On the calculations of the maximum likelihood estimates for the polynomial spline regression model with unknown knots and AR(1) errors

Asymptotic distributions of the maximum likelihood estimators of the regression coefficients and knot points for the polynomial spline regression models with unknown knots and AR(1) errors have been derived by Chan (1989). Chan showed that under some mild conditions the maximum likelihood estimators, after suitable standardization, asymptotically follow normal distributions as n diverges to infinity. For the calculations of the maximum likelihood estimators, iterative methods must be applied. But this is not easy to implement for the model considered. In this paper, we suggested an alternative method to compute the estimates of the regression parameters and knots. It is shown that the estimates obtained by this method are asymptotically equivalent to the maximum likelihood estimates considered by Chan.     

Fatness as a disability: questions of personal and group identity

Both fat people and disabled people share common barriers to full societal participation and acceptance. While there has been a substantial amount of literature relating to these two groups as separate entities, there is a lack of contemporary research that investigates the relationship between fat and disability identity formation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to engage in a dialogue with fat individuals and explore the construction of their identities – whether or not they identified with having a disability and, if so, whether or not they viewed their fatness as a disability. Interviews with a sample size of seven participants who self‐identified as ‘fat’ revealed an unwillingness to adopt a disability identity based on their fatness.     

To Screen or to Vaccinate? A Decision Analysis for Rubella Prevention on Campus

Abstract

Rubella is common among young adults. The most important consequences of rubella are fetal anomalies resulting from maternal rubella infection in early pregnancy. Health officials strongly advocate a mandatory rubella immunization policy for college students, leaving school officials the dilemma of deciding how to implement it.

To effectively prevent a rubella outbreak, a herd immunity of ≥ 95% is needed. This can be accomplished either by: 1) screening all students who do not provide a valid rubella immunization certificate and giving the vaccine to those with negative titers, or 2) vaccinating all of them without prior testing.

At the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), we have shifted our approach of rubella prevention from “screening first” to “vaccinating without prior testing.” We analyzed data from the past 6 years of our rubella prevention program and found that the latter approach was safe and simpler to administer. Decision analysis reveals that this approach can achieve an identical herd immunity of 99.45%, with a 45% cost savings compared to the “screening” approach. Threshold analysis indicates that unless the cost of the lab test is less than that of the vaccine, or the incidence of adverse reactions and associated treatment costs escalates 23 fold, the decision to vaccinate every student is still favored. We conclude that our decision to vaccinate without prior testing is a sound decision based on available data

“Intra-Blood-Brain-Barrier Synthesis of HTLV-III-Specific IgG in Patients with Neurologic Symptoms Associated with AIDS or AIDS-Related Complex,” LIONEL RESNICK, et al. Intra-blood-brain-barrier production of virus-specific antibody is good evidence of infection within the blood-brain barrier. Patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have an increased incidence of neurologic abnormalities—i.e., unexplained, diffuse encephalopathy manifested clinically as chronic progressive dementia. To define the role of human T-cell lymphotropic virus Type III (HTLV-III), the etiologic agent of AIDS, in the pathogenesis of neurologic dysfunction, we compared cerebrospinal fluid and serum from patients with neurologic symptoms associated with AIDS and the AIDS-related complex for the presence of antibodies directed agains HTLV-III. Antibodies directed against HTLV-III antigens were detected by four immunologic tests: a fixed-cell immunofluorescence assay, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblots of viral lysates, and immunoprecipitation of cellular lysates. All patients were seropositive, and 22 of 23 (96 per cent) had HTLV-III-specific antibodies in their cerebrospinal fluid. Unique oligoclonal IgG synthesis within the blood-brain barrier was elevated. In eight of nine patients tested, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that the percentage of HTLV-III-specific IgG in cerebrospinal fluid was higher than in serum, suggesting that HTLV-III infection of neurologic tissue occurs in the majority of patients with neurologic disease associated with AIDS or its related complex. (New England Journal of Medicine 1985;313:1498–504.)     

Comparison of powers for the sphericity tests using both the asymptotic distribution and the bootstrap

The asymptotic distributions of two tests for sphericity:the locally most powerful invariant test and the likelihood ratio test are derived under the general alternaties ∑?σ² I. The powers of these two tests are then compared when the data are from a trivariate normal population. The bootstrap method is also used to obtain the powers and the powers obtained by this method agree with those from the asymptotic distributions.     

How Can Children Tell Us About Their Wellbeing? Exploring the Potential of Participatory Research Approaches within <Emphasis Type="Italic">Young Lives</Emphasis>

‘Wellbeing’ is a key concept in the study of children’s lives over time, given its potential to link the objective, subjective, and inter-subjective dimensions of their experiences in ways that are holistic, contextualized and longitudinal. For this reason wellbeing is one of the core concepts used by Young Lives, a 15-year project (2000–2015) that follows the lives of 12,000 children growing up in the context of poverty in Ethiopia, Peru, Vietnam and Andhra Pradesh (India) (see ). This paper examines a selection of methods being used by Young Lives to capture aspects of child wellbeing in the context of a range of children’s life experiences related to poverty, specific risks and protective processes. It draws on a review of the literature on child-focused methods and on recent experiences piloting three core qualitative methods in the four study countries. The paper reports the development of a methodology that is child-centred, but also acknowledges that every child is embedded within a network of social and economic relationships.

An Exploration of the Burnout Situation on Teachers in Two Schools in Macau

To explore the burnout situation of teachers in two schools in Macau and to investigate any differences made of demographic characteristics. The relation of burnout on social problem solving and holistic health of teachers is also studied. A self reported questionnaire with the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (C-MBI), Chinese Social Problem Solving Inventory (C-SPSI) and the Body-Mind-Spirit Well-Being Inventory (BMSWBI) were used. Totally 138 teachers participated in the study. With Hong Kong data as a reference, Macau teachers scored in the average range of burnout in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization but scored in the low range of burnout in personal accomplishment. Significance differences were found in some dimensions of burnout in age, marital status, teaching experiences, education background and satisfaction with income. Both C-SPSI and BMSWBI were found to be significantly negative correlated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and positive correlated with personal achievement. The findings identified those with greater degree of burnout, to whom more attention should be paid. The study also contributed to the limited literature on the quality of life of teachers in Macau. Finally, the findings added on the data base for comparison internationally among the Chinese population.     

外商直接投资及其影响因素——来自中国地域的面板因果关系分析

 利用中国1993-2005年29个省的面板数据,本文建立了一个系统动态的因果关系模型,检验了外商直接投资（FDI）与其他影响变量的关系,在所有影响FDI的变量中,我们重点检验了GDP、FDI、国内投资和基础设施的因果关系。结果显示短期内GDP可以吸引FDI的流入,而FDI对国内投资增长是有效的,FDI对GDP的作用是通过对国内投资影响而实现的。长期内,FDI对国内投资和经济增长有促进作用,而与基础设施没有直接的关系。     

Advocacy Evaluation for Counselors Serving LGBTQ Populations

ABSTRACT

Advocacy and social justice initiatives for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) clients in counseling emphasize counselor and client collaboration in challenging discrimination and oppression and promoting LGBTQ inclusive sociopolitical changes. Although researchers have highlighted the counseling and advocacy needs of LGBTQ populations, few have yet examined processes for assessing the outcomes of advocacy efforts. Advocacy evaluation may provide counselors and counseling organizations with a framework for monitoring and assessing the outcomes of LGBTQ advocacy initiatives. The authors discuss the goals and elements of advocacy evaluation and review the LGBTQ Counseling Advocacy Evaluation Self Assessment.     

Discursive opportunity structures in post-handover Hong Kong localism: the China factor and beyond

The discourses of localism have been redefining the political spectrum, cultural practices, and identity politics of Hong Kong. A growing body of literature considers how China’s domination has fueled the rise of localism in Hong Kong. Drawing on the content and textual analyses of news media and other empirical evidence, this article scrutinizes the opportunity structure in post-handover Hong Kong to show that it facilitates the formation of localist discourses. It situates the localism of Hong Kong as the response to the social changes and China’s encroachment on the city in the post-handover years. Specifically, it focuses on the emergence of progressive localism prior to the recent deterioration of the China–Hong Kong relationship, the radicalization of social movements, and the continuing effects of critical post-handover events in Hong Kong. The study re-conceptualizes the localism of Hong Kong from the central–peripheral tension arising from China’s hegemony to the dynamic discursive formation of an evolving post-colonial city.