Natural cubic splines for the analysis of Alzheimer's clinical trials

Mixed model repeated measures (MMRM) is the most common analysis approach used in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease and other progressive diseases measured with continuous outcomes over time. The model treats time as a categorical variable, which allows an unconstrained estimate of the mean for each study visit in each randomized group. Categorizing time in this way can be problematic when assessments occur off-schedule, as including off-schedule visits can induce bias, and excluding them ignores valuable information and violates the intention to treat principle. This problem has been exacerbated by clinical trial visits which have been delayed due to the COVID19 pandemic. As an alternative to MMRM, we propose a constrained longitudinal data analysis with natural cubic splines that treats time as continuous and uses test version effects to model the mean over time. Compared to categorical-time models like MMRM and models that assume a proportional treatment effect, the spline model is shown to be more parsimonious and precise in real clinical trial datasets, and has better power and Type I error in a variety of simulation scenarios.     

The Growth of Internet Research Methods and the Reluctant Sociologist*

Between 1999 and 2004 only one article appeared in the American Sociological Review, the American Journal of Sociology, or Social Forces using primary data collected with Web‐based research techniques. Since then there have been only a handful of studies published in these core sociology journals drawing on Web‐based surveys or other forms of Web‐based data. The use of Internet‐based data has become widespread in many academic fields, especially health research and education; Web‐based techniques are becoming routine in the practice and study of politics; and online commercial and market research has become a billion dollar industry. At the same time, the utility of random digit dialing surveys has eroded considerably owing to declining contact rates, increased use of technologies to screen unwanted telephone calls, and the replacement of landline telephones with cell phones. There is increasing evidence that Internet research can produce representative data. Although Web‐based surveys may overrepresent some populations, Internet usage in the general population is now well over 75 per cent and is especially strong among some hard to reach populations. Internet surveys have the potential to reduce measurement error, missing data, and respondent attrition. Sociologists must overcome their fear of participation in stigmatized Internet research and actively engage in the development of techniques and refinements that will increase the utility and validity of Internet‐based data collection.     

Puberty Education in a Global Context: Knowledge Gaps,Opportunities, and Implications for Policy

Youth programs and policies provide opportunities for institutions and societies to support healthy adolescent development. Puberty education programs are universally important, as they provide crucial knowledge and skills to help youth and their caregivers navigate the physical, emotional, and interpersonal changes of puberty with positive outcomes. However, few puberty programs have been rigorously evaluated, resulting in a lack of evidence‐based knowledge and practice in this area. This review examines the status of research on puberty education and related programs and draws on the broader intervention literature and recent research findings on adolescence to identify program features that might improve program effectiveness. Implications for policy are also discussed. The need for rigorous program evaluation is emphasized throughout.     

Living in a Retirement Village: Choice,Contracts, and Constraints

Retirement village living is a growing housing option for older people. Research to date has focused primarily on the social milieu of the village with limited attention to the legal and financial obligations associated with this form of specialized seniors' housing. Using data from a survey of 312 Australian residents, this article suggests while residents place financial and legal obligations at the forefront when considering relocation and during residency, there is variability in professional advice and constraints on choices when needs and capacities change. The distinctive obligations associated with retirement village living require greater attention to ensure an informed lifestyle decision.     

Paradoxes of late-modern autonomy imperatives: Reconciling individual claims and institutional demands in everyday practice

Governmentality studies and social theories agree that in contemporary societies the idea of autonomy is no longer simply an ideal or an individual aspiration but a social obligation. In an attempt to clarify the meaning of autonomy in this day and age, this paper asks how individuals perceive and negotiate the various dimensions of autonomy and how this affects the functioning of late-modern institutions. The empirical insights derived from a qualitative study provide a differentiated picture of how individuals pursue their claims to autonomy and comply with institutional demands for autonomy in everyday practice. By presenting seven types of late-modern “autonomy managers,” the analysis evinces a usurpation of autonomous agency that renders individuals the institutional editors of the contemporary contradictions, deficits, and tensions that occur in their everyday interactions. This comes at the price of notionally free but exhausted actors running short of all kinds of resources.     

Gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors: a review of meta-analytic results and large datasets

Gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors are typically believed to be large, yet recent evidence suggests that some gender differences in sexuality are much smaller than common knowledge would suggest. This article reviews gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors as reported by major meta-analyses and large datasets. In particular, this article reviews gender differences in heterosexual intercourse, masturbation, pornography use, attitudes toward premarital sex, and gender differences in same-gender sexuality. Evolutionary psychology, social cognitive learning theory, and social structural theory are explored as possible explanations for gender differences in sexuality.     

John Maynard Keynes's theories of population and the concept of “optimum”

This review of Keynes' scattered writings on population, which in view of his general importance as an economist might be of interest in itself, is used to highlight the marked shift in demographic theory during the past three decades. The revival of Malthusianism during the 1920's was followed by a contrary emphasis during the following depression decade, and this change in opinion was much more violent than the one in demographic trends that it in part reflected. The current dispute over the relevance of Malthus's theory is marked by a fundamental confusion between a Malthusian and a Keynesian frame of reference. Explicitly or implicitly, various policies are set in accord with what is taken to be the optimum population of a country, but this optimum is not determinable in terms of present theory.     

Drink-Drivers and the Judicial Process: An Analysis that Relates to The Defendant's Perspective

By making ‘meaning’ the focus of study this paper offers a novel way of understanding the legal prosecution of drink-drivers: the analysis relates to the defendant's perspective. Data were derived from observations of hearings in a lower criminal court in Western Australia, and interviews with 66 individuals who appeared on drink-driving charges. The findings emphasise the significance for the accused driver of the pre-court procedures. It is demonstrated that whilst most drink-driver defendants plead guilty because they accept their guilt, their decision on the plea is constrained by their desire to minimize the various costs associated with judicial procedure. The question of whether or not the present system of processing drink-drivers protects the interests of the accused merits further investigation.     

An agent-based approach to modelling virtual enterprises

This paper describes how virtual enterprises (VEs) can be modelled using the AGORA multi-agent architecture, designed for modelling and supporting cooperative work among distributed entities. The model consists of a structure of AGORAs and agents, where AGORAs are facilitators of cooperative work for agents and the agents represent the partners of the VE, the cooperative mechanisms and the service providers. The distributed and goal-oriented nature of the VE provides a strong motivation for the use of agents to model VEs. The main advantages of this approach are that the structure of AGORAs provides a homogeneous modelling environment throughout the life cycle of the VE, traceability of the VE activities and a history of the VE. In addition to these, it is important to point out that, agents being computational entities, the resulting model provides an easy and efficient passage from the model to the computational support that is required by the VE.