Gypsy Children's Schooling and Intercultural Attitudes in Spain

In this article we start by briefly describing the educational situation of Gypsies in Spain. Centuries of marginalisation has left deep scars, and despite various educational compensatory programmes the vast majority of Gypsy children still fail in school. We argue that any viable solution to the problem will require a greater flexibility of the educational system and a democratisation of the school structure and organisation, in order to better reflect the diversity of the school population. We end the article by discussing the importance of teaching intercultural attitudes, and we place this discussion within a theoretical framework provided by Fishbein and Ajzen's Reasoned Action Model.     

An Index of Child Health in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of Africa

In this article we present a new composite index of child health, applied to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of Africa, one of the areas of the planet most castigated by poverty. Our index has been constructed attending to the variables defined in the Goals of the Millennium Declaration. For this purpose we will use the P₂ distance method for the year 2008, the last year for which data are available. This index integrates variables of child health that permit a territorial ordering of the LDCs of Africa, in terms of those partial indicators.     

Identifying the Confounders of Marginalization and Mortality in Mexico, 2003–2007

Social Indicators Research - Confounders alter any predicted outcome by modifying the relationship between cause and consequence. Confounders can appear in different proportions inside a population...     

Relational Health and Masculine Gender-Role Conflict in the Friendships and Community Relationships of Bisexual,Gay, and Straight Men

This study examined how men's masculine gender-role conflict and the importance men placed on interpersonal relationships in defining their self-identities predicted their relational health experiences in same-sex, dyadic friendships and community relationships. Using an Internet sample of 283 self-identified bisexual, gay, and straight men, results of hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that for men across sexual orientations, the more importance men placed on interpersonal relationships with other men, the greater the degree of relational health they experienced in dyadic friendships. Additionally, for bisexual and gay men in dyadic friendships with other men, gender-role conflict was inversely related to the relational health of their friendships. In the domain of community relationships, the importance that bisexual and straight men placed on interpersonal relationships in defining their self-identities and levels of gender-role conflict predicted relational health experiences. For gay men, however, feelings of masculine gender-role conflict, alone, predicted poorer relational health in community relationships. Study limitations, clinical implications for practice, and future research directions are discussed.     

The company-wide effects of just-in-time manufacturing within an integrated materials handling system: a case study

Abstract

The paper describes the formulation of a cellular manufacturing methodology to allow the use of an automated guided vehicle system (AGVS) in a difficult environment. The resulting methodology allowed just-in-time operation on the factory floor. The methodology was also shown to provide benefits additional to those associated with AGV usage, namely increased integration of the manufacturing control departments of the organization, and increased efficiency of their MRP system.     

Complementary Approach of Data Analysis and Modeling to Estimate the Pattern of the BSE Epidemic: The Example of France

Clinical surveillance was the only way to detect bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) until July 2000 in France. From the 103 cases identified as such between 1991 and June 2000, we used a back-calculation method to reconstruct the longitudinal trend of BSE infections. Between July 1987 and June 1997, an estimated 51,300 (CI =[24,300-84,700]) cattle were infected in France. The comprehensive surveillance of BSE with rapid tests, set up in France since 2001 at the abattoir and fallen plant, allowed study of the relative exposure of the successive birth cohorts with nonconditional logistic regression models adjusted for possible confounding variables. The results were in agreement with those of the back-calculation model, estimating a decrease of the BSE exposure from the birth cohort July 1995-June 1996 that matched with the decrease of the infection after June 1996. In view of the long incubation period of BSE, it is not possible to precisely assess the impact of any control measure before several years. Modeling was therefore used to estimate prospectively the efficiency of the ban of meat and bone meal extended to all farm species in November 2000. Using parameters about age at infection and incubation time estimated earlier, we assessed the minimum time to first detection if infections still occurred. We have waited up to June 2007 to know if less than 100 infections occurred among French cattle during the 6 months following January 2001.     

Explaining Family Change and Variation: Challenges for Family Demographers

Twenty years ago, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) issued a request for proposals that resulted in the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), a unique survey valuable to a wide range of family scholars. This paper describes the efforts of an interdisciplinary group of family demographers to build on the progress enabled by the NSFH and many other theoretical and methodological innovations. Our work, also supported by NICHD, will develop plans for research and data collection to address the central question of what causes family change and variation. We outline the group's initial assessments of orienting frameworks, key aspects of family life to study, and theoretical and methodological challenges for research on family change. Finally, we invite family scholars to follow our progress and to help develop this shared public good.     

A modelling system for local government resource planning

A major problem in local government is how to maximise the effectiveness of resource allocation. Senior officers and members concerned with corporate and strategic issues must take account of contemporary information of considerable variety and combine this with estimates of the future in their attempts to achieve rational resource allocation. This article describes the development of an experimental computer based corporate modelling system at Clwyd County Council which was designed to support allocation decisions pertaining to a 5 year planning period. It is concluded that a firm basis was achieved for progress towards a comprehensive operational system.     

Characterization of stochastic orders by L-functionals

Random variables may be compared with respect to their location by comparing certain functionals ad hoc, such as the mean or median, or by means of stochastic ordering based directly on the properties of the corresponding distribution functions. These alternative approaches are brought together in this paper. We focus on the class of L-functionals discussed by Bickel and Lehmann (1975) and characterize the comparison of random variables in terms of these measures by means of several stochastic orders based on iterated integrals, including the increasing convex order.