Lack Of Equivalence Research Articles

Instability, the Hicks Conditions, and the Choice of the Numeraire

IN HIS VALUE AND CAPITAL, Hicks developed the well known conditions for (perfect) stability of an equilibrium system. These conditions are based on the slopes of the excess demand functions only, and not on any explicit dynamic system. A dynamic formulation was first given by Samuelson [11]. He demonstrates that his dynamic stability conditions differ essentially from those of Hicks, and constructs numerical examples to show that the Hicks conditions are neither necessary [11] nor sufficient [12] for dynamic stability.' However, these examples are more or less arbitrary, in the sense that they are derived without consideration of the microeconomic foundations of the excess demand functions. More recently, use has been made of properties as the homogeneity of the excess demand functions and the Law of Walras in analyzing the stability of a competitive equilibrium.2 Similarly, Scarf [14] constructed examples of instability of a competitive exchange model based on such properties. The following two questions may be raised given that the examples of Scarf are not only dynamically unstable but also unstable in the sense of Hicks for any choice of the numeraire commodity (if any). First, can the lack of equivalence between the Hicks and Samuelson conditions be demonstrated while full use is made of the microeconomic implications of a purely competitive economy? Second, can this demonstration be made in such a way that the lack of equivalence is invariant under a change in numeraire? The purpose of this paper is to answer these two questions affirmatively using examples similar to those of Scarf. In the next section the Scarf examples will be shortly reproduced. A slightly modified model is used in Section 3 to illustrate the relevance of the choice of the numeraire in the proposed comparison of stability conditions. In the final section we construct two examples of competitive equilibria, the one being stable but non-Hicksian for any choice of the numeraire, the other being unstable but Hicksian irrespective of the choice of the numeraire.

Spontaneous responses of first grade children to diagnostic picture articulation tests

Pictures selected from four diagnostic articulation tests were presented to male and female first grade children from low and middle socio-economic homes. The aims of the study were to determine (1) whether sex or socio-economic background influenced the correct, spontaneous naming of the pictures, (2) whether the number of correct responses elicited by the pictures from each articulation test would be significantly different, and (3) whether the four tests could be considered equivalent forms. The results indicated that socio-economic background affects children's responses during administration of diagnostic articulation tests. The Photo Articulation Test was the most effective in eliciting spontaneous responses, and a lack of equivalency between the four tests was shown.

The Art of Translation

Summary: Translation is important for effective international communication. Translation can help make scientific and technical material common among scientists from different nations. Although of its recognized importance a comparatively small amount of critical attention has been given to the art of translation, among which one can find many contradicting principles. The governing principle of translation is that the nature of the content, the purpose of translation, and the intended reader determine whether the translation will be literal, paraphrasical, idiomatic or partial. It is advisable to blend the four methods when necessary to achieve the prime goal of translation: conveying the original meanings through the language of rendition. Specific problems in translation are grouped under two main headings: lack of equivalence, and idiomatic problems. By "lack of equivalence" is meant two things: (1) unidentical meanings attached to two corresponding words, (2) nonexistent words in the language of rendition corresponding to words in the original language. Faced with these problems, the translator has to choose between three alternatives: (1) transliteration, (2) adaptation, or (3) the coining of new words. Technical terms of Greek and Latin origin and nonexistent in the language of rendition should be transliterated or adapted. Idiom was defined as all patterns of linguistic expressions peculiar to the language, and the style of the writer. Idioms can be classified according to their method of translation: literal, idiomatic, and paraphrasical. It is difficult to preserve the style of the author. However if the style is significant, the translator has to strive to preserve the style without obscuring the meaning. In technical and scientific translation the meaning is of greater importance than the style. Translation should always be done into one's own language. A good translator should be familiar with the cultural background of the original piece of work. He should have satisfactory knowledge of the foreign language, the scientific subject matter under translation, and he should possess a high degree of sympathy to be able to translate literary material. Ability to write his own language is a necessary qualification. Translating machines can be of help in translating scientific and technical material, but not in translating literary material. With the development of translating machines this limitation might be overcome.

On the relationship between affect and cognition.

The relationship between affect and cognition was explored by means of an attitude instrument, the implicative meaning (IM) procedure. The instrument was developed as a measure of attitudinal cognition, but it bears considerable resemblance to other procedures that have been hypothesized to be indirect measures of attitudinal affect. Two samples of Ss ( Ns of 75 and 84) and 12 attitude objects were studied. The correlations between IM scores and an independent measure of affect were low (sample means of .39 and .45). In terms of variance controlled, the majority of correlations controlled, at best, only 25% to 40% of the reliable common variance, indicating a lack of equivalence. These data support a conceptualization of attitude which distinguishes affect from cognition.

Self esteem and first names in children.

The view that people who dislike their first names tend to be less self accepting than people who like their first names has been expressed in a number of publications (1, 6). One writer (3 ) suggests that the importance assigned to one's name declines with the end of school. But because of a paucity of self-esteem measures for children and a lack of equivalence between existing measures, the relationship is by no means certain. Coopersmith ( 2 ) has developed a Self Esteern Inventory (SEI) using items mostly selected from the Rogers and Dymond ( 5 ) scale. On this scale S rates himself. Additionally, there is a Behavioural Raiing Form (BRF) in which teachers or persons associated with Ss are asked to rate them on a 14-item, 5-point scale on behaviours presumed to be related to S's self esteem. Using these scales Coopersmith found substantial agreement between his Ss' ratings of themselves and the teachers' ratings of Ss. After a 5-week interval the test-retest reliability was .88. In the present smdy the Coopersmith scale was administered to 80 male and 80 female intermediate school children (mean age 12 yr.). In addition to the Coopersmith scales, Ss answered an additional item in which they were asked Do you like your first name? Responses in the like direction were scored 1, dislike 0. The mean self-esteem (SEI) score for the 8 0 New Zealand boys was 83.12 (1.82 points above Coopersmith's mean for 44 Ithaca school boys of a comparable age), and for the girls a mean of 80.18 was obtained, which interestingly, was 3.12 points below Coopersmith's girls' mean. This difference between the Ithaca girls and the New Zealand girls' while not significant, is probably a difference in reliability rather than in self esteem for Nicholls ( 4 ) found that for split-half reliabilities, the girls' scores on the Coopersmith inventory were consistently less reliable than the boys'. The r between self esteem as measured on the Coopersmith SEI and liking or disliking of one's first name was ,767 for the girls and .811 for the bogs. As a relationship between liking one's name and liking or disliking of one's self appears, the results seem to support the proposition, at least for the age group studied.

FORM EQUIVALENCE ANALYSIS OF THE BENTON VISUAL RETENTION TEST IN CHILDREN OF LOW IQ

Sunzmary.-The purpose of this study was to determine the presence or lack of equivalence of Forms C and D of the Benton Visual Retention Test both as a memory cask and as a copying task in a sample of 80 children with low IQs. Contrary to previous findings for a sample of average intelligence, this smdy showed Forms C and D to be equivalent on all except one scoring dimension. In an unpublished study Benton, et 111.: have analyzed the equivalence of Forms C and D for the Benton Visual Retention Test (VRT) as a copying task (Administration C) for 60 children, ranging in chronological age from 5 to 11 yr. and from 85 to 115 in IQ. These investigators found that the mean difference scores for number correct (Form C minus Form D) ranged from -1.66 to -.50 (M = -1.10) for the several age levels; mean difference scores for number of errors (Form C minus Form D) ranged from +.5 to +3.00 (M = 1.53) for the several age levels. They concluded rhar, as a copying task, Form C was slightly more difficult than Form D when applied to young children of average intelligence. The purpose of the present study was to examine both the memory (Administration A) and copying (Administration C) forms of the VRT and to determine the equivalence of Forms C and D in a sample of children of low IQ in order to ascertain whether a similar difference in level of difficulty would obtain for this sample. Procedure.-Data for 80 Ss enrolled in 1964-65 special education classes at the Pine School Section of the Hospital School, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, were used in the srudy. Two groups of Ss (38 in Group I and 42 in Group 11) were matched on the pertinent scoring dimensions as indicated in the Benton manual (1963), chronological age, and IQ. The results of this matching procedure are shown in Table 1. The groups are demonstrated to be equivalent on these dimensions and thus on MA as well. Group I received Form C as the memory task (Administration A) and Form D as

Ellipsometry with Non-Ideal Compensators

The lack of equivalence between polarizer extinction aximuths in different zones is the result of relative amplitude attenuation in some mica wave plates. A dependence of transmittance on the orientation of the electric-field vector relative to the compensator axes is caused either by interference, or by pleochroism, or both. Experimental data establish these conclusions. The correct method for interpreting measurements made with such non-ideal compensators is presented.

KRITISCHE BEMERKUNGEN UND VORSCHLÄGE ZUR QUANTITATIVEN VEGETATIONSANALYSE

Starting from the general principles of the Zürich-Montpellier school for the description of vegetation by means of field estimations of abundance, cover etc., the authors criticise the scales adopted by most workers, and some of their interpretations. The following analytical characters of vegetation, and methods of estimation, are discussed: height (layering, recognition of synusiae), peripheral and internal cover, density, abundance, sociability, vitality, fertility, and phenological stage of taxa or layers. The main weaknesses of the usual scales for estimation of these characters (see list of references) are considered to be: 1. The use of combined scales for estimation of abundance and cover, and of vitality and fertility. 2. The lack of equivalence in the range of values for each class in most of the existing scales. 3. The limited range of some of the scales, and the absence of provision for more detailed estimations. 4. The inexact definition of degrees of abundance and sociability in the Braun-Blanquet scale. 5. The confusion about the concept of density. A number of proposals is made for the use of scales with closer intervals, based on decimal, logarithmic or other systems. These leave less room for personal interpretation, and are more suitable for subsequent calculations and autecological studies. A method of reducing errors by carrying out certain estimations in two successive steps is suggested, e.g. by estimating peripheral and internal percentage cover (Fig. 1) separately and multiplying both values to obtain real cover. The proposed scales have been tested in routine field work by the authors and other workers in a wide range of vegetation types. An example is given of an analysis of Dutch coastal sand dune vegetation in which some of the proposed scales have been applied. The authors hope that their proposals for a more accurate description of vegetation will help to consolidate the basic principles underlying the Braun-Blanquet system of classification.

The “Equating” of Non-Parallel Tests

THE PURPOSE of this paper is to explore the feasibility of establishing a unique conversion table for the purpose of translating scores o n one test to scores on another test of different psychological function. In particular, this prob lem will be examined with reference to the Scho lastic Aptitude Test of the College Board, re ferred to here as the SAT, and the A m e r i c an Council on Education Psychological Examination, referred to here as the ACE. The first portion of this paper will attempt to define the sources of error in such a table, and will draw some conclusions regarding their implications fora table of comparable scores. The second por tion will present some empirical e v i dence re garding some difficulties in setting up such a table. In discussing the implications of developing tables of comparable scores, it will be p r o fit able to draw the distinction between parallel and non-parallel tests. In the conversion of scores from one form to a parallel form of a test, such as one form of the ACE to another, or one form of the SAT to another, there is simply the prob lem of transforming the system of units. In such a case, we can consider the problem as directly analogous to the problem of conve r s i o n from centimeters to inches, from Centigrade to Fahr enheit, from pounds to grams, etc. Since the two kinds of measures in each case involve identical functions, the system of conversion is unique; there is one and only one conversion equation. On the other hand, the question of con verting scores from different tests is a n o ther matter. Here the problems include those that are involved in setting up a table of equival e n t scores for tests of identical function, and in ad dition include the difficulties resulting from lack of equivalence of function of the two tests in ques tion.

On the Lack of Equivalence of the Clausius and Kelvin Principles

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The quantitative investigation of the vertebrate brain and the applicability of allometric formulae to its study

A new method for the estimation of the parameters in the allometric equation is described whereby both the estimates and their standard errors are determined in a simple manner. The fitting of curves to biological data is discussed, and the lack of equivalence between a form containing exponential parameters and its logarithmic tranformation shown. The classical method is extended to apply to this situation. The Dubois-Lapicque-Brummelkamp theory is discussed in the light of this work and shown to be untenable. In particular, there is no basis for the view that, if the formy=bxαis fitted to the brain and body weights of vertebrates, the interspecific value ofαis 5/9 and its intraspecific value is 0·26. A final maximum brain weight is demonstrated for some species which is independent of the adult body weight. The analysis of mental development in terms of 'cephalization constants’ is not in accord­ance with the facts, and a much deeper analysis of the comparative anatomy involved must be made if a quantitative study of the ontogenetic and phylogenetic development of the brain is to be achieved.