A scientist's viewpoint on promoting effective use of experimental design: Ten things a scientist wants to know about experimental design

This paper tackles the practical application of statistical tools. Chemical development is a rich area for collaboration between statisticians and chemists, but most statisticians encounter difficulties in promoting the tools to this client group. This paper, presented from a chemist's perspective, is intended to help bridge the gap between the two professions. The paper explores differences in uptake and attitudes towards adopting these techniques and suggests what has hindered or helped the process of effective application of experimental design. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring the parameter changes in general ARIMA time series models

We propose methods for monitoring the residuals of a fitted ARIMA or an autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average (ARFIMA) model in order to detect changes of the parameters in that model. We extend the procedures of Box & Ramirez (1992) and Ramirez (1992) and allow the differencing parameter, d to be fractional or integer. Test statistics are approximated by Wiener processes. We carry out simulations and also apply our method to several real time series. The results show that our method is effective for monitoring all parameters in ARFIMA models.     

Population policies in advanced societies: Pronatalist and migration strategies

This paper discusses pronatalist and migration policies that have been introduced in selected European countries. Measures and objectives are briefly described before an evaluation of the efficacy of each is provided. The case studies chosen show that pronatalist policies have had limited effects. Migration policies seem to have been more effective, although their aims so far have been largely non-demographic. Migration strategies will increasingly have to be considered for demographic reasons in the future, to counterbalance population decline. Both pronatalist and migration strategies tend to conflict with other policies (social and economic policies, emancipation or housing policies), and to be in competition with the demands of an ageing society. Limits to the development or expansion of either strategy are spelled out. Finally a few untried mechanisms are mentioned.     

'Til death do us part: intimacy and sexuality in the marriages of Alzheimer's patients.

1. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is likely to have a significant effect on sexual behavior, but both patient and partner will still have sexual feelings and needs. 2. Research has shown that a high proportion of men with AD develop erection problems, but causes of their erection difficulties are not understood. 3. Research has shown that inappropriate sexual behavior in AD patients is uncommon, although it can be very troubling to the family and health-care provider if it occurs. 4. More professionals need to be trained to discuss sexual issues openly and sensitively with AD patients and partners and to offer useful clinical suggestions.     

Defining and measuring patient satisfaction with medical care

This paper describes the development of Form II of the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ), a self-administered survey instrument designed for use in general population studies. The PSQ contains 55 Likert-type items that measure attitudes toward the more salient characteristics of doctors and medical care services (technical and interpersonal skills of providers, waiting time for appointments, office waits, emergency care, costs of care, insurance coverage, availability of hospitals, and other resources) and satisfaction with care in general. Scales are balanced to control for acquiescent response set. Scoring rules for 18 multi-item subscales and eight global scales were standardized following replication of item analyses in four field tests. Internal-consistency and test-retest estimates indicate satisfactory reliability for studies involving group comparisons. The PSQ well represents the content of characteristics of providers and services described most often in the literature and in response to open-ended questions. Empirical tests of validity have also produced generally favorable results.     

Equity and efficiency in the allocation of the personal social services

This paper investigates two issues of equity in the receipt of the home help service, one about territorial justice, the other about sex discrimination. It uses GHS data for 1980. An argument is developed about the efficiency with which services are targeted on persons who by normative criteria would appear to have most need of them. Efficiency is of two types: horizontal efficiency, the proportion of persons judged in need who receive services; and vertical efficiency, the proportion of services allocated to persons judged in need. The findings are that there is evidence of inequity both between different areas and between the sexes. Metropolitan areas are advantaged compared with rural areas, and this cannot be explained by differences in social support nor by the availability of other domiciliary services. Among the elderly living alone, neither sex is advantaged, but in elderly married couple households the home help service is more frequently provided in the case of a husband caring for a disabled wife than in the case of a wife caring for a disabled husband.     

The marketing approach to purchasing

The determination of supply and demand is a complex problem to which both sides of the equation must contribute. Although marketing departments have organized themselves to provide such a contribution to data, purchasing has done little to promote its contribution to demand forecasting. Until it does the equation will remain not merely complex but insoluble.A continuous inter-change between marketing and purchasing, supplier and customer, is essential for improving the accuracy of longer range forecasting and for logistical co-ordination of investment planning. The corporate plans of manufacturing organizations, at least, should reflect these considerations.