Geospatial Indicators of Space and Place: A Review of Multilevel Studies of HIV Prevention and Care Outcomes Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM), particularly YMSM who are racial/ethnic minorities, are disproportionately affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the United States. These HIV disparities have been linked to demographic, social, and physical geospatial characteristics. The objective of this scoping review was to summarize the existing evidence from multilevel studies examining how geospatial characteristics are associated with HIV prevention and care outcomes among YMSM populations. Our literature search uncovered 126 peer-reviewed articles, of which 17 were eligible for inclusion based on our review criteria. Nine studies examined geospatial characteristics as predictors of HIV prevention outcomes. Nine of the 17 studies reported HIV care outcomes. From the synthesis regarding the current state of research around geospatial correlates of behavioral and biological HIV risk, we propose strategies to move the field forward in order to inform the design of future multilevel research and intervention studies for this population.     

A simple approach to analyzing clustered longitudinal data

When modeling correlated binary data in the presence of informative cluster sizes, generalized estimating equations with either resampling or inverse-weighting, are often used to correct for estimation bias. However, existing methods for the clustered longitudinal setting assume constant cluster sizes over time. We present a subject-weighted generalized estimating equations scheme that provides valid parameter estimation for the clustered longitudinal setting while allowing cluster sizes to change over time. We compare, via simulation, the performance of existing methods to our subject-weighted approach. The subject-weighted approach was the only method that showed negligible bias, with excellent coverage, for all model parameters.     

Doubly sparse regression incorporating graphical structure among predictors

Recent research has demonstrated that information learned from building a graphical model on the predictor set of a regularized linear regression model can be leveraged to improve prediction of a continuous outcome. In this article, we present a new model that encourages sparsity at both the level of the regression coefficients and the level of individual contributions in a decomposed representation. This model provides parameter estimates with a finite sample error bound and exhibits robustness to errors in the input graph structure. Through a simulation study and the analysis of two real data sets, we demonstrate that our model provides a predictive benefit when compared to previously proposed models. Furthermore, it is a highly flexible model that provides a unified framework for the fitting of many commonly used regularized regression models. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 47: 729–747; 2019 © 2019 Statistical Society of Canada     

Overcoming Ungrievability: Transgender Expectations for Identity after Death

Butler (Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. London, UK: Versa; 2004) observed cultural shifts immediately after 9/11 and suggested that, with regard to grievable and ungrievable lives, societal power structures “produce and maintain certain exclusionary conceptions of who is normatively human” (p. xiv–xv). The current study brings new understanding to the concept of grievability by exploring the symbolically violent de-transitioning of trans people after their deaths. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the thoughts and attitudes of older trans people (40 y. o. plus) with regard to the phenomenon of nonconsensual de-transitioning after death and the expectations they have regarding the expression of their own identity after death. The wishes of the participants were grouped into four outcome categories: hoping to be memorialized only as their lived identity (25%); only as their identity-assigned-at-birth (6%); as both identities combined (44%); and those who claimed that they did not care how their identity was memorialized (25%). Our findings serve to emphasize the importance of open and honest end-of-life communication as well as to underscore the diverse nature of the transgender population and the complexity of the transgender identity.     

An extended Gaussian max-stable process model for spatial extremes

The extremes of environmental processes are often of interest due to the damage that can be caused by extreme levels of the processes. These processes are often spatial in nature and modelling the extremes jointly at many locations can be important. In this paper, an extension of the Gaussian max-stable process is developed, enabling data from a number of locations to be modelled under a more flexible framework than in previous applications. The model is applied to annual maximum rainfall data from five sites in South-West England. For estimation we employ a pairwise likelihood within a Bayesian analysis, incorporating informative prior information.     

Similar Others in Same-Sex Couples’ Social Networks

Same-sex couples experience unique minority stressors. It is known that strong social networks facilitate access to psychosocial resources that help people reduce and manage stress. However, little is known about the social networks of same-sex couples, in particular their connections to other same-sex couples, which is important to understand given that the presence of similar others in social networks can ameliorate social stress for stigmatized populations. In this brief report, we present data from a diverse sample of 120 same-sex couples in Atlanta and San Francisco. The median number of other same-sex couples known was 12; couples where one partner was non-Hispanic White and the other a person of color knew relatively few other same-sex couples; and there was a high degree of homophily within the social networks of same-sex couples. These data establish a useful starting point for future investigations of couples’ social networks, especially couples whose relationships are stigmatized or marginalized in some way. Better understandings of the size, composition, and functions of same-sex couples’ social networks are critically needed.     

A Methodological Discourse On Gender, Independence, And Frailty: Applied Dimensions Of Identity Construction In Old Age

In this article, we discuss some of the methodological implications of gender, based on research conducted among seniors in the age group 67 to 100+, living independently (alone, or with minimal assistance) in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada's retirement capital. Our research evolved over time to concern the manner in which people being interviewed altered their presentation of self in discourses on independence and identity, depending on the interviewer's gender as well as their own. There are some significant implications that arise from our analysis for assessing the needs of individuals for home-making services and probably for service delivery, in general. This article discusses initial, qualitative interviews conducted with 39 people (19 men and 20 women) dealing specifically with the concept of independence. The chief methodological significance of these interviews derives from the strategy of doing two separate sets of interviews using the same protocols, but changing the gender of the interviewer/subject dyads from same-gender interviews to cross-gender interviews and assessing the differences between the two sets of conversations. Prior to the discussion, however, some of the most pressing issues surrounding the health care of elderly people in Canada, in general, and Victoria, in particular, will be addressed briefly as they relate to the rationale for conducting the research.     

The 150-hour rule as a barrier to entering public accountancy

In many states, CPA licensure now requires 150 credit hours of college coursework thereby adding an extra semester or year of schooling beyond typical undergraduate degree requirements. Thus, the “150-hour rule” should increase the cost of becoming a CPA and, consequently, reduce the supply of new CPAs. We test this hypothesis using panel data on the number of first-time candidates for the CPA exam in each state over the years 1985 to 2002. We find that the imposition of the 150-hour education requirement reduces the number of candidates sitting for the CPA exam by 60 percent and that the “grandfathering” provisions of the 150-hour rule produce a substantial transitory increase in the number of candidates sitting for the exam in the year prior to the rule’s effective date. Examination of candidates’ pass rates on the exam also finds behavior consistent with the hypothesis that the 150-hour rule is a barrier to entry. We thank Wilson Mixon and particular the 2002 Western Economics Association and 2002 Southern Economisc Association meetings for helpful comments. We also thank Ian Elkin, Steven Simms, and especially, Keri Anderson for extraordinarily diligent ressearch assistance.     

Debating Eco/Feminist Natures

This article discusses the experiences in municipal politics of indigenous women in Oaxaca, Mexico. The data base includes in-depth interviews with the eighteen women who have been elected mayor since 1995, when the Government of Oaxaca legally recognized indigenous self-government. By looking at the women as in/outsiders of their own culture, the article examines the ways in which they question various components of the indigenous autonomous project as well as the performance of western political institutions such as political parties and the educational system. Women's views go beyond the tradition/modernity dichotomy, where tradition is associated with backward, patriarchal institutions and modernity with progress and gender equality. Both tradition and modernity are redefined in order to identify the elements that may contribute to gender equality in the indigenous self-government project of Mexico.