Application domains for the Delta method

The Delta method uses truncated Lagrange expansions of statistics to obtain approximations to their distributions. In this paper, we consider statistics Y=g(μ+X), where X is any random vector. We obtain domains 𝒟 such that, when μ∈𝒟, we may apply the distribution derived from the Delta method. Namely, we will consider an application on the normal case to illustrate our approach.     

Chisquared and related inducing pivot variables: an application to orthogonal mixed models

Abstract

We use chi-squared and related pivot variables to induce probability measures for model parameters, obtaining some results that will be useful on the induced densities. As illustration we considered mixed models with balanced cross nesting and used the algebraic structure to derive confidence intervals for the variance components. A numerical application is presented.     

Panning for gold: a clinician's guide to using research

The gap between research and clinical practice is one of the key challenges facing family therapy. Clinicians often fail to incorporate research findings into their practice because they do not know how to search, evaluate, or apply research to their clinical work. The purpose of this article is to help clinicians become better consumers of research. This article explores the potential value of research to clinicians, as well as negative beliefs that clinicians may have about research. The article also describes how clinicians can use research to inform their clinical work, as well as potential challenges that can be encountered.     

Voice and Agency in Social Movement Outcomes

Focusing on the interactional dynamics of movements, we find that two constructs, voice and agency are critical to the development of a sense of “groupness” and can aid social movement actors in accomplishing desired goals. Voice and agency are accomplished when movement actors engage in various processes such as planning and strategizing, completion of goal-oriented tasks and other unifying activities. We examine four social movement organizations operating in separate movement contexts with different outcomes: contested gay politics in Cincinnati, Ohio and grassroots feminism in Cleveland, Ohio and New York City, New York. We find that groups will have a better chance at achieving their goals if members are able to create a unified voice, and if leaders include and draw from the strengths of those they recruit, thus allowing a sense of agency.

Generating inclusive services for children,youth and families: A shift to using complex systems theory

Service systems for children and families have been shaped by standard approaches to knowledge-building, which reflect a reductionist approach and assume linearity and/or that individuals and experiences are normally distributed. Yet, these approaches may be inadequate for clients most at-risk, especially those who would be analytic ‘outliers’. A complexity lens focuses on the whole system and seeks to identify patterns, including the dynamic interactions between components of the system. Social work scholars have begun to apply complexity theory to social work research efforts, demonstrating the conceptual potential of incorporating this theoretical approach into social work theories and models such as the person-in-environment framework and the ecosystems perspective. Yet, frameworks informed by complexity theory may require ontological and epistemological shifts in thinking and new methodological approaches in order to fully embody a complexity approach. Complexity theory offers the opportunity to consider social work clients who are most at-risk, as it is better suited for power law distributions. We can, therefore, reconceptualize the most ‘at-risk’ clients as being in a state of transition, which is also the space of most creativity and possibility.     

Influence of habitat type and distance from source area on bird taxonomic and functional diversity in a Neotropical megacity

The Neotropical region has been subjected to massive urbanization, which poses high risks for some global biodiversity hotspots and losses of ecosystem functions and services. In this study, we investigate how distance from large patches of native forests (source areas) and vegetation (green)/and infrastructure (gray) characteristics affect bird species richness and functional diversity in São Paulo megacity, southeastern Brazil. We analyzed the effects of source areas and green/gray characteristics on species richness and functional diversity (richness, evenness, and divergence) indices. We detected 231 bird species, and our data confirmed our predictions: (1) bird species richness in urbanized habitats was found to be (~?50–85%) lower than in source habitats; (2) species richness and trait composition significantly decreased as the distance from the source area increased, while functional richness was not affected by this metric; and (3) shrub and herbaceous covers and maximum height of trees were positively correlated with species richness and unique functional traits regarding habitat, diet, foraging and nesting strata and dispersal ability of birds in the forest-urban matrix. The number of buildings was negatively correlated with bird species richness and functional richness. Maximum height of buildings caused dramatic declines in functional evenness. Functional divergence was notably lower in sites with high shrub cover. Our study stresses the complexity of vegetation embedded in large Neotropical urban settlements and the need to maintain large protected areas surrounding megacities to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on birds.