Challenges and Opportunities of Open Access: A Panel Discussion

This year's panel discussion, moderated by Beverly Dowdy, offered three perspectives on the current and future trends in open access (OA) from David Crotty, a senior editor from a prominent university publisher; Beth Bernhardt, an assistant dean for collection development and scholarly communications at an academic library; and Dr. Paige Hall Smith, an associate professor at a large state university. Each discussed different opportunities and challenges that open access presents. A question-and-answer period followed, prompting further discussion of the points brought up during the presentations, as well as related issues.     

Nonparametric inference about service time distribution from indirect measurements

Summary.  In studies of properties of queues, for example in relation to Internet traffic, a subject that is of particular interest is the 'shape' of service time distribution. For example, we might wish to know whether the service time density is unimodal, suggesting that service time distribution is possibly homogeneous, or whether it is multimodal, indicating that there are two or more distinct customer populations. However, even in relatively controlled experiments we may not have access to explicit service time data. Our only information might be the durations of service time clusters, i.e. of busy periods. We wish to 'deconvolve' these concatenations, and to construct empirical approximations to the distribution and, particularly, the density function of service time. Explicit solutions of these problems will be suggested. In particular, a kernel-based 'deconvolution' estimator of service time density will be introduced, admitting conventional approaches to the choice of bandwidth.     

SEQUENTIAL,BOTTOM‐UP VARIABLE SELECTION FOR HIGH‐DIMENSIONAL CLASSIFICATION

Most methods for variable selection work from the top down and steadily remove features until only a small number remain. They often rely on a predictive model, and there are usually significant disconnections in the sequence of methodologies that leads from the training samples to the choice of the predictor, then to variable selection, then to choice of a classifier, and finally to classification of a new data vector. In this paper we suggest a bottom‐up approach that brings the choices of variable selector and classifier closer together, by basing the variable selector directly on the classifier, removing the need to involve predictive methods in the classification decision, and enabling the direct and transparent comparison of different classifiers in a given problem. Specifically, we suggest ‘wrapper methods’, determined by classifier type, for choosing variables that minimize the classification error rate. This approach is particularly useful for exploring relationships among the variables that are chosen for the classifier. It reveals which variables have a high degree of leverage for correct classification using different classifiers; it shows which variables operate in relative isolation, and which are important mainly in conjunction with others; it permits quantification of the authority with which variables are selected; and it generally leads to a reduced number of variables for classification, in comparison with alternative approaches based on prediction.     

Developments in East Asian Welfare Studies

This essay in introduction is to the field of study, rather than to the present, itself distinguished, collection of papers. As such, it opens with a series of ‘flashbacks’: to the ways in which social policy, and the study of social policy, developed out of the interaction between Western welfare states (in this case Britain) and Asia Pacific. The main body of the article then charts the increasing presence of East Asian modes of welfare within comparative social policy, before going on to distinguish between the different types of approach to East Asian welfare study which have so far been adopted. Two sets of three‐part criteria have been adopted for the purposes of classification: focusing first on the dimensions (single case studies of specific countries; East Asia as a region; East Asia in comparison with other parts of the world) and second on the level of issues (matters of policy; of welfare system; of welfare regime) characteristic of each study in question. The article concludes with a restatement of its purpose: not to question the adequacy of hitherto Western (notably, Esping‐Andersen) approaches to the study of welfare regimes, but to demonstrate the need for a substantive extension to their scope.     

Father Doesn’t Know Best? Parents’ Control of Money and Children’s Food Insecurity

Although developing‐country research has found that spending on children varies depending on which parent controls income, developed‐country research tends to ignore intrahousehold allocation. This study uses Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study data (N= 1,073 couples) to analyze how mothers versus fathers controlling money affects U.S. children’s food insecurity. Results show children are far less likely to experience food insecurity when parents’ pooled income is controlled by their mother than when it is controlled by their father or even when it is jointly controlled. By examining this association between resource control and child well‐being, this study suggests that child outcomes may be improved by altering control over household money, responsibility for feeding work, or both.     

Parents as developing adult learners

Drawing largely on the literature from adult learning and development, this article presents parents as continuous learners whose critical reflections on their experiences with parenting can be rich fodder for their growth and development. Theories and models are highlighted that may suggest a wider repertoire of approaches for helping professionals who are facilitating parents in their learning and growth.     

No strings attached: the nature of casual sex in college students

The purpose of this paper was to identify the circumstances associated with casual sex encounters, as well as to identify the link between casual sex, depressive symptoms, and infidelity among college students. We found that casual sex was a fairly common occurrence that was related to early sexual transition, engaging in first sex with a casual sex partner, drug use and alcohol consumption. Casual sex occurred more often between "friends" rather than with strangers. Depressive symptoms were associated with engaging in casual sex differently for males and females. Males who engaging in casual sex reported the fewest symptoms of depression and females who had a history of casual sex reported the most depressive symptoms. Frequencies of affectionate and genital behaviors were associated with expectations of the relationship, the relationship to the partner, infidelity, and the individual's relationship style. Results are discussed in light of evolutionary and socio-cultural theories of sexuality.     

Detecting suicide risk in adolescents and adults in an emergency department: a pilot study

The investigators conducted a pilot study to detect suicide risk in adolescents and adults seeking treatment in an emergency department, as well as to test the reliability and validity of the 4-item Risk of Suicide Questionnaire (RSQ). This study expanded the implementation of the RSQ beyond its initial use with children and adolescents with psychiatric symptoms who were seeking treatment in a pediatric emergency department to include adolescent and adult patients in a Level I trauma center. An advanced practice psychiatric nurse verbally administered the RSQ to a convenience sample of 104 emergency department patients ages 12 to 82. Psychometric analysis demonstrated an adequate degree of reliability and criterion-related validity for the RSQ. Approximately 30% of all patients who participated screened positive for suicide risk. The results support the continued use of the 4-item RSQ with all adolescents and use of a reduced 2-item form of the RSQ with adults exhibiting psychiatric chief complaints to determine imminent risk of suicide in patients who seek treatment in the emergency department. Nurses in all health care settings need to initiate suicide screening and implement nursing interventions directed toward suicide prevention.