Relationship Between Maternal Sensitivity During Early Interaction and Maternal Ability in Perceiving Infants' Body and Face

Maternal sensitivity has been considered an indicator of mother‐infant quality interaction, however little is known about the perception processes associated to this parental behavior style. Here we aimed to explore the relationship between maternal sensitivity during a face‐to‐face interaction with their infants and maternal ability in perceiving infants' body and face. Thirty‐six 6 month‐old infants and their mothers were videotaped during a mother‐infant interaction to identify those with high and low sensitivity. Then, mothers were tested using an inversion effect paradigm requiring the visual discrimination of upright and inverted pictures of whole bodies and faces of their own and unfamiliar infants; this allowed estimation of their configural perceptual processing abilities. Results showed that high‐sensitivity mothers showed reduced body configural processing for others' infants as compared to configural processing of their own infant, whereas low‐sensitivity mothers were engaged in comparable body configural processing independently from infant identity. Infants' face configural processing did not distinguish between high‐ and low‐sensitivity mothers. Our findings suggest that high‐sensitivity mothers have refined their use of configural processing of body postures to be selective for their own infants, suggesting that this visuo‐perceptual strategy makes much more efficient the mothers' ability in detecting, discriminating and recognizing own infant's cues.     

Ecological correlates of psychiatric illness in the City of Calgary

Hospital admissions for psychiatric disorders in the City of Calgary were reviewed during a six-month period. Rates of hospitalization for the city's 77 census tract areas were calculated and correlated with data collected in the 1976 Canada Census. The study identified areas in the city with high rates of pathology requiring hospitalization. The correlational analysis reveals a significant association between differential admission rates and demographic and ecological attributes such as age, marital status, population stability, housing tenure, crowding, social disintegration and isolation and unemployment. Of these correlates, the proportion of persons aged 65 years and over and the number of families in each of the census tract areas were shown to be the most important factors influencing rates of psychiatric hospitalization.     

Beta seasonal autoregressive moving average models

In this paper, we introduce the class of beta seasonal autoregressive moving average (βSARMA) models for modelling and forecasting time series data that assume values in the standard unit interval. It generalizes the class of beta autoregressive moving average models [Rocha AV and Cribari-Neto F. Beta autoregressive moving average models. Test. 2009;18(3):529–545] by incorporating seasonal dynamics to the model dynamic structure. Besides introducing the new class of models, we develop parameter estimation, hypothesis testing inference, and diagnostic analysis tools. We also discuss out-of-sample forecasting. In particular, we provide closed-form expressions for the conditional score vector and for the conditional Fisher information matrix. We also evaluate the finite sample performances of conditional maximum likelihood estimators and white noise tests using Monte Carlo simulations. An empirical application is presented and discussed.     

Evaluation and control of ergonomics actions in federal public service: the case of FIOCRUZ-RJ

This article presents information about the development of the dissertation. Deals with the production of ergonomic diagnosis in the environments and work processes of an important center of research and development in Public Health, FIOCRUZ. Critically evaluates the performance of a team promoting and facilitating the process of implementing ergonomic changes suggested. Through analysis of documents and statements by some managers and representatives of Human Resources was possible to identify the factors that facilitate and hinder the implementation process, linking them to the organization of the institution and conduct of the agents involved. Finally, it makes a reflection on practice, results and developments involved in the processes of change initiated by the ergonomic actions, proposing its replication along with other institutes of the Civilian Personnel of Federal Public Administration.     

The use of participant-observation protocol in an industrial engineering research

Based on literature, this article aims to present the "participant-observation' research protocol, and its practical application in the industrial engineering field, more specifically within the area of design development, and in the case shown by this article, of interiors' design. The main target is to identify the concept of the method, i.e., from its characteristics to structure a general sense about the subject, so that the protocol can be used in different areas of knowledge, especially those ones which are committed with the scientific research involving the expertise from researchers, and subjective feelings and opinions of the users of an engineering product, and how this knowledge can be benefic for product design, contributing since the earliest stage of design.     

Optimal design of air quality networks detecting warning and alert conditions

A statistical method is presented to determine the optima design of air quality networks detecting warning and alert levels. A simulation model is used to describe temporal and spatial variations of atmospheric pollutants; air quality patterns serve as the database of the procedure to design the network. Only the sites exceeding warning and alert levels, at different meteorological scenarios, are considered as potential monitoring stations. For the selection of the optima set, spatial and temporal representativity criteria are introduced; accordingly, the optima set provides a complete representativity of the space and time considered. The method is applied to the Mestre urban area, in Venice district, for the carbon monoxide pollutant.     

The Cassa Integrazione Guadagni

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical survey of the historical and normative evolution of the Italian Cassa Integrazione Guadagni (hereafter Earnings Integration Fund or EIF) through examination of the prevalent economic and juridical models during the 40 years of the EIF's existence. The evolution of the EIF in the periods examined is classified according to five theoretical models, so as to bring out the many different standards accumulated during the administration of the EIF, and the many measures adopted by Public Authorities in response to the various requirements which have arisen over time. The result is an overall reference framework for the EIF's present administration, which is characterised by the presence of both the need for various reforms and alterations, and an equal number of ways of carrying them out; from the development of an ever more direct link between crisis situations and specific EIF requirements, and the evident need to bring the institution within a normative framework correlated to a global labour policy. A verification of the different methods of utilising the EIF is therefore, for the authors, utilizable in defining suitable solutions for modern situations, which require effective EIF models to be worked out in conjunction with an appropriate mix of active labour policies.     

Regression modelling of the flows in an input–output table with accounting constraints

This paper details a method for estimating the unknown parameters of a regression model when the estimates of the dependent variable should be embedded in an input–output table with accounting constraints. Since in regression modelling the dependent variable is usually transformed either to achieve homoscedasticity of the residuals or for a better interpretation of the model, the estimating procedure becomes an optimization problem of an opportunely defined Lagrangian function with non-linear constraints. After detailing the algorithm and deriving the asymptotic distribution of the restricted estimator, the methodology is applied to estimate the flows of tourism within and between Italian regions with a gravity model. The procedure can be seen as an extension of Byron’s (J R Stat Soc Ser A 141:359–367, 1978) balancing method.     

Mesurer et comprendre les échanges de tâches dans le secteur des services

Avec la révolution numérique, la délocalisation guette les tâches particulièrement échangeables dans le domaine des services. Les auteurs font la synthèse des études sur la mesure de l'échangeabilité des services, en analysant les effets de la délocalisation sur l'emploi dans ce secteur et les approches théoriques en la matière. L'intensité en qualification et l'échangeabilité sont des déterminants des effets de la délocalisation des services sur le salaire et l'emploi. Cependant, des problèmes de définition, l'absence de données de qualité et la difficulté à mesurer précisément la concurrence des importations freinent les progrès de la recherche, ouvrant les pistes pour les travaux à venir.