HIV/AIDS and constructs of gay community: Researching educational practice within community-based health promotion for gay men

This paper reports on the methodology of a comparative study of three gay communities in Australia as they struggle with HIV/AIDS. The study focused on the pedagogy and practice of HIV/AIDS education for disease prevention and for health maintenance for people living with HIV/AIDS, through the investigation of three problematics: (1) constructs of 'community'; (2) the centrality of gay community-based health educators; and (3) the relations of gay men within and to their communities. The study was conceived of as a critical ethnography involving a three-part sample in the three sites and using three related research methods: (1) individual and group interviews; (2) textual analysis; and (3) participant observation. The theoretical bases for the study and its design lay in notions of 'performativity', community and adult education, organizational and institutional processes, and the idea of a 'post-AIDS' sociality. The methodology is explained in detail, as are various consultative processes embedded in the design to facilitate and enable a productive relationship with the communities researched.     

Challenges related to the analytical process in realist evaluation and latest developments on the use of NVivo from a realist perspective

ABSTRACT

Realist evaluation (RE) is a research design increasingly used in program evaluation, that aims to explore and understand the influence of context and underlying mechanisms on intervention or program outcomes. Several methodological challenges, however, are associated with this approach. This article summarizes RE key principles and examines some documented challenges and solutions when analyzing RE data, including the development of Context-Mechanism-Outcome configurations. An analytic method using NVivo features is also presented. This method makes it possible to respond to certain analytic difficulties associated with RE by facilitating the identification of patterns and ensuring transparency in the analytical process.     

Estimation and Classification of BOLD Responses Over Multiple Trials

In this article, we model functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data for event-related experiment data using a fourth degree spline to fit voxel specific blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses. The data are preprocessed for removing long term temporal components such as drifts using wavelet approximations. The spatial dependence is incorporated in the data by the application of 3D Gaussian spatial filter. The methodology assigns an activation score to each trial based on the voxel specific characteristics of the response curve. The proposed procedure has a capability of being fully automated and it produces activation images based on overall scores assigned to each voxel. The methodology is illustrated on real data from an event-related design experiment of visually guided saccades (VGS).     

Hypothesis testing, power and sample size determination for between group comparisons in fMRI experiments

Modern methods for imaging the human brain, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) present a range of challenging statistical problems. In this paper, we first develop a large sample based test for between group comparisons and use it to determine the necessary sample size in order to obtain a target power via simulation under various alternatives for a given pre-specified significance level. Both testing and sample size calculations are particularly critical for neuroscientists who use these new techniques, since each subject is expensive to image.     

The feminine side to Santa Claus. Women's work of kinship in contemporary gift-giving relations

The predominant male-breadwinner model having been surpassed by other forms of household organization, discussion rises on whether the female role of caretaker within households also undergoes change. The question certainly becomes relevant concerning an often less visible and/or overlooked aspect of the caretaker role, which is the ‘work of kinship’. This article looks at a specific aspect of this, which can be considered as even more invisible than other caring tasks: the responsibility for gift exchange. More precisely, we explore women's role in, contribution to and attitude towards the gift-giving process on three domains: the buying, giving and receiving of gifts. Results point to important gender differences: women remain chief responsible for gift selection and gift giving and invest more time in selecting the appropriate gifts for kin. They also show greater satisfaction with the gift-giving process, of which they tend to stress the symbolic value instead of the instrumental value, which is more strongly emphasized by men. This shows that traditional role models endure in an important but often invisible aspect of the work of kinship and more generally of the caretaker role and that these role models also seem to be strongly culturally integrated by men and women.     

MOVING OUT TO MOVE UP: DUAL‐CAREER MIGRATION AND WORK–FAMILY TRADEOFFS

Using data from a survey of new entrants to the junior PhD job market in economics, this paper shows that dual‐career location problems compromise the personal and professional lives of early‐career PhDs. Contrary to the common assumption that couples who do not live together break up, we find that living apart is a viable solution to location problems in the first year after graduate school. Surprisingly, PhDs facing moderate location problems are more likely than those facing severe location problems to make career sacrifices on behalf of their relationship; PhDs facing severe location problems are more likely to live apart. (JEL, J12, J44, A11)     

Just Say 'No'? Alcohol and People with Learning Difficulties

This paper analyses critically the scant literature which exists on the role of alcohol in the lives of people with learning difficulties. Though the research evidence is largely insecure, it does seem relatively clear that people with learning difficulties drink considerably less and abstain in higher numbers than the general population. In spite of this, the literature is predominantly characterised by a focus on the potential dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. In contrast, the possibility that a great many people with learning difficulties may have their access to alcohol debarred is not considered to be a problem requiring attention. It is argued that this is based on a failure to appreciate the cultural significance of alcohol for most people, and that the discourse on learning difficulties is being underpinned by a concern with physical, but not cultural access.     

Hidden Markov chains in generalized linear models

We show how the concept of hidden Markov model may be accommodated in a setting involving multiple sequences of observations. The resulting class of models allows for both interrelationships between different sequences and serial dependence within sequences. Missing values in the observation sequences may be handled in a straightforward manner. We also examine a group of methods, based upon the observed Fisher Information matrix, for estimating the covariance matrix of the parameter estimates. We illustrate the methods with both real and simulated data sets.