Semiparametric Stochastic Modeling of the Rate Function in Longitudinal Studies

In longitudinal biomedical studies, there is often interest in the rate functions, which describe the functional rates of change of biomarker profiles. This paper proposes a semiparametric approach to model these functions as the realizations of stochastic processes defined by stochastic differential equations. These processes are dependent on the covariates of interest and vary around a specified parametric function. An efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is developed for inference. The proposed method is compared with several existing methods in terms of goodness-of-fit and more importantly the ability to forecast future functional data in a simulation study. The proposed methodology is applied to prostate-specific antigen profiles for illustration. Supplementary materials for this paper are available online.     

Bayesian and likelihood inference for cure rates based on defective inverse Gaussian regression models

Failure time models are considered when there is a subpopulation of individuals that is immune, or not susceptible, to an event of interest. Such models are of considerable interest in biostatistics. The most common approach is to postulate a proportion p of immunes or long-term survivors and to use a mixture model [5]. This paper introduces the defective inverse Gaussian model as a cure model and examines the use of the Gibbs sampler together with a data augmentation algorithm to study Bayesian inferences both for the cured fraction and the regression parameters. The results of the Bayesian and likelihood approaches are illustrated on two real data sets.     

Female Authority and Dominion: Discourse and Distinctions of Heavy Metal Scholarship

From its inception, both outsiders and insiders have associated heavy metal with men and masculinity. Some have even maintained that metal culture is hostile territory for women. Despite this, a significant proportion of writers who have documented, analysed, and indeed celebrated heavy metal has been women, from the groundbreaking sociological studies of Deena Weinstein and Donna Gaines, to the recent ethnographic work of Emma Baulch. This article provides a preliminary investigation of this historical phenomenon and what it can reveal about the ever complex, constantly changing relationship between gender and power in metal.     

Public support for Hispanic deportation in the United States: the effects of ethnic prejudice and perceptions of economic competition in a period of economic distress

This paper investigates the effect of ethnic prejudice and perceived economic competition on support for deportation and alternative policy options concerning the handling of undocumented immigrants. Using a national survey conducted in early 2009, data are analysed using bivariate and multinomial regression techniques. Ethnic prejudice and perceived economic competition were found to be significantly related to support for deportation in the face of alternative options, controlling for the effects of age, sex, employment status, nativity, race, party identification, and education. Furthermore, majority support for deportation was found among conservatives, moderates, Republicans, and Independents. Even among liberals and Democrats, substantial numbers supported deportation. During the recent economic recession, perceived economic competition and ethnic prejudice were dominant influences on deportation preferences, and deportation appears to have become a mainstream policy option. However, we speculate that deportation preferences are relatively shallow and unstable owing partly to the dependence of immigration public opinion on economic cycles, and, ultimately, the unfeasibility of deportation as a policy option.     

Reviews

Robert Brentano, Rome Before Avignon. A Social History of Thirteenth‐Century Rome (1974), xiv+340 (Longman, £5.95).

Margaret Spufford, Contrasting Communities. English Villagers in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (1974), xxiii+374 (Cambridge University Press, £7.70).

Peter Burke, Venice and Amsterdam. A Study of Seventeenth‐Century Elites (1974), 154+8 illustrations (Temple Smith, £2.75).

Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed. The Social Origins of Witchcraft (1974), xxi+231 (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, £5).

Duncan J. MacLeod, Slavery, Race and the American Revolution (1975), vi+249 (Cambridge University Press, £5.50, paperback £2.25).

David Brion Davis, The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution: 1770–1823 (1975), 576 (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, £9.60).

Edward Shorter and Charles Tilly, Strikes in France 1830–1968 (1974), xxiii+428 (Cambridge University Press, £9.50).

Tom G. Kessinger, Vilyatpur 1848–1968: Social and Economic Change in a North Indian Village (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, 1974), xiii+227 (University of California Press, $12.00).

Leonore Davidoff, The Best Circles: Society, Etiquette and the Season (1973), 127+44 illustrations (Croom Helm, £3.50).

Joan Wallach Scott, The Glassworkers of Carmaux: French Craftsmen and Political Action in a Nineteenth‐Century City (1974), xiv+239 (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, £5.00).

E. D. Steele, Irish Land and British Politics: Tenant Right and Nationality, 1865–1870 (1974), x+367 (Cambridge University Press, £6.40).

Stefano Merli, Proletariato di Fabbrica e Capitalismo Industriale. Il Caso Italiano: 1880–1900(1973). Vol. I, vi+858; Vol. II, xxxviii+870 (Florence: La Nuova Italia; Vol. I, lire 8000; Vol. II, lire 8000).

Roger Pethybridge, The Social Prelude to Stalinism (1974), 343 (Macmillan, £7.00).     

Mental health among college students: do those who need services know about and use them?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine connections between university students' mental health and their knowledge and use of campus mental health services. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: In March 2001, a sample of undergraduate students (N = 266) completed a Web-based questionnaire, providing information related to their mental health, knowledge of mental health services, and use of those services. RESULTS: Students who were mentally distressed were more likely to know about and use services; however, some students who reported to be mentally distressed either did not know about services or knew about services but did not use them. Living off campus, identifying as male, and having fewer years in college were related to less knowledge of campus mental health services. In addition, female sex and number of years in college were predictive of higher service use. CONCLUSIONS: With the high prevalence rates and severity of mental health problems, university mental health providers must continue to make strategic efforts to disseminate knowledge about mental health services to all students.