Person perception effects of computer-simulated male and female head movement

Sixteen male and sixteen female student observers were shown computer-simulated sequences of male and female head movement based on time-series protocols of real-life interactions and were asked to rate their impressions of the computer actors on the screen. While in one experimental condition the sex of the movement origin matched the sex of the computer model, the movement protocols were exchanged in the second condition. Impression formation effects were analyzed in a three-factorial ANOVA design, with the independent factors (1) sex of observer, (2) sex of computer model, and (3) sex of movement origin. The results point to strong main effects of the sex of movement origin. Male behavior was perceived as more active and mobile, whether displayed by a male or female computer model. However, three-way interactions indicate that male and female head movement was evaluated differently by male and female observers depending on the sex of the computer model. Counterintuitively, female computer models scored higher in male observers' judgments of friendliness and attractiveness when displaying male head movement.     

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.     

Letter to the Editor

In a telephone survey 18 new social work educators responded to questions about their perceptions of mentoring in their first years as faculty members. Results indicate that new social work faculty believe mentoring relationships provide them with multiple benefits, including improved teaching and research performance. Data also suggest that programs must be carefully developed and supported if protégés, mentors, and their organizations are to fully realize these benefits. Factors such as mentor-protégé matching, mentor characteristics, the roles of mentors, organizational support, and the mentoring process must be considered if a successful mentoring program is to be implemented.     

Multiplicity: discussion points from the Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry multiplicity expert group

In May 2012, the Committee of Health and Medicinal Products issued a concept paper on the need to review the points to consider document on multiplicity issues in clinical trials. In preparation for the release of the updated guidance document, Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry held a one‐day expert group meeting in January 2013. Topics debated included multiplicity and the drug development process, the usefulness and limitations of newly developed strategies to deal with multiplicity, multiplicity issues arising from interim decisions and multiregional development, and the need for simultaneous confidence intervals (CIs) corresponding to multiple test procedures. A clear message from the meeting was that multiplicity adjustments need to be considered when the intention is to make a formal statement about efficacy or safety based on hypothesis tests. Statisticians have a key role when designing studies to assess what adjustment really means in the context of the research being conducted. More thought during the planning phase needs to be given to multiplicity adjustments for secondary endpoints given these are increasing in importance in differentiating products in the market place. No consensus was reached on the role of simultaneous CIs in the context of superiority trials. It was argued that unadjusted intervals should be employed as the primary purpose of the intervals is estimation, while the purpose of hypothesis testing is to formally establish an effect. The opposing view was that CIs should correspond to the test decision whenever possible. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic Asymmetries in U.S. Unemployment

We examine dynamic asymmetries in U.S. unemployment using nonlinear time series models and Bayesian methods. We find strong statistical evidence in favor of a two-regime threshold auto-regressive model. Empirical results indicate that, once we take into account both parameter and model uncertainty, there are economically interesting asymmetries in the unemployment rate. One finding of particular interest is that shocks that lower the unemployment rate tend to have a smaller effect than shocks that raise the unemployment rate. This finding is consistent with unemployment rises being sudden and falls gradual.     

Analysis of bivariate dichotomous data from a stratified two-stage cluster sample

In the health and social sciences, researchers often encounter categorical data for which complexities come from a nested hierarchy and/or cross-classification for the sampling structure. A common feature of these studies is a non-standard data structure with repeated measurements which may have some degree of clustering. In this paper, methodology is presented for the joint estimation of quantities of interest in the context of a stratified two-stage sample with bivariate dichotomous data. These quantities are the mean value π of an observed dichotomous response for a certain condition or time-point and a set of correlation coefficients for intra-cluster association for each condition or time period and for inter-condition correlation within and among clusters. The methodology uses the cluster means and pairwise joint probability parameters from each cluster. They together provide appropriate information across clusters for the estimation of the correlation coefficients.     

The Relationship Between Depression and Other Psychosocial Problems in a Sample of Adolescent Pregnancy Termination Patients

At-risk adolescents experience troubling levels of depression but there is a dearth of research related to the levels of depression and associated psychosocial problems experienced by adolescent abortion patients. The relationship between depression and 16 other psychosocial life problems is examined in a sample of adolescent pregnancy termination patients. Using the Multidimensional Adolescent Assessment Scale (MAAS), depression and related psychosocial problems are assessed in a sample of 120 U.S. abortion patients ages 14–21. In general, patients scoring above the clinical cutscore for depression also reported higher levels of psychosocial problems in the other areas. Depression was significantly associated with problems with self-esteem, stress, guilt and confused thinking. Implications for practice and research are discussed.