Ethnische Bildungsungleichheit zu Schulbeginn

The present paper aims to explain ethnic educational inequality upon starting school, it considers as an example the children’s school readiness, and focuses on preschool attendance as a main determinant. The start of the children’s school career is mainly presumed to be influenced by the skills acquired in their preschool years. On the basis of the data of the school entrance examination of the City of Osnabrück for the years 2000 to 2005, ethnic differences at the end of their preschool time can be detected. These differences still persist when controlling for family background. However, when the duration of preschool attendance is taken into account, the ethnic effect on school readiness decreases, disappearing completely when additionally controlling for the children’s cognitive and linguistic skills. Further analyses show that preschool attendance affects school readiness both directly and indirectly (via cognitive and linguistic skills). The results emphasize the relevance of preschool attendance within the framework of preschool education.     

The historical functional linear model

The authors develop a functional linear model in which the values at time t of a sample of curves yi (t) are explained in a feed‐forward sense by the values of covariate curves xi(s) observed at times s ±.t. They give special attention to the case s ± [t — δ, t], where the lag parameter δ is estimated from the data. They use the finite element method to estimate the bivariate parameter regression function β(s, t), which is defined on the triangular domain s ± t. They apply their model to the problem of predicting the acceleration of the lower lip during speech on the basis of electromyographical recordings from a muscle depressing the lip. They also provide simulation results to guide the calibration of the fitting process.     

Africa's Rising Demand for Wheat: Trends,Drivers, and Policy Implications

This article analyses trends in wheat consumption and imports in sub‐Saharan Africa since 1980, and estimates the economic and demographic determinants of this rising demand for wheat. Results point to rising incomes, growing populations, and increasing women's labour‐force participation as key drivers. Urban wheat‐expenditure shares generally exceed rural ones and SSA's demand is met largely by imports and partly through domestic production on large‐scale farms. Rising demand may therefore entail few farm–non‐farm synergies and minimal prospects to spur broad‐based economic development. The article concludes by discussing policy options for African countries to meet their staple food needs while also promoting pro‐poor agricultural growth.     

The Rise and Stall of Canada's Gender‐Equity Revolution

The growing symmetry in gender roles is a revolutionary change as consequential as technological advances and globalization. We illustrate how the social world in Canada has changed for women and men over the course of the last century, both in terms of greater gender equity and of policies supporting equity. However, some of the significant changes that occurred in the last 100 years have recently stalled, while the overall progress has been uneven for certain subgroups. We suggest reasons for both the stalling and the unevenness and make policy recommendations for reigniting the march to enhanced equality between the sexes. La symétrie croissante des rôles liés aux identités sexuelles constitue un changement révolutionnaire, dont les conséquences sont aussi puissantes que celles dues aux avancées technologiques et à la globalisation. Nous démontrons comment la sphère sociale canadienne a changé pour la femme et pour l'homme durant le dernier siècle, tant au niveau de l’égalité des sexes qu'au niveau des politiques qui soutiennent cette égalité. Toutefois, certains des changements importants qui ont eu lieu durant le dernier siècle ont connu une récente stagnation, et certains changements n'ont pas été appliqués avec le même effort dans tous les groupes sociaux. Nous proposons des explications pour cette stagnation et pour ces inégalités, tout en suggérant des améliorations politiques qui viseront à relancer la progression vers une égalité complète entre hommes et femmes.     

Understanding the Challenges to Providing Disabilities Services and Rehabilitation in Rural Alaska: Where Do We Go From Here?

American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) suffer from some of the highest rates of health and mental health-related disabilities. Despite high rates of disabilities experienced among this population, services available to treat the disabilities are extremely limited, especially within the rural Alaska context. Additionally, limited research exists regarding the perceived barriers to receiving disability services, the importance of treating disabilities within one's own community, and individual and community-level strengths that exist to help cope with the lack of services. This article attempts to bring awareness to these issues, as well as propose tangible solutions to help mitigate the barriers.     

HIV testing in pregnancy: Using women's voices to inform policy

BackgroundIn Canadian provinces with opt-out policies for maternal HIV screening, pregnant women are told HIV screening is routine and are provided with the opportunity to refuse. In Newfoundland and Labrador an opt-out screening policy has been in place since 1997.PurposeThis research study aimed to (1) obtain an increased understanding of the information women receive about HIV/AIDS during the opt-out screening process and (2) to advance the policy related dialogue around best practices in HIV screening within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.MethodsTwelve women who were between 14 and 35 weeks gestation participated. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and a thematic analysis was carried out.FindingsThe major themes are that women have difficulty obtaining clear information about maternal HIV screening, are often not told they have the right to refuse maternal screening, and experience paternalism from physicians.ConclusionWe recommend that physicians and other health care providers in be reminded that that current opt-out testing requires women's consent and that women must be given the option to refuse the test.     

A spatial model for the needle losses of pine-trees in the forests of Baden-Württemberg: an application of Bayesian structured additive regression

Summary.  The data that are analysed are from a monitoring survey which was carried out in 1994 in the forests of Baden-Württemberg, a federal state in the south-western region of Germany. The survey is part of a large monitoring scheme that has been carried out since the 1980s at different spatial and temporal resolutions to observe the increase in forest damage. One indicator for tree vitality is tree defoliation, which is mainly caused by intrinsic factors, age and stand conditions, but also by biotic (e.g. insects) and abiotic stresses (e.g. industrial emissions). In the survey, needle loss of pine-trees and many potential covariates are recorded at about 580 grid points of a 4 km × 4 km grid. The aim is to identify a set of predictors for needle loss and to investigate the relationships between the needle loss and the predictors. The response variable needle loss is recorded as a percentage in 5% steps estimated by eye using binoculars and categorized into healthy trees (10% or less), intermediate trees (10–25%) and damaged trees (25% or more). We use a Bayesian cumulative threshold model with non-linear functions of continuous variables and a random effect for spatial heterogeneity. For both the non-linear functions and the spatial random effect we use Bayesian versions of P -splines as priors. Our method is novel in that it deals with several non-standard data requirements: the ordinal response variable (the categorized version of needle loss), non-linear effects of covariates, spatial heterogeneity and prediction with missing covariates. The model is a special case of models with a geoadditive or more generally structured additive predictor. Inference can be based on Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques or mixed model technology.     

Sticks and Stones: The Effects of Teasing on Psychosocial Functioning in an Overweight Treatment-seeking Sample

This self-report and observational study explores the relationship between perceptions of different kinds of teasing experiences and psychosocial functioning in an overweight treatment-seeking adolescent population. Participants were 96 adolescents enrolled in a residential weight-loss camp program. Prior to the start of treatment, participants' weight status was measured by trained program staff, and participants' perceptions of teasing experiences and psychosocial functioning were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Controlling for body mass index, more frequent and upsetting weight-related teasing experiences were associated with worse psychological functioning. Adolescents most distressed by weight-related teasing exhibited lower self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms regardless of reported frequency of weight-related teasing. Competence-related teasing was also associated with more worries about weight, greater depressive symptoms, and more negative anti-fat attitudes. Weight-related teasing, but not competence-related teasing, was associated with lower levels of program and social involvement for heavier adolescents.