Guerrilla USA: The George Jackson Brigade and the Anticapitalist Underground of the 1970s

The purpose of this profile is to address the Spanish 15M movement from a gender perspective, focusing, on the one hand, on the role played by feminist demands within it and, on the other, on how feminism may have contributed to the 15M, its internal debate and its further developments unfolding in the current Spanish political context. In order to do that, we first explore how feminist demands were initially received in the camps and the reactions they raised among the media and citizenship. Second, we tackle how this case of overlap between a larger group and feminist groups is different from previous collaborations and confrontations. Finally, we focus on how the 15M movement has transformed (or not) as a result of feminism and the implications of this process towards rethinking the role of feminism within contemporary Spanish politics.     

Call my bluff

Poker used to be the card game of choice for hard men late at night in smoke-filled rooms. Now online poker is bidding for respectability and a site on the home computer. Phil Woodward gives us the straight dope.     

Reactions to Genetically Modified Food Crops and How Perception of Risks and Benefits Influences Consumers'' Information Gathering

Previous research has reported strong consumer perception that genetically modified (GM) food crops may lead to adverse outcomes in a number of different areas. This is despite the widespread promulgation of the potential benefits and opportunities ascribed to the same technology by many scientists and other experts. A computer-based information gathering and evaluation task was completed by 198 adults to assess the extent to which their initial focus on the dangers or opportunities of genetic modification, or both, could be ascribed to the manner in which they gathered information on the topic (heuristically vs. systematically). Results did not confirm the hypothesis that initial focus (risks, benefits, or both) predicted ongoing information gathering and evaluation behavior. Moreover, also contrary to prediction, most participants primarily used systematic strategies when deriving their initial position, regardless of that opinion. Participants found it difficult to achieve a balanced perspective on GM food crop, even though balanced argument, as measured by order of story selection and time spent reading, was preferred as the source of information. Perceived importance is probably the most influential variable determining information gathering about issues or events to which a level of risk is attached.     

Top tip: ways of dealing with analytical constraints in pharmaceutical technology

In this paper several methods are presented for managing analytical constraints in support of formulation optimization and drug delivery studies. These methods rely on the sequential analytical analysis of pharmaceutical technology studies. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Training for No Secrets : A strategic initiative

Current Department of Health guidance on multi-agency policy and procedure to protect vulnerable adults from abuse requires the design and implementation of comprehensive training programmes. This paper identifies three issues of critical significance to the development of a local training strategy, namely, language ('vulnerability' versus 'rights'), the relative significance of 'awareness', and the scheduling of training in relation to overall policy development. These issues are illustrated by a local training course which, in addition to imparting basic information on the new agenda and locating the latter within the wider context of adult welfare services generally, actively facilitated practitioners' contributions to multi-agency policy development. The outcomes of this initiative are reported in terms of the Department of Health's radical vision of 'mainstreaming' staff involvement.     

A comparison of regularization methods applied to the linear discriminant function with high-dimensional microarray data

Classification of gene expression microarray data is important in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer, but often the analysis of microarray data presents difficult challenges because the gene expression dimension is typically much larger than the sample size. Consequently, classification methods for microarray data often rely on regularization techniques to stabilize the classifier for improved classification performance. In particular, numerous regularization techniques, such as covariance-matrix regularization, are available, which, in practice, lead to a difficult choice of regularization methods. In this paper, we compare the classification performance of five covariance-matrix regularization methods applied to the linear discriminant function using two simulated high-dimensional data sets and five well-known, high-dimensional microarray data sets. In our simulation study, we found the minimum distance empirical Bayes method reported in Srivastava and Kubokawa [Comparison of discrimination methods for high dimensional data, J. Japan Statist. Soc. 37(1) (2007), pp. 123–134], and the new linear discriminant analysis reported in Thomaz, Kitani, and Gillies [A Maximum Uncertainty LDA-based approach for Limited Sample Size problems – with application to Face Recognition, J. Braz. Comput. Soc. 12(1) (2006), pp. 1–12], to perform consistently well and often outperform three other prominent regularization methods. Finally, we conclude with some recommendations for practitioners.     

Circular functional relationships

This paper develops techniques for fitting a circular functional relationship. The model is formulated assuming the centre of the circle is known and taken to be the origin. This incurs some loss of generality, but considerably simplifies the analysis. Methods of estimating the parameters of the relationship, assuming that the co-ordinates have uncorrelated errors with equal variance, are developed and compared by way of simulations. Consistent estimators are obtained from unbiased estimating equations and by maximising the marginal likelihood. Approximate estimators are obtained by approximating the estimating equations and by maximising a modified profile likelihood function. The ideas and methodology are then applied to the relationship with the more realistic assumption of an unknown centre, with an example highlighting the differences between estimation techniques.     

Improving bank operations: A case study at BancOhio/Ohio National Bank

The paper describes the procedures employed at Ohio National Bank to improve operations of the check handling and clearing system. It illustrates the approaches utilized to (1) schedule messenger vehicles, (2) determine worker shift schedules, (3) forecast daily work loads and (4) develop work priorities. These four tasks improved productivity and reduced float at the bank. Also discussed is the data required to utilize the formal planning procedures illustrated. The paper indicates the financial impact of this work and future efforts in a dynamic banking environment.     

Visualising interaction effects

In drug discovery, statisticians often work with biologists and chemists to uncover relationships between the various chemical properties and the biological effects of compounds. The aim is to "design" drugs that have exactly the desired pharmaceutical effects. Phil Woodward and Mark Whitlock of Pfizer Global R&D show how a graph can uncover deeply hidden relationships and guide chemists in their efforts to find the next blockbuster drug.