Dynamic Marriage Matching: An Empirical Framework

This paper develops a new model for empirically analyzing dynamic matching in the marriage market and then applies that model to recent changes in the U.S. marriage distribution. Its primary objective is to estimate gains by age from being married today (till death of at least one spouse) relative to remaining single for that same time period. An empirical methodology that relies on the model's equilibrium outcomes identifies the marriage gains using a single cross‐section of observed aggregate matches. This behavioral dynamic model rationalizes a new marriage matching function. The model also solves the inverse problem of computing the vector of aggregate marriages, given a new distribution of available single individuals and estimated preferences. Finally, this paper develops a simple test of the model's empirical validity. Using aggregate data of new marriages and available single men and women in the United States over two decades from 1970 to 1990, I investigate the changes in marriage gains over this period.     

A Rejoinder to Forman on AHP,with Emphasis on the Requirements of Composite Ratio Scales*

In an earlier paper [11], the problems of rank reversals and invalid composite priorities in AHP were addressed by modifications to the AHP procedure. That solution was subsequently criticized [5]. In this paper, we rebut these criticisms, and we show how rank reversals in AHP can arise merely from the process of normalizing local priorities.     

Mortality among elder abuse victims in rural Malaysia: A two-year population-based descriptive study

Our study aims at describing mortality among reported elder abuse experiences in rural Malaysia. This is a population-based cohort study with a multistage cluster sampling method. Older adults in Kuala Pilah (n = 1,927) were interviewed from November 2013 to May 2014. Mortality was traced after 2 years using the National Registration Department database. Overall, 139 (7.2%) respondents died. Fifteen (9.6%) abuse victims died compared to 124 (7.0%) not abused. Mortality was highest with financial abuse (13%), followed by psychological abuse (10.8%). There was a dose-response relationship between mortality and clustering of abuse: 7%, 7.7%, and 14.0% for no abuse, one type, and two types or more, respectively. Among abuse victims, 40% of deaths had ill-defined causes, 33% were respiratory-related, and 27% had cardiovascular and metabolic origin. Results suggest a link between abuse and mortality. Death proportions varied according to abuse subtypes and gender.     

Data availability in accounting research: Some evidence

The data availability policy of the American Accounting Association is examined to address two research questions: (1) Are data dependent results in The Accounting Review readily available for further inquiry and dissemination of accounting knowledge? (2) What are the potential factors that may account for the availability or the lack of data? Several potential factors including job rank, number of revisions before acceptance, source of data, and funding source are suggested to account for the lack of data availability. The results indicate that, in general, authors are not willing to make their data available to others. We conclude by suggesting some options that may ameliorate the situation.     

Defining Problems Fast and Slow: The U‐shaped Effect of Problem Definition Time on Project Duration

This study examines how time spent in problem definition affects problem solving in projects such as Six Sigma projects. Our hypotheses are tested using data collected from 1558 Six Sigma projects in a company. The results show evidence of a U‐shaped relationship between the amount of time spent in the Define phase and project duration. This finding suggests that spending too little time on problem definition potentially causes poor problem formulation, which leads to deficient problem solving and lengthens overall project time. On the other hand, too much time spent on problem definition can lead to unneeded delays in project completion due to diminishing returns on problem definition efforts. Furthermore, the optimal balance between spending too little and too much time depends on prior project experience and project complexity. Prior project experience reduced project completion time and weakened the U‐shaped effect. Conversely, complex projects took longer and appeared to show some evidence of a stronger U‐shaped effect; this suggests balancing the time spent in the Define phase was more challenging for complex projects. Our study also underscores the importance of managing project duration, as projects that were completed faster tended to be associated with higher project savings.     

A new approach to investigating spatial variations of disease

Summary.  For rare diseases the observed disease count may exhibit extra Poisson variability, particularly in areas with low or sparse populations. Hence the variance of the estimates of disease risk, the standardized mortality ratios, may be highly unstable. This overdispersion must be taken into account otherwise subsequent maps based on standardized mortality ratios will be misleading and, rather than displaying the true spatial pattern of disease risk, the most extreme values will be highlighted. Neighbouring areas tend to exhibit spatial correlation as they may share more similarities than non-neighbouring areas. The need to address overdispersion and spatial correlation has led to the proposal of Bayesian approaches for smoothing estimates of disease risk. We propose a new model for investigating the spatial variation of disease risks in conjunction with an alternative specification for estimates of disease risk in geographical areas—the multivariate Poisson–gamma model. The main advantages of this new model lie in its simplicity and ability to account naturally for overdispersion and spatial auto-correlation. Exact expressions for important quantities such as expectations, variances and covariances can be easily derived.     

In the Shadow of Working Men: Gendered Labor and Migrant Rights in South Korea

Based on ethnographic research in South Korea, this article investigates the gendered production of migrant rights under the global regime of temporary migration by examining two groups of Filipina women: factory workers and hostesses at American military camptown clubs. Emphasizing gendered labor processes and symbolic politics, this article offers an analytical framework to interrogate the mechanisms through which a discrepancy of rights is generated at the intersection of workplace organization and civil society mobilization. I identify two distinct labor regimes for migrant women that were shaped in the shadow of working men. Migrant women in the factories labored in the company of working men on the shop floor, which enabled them to form a co-ethnic migrant community and utilize the male-centered bonding between workers and employers. In contrast, migrant hostesses were isolated and experienced gendered stigma under the paternalistic rule of employers. Divergent forms of civil society mobilization in South Korea sustained these regimes: Migrant factory workers received recognition as workers without attention to gender-specific concerns while hostesses were construed as women victims in need of protection. Thus, Filipina factory workers were able to exercise greater labor rights by sharing the dignity of workers as a basis for their rights claims from which hostesses were excluded.     

Procurement process: Decision by exclusion and pairwise comparisons

Two case studies illustrate multicriteria decision making techniques frequently used in procurement practice: least-cost sufficient performance and weighted utility optimization. Both techniques have defects and are rarely robust. Decision by exclusion and pairwise comparisons is proposed as a third approach which eliminates inferior alternatives by generalized forms of minimum performance requirements established under multicriteria framework. It is more robust and maintains high level of accountability.     

The promised planet: alliances and struggles of the gerontocracy in American television science fiction of the 1960s

Introduction.?Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common medical disorder affecting the aging male. A man's perception of a disease affects his health seeking behaviour. This study aimed to explore perceptions of ED among men with ED and how these perceptions came about.

Methods.?This qualitative study utilized in-depth interviews involving 17 urban men aged between 40 and 75 years old.

Results.?Misconceptions existed regarding the definitions of ED. Most men perceived impotence to be more serious than ED. Although most were aware of the medical causes of ED, ‘overuse of penis’ and black magic were mentioned as culturally-related causes. ED was perceived as a serious problem associated with loss of manhood and it had a significant impact on relationships with their partners. However, some adopted an ‘accepting’ view and attributed it to aging and fate. Most men were only familiar with PDE-5 inhibitors and traditional therapies. PDE-5 inhibitors were perceived to be effective but they were concerned about side effects and costs.

Conclusions.?Identifying men's perceptions of ED and its treatment would help doctors in their consultation, and inform health policy makers in planning appropriate public education and services.     

Quality of Parent–Child Relationship, Family Conflict, Peer Pressure, and Drinking Behaviors of Adolescents in an Asian Context: The Case of Singapore

Analyzing data from a probability sample representative of secondary school students in Singapore (N = 1,599), this study examined the independent impact between the quality of mother–child relationship, the quality of father–child relationship and family conflict on the frequency of drinking and drunkenness, and whether each dyadic parent–child relationship quality and family conflict moderate the effect of direct peer pressure on the frequency of drinking and drunkenness among Singaporean adolescents. A series of ordered logit analyses revealed the following results: The quality of father–child relationship had no main effect on either drinking behavior, yet had a moderating effect on the association between direct peer pressure and drunkenness, with the stronger effect of direct peer pressure for adolescents on good terms with their fathers than for those on poor terms with their fathers. Family conflict had a main effect on drunkenness and a moderating effect on the association between direct peer pressure and the frequency of drinking, with the stronger effect of direct peer pressure on the frequency of drinking for adolescents experiencing high family conflict than those experiencing low family conflict. The importance of the father–child relationship quality and family conflict for adolescents’ well-being in Singapore as an Asian context was discussed.