Fitting Markov chain models to discrete state series such as DNA sequences

Discrete state series such as DNA sequences can often be modelled by Markov chains. The analysis of such series is discussed in the context of log-linear models. The data produce contingency tables with similar margins due to the dependence of the observations. However, despite the unusual structure of the tables, the analysis is equivalent to that for data from multinomial sampling. The reason why the standard number of degrees of freedom is correct is explained by using theoretical arguments and the asymptotic distribution of the deviance is verified empirically. Problems involved with fitting high order Markov chain models, such as reduced power and computational expense, are also discussed.     

Exiting shelter: an epidemiological analysis of barriers and facilitators for families

This study examines the role of individual- and family-level factors in predicting the length of shelter stays for homeless families. Interviews were conducted with all families exiting one of six emergency family shelters in Worcester, Massachusetts, between November 2006, and November 2007. Analyses, using an ordinary least squares regression model, find that families with a positive alcohol or drug screen in the year prior stay 85 days longer than those without a positive screen; families leaving shelter with a housing subsidy stay 66 days longer than those leaving without a subsidy. Demographic factors, education, employment, health, and mental health are not found to predict shelter stay duration. Consistent with prior research, housing resources relate to families' time in shelter; with the exception of a positive substance abuse screen, individual-level problems are not related to their time in shelter. Efforts to expand these resources at the local, state, and national levels are a high priority.     

Anger and Approach Motivation in Infancy: Relations to Early Childhood Inhibitory Control and Behavior Problems

The relations among infant anger reactivity, approach behavior, and frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry, and their relations to inhibitory control and behavior problems in early childhood were examined within the context of a longitudinal study of temperament. Two hundred nine infants’ anger expressions to arm restraint were observed at 4 months of age. Infants’ approach behaviors during play with an unpredictable toy and baseline frontal EEG asymmetry were assessed at 9 months of age. Inhibitory control during a Go/No‐Go task and parent report of behavior problems were evaluated at 4 years of age. High anger‐prone infants with left, but not right, frontal EEG asymmetry showed significantly more approach behaviors and less inhibitory control relative to less anger‐prone infants. Although a link between anger proneness in infancy and behavior problems in early childhood was not found, a combination of low approach behaviors and poor inhibitory control was predictive of internalizing behaviors.     

Man Up Monday: An integrated public health approach to increase sexually transmitted infection awareness and testing among male students at a midwest university

ABSTRACT

Objective: This campaign sought to (a) increase awareness of sexual health and chlamydia testing; (b) motivate students, particularly sexually active men who do not pursue regular sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, to get tested; and (c) improve the capacity of the student health center to provide free chlamydia testing and treatment for all students. Participants: Students enrolled at a 4-year public research university (N = 333). Methods: Collaborative partnerships formed the foundation of a campus marketing and testing campaign, with treatment for students testing positive for chlamydia. Results: A total of 333 students were tested over 5 consecutive Mondays, showing a chlamydia incidence of 9.6%. The incidence for females and males were 8.6% and 10.8%, respectively. Conclusions: The campaign was effective in reaching men, an at-risk population not traditionally emphasized in STI testing.     

Cultural integration through shared learning among resettled Bhutanese women

ABSTRACT

The multidimensional needs of recently resettled refugees have been well documented and range from elevated rates of mental illness and health care challenges to difficulties accessing resources due to language and literacy barriers. These factors are largely responsible for the challenges resettled refugees face in acquiring and maintaining stable employment. It is possible that achieving financial stability through steady employment and purposeful money management may alleviate some stressors associated with the resettlement process, though research in this area that is specific to refugees is in its infancy. What is clear, however, is that a traditional approach to mental health treatment (i.e., therapy in a traditional office setting) may lack effectiveness because of the lack of attention to extraneous stressors such as poverty, transportation, and language and literacy challenges that impact resettled refugees. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess the impact of a group-based financial education course and social enterprise on the self-reported mental health (i.e., post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, and somatization) of Bhutanese refugee women resettled in the United States. The study also sought to evaluate the acceptability and overall satisfaction with various components of the intervention. This qualitative study was a follow-up to a larger quantitative study that included 65 Bhutanese women who were resettled to the southwestern United States by a large resettlement agency. The results of this study offer insights into the lived experiences of Bhutanese refugees in the United States, particularly related to cultural integration bolstered by group-based education and shared learning opportunities.     

Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data: What’s the story for families using social work?

Abstract

Embedded within quantitative longitudinal panel or cohort studies is narrative potential that is arguably untapped but might enrich our understanding of individual and social lives across time. This paper discusses a methodology to assemble the life history narratives of families using social work by drawing on quantitative data from the British Household Panel Survey. It explores whether this person-centred approach helps us to understand the counter-intuitive results of a parallel multivariate analyses, which suggest that families using social work fare worse than similar others over time. Our findings are tentative, due to the experimental use of this narrative method and the limits of social work information in the data-set. Nonetheless, the life histories presented bring to light complexities, diversity and the non-linear pathways between families’ needs, support and outcomes that the aggregates obscure. We conclude that reconstructing families’ lives in this way, especially in the absence of complementary longitudinal qualitative data, affords the wider opportunity to interrogate and better understand the findings of quantitative longitudinal studies.     

Scoring rule voting games and dominance solvability

This article studies the dominance solvability (by iterated deletion of weakly dominated strategies) of general scoring rule voting games when there are three alternatives. The scoring rules we study include Plurality rule, Approval voting, Borda rule, and Relative Utilitarianism. We provide sufficient conditions for dominance solvability of general scoring rule voting games. The sufficient conditions that we provide for dominance solvability are in terms of one statistic of the game: sufficient agreement on the best alternative or on the worst alternative. We also show that the solutions coincide with the set of Condorcet Winners whenever the sufficient conditions for dominance solvability are satisfied. Approval Voting performs the best in terms of our criteria.     

Work-based Supervisors: The Neglected Partners in Practice Learning

The introduction of the Degree in Social Work programme in 2003 prompted considerable diversification in arrangements for practice supervision, teaching and assessment. A small scale exploratory study was undertaken into a model which utilises work-based supervisors, working in tandem with off-site practice teachers who are primarily responsible for the assessment of student social workers. The study focused on exploring the experiences of work-based supervisors and off-site practice teachers working to this model. The findings pointed to increased anxiety and confusion about roles amongst work-based supervisors and off-site practice teachers. Work-based supervisors described themselves as the ‘neglected partners’ in the learning process, taking on most of the work, but with limited recognition, reward or status. Work-based supervisors valued the new range of professional development opportunities to support them in their role but had difficulty in accessing these due to other professional commitments.     

The Impact of Social Desirability Biases on Self-Report Among College Student and Problem Gamblers

The impacts of two types of social desirability bias, self-deceptive enhancement (SDE) and impression management (IM), were examined on self-reports of gambling problems, measured by the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), and recent gambling behavior, as measured by the Timeline Followback (TLFB) method, in a sample of college students (N = 191), and a sample of treatment-seeking problem gamblers (N = 49). Consistent with our expectations, IM was negatively associated with SOGS scores in both samples. IM was most highly correlated with SOGS scores among treatment-seeking participants (r = −.44, p < .01). Substantial numbers of participants in both samples had high enough IM scores as to call into question the validity of their self-report gambling data, according to published interpretive guidelines. With respect to SDE, we had predicted that it would be positively related to gambling behaviors and gambling-related problems, but found that SDE was inversely related to SOGS scores in both samples. Very little evidence was found for social desirability effects on TLFB scores. Thus, preliminary evidence was obtained that self-report data on gambling problems, but not on gambling behavior (frequency of gambling and amount of time and money spent), may be susceptible to the effects of impression management in both college students and treatment-seeking gamblers.     

Moving Up in Rural America: Economic Attainment of Nonmetro Latino Immigrants

Rapid Hispanic population growth represents a pronounced demographic transformation in many nonmetropolitan counties, particularly since 1990. Its considerable public policy implications stem largely from high proportions of new foreign‐born residents. Despite the pressing need for information on new immigrants in nonmetro counties and a bourgeoning scholarship on new rural destinations, few quantitative analyses have measured systematically the social and economic well‐being of Latino immigrants. This study analyzes the importance of place for economic well‐being, an important public policy issue related to rural Hispanic population growth. We consider four measures of economic mobility: full‐time, year‐round employment; home ownership; poverty status; and income exceeding the median national income. We conduct this analysis for 2000 and 2006–2007 to capture two salient periods of nonmetro Hispanic population growth, using a typology that distinguishes among nonmetropolitan areas by the categories of “traditional” immigrant destinations concentrated in the Southwest and Northwest, “new” immigrant destinations to capture recent and rapid Hispanic population growth in the Midwest and Southeast, and “all other” rural destinations as a reference category representing more typical nonmetro population trends. We also compare our results to those for metropolitan destinations. We find that place type matters little for stable employment but more so for wealth accumulation and income security and mobility. Compared with urban Latino immigrants, rural Latino immigrants exhibit higher rates of homeownership as well as greater likelihoods of falling into poverty and lower likelihoods of earning a measure of U.S. median income. From 2000 to 2006–2007, rural‐urban differences deteriorated slightly in favor of urban areas. We conclude by discussing implications of these findings and those of addressing rural immigrant economic well‐being more generally.