transformation

The power method transformation is a popular algorithm used for simulating correlated non normal continuous variates because of its simplicity and ease of execution. Statistical models may consist of continuous and (or) ranked variates. In view of this, the methodology is derived for simulating controlled correlation structures between non normal (a) variates, (b) ranks, and (c) variates with ranks in the context of the power method. The correlation structure between variate-values and their associated rank-order is also derived for the power method. As such, a measure of the potential loss of information is provided when ranks are used in place of variate-values. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation are provided to confirm and demonstrate the methodology.     

A practical comparison of blinded methods for sample size reviews in survival data clinical trials

This paper presents practical approaches to the problem of sample size re-estimation in the case of clinical trials with survival data when proportional hazards can be assumed. When data are readily available at the time of the review, on a full range of survival experiences across the recruited patients, it is shown that, as expected, performing a blinded re-estimation procedure is straightforward and can help to maintain the trial's pre-specified error rates. Two alternative methods for dealing with the situation where limited survival experiences are available at the time of the sample size review are then presented and compared. In this instance, extrapolation is required in order to undertake the sample size re-estimation. Worked examples, together with results from a simulation study are described. It is concluded that, as in the standard case, use of either extrapolation approach successfully protects the trial error rates.     

Evaluating the impact of conditional cash transfer programs on fertility: the case of the Red de Protección Social in Nicaragua

Evaluating the impact of poverty-reduction programs on fertility is complicated given that changes in incentives to have children take time to be incorporated into decision making and evaluation periods are usually quite brief. We explore the use of birth spacing as a short-run indicator of the impact of poverty-reduction programs on fertility. The data come from a Nicaraguan conditional cash transfer program that offers incentives for poor households to invest in children??s health, nutrition, and education. We estimate a stratified Cox proportional hazard model and find that the program decreased the hazard of a birth, indicating an increase in birth spacing.     

“I Want to Feel Like a Full Man”: Conceptualizing Gay,Bisexual, and Heterosexual Men’s Sexual Difficulties

Current understandings of sexual difficulties originate from a model that is based on the study of heterosexual men and women. Most research has focused on sexual difficulties experienced by heterosexual men incapable of engaging in vaginal penetration. To better understand men’s perceptions and experiences of sexual difficulties, seven focus groups and 29 individual interviews were conducted with gay (n = 22), bisexual (n = 5), and heterosexual (n = 25) men. In addition, the extent to which difficulties reported by gay and bisexual men differ from heterosexual men was explored. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis applying an inductive approach. Two intercorrelated conceptualizations were identified: penis function (themes: medicalization, masculine identity, psychological consequences, coping mechanisms) and pain (themes: penile pain, pain during receptive anal sex). For the most part, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men reported similar sexual difficulties; differences were evident regarding alternative masculinity, penis size competition, and pain during receptive anal sex. The results of this study demonstrate the complexity of men’s sexual difficulties and the important role of sociocultural, interpersonal, and psychological factors. Limitations and suggested directions for future research are outlined.