Influence diagnostics in Gaussian spatial linear models

Spatial linear models have been applied in numerous fields such as agriculture, geoscience and environmental sciences, among many others. Spatial dependence structure modelling, using a geostatistical approach, is an indispensable tool to estimate the parameters that define this structure. However, this estimation may be greatly affected by the presence of atypical observations in the sampled data. The purpose of this paper is to use diagnostic techniques to assess the sensitivity of the maximum-likelihood estimators, covariance functions and linear predictor to small perturbations in the data and/or the spatial linear model assumptions. The methodology is illustrated with two real data sets. The results allowed us to conclude that the presence of atypical values in the sample data have a strong influence on thematic maps, changing the spatial dependence structure.     

Optimism in the Face of Despair: Black‐White Differences in Beliefs About School as a Means for Upward Social Mobility*

Objective. This study aims to provide a better understanding of how beliefs about the system of social mobility affect students' schooling outcomes. Previous studies reach conflicting conclusions because they conflate two forms of beliefs about social mobility (i.e., perceived value of school and perceived barriers despite schooling). Methods. The Maryland Adolescence Development In Context Study (MADICS) is used to examine black‐white differences in beliefs about the value of school and barriers to upward mobility despite schooling and how these beliefs predict academic achievement and educational attainment. Results. The analyses show that relative to whites, blacks hold stronger beliefs in both the value of school and barriers to social mobility, and have greater affective attitudes toward schooling. However, belief in barriers to social mobility is not consequential for academic outcomes. Conclusions. Beliefs about upward mobility are mechanisms by which the opportunity structure influences individuals' schooling behaviors and making clear distinctions between various beliefs about the system of social mobility can refine the understanding of this link. This study suggests that individuals make nuanced distinctions about the role of schooling for upward mobility, each with separate effects on academic outcomes.     

THE PRIVATE AND FISCAL RETURNS TO SCHOOLING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

We present estimates of the private and fiscal returns to schooling in 14 European Union countries. Estimates of the private returns to post‐compulsory formal education take into account the effects of schooling on wages and employment probabilities and allow for academic failure rates, the direct and opportunity costs of education, and the impact of personal taxes, social security contributions, and unemployment and pension benefits on lifetime earnings. Estimates of fiscal returns capture the long‐term effects of a marginal increase in average educational attainment on public finances under conditions that approximate general equilibrium. (JEL: I20, J31, H60).     

Adolescent Filial Piety as a Moderator between Perceived Maternal Control and Mother–Adolescent Relationship Quality in Hong Kong

This study examined the perceived parental styles of maternal warmth and control, as well as adolescent filial piety, in relation to parent–child relationship quality, in 308 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. The three mother–child relationship qualities measured were perceived maternal support, conflicts, and relationship depth. Adolescents' attitudes toward filial piety explained unique variance in all three of these parent–child relational qualities, over the constructs of maternal warmth and control. In addition, the interaction of filial piety with maternal control explained unique variance in perceived maternal support and mother–child conflicts, but not relationship depth. Results established the potential unique importance of adolescent filial piety and confirmed our hypothesis that the more adolescents emphasize filial piety, the more parental control exerts a positive effect on mother–child relationship quality in Hong Kong families.     

Neighborhood disorder, psychophysiological distress, and health

How do neighborhoods affect the health of residents? We propose that the impact of neighborhood disorder on self-reported health is mediated by psychological and physiological distress. We hypothesize a stress process in which chronic stressors in the environment give rise to a psychological and physiological stress response that ultimately affects health. The exogenous variable of interest is the neighborhood where disadvantaged persons live, which may expose them to chronic stressors in the form of crime, trouble, harassment, and other potentially distressing signs of disorder and decay. The mediator is the stress response that occurs in the body and brain. Of interest here is a psychological stress response in the form of fearful anxiety and depression, and a physiological stress response in the form of signs and symptoms of autonomic arousal, such as dizziness, chest pains, trouble breathing, nausea, upset stomach, and weakness. The outcome is poor health. This model is supported using data from the Welfare, Children, and Families project, a sample of 2,402 disadvantaged women in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Chicago, Boston, and San Antonio.     

The Catalonia survey: Personality and intelligence structure in a sample of compulsive gamblers

A sample of fifty-seven pathological gamblers and one hundred and fifteen controls (two per pathological gambler, matched as regards age and sex) was investigated. This sample received a complex battery of psychometric tests designed to evaluate two different axes: psychopathology and intelligence. The results obtained show that pathological gamblers have an unstable family and work background, that pathological gambling correlates with other addictions (alcohol, illness prone behavior, absenteeism, risk working, living alone and bereavement), that all the general and specific psychopathology vectors were significant in the addicts, and that the pathological gamblers' intelligence has characteristic factors.We thank Ricardo Cayuela (Line Staff, Barcelona) for his help in collecting the sample; Jordi Daura for data processing work; Mercedes Lemonier, psychologist, for her help in administering and correcting the tests; Consol Marina and Teresa Ruiz for their secretarial assistance and contact with the 172 study subjects.     

Research records and the resolution of misconduct allegations at research universities

Accurate record keeping is an important part of the responsible conduct of research. However, there is very little empirical research on scientific record keeping. No one knows the incidence of serious problems with research records, the types of problems that occur, nor their consequences. In this study, we examined the role of research records in the resolution of misconduct allegations as a useful barometer for the incidence and types of problems that occur with records. We interviewed Research Integrity Officers (RIOs) at 90 major research universities and conducted focus groups with active research faculty. RIOs reported problems with research records in 38% of the 553 investigations they conducted. Severe problems with research records often prevented completion of investigations while problems that are more typical lengthened them by 2 to 3 weeks. Five types of poor record keeping practices accounted for 75 % of the problems with incomplete/inadequate records being the most common (30%). The focus groups concurred with the findings from the interviews with RIOs, stressed the importance of the research group leader in setting and maintaining record practices, and offered additional insights. While university officials and faculty members have suspected for many years that there are serious problems with research record keeping, our study provides empirical evidence for this belief. By documenting some of the problems with record keeping in university-based research, the results of our study provide information that will be useful for policy development at academic institutions.     

Mapping Our Way: New Formations in Technical Services: Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians Annual Conference

Abstract

The annual meeting of the Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians (OVGTSL) was held May 16–18, 2007, at the Holiday Inn-University Plaza in Bowling Green, Kentucky. One hundred twenty technical services librarians from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and points beyond gathered for programming centered around the theme of “Mapping Our Way: New Formations in Technical Services.”     

Estimating Intraclass Correlation Coefficient and Identifying Influential Observations Under One-Way Random Effects Model

In this paper we consider the estimation of intraclass correlation coefficient and identification of influential observations under one-way random effects model. We introduce an approach to correct negative estimation values induced by the method of moments estimator, and provide an interval estimation for intraclass correlation coefficient. We present the diagnostic tools to identify influential observations through the uncorrected estimate of intraclass correlation coefficient. A simulation study is conducted to investigate the performance of our procedure for identifying influential observations. We also apply the method on a real data of repeated blood pressure measurements.     

Phi-Divergence Statistics for Testing Linear Hypotheses in Logistic Regression Models

In this paper we introduce and study two new families of statistics for the problem of testing linear combinations of the parameters in logistic regression models. These families are based on the phi-divergence measures. One of them includes the classical likelihood ratio statistic and the other the classical Pearson's statistic for this problem. It is interesting to note that the vector of unknown parameters, in the two new families of phi-divergence statistics considered in this paper, is estimated using the minimum phi-divergence estimator instead of the maximum likelihood estimator. Minimum phi-divergence estimators are a natural extension of the maximum likelihood estimator.