Two-stage approaches to the analysis of occupancy data I: the homogeneous case (analysis of occupancy data)

Abstract

Occupancy models are used in statistical ecology to estimate species dispersion. The two components of an occupancy model are the detection and occupancy probabilities, with the main interest being in the occupancy probabilities. We show that for the homogeneous occupancy model there is an orthogonal transformation of the parameters that gives a natural two-stage inference procedure based on a conditional likelihood. We then extend this to a partial likelihood that gives explicit estimators of the model parameters. By allowing the separate modeling of the detection and occupancy probabilities, the extension of the two-stage approach to more general models has the potential to simplify the computational routines used there.     

Creating a Consensus: Psychologists, the Supreme Court, and School Desegregation, 1952–1955

SPSSI psychologists' involvement in the early civil rights movement in the postwar United States was epitomized by their involvement in the case of Brown v. Board of Education. This article examines how social scientists sought to maintain the persona of objective, scientific expert when asked to prepare briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court for the Brown case. The social scientists believed that only by collapsing what they saw as an artificial distinction between objectivity and advocacy could the social scientist become a social activist. This article is based on extensive research in numerous archives, including the papers of Gordon W. Allport, Kenneth B. Clark, Stuart W. Cook, David Krech, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Theodore M. Newcomb, Robert Redfield, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.     

Broadening Career Horizons for Students in At-Risk Environments

Researchers and practitioners embarked on a collaborative venture to develop, implement, and evaluate a career intervention program for 7th grade students who were at-risk for vocational underachievement. Students participating in the Career Horizons Program demonstrated enhanced confidence in performing tasks related to investigating, selecting, and implementing a career choice. They also considered a greater number of careers and selected those that were congruent with their interests. No change was found in confidence regarding degree of self-knowledge. Suggestions are provided for improving on the development and evaluation of career exploration programs to enhance career self-efficacy and broaden the career horizons of students in at-risk environments.     

Home birth and the National Australian Maternity Services Review: too hot to handle?

Background

In February 2009 the Improving Maternity Services in Australia – The Report of the Maternity Services Review (MSR) was released, with the personal stories of women making up 407 of the more than 900 submissions received. A significant proportion (53%) of the women were said to have had personal experience with homebirth. Little information is provided on what was said about homebirth in these submissions and the decision by the MSR not to include homebirth in the funding and insurance reforms being proposed is at odds with the apparent demand for this option of care.

Method

Data for this study comprised 832 submissions to the MSR that are publicly available on the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health and Aging website. All 832 submissions were downloaded, coded and then entered into NVivo. Content analysis was used to analyse the data that related to homebirth.

Findings

450 of the submissions were from consumers of maternity services (54%). Four hundred and seventy (60%) of the submissions mentioned homebirth. Overall there were 715 references to home birth in the submissions. The submissions mentioning homebirth most commonly discussed the ‘Benefits’ and ‘Barriers’ in accessing this option of care. Benefits to the baby, mother and family were described, along with the benefits obtained from having a midwife at the birth, receiving continuity of care and having a good birth experience. Barriers were described as not having access to a midwife, no funding, no insurance and lack of clinical privileging for midwives.

Conclusion

Many positive recommendations have come from the MSR, however the decision to exclude homebirth from these reforms is perplexing considering the large number of submissions describing the benefits of and barriers to homebirth in Australia. A concerning number of submissions discuss having had or having considered an unattended birth at home due to these barriers. Overall there is the belief that not enabling access to funded, insured homebirth in Australia is a violation of human rights. It appears that homebirth was considered by the MSR as ‘too hot to handle’ and by dismissing it as a minority issue the government sought to avoided dealing with homebirth as a ‘sensitive and controversial issue.’     

Developmental Characteristics of African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents' Attributions Regarding Discrimination

The present study examined discrimination attributions in the psychological well‐being of Black adolescents. Findings are based on a representative sample of 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth, aged 13–17, who participated in the National Survey of American Life. Youth completed measures of perceived discrimination, discrimination attributions, depressive symptoms, self‐esteem, and life satisfaction. Approximately half the youth attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (43%), followed by age (17%), physical appearance (16.5%), and gender (7.5%), and there were no ethnic, gender, or age differences regarding discrimination attributions. Key findings suggest that the association between perceived discrimination and psychological well‐being did not vary according to discrimination attribution, which implies that discrimination is harmful for Black youth regardless of the attribution.     

Big lie, small world: what e. Lynn harris wanted readers to understand about the struggle for african american, homosexual males seeking to attain the american dream

This article will examine the social implications for African American homosexual males seeking to achieve the American Dream. Invisible Life and Just as I Am-the first two novels in a trilogy by the late E. Lynn Harris writing from a semi-autobiographical perspective in late-twentieth century America-will serve as the texts that drive this research topic. Careful analysis of these works will substantiate the assertion that the American Dream, even on the cusp of the new millennium, is just beyond the grasp of this specific subpopulation.     

Measuring Knowledge,Attitudes and Behaviours Concerning Sustainable Development among Tenth Grade Students in Manitoba

In this paper we present standardized measures of tenth grade students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours concerning sustainable development as those concepts are understood in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and we test the hypothesis that knowledge and favourable attitudes toward SD lead to favourable behaviours. Using a fairly representative random sample of 1,551 tenth grade students from the province of Manitoba, Canada, we crafted 3 indexes. There is a 20-item Index of Knowledge of SD with a good Cronbach alpha = 0.89, a 15-item Index of Attitudes Favourable Toward SD with alpha = 0.84 and a 15-item Index of Behaviours Favourable Toward SD with an alpha = 0.83. About 21% of the variation in our Behaviours Index scores could be accounted for by our Knowledge Index and Attitudes Index scores.