bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
People are at least as good at optimizing reward rate under fixed-trial compared to fixed-time conditions.
Authors: Taylor Grant John , Evans Nathan J. , Brown Scott
Published: January 2025

Finding an optimal decision-making strategy requires a careful balance between the competing demands of accuracy and urgency.In experimental settings, researchers are typically interested in whether people can optimise this trade-off, typically operationalised as reward rate, with evidence accumulation models serving as the key framework to determine whether people are performing optimally. However, recent studies have suggested that inferences about optimality can be highly dependent on the task design, meaning that inferences about whether people can achieve optimality may not generalise across contexts.Here, we investigate one fundamental, though typically overlooked, design factor: whether participants spend a fixed amount of time on each block (fixed-time) or have a fixed number of trials in each block (fixed-trials), with researchers typically assuming that people are better able to optimize reward rate under fixed-time conditions. Across three experiments, our results consistently indicate that people are at least as good at optimising reward rate under fixed-trial conditions as fixed-time conditions, and potentially even better under fixed-trial conditions. Importantly, these findings both challenge the common assumption within reward rate optimality research regarding the superiority of fixed-time study designs, and further emphasise the importance of carefully considering study design factors when making inferences about optimality in decision-making.
The Complex Ring of Jingle Bells: The Effects of Christmas on Implicit Bias Towards Racial, Religious, and Sexual Minorities
Authors: Primbs Maximilian , Holland Rob , Dudda Leonie , Peetz Hannah Katharina , Faure Ruddy , Bijlstra Gijsbert
Published: January 2025

Every year, billions of people celebrate Christmas all over the world—a religious event that is characterized by transient yet considerable changes in people’s social, cultural, and demographic environment. Drawing on the Bias of Crowds model, we investigate the impact of Christmas on implicit bias. In Study 1, we used Project Implicit data of more than 4 million White US Americans and find that Christmas affects implicit bias scores towards Black people, Arabs, people with a darker skin tone, Judaism, Islam, and gay people.. In Study 2, we conduct a high-powered pre-registered adversarial collaboration that experimentally tests whether Christmas affects implicit bias (n = 451) in a repeated measures design and find that it affects bias towards gay but not Arab people. Together these studies provide novel evidence for the causal role of the social and cultural environment in determining implicit biases, while highlighting issues with the reliance on self-selected samples.
Cognitive Science and the Myth of the Normal Human
Authors: Prather Richard
Published: January 2025

Within cognitive science, research on human cognition relies on the idea of a normative human; that we can study and generalize from normal humans to understand human cognition. This assumption is the only way that using convenience samples to describe cognitive universals makes sense. Cognitive Science is not alone in falling for the idea of a normative person; other social sciences and medical research have sometimes featured this idea. The idea that Cognitive Science research should or could describe normative human cognition is a misleading waste of time for the field. I draw on work from a wide range of fields, including psychology, medicine, disability studies, and biology, to contend that the idea of normative human cognition is mostly useless but not mostly harmless. Rejection of the idea of normative human cognition and reevaluating past work that relies on it is an important step forward for the field.
Defining Gaslighting in Intimate Partner Violence: Insights from Victim-Survivors and Support Service Providers
Authors: Darke Lillian , Paterson Helen M. , Dhillon Haryana M , van Golde Celine
Published: January 2025

With growing attention on criminalizing psychological forms of abuse, it is imperative that researchers develop clear and intentional definitions of abstract concepts, like gaslighting. The purpose of this paper was to develop a definition of gaslighting by comparing key points of contention in existing literature with the first-hand experiences of victim-survivors and support service providers, in order to enhance future research and practical application of the term in policy and legal contexts. The study used an online open-ended survey to gather data from victim-survivors and support service providers about their definitions of gaslighting. Responses were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify definitional components of gaslighting. The study identified six key components of gaslighting: behavior, outcomes, intention, repetition, subsidiary tactics, and the role of power and intimacy. The study proposed a definition of gaslighting informed by victim-survivor and service provider perspectives, while acknowledging the need for further research to refine controversial components like intention, repetition, and power imbalances. Further, it addresses limitations such as the lack of perpetrator perspectives and the need for more diverse samples in the refinement of future definitions and measurements of gaslighting.
The dual continua in mental health policy and practice: Screening and intervention for low mental wellbeing in youth to achieve targeted prevention
Authors: Kent Lachlan , Dick Suzanne , Havrilova Maja , Carbone Stephen
Published: January 2025

Background: The mental health of young people in Australia and other nations has declined dramatically over the last decade and a half. While an increase in youth mental healthcare services is needed to meet rising demand, on its own, this is unlikely to reverse the concerning trend. A greater focus on prevention is needed.Aims: This article aims to propose an innovative, theoretically-grounded approach to prevention that complements more common population-based (i.e., changing risk and protective factors) and targeted (i.e., supporting individuals with subthreshold symptoms of mental illness) approaches. Aligned with the dual-continua model of mental health (i.e., where mental well-being and ill-health are distinct dimensions of overall mental health), this third approach focuses on addressing low levels of mental wellbeing, which is both a significant predictor of future mental ill-health and a distressing and disabling state that requires intervention in its own right. Recommendations: Large-scale screening for low mental wellbeing, using psychometrically sound tools, could be conducted online and through schools, higher education, and primary care services. Those with low mental wellbeing could be linked to community services offering evidence-based interventions. This approach is likely to carry less stigma and may be easier to achieve than targeting those with subthreshold symptoms through clinical services.Conclusions: The dire state of youth mental health is an urgent call-to-action to adopt novel approaches to address this crisis. We need to make better use of the available evidence and tools at-hand to strengthen our focus on low mental wellbeing, not just mental ill-health.
Developing a Community of Practice (CoP) on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) in a Global Network of Women’s Funds
Authors: Akinfaderin Fadekemi , Neubauer Leah C. , Chen Pei Yao , Dillon Augusta Hagen , Garita Alexandra , Makleff Shelly
Published: January 2025

This paper provides a structured description and analysis of the development and implementation of a community of practice (CoP) framework for monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) within women’s funds (WF) around the world, particularly members of the Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds (Prospera-INWF). The Prospera-INWF is the global hub of women’s funds that advocates for resource justice within philanthropy. It supports its 44 members in strengthening institutional capacity that is critical for women’s funds to be resilient and transform the world for women, girls, trans, intersex, and non-binary people and their communities. Co-authors are three members of the Prospera-INWF Secretariat Team, one representative of a multi-regional fund, and two technical consultants who were involved in the CoP development process. Considerations for how feminist principles strengthened the design and implementation of the CoP are discussed. Emergent key learnings of applying feminist principles to develop a CoP that focuses on feminist MEL practice are detailed, including CoPs as a critical, transformative methodology (and not merely a technical strategy). While learnings are gleaned through the specific Prospera-INWF CoP, they may provide useful insights for researchers and practitioners of MEL, adult learning, and evaluation capacity building (ECB), particularly those aiming to engage feminist principles in their work.
Publishers and Authorial Voice in Applied Linguistics Research Articles: A Corpus-Based Study
Authors: Salimi Esmaeel Ali , Marami Hajikandi Ali
Published: January 2025

Although various studies have been done on authorial voice, none has focused on the possible differences among the articles published by different publishers. To shed light on this issue, this article sought to find the different levels of the use of stance-driven authorial voice in applied linguistics articles published by three international publishers. To this end, 248 applied linguistics articles published from 2000 to 2020 by three intentional publishers were selected through stratified random sampling. After trimming them, a corpus of 1.5 million words was achieved. Then, the normalized frequencies of Hyland’s proposed list of stance markers were extracted using the LancsBox corpus analysis toolbox. The obtained data were analysed using the Kruskal–Wallis test in SPSS 26. The results showed that there are significant differences in the use of overall stance markers, attitude markers, and self-mention markers in the articles published by different publishers, while the results were not significant for hedges and boosters. Our findings can inform the research article writers, academic writing course instructors, and the publishing staff.
La verdad una y diversa: el ejercicio de razón como posibilidad del diálogo intercultural
Authors: Reyes Linares Pedro Antonio
Published: January 2025

Reyes Linares, Pedro Antonio. La verdad una y diversa: el ejercicio de razón como posibilidad del diálogo intercultural. El artículo plantea la recuperación de la problemática del diálogo intercultural desde el análisis filosófico de Alfonso Ibáñez, ubicándola como una necesaria revisión de la unidad y diversidad entre los conceptos de verdad y razón. Frente a la problemática así formulada, el autor propone un fundamento que hace pensable esta unidad y diversidad, a partir de la filosofía de la intelección y la praxis de Xavier Zubiri.
Malt Lymphoma of the ovary!
Authors: Denis Solomons Hilary
Published: January 2025

Malt lymphoma of the ovary is rare but does occur.

Also known as maltoma involves the mucosa associated lymphoid tissue. Usually, the ovary or stomach is involved but any mucousal site can be affected.
Role of Glutamine as an Ergogenic Amino Acid during Fatigue
Authors: Hussain Sadique
Published: January 2025

Physical activity has an impact on the interior environment's balance. Contracting muscles provide force, power, and heat during exercise. As a result, physical activity is a kind of mechanical energy. The body's energy reserves will be depleted as a result of the created energy. During exercise, metabolites and heat are produced, affecting the internal environment's steady state. Depending on the type of activity, weariness and exhaustion will set in sooner or later. Glutamine is the most common free amino acid in human muscle and plasma, and it is used extensively by rapidly proliferating cells, such as leucocytes, to supply energy and ideal circumstances for nucleotide production. As a result, it is thought to be necessary for effective immunological function. Glutamate serves a variety of functions, including protein synthesis, an anabolic precursor for muscle growth, acid-base balance in the kidney, ureagenesis in the liver, hepatic and renal gluconeogenesis, oxidative fuel for the intestine and immune system cells, inter-organ nitrogen transport, a precursor for neurotransmitter synthesis, a precursor for nucleotide and nucleic acid synthesis, and precursor for glutathione production. Severe metabolic stress, such as sepsis or extensive surgery, depletes glutamine reserves in muscles. As a result, it is regarded as conditionally vital in certain circumstances. The physiological importance of glutamine is discussed in this review, as well as how glutamine supplementation can help with weariness.
A Case Report of Psoriatic Arthritis and Homoeopathic Remedial Approach
Authors: Maurya Bindulata
Published: January 2025

With the advent of biologic agents in past few years, treatment armamentarium for psoriasis has largely enhanced. Each biologics has their own pros and cons with confusion over the preferred treatment for individual cases. With increase in research in psoriasis, there has been better upgradation in understanding about the pathogenesis of inflammatory psoriatic pathways with dominant interleukins IL-23/IL-17 axis involvement. Our case report begins with introduction about the psoriatic skin and joint disease with its pathophysiology and available treatments followed by the case description of adult male who was initially misdiagnosed as atopic dermatitis later confirmed to be psoriatic arthritis by rheumatologist. There was resolution of symptom after the homoeopathic treatment was started. This case report emphasizes the role of alternative therapy of medicine homoeopathy in treatment of chronic psoriatic skin and joint disease.
Pseudotumoral Tuberculous Myelitis. Case Report
Authors: Hilmani Said
Published: January 2025

Background: Tuberculous myelitis and its pseudotumoral form is considered an exceptional entity characterized by clinical and radiological polymorphism. The differential diagnosis concerns tumor cases. Hence, we report an isolated cervical pseudotumoral myelitis tuberculosis case, and we discuss the pathophysiological, clinical, imaging features and therapeutical option.

Case presentation: A 45-year-old woman developed a progressive tetraparesis, sensory disturbances and bladder dysfunction. Spinal MRI showed hyperintensT-2-weighted sections, with contrast enhancement of a a well-circumscribed lesion of the posterior horn, extending from C3–C7 (Fig. 1). The diagnosis of an astrocytoma was suggested. The patient underwent surgery with partial resection. Histopathological analysis confirms the diagnosis of tuberculous myelitis. In addition the blood GeneXpert MTB was positive. The patient received high-dose steroid therapy(500 mg of methylprednisolone intravenously per day for five continuous days. At the same time, she received anti-tuberculosis therapy and physiotherapy. The patient showed slow recovery.

Conclusion: Tuberculous myelitis diagnosis is difficult in its isolated and pseudotumoral form even with IMR. Surgical biopsy, in absence or negativity of biological markers, is an ultimate option to confirm the diagnosis. Anti-tuberculosis drug treatment associated to high dose of corticosteroids and early diagnosis lead to a good outcome.
Використання засобів футболу для підвищення показників фізичного розвитку та функціонального стану дітей середнього шкільного віку
Authors: Піскоха Андрій , Тищенко Валерія
Published: January 2025

Analysis of school physical education programs reveals that there is currently no real possibility to implement an important principle of the physical education system – to ensure a differentiated and individual approach to students considering their health status, physical development, and physical fitness. Existing programs do not take into account the specific psycho-functional state of students, especially those of older school age. Therefore, the level of motor skills development in most high school graduates does not meet the societal demands for the physical fitness of the younger generation.
Research Objective. To substantiate the effectiveness of using football tools to improve the physical development and functional state indicators of middle school children.
Material and Methods. Analysis and synthesis of literature sources on the research topic, pedagogical observations, methods for assessing the functional state of the cardiovascular system and the external respiratory system, and methods of mathematical statistics.
Results. At the initial stage of the study, the baseline values of physical condition indicators of middle school boys in the study groups showed no statistically significant difference. Under the influence of football section activities, the final results of testing the functional state of the cardiovascular system corresponded to high and medium levels, while the functional state of the external respiratory system was classified as above average and average. It has been proven that the use of football tools in the physical education process of middle school boys significantly optimized the functional state of the cardiovascular system and the external respiratory system, as well as the physical condition of the surveyed students. The study results are recommended for practical use in the physical education system of school-aged children.
Conclusions. The use of football tools in optimizing the general physical condition of school-aged children is aimed at improving the effectiveness of the physical education process, highlighting the relevance and practical significance of the noted problem, which became the basis for our research
Оптимізація організації і методики проведення уроків фізичної культури засобами баскетболу
Authors: Сушко Руслана , Бабюк Денис
Published: January 2025

Modern demands of modernization of the educational process stimulate the creative quest of physical education teachers to introduce innovative forms and methods of teaching and learning, improve organizational and methodological approaches to giving lessons. The physical and mental health of secondary education students in the context of intensified oversaturation of the process of training students, together with the problems associated with martial law, require correct changes and careful study of the relevant range of issues, and therefore, professional analysis of the organization and teaching of physical education lessons. The purpose of the study is to identify modern organizational and methodological aspects of teaching physical education lessons using basketball based on the study of existing teachers’ experience. Materials and methods. The research was conducted using the following methods: analysis and synthesis of scientific and methodological literature, data from the Internet; surveys; and mathematical calculations. Results. Based on a survey of 14 physical education teachers from the city of Kyiv and the region, the attitude of specialists to a number of controversial issues was revealed. The modern peculiarities of organizing and teaching physical education lessons using basketball were found out. The study revealed that in face-to-face learning, 42.9 % of respondents preferred a holistic and part-based teaching method, while 35 % favored game-based and competitive approaches. Verbal and visual methods each received 21.4 % of the votes, and 64.3 % chose the option "combine and apply all of the above." Regarding the choice of methods in the context of remote learning, significant preference was given to verbal (57.1 %) and visual (71.4 %) methods, while 50 % of teachers reported using holistic and part-based methods in their professional activities. Conclusions. Based on the opinions of these specialists, due to their work experience, we state that basketball in schools should be taught in a full-time format, using a variety of innovative approaches and methodological technologies that are appropriate for online/offline learning. There is a need to improve the material and technical base, which will optimize the mastery of technical and tactical exercises of the game of basketball and promote the comprehensive harmonious development of the individual.
Unpacking teachers' value beliefs about computational thinking and programming
Authors: Mumcu Filiz , Andic Branko , Maricic Mirjana , Tejera Mathias , Lavicza Zsolt
Published: January 2025

Many education policy strategy documents at the European Union level, as well as national strategies of various countries, recommend including computational thinking as a fundamental skill in curricula. The professional development of teachers should be supported to disseminate computational thinking in K12 education. Teachers’ value beliefs about computer science and programming should be first known when designing professional development programs. This study aims twofold. The first is to adapt the Teacher Beliefs about Coding and Computational Thinking (TBaCCT) Scale into Turkish. The second is to explore Turkish primary and secondary school teachers' value beliefs about computational thinking and programming. The study involved 417 teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for the validity studies of the scale. Independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and MANOVA analysis were used to examine whether the scores differed according to gender and subject, respectively. The findings show that the Turkish form of the TBaCCT Scale is valid and reliable. For programming self-efficacy and teaching programming efficacy, there is a significant difference between male and female teachers, computer science teachers and other subjects, and elementary mathematics, class and science teachers and other teachers. Teachers working in social sciences especially need professional development programs that will transform their beliefs and knowledge about computational thinking.
Can mobile phone network data be used to estimate small area population? A comparison from Japan
Authors: Makita Naoki , Kimura Masakazu , Terada Masayuki , Kobayashi Motonari , Oyabu Yuki
Published: January 2025

For a long time, only national statistics offices have had the capability of producing small area statistics on population, such as, in Japan, the Grid Square Statistics of Population Census (GPC). With the proliferation of mobile phones in daily life and the significant development of ICT, there emerges a new kind of statistics called the Mobile Spatial Statistics (MSS), which estimates small area population derived from the operational data of a mobile phone network. There are several differences between the two statistics, particularly relating to measuring de jure versus de facto population, and research was conducted to examine the validity of MSS by comparing the two statistics. Deviation rates were calculated to compare the 2010 GPC population with the MSS population before dawn on the 2010 Census day and concluded that, to a certain degree, MSS would be plausible for use in densely populated areas. We also found that MSS highlighted the busy blocks of central Tokyo early in the morning. The research proved the utility of MSS, and at the same time, it confirmed the ongoing usefulness of GPC as the benchmark of population statistics.
Psst, what's the gossip?
Authors: Chiu Robert
Published: January 2025

The emergence of social media has changed the way information is sent and received. However, this new dissemination tool has not altered the fundamental characteristics of an engaging story. By incorporating the basic qualities of gossip into their stories, statistical organisations can use the resulting framework to better engage young people – so that they become aware and active users of official statistics.
A historical appraisal of Greek survey sampling practices
Authors: Michalopoulou Catherine
Published: January 2025

This paper highlights some of the distinguished episodes in the history of survey sampling in Greece. There are many themes common to other National Statistics Offices (NSOs). Survey sampling in Greece basically started in the 1960s when Raj and Pearl introduced probability sampling into the practice of the Greek statistical agency (NSO) and the education of its senior staff. It is due to this work that the national statistical service is the only institution, conducting on a regular basis, probability sample surveys in Greece. As will be seen, these efforts are in line with those of many government agencies in the European Union (EU).
The System of social statistical datasets of Statistics Netherlands: An integral approach to the production of register-based social statistics
Authors: Bakker Bart F.M. , van Rooijen Johan , van Toor Leo
Published: January 2025

More and more countries are using register data to replace traditional Censuses. Moreover, official statistics as well as research are increasingly based on register data or combinations of survey and register data. Register-based statistics offer wonderful new opportunities. At the same time, they require a new approach to how data are processed and managed. In this article, we present the System of social statistical datasets (SSD), a system of interlinked and standardized registers and surveys. All production processes within Statistics Netherlands that pertain to social or spatial statistics converge in the SSD, which thus constitutes a shared output-oriented system. The SSD contains a wealth of information on persons, households, jobs, benefits, pensions, education, hospitalizations, crime reports, dwellings, vehicles and more. In the Netherlands it is the most important source for official social statistics and, because the data are available on request by means of remote access, also very popular in the social sciences. This article describes the contents of the SSD as well as the underlying process and organization, and demonstrates its possibilities.
Expanding the role of synthetic data at the U.S. Census Bureau
Authors: Jarmin Ron S. , Louis Thomas A. , Miranda Javier
Published: January 2025

National Statistical offices (NSOs) create official statistics from data collected from survey respondents, government administrative records and other sources. The raw source data is usually considered to be confidential. In the case of the U.S. Census Bureau, confidentiality of survey and administrative records microdata is mandated by statute, and this mandate to protect confidentiality is often at odds with the needs of users to extract as much information from the data as possible. Traditional disclosure protection techniques result in official data products that do not fully utilize the information content of the underlying microdata. Typically, these products take the form of simple aggregate tabulations. In a few cases anonymized public-use micro samples are made available, but these face a growing risk of re-identification by the increasing amounts of information about individuals and firms available in the public domain. One approach for overcoming these risks is to release products based on synthetic data where values are simulated from statistical models designed to mimic the (joint) distributions of the underlying microdata. We discuss recent Census Bureau work to develop and deploy such products. We discuss the benefits and challenges involved with extending the scope of synthetic data products in official statistics.
Redesign in a statistical office – sociodemographic statistics in the Office for National Statistics
Authors: Smith P.A.
Published: January 2025

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has developed a Strategy setting out the areas in which it aims to make progress in the coming years in order to be well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by technology and new data sources, and to meet the challenges of anticipated budget constraints and falling response rates. One key part of this is a project investigating options for future provision of population and small area sociodemographic statistics. I will outline the way the options in this project interact with ONS's existing social survey programme and the system for constructing population estimates as an example of how the strategy is leading the redesign process in the ONS.
The impact of victimisation on the daily activities of South Africans – A case study of the 2011 Victims of Crime Survey
Authors: Lehohla Pali , Lukhwareni Joseph
Published: January 2025

During the 1990s, National Statistical Agencies (NSAs) experienced significant and rapid evolution in the collection, coordination and dissemination of statistics. In this regard, the field of crime statistics is considered as one of the statistical areas where NSAs have to increasingly play a leading role in coordinating the scope and quality of statistical collection and dissemination. In South Africa, safety and security has been identified as one of the strategic priorities of Government. Consequently this increases the importance of and need for more comprehensive statistics on the patterns of crime and victimisation in the country. The South African National Development Plan 2030 states that by 2030, people living in South Africa should feel safe and have no fear of crime. This paper examines the relationship between crime and victimisation statistics, and the impact it has on the daily activities of South Africans. Policies related to safety and security can only begin to improve the living conditions of ordinary citizens if they are based on evidence in this regard: comprehensive statistical databases that include information not only from administrative sources, but also from victimisation surveys. The results of the Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS) 2011 revealed that most South Africans fear becoming victims of housebreaking and robbery. Furthermore, many South Africans do not feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood, and a significant proportion refraom from its daily activities as a result of a fear of victimisation. The paper explores how these statistics inform crime prevention policies and strategies and also establishes performance targets and indicators for the assessment of interventions and progress in relation to safety and security.
Epidemiological and statistical secured matching in France
Authors: Quantin C. , Benzenine E. , Allaert F.A. , Guesdon M. , Gouyon J.B. , Riandey B.
Published: January 2025

When we need to match different files, we generally face the problem of preserving confidentiality and respecting private life, especially if the files come from various sources. This problem may, on some occasions, dramatically restrict the utilization of administrative data for social statistics and research. In order to overcome this problem, some organizations, statistical institutes and research centers use the Secured Matching technique.

Secured Matching is performed by using anonymous matching keys. One way to proceed is by using a technique for the irreversible encryption of the identifiers. The identifying elements common to several files are transformed by the same encryption process, allowing the matching to be done in an anonymous way by using the encrypted identifiers, with no possible link to the original identifiers.

As an example, we will talk about the use of Secured Matching in France and describe some applications in epidemiology. We also show how these techniques of secured matching can be considered as a potential for innovation within official French statistics.
Producing official statistics via voluntary surveys -- the National Household Survey in Canada
Authors: Hamel Marc , Laniel Normand
Published: January 2025

Statistics Canada conducts over 350 business, social and institutional surveys a year. Of all social or household type surveys, only one in addition to the Census of Population is conducted on a mandatory basis, the Labour Force Survey. By their very nature, voluntary surveys will achieve lower rates of response and are thus exposed to higher risks of bias. For the 2011 Census of Population program, the long form census was for the first time collected on a voluntary basis as the National Household Survey. The survey content was basically the same as that of previous Census long forms and covered various socio-demographic topics that are of high importance to a wide variety of stakeholders in Canada. Given that one of the key characteristics of a census is to produce data for small regions and for subgroups of the population, collecting the survey on a voluntary basis introduced several challenges. Statistics Canada, based on its extensive experience with voluntary surveys, developed a number of processes and approaches to ensure the highest data quality possible. This paper describes what these measures were for data collection, data processing and estimation. It also provides a brief description of the quality assurance processes underlying the release strategy of the 2011 survey.
Median-based measures of inequality: Reassessing the increase in income inequality in the U.S. and Sweden
Authors: Gastwirth Joseph L.
Published: January 2025

The increase in income inequality, due to a shift in favor of the upper end in the United States and other countries, has become a public policy concern. This paper shows that the Gini index, G, underestimates the rate of increase in inequality because a shift of income towards the top incomes increases both the numerator and denominator of G. A modified index(G _2 ), which replaces the mean in the denominator by the median, indicates that income inequality in the United States grew at about twice the rate as the Gini index from 1967 to 2012. The analysis accounts for the effect of the changes made in the survey collection process in 1994. In contrast with the United States, while income inequality increased in Sweden, the shift in favor of the upper income region was less pronounced. The index G _2 is readily computed from the mean, median and Gini index, published by many national statistical agencies. Although G _2 may not be appropriate for some analytic purposes, it is an easily calculated summary descriptive measure that is more sensitive to important changes in the income distribution than the Gini index. Most other indices placing greater weight on the upper end of the income distribution must be calculated from micro-data.
Sustaining improved estimates of poverty in Armenia: An application of multivariate raking ratio adjustment
Authors: Arushanyan Armenuhi , Kouyumjyan Karina , Martirosova Diana , Mushtaq Ali , Scheuren Fritz
Published: January 2025

The objective of this paper is to present an application of multivariate raking ratio adjustment with some refinements. Specifically, we applied raking to help improve the measurement of poverty in Armenia. This work was undertaken in conjunction with a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) 2006 grant to reduce rural poverty in Armenia through economic growth. The Armenian Integrated Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) was used to measure poverty, so that the impact of the MCC grant could be assessed. We used raking techniques to adjust survey sampling weights so that totals match that of Armenian census projections. This adjustment required the incorporation of a refinement to the standard raking procedure to adjust multiple demographic dimensions: by person-level variables age and gender, and household-level geography variables. This paper describes the application of raking in this context, and provides background on the MCC work in Armenia. We contend that the work done here was a success because of its collaborative nature, which is leading to a fully sustainable effort long-term. Collaborative work of this type, across cultures and, indeed, across the world is rewarding, both professionally and personally. It never ceases to amaze how much official statisticians have in common, wherever they are found.
From systems of national statistics to National Statistical Systems
Authors: Lehohla Pali
Published: January 2025

The 1990s introduced significant changes in the world of statistics. In particular, the changing political landscape, together with rapid technological advances, placed demands on statistical systems in ways that had not been witnessed before. These changes have continued, and will continue to influence statistical development well beyond the current decade.

The key challenge facing official statistics will involve a change in focus, from development of systems of national statistics (currently occupying statistical leaders) to the introduction of national statistics systems (the future). The success or failure of this change in focus will measure the ability of statisticians to adapt to a new world order. If we succeed, we may ensure extension of the life of statisticians as useful and important beings in the new world of ideas and measurement. This will, however, require courage, innovation and quality in statistical leadership.
Tagging: Can user-generated content improve our services?
Authors: Šnuderl Katja
Published: January 2025

A couple of years ago there was a lot of discussion about how to improve search engines on the statistical websites. We are still struggling to make them better. On the other hand, in the last few years user-generated content on the internet, with impressive growth of Web 2.0 tools and services, introduced not only user-generated content, but also user-defined classification of items. The so called "folksonomy" introduced a new, complementary way of classifying items, significantly different from the pre-defined, authoritative taxonomies. Folksonomy is a result of tagging. In applications like YouTube (video clip database), Flickr (picture database), SlideShare (presentation database), blogs and others, users attach one or more words (tags) to every object in the database. Tags support search and aggregation lists.

It takes just one step to move from entering search keywords ourselves, using all of our knowledge, experiences and intuition in order to tailor the search results to user needs, to allowing our own users to enter tags themselves. This step creates a paradigm shift, exactly the same one as has turned Web 2.0 applications into a big success: Users – not producers – control the way they find and use information. By allowing users to enter tags we can actually allow users to help themselves by helping us.
Resolving the tension between access and confidentiality: Past experience and future plans at the U.S. Census Bureau
Authors: Foster Lucia , Jarmin Ron , Riggs Lynn
Published: January 2025

This paper provides an historical context for access to U.S. Federal statistical data with a primary focus on the U.S. Census Bureau. We review the various modes used by the Census Bureau to make data available to users, and highlight the costs and benefits associated with each. We highlight some of the specific improvements underway or under consideration at the Census Bureau to better serve its data users, as well as discuss the broad strategies employed by statistical agencies to respond to the challenges of data access.
Revising the ISI declaration on professional ethics: Background and challenges
Authors: Morganstein David
Published: January 2025

Since it adopted a Declaration on Professional Ethics in 1985, the ISI has continued to discuss and publicize shared professional values and experiences on the subject of ethics in the statistics profession. This paper summarizes various meetings and recommendations that have followed the original Declaration. Currently, a revision of both the content and format is under discussion, as reflected in feedback received at both the Lisboa and Durban meetings.
Protecting confidentiality in a data enclave
Authors: Meyer Peter S. , Robinson E. Stephanie , Madans Jennifer
Published: January 2025

The National Center for Health Statistics has developed a secure infrastructure, known as the Research Data Center (RDC), to provide researchers access to sensitive data that carry a statistical disclosure risk. The RDC has developed procedures, policies, and products that allow for the use of these data while maintaining the confidentiality of survey respondents and research subjects. Between the ever-growing need to restrict variables to maintain confidentiality and the expanded interest in studies that add context and policy based on geography, the amount of researchers requesting access to restricted data has almost doubled in the past year. To meet these additional needs, the RDC has expanded onsite services, developed a remote access system that continues to evolve in this ever-changing information technology environment, and streamlined its processes to increase efficiency.
General Features of the Stellar Matter Equation of State From Microscopic Theory, New Maximum-Mass Constraints, and Causality
Authors: Sammarruca Francesca , Ajagbonna Tomiwa
Published: January 2025

The profile of a neutron star probes a very large range of densities, from the density of iron up to several times the density of saturated nuclear matter, and thus no theory of hadrons can be considered reliable if extended to those regions. We emphasize the importance of taking contemporary _ab initio_ theories of nuclear and neutron matter as the baseline for any extension method, which will unavoidably involve some degree of phenomenology. We discuss how microscopic theory, on the one end, with causality and maximum-mass constraints, on the other, set strong boundaries to the high-density equation of state. We present our latest neutron star predictions where we combine polytropic extensions and parametrizations guided by speed of sound considerations. The predictions we show include our baseline neutron star cooling curves.
Propuesta de una taxonomía de los avatares en las películas
Authors: Jiménez Sánchez Álvaro , Lavín José M. , Martín García Noemí
Published: January 2025

En las últimas décadas los avatares han sido empleados cada vez más dentro del ámbito cinematográfico. Es por ello que esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar los diferentes tipos de avatares y presentar una taxonomía que sirva de referencia para categorizar sus diversos usos e implicaciones en la narratología y los personajes. Se seleccionaron más de cincuenta películas y se realizó un análisis fílmico de carácter temático discursivo. Tras una previa distinción básica respecto a la dualidad cuerpo-mente para entender el concepto de avatar aplicado, los resultados apuntan a tres principios o factores. El primero es el grado de divergencia entre mundos o contextos entre el personaje y el avatar, el segundo es el grado de existencia o conciencia propia del avatar y, el tercero, el grado de diferenciación psicofísica entre personaje y avatar. Se observa que el hecho de que estos niveles sean altos, bajos o nulos, conlleva diferentes implicaciones dentro de los filmes que afectan a los personajes, sus tramas e, incluso, a las posibles temáticas propuestas tanto principales como secundarias. Se termina ejemplificando el uso de esta taxonomía y se concluye que puede ser de utilidad y referencia para futuras categorizaciones y empleo de los avatares dentro del amplio e innovador universo cinematográfico.
El Debate de hoy: 2016-2021. Una aproximación a contenidos y géneros publicados
Authors: Rubio Toril José Maria
Published: January 2025

Los medios de comunicación digitales tienen en el siglo XXI su etapa de máximo esplendor. Los nativos digitales aparecieron para ofrecer inmediatez en las noticias. Eso los llevó a distanciar al Periodismo del papel y de la pausa de escribir para ser publicado al día siguiente. En 2016, la ACdP rescata la histórica cabecera El Debate para adaptarla a los nuevos tiempos bajo el nombre El Debate de Hoy en un formato totalmente digital. Este trabajo estudia los contenidos que publicó el medio digital en su etapa entre febrero de 2017 y septiembre de 2021. También abordará las secciones con las que contó en sus inicios y cómo se fueron transformado. Por último, la investigación revelará los géneros de los contenidos que se publicaron.
Avatares en la sociedad del conocimiento
Authors: Suárez Martínez José Miguel
Published: January 2025

En este trabajo se realiza una aproximación analítica a la posibilidad de concebir al ser humano como un individuo totalmente libre en el seno de la sociedad del conocimiento, y estudia si se puede interpretar ésta como un conjunto de fenómenos tecnológicos y sociales espontáneos que configuran el carácter de nuestra realidad actual. Así mismo, se analizan algunos aspectos condicionantes en el comportamiento colectivo utilizándolo como categoría analítica con el objetivo de descifrar mecanismos de condicionamiento que subyacen tras los avatares ofrecidos por la tecnología.
 
El resultado es la puesta de manifiesto del sobrevenimiento del denominado Big-Data-Brother como elemento disruptor del tradicional equilibrio simbiótico entre individuo, comportamiento colectivo y sociedad. Las precondiciones históricas y sociales de este fenómeno tecnológico de explotación de nuestro excedente comportamental a través de los metadatos o el balance riesgo-oportunidad del constante proceso de avance tecnológico forman parte de las conclusiones a extraer basándose en algunos presupuestos teóricos de la Teoría Social del Interaccionismo Simbólico.
Del concepto conquistado y la experiencia… ¿derivada?: la hiperclasificación y la hiperexclusión identitaria
Authors: Sanahuja Sonia
Published: January 2025

En este trabajo, se recuperan planteos derivados de las agudas observaciones y críticas que despliega Élisabeth Roudinesco en El yo soberano. Ensayo sobre las derivas identitarias (2023), acerca de las conquistas traicionadas por movimientos sociales que pretendían grados diversos de emancipación, en un pasado no tan lejano, y que hoy consolidan modos de exclusión desde esencialismos que traicionan, paradójicamente, sus propuestas antiesencialistas originarias. Así mismo, se conjugan sus reflexiones con algunas ideas centrales de Judith Butler acerca de la subjetividad, el género y las políticas de identidad, a fin de tejer un diálogo no sin controversias, entre una y otra autora, y acerca de sus lecturas y apropiaciones de formulaciones originarias, como las de Michel Foucault. La reflexión subyacente se centra en las relaciones complejas entre la generación de teoría y la experiencia, lo que ubica a este abordaje en una zona de frontera en términos epistémico-metodológicos, puesto que se resuelve como un ejercicio de reflexión derivado de uno anterior con una fuerte vocación empírica. En esta dialéctica, los objetivos trazados tienen que ver con reflexionar acerca de ciertos abordajes de los fenómenos relacionados con la identidad, tanto desde el plano teórico o conceptual, como desde la perspectiva fundada en la comprensión de la experiencia como tal; así mismo, retomar hallazgos de un trabajo de investigación previo, para diversificar las formas de inquietar la relación entre el concepto y la experiencia, y, finalmente, se pretende aportar análisis y experiencias que movilicen el ejercicio de una política de identidad asentada en procesos de subjetivación dinámicos, en su inherente contingencia,  a fin de fortalecer las conquistas emancipatorias emergentes del campo social, incluso desde enclaves académicos, para hacer de la diferencia una articulación concreta potencialmente transformadora a escala social.