A general program for item-response analysis is described that uses the stabilized Newton-Raphson algorithm. This program is written to be compliant with Fortran 2003 standards and is sufficiently general to handle independent variables, multidimensional ability parameters, and matrix sampling. The ability variables may be either polytomous or…

A generalized measure of association and an associated test of significance are presented for nominal independent variables in which any number or combination of interval, ordinal, or nominal dependent variables can be analyzed. A permutation test of significance is provided for the new measure. (SLD)

Analytical solutions for point and variance estimators of the mediated effect, the ratio of mediated to direct effect, and the proportion of the total effect mediated were determined through simulation for different samples. The sample sizes needed for accuracy and stability are discussed with implications for mediated effects estimates. (SLD)

Variance formulas of H. E. Daniels and M. G. Kendall (1947) are generalized to allow for the presence of ties and variance of the sample tau correlation. Applications of these generalized formulas are discussed and illustrated using data from a 1965 study of contraceptive use in 15 developing countries. (SLD)