Subroutines for computing minimum variance unbiased estimators of functions of the parameters in the normal and gamma distributions

In this paper subroutines are given which calculate the uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimators (UMVUE’ s) of a broad class of functions of the parameters of the normal and gamma distributions. These subroutines employ the new expressions for the UMVUE’ s given recently by Gray, Watkins, and Schucany (1973), Woodward and Gray (1975), and Gray, Schucany, and Woodward (1976). In order to employ the subroutines here the user need only be able to provide a FORTRAN function subprogram to calculate derivatives of the function, either analytically or numerically.     

A Note on the Geometric Representation of the Correlation Coefficients

Four widely used statistical program packages—BMDP, SPSS, DATATEXT, and OSIRIS—were compared for computational accuracy on sample means, standard deviations, and correlations. Only one, BMDP, was not seriously inaccurate in calculations on a data set of three observations. Further, SPSS computed inaccurate statistics in a discriminant analysis on a real data set of 848 observations. It is recommended that the desk calculator algorithm, found in most of these programs, not be used in packages which may run on short word length machines.     

PEGASE Program: Identification of babies in the child protection system at risk of developmental delays or disorders and the implementation of a ‘supra-optimal’ care pathway

The importance of the first three years of life for children's development and the consequences for their general health in adulthood have been widely documented in the international literature, including the benefits of early identification and intervention programs. Additionally, convergent research has highlighted wide-ranging negative trajectories attributable to both the short and long-term consequences of abuse and neglect and their neurobiological impact on health and development. However, formal identification processes and the use of standardised screening tools in child protection remain relatively rare despite the potential societal impact of child maltreatment in terms of public and economic health. Moreover, delays between the initial identification of mental health problems and health and developmental disorders, and the introduction of appropriate interventions persist. Abused and neglected infants risk an exacerbation of the consequences of early maltreatment due to insufficient access to prompt assessment and treatment, including appropriate responses to their health needs. The aim of this article is to present the PEGASE program, an innovative French program for very young children in care, which is modelled on the care of premature babies. By setting up an early care pathway, it aims to ensure adequate medical follow-up – both somatic and psychiatric – through standardised examination and tailored interventions in order to limit the adverse health and developmental consequences of abuse. The presentation of the PEGASE program is supplemented by a case study.     

Great powers in global tax governance: a comparison of the US role in the CRS and BEPS

The G20 and the OECD recently claimed two successes in global tax governance: adopting automatic exchange of banking information in 2014, and the 2015 BEPS project on taxation of multinational companies. While the former signifies an essential step forward in reducing tax evasion, the BEPS outcomes were criticized for merely patching up flawed taxation principles based on the arms’-length standard. The emergence of global automatic exchange of information is often ascribed to the US who unilaterally enforced its own FATCA automatic information-exchange standard, while no comparable action happened during BEPS. This article investigates the US position on the BEPS outcomes and if a similar unilateral action would have led to more far-reaching cooperation concerning BEPS. By examining the distributional consequences of cooperation in both processes, we conclude that US power in tax governance in both issues is more limited than generally assumed and insufficient to explain global cooperation.     

Modelling academic entrepreneurial intention with Bayesian networks / Modelado de la intención emprendedora académica con redes bayesianas

Entrepreneurship serves as an engine for the economy and has sparked a great deal of scholarly interest since the Enlightenment. Today, universities play an essential role in knowledge transfer as drivers that promote this phenomenon. The objective of this study is to compare different theoretical models that seek to explain the variables involved in entrepreneurial intention among university faculty using an automatic structural learning method of Bayesian networks. The sample was comprised of 1,068 professors from Spanish public universities between the ages of 24 and 77 (M = 43.54, SD = 9.78). The results show that the variables that directly predict entrepreneurial intention are self-efficacy, desirability, attitude and social norm. These results are interesting for further exploring knowledge of the variables involved in the process of entrepreneurship at the university level and proposing systems to foster entrepreneurship.     

Attachment Between Former Spouses

This study examines the relationship between attachment of former spouses and parental communication and involvement. Data were collected from one hundred and seventeen divorced persons (46 men and 71 women) with school aged children. Research instruments included a shortened version of Kitson's (1982) attachment scale and Goldsmith's (1980) Co-Parental Communication and Parental Participation scales. Results suggest attachment may not be an adequate predictor in how involved divorced men are with their children. Rather, family boundary ambiguity in divorced families (particularly for males) may contribute to both low parental involvement and co-parental communication.     

The impacts of welfare reform on federal assistance to persistently poor children

During the late twentieth century, the US social safety net was transformed to incentivize work by providing generous wage subsidies for low-income workers and reducing federal assistance to able-bodied unemployed adults. Following the transformation and during the economic boom of the 1990s, welfare rolls and annual poverty rates plummeted, especially for children. Despite the economic boom, there were still many persistently poor children living with parents who did not work, and little is known about how the reforms impacted these children's finances. In this paper we compare rates of persistent child poverty before and after the welfare reforms and examine how federal assistance received by persistently poor children changed as a result of the reforms. We find that federal assistance to persistently poor children declined following the reforms, but with divergent results depending on parental employment. While persistently poor children with employed parents benefited from increased income via the Earned Income Tax Credit, those with chronically unemployed parents did not and also experienced substantial reductions in cash welfare and food stamps. These findings demonstrate how persistently poor children fared financially in the years following the reforms and suggest possible implications for the current period of high unemployment.     

Violence in the Black Church

Abstract

Violence in the Black Church is an issue that is frequently discussed in quiet corners, mainly among church devotees. This article argues that the Black Church is the backbone of the Black community. Moreover, if it becomes secularized, and ensnared with disruptive factionalism, its role may be significantly diminished. Faith-based programs, school vouchers, the role of women in the church, and ministerial behaviors are among the structural issues giving rise to violence in the Black Church. The paper draws on many sources of data, and is interpreted within the theoretical framework of a systems perspective.     

Federal Welfare and Housing Policy at the Crossroads

Abstract

A time-series design was used to investigate an innovative, rent incentive-based employment initiative in a predominantly African American public housing community. The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of the Welfare-to-Work (W-t-W) program on resident employment levels and on Public Housing Authority (PHA) revenues and costs. Data were collected on a purposive sample of heads of household (N = 313) representing 78.3% of those in the community. Over half of the residents were under 17 years of age, followed by 24.7% who were 18-34, and 15.5% who were 35-54 years of age. Mean annual income for most participants was less than $5,000, and 60% were welfare reliant. Fifty-six percent of the participants in the study (N = 179) received monthly rent credits (discounts) ranging from $23 to $333 (m = $87, s.d. = $38.60). Employment levels in the community increased considerably over the study period and the W-t-W initiative was cost-effective to the PHA. Implications are discussed regarding advantages and limitations of intersected federal welfare and housing policies, the need for formative, evidence-based assessments of W-t-W programs, and the achievement of economic self-sufficiency of public housing residents.     

Workfare Programs

Abstract

Workfare initially originated as an approach to guide welfare recipients towards self-sufficiency. Today, the same strategy is being utilized as a desperate means by the States to move welfare recipients into the workforce in order not to suffer further cuts in federal assistance.

This paper reviews many of the common barriers which participants experience as they attempt to move from being welfare recipients to employees. In addition, it presents effective workfare programs, identifies critically needed support services for workfare participants, and suggests policy recommendations for the future.