The social experience of physically disabled Australian university students

Research on the university experience of disabled students has focused on barriers in learning and teaching, while the social world of university has as yet gained little attention as a distinctive object of study. Here we examine social experience and socially imposed restrictions through the lenses of social capital and self-concept. A qualitative study investigated the formation of social capital and changes in self-concept amongst physically disabled Australian university students. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using a grounded theory approach. The study found weak social attachments at university, but stronger attachments outside. Self-concept did not appear to be structured in any direct way by university-generated social capital, partly as a consequence of its weakness.     

Smooth tail-index estimation

The two parametric distribution functions appearing in the extreme-value theory – the generalized extreme-value distribution and the generalized Pareto distribution – have log-concave densities if the extreme-value index γ∈[?1, 0]. Replacing the order statistics in tail-index estimators by their corresponding quantiles from the distribution function that is based on the estimated log-concave density ? f _n leads to novel smooth quantile and tail-index estimators. These new estimators aim at estimating the tail index especially in small samples. Acting as a smoother of the empirical distribution function, the log-concave distribution function estimator reduces estimation variability to a much greater extent than it introduces bias. As a consequence, Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the smoothed version of the estimators are well superior to their non-smoothed counterparts, in terms of mean-squared error.     

修正衰减曲线法在低渗气藏动态分析中的应用

摘要：压力是气井和气藏生产动态分析的灵魂，很多动态分析方法都与压力有着直接的联系。然而，由于致密低渗透气藏产量低、压力下降快、关井压力恢复缓慢等生产特征，以及生产方式的限制，在生产过程中很难获得气井或气藏地层压力资料。压降法、产量不稳定分析法和产量递减曲线分析方法是气藏常用的气井生产动态分析方法，但由于地层压力资料缺乏，压降法和产量不稳定分析法也都受到了很大的限制，在衰减递减曲线分析方法的基础上对其进行修正，摆脱了压力资料的限制，通过和压降法对比分析，验证了修正衰减曲线分析方法在生产动态分析中的可靠性。     

A grounded theory of living a life with a physical disability in Taiwan

This study explores the experiences of disability for a number of Taiwanese adults with a physical disability. Using a grounded theory approach, their experiences of living a life with a physical disability were gained through in-depth interviews. The resulting grounded theory ‘it is more than just the impaired body’ presents the dynamic interactions between the participants and the context in which they were living their lives and how they managed their lives within that context. With its inclusion of the cultural dimension, a holistic way of understanding the daily lives of those who experience physical disability in Taiwan is provided.     

Bilateral Donors' Efforts to Assess and Manage UN Agencies' Effectiveness: Seeking a Balance between Paris Principles and Domestic Accountability

Since the turn of the century, results orientation and performance measurement have become buzzwords in development aid. Bilateral donors are increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of core‐funded UN specialised agencies, funds and programmes, through which they channel a substantial part of their funds. While the logic for increased monitoring is clear, it is less evident how to assess this information for purposes of accountability, performance‐based funding and governance. This article describes the general evolution in this area and discusses two major initiatives to harmonise and align bilateral assessments, using case‐study material from three bilateral donors (Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK) with clearly diverging performance‐management cultures, and exploring the extent to which they rely upon joint and aligned initiatives.     

Perceptions of Domestic Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Stereotypes and Gender Role Expectations

In light of evidence suggesting that violence between lesbian couples is oftentimes dismissed as “mutually combative,” expectations that support this perception were examined. Participants (N = 287) evaluated a domestic violence situation within the context of a lesbian partnership. As physical appearance may be used to support gender- and heterosexist-based stereotypes relating to lesbians, participants evaluated a domestic violence incident wherein the physical appearance of both the victim and perpetrator were systematically varied. Overall, women perceived the situation as more dangerous than did men. However, among women, the plausibility of the victim's claim, and blame assigned to the perpetrator and victim, varied as a function of the physical appearance of the couple. Implications of this research as well as future directions are discussed.     

人力资源管理与企业战略、绩效关系研究的演进——基于企业环境的变化

高度动态化的环境作为当前企业面临的最大问题,导致不可预测性的增强。这将直接影响战略的制定和执行。因此,这一环境下的企业如何保持战略实施有效性和竞争优势可持续性成为企业发展道路上的关键。而在战略与绩效的关系中,人力资源作为企业关键的战略性资源是企业运作的基础,其管理起了非常重要的作用。本文通过对已有文献的详细梳理,概括出两类研究类型:战略和人力资源的匹配;人力资源的配置管理与实现绩效的关系。柔性化思想的提出,使人力资源研究有了新的方向。在环境变动这一前提下,人力资源柔性化的管理区别于传统意义上的管理。本文以动态环境的背景,围绕人力资源、战略、绩效三者的关系提炼出整合的演进框架,以更好地指导未来人力资源相关的研究。     

Daily Inhalation Rate and Time‐Activity/Location Pattern in Japanese Preschool Children

Lack of data on daily inhalation rate and activity of children has been an issue in health risk assessment of air pollutants. This study aimed to obtain the daily inhalation rate and intensity and frequency of physical activity in relation to the environment in Japanese preschool children. Children aged four–six years (n= 138) in the suburbs of Tokyo participated in this study, which involved three days' continuous monitoring of physical activity using a tri‐axial accelerometer and parent's completion of a time/location diary during daily life. The estimated three‐day mean daily inhalation rate (body temperature, pressure, saturated with water vapor) was 9.9 ± 1.6 m³/day (0.52 ± 0.09 m³/kg/day). The current daily inhalation rate value of 0.580 m³/kg/day proposed for use in health risk assessment in Japan is confirmed to be valid to calculate central value of inhaled dose of air pollutants in five‐ to six‐year‐old children. However, the 95th percentile daily inhalation rate of 0.83 m³/kg/day based on measurement for five‐year‐old children is recommended to be used to provide an upper bound estimate of exposure that ensure the protection of all five‐ to six‐year‐old children from the health risk of air pollutants. Children spent the majority of their time in sedentary and light level of physical activity (LPA) when indoors, while 85% of their time when outdoors was spent in LPA and moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity. The results suggest the need to consider variability of minute respiratory ventilation rate according to the environment for more refined short‐term health risk assessment.     

The unemployment of women with physical disabilities in Ghana: issues and recommendations

Unemployment among persons with disabilities is high. The situation is worse for women with disabilities as they experience multiple disadvantages on account of gender and disability. The condition for women with disabilities in Ghana could be more complicated, given the intersection of disability, gender, poverty, cultural beliefs and practices. As employment provides not only income for women with disabilities but opportunities for social participation and increases psychological well-being as well as self-esteem, it is imperative to remove barriers that hinder their employment. The current study examines issues associted with the unemployment of women with physical disabilities in Tamale, Ghana, and makes recommendations to policy-makers and practitioners in order to improve the condition of persons with disabilities in general, and particularly women with disabilities.     

Estimating ordered quantiles of two exponential populations with a common minimum guarantee time

The problem of estimating ordered quantiles of two exponential populations is considered, assuming equality of location parameters (minimum guarantee times), using the quadratic loss function. Under order restrictions, we propose new estimators which are the isotonized version of the MLEs, call it, restricted MLE. A sufficient condition for improving equivariant estimators is derived under order restrictions on the quantiles. Consequently, estimators improving upon the old estimators have been derived. A detailed numerical study has been done to evaluate the performance of proposed estimators using the Monte-Carlo simulation method and recommendations have been made for the use of the estimators.