GMM tests for the Katz family of distributions

Generalized method of moments (GMM) is used to develop tests for discriminating discrete distributions among the two-parameter family of Katz distributions. Relationships involving moments are exploited to obtain identifying and over-identifying restrictions. The asymptotic relative efficiencies of tests based on GMM are analyzed using the local power approach and the approximate Bahadur efficiency. The paper also gives results of Monte Carlo experiments designed to check the validity of the theoretical findings and to shed light on the small sample properties of the proposed tests. Extensions of the results to compound Poisson alternative hypotheses are discussed.     

Generations,Identities, and the Collective Memory of Che Guevara1

Has the image of Che Guevara lost its power to evoke radical politics in the face of pervasive commodification? The commercialization of this 1960s political icon has called into question the power of the market to shape collective memories. Meanwhile, antisystemic movements of the left continue to erect his image at protest events. In light of this contest over how Che Guevara is remembered, we investigate, using data from a survey of Spanish citizens, who is most likely to recall him. We find qualified support for the theory of generational imprinting—Che is more often recalled by those generations who saw him rise to prominence during their formative years, although prominent as a collective symbol rather than as a living person. Our results also corroborate the claim that historical figures or events are more salient for, and therefore more likely to be remembered by, some subgenerational units than others. Thus, although the younger generations are in general more likely than their elders to recall Che, he is most frequently remembered by the highly educated leftists who espouse postmaterialist and posttraditionalist values and identify more with their local regions than with the nation of Spain. These patterns suggest that, in contrast to the dire predictions of mass culture theorists, the memory of Che Guevara has become increasingly tied to markers of social, ethnic‐regional, and political identity.     

Effects of Marriage and Children on Financial Risk Tolerance: A Synthesis of Family Development and Prospect Theory

Family development and prospect theory were used as a framework to predict variability in individuals' subjective financial risk tolerance within distinct family structures. Gender, age, and income were expected to interact with the main effects of family structure (marital status and children). Theory-generated hypotheses were examined in Study 1 (data from university housing respondents, n = 76) and Study 2 (the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances, n = 4,305). One family structure main effect (child presence) was significant for investment risk tolerance in both studies. Family structure interactions (marital status × age and child × income) were significant for employment risk (Study 1), and child × age was significant for investment risk in Study 2.     

六朝家训的文化阐释

六朝时期,由于儒学传播及家族延续的需要,家训大量涌现,形成了我国古代家训发展史上的第一个高峰。六朝家训具有和族睦宗、修身砺行、敦诫勉学、传教为官、处世之道等文化内涵。它既是先秦两汉家训的终结,又是隋唐家训的起点,具有承先启后、继往开来的重要意义。在今天,如果我们去其糟粕,取其精华,六朝家训的很多内容对我们今天的教育依然有一定的借鉴价值。     

封建大家族颓败的必然趋势-试论贾府只知安富尊荣与不善运筹谋划

主仆上下一味地安富尊荣和不善运筹谋划,是导致贾府颓败的基本原因.其当家者,或不善于运筹谋划,或为极端利己主义者,或昏庸度日无所事事;而真正有远见卓识者则一律不在其位,难谋其政.最终使得贾府败亡.     

Consumption Patterns of Chinese Children

In the ten-year period from 1990 to 1999, children's consumption has increased dramatically in proportion to family income. In 85% of urban families, children's average consumption is equal to one third or more of the family's income. Resources are being directed to children's food and dietary supplements, toys, travel, computers and other electronic equipment, and educational resources. Children perceive that they have a significant influence on the family's financial decision-making. Problems related to children's consumption include indulgence in unnecessary or harmful purchases, and conspicuous consumption that cannot be sustained by the family's income. While some child-focused spending is viewed as enriching development, other expenditures may harm the family's economic well-being and foster an overly materialistic outlook among children.     

中古吴兴武康姚氏之家风与家学--从一个侧面看文化因素在世族传承中的作用

吴兴姚氏起自汉末、孙吴时期 ,此后长期衰微 ,仕途不畅 ,沦为“贱族”。然因其有文化 ,姚氏不仅得以保持“素族”的本色 ,而且在南北朝后期有所振作 ,至唐代宦位荣显。由于儒家文化的熏染 ,姚氏子弟多有忠义与孝义之行。就其家学言 ,姚氏早期以通晓儒家经术知名 ,南北朝后期注重文史 ,至隋、唐终得大成。同时姚氏精于医术 ,在北朝倍受重视 ,这为其家族地位的上升提供了契机     

The organizational shaping of collective identity: The case of lesbian and gay film festivals in New York

Using information gathered during fieldwork on New York lesbian and gay film festival organizations, this paper argues that scholarship on identity has not paid sufficient attention to the organizational mediation of collective identity. The shape of collective identity—how internal instabilities and diversities are accommodated, in this case—depends not only on the emergent characteristics of the “collective,” but also on the resolution of challenges particular to organizational fields. Two very differently conceived lesbian and gay festival organizations, sites at which decision making about collective identity is ongoing and self-conscious, are examined. The analysis traces how each responds to two related tasks: maintaining community legitimacy, which requires racial diversification, and surviving within an altered institutional environment. Rather than imposition from “above” or construction from “below,” the adaptive responses by organizations (to changes in both community expectations and the resource environment) transform the collective identity formulations reaching public visibility. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Colloquium Series of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, City University of New York, 1995, and at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Washington, DC, 1995.     

Estimation of noncentrality parameters

We propose some estimators of noncentrality parameters which improve upon usual unbiased estimators under quadratic loss. The distributions we consider are the noncentral chi-square and the noncentral F. However, we give more general results for the family of elliptically contoured distributions and propose a robust dominating estimator.     

Women's Changing Attitudes Toward Divorce, 1974–2002: Evidence for an Educational Crossover

This article examines trends in divorce attitudes of young adult women in the United States by educational attainment from 1974 to 2002. Women with 4‐year college degrees, who previously had the most permissive attitudes toward divorce, have become more restrictive in their attitudes toward divorce than high school graduates and women with some college education, whereas women with no high school diplomas have increasingly permissive attitudes toward divorce. We examine this educational crossover in divorce attitudes in the context of variables correlated with women's educational attainment, including family attitudes and religion, income and occupational prestige, and family structure. We conclude that the educational crossover in divorce attitudes is associated most strongly with work and family structure variables.