Multistate life‐tables and regression models

A survey is given of the use of modern statistical techniques in event history analysis, and in particular in the study of multi‐state life‐tables in demography. Emphasis is placed on the interplay between partial likelihood and nonparametric maximum likelihood based methods, a) when analysing semi‐Markov models or models with repeated spells, and b) in frailty models for inobservable heterogeneity.     

Electile Dysfunction

This essay combines Burke's burlesque frame and Jamieson's double binds to create a hybrid gendered theory for rhetorically analyzing the aggressive sexualization of 2008 United States vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The essay develops our theory titled the “burlesque binds” and explicates a specific form of a burlesque bind: the “MILF frame.” Palin's aggressively sexualized representation was united under the crass acronym MILF, which stands for “Mom I'd Like to Fuck.” The MILF frame emphasized Palin's feminine qualities, positioning her as a “trophy vice” with no political acumen, and highlighted her masculine behaviors, but deflated them through sexual objectification. The unification of the binds and burlesque theories reveals how Palin's role as a social actor was not simply circumscribed but shut down: she was deemed unfit by both masculine and feminine standards, by both public and private sphere conventions. Although Sarah Palin has arguably been the most prevalent subject of the political MILF frame, our essay catalogues other instances of female political leaders experiencing this type of symbolic degradation, suggesting the MILF frame's vast influence.     

Anatomy of a Municipal Triumph: New York City's Upsurge in Life Expectancy

Over the period 1990–2010, the increase in life expectancy for males in New York City was 6.0 years greater than for males in the United States. The female relative gain was 3.9 years. Male relative gains were larger because of extremely rapid reductions in mortality from HIV/AIDS and homicide, declines that reflect effective municipal policies and programs. Declines in drug‐ and alcohol‐related deaths also played a significant role in New York City's advance, but every major cause of death contributed to its relative improvement. By 2010, New York City had a life expectancy that was 1.9 years greater than that of the US. This difference is attributable to the high representation of immigrants in New York's population. Immigrants to New York City, and to the United States, have life expectancies that are among the highest in the world. The fact that 38 percent of New York's population consists of immigrants, compared to only 14 percent in the United States, accounts for New York's exceptional standing in life expectancy in 2010. In fact, US‐born New Yorkers have a life expectancy below that of the United States itself.     

Religion in the Lives of Older Women Serving Life in Prison

This exploratory qualitative study examined the roles of religiousness in the lives of 21 older women (mean age = 63) serving life sentences in one southern state. Based on survey and focus group methodology, several themes emerged as important focal points, including early religious experiences prior to incarceration, imprisonment and religious doubt, participation in formal and informal religious activities, and use of religion in coping with stressors such as interpersonal relationships, trauma, and health statuses. Irrespective of their religious upbringing, all participants agreed that religiosity/spirituality played a key role in their ability to cope with their prison experience as well as for maintaining hope and the opportunity for release.     

Economic statistical design of the T2 control chart under the Weibull shock model with multiple assignable causes

A proper monitoring of stochastic systems is the control charts of statistical process control and drift in characteristics of output may be due to one or several assignable causes. Although much research has been done on the design of control charts, the economic statistical design of the T2 control chart under the Weibull shock model with multiple assignable causes has not yet been addressed. Therefore, we tried to deal with it in this paper and thus we developed a cost model based on the variable sampling interval. We also give an example to support the practical use of T2 chart under the Weibull shock model with multiple assignable causes. Based on the optimization of the average cost per unit of time and taking into account the different combination values of Weibull distribution parameters, optimal values of design parameters were derived and calculated. Then, the cost models under the influence of single assignable cause and multiple assignable causes under the same cost and time parameters were compared. Also, a sensitivity analysis was conducted in which the variability of loss cost and design parameters due to change of cost and time and Weibull distribution parameters were evaluated.     

A robust automatic clustering algorithm for probability density functions with application to categorizing color images

This study develops a robust automatic algorithm for clustering probability density functions based on the previous research. Unlike other existing methods that often pre-determine the number of clusters, this method can self-organize data groups based on the original data structure. The proposed clustering method is also robust in regards to noise. Three examples of synthetic data and a real-world COREL dataset are utilized to illustrate the accurateness and effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Some new constructions of circular balanced repeated measurements designs

Repeated measurements designs are widely used in medicine, pharmacology, animal sciences, and psychology. In this article, some infinite series are developed to generate the balanced repeated measurements designs for p (periods) even. For p odd, construction procedures are also described. Catalogues of the proposed designs are also presented for p = 5, 7, 9, when v ≤ 100.