The present study was an attempt to further investigate what factors contributed to whether married individuals defined their relationship as traditional or nontraditional. The project, moreover, explored what variables affected marital adjustment levels. The variables whose effects were assessed regarding whether married individuals defined their relationship as traditional or nontraditional included self-actualization and presence or absence of children. The factors examined thought to affect marital adjustment levels were self-actualization, subjective definition of the relationship as traditional or nontraditional, and presence or absence of children.

This thesis contributes to two completely unrelated debates in the economic literature, similar only in the relatively high degree of controversy characterizing each one. The first part is methodological and macroeconomic in nature, addressing the question of whether the distribution of income across countries is converging (i.e. are the poor catching up to the rich?) or diverging (i.e. are we witnessing the formation of two exclusive clubs, one for poor countries and another one for rich countries?). Applications of the simple Markov model to this question have generated evidence in favor of the divergence hypothesis. In the first chapter, I critically review these results. I use statistical inference to show that the divergence results are not statistically robust, and I explain that this instability of the results comes from the application of a model for discrete data to data that is actually continuous. In the second chapter, I reposition the whole convergence-divergence debate by placing it in the context of Silverman’s classic survey of non-parametric density estimation techniques. This allows me to use the basic notions of fuzzy logic to adapt the simple Markov chain model to continuous data. When I apply the newly adapted Markov chain model to the cross-country distribution question, I find evidence against the divergence hypothesis, and this evidence is statistically robust. The second part of the thesis is empirical and microeconomic in nature. I question whether observed differences between husbands’ and wives’ participation in labor markets are due to different preferences or to different constraints. My identification strategy is based on the idea that the more power an individual has relative to his/her partner, the more his/her actions will reflect his/her preferences. I use 2001 PSID data on cohabiting couples to estimate a simultaneous equations model of the spousal time allocation decision. My results confirm the stylized fact that specialization and trade does not explain time allocation for couples in which the wife is the primary breadwinner, and suggest that power could provide a more general explanation of the observations. My results show that wives with relatively more power choose to work more on the labor market and less at home, whereas husbands with more power choose to do the opposite. Since women start out from a lower level of labor market participation than men do, it would seem that spouses’ agree that the ideal mix of market work and housework lies somewhere between the husbands’ and the wives’ current positions.

One of the most important social institutions in our society is that of the family and specifically the union of marriage. Marriage is one of God's central institutions as it depicts His relationship to his body of believers just as Christ is the groom and his body the bride. Full-time ministry couples experience certain pressures, which impact the health and union of the marriage in a variety of ways - yet these "pressures" are not always understood in society or by the church. This study undertakes to understand what the influence of full-time ministry has on the health of a marriage for couples who are engaged in full-time ministry. Through a qualitative empirical research based on the model of Zerfass, the researcher will gain understanding into the various aspects underlying the ministry environment that influences the health of a marriage. The researcher establishes that three main areas must be formulated for future ministry couples in order to function at an optimal level. These areas include the establishment of proper ministerial and marriage guidelines. It also includes that married couples should gain proper equilibrium and consciousness towards their ministry and marriage health. It is evident that the body of Christ doesn't fully grasp the influence of full-time ministry on the health of a marriage. An overall uncertainty exists of what constitutes a healthy marriage and therefore a lack of understanding on the various pressures exerted on full-time ministry is prevalent. Ultimately couples should realise that today's changing times and uncertain job roles necessitate flexibility to adapt to new environments while still holding on to a healthy marriage union / Thesis (M.A. (Practical Theology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

One of the most important social institutions in our society is that of the family and specifically the union of marriage. Marriage is one of God's central institutions as it depicts His relationship to his body of believers just as Christ is the groom and his body the bride. Full-time ministry couples experience certain pressures, which impact the health and union of the marriage in a variety of ways - yet these "pressures" are not always understood in society or by the church. This study undertakes to understand what the influence of full-time ministry has on the health of a marriage for couples who are engaged in full-time ministry. Through a qualitative empirical research based on the model of Zerfass, the researcher will gain understanding into the various aspects underlying the ministry environment that influences the health of a marriage. The researcher establishes that three main areas must be formulated for future ministry couples in order to function at an optimal level. These areas include the establishment of proper ministerial and marriage guidelines. It also includes that married couples should gain proper equilibrium and consciousness towards their ministry and marriage health. It is evident that the body of Christ doesn't fully grasp the influence of full-time ministry on the health of a marriage. An overall uncertainty exists of what constitutes a healthy marriage and therefore a lack of understanding on the various pressures exerted on full-time ministry is prevalent. Ultimately couples should realise that today's changing times and uncertain job roles necessitate flexibility to adapt to new environments while still holding on to a healthy marriage union / Thesis (M.A. (Practical Theology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

This thesis contributes to two completely unrelated debates in the economic literature, similar only in the relatively high degree of controversy characterizing each one. <p>The first part is methodological and macroeconomic in nature, addressing the question of whether the distribution of income across countries is converging (i.e. are the poor catching up to the rich?) or diverging (i.e. are we witnessing the formation of two exclusive clubs, one for poor countries and another one for rich countries?). Applications of the simple Markov model to this question have generated evidence in favor of the divergence hypothesis. In the first chapter, I critically review these results. I use statistical inference to show that the divergence results are not statistically robust, and I explain that this instability of the results comes from the application of a model for discrete data to data that is actually continuous. In the second chapter, I reposition the whole convergence-divergence debate by placing it in the context of Silverman’s classic survey of non-parametric density estimation techniques. This allows me to use the basic notions of fuzzy logic to adapt the simple Markov chain model to continuous data. When I apply the newly adapted Markov chain model to the cross-country distribution question, I find evidence against the divergence hypothesis, and this evidence is statistically robust. <p>The second part of the thesis is empirical and microeconomic in nature. I question whether observed differences between husbands’ and wives’ participation in labor markets are due to different preferences or to different constraints. My identification strategy is based on the idea that the more power an individual has relative to his/her partner, the more his/her actions will reflect his/her preferences. I use 2001 PSID data on cohabiting couples to estimate a simultaneous equations model of the spousal time allocation decision. My results confirm the stylized fact that specialization and trade does not explain time allocation for couples in which the wife is the primary breadwinner, and suggest that power could provide a more general explanation of the observations. My results show that wives with relatively more power choose to work more on the labor market and less at home, whereas husbands with more power choose to do the opposite. Since women start out from a lower level of labor market participation than men do, it would seem that spouses’ agree that the ideal mix of market work and housework lies somewhere between the husbands’ and the wives’ current positions. / Doctorat en sciences économiques, Orientation économie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished