Moving statistics beyond the individual clinical trial: applying decision science to optimize a clinical development plan

This paper describes how simple decision science techniques can be used to optimize the clinical development plan for a given compound. Using a case study from the stroke therapeutic area it is shown how methods such as decision trees can be utilized to describe, and adjudicate on, individual development plans. Terminology pertinent to decision sciences is described and areas where it is recommended statisticians should focus are highlighted. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An evaluation of bootstrap methods for outlier detection in least squares regression

Outlier detection is a critical part of data analysis, and the use of Studentized residuals from regression models fit using least squares is a very common approach to identifying discordant observations in linear regression problems. In this paper we propose a bootstrap approach to constructing critical points for use in outlier detection in the context of least-squares Studentized residuals, and find that this approach allows naturally for mild departures in model assumptions such as non-Normal error distributions. We illustrate our methodology through both a real data example and simulated data.     

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY CARE? SOCIAL POLICY AND THE EMERGENCE OF COMPUTER MEDIATED SOCIAL SUPPORT

This article argues that the emergence and growth of internet use in Britain has important implications for the analysis of social policy. It attempts to outline a research agenda for social policy in relation to one particular aspect of internet use, that of on-line self-help and social support - what we term here virtual-community care . The article presents data on patterns of home based internet use in Britain and outlines some contemporary debates in social policy about the importance of self-help and social support. It also considers how the internet is being used for self-help and social support with a particular emphasis on the emerging situation in Britain. Three illustrations of on-line self-help and social support are presented: two from newsgroups, which are part of the 'uk.people.* hierarchy': one concerned with disability and one with parenting issues; and one web based forum concerned with issues surrounding mortgage repossession. Drawing upon this illustrative material the article discusses some emergent issues for contemporary social policy discourse: the rise of self-help groups; the privileging of lay knowledge and experience over the 'expert' knowledge of health and welfare professionals; the nature of professional-client relationships; the quality and legitimacy of advice, information and support; dis/empowerment; and social exclusion.     

Fair division of indivisible items between two people with identical preferences: Envy-freeness, Pareto-optimality, and equity

This paper focuses on the fair division of a set of indivisible items between two people when both have the same linear preference order on the items but may have different preferences over subsets of items. Surprisingly, divisions that are envy-free, Pareto-optimal, and ensure that the less well-off person does as well as possible (i.e., are equitable) can often be achieved. Preferences between subsets are assumed to satisfy axioms of qualitative probability without implying the existence of additive utilities, which is treated as a special case. Algorithms that render fair division practicable are proposed, and their vulnerability to strategic manipulation is investigated. Received: 18 May 1998/Accepted: 2 March 1999     

In search of a European model of strategic management

Focusing on middle managers from France and Germany, Michael Lubatkin and Steven Floyd's central question in this article is — does there exist a common European approach to management that facilitates knowledge transfer and other collaborative work efforts?The authors find that there are differences, along at least three dimensions, in perceptions that French and German managers hold about strategic management - traceable to historic predispositions. At the same time, there are similarities as well. The co-existence of differences and similarities in perceptions about strategic management may hinder the actual achievement of benefits from cross-national collaborations.     

Explaining Public Support for the Environmental Movement: A Civic Voluntarism Model*

Objective. The literature on environmentalism includes many more studies of environmental concern than of the public's practical support for the environmental movement. This article develops several categories of predictors of such support from the civic voluntarism model of Verba and associates. Methods. These predictors are tested with data from the 2000 General Social Survey, which included a special module of items on environmental attitudes and activities. Results. Findings generally suggest the utility of the civic voluntarism model for explaining public support for the environmental movement. Additional analysis attempts to untangle reasons for gender and racial differences in the level of this support. Conclusion. This study elucidates several predictors of practical support by the U.S. public for the environmental movement that merit further attention. Such research should pay attention to the proper operationalization of the kind of movement participation studied here.     

Migration and other Modes of Transnationalism: Towards Conceptual Cross‐Fertilization

Sociological notions such as social network, social capital and embeddedness have proven valuable when adopted into a wide variety of social scientific fields. This has certainly been the case in the sociology of migration. Similarly, certain concepts drawn from studies on different modes of transnationalism ‐ for instance, research and theory concerning the global activities of social movements and business networks ‐ might serve as useful tools for understanding transnational social forms and practices among migrant groups.     

The Effects of a Delay of Noncontingent Reinforcement during a Pairing Procedure in the Development of Stimulus Control of Automatically Reinforced Vocalizations

Children with autism and related disabilities frequently fail to develop echoic repertoires. Among the ways in which treatment approaches vary is the extent to which automatic reinforcement is utilized. The present experiment was designed to test the efficacy of a procedure that incorporates automatic reinforcement and socially mediated reinforcement in the development of an echoic repertoire. The implementation of this treatment package resulted in an increase in the vocal play and echoic behavior for two participants, each of whom had very limited verbal repertoires. The study was conducted as a multiple probe across sounds design. Vocal play for Participant 1 increased from baseline rates as low as .2 per min to 4.5 per min during treatment, and her percent correct echoic behavior increased from 0% to at least 90% on both sounds. Participant 2 showed rapid gains in echoic control on one sound before requiring dismissal from the study. Interobserver agreement on the occurrence of target vocals equaled 100%. The results of this study have implications for which procedures to use in the establishment of echoic, echoic mand, and mand repertoires.