Exponentiated power Lindley–Poisson distribution: Properties and applications

A new four-parameter distribution called the exponentiated power Lindley–Poisson distribution which is an extension of the power Lindley and Lindley–Poisson distributions is introduced. Statistical properties of the distribution including the shapes of the density and hazard functions, moments, entropy measures, and distribution of order statistics are given. Maximum likelihood estimation technique is used to estimate the parameters. A simulation study is conducted to examine the bias, mean square error of the maximum likelihood estimators, and width of the confidence interval for each parameter. Finally, applications to real data sets are presented to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed distribution.     

Limit distributions of order statistics with random indices in a stationary Gaussian sequence

In this article, we study the limit distributions of the extreme, intermediate, and central order statistics (os) of a stationary Gaussian sequence under equi-correlated setup. When the random sample size is assumed to converge weakly and to be independent of the basic variables, the sufficient (and in some cases the necessary) conditions for the convergence are derived. Finally, we show that the obtained result for the maximum os, with random sample size, is also applicable in the case of the non constant correlation case.     

How journalists engage in branding on Twitter: individual,organizational, and institutional levels

In a social media age, branding is an increasingly visible aspect of identity construction online. For media professionals generally and journalists especially, branding on spaces such as Twitter reveals the complicated set of forces confronting such public-facing actors as they navigate tensions between personal disclosure for authenticity and professional decorum for credibility, and between establishing one’s own distinctiveness and promoting one’s employer or other stakeholders. While studies have begun to reveal what journalists say about branding, they have yet to provide a broad profile of what they do. This study takes up that challenge through a content analysis of the Twitter profiles and tweets of a representative sample of 384 U.S. journalists. We focus on the extent of branding practices; the levels at which such branding occurs, whether to promote one’s self (individual), one’s news organization (organizational), or the journalism profession at large (institutional); and how other social media practices may be related to forms of journalistic branding. Results suggest that branding is now widely common among journalists on Twitter; that branding occurs at all three levels but primarily at the individual and organizational levels, with organizational branding taking priority; and that time on Twitter is connected with more personal information being shared.     

Exercise or physical activity and cognitive function in adults with type 2 diabetes,insulin resistance or impaired glucose tolerance: a systematic review

Background

Diabetes is an important risk factor for cognitive impairment. Although some studies suggest that physical exercise can minimize age-related cognitive declines or improve brain morphology or function, benefits in diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance are unclear. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of exercise or physical activity on cognition in adults with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance or impaired glucose tolerance.

Methods

An electronic search for studies published from the earliest record until February 2017 was conducted using Medline, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Any experimental or observational study designs were included, as long as they were conducted in individuals of any age with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance or impaired glucose tolerance, and they directly examined exercise/physical activity effects on cognitive outcomes or the relationship between changes in cognition and changes in either insulin resistance and glucose homeostasis. Study quality was assessed using the PEDro scale; data on participant and intervention characteristics and outcomes were extracted.

Results

Six studies enrolling 2289 participants met the eligibility criteria. Quality was modest and effect sizes variable and mostly small or negligible. Overall, four of the six studies (67%) reported significant benefits of greater exercise/physical activity participation for some aspects of cognition, but only 26% of cognitive outcomes were significant across all trials. Clinical improvements in insulin resistance/glucose homeostasis were related to improvements in cognitive function in three studies. Overall results were inconsistent, with benefits varying across exercise types and cognitive domains.

Conclusions

Literature does not provide evidence that physical activity or exercise interventions contribute to a better cognitive function in patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Large-scale, long-term, robust randomized controlled trials are required to determine if exercise improves cognition in this high-risk cohort, and to investigate putative mechanistic links between cognition, body composition, metabolism, and inflammation in diabetes and related metabolic syndromes.

     

The 1988 Nigerian population policy

The population of Nigeria is one of the fastest growing rates in the world at 2.5-3.5%/ year. The estimated population was 101.11 million in 1987 and by 2015 is projected to be 280 million. Nigeria was the 10th most populous country in 1985 and by 2025 it would be 4th. The average number of children for each woman is 6-7 and the death rate is 16/1000. A recent government policy has restricted women to 4 children. 47% of the population is under 15 years of age. Goals of the government include reducing the growth rate, improving the standard of living, and balancing the population distribution between urban and rural areas. To do this they will need to promote awareness of their population situation to all citizens, educate young people on family planning, and to enhance development in rural and urban areas by slowing the migration to the cities. Most Nigerians view this policy as discriminatory against women, and ineffective in curbing present growth in population. Religions including Catholicism, Islam and some Christian groups do not promote birth control. Although many groups oppose this policy, most realize that the country is over populated and that with the present economic situation, a reduction in growth is needed. A more acceptable policy would restrict Christians, who marry only 1 wife, to 4 children and Moslems, who can have up to 4 wives, could have only 1 child/wife or 4 children for the man, in each family. A better method would be to encourage 3 children/family because of the young age structure in the population. Even if the fertility would decline to 2 children/family there would be substantial growth for many years to come.     

Preventing Credit-Card Fraud: A Goal-Setting and Prompting Intervention to Increase Cashiers’ ID-Checking Behavior

A goal-setting and prompting intervention was promoted by a restaurant manager to increase the frequency of cashiers’ ID-checking behavior. An A-B-A (Baseline-Intervention-Withdrawal) reversal design at one of two restaurants showed that the socially-valid intervention increased the percentage of ID-checked purchases significantly from 2.4% at Baseline to 35.8% during the Intervention phase. ID checking decreased slightly to 30.6% during the Withdrawal phase, showing maintenance of the target behavior. The percentage of ID-checked purchases at the control restaurant was almost nonexistent throughout the 18-week study.