Improved estimation of variance components in mixed models

Taking Albert's (1976) formulation of a mixed model ANOVA, we consider improved estimation of the variance components for balanced designs under squared error loss. Two approaches are presented. One extends the ideas of Stein (1964), The other is developed from the fact that variance components can be expressed as linear combinations of chi-square scale parameters. Encouraging simulation results are presented.     

Linearly Independent,Orthogonal, and Uncorrelated Variables

Linearly independent, orthogonal, and uncorrelated are three terms used to indicate lack of relationship between variables. This short didactic article compares these three terms in both an algebraic and a geometric framework. An example is used to illustrate the differences.     

Neural Network Simulation of Infant Familiarization to Artificial Sentences: Rule‐Like Behavior Without Explicit Rules and Variables

A fundamental issue in cognitive science is whether human cognitive processing is better explained by symbolic rules or by subsymbolic neural networks. A recent study of infant familiarization to sentences in an artificial language seems to have produced data that can only be explained by symbolic rule learning and not by unstructured neural networks (Marcus, Vijayan, Bandi Rao, & Vishton, 1999). Here we present successful unstructured neural network simulations of the infant data, showing that these data do not uniquely support a rule‐based account. In contrast to other simulations of these data, these simulations cover more aspects of the data with fewer assumptions about prior knowledge and training, using a more realistic coding scheme based on sonority of phonemes. The networks show exponential decreases in attention to a repeated sentence pattern, more recovery to novel sentences inconsistent with the familiar pattern than to novel sentences consistent with the familiar pattern, occasional familiarity preferences, more recovery to consistent novel sentences than to familiarized sentences, and extrapolative generalization outside the range of the training patterns. A variety of predictions suggest the utility of the model in guiding future psychological work. The evidence, from these and other simulations, supports the view that unstructured neural networks can account for the existing infant data.     

Saints or Sinners: Sociobiological Theories of Male Homosexuality

In response to Christian conservative political action, some gay rights advocates have embraced a biological argument. The argument maintains that because homosexuality may have a biological basis, homosexuals should be protected from discrimination. This essay questions the efficacy of this argumentative strategy. The essay demonstrates that biological theories about male homosexuality may not facilitate the efforts of gay rights advocates. In fact, the sociobiological theories analyzed in this essay represent male homosexuality as a state of effeminate pathology. Furthermore, because these sociobiological theories are underdetermined, they are particularly vulnerable to political manipulation. For these reasons, sexual minorities should be cautious about embracing biological arguments in order to secure greater social and political freedoms.     

The Relationship between Social Defiance,Vindictiveness, Anger,and Brain Morphology in Eight‐year‐old Boys and Girls

The goal of this study is twofold: (1) to assess brain anatomical differences between children meeting diagnostic criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and healthy controls, and (2) to investigate whether morphological brain characteristics associated with ODD differ in boys and girls. Eight‐year‐old participants (N = 38) were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging. ODD symptoms were assessed using the Dominic‐R interactive. In ODD participants, we observed a significant reduction of gray matter density in the left orbitofrontal cortex—a prefrontal region that plays a pivotal role in emotional self‐regulation and impulse control—and, conversely, an increase in the left temporal area—an area that has been associated with aggressive, impulsive, and antisocial personality. Furthermore, ODD boys showed a reduction of both gray matter density in the left orbitofrontal cortex and of white matter density in the left superior frontal area. The structural abnormalities found in the present study, in particular, the correlation between ODD symptoms and reduction of gray matter density in the left orbitofrontal cortex, may present some evidence for the existence of neuropathology associated with ODD symptoms during childhood. Furthermore, our findings indicate morphometric differences between boys and girls with ODD, which may be associated with gender differences in social behavior in children showing ODD symptoms.     

香港对新移民的管理和安置

与复杂的跨国网络与跨界互动相比,公民身份却划分了清晰的边界.香港回归中国主权后,对其公民身份的类别划分带来了极大的挑战.依照香港基本法中对居留权的定义,很大一部分--近一百六十七万人--可以享有这个权利,反映出香港与内地的跨界社会关系有着复杂历史.尽管香港与内地的社会和经济高度统一,但其边界仍然严格限制了人口从内地向香港流动.这种既统一又分离的状况导致了一种复杂的对立,部分地反映在关于居留权的争论.即使那些已经成功移民香港的内地居民也面临着各种挑战,其中最严峻的是怎样在香港这样一个住房价格最高的城市中获得可以负担的住所.因为新移民无法申请公营房屋,但这些房屋却占香港房屋总数的一半.而其私人住房的价格又是世界上最贵的.     

Do fertility transitions influence infant mortality declines? Evidence from early modern Germany

The timing and sequencing of fertility transitions and early-life mortality declines in historical Western societies indicate that reductions in sibship (number of siblings) may have contributed to improvements in infant health. Surprisingly, however, this demographic relationship has received little attention in empirical research. We outline the difficulties associated with establishing the effect of sibship on infant mortality and discuss the inherent bias associated with conventional empirical approaches. We offer a solution that permits an empirical test of this relationship while accounting for reverse causality and potential omitted variable bias. Our approach is illustrated by evaluating the causal impact of family size on infant mortality using genealogical data from 13 German parishes spanning the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Overall, our findings do not support the hypothesis that declining fertility led to increased infant survival probabilities in historical populations.