A ‘nondecimated’ lifting transform

Classical nondecimated wavelet transforms are attractive for many applications. When the data comes from complex or irregular designs, the use of second generation wavelets in nonparametric regression has proved superior to that of classical wavelets. However, the construction of a nondecimated second generation wavelet transform is not obvious. In this paper we propose a new ‘nondecimated’ lifting transform, based on the lifting algorithm which removes one coefficient at a time, and explore its behavior. Our approach also allows for embedding adaptivity in the transform, i.e. wavelet functions can be constructed such that their smoothness adjusts to the local properties of the signal. We address the problem of nonparametric regression and propose an (averaged) estimator obtained by using our nondecimated lifting technique teamed with empirical Bayes shrinkage. Simulations show that our proposed method has higher performance than competing techniques able to work on irregular data. Our construction also opens avenues for generating a ‘best’ representation, which we shall explore.     

Nonparametric control charts based on runs and Wilcoxon-type rank-sum statistics

In this article, we introduce three new distribution-free Shewhart-type control charts that exploit run and Wilcoxon-type rank-sum statistics to detect possible shifts of a monitored process. Exact formulae for the alarm rate, the run length distribution, and the average run length (ARL) are all derived. A key advantage of these charts is that, due to their nonparametric nature, the false alarm rate (FAR) and in-control run length distribution is the same for all continuous process distributions. Tables are provided for the implementation of the charts for some typical FAR values. Furthermore, a numerical study carried out reveals that the new charts are quite flexible and efficient in detecting shifts to Lehmann-type out-of-control situations.     

Divorce and the Divine: The Role of Spirituality in Adjustment to Divorce

This study examined the role of three spiritual responses to divorce for psychological adjustment: appraising the event as a sacred loss/desecration, engaging in adaptive spiritual coping, and experiencing spiritual struggles. A sample of 100 adults (55% female) was recruited through public divorce records. Most appraised their divorce as a sacred loss/desecration (74%), experienced spiritual struggles (78%), and engaged in adaptive spiritual coping (88%). Appraisals of sacred loss/desecration and spiritual struggles were tied to higher levels of depression. Adaptive spiritual coping was tied to greater posttraumatic growth. Spiritual coping and struggles each contributed uniquely to adjustment beyond parallel forms of nonspiritual coping and struggles and mediated links between viewing the divorce as a sacred loss/desecration and depression.     

The effects of direct experience on consumer product evaluation

The effects of different sales strategies on consumer product evaluation were investigated. It was expected that direct product experience could decrease economic product valuation. Experiments 1 and 2 studied the effects of product trials and money-back guarantees on consumer willingness to pay (WTP). It appeared that WTP was significantly lower after a product trial than with a money-back guarantee or normal sale. In Experiment 3 a structural equation model showed that product trials had a positive effect on attitude toward the product. Also, a negative effect on WTP was found when the effect was measured directly, but a positive effect when the effect was measured indirectly (through attitude).     

Relation Between Maternal Contingent Responsiveness and Infant Social Expectations

This study investigated the relation between maternal contingent responsiveness and 4‐ and 5‐month‐old infants' (N = 64) social expectation behavior in a still‐face procedure. Mothers were asked to interact with their infants for 2 min (interactive phase), remain still‐faced for 1 min (still‐face phase), and resume interaction for 2 min. Mother and infant behavior was assessed for the frequency of infant and mother smiles, mother smiles that were contingent to infant smiles and infant smiles were contingent to mother smiles during the interactive phase, and infant social bids to mother during the still‐face phase. Hierarchical regression showed that mother contingent smiles during the interactive phase accounted for unique variance in infant social bids during the still‐face phase beyond that accounted for by the frequency of mother and infant smiles during the interactive phase. These results support the view that young infants' social expectations and sense of self‐efficacy are formed within their interactions with their caregivers.     

Problem Gambling and Delinquent Behaviours Among Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Despite many studies indicating an association between problem gambling and delinquent behaviours among adolescents, there has been no effort to systematically analyze the state of the literature on this relationship. To fill this gap, we conducted a scoping review of the literature published between 2000 and 2016 on problem gambling and delinquent behaviours among adolescents. We searched twelve databases and reviewed reference lists to identify eligible studies. Search terms included a combination of medical subject headings and keywords for gambling, youth, and delinquency, which were combined with the Boolean operator “AND”. 1795 studies were identified through the literature search. Nine studies were eligible for inclusion. All of the studies were conducted in North America, with primarily male participants, and most of the data were cross-sectional. No qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. Screening tools used to measure problem gambling were inconsistent, making comparisons across studies difficult. We found a consistent moderate to strong association between problem gambling and delinquent behaviour. Only one study presented associations by socio-economic status and none considered gender, sex or ethnic differences. Studies in the review showed that problem gambling is associated with both violent and non-violent behaviours among adolescents. These associations may suggest that problem gambling and delinquent behaviours have common risk factors and reflect a syndrome of risky behaviours best targeted through prevention and treatment that is holistic and considers the context in which the youth is situated. Further research is warranted to better understand the relationship between problem gambling and delinquent behaviours.     

Barriers and Facilitators of Responding to Problem Gambling: Perspectives from Australian Mental Health Services

Despite high rates of comorbidity between problem gambling and mental health disorders, few studies have examined barriers or facilitators to the implementation of screening for problem gambling in mental health services. This exploratory qualitative study identified key themes associated with screening in mental health services. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 30 clinicians and managers from 11 mental health services in Victoria, Australia. Major themes and subthemes were identified using qualitative content analysis. Six themes emerged including competing priorities, importance of routine screening, access to appropriate screening tools, resources, patient responsiveness and workforce development. Barriers to screening included a focus on immediate risk as well as gambling being often considered as a longer-term concern. Clinicians perceived problem gambling as a relatively rare condition, but did acknowledge the need for brief screening. Facilitators to screening were changes to system processes, such as identification of an appropriate brief screening instrument, mandating its use as part of routine screening, as well as funded workforce development activities in the identification and management of problem gambling.     

Understanding engagement in the Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) from the perspectives of individuals receiving treatment

ABSTRACT

Engagement of individuals with serious mental illnesses in community mental health services is a significant challenge. The Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) is an individual-centered and self-contained mental health program that provides psychiatric treatment, rehabilitation, and support services to persons with serious mental illness who have a history of or likelihood of disengagement with services. Understanding what helps and hinders consumers’ involvement in PACT services may provide information on how to tailor engagement strategies to individuals based on their treatment needs and preferences. The current study builds on existing studies by exploring factors that help and hinder engagement in PACT services from the perspectives of individuals receiving treatment. We conducted open-ended, semi-structured interviews with 17 individuals receiving PACT services. Nine themes were identified through thematic analysis: Desirable qualities of PACT, Focusing on positive outcomes, PACT as a safety net, Recovery orientation, Practical barriers, Conflictual relationships, and Medication side-effects. We conclude that the development of a trusting, therapeutic relationship that is collaborative and person-centered and that is facilitated by both practical and emotional support is critical to engaging individuals in treatment and maximizing positive outcomes.     

<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">MAD-STEC</Emphasis>: a method for multiple automatic detection of space-time emerging clusters

Crime or disease surveillance commonly rely in space-time clustering methods to identify emerging patterns. The goal is to detect spatial-temporal clusters as soon as possible after its occurrence and to control the rate of false alarms. With this in mind, a spatio-temporal multiple cluster detection method was developed as an extension of a previous proposal based on a spatial version of the Shiryaev–Roberts statistic. Besides the capability of multiple cluster detection, the method have less input parameter than the previous proposal making its use more intuitive to practitioners. To evaluate the new methodology a simulation study is performed in several scenarios and enlighten many advantages of the proposed method. Finally, we present a case study to a crime data-set in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.