Pearson-Tukey Three-Point Approximations Versus Monte Carlo Simulation

Accuracy of the Pearson-Tukey three-point approximation is measured in units of standard deviation and compared with that of Monte Carlo simulation. Using a variety of well-known distributions, comparisons are made for the mean of a random variable and for common functions of one and two random variables. Comparisons are also made for the mean of an assortment of risk-analysis (Monte Carlo) models drawn from the literature. The results suggest that the Pearson-Tukey approximation is a useful alternative to simulation in risk-analysis situations.     

DETERMINING THE APPROPRIATE DISCOUNT RATES IN PURE CAPITAL RATIONING

This paper proposes an interpretation of the pure capital rationing problem as it is faced by many managers in decentralized firms in which budgets serve as the principal means of control. It is argued that the appropriate objective for situations such as these is the maximization of either undiscounted earnings over the planning horizon or total value of the investments at the horizon. When either objective function is used in conjunction with the frequently encountered linear programming models for the capital rationing problem, shadow prices result which give rise to discount rates that will reproduce the optimal solution using discounted cash flow as a criterion. These results are then used as a means for clarifying several confusing and misleading statements that have appeared in the literature.     

Clinical Assessment of Canadian Military Marriages

This theoretical discussion shed lights on the elements that impact on Canadian military marriages. A case example is presented to illustrate the value of using the strengths perspective, systems theory and attachment theory when assessing couples in this group. It further demonstrates how different assessment approaches produce significantly varied treatment plans.     

PREDICTORS OF WOMEN'S RETURN TO VIOLENT PARTNERS

The study aimed to prospectively assess the variables which predict women's intention to return and actual return to violent partners. A questionnaire was developed and administered to 78 women who were taking refuge in a women's shelter after leaving a violent partner. After a two month period it was determined whether or not the women had returned to their partner. Intention to return was significantly predicted by the frequency and severity of violence, the age of the woman's youngest child, her belief the partner had changed, subjective norms and external locus of control. Actual return was predicted by the intention to return to partner, number of times a women had previously left her partner, commitment to relationship, subjective norms and allocation of responsibility for violence. It was argued that therapeutic interventions that address the attitudinal predictors of intention to return or actual return could aid some women and their children to remain away from a violent living situation.     

An Interesting Property of the Sample Mean under a First-Order Autoregressive Model

The unweighted sample mean is examined as an estimator of the population mean in a first-order autoregressive model. It is demonstrated that the precision of this estimator deteriorates as the number of equally spaced observations taken within a fixed time interval increases.     

Vulnerability in custody: perceptions and practices of police officers and criminal justice professionals in meeting the communication needs of offenders with learning disabilities and learning difficulties

Information provision and communication within the Criminal Justice System can be highly problematic for young people and adults with learning disabilities and difficulties. Paper-based communication is common, and is mandated for the provision of rights and entitlements in custody, but such communication can be poorly understood, potentially leading to miscarriages of justice. This article uses the piloting of a more accessible version of the rights and entitlements notice in custody to explore the communication practices with vulnerable detained persons from the perspectives of professionals within the Criminal Justice System. As a legally mandated text in a context heavily imbued with organisational power, the rights and entitlements notice in custody has sociological significance as a lens through which organisational practices, and understandings, can be examined. The stressful, fast-paced and transitional context of custody shapes communication and interaction in ways that are challenging for the detained person and also the professionals who support them.     

The occupational orientations of jazz musicians: Some recent findings and a reexamination of the evidence

In contrast to earlier studies which stressed the deviant status of jazz players and their hostility toward conventional society, research appearing in the 1960s reported these musicians accepting middle‐class values and aspirations and expressing concern about the public image of their profession. This paper reports the findings of ethnographic research on jazz practitioners undertaken in St. Louis and New Orleans during the 1970s. Two contrasting occupational orientations, or work ideologies, those of the “artist” and the “craftman” (Becker, 1978), are found to coexist among the contemporary generation of jazz modernists. A historical interpretation that links the artist and craftsman orientations to the origin of jazz among blacks and the pattern of its diffusion into the larger society is offered as an explanation for the divergent findings from past studies.