Looking at Journals from Both Sides

Abstract

The author, a professor in the field of communication, describes his contrasting experiences with publishing an open access society journal and advising a regional association in regards to turning over publication of its journal to a major commercial publishing firm. Using his experience of producing an open access journal as a foundation, he argues for the intrinsic importance of establishing credibility and exercising personal care in the production and maintenance of a journal. The author argues that current efforts by some societies to increase access to their journals through outsourcing to commercial publishers may be counterproductive to the fundamental goal of disseminating knowledge.     

New Developments in Statistical Computing: New Bias Evaluation Features of EXPLOR—A Program for Assessing Experimental Design Properties

Longitudinal investigations play an increasingly prominent role in biomedical research. Much of the literature on specifying and fitting linear models for serial measurements uses methods based on the standard multivariate linear model. This article proposes a more flexible approach that permits specification of the expected response as an arbitrary linear function of fixed and time-varying covariates so that mean-value functions can be derived from subject matter considerations rather than methodological constraints. Three families of models for the covariance function are discussed: multivariate, autoregressive, and random effects. Illustrations demonstrate the flexibility and utility of the proposed approach to longitudinal analysis.     

The Planning Stage in Statistical Reasoning

An important step in the statistical problem-solving process is the selection of the appropriate statistical procedure for the real-world situation under analysis. A decision-tree term project has been found to be an effective teaching device to help MBA students understand this step. The project requires the students to construct a decision-tree structure, which, through a series of questions and responses, will lead from the statement of a statistical question to the appropriate sampling distribution to use in addressing the question.     

The Balance Point: Keeping Serial Bibliographic Records Viable in a Digital Age

Abstract

Michael Norman, head of serials cataloging at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) library, describes his library's development of an integrated management system for serials, the Online Research Resources (ORR). The ORR was designed to draw together and deliver to the public a wide range of information related to the library's serial holdings that previously could only be obtained by consulting a number of sources. With a single search, UIUC patrons can now consult the ORR for serials information such as variant titles, online availability, subject categories, print summary statements, ISI impact factor, where the title is indexed, and whether it is peer reviewed—an innovation sorely needed and highly welcomed by librarians and patrons alike.     

Clustering of seasonal events: A simulation study using circular methods

ABSTRACT

In a changing climate, changes in timing of seasonal events such as floods and flowering should be assessed using circular methods. Six different methods for clustering on a circle and one linear method are compared across different locations, spreads, and sample sizes. Best results are obtained when clusters are well separated and the number of observations in each cluster is approximately equal. Simulations of flood-like distributions are used to assess and explore clustering methods. Generally, k-means provides results that are close to the expected results, some other methods perform well under specific conditions, but no single method is exemplary.     

Tables to Facilitate Fitting Tadikamalla and Johnson's LB Distributions

This paper is concerned with estimating the parameters of Tadikamalla-Johnson's L_B distribution using the first four moments. Tables of the parameters of the L_B distribution are given for selected values of skewness (0.0(0.05) 1.0(0.1)2.0) and corresponding available values of kurtosis at intervals of 0.2. The construction and use of these tables is explained with a numerical example.     

Modified ridge analyses under nonstandard

A well-known procedure for the optimization of a second-degree response function over a spherical region of interest is that of ridge analysis. Khuri and Myers (1979) introduced a modification of this procedure by incorporating a certain constraint on the prediction variance. Both procedures, however, assume that the response variable has a constant variance throughtout the experimental region. In the present article, we consider two extensions to Khuri and Myers modifioed ridge analysis. The first extension relaxes the constant variance assumption. In the second extension. generalised linear models are used instead of the trasitional linear model. which are commenly used in responce variables that are not necessaily continusly distribution, including these have discreate distributions, Two examples are presented to illustrate the implementation of the proposed extensions.     

Dirichlet models for square contingency tables

We consider the square contingency tables which arise when the same method of classification is applied twice. The hypothesis of marginal homogeneity is then relevant! and can be tested by various methods Models are discussed which contain marginal homogeneity as a special case. They include a class based on univariate and bivariate Dirichlet distributions. The question of ordered categories is briefly discussed. Applications are made to data on unaided distance vision.     

An alternative to the analysis of covariance for comparing randomized treatments

The problem of comparing mean responses for several treatments applied to a common population is considered. The analysis of co-variance ‘ANCOVA’ is frequently used to take advantage of covariate information in this setting, but in many cases ANCOVA's assumption of parallel regression functions precludes the use of ANCOVA. In this paper, an alternative method is developed which does not make this assumption