Healthy Barbs: Activism Confronts Mortality

Barbara Brenner, JD, was the Executive Director of Breast Cancer Action (BCA) from 1995–2010. Before that, she was a longtime activist in the anti-war movement and an attorney who, for most of her career, practiced public policy law. After she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 at the age of 41, she took the helm of BCA. Under her leadership, the organization moved into a position of national advocacy—demanding research on the causes and prevention of breast cancer, including the role of industrial pollutants. Barbara started the “Think Before You Pink” campaign, encouraging people to question whether companies that display pink ribbons actually produce products that harm women's health or generate any funds to fight breast cancer. Her blog, “Healthy Barbs,” challenged readers to critique routine healthcare practices and policies. Barbara received numerous awards, including a Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2007, the Smith College Medal in 2012, and the ACLU-Northern California's Lola Hanzel Courageous Advocacy Award in 2012. Barbara had a recurrence of breast cancer in 1996. She died of complications associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, on May 10, 2013.     

“This will help your children”: Service providers’ experiences with military families during cycles of deployment

ABSTRACT

Military families face not only the same challenges as other families, but also unique issues due to their military involvement. Parenting programs for civilian families can be helpful, but they do not generally cover the specific issues faced by military families. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather information from a focus group of eight service providers about the types of issues that affect military families, such that content and delivery of workshops at a social service agency could be formed to specifically cater to military families. This study utilized a phenomenological approach, and analyses revealed areas for social service involvement around the cycle of deployment. Specifically, social services could be helpful by using psychoeducational and normalization techniques around the five major themes that resulted from this study: (1) the issues of servicemembers psychologically withdrawing before deployment, (2) family cohesion and connectedness during and after deployment, (3) family stability during reintegration of the service member, (4) military families experience many of the same challenges that nonmilitary families do (such as domestic violence and financial issues), and (5) utilizing a military culture framework for all military family programs.     

Can Heterosexism Harm Organizations? Predicting the Perceived Organizational Citizenship Behaviors of Gay and Lesbian Employees

An initial test and validation of a model predicting perceived organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) of lesbian and gay employees were conducted using structural equation modeling. The proposed structural model demonstrated acceptable goodness of fit and structural invariance across 2 samples (ns = 311 and 295), which suggested that altruistic OCB performance is precipitated by workplace outness. Furthermore, stigmatization salience and organizational climate for heterosexism predict levels of workplace outness. Organizational climate for heterosexism is negatively related to stigmatization salience. When the model was tested on 2 samples, all structural paths except 1 were significant.     

Estimating population size with truncated sampling

Let X₁, X₂,…,X_n be independent, indentically distributed random variables with density f(x,θ) with respect to a σ-finite measure μ. Let R be a measurable set in the sample space X. The value of X is observable if X ? (X?R) and not otherwise. The number J of observable X’s is binomial, N, Q, Q = 1?P(X ? R). On the basis of J observations, it is desired to estimate N and θ. Estimators considered are conditional and unconditional maximum likelihood and modified maximum likelihood using a prior weight function to modify the likelihood before maximizing. Asymptotic expansions are developed for the [Ncirc]’s of the form [Ncirc] = N + α√N + β + o_p(1), where α and β are random variables. All estimators have the same α, which has mean 0, variance σ² (a function of θ) and is asymptotically normal. Hence all are asymptotically equivalent by the usual limit distributional theory. The β’s differ and Eβ can be considered an “asymptotic bias”. Formulas are developed to compare the asymptotic biases of the various estimators. For a scale parameter family of absolutely continuous distributions with X = (0,∞) and R = (T,∞), special formuli are developed and a best estimator is found.     

Estimating with percentile grouped and truncated date from a scale parameter distribution

Data which is grouped and truncated is considered. We are given numbers n₁<…<n_k=n and we observe X_ni ),i=1,…k, and the tottal number of observations available (N> n_k is unknown. If the underlying distribution has one unknown parameter θ which enters as a scale parameter, we examine the form of the equations for both conditional, unconditional and modified maximum likelihood estimators of θ and N and examine when these estimators will be finite, and unique. We also develop expressions for asymptotic bias and search for modified estimators which minimize the maximum asymptotic bias. These results are specialized tG the zxponential distribution. Methods of computing the solutions to the likelihood equatims are also discussed.     

Range management and production on the fringe: The Caldenal, Argentina

North American problems in coming to terms with the management of the semi-arid Plains environment are well known. Less documented are those of Argentina's equivalent on the fringe of the Humid Pampas. Argentine agricultural aid and research has been focussed on the Humid Pampas, and little understanding of the special problems of the dry zone is apparent. Issues of production and conservation are in urgent need of attention. In addition to the limits posed by the natural environment, a number of human factors affect the ability of ranchers to produce from the dry lands. In a field study of the Caldenal, some indications are that the factors are different from other environments in Latin America. Large properties are not less productive per hectare than small, and standard technology does not guarantee good results from ranching. Tenant farming is not a problem, but there is an impoverished group, those ranchers without other means of earning a livelihood. A recommendation is for encouragement to be given to larger ranch units, and for more research into relevant technology, which is likely to include conservationist measures, whose introduction to the ranches should be financially supported.     

Multinomial and conditional logit discrete-choice models in demography

Although discrete-choice statistical techniques have been used with increasing regularity in demographic analyses, McFadden's conditional logit model is less well known and seldom used. Conditional logit models are appropriate when the choice among alternatives is modeled as a function of the characteristics of the alternatives, rather than (or in addition to) the characteristics of the individual making the choice. We argue that this feature of conditional logit makes it more appropriate for estimating behavioral models. In this article, the conditional logit model is presented and compared with the more familiar multinomial logit model. The difference between the two techniques is illustrated with an analysis of the choice of marital and welfare status by divorced or separated women.     

On Models and theories of inference; structural or pivotal analysis

Recent material is surveyed concerning the foundations of statistical models, the definition and logic of statistical inference, and the additives used in various applications of theories of inference. This background is then used to compare structural/structured models [Fraser 1966, 1968, 1979] and pivotal models [Barnard 1974, 1981]; the models are found to be identical except for nomencalture and basic justification which supports the structural format. An outline is given of the development of the structural/structured model and of the corresponding mode of inference. The recent pivotal methods of analysis are assessed with this development as background.