The use of simple reparameterizations to improve the efficiency of Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation for multilevel models with applications to discrete time survival models

Summary.  We consider the application of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation methods to random-effects models and in particular the family of discrete time survival models. Survival models can be used in many situations in the medical and social sciences and we illustrate their use through two examples that differ in terms of both substantive area and data structure. A multilevel discrete time survival analysis involves expanding the data set so that the model can be cast as a standard multilevel binary response model. For such models it has been shown that MCMC methods have advantages in terms of reducing estimate bias. However, the data expansion results in very large data sets for which MCMC estimation is often slow and can produce chains that exhibit poor mixing. Any way of improving the mixing will result in both speeding up the methods and more confidence in the estimates that are produced. The MCMC methodological literature is full of alternative algorithms designed to improve mixing of chains and we describe three reparameterization techniques that are easy to implement in available software. We consider two examples of multilevel survival analysis: incidence of mastitis in dairy cattle and contraceptive use dynamics in Indonesia. For each application we show where the reparameterization techniques can be used and assess their performance.     

The Fount of All Knowledge: Training Required to Involve Service Users and Carers in Health and Social Care Education and Training

A modified Delphi study was carried out in order to obtain consensus regarding the content of a university training course to involve service users and carers at all stages of the health and social care educational process within a higher education environment. Telephone interviews were carried out with service users and carers, educationalists and leaders in the field of service user and carer involvement to generate curriculum ideas. A questionnaire was developed from their responses and sent to a purposive sample of 65 people (24 service users and carers, 28 health and social care educationalists and 13 leaders in the field of service user and carer involvement). Fifty‐five statements were generated with consensus being reached on 46 (84%) statements. Mismatches between service users and carers, educationalists and leaders in the field were explored. Key themes to be included in the curriculum were identified. This paper demonstrates that the best training is not imposed upon service users and carers by academics or others who think they know best; rather, that service users and carers themselves can play a leading role in identifying their training needs and devising strategies to ensure these needs are effectively met.     

CROSSOVER OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS IN DUAL-CAREER COUPLES

This study considers the source, nature and direction of ‘crossover’ of occupational stressors and strains in a sample of 74 dual-career couples. It examines patterns and habits of discussion about work between partners and investigates the role of partner communication and job commitment in the crossover process. Contrary to previous research findings which suggest that the direction of crossover is predominantly from men to their female partners, positive relationships were found between women's work stressors and the anxiety and depression reported by their male partners. Only modest evidence of crossover from men to women was found. Work demands were linked to the crossover process for both men and women but, unlike the findings of previous studies, supportive features of the working environment failed to predict crossover between partners. The nature and frequency of marital communication about work was associated with crossover, as was job commitment and satisfaction. The implications of these findings for the psychological health and functioning of dual-career couples are discussed, and recommendations for future research that might further elucidate the crossover process are made.     

Welfare reforms in Canada

This study examines the development of impoverished pre-school children before and after the implementation of mandatory welfare-to-work initiatives in Canada. Using data from the 1994/95 and 1998/99 cycles of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, we explore the relationships that impoverished families’ income source and family income status have with pre-school children's school readiness. Findings indicate that both before and after the implementation of mandatory welfare-to-work initiatives, children in working poor families had higher school readiness scores than their peers whose families receive social assisntance, independent of family environment characteristics that differentiated working poor and social assistance poor families. In addition, both before and after the implementation of mandatory welfare-to-work initiatives, school readiness scores of poor children were lower than scores for non-poor children, with children living in families that had incomes at least 200 percent of the low-income cut-offs being the only group with scores above the expected standard of 100. In sum, our study fails to provide evidence that by the end of the 1990s welfare reforms supported the concurrent policy goal of improving the well-being of Canadian children in poverty.     

Self-perceived occupational stress and distress in a Scottish police force

This paper describes an empirical study (n = 699) of occupational stress in a Scottish police force. The self-perceived stress associated with a variety of organizational and opearational stressors was examined along with the associated distress in the police officers in terms of symptoms of anxiety, somatic complaint, severe depression and social dysfunction. The analysis revealed that in spite of the potential that police work offers for exposure to adverse opeational situations such as violence or death, the highest levels of associated stress lie in relation to organizational factors such as officers' perceptions of staff shortages, inadequate resources, time pressures, lack of communication and work overload. Differential rates of perceived stress are reported accordng to gender, rank and working location. This paper further validates previsous research on stress in British police and addresses the situation from a Scottish perspective.     

Auditory–Visual Context and Memory Retrieval in 3‐Month‐Old Infants

In 3 experiments, 3‐month‐old infants were trained to move an overhead mobile by kicking 1 of their feet in the presence of a distinctive visual (crib bumpers) and auditory (music) context. In Experiment 1A, 5‐day but not 1‐day retention was disrupted if either or both elements of the context present during the retention test were novel. In Experiment 1B, 5‐day retention was observed when only a single component of the training context, visual or auditory, was present. In Experiment 2, the retention test occurred at 14 days but it was preceded 24 hr earlier by a brief reactivation treatment. When the reactivation treatment consisted of reexposing the infant to the training crib bumpers and music, or just to the training music, it was not successful. Reactivation was successful when the reactivation treatment consisted of only the training crib bumpers. These results indicate that, in this paradigm, 3‐month‐old infants do not encode the elements of the context holistically and that, following forgetting, the visual contextual cues become dominant over the auditory contextual cues in facilitating retrieval.     

From Freaks to Savants: disability and hegemony from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) to Sling Blade (1997)

At the turn of the century the Protestant ethic combined with Victorian morality helped turn audiences away from 'Freaks Shows'. This act isolated the performers (who were generally labeled with a physical or mental disability) from not only the rest of society but also from the economy. However, images of people with disabilities did not disappear. The 'mainstream' film industry took over as chief exhibitors stigmatizing characters with disabilities as either violent psychotic offenders or child like savants. However, in 1932, Tod Browning resurrected the 'Freak Show' and made a remarkable film celebrating and starring actual performers from 'Freak Shows'. The film, Freaks , managed to 'normalize' the performers but was a box office and critical disaster. MGM banished the film to the vaults for twenty years, while in England it was banned for over forty. It is blamed for bringing Browning's career to an end and the stars were forced back into isolation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the criticism of Freaks by comparing and contrasting it with images of the more 'successful' mainstream films. Through this analysis I will demonstrate that the criticism for Freaks as it stands is unsupported. I argue what truly offends, shocks audiences and critics alike and the reason for the film's continued 'banishment' is not only the visibility of the actors with disabilities, but also the fact that Browning and his actors found no shame in showcasing their diversity. It is within both the criticism of the film and the mainstream films depicting characters with disabilities where the institutional rejection of diversity is found, not in the images Browning showcased.     

Sexual Harassment as an Exercise of Power

This article argues that the key to the explanation as to why sexual harassment is a feature of organizational life lies in the issue of power. Yet there has been little attempt to link sexual harassment with theories or explanatory models of power. This article first takes Lukes's (1986) three‐dimensional model as a framework to explore how harassment may be understood as an exercise of power at different levels then shows how radical feminist and post‐structuralist analyses overlap with and are distinct from Lukes's third dimension of power.