Search

The article describes a process for determining migration probability. A stochastic process may be defined as a process which develops over time and where events at time 2 are not independent of events at time 1. This lack of independence may be viewed in probabilistic terms. Since the application of stochastic probability processes to problems of predicting individual behavior requires data obtained from case studies where each individual can be classified with respect to a given set of categories at successive points in time, the projected analysis required a set of individual longitudinal migration histories. Consequences of the basic mechanism of the model utilized in the paper are also detailed.

Merton points out that "the most precise significance of the word function is of course found in mathematics …. " But, says Martindale, "The work of most of the recent functionalists has been at the opposite pole from this meaning." Consequently, assertions made by functionalists have not always been received with the degree of confidence that their authors might consider appropriate. It is the purpose of this paper to suggest a way in which qualitatively formulated propositions of a functional kind may be translated into a language which points to empirical referents and thus, if all goes well, leads in the end to the formulation of mathematical equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]