How to avoid logarithms in comparisons with uniform random variables

In many algorithms for sampling from non-uniform distributions the logarithm of a uniform deviate must be compared with some test quantity. It is shown that all these comparisons can be done efficiently without calling a logarithm subprogram: two procedures for this task are presented and compared.     

Thermal expansion of gray tin

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 7, pp. 40–41, July, 1989.     

From set membership to group membership: a separation of concerns

We revisit the well-known group membership problem and show how it can be considered a special case of a simple problem, the set membership problem. In the set membership problem, processes maintain a set whose elements are drawn from an arbitrary universe: They can request the addition or removal of elements to/from that set, and they agree on the current value of the set. Group membership corresponds to the special case where the elements of the set happen to be processes. We exploit this new way of looking at group membership to give a simple and succinct specification of this problem and to outline a simple implementation approach based on the state machine paradigm. This treatment of group membership separates several issues that are often mixed in existing specifications and/or implementations of group membership. We believe that this separation of concerns greatly simplifies the understanding of this problem.     

Risk factors associated with recidivism among extrafamilial child molesters.

This study examined the predictive efficacy of 10 rationally derived, archivally coded variables for assessing reoffense risk among extrafamilial child molesters. Follow-up data on 111 child molesters who were discharged from the Massachusetts Treatment Center between 1960 and 1984 were used. Degree of sexual preoccupation with children, paraphilias, and number of prior sexual offenses predicted sexual recidivism. Juvenile and adult antisocial behavior, paraphilias, and low amount of contact with children predicted nonsexual victim-involved and violent recidivism. Area under the receiver-operating characteristic curves in all three analyses indicated discrimination that was substantially better than chance, ranging from .73 to .79. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)