Comprehensive maternity support and shared care in Switzerland: Comparison of levels of satisfaction

Background

According to the woman-centred care model, continuous care by a midwife has a positive impact on satisfaction. Comprehensive support is a model of team midwifery care implemented in the large Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland, which has organised shared care according to the biomedical model of practice. This model of care insures a follow up by a specific group of midwives, during perinatal period.

A Note on the Prior Distributions of Weibull Parameters for the Reliability Function

In Bayesian Inference it is often desirable to have a posterior density reflecting mainly the information from sample data. To achieve this purpose it is important to employ prior densities which add little information to the sample. We have in the literature many such prior densities, for example, Jeffreys (1967 Jeffreys , H. ( 1967 ). Theory of Probability , 3rd rev. ed. . London : Oxford University Press . [Google Scholar]), Lindley (1956 Lindley , D. V. ( 1956 ). On a measure of the information provided by an experiment . Ann. Mathemat. Statist. 27 : 986 – 1005 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]); (1961 Lindley , D. V. ( 1961 ). The use of prior probability distributions in statistical inference and decisions . In: Neyman , J. , ed. Proceedings of the Fourth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability . Vol. 1. Berkeley : University of California Press , pp. 453 – 468 . [Google Scholar]), Hartigan (1964 Hartigan , J. ( 1964 ). Invariant priors distributions . Ann. Mathemat. Statist. 35 : 836 – 845 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), Bernardo (1979 Bernardo , J. M. ( 1979 ). Reference posterior distributions for Bayesian inference . J. Roy. Statist. Soc. 41 ( 2 ): 113 – 147 . [Google Scholar]), Zellner (1984 Zellner , A. ( 1984 ). Maximal Data Information Prior Distributions, Basic Issues in Econometrics . Chicago : University of Chicago Press . [Google Scholar]), Tibshirani (1989 Tibshirani , R. ( 1989 ). Noninformative priors for one parameters of many . Biometrika 76 : 604 – 608 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), etc. In the present article, we compare the posterior densities of the reliability function by using Jeffreys, the maximal data information (Zellner, 1984 Zellner , A. ( 1984 ). Maximal Data Information Prior Distributions, Basic Issues in Econometrics . Chicago : University of Chicago Press . [Google Scholar]), Tibshirani's, and reference priors for the reliability function R(t) in a Weibull distribution.     

The Wild Bootstrap for Multilevel Models

In this paper, we study the performance of the most popular bootstrap schemes for multilevel data. Also, we propose a modified version of the wild bootstrap procedure for hierarchical data structures. The wild bootstrap does not require homoscedasticity or assumptions on the distribution of the error processes. Hence, it is a valuable tool for robust inference in a multilevel framework. We assess the finite size performances of the schemes through a Monte Carlo study. The results show that for big sample sizes it always pays off to adopt an agnostic approach as the wild bootstrap outperforms other techniques.     

Dynamic model-based clustering for spatio-temporal data

In many research fields, scientific questions are investigated by analyzing data collected over space and time, usually at fixed spatial locations and time steps and resulting in geo-referenced time series. In this context, it is of interest to identify potential partitions of the space and study their evolution over time. A finite space-time mixture model is proposed to identify level-based clusters in spatio-temporal data and study their temporal evolution along the time frame. We anticipate space-time dependence by introducing spatio-temporally varying mixing weights to allocate observations at nearby locations and consecutive time points with similar cluster’s membership probabilities. As a result, a clustering varying over time and space is accomplished. Conditionally on the cluster’s membership, a state-space model is deployed to describe the temporal evolution of the sites belonging to each group. Fully posterior inference is provided under a Bayesian framework through Monte Carlo Markov chain algorithms. Also, a strategy to select the suitable number of clusters based upon the posterior temporal patterns of the clusters is offered. We evaluate our approach through simulation experiments, and we illustrate using air quality data collected across Europe from 2001 to 2012, showing the benefit of borrowing strength of information across space and time.     

The Making of a Narcissist

In discussing the etiology of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, faulty parenting or disturbed object relations is a common causal theme in most writings. However, the question remains as to its specificity. In this author's experience, faulty parenting is ubiquitous in all psychological disturbance. This paper postulates that the specific fault lies in the caretaker's failure to provide optimal frustrating experiences necessary to enable the child to develop a more realistic self-image. Clinical case examples reveal some common personality characteristics in the parents and parenting styles conducive to the child's development of a narcissistic disorder. A brief, informal comparison is made between these cases and over 100 other cases of poor, welfare children who were seen in psychoanalytic treatment by this author.     

Beyond Division: Convergences Between Postmodern Qualitative Research and Family Therapy

Starting from examples of postmodern research and therapeutic practice, we raise the question on the role of the research-therapy dichotomy within these approaches. The article aims to show the profound convergence between postmodern ethnographic research and constructionist, collaborative therapeutic approaches on a double, epistemological and practice level. First, we point out their converging development toward narrative and constructionist epistemologies. Second, an inquiry into the core features of these disciplinary activities' goal, process, and expert role reveals their profound convergence into a dialogical practice in which the boundaries between research and therapy are radically transgressed. We conclude by questioning the implications and acceptability of this convergence for researchers' and therapists' understanding of their practices.     

Bootstrap inference in local polynomial regression of time series

In this paper we consider the inferential aspect of the nonparametric estimation of a conditional function , where X _t,m represents the vector containing the m conditioning lagged values of the series. Here is an arbitrary measurable function. The local polynomial estimator of order p is used for the estimation of the function g, and of its partial derivatives up to a total order p. We consider α-mixing processes, and we propose the use of a particular resampling method, the local polynomial bootstrap, for the approximation of the sampling distribution of the estimator. After analyzing the consistency of the proposed method, we present a simulation study which gives evidence of its finite sample behaviour.     

How We Fall Apart: Similarities of Human Aging in 10 European Countries

We analyze human aging—understood as health deficit accumulation—for a panel of European individuals, using four waves of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE data set) and constructing a health deficit index. Results from log-linear regressions suggest that, on average, elderly European men and women develop approximately 2.5 % more health deficits from one birthday to the next. In nonlinear regressions (akin to the Gompertz-Makeham model), however, we find much greater rates of aging and large differences between men and women as well as between countries. Interestingly, these differences follow a particular regularity (akin to the compensation effect of mortality) and suggest an age at which average health deficits converge for men and women and across countries. This age, which may be associated with human life span, is estimated as 102 ± 2.6 years.     

Blinded by worries: sin taxes and demand for temptation under financial worries

Theory and Decision - Imposing “sin” taxes has been the preferred way governments tried to discourage the over-consumption of temptation goods for decades. However numerous evidence...