Consumer health crisis management: Apple's crisis responsibility for iPod-related hearing loss

This study used a content analysis of Apple's lawsuit concerning hearing loss, exploring how for-profit organizations manage health-related crises when products are suspected of having a potentially devastating impact on consumers’ health. By integrating two major approaches in a crisis communication, this study found that severity of damage, locus of control, business size, and the external public's claim were major contingent factors generating the organization's responsibility for consumer health crises.     

关于中国会计准则中处理不确定性方法的思考

文章通过对会计不确定性的来源、成因和计量方法的分析,指出了在我国会计准则中处理会计不确定性问题的一些不足,指出在处理会计不确定性时应采用一些更为科学的估计和判断方法,主要有:对不确定性程度更详细地分类,制定更合理的不确定性事项的会计准则,注重附注、表外披露等。     

From advocacy to accommodation: A case study of the Orlando Magic's public relations efforts to secure a new arena

A case study of the Orlando Magic NBA franchise was conducted to understand media relations, community relations, and foundation efforts in support of a new or renovated arena, examining how either accommodation or advocacy was used when the franchise was in direct conflict with one (or many) of its publics. The contingency theory of accommodation in public relations served as the framework for understanding the franchises efforts. Over the time frame covered by the study, the organization was found to move along the continuum from advocacy to accommodation in its public relations efforts regarding the arena issue.     

Estimation of proportions for multinomial contingency tables subject to marginal constraints

For a two-way table of observed proportions we consider four approaches to the problem of fitting a new set of proportions which-subject to satisfying marginal constraints on row and column totals-corresponds as closely as possible to the original table, The approaches are known to be asymptotically equivalent; but our chief interest is in establishing, at least for the 2x2 table, a hierarchy of preferences under multinomial sampling for moderate sample sizes. Implementation of minimum chi-square is described and recommended.     

A Comparison of Two Tests for Equality of Two Proportions

Two procedures for testing equality of two proportions are compared in terms of asymptotic efficiency. The comparison favors use of a statistic equivalent to Goodman's Y ² over the usual X ² statistic in some cases including that of equal sample sizes. Numerical comparisons indicate that the asymptotic results have some relevance for moderate sample sizes.     

A Condition to Obtain the Same Decision in the Homogeneity Testing Problem from the Frequentist and Bayesian Point of View

We develop a Bayesian procedure for the homogeneity testing problem of r populations using r × s contingency tables. The posterior probability of the homogeneity null hypothesis is calculated using a mixed prior distribution. The methodology consists of choosing an appropriate value of π₀ for the mass assigned to the null and spreading the remainder, 1 ? π₀, over the alternative according to a density function. With this method, a theorem which shows when the same conclusion is reached from both frequentist and Bayesian points of view is obtained. A sufficient condition under which the p-value is less than a value α and the posterior probability is also less than 0.5 is provided.     

A Multistage Chi-square Test for Measurement of the Degree of Association in Two-way Table

The classical chi-square test for independence cannot convey additional information and the degree of the association of two factors in two-way contingency table. Besides, measures of association by contingency coefficient need to be used with care, because the association measures depend on the number of rows r and the number of columns c. This article proposes a multistage chi-square test to measure the degree of the association between the two factors in two-way contingency table. We also give simulation and real examples to assess the performance of the proposed method. The results show that our proposed method can effectively investigate the degree of association of two factors in two-way contingency table.     

非神秘的必然性

必然性和偶然性是哲学和逻辑学中一对重要的范畴。自古以来,分歧就很多。到了现代更是由于复杂性科学的发展,使这个问题变得越发复杂。本文从形而上学的角度、物理学的角度,以及文化的角度重新关注这个问题,阐明必然性与偶然性在人的生存中的重要性。     

Generating Conflict for Greater Good: Utilizing Contingency Theory to Assess Black and Mainstream Newspapers as Public Relations Vehicles to Promote Better Health among African Americans

The potential use of strategic conflict management ( Wilcox and Cameron, 2006; Cameron, Wilcox, Reber and Shin ( in press) as a health advocacy tool in US African-American and mainstream newspapers, arguing that escalation of conflict can increase effectiveness of health-related news releases. For health communicators focusing on at-risk populations with poor health outcomes, such goals would include increased awareness of health problems and solutions, along with increased motivation arising from indignation over health disparities. Content analysis of 1,197 stories in 24 Black and 12 mainstream newspapers showed that more conflict factors were present in Black vs. mainstream newspapers, suggesting a way to strategically place health messages in news releases disseminated to newspapers that motivate at-risk publics to better health. The findings suggest that conflict factors such as racial disparity data regarding health issues may enhance media advocacy.