Key Determinants to using Telehealth Technology to Serve Medically Ill and Depressed Homebound Older Adults

Despite the increasing evidence for the effectiveness of telehealth technology in screening and treating chronic diseases, and comorbid depression among older adults, they have been slowly adopted by home health care (HHC) agencies. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors that determine telehealth technology adoption. Twenty directors from the National Association for Homecare & Hospice member agencies completed a 45-min telephone interview. Questions were asked regarding their perceptions of telehealth, the key determinants of telehealth adoption and use, and recommendations they would give on telehealth adoption. The majority of the participants perceived telehealth as effective for managing symptoms and reducing cost. Meanwhile, some participants had a mixed feeling toward telehealth for depression care as they did not recognize their agency as equipped with the necessary resources and trained staff. Moreover, significant determinants of telehealth adoption included the agency-related characteristics, the patient-home environment, reimbursement and cost-related factors, and staff telehealth perception. Findings imply that there is a need for financial support both at the state and the federal levels to encourage telehealth adoption among HHC agencies. Future studies should consider exploring strategies used by successful programs to overcome barriers.     

The Impact of Learning and Labor Attrition on Worker Flexibility in Dual Resource Constrained Job Shops

This study investigates the impact of worker learning, worker flexibility, and labor attrition on the system performance of a dual resource constrained (DRC) job-shop. The effects of learning and labor attrition have not been previously addressed in DRC literature. Results from the study, consistent with previous literature, show that the greatest benefits are achieved when inter-departmental worker flexibility is incrementally introduced into the system. In addition, the learning environment, which depends on the initial processing time of jobs and the learning rates of workers, is shown to impact the acquisition of flexibility. The study also shows that the impact of labor attrition on system performance under certain shop conditions may be significant.     

On the power of goodness-of-fit tests for the exponential distribution under progressive Type-II censoring

The aim of this article is to review existing goodness-of-fit tests for the exponential distribution under progressive Type-II censoring and to provide some new ideas and adjustments. In particular, we consider two-parameter exponentially distributed random variables and adapt the proposed test procedures to our scenario if necessary. Then, we compare their power by an extensive simulation study. Furthermore, we propose five new test procedures that provide reasonable alternatives to those already known.     

Semiparametric sieve maximum likelihood estimation under cure model with partly interval censored and left truncated data for application to spontaneous abortion

Lifetime Data Analysis - This work was motivated by observational studies in pregnancy with spontaneous abortion (SAB) as outcome. Clearly some women experience the SAB event but the rest do not....     

Disparities in Healthcare Utilization Among Adults with Obesity in the United States,Findings from the NHIS: 2006–2015

Population Research and Policy Review - Few studies of disparities consider logistical hurdles faced by adults with obesity in obtaining needed healthcare. This study compared adults with obesity...     

Sex differences in the development of mild cognitive impairment and probable Alzheimer’s disease as predicted by hippocampal volume or white matter hyperintensities

This study examined biological sex differences in the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD) development as predicted by changes in the hippocampus or white matter hyperintensities. A secondary data analysis of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set was conducted. We selected samples of participants with normal cognition at baseline who progressed to MCI (n = 483) and those who progressed to probable AD (n = 211) to determine if hippocampal volume or white matter hyperintensities (WMH) at baseline predicted progression to probable AD or MCI and whether the rate of progression differed between men and women. The survival analyses indicated that changes in hippocampal volumes affected the progression to probable AD (HR = 0.535, 95% CI [0.300–0.953]) only among women. White men had an increased rate of progression to AD (HR = 4.396, CI [1.012–19.08]; HR = 4.665, 95% CI [1.072–20.29]) compared to men in other race and ethnic groups. Among women, increases in hippocampal volume ratio led to decreased rates of progressing to MCI (HR = 0.386, 95% CI [0.166–0.901]). Increased WMH among men led to faster progression to MCI (HR = 1.048. 95% CI [1.011–1.086]). Women and men who were older at baseline were more likely to progress to MCI. In addition, results from longitudinal analyses showed that women with a higher CDR global score, older age at baseline, or more disinhibition symptoms experienced higher odds of MCI development. Changes in hippocampal volumes affect the progression to or odds of probable AD (and MCI) more so among women than men, while changes in WMH affected the progression to MCI only among men.     

Male dominance and sexism on YouTube: results of three content analyses

This study conceptually and empirically extends a study by Wotanis and McMillan in which the authors claimed that female video producers are underrepresented on YouTube and receive much more negative (including hostile and sexist) feedback than male YouTubers. Using quantitative content analysis, this study supported the claim of female underrepresentation. Among the top 100 most subscribed YouTube channels in nine different countries (N = 900 channels), with a statistically significant proportion of only 25%, female video producers were strongly underrepresented. Additionally, a second content analysis of N = 2,400 video comments directly replicated the original study’s main quantitative results. This analysis confirmed that the popular female US comedy YouTuber Jenna Mourey (“JennaMarbles”) received much more negative (including hostile and sexist) feedback than her male counterpart Ryan Higa (“nigahiga”). However, a third content analysis of N = 6,000 video comments from five other pairs of comparable comedy YouTubers did not reveal that women’s videos generally attract a larger number of negative video comments. Possibly, women attract more negative comments only if they display their sexuality (like Jenna Mourey) or address feminist topics, but not if they conform to gender role expectations. Future research directions and practical implications are discussed.     

A Generalized Estimating Equation in Longitudinal Data to Determine an Efficiency Indicator for Football Teams

Over the years football has attracted enormous interest from various fields of study, attracting attention both for its sporting and social aspects. Professional business operators consider football an important industry with enormous potential both in terms of its size and growth, and also because of indirect benefits due to the popularity gained by investors and management of football teams. The focus of the analysis has been on what characterizes most football clubs, and determines their particular economic and financial needs. The aim of this paper is to establish an efficiency measurement for football team financial resource allocation. In particular, we analysed the impact that the income statement, Net equity and Team value variables have on the points achieved by football teams playing in “Serie A” championship (Italian league). The method used in our study is a generalized estimating equation (GEE) for longitudinal count data. In addition we consider a coefficient of determination in the GEE approach based on Wald Statistics, and we propose a modified Mallow’s Cp for choosing the best model. Finally we propose an AFRSport index based on the differences between observed and theoretical points, in order to identify those teams that efficiently employ their financial resources.