bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Computing Confidence Intervals for Point Process Models
Authors: Sarma Sridevi V. , Nguyen David P. , Czanner Gabriela , Wirth Sylvia , Wilson Matthew A. , Suzuki Wendy , Brown Emery N.
Published: August 2011

Characterizing neural spiking activity as a function of intrinsic and extrinsic factors is important in neuroscience. Point process models are valuable for capturing such information; however, the process of fully applying these models is not always obvious. A complete model application has four broad steps: specification of the model, estimation of model parameters given observed data, verification of the model using goodness of fit, and characterization of the model using confidence bounds. Of these steps, only the first three have been applied widely in the literature, suggesting the need to dedicate a discussion to how the time-rescaling theorem, in combination with parametric bootstrap sampling, can be generally used to compute confidence bounds of point process models. In our first example, we use a generalized linear model of spiking propensity to demonstrate that confidence bounds derived from bootstrap simulations are consistent with those computed from closed-form analytic solutions. In our second example, we consider an adaptive point process model of hippocampal place field plasticity for which no analytical confidence bounds can be derived. We demonstrate how to simulate bootstrap samples from adaptive point process models, how to use these samples to generate confidence bounds, and how to statistically test the hypothesis that neural representations at two time points are significantly different. These examples have been designed as useful guides for performing scientific inference based on point process models.
Reward-Weighted Regression with Sample Reuse for Direct Policy Search in Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Hachiya Hirotaka , Peters Jan , Sugiyama Masashi
Published: August 2011

Direct policy search is a promising reinforcement learning framework, in particular for controlling continuous, high-dimensional systems. Policy search often requires a large number of samples for obtaining a stable policy update estimator, and this is prohibitive when the sampling cost is expensive. In this letter, we extend an expectation-maximization-based policy search method so that previously collected samples can be efficiently reused. The usefulness of the proposed method, reward-weighted regression with sample reuse (R[Formula: see text]), is demonstrated through robot learning experiments. (This letter is an extended version of our earlier conference paper: Hachiya, Peters, & Sugiyama, 2009 .)
Recurrent Kernel Machines: Computing with Infinite Echo State Networks
Authors: Hermans Michiel , Schrauwen Benjamin
Published: August 2011

Echo state networks (ESNs) are large, random recurrent neural networks with a single trained linear readout layer. Despite the untrained nature of the recurrent weights, they are capable of performing universal computations on temporal input data, which makes them interesting for both theoretical research and practical applications. The key to their success lies in the fact that the network computes a broad set of nonlinear, spatiotemporal mappings of the input data, on which linear regression or classification can easily be performed. One could consider the reservoir as a spatiotemporal kernel, in which the mapping to a high-dimensional space is computed explicitly. In this letter, we build on this idea and extend the concept of ESNs to infinite-sized recurrent neural networks, which can be considered recursive kernels that subsequently can be used to create recursive support vector machines. We present the theoretical framework, provide several practical examples of recursive kernels, and apply them to typical temporal tasks.
Identifying the Battle Lines
Authors: Vanderkooy Patricia , Nawyn Stephanie J.
Published: August 2011

Services designed to facilitate immigrant integration and civic-political engagement in the United States are highly privatized compared to those in Canada, where state funding provides the bulk of funding for immigrant needs, leading to a political context in which social welfare for immigrants is thin but opportunities to challenge state policies are perhaps greater. However, the decoupling of federal immigration policies from local integration presents challenges to local actors attempting to influence legislation at the federal level. This article is an exploration of the tensions between local and national organizing for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) in the United States, with a particular focus on the effects of these tensions among local immigrant community organizations in Miami, Florida. The authors present data gathered from the Immigrant Participation and Immigration Reform project, a national effort to increase the civic engagement of individual immigrants, to build the capacity of immigrant organizations in civic engagement, and to build local-to-national relationships for the purposes of passing CIR. The authors compare two levels of engagement: local community organizing and national collaborations. Using ethnographic data from local and regional organizations in Miami, the authors explore the tensions organizers felt between local and national engagement with immigration legislation and how organizers responded to those tensions.
Agenda Setting and Immigrant Politics
Authors: Landolt Patricia , Goldring Luin , Bernhard Judith K.
Published: August 2011

The authors identify and analyze patterns of community organizing among Latin Americans in Toronto for the period from the 1970s to the 2000s as part of a broader analysis of Latin American immigrant politics. They draw on the concept of social fields to map Latin American community politics and to capture a wide range of relevant organizations, events, and strategic moments that feed into the constitution of more visible and formal organizations. Five distinct waves of Latin American migration to Toronto produce three types of community organizations: ethno-national, intersectional panethnic, and mainstream panethnic groupings. This migration pattern also leads to a layering process as established organizations evolve and new migrant groups with specific priorities and ways of organizing emerge. The authors present a case study of the development and agenda-setting process of the Centre for Spanish Speaking People, a mainstream, multiservice, panethnic organization. Agenda setting is defined as the process of defining the vision and mission of an organization or cluster of organizations. The case study captures how a mainstream panethnic organization mediates between diverse in-group agendas of Latin American immigrants and out-group, specifically, state-generated, agendas, and how this agenda-setting process changes over time in tune with shifts in the political opportunity structure. The authors propose, however, that agenda setting is a dialogic social process that involves more than navigating the existing political opportunity structure. Agenda setting involves in-group and out-group dialogues embedded within a complex organizational field. It is an instance of political learning. The analysis of these dialogues over time for a specific group and organization captures immigrant politics in practice.
Immigrant Incorporation in an Era of Weak Civic Institutions
Authors: DeSipio Louis
Published: August 2011

In this article, the author analyzes five domains of immigrant incorporation and participation in the United States—civic and community engagement among immigrants; naturalization patterns; immigrant (and co-ethnic) partisanship and electoral behaviors; the election of naturalized citizens, and their U.S.-born co-ethnics, as elective officeholders; and immigrant transnational efforts to influence the civic or political life of their communities or countries of origin—in an effort to highlight both the opportunities immigrants and naturalized citizens have seized in U.S. politics and the barriers, particularly, institutional barriers, they continue to face. Although the primary analytical focus is immigrants in the United States, the author is attentive to the challenge raised by Irene Bloemraad (2011 [this issue]) in her introductory article to identify opportunities for comparative insights from the Canadian case. As will be evident, the author ultimately identifies more apples and oranges in the comparison of the U.S. and Canadian cases than peas sharing an analytical pod.
“Two Peas in a Pod,” “Apples and Oranges,” and Other Food Metaphors
Authors: Bloemraad Irene
Published: August 2011

Cross-national comparison increases the complexity of data collection and analysis but offers the promise of innovative new knowledge; it is hard to know what is noteworthy about an outcome or process without a comparative reference point. Juxtaposing Canada and the United States, two countries more similar to each other than to any other, allows researchers to probe how particular variations can produce consequential differences. The article outlines key historic and contemporary similarities and differences that can affect immigrant political incorporation in North America, including different foundational minority conflicts and variations in current migrant flows. The author discusses the importance of specifying outcomes and how these outcomes can be approached from different levels of analysis. Finally, the author identifies several understudied questions, including cross-national variation in local political responses to immigration—significant in the United States, more muted in Canada—and the differential use of law and rights framing to advance immigrant causes.
Principal–Teacher Interactions
Authors: Price Heather E.
Published: August 2011

Purpose: Research finds that the attitudes of principals and teachers create an atmosphere for learning, often referred to as school climate, that influences school effectiveness. Other research shows that atmospheres of trust, shared vision, and openness create positive school climate conditions. Little is known, however, about how these climates emerge in some schools and not others. There is good theoretical reason to suspect that interpersonal relationships between principals and their teachers influence school professionals’ attitudes that define the broader school climate. Theories from organizational studies, social psychology, and sociology inform hypotheses about how affective, cathectic responses from interpersonal principal–teacher relationships explain variation in school professionals’ satisfaction, cohesion, and commitment levels. Research Design: Nationally representative data from the Schools and Staffing Survey, 2003–04, match principals to teachers in public elementary schools. Using structural equation modeling, relational mechanisms between principals and their teachers are identified and explain positive principal attitudes. This process is then linearly regressed to explain the effects of these relationships on teachers’ attitudes. Findings: Principals’ relationships with their teachers affect principals’ and teachers’ satisfaction, cohesion, and commitment levels. Among principals, these positive work relationships improve job satisfaction, cohesion perceptions, and commitment levels. Among teachers, substantial variation is explained directly by the relationship mechanism of principals sharing expectations with their teachers. Conclusions: School professionals’ attitudes form under similar organizational conditions as those of other workers. These relationships affect the schooling environment. Because of their centrality and leadership position, particular focus is paid to role of the principal in these relationships. The relationships of principals, as the school leader, strongly and directly affect teachers’ attitudes, which define the schooling climate.
Rejoinder to Sanderson’s Response
Authors: Chase-Dunn Christopher , Lawrence Kirk S
Published: August 2011

The issues that Stephen K. Sanderson raises in his response to our discussion of his critique of the world-systems perspective deserve and require further comment and clarification. We want to briefly elucidate our positions on levels of analysis, core/periphery exploitation, Marxism, socialist and communist projects and the possible future of socialism, and our stance on the trajectory of global state formation.
Structural Covariates of Gang Homicide in Large U.S. Cities
Authors: Pyrooz David C.
Published: August 2011

Objectives:

This study examined the structural covariates of gang homicide in large U.S. cities and whether the structural conditions associated with gang homicide differed from non-gang homicide.

Methods:

Several national data sources were used to gather information on the structural conditions of the 88 largest U.S. cities, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, Uniform Crime Report, and National Gang Center. Negative binomial regression was used to model the relationship between the structural conditions of cities and homicide rates.

Results:

Socioeconomic deprivation, official rates of gang membership, and population density explained between-city variability in gang homicide rates. In addition, quadratic associations were observed for socioeconomic deprivation and population density. Equality of coefficients tests revealed that the structural covariates of gang homicide differed in magnitude from non-gang homicide.

Conclusions:

Prior to this study, the etiology of gang homicide was found to differ from other homicide types in terms of event characteristics and sub-city correlates. This macro-level study extended this line of research to cities, providing evidence that the structural correlates of violence operated differently for gang homicide.
Journey to Grow
Authors: Bouchard Martin , Beauregard Eric , Kalacska Margaret
Published: August 2011

Objectives: To test whether there is a relationship between characteristics of the journey to an outdoor cannabis cultivation site and the total number of plants grown. Methods: Spatial data on the location of a sample of 132 cultivation sites derived from aerial detection policing efforts is used. TwoStep cluster analysis is employed to derive profiles of cultivation sites based on three measures of distance (i.e., distance to road, to water, and elevation) and regression analysis is used to examine their implications for the number of plants grown. Results: Four types of cultivation sites are found: prime, rugged, dry, and remote. Prime sites are fairly close to roads and water sources and are at relatively low elevation. They grow the greatest number of plants (mean = 171). Low elevation is the single most important factor correlate of operation size. Further, remote sites (both further from road and at higher elevation) tend to be larger. Conclusions: A majority of growers are capable of identifying “prime” locations in which the tradeoff between rewards and security appears to be maximized. This study is limited by the fact that there was no information available on the offenders themselves. Future research should employ interviews to clarify decision-making processes.
Revisiting Personnel Utilization in Inclusion-Oriented Schools
Authors: Giangreco Michael F. , Suter Jesse C. , Hurley Sean M.
Published: August 2011

Implementing research-based curricula and instruction in inclusion-oriented schools is helped or hindered by having coherent models of service delivery accounting for the full range of student diversity. The current investigation offers data from 174 participants in 32 schools, analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The findings offer replication of special education service delivery data from an earlier study, new descriptive data, and HLM analyses that identify special educator school density (the number of special educator full-time equivalents to total school population) and individual special educators’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) caseload size as variables predictive of special educators’ ratings of the conduciveness of their working conditions to providing effective special education for students on IEPs.
Reforming the Criminal Justice System in the United States
Authors: Wexler Harry K. , Lurigio Arthur J. , Rodriguez Pamela F.
Published: August 2011

Correctional policy in the United States has alternately emphasized rehabilitation and punishment (Irwin, 2007). The current “tough on crime” era has led to steadily increasing numbers of imprisoned Americans and unsustainable costs (Garland, 2001; Lacey, 2010). Overcrowded prisons and bloated correctional budgets have drained money from educational and social programs, reaching unprecedented levels in the 1980s and becoming completely untenable in times of diminished resources. In response, many advocacy groups have called for correctional reform, including the Human Rights Watch, the Sentencing Project, the Justice Project, the Vera Institute of Justice, the Council of State Governments, the Pew Center for the States, and the Northpointe Institute for Public Management. The voices of these reformers have decried the overuse of incarceration and its costliness, compared with other sentencing alternatives that generally yield greater dividends with respect to community safety and offender rehabilitation. Within the federal government, the most reasoned and resonant voice for prison reform belongs to Senator James Webb (D-Virginia), who has encouraged a bipartisan approach to criminal justice changes through his proposed National Criminal Justice Commission (NCJC).
Does Cultural Capital Really Affect Academic Achievement? New Evidence from Combined Sibling and Panel Data
Authors: Jæger Mads Meier
Published: August 2011

This article provides new estimates of the causal effect of cultural capital on academic achievement. The author analyzes data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth–Children and Young Adults and uses a fixed effect design to address the problem of omitted variable bias, which has resulted in too optimistic results in previous research. After controlling for family and individual fixed effects, the author reports that (1) six indicators of cultural capital have mostly positive direct effects on children’s reading and math test scores, (2) the effect of cultural capital is smaller than previously reported, and (3) the effect of cultural capital varies in high and low socioeconomic status (SES) environments. Results mostly support cultural reproduction theory (cultural capital more important in high SES environments) for cultural capital indicators capturing familiarity with legitimate culture and mostly support cultural mobility theory (cultural capital more important in low SES environments) for indicators capturing “concerted cultivation.”
The Soldier as Lethal Warrior and Cooperative Political Agent: On the Soldier’s Ethical and Political Obligations toward the Indigenous Other
Authors: Perez Celestino
Published: August 2011

An adequate configuration of the military ethic, which encompasses the U.S. Army’s professional and ethical self-understanding, should integrate the soldier’s ethicopolitical obligations toward the indigenous other; that is, the person who lives where soldiers are deployed. The argument first posits a distinction between cosmopolitan and patriotic configurations of the soldier’s obligations. David Petraeus’s counterinsurgency guidance typifies the former; Matthew Moten’s configuration of the professional military ethic typifies the latter. Second, Hannah Arendt’s distinction between Work and Action instructs that one does not “build” a polity; political foundations are fugitive and unpredictable. Third, considering Arendt’s theory and current missions, the soldier as a political agent cannot produce stability or build a nation with instrumental certitude; however, the soldier can foster conditions and intervene in ways to nudge circumstances toward a better state of affairs. Finally, military professionals should cultivate a cosmopolitan attitude informed by William Connolly’s ethos of engagement to help them fulfill their obligations to the other.
Factor Structure Investigation of the Care-Receiver Efficacy Scale–Short-Form
Authors: Ma Lin , Green Kathy E. , Cox Enid O.
Published: August 2011

The present study investigated the factor structure invariance of the Care-Receiver Efficacy Scale–Short Form (CRES) using confirmatory factor analysis. Response data were collected from 177 participants across three time points. The analyses of the five-subscale, 25-item CRES at the individual time points indicated that the first-order and second-order models were acceptable. However, Perceptions of Dependence was not a reliable indicator for the higher order factor defined as Overall Care-Receiver Efficacy. The revised 20-item CRES without Perceptions of Dependence had adequate model fit. A series of progressively more constrained models revealed the higher order 20-item CRES can be used as a stable measure of health care self-efficacy for older care-receivers.
Implementing Randomized Controlled Trials in Preschool Settings That Include Young Children With Disabilities
Authors: Snyder Patricia
Published: August 2011

In this commentary, developments related to conducting randomized controlled trials in authentic preschool settings that include young children with disabilities are discussed in relation to the Strain and Bovey study.
Anemia Associated With Depressive Symptoms in Mild Cognitive Impairment With Severe White Matter Hyperintensities
Authors: Son Sang Joon , Lee Kang Soo , Na Duk L. , Seo Sang Won , Kim Chi Hun , Kim Jong Hun , Oh Byoung Hoon , Hong Chang Hyung
Published: August 2011

Depression with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be associated with a high risk of dementia. Likewise, anemia and subcortical ischemic changes might be associated with depression in the elderly individuals. We examined the relationship between anemia, subcortical ischemic changes, and depressive symptoms in 388 elderly patients with MCI (74.0% women, mean age = 71.8) who were evaluated at the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea. Blood samples were drawn from all consenting participants and depressive symptoms were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). We also evaluated the severity of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After a multivariable adjustment, we found no significant differences in GDS-15 score between anemic and nonanemic groups ( F = 3.0, P = .085) and among WMH level groups ( F = 0.6, P = .574) independently. However, the interaction between anemia and the severity of WMH was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (analysis of covariance, F = 7.8, P < .001). In post hoc tests, a higher depressive symptom score was observed in anemic participants with severe WMH. Anemia with severe subcortical ischemic changes appears to be related to depressive symptoms in patients with MCI.
The IQCODE Versus a Single-Item Informant Measure to Discriminate Between Cognitively Intact Individuals and Individuals With Dementia or Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Ayalon Liat
Published: August 2011

The present study evaluated the short Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE 2-year version) against a single item concerning informant’s perception of patient’s memory, as screening tools for CIND not dementia (CIND) and dementia. Data were drawn from the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study, which is a national study that was specifically designed to provide population-based estimates of cognitive impairment and dementia in the United States. The study employed a comprehensive dementia evaluation that yielded an expert consensus-based diagnosis. Receiver-operating curves, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value were calculated. Both the IQCODE and the single-item instrument demonstrated only mild-to-moderate abilities to discriminate between cognitively intact individuals and individuals with CIND. Whereas the ability of the IQCODE to discriminate between cognitively intact individuals and individuals with dementia was moderate, the single-item instrument showed an adequate ability to distinguish between cognitively intact individuals and individuals with dementia. Therefore, for screening purposes, asking informants a single question concerning patients' memory is sufficient. However, if additional data concerning patients' strengths and weaknesses are needed, the IQCODE may be desirable.
Miranda’s story: molecules, populations and the mortal organism
Authors: Palladino Paolo
Published: August 2011

Biomedicine is today transforming the human condition, but how such transformation is to be understood is a matter of debate. I seek to contribute to the debate by focusing on recent developments within a relatively novel subfield of gerontology which is engaged in the bio-molecular and bio-demographic characterization of the processes associated with the development of the organism from birth to death. I argue that these developments aid understanding of the conceptual difficulties confronting neo-Darwinian biological thought and poststructuralist social theory as one decentres the organism and the other the subject.
Known Risk Factors for Violence Predict 12-Month-Old Infants’ Aggressiveness With Peers
Authors: Hay Dale F. , Mundy Lisa , Roberts Siwan , Carta Raffaella , Waters Cerith S. , Perra Oliver , Jones Roland , Jones Ian , Goodyer Ian , Harold Gordon , Thapar Anita , van Goozen Stephanie
Published: August 2011

This study tested the hypothesis that 12-month-old infants’ use of force against peers is associated with known risk factors for violence. We conducted a prospective longitudinal study, which included laboratory observations of firstborn British infants ( N = 271) during simulated birthday parties. No gender differences in aggressiveness were observed. The infants’ observed aggressiveness was significantly correlated with mothers’ mood disorder during pregnancy and with mothers’ history of conduct problems. Infants’ observed aggressiveness was correlated with parents’ ratings of infants’ anger and aggression, which were also predicted by mothers’ mood disorder and history of conduct problems. Our findings indicate that infants at risk for serious aggression can already be identified when the motor ability to use physical force first enters the human repertoire.
Identity negotiations in narrative accounts about poverty
Authors: Van De Mieroop Dorien
Published: August 2011

Focusing on three interviews with people who were in debt and participated in the collective debt mediation program of the Belgian social services, I study the way these interviewees negotiate their identities. In spite of the diversity of their stories, which were framed as accounts, all interviewees shift the blame for their current situation and put forward their membership of an alternative category, namely that of the responsible parent. As such, they — in co-construction with the interviewer — counter the theme of personal blame and construct an identity that is ‘recipient designed’ and acceptable both from a local and a global contextual point of view.
Turning Postgraduate Students’ Research Into Publications
Authors: Bullen Christopher R. , Reeve Jeanne
Published: August 2011

The authors attempted to contact all 157 graduates from the University of Auckland’s Master’s in Public Health (MPH) program who completed theses from 1991 to 2005 about publications arising from their research. Of the 104 students contacted, 77 (74%) completed the questionnaire: 34 (45%) submitted a total of 46 articles, 31 (66%) of which were accepted or published. An expectation of publication and being supported financially were both associated with submission for publication. The most commonly reported barriers were lack of time (62%), lack of staff support (35%), and low confidence in ability to write (29%). For those regarding time as a barrier, work demands were commonly cited (90%). Sustained commitment from supervisors plus practical support (seminars, workshops, and cosupervision) was considered likely to be helpful. More effective supervisor–student engagement, funding, and setting an expectation of publication could increase MPH research outputs, but the additional supervisor workload must be realistic.
Factors Associated With Preferences for Health System Goals in Japan
Authors: Wada Koji , Kakuma Ritsuko , Hoshi Keika , Sato Yasuto , Hasegawa Toshihiko , Satoh Toshihiko
Published: August 2011

Preferences among people for health system goals are important determinants in developing health policy. The aim of this study was to determine preferences for health system goals and their associations with sociodemographic characteristics in Japan. Participants were randomly selected from the general population in 5 prefectures and were asked to rank 5 health system goals in order of preference: health, health inequality, responsiveness, responsiveness inequality, and fair financing. Associations between sociodemographic characteristics and preferences for health system goals were examined using multinomial logistic regression analysis. A total of 4936 persons responded to this study. Health system goals in order of preference were health inequality (37.6%), responsiveness inequality (20.9%), health (18.4%), responsiveness (16.0%), and fair financing (7.1%). Sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, age, family status, education completed, and usage of health care services were associated with the preferred health system goal. Health policy makers should take these associations into account when developing prospective policy.
Regional Disparities in Prenatal Care Services in Rural China
Authors: Lu Jun , Shen Jay J. , Chen Gang , Moseley Charles B. , Sun Mei , Gao Fei , Wang Ying , Mao Yuming , Hao Mo
Published: August 2011

The study compared the prenatal care programs in the Central–East, Northwest, and Southwest regions of China. Data were collected on 14 indicators of the quality of the prenatal care process, as well as the percentage of women with high-risk pregnancies who were screened. The average number of prenatal examinations for those women who received prenatal care was 5.01, and 62.6% of pregnant women had their first examination within 12 weeks of their pregnancy. About 35% of these pregnant women had at least 1 high-risk screening, and 20.8% had 3 high-risk screenings. Among the 3 regions, the Central–East region had the best overall quality prenatal services, and the Northwest area had the poorest quality. The quality of prenatal health care in poor, rural China is in need of improvement.
Prevalence and Correlates of Perpetration of Violence Among Young People
Authors: Nadkarni Abhijit , Dean Kimberlie , Weiss Helen A , Patel Vikram
Published: August 2011

The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and factors associated with perpetration of violence in young people in India. It was a cross-sectional survey of 3663 individuals (16-24 years old). Data on sociodemographics, sexual/physical violence, common mental disorders, and substance abuse were collected by face-to-face structured interviews. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios for association of violence with various factors. Prevalence of physical violence in the past year was 10.2%. In both genders, younger age, urbanicity, being a victim of sexual abuse, common mental disorders, and tobacco use were associated with increased risk of physical violence. Being a victim of forced sexual intercourse and alcohol use was associated with violence in males; and not living with parents was associated with violence in females. Future research should be designed to tease out the pathways that underlie the associations, identified in the study, to derive potential preventive strategies.
Abiotic Determinants to the Spatial Dynamics of Dengue Fever in Guangzhou
Authors: Li Sen , Tao Haiyan , Xu Yong
Published: August 2011

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne disease that significantly endangers the well-being of people in most tropical Asia-Pacific areas. The transmission of DF is inherently a spatial process, requiring susceptible humans encountering infectious mosquito. The relationships between humans, mosquito and environment underpin the dynamics and patterns of the epidemic. In this article, the objective is to find out the key abiotic factors in the spatial dynamics of DF. An interdisciplinary study has been carried out by taking advantage of statistics, geographical information science, and remote sensing technologies. The case study is the DF outbreak in the Chinese city of Guangzhou throughout the year of 2002—the most serious DF outbreak in the recent decade. This study shows that the presence and abundance of DF cases can be associated with ( a) socioeconomic factors relating to urbanization and ( b) meteorological factors favoring mosquito survival.
Evaluation of the Determinants for Acceptance of Antenatal Clinical Breast Examination in Taiwan
Authors: Hsiao Yi-Hsuan , Chang Tung-Yao , Tsai Horng-Der , Lin Long-Yau , Chou Ming-Chih
Published: August 2011

Antenatal clinical breast examinations (ANCBEs) performed by physicians or nurses during prenatal care visits are recommended by the Department of Health in Taiwan. This study aimed to assess the level of acceptance of ANCBE in Taiwan and the determinants associated with behavior toward them. This was a clinic-based study conducted from 30 November 2008 to 30 April 2009 by using a structured questionnaire for 492 pregnant women. Only 2.8% of the patients received ANCBE, and 95.9% were not aware of the availability of ANCBE. History of breast surgery and awareness of ANCBE availability were significantly associated with receiving ANCBE ( P < .001). Furthermore, multiparity was statistically different for the awareness of ANCBE availability ( P = .04). Acceptance of ANCBE was determined by personal history of breast surgery and awareness of ANCBE availability.
Trends in Care for Uninsured Adults and Disparities in Care by Insurance Status
Authors: Sabik Lindsay M. , Dahman Bassam A.
Published: August 2011

The uninsured fare worse than the insured on various measures, yet there is little evidence regarding trends in care for the uninsured and disparities by insurance status. Given changes in the health care system and the safety net, disparities between insured and uninsured populations may be changing over time. This article considers trends in access, chronic disease control, and heart attack care by insurance status and the disparity in these measures between uninsured and insured nonelderly adults, controlling for demographic characteristics to account for potential changes in the composition of these populations. Rates for the uninsured for all outcomes have generally been stable from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, with fluctuation in some measures over shorter periods. In addition, there is a persistent disparity between the privately insured and uninsured on access measures. The gap between the uninsured and insured has not narrowed, though disparities generally have not worsened either.
Comorbidity and the Limitations of Volume and Focus as Organizing Principles
Authors: Clark Jonathan R.
Published: August 2011

Some scholars advocate for health care organizations designed around the principles of volume and focus, while others suggest that the complexity of patient care renders this approach to organizing care inefficient (and ineffective). This article attempts to reconcile these views, drawing on the idea of organizational capabilities as knowledge integration to motivate an empirical examination of the extent to which the efficiency benefits of hospital volume and focus depend on the degree of patient comorbidity. In doing so, the article has two aims: (a) to shed light on both the benefits and limitations of volume and focus as organizing principles and (b) to contribute to our understanding of the implications of comorbidity for the organization of health care delivery. Using data on U.S. hospitals, the author finds evidence that the efficiency benefits of volume and focus are diminishing in the level of patient comorbidity.
Lethal Ladies
Authors: Farrell Amanda L. , Keppel Robert D. , Titterington Victoria B.
Published: August 2011

Serial murderers are rare offenders, and this, coupled with challenges to accessing data about them, poses a significant challenge to empirical investigation. It is also true that female serial murderers are thought to be rarer than their male counterparts and have often been excluded from being labeled “serial murderers” due to narrowly constructed definitions. Thus, female serial murderers are an even more elusive population to study. The results of this exploratory analysis, using newspaper articles to gather data about the crimes of a subset of 10 female serial murderers in the United States, suggest that not only are these women different from men who commit serial murder but also that the scant information published about these rare offenders may have underestimated the female serial murderer in terms of both offender and offense characteristics.
Race/Ethnic-Specific Homicide Rates in New York City
Authors: Chauhan Preeti , Cerdá Magdalena , Messner Steven F. , Tracy Melissa , Tardiff Kenneth , Galea Sandro
Published: August 2011

The current study evaluated a range of social influences including misdemeanor arrests, drug arrests, cocaine consumption, alcohol consumption, firearm availability, and incarceration that may be associated with changes in gun-related homicides by racial/ethnic group in New York City (NYC) from 1990 to 1999. Using police precincts as the unit of analysis, we used cross-sectional, time series data to examine changes in Black, White, and Hispanic homicides, separately. Bayesian hierarchical models with a spatial error term indicated that an increase in cocaine consumption was associated with an increase in Black homicides. An increase in firearm availability was associated with an increase in Hispanic homicides. Last, there were no significant predictors for White homicides. Support was found for the crack cocaine hypotheses but not for the broken windows hypothesis. Examining racially/ethnically disaggregated data can shed light on group-sensitive mechanisms that may explain changes in homicide over time.
Mind-mindedness in parents of pre-schoolers: A comparison between clinical and community samples
Authors: Walker Tansy M. , Wheatcroft Rebecca , Camic Paul M.
Published: August 2011

Mind-mindedness relates to parents’ propensity to treat their young children as individuals with minds of their own. Research with community samples has demonstrated impressive findings regarding child development outcomes, leading to a suggestion that mind-mindedness should be considered in clinical interventions. This is the first mind-mindedness study to include parents of children referred to clinical services. A between group design (n=49) was used to investigate whether mind-mindedness differed between parents of a clinical group of pre-school children and parents of a community comparison group and to explore how mind-mindedness related to parental depression and stress, and child difficulties. The findings revealed that mind-mindedness was significantly lower in the clinical sample and was not related to depression in either group. In the clinical group mind-mindedness was related to parenting stress and in the community group it was related to children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties. Overall these findings provide preliminary evidence that mind-mindedness may be an important construct to consider in pre-school clinical interventions.
A qualitative investigation into the maternal experience of having a young child with severe food allergy
Authors: Rouf Khadj , White Loretta , Evans Kathryn
Published: August 2011

Background: Severe food allergy has potentially life threatening consequences. Despite the significant impact on quality of life for families affected by food allergy, there is still relatively little known about the psychosocial experience in this area, especially with regards to the parenting experience.

Objectives: This study focused on the following areas of parental experience: (1) having a young child with severe food allergy; (2) perception of the effect of food allergy on family relationships; (3) managing the challenges associated with severe food allergy.

Methods: Eight mothers of children with severe food allergy completed semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology.

Results: Three superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Parental adjustment—re-establishing an “even keel”; (2) It’s a big responsibility: Living with risk; (3) Identity and the social aspects of allergy.

This article focuses on the most psychologically salient findings within each of these superordinate themes.

Conclusion: Mothers in this study shared similar concerns to mothers of children with other chronic illnesses. It is recommended that the experience of allergy should be viewed in the wider family context with specific consideration given to parental coping and anxiety. Services could better meet the psychological and social needs of those affected by allergy.
Parents of adolescents who have committed sexual offenses: Characteristics, challenges, and interventions
Authors: Worley Karen Boyd , Church Janice K. , Clemmons John C.
Published: August 2011

This article discusses the importance of a systems approach to working with adolescents who have offended sexually. Literature concerning family backgrounds of these youths is reviewed, highlighting histories of family violence, parental depression and child maltreatment, problematic communication patterns, parental psychological inaccessibility, inconsistent discipline, and failure of the family to acknowledge the youth’s offending behavior. Such issues and other special challenges presented by parents of these adolescents, particularly as the issues impact caregiver support and supervision, can be significant barriers to a youth’s successful treatment. However, when these barriers are addressed through a systems approach that actively involves parents in assessment and therapeutic phases of intervention, treatment of an adolescent who sexually offended is likely to be enhanced. The importance of offering parents multiple intervention strategies at various stages in the therapeutic process is emphasized; interventions might include individual, family, and multi-family group therapy, and psychoeducation and support groups.
It’s a small world after all: New media constellations and Disney’s rising star – the global success of High School Musical
Authors: Potter Anna
Published: August 2011

The pan-platform distribution of children’s television has exacerbated the traditional ‘obligation or asset?’ dichotomy that has characterized the child audience in America, Australia and the UK. Current industrial constellations mean that a media conglomerate like the Disney Corporation can take advantage of a propitious ‘alignment of the planets’ of production, distribution and regulation to monetize programs through multiple windows. Disney can thus ensure cultural visibility and program profitability in a television landscape where fragmented audiences of all ages must be encouraged and enabled to consume the same product indefinitely. The made-for-TV movie High School Musical epitomizes Disney’s capacity to exploit the programs it both produces and distributes. Thus High School Musical’s global success can tell us a great deal about new settlements in children’s television.
A proposal to classify road lighting energy efficiency
Authors: Pracki P.
Published: August 2011

In this paper, the parameters influencing the installed power demand as well as the installed and normalised power density for road lighting are introduced. The levels of these parameters typical for different road lighting situations are assumed and the resulting normalised power densities for road lighting are derived. A classification system for the energy efficiency of road lighting based on the installed and normalised power densities is proposed. The classification system can be used to compare the energy efficiency of designed and used road lighting as well as forming a basis for an energy efficiency evaluation system for road lighting.
Differential evolution for the optimisation of multi-band white LED light sources
Authors: Soltic S , Chalmers AN
Published: August 2011

This paper joins the quest for a white-light source based on mixtures of multiple narrow-band light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with the spectrum optimised for high radiant luminous efficacy and good colour-rendering properties. The complexity of the optimisation process increases with the number of LEDs used to create the white-light source. This paper describes an effective approach for mixing narrow-band LED spectra based on differential evolution, a simple and easy to use direct search method. Two MATLAB programs are designed allowing optimisation using the colour-rendering index and colour quality scale systems. Optimal theoretical solutions for four-LED and six-LED mixtures are analysed.
Predicting sky types and zenith luminance from the cloud index derived from geostationary satellite data
Authors: He JZ , Ng E
Published: August 2011

This paper presents methods to predict sky types and hourly zenith luminance from cloud index n derived from the visible channel data of the geostationary satellites. Three sky conditions based on the CIE standard general sky can be classified by cloud index: n > 0.38, 0.13 ≤ n ≤ 0.38 and n < 0.13, corresponding to overcast, partly cloudy and clear sky conditions, more specifically to sky 1, sky 8 and sky 13 of the ‘Hong Kong Representative Sky’. Hourly zenith luminance can be derived as a function of the combination of relative standard overcast sky zenith luminance and relative standard clear sky zenith luminance determined by cloud index. The mean bias error and the root mean square error of hourly zenith luminance are 0.49 and 3.37 kcd/m2, respectively.
Contextual Factors and Help Seeking Behaviors of People With Disabilities
Authors: Kulkarni Mukta
Published: August 2011

The objective of this article is to provide a framework of contextual factors that affect help seeking expectancies and behaviors of people with disabilities. In particular, drawing on theories from disciplines such as social, cognitive, and educational psychology, I outline work unit norms (i.e., dependence, inclusion) and coworker perceptions (i.e., similarity, fairness) that influence help seeking expectancies and behaviors of people with disabilities. I discuss theoretical extensions of the framework in terms of attributes of the person with a disability, effects of time, and the notion of an inclusionary environment for people with disabilities. Finally, I discuss implications for human resource development professionals.
Leadership as purpose: Exploring the role of purpose in leadership practice
Authors: Kempster Steve , Jackson Brad , Conroy Mervyn
Published: August 2011

This article initiates a long overdue discussion regarding purpose within leadership, an integral yet often taken-for-granted and subsumed function of leadership. Specifically, the article problematicizes the manifestation of purpose in everyday organizational leadership practices through the work of the moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. The article argues that purpose requires greater attention if it is to become manifest in both the corporate and the societal orientations of leaders in organizations. In support of this argument we identify the implications of singularly focusing upon corporate purpose to the exclusion of societal purpose against the backdrop of the credit crunch aftermath. The article develops a theoretical argument that, when conceptualized as a process of sensemaking, leadership can provide an opportunity for notions of societal purpose to come to the fore in countervailing balance with corporate purposes. We conclude by suggesting a research agenda centred on further explicating and developing the idea of leadership as purpose.