Urban Air Quality in North-East England: Exploring the Influences on Local Views and Perceptions

We set out to explore potential influences on public views about urban air quality in two different, but geographically close, districts in North-East England via a postal survey. The neighborhoods surveyed were chosen to contrast material deprivation, proximity to industry, and two districts (Teesside and Sunderland), and the respondents within them were contrasted by their gender, age, and illness status. The strongest influences on views about local air quality were found to be proximity to industry, residence in Teesside, and, to a lesser extent, age and illness status. This suggests that neighborhood characteristics play an important role in shaping public perceptions of air quality.     

Multilevel particle filters: normalizing constant estimation

In this article, we introduce two new estimates of the normalizing constant (or marginal likelihood) for partially observed diffusion (POD) processes, with discrete observations. One estimate is biased but non-negative and the other is unbiased but not almost surely non-negative. Our method uses the multilevel particle filter of Jasra et al. (Multilevel particle lter, arXiv:1510.04977, 2015). We show that, under assumptions, for Euler discretized PODs and a given \(\varepsilon >0\) in order to obtain a mean square error (MSE) of \({\mathcal {O}}(\varepsilon ^2)\) one requires a work of \({\mathcal {O}}(\varepsilon ^{-2.5})\) for our new estimates versus a standard particle filter that requires a work of \({\mathcal {O}}(\varepsilon ^{-3})\). Our theoretical results are supported by numerical simulations.     

A REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPIES FOR AFFECTIVE DISORDERS

Although the efficacy of individual treatments of affective disorders has been well-documented, there are also significant limitations to existing treatments. In the last decade attention has focused increasingley on the interpersonal context of affective illness, and on marital and family relationships in particular. As a result, a number of approaches have been developed which directly involve family members in treatment. In this article we evaluate the current status of marital and family therapies for affective illness. We begin with a discussion of several lines of research bearing on the relationships between family processes and affective illness. The available treatment outcome data evaluating the efficacy of marital and family interventions are then reviewed, with particular attention paid to predictors of treatment success and cost efficacy issues. Finally, we suggest several priorities for future research.     

Developing a clinical care pathway for obese pregnant women: A quality improvement project

ProblemObesity in pregnancy is associated with an increased incidence of maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality, from conditions like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth and stillbirth. Between 20% and 25% of pregnant women in Australia are presenting to their first antenatal appointment with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m², defined as obesity in pregnancy. These figures are concerning for midwifery and obstetric staff directly involved in the clinical care of these women and their families. In the absence of national or state clinical practice guidelines for managing the risks for obese pregnant women, a local quality improvement project was conducted.AimTo plan, implement, and evaluate the impact of an alternative clinical care pathway for pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m² at their first antenatal visit.Project settingThe project was undertaken in the antenatal clinic of a rural referral hospital in NSW, Australia.SubjectsEighty-two women with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m² were eligible for the alternative care pathway, offered between January and December 2010.InterventionThe alternative care pathway included the following options, in addition to usual care: written information on obesity in pregnancy, referral to a dietitian, early plus repeat screening for gestational diabetes, liver and renal function pathology tests, serial self-weighing, serial foetal growth ultrasounds, and a pre-labour anaesthetic consultation.FindingsDespite being educated on the risk associated with obesity in pregnancy, women did not take up the offers of dietetic support or self-weighing at each antenatal visit. Ultrasounds were well received and most women underwent gestational diabetes screening.     

An evaluation of common methods for dichotomization of continuous variables to discriminate disease status

Dichotomization of continuous variables to discriminate a dichotomous outcome is often useful in statistical applications. If a true threshold for a continuous variable exists, the challenge is identifying it. This paper examines common methods for dichotomization to identify which ones recover a true threshold. We provide mathematical and numeric proofs demonstrating that maximizing the odds ratio, Youden’s statistic, Gini Index, chi-square statistic, relative risk and kappa statistic all theoretically recover a true threshold. A simulation study evaluating the ability of these statistics to recover a threshold when sampling from a population indicates that maximizing the chi-square statistic and Gini Index have the smallest bias and variability when the probability of being larger than the threshold is small while maximizing Kappa or Youden’s statistics is best when this probability is larger. Maximizing odds ratio is the most variable and biased of the methods.     

Class Differences in Establishment Pathways to Fatherhood Wage Premiums

Organizations have been argued to favor fathers over childless men and skilled fathers over less‐skilled fathers, but group wage inequalities vary across as well as within establishments. This article theorizes class differences in the contribution of being employed in a high‐wage firm to the fatherhood wage premium. Analyses of linked employer–employee data from the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey reveal that sorting into high‐wage establishments accounts for 60% of the economy‐wide premium for less‐educated and nonprofessional fathers, whereas high‐skilled fathers tend to work in lower wage establishments but receive the largest net fatherhood premium within firms. Among the subsample of fathers who changed employers in the past 5 years, less‐skilled fathers fared worse, whereas high‐skilled fathers sorted into high‐wage firms. Results thus suggest that employment in a higher wage firm likely enables less‐skilled men to transition to fatherhood, whereas high‐wage employers may discriminate in favor of only high‐skilled fathers in hiring.     

Persistent Policy Effects on the Division of Domestic Tasks in Reunified Germany

We are only beginning to unravel the mechanisms by which the division of domestic tasks varies in its sociopolitical context. Selecting couples from the German SocioEconomic Panel who married between 1990 and 1995 in the former East and West regions of Germany and following them until 2000 (N= 348 couples), I find evidence of direct, interaction, and contextual effects predicting husbands’ hours in and share of household tasks but not child care. East German men perform a greater share of household tasks than West German men after controlling for individual attributes and regional factors. Child care remains more gendered, and the first child’s age proves the most important predictor of fathers’ involvement. These findings further our understanding of how the state shapes gender equity in the home.     

Creating trust with major donors: The service encounter model

Although the wealthy individuals who create charitable trusts exert considerable influence on the $123 billion of charitable giving, very little is known about this segment. Aside from data about the size of donations and emerging information about their motivations, the philanthropic and marketing literature is largely silent on issues surrounding major philanthropic acts. For example, what aspects of the service encounter catalyze support and create a successful experience? What are the prior constituent, voluntary, and donor behaviors of individuals who create trusts exceeding $1 million? What support is required from nonprofit and external legal and financial advisers? This article provides a model of the trust creation process framed by insights from the services marketing literature, documents the process empirically, and draws out implications for nonprofit resource development.     

Influences on the Career Development of Gay Men

This article relates selected concepts from the general literature of gay and lesbian psychology to the career development of gay men. Specific concerns related to sexual identity development, the management of stigma, and psychological adjustment are reviewed, and suggestions are offered both to practitioners and to researchers.     

Environmental scanning for Social Services

This article describes the development of a process of systematic regional environmental scanning as part of strategic planning in the Ministry of Social Services (MSS) in British Columbia, over the 1987-1990 period. Social Services, a large regionalized social service organization, adopted a formal strategic planning process in early 1988. Ministry services are delivered in ten regions with widely varying characteristics. To ensure that this diversity is reflected in the planning process, it is essential that regional environmental information receive consideration. A simple format was developed and regional directors asked to consult with their staff and to scan their regions for issues that may impact the ministry over the medium term. The information obtained was presented by regional directors at a Senior Management Committee meeting and included in the ministry's annual Business Plan, a document which informs staff, contractors, stakeholders, and the community at large of the ministry's values, objectives, and operational goals. The inclusion of regional analyses adds useful information to the Plan. A second output of the planning process is the ministry budget. The systematic regional scans were found to be extremely useful to regional staff, other directors, and to the ministry executives while setting priorities.