Correlation Coefficient Revisited

Elementary approaches to prove basic properties of the correlation coefficient are of pedagogical interest. Besides posing another proof, this article gives variations of the proofs already existing in the statistical literature     

Comparing Equal-Tail Probability and Unbiased Confidence Intervals for the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient

The conventional confidence interval for the intraclass correlation coefficient assumes equal-tail probabilities. In general, the equal-tail probability interval is biased and other interval procedures should be considered. Unbiased confidence intervals for the intraclass correlation coefficient are readily available. The equal-tail probability and unbiased intervals have exact coverage as they are constructed using the pivotal quantity method. In this article, confidence intervals for the intraclass correlation coefficient are built using balanced and unbalanced one-way random effects models. The expected length of confidence intervals serves as a tool to compare the two procedures. The unbiased confidence interval outperforms the equal-tail probability interval if the intraclass correlation coefficient is small and the equal-tail probability interval outperforms the unbiased interval if the intraclass correlation coefficient is large.     

Moments for a ratio of correlated gamma variates

This paper considers the finite integral moments for the ratio, R = X/Y, where X and Y re correlated gamma distributed variables. An analytical and numerical comparison is given for two classes of underlying bivariate gamma distributions. It is shown that the two bivariate gamma structures provide indentical experessions for the mth unadjussted moment, E(R^m), if and only if either of the following conditions hold : 1) X and Y are uncorrelated of 2) m=1. A numerical evaluation is performed to determine the extent that the two methods differ whenever the variables are correlated     

Testing a censoring hypothesis through an identity test

Given two samples drawn from the same, unknown, population, it is assumed to be known that only one has possibly been censored and which one it is. A nonparametric procedure to test the no censoring null hypothesis against the alternative censoring hypothesis is discussed.     

The identity of memory and the memory of identity in the age of commodification and democratization

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between secularization and commodification of culture on one hand, and national identity always represented as Christian mystery on the other. Focusing on three case studies, Poland, Quebec and Zaire, the author analyses the place of an ordinary object (commodity) as a vehicle of representation of people's affirmation of belonging to a ‘nation’. He stresses the disposable nature of such an affirmation of belonging which allows everyone to alter or cast off the symbols of belonging while changing their social or political contexts.     

‘Trapped between two worlds’ – Muslim Palestinian women from Israel in Jordanian universities: new identity and the price it demands

Interviews were held with 12 Muslim Palestinian women from Israel, presently studying in Jordan (6) or who had completed their higher education in Jordan (6). They explained the factors that pushed or pulled them to study in Jordan, the independence that they experienced there, the empowerment they achieved, and the price they paid when they returned to Arab society in Israel. The Arab cultural space in Jordan is defined as both foreign and close, due to its geographical and cultural proximity, and yet its distance from home and patriarchal supervision. The research findings indicate that this situation influences the formation of these women's gender identity and their empowerment but also creates much pain and conflict. The Palestinian women's new identity, formed during their studies, assists them in their efforts to reintegrate and establish their status when they return from their academic studies abroad to their society of origin, Muslim Arab society in Israel.     

Personal identity versus national identity among Hong Kong youths – personal and social education reform after reunification

This paper examines the use of Chinese traditions for the formation of a felt Hong Kong identity and a national identity among students in the personal and social education curriculum before and after reunification with China in 1997. This paper argues that the addition of China elements to the curriculum after reunification contributes to the continuous ambiguous identity of students, which is consistent with the results of various poll surveys about the civic identity of Hong Kong people in a larger context. This is because the personal and social education reform after reunification assumed a simple correlation between the patriotic feelings of students and their knowledge of China. It does not question how the promotion of an intensely unifying ‘cultural identity’ as political commitment is differentiated from the day-to-day ‘cultural experiences’ of students.     

The dynamics of negation: identity formation among Palestinian Arab college students inside the green line

How does granting certificates of ‘business clean of Arab workers’ to owners of shops, stores, and Jewish businesses who prove they are not employing Arab workers shape identity? Identity development involves making sense of, and coming to terms with, the social world one inhabits, recognizing choices and making decisions within contexts, and finding a sense of unity within one's self while claiming a place in the world. Since there is no objective, ahistoric, universal trans-cultural identity, views of identity must be historically and culturally situated. This paper explores identity issues among members of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel. While there is a body of literature exploring this subject, we will offer a different perspective by contextualizing the political and economic contexts that form an essential foundation for understanding identity formation among this minority group. We argue that, as a genre of settler colonialism, ‘pure settlement colonies’ involve the conquering not only of land, but of labor as well, excluding the natives from the economy. Such an exclusion from the economy is significant for its cultural, social, and ideological consequences, and therefore is especially significant in identity formation discussed in the paper. We briefly review existing approaches to the study of identity among Palestinian Arabs in Israel, and illustrate our theoretical contextual framework. Finally, we present and discuss findings from a new study of identity among Palestinian Arab college students in Israel through the lens of this framework.