Space-time Multi Type Log Gaussian Cox Processes with a View to Modelling Weeds

Log Gaussian Cox processes as introduced in Moller et al. (1998) are extended to space-time models called log Gaussian Cox birth processes. These processes allow modelling of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in time series of increasing point processes consisting of different types of points. The models are shown to be easy to analyse yet flexible enough for a detailed statistical analysis of a particular agricultural experiment concerning the development of two weed species on an organic barley field. Particularly, the aspects of estimation, model validation and intensity surface prediction are discussed.     

‘The best years of your life’: remembering childhood in autobiographical texts

In this paper, several aspects of autobiographical accounts of childhood are explored. The paper begins with a consideration of Freudian explanations of how recollections of childhood are bounded by memory. The distinctive form of definitions of oneself-as-child are then described and related to post-modern theories about the self. Finally, the ways in which recollections of childhood are framed by the subordinate position of children in the family and society are discussed. Six autobiographies were chosen for study. All were by Australian authors. The authors were Henry Handel Richardson, Ruth Park, Jill Ker Conway, Albert Facey, Hal Porter and Manning Clark.     

Towards Reconceptualizing Political Action*

The discipline of sociology faces important challenges that may result in a transformation of the field. For example, the practice of specialization potentially takes on a new meaning in the context of growing interdisciplinary studies, the growth of feminist scholarship, and renewed efforts at micro-macro linkages. In essence, more comprehensive accounts of social phenomena are made possible as a result of these trends. This paper examines the way in which such approaches may lead to advances in the study of political action.     

Charles S. Johnson’s the Negro in Chicago

Charles S. Johnson’s classic study of the Chicago race riot of 1919,The Negro in Chicago, can provide contemporary social scientists with valuable historical insight into urban race relations and a model of methodological comprehensiveness. This review of Johnson’s study suggests the influence of the Chicago School of Sociology and especially of Robert Park on its methodological and conceptual framework. In contrast to the tendency of many recent studies of black urban communities to maintain a narrow theoretical and empirical focus,The Negro in Chicago draws on a wide array of types of data and uses an organic metaphor to suggest the complex interrelatedness of urban residents in the many contexts of their daily lives.     

Determinants of Middle School Students’ Participation in Shadow Education in Japan

Social Indicators Research - Although previous studies have examined the likelihood of students’ participation in shadow education (private supplemental education), these studies have not...     

A systematic review of the association between lower urinary tract symptoms and falls,injuries, and fractures in community-dwelling older men

Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) have been associated with falls in studies either exclusively or predominantly of women. It is, therefore, less clear if LUTS are risk factors for falls in men.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the association between LUTS and falls, injuries, and fractures in community-dwelling older men. Medline, Embase, and Cinahl were searched for any type of observational study that has been published in a peer-reviewed journal in English language. Studies were excluded if they did not report male-specific data or targeted specific patient populations. Results were summarized qualitatively.

Results: Three prospective cohort studies and six cross-sectional studies were identified. Incontinence, urgency, nocturia, and frequency were consistently shown to have weak to moderate association with falls (the point estimates of odds ratio and relative risk ranged from 1.31 to 1.67) in studies with low risk of bias for confounding. Only frequency was shown to be associated with fractures.

Conclusions: Urinary incontinence and lower urinary tract storage symptoms are associated with falls in community-dwelling older men. The circumstances of falls in men with LUTS need to be investigated to generate hypotheses about what types of interventions may be effective in reducing falls.     

An examination of ecological predictors of health literacy in black college students

Objective: Health literacy is a determinant of health, but disparities in health literacy persist. This study examined the influence of ecological factors on college students’ health literacy. Participants: During January 2016 a nonrandom sample of black undergraduate students (n = 298) aged 18–24 were recruited from enrollment lists at two urban universities in the Southeastern United States. Methods: Information on health literacy as well as numerous intrapersonal, social, and cultural-environment factors was obtained using an electronic questionnaire and then statistically modeled. Results: Ecological factors accounted for 28.7% of the variance in health literacy. In particular, reappraisal (B = 0.323, p < .001), suppression (B = ?0.289, p < .001), campus health education (B = 0.192, p < .05), campus tobacco culture (B = ?0.174, p < .05), and perceived norms (B = ?0.153, p < .05) directly predicted health literacy. Conclusions: Although intrapersonal factors influence health literacy, the sociocultural environment of college can also foster or hinder college students’ health literacy.     

The Third Shift: Gender and Care Work Outside the Home

Caregiving remains women's work far more than men's. Although women and men often attribute this difference to nature, this paper argues for the importance of structure, especially in employment. At least to some extent, women's employment—especially in jobs similar to men's—reduces the care work they do for kin, if not for friends. Examining the different amount and meanings that women and men—like Euro-Americans and African Americans—ascribe to care work, I suggest we view such care work as a survival strategy as well as a demanding labor of love. In this context, recent social policies should be seen as not only privatizing care but also producing growing inequality as well as a vacuum of care.     

The effects of correctional education on juvenile delinquents and the factors for their overall changes: Focusing on academic performance and family‐type environment

This study aimed to explore the effects of correctional education on juvenile delinquents at a children's self‐reliance support facility in Japan, which provides delinquents with familial environments and multidimensional, comprehensive education. The purpose of this study was to compare the youth's academic performance and resilience from the time of admission to discharge and to identify which interventions improved participants' academic performance and resilience. We examined juvenile database records and “juvenile diaries” of 283 male youth. Participants were categorized into either an Improvement Group (IG) or a No‐Improvement Group (No‐IG) based on their outcome at discharge. The results showed that their academic performance and resilient characteristics were significantly higher at discharge than at admission. Employing single logistic regression, we found that the length of stay, academic performance, and the number of visits by family and social workers were characteristics associated with membership in the IG. These findings can guide future clinical practices and measures implemented for juvenile delinquents.     

Bringing men in from the margins: Father‐inclusive practices for the delivery of parenting interventions

Although there is a growing body of international work on barriers to engaging fathers in child and family services, there is limited research on factors that promote father engagement. In this article, we draw on case study data from the Australian Baby Makes 3 (BM3) programme to explore factors that promote father engagement in parenting support programmes. Our analysis shows single‐gender group work supported father engagement. BM3's father group work provided a safe space in the parenting support context where men could form intimate connections with other fathers and talk openly about their parenting experiences without fear of criticism from partners. These findings suggest that men often feel silenced and marginalized in the parenting sphere.