Reliability estimation from field return data

In this article statistical inference for the failure time distribution of a product from “field return data”, that records the time between the product being shipped and returned for repair or replacement, is described. The problem that is addressed is that the data are not failure times because they also include the time that it took to ship and install the product and then to return it to the manufacturer for repair or replacement. The inference attempts to infer the distribution of time to failure (that is, from installation to failure) from the data when in addition there are separate data on the times from shipping to installation, and from failure to return. The method is illustrated with data from units installed in a telecommunications network. Our collaborator on writing this paper, Ed Lisay of Alcatel-Lucent, passed away suddenly in October 2008. As a tribute, we can state that Ed had an energetic and vigorous charisma in the application of his skills. He brought a sense of fun to his many interests, such as his achievement of becoming a master electrician. Ed is sadly missed by his family, friends and colleagues.     

Quality improvements in the early care and education workforce: Outcomes and impact of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Project

To date there has not been a systematic, longitudinal research to assess the efficacy of public investments in the professional development of early childhood educators that are funded through the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^® Project. This study of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^® Project Pennsylvania provides a longitudinal analysis of the data for the first three cohorts of applicants and scholars that participated in Pennsylvania's T.E.A.C.H. program. Over a 5-year period, we followed the scholars that participated in this program to examine the direct outcomes, as well as the indirect impact, of participating in the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship program. We found a number of positive outcomes for the scholars with respect to: educational achievement, increased compensation, reduced turnover, and improved knowledge, skill, and practice. The downside of T.E.A.C.H., as implemented in Pennsylvania, is keeping caregivers in the program. Only 15% of the scholars were still in the program at the end of the 5th year. The dropout/withdrawal rate after the first contract was 43.5% representing a sizable investment in scholars that never completed the initial contract. Based on these findings, the implications policy and practice are discussed.     

Rurality and Social Inclusion: A Case of Preschool Education

This paper begins by reviewing several of the ways in which social inclusion has been conceptualized in the literature. The paper then explores these approaches in the context of the provision of preschool education in rural Scotland. Preschool education is viewed by government as a powerful weapon in the fight against social exclusion, but higher per capita costs in rural areas as well as the availability and cost of transport are major problems, raising questions in turn about inclusive models of provision. Moreover, many parents are sceptical about their ability to access preschool education for their children while also continuing their own engagement in the labour market (a central pillar of social inclusion policy). Issues of choice, quality and governance arise and these are discussed in depth. The paper concludes with some reflections on the concept of social inclusion in the light of this case study.     

THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL DRUG USE ON BIRTH WEIGHT: MEASUREMENT ERROR IN BINARY VARIABLES

We develop a method to correct for non-random measurement error in a binary indicator of illicit drugs. Our results suggest that estimates of the effect of self-reported prenatal drug use on birth weight are biased upwards by measurement error—a finding contrary to predictions of a model of random measurement error. More accurate estimates of the true effect of drug use on birth weight can be obtained by using the predicted probability of falsely reporting drug use. Thus out-of-sample information on drug use may improve estimates of the effect of reported drug use in other settings.     

Maternal mental health and faltering growth in infants

This study reports on the first phase of a large‐scale, longitudinal, multidisciplinary community study examining the growth, learning and development of young children with a particular focus on failure to thrive without organic cause. However, the group identified in this study may be better described as weight faltering. This paper examines the psychological data collected using the Parenting Stress Index, Rosenberg Self‐Esteem and the General Health Questionnaire in relation to child growth. There were no significant differences between the mothers of the weight faltering and control children in terms of parenting stress, maternal depression, maternal perceptions of their parenting competence or maternal self‐esteem. Maternal sensitivity to comments about child size, regardless of direction, had a negative impact on mood. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Student-faculty sexual relationships: An empirical test of two explanatory models

Media reports, stereotypes in popular literature, and a limited number of research studies describe student-faculty sexual relationships as either an exchange of sex for grades (initiated either by a lascivious professor or a self-serving student) and/or as the result of the psychological process of transference. Results from in-depth interviews with 11 students and 14 faculty members who had had student-teacher sexual affairs show only minimal support for either the exchange or transference models. We present two case histories that are typical of the student-faculty sexual liaisons we studied; they illustrate that these relationships are in many ways like other sexual relationships insofar as they are based on mutual attraction, as well as sex-related, power-discrepant roles. Student-faculty relationships are problematic (i.e., unethical) not so much because of the power discrepancy between a (usually male) professor and a (usually female) student, but because there is a confounding of public and private roles. This study contributes to this largely unresearched subject area in that it seriously questions the validity of negative sex stereotypes explicit in the exchange model and examines student-faculty relationships in sociological terms.     

Differentials in Australian Interstate Migration 1911–21 to 1961–66 by place of birth,Sex and age

Journal of Population Research - Without direct census data on migration prior to 1971, there is a deficit of information on Australian interstate migration this century. This paper uses the Census...