Orthogonal series density estimation for complex surveys

We propose an orthogonal series density estimator for complex surveys, where samples are neither independent nor identically distributed. The proposed estimator is proved to be design-unbiased and asymptotically design-consistent. The asymptotic normality is proved under both design and combined spaces. Two data driven estimators are proposed based on the proposed oracle estimator. We show the efficiency of the proposed estimators in simulation studies. A real survey data example is provided for an illustration.     

Infants’ Biological Sensitivity to the Effects of Maternal Social Support: Evidence Among Mexican American Families

The identification of infants who are most susceptible to both negative and positive social environments is critical for understanding early behavioral development. This study longitudinally assessed the interactive effects of infant vagal tone (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and maternal social support on behavioral problems and competence among 322 low‐income Mexican American mother–infant dyads (infants: 54.1% female) and explored sex differences. Infant RSA was calculated from resting HR data at 6 weeks of age. Mothers reported on general social support, partner support, and family support at 6 months, and infant behavioral problems and competence at 1 year. Two‐way interactions (RSA × support source) were evaluated to predict behavioral problems and competence, adjusting for covariates. Results indicated higher competence among infants with lower RSA whose mothers reported higher general support or higher partner support. Interactive effects on behavior problems of RSA with maternal partner or family support were only found for female infants: Girls with higher RSA showed more behavior problems when mothers reported low support, but fewer problem levels in the context of high support. Our results suggest that infant RSA is an important moderator of the effects of the early social environment on early development.     

Transmission mechanisms of financial stress into economic activity in Turkey

Measuring, analyzing and understanding systemic risk in financial system have become very important in the light of the recent global crisis. In this study, we follow Holló, Kremer, and Lo Duca (2012) and evaluate systemic stress of financial system of Turkey with a high frequency (daily) financial stress index which consists of daily 13 financial market indicators. Dynamics of the financial stress index indicate that the index creates proper signals to the well-known financial stress events. The dynamic interaction between financial stress and real economic activity is investigated with application of structural VAR (SVAR) model. Results of the study suggest that deterioration of financial conditions impacts real economic activity significantly and adversely.     

Inducing Development: Social Remittances and the Expansion of Oil Palm

This paper investigates the relationship between social remittances and land‐use change in the context of South–South migration. Focusing on the cyclical movement of Filipino oil palm workers between the Philippine province of Palawan and the Malaysian State of Sabah, we show how migrants transmit social remittances, such as ideas of prosperity associated with oil palm development and knowledge of production practices and land impacts of oil palm plantations. These social remittances affect farmers’ decisions to engage in oil palm development within the migrants’ home province, possibly transforming subsistence agricultural systems into large‐scale, monocrop plantations. We argue that such land development outcomes are an understudied aspect of how migration affects developing countries, especially in the context of South–South migration. Research findings also suggest how migrants’ social remittances are transmitted, diffused, and utilized at broader social and political units, beyond return migrants’ households and immediate communities in Palawan. Decision outcomes, however, are variable, with households and communities either engaging in or opposing oil palm development, depending on how social remittances are interpreted.     

Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among staffs in specialized healthcare centre

This study was conducted to investigate pervasiveness of the musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) among staffs in a specialized healthcare centre. Sixty-eight staffs from three departments namely Cardiovascular Lab (CVL), Nuclear Radiology, and General Radiography were recruited in this study. A modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was distributed among study population. The result shows that the prevalence of MSD was highest in lower back (88.2%), neck (76.5%) and shoulder (60.3%) for the past 12 months followed by lower back and elbow (44.1%), and wrist (39.1%) correspondingly, for the past 7 days. Present results suggest that healthcare professionals - radiographers, patient assistants and nurses incurs MSD risks through work tasks as well as psychosocial factors. These include awkward posture during patient handling, workload, work stress and time pressure. Therefore, an ergonomics improvement on the job design and workspace are needed in order to reduce the MSD risks.     

Aging: physical difficulties and safety in cooking tasks

It is known that many older people have difficulties in performing daily living activities such as cooking. These are due to the demands of the tasks and the changes in functional capabilities of the older people. This study examines cooking tasks performed by the aged that includes preparing and cooking meals, and storing kitchen tools in the kitchen. The objectives are to investigate the cooking difficulties encounter by older people and the safety concerning cooking tasks. This study focuses on individuals of age 65 years and above who can cook for themselves and/or family. Data were collected through observation, interviews, questionnaires and role play methods. The findings revealed that the common problems were due to the awkward body position where subjects had to bend down to take things from lower shelves, taking/storing things on higher shelves and cleaning the cooker. Moreover, the safety concerns were the layout of work centres (storage, cooker and sink), the use of cooker and opening packaging. It can be concluded that cooking difficulties are caused by inappropriate kitchen design and the decline of functional capabilities in older people.     

Bayesian variable selection for proportional hazards models

The authors consider the problem of Bayesian variable selection for proportional hazards regression models with right censored data. They propose a semi-parametric approach in which a nonparametric prior is specified for the baseline hazard rate and a fully parametric prior is specified for the regression coefficients. For the baseline hazard, they use a discrete gamma process prior, and for the regression coefficients and the model space, they propose a semi-automatic parametric informative prior specification that focuses on the observables rather than the parameters. To implement the methodology, they propose a Markov chain Monte Carlo method to compute the posterior model probabilities. Examples using simulated and real data are given to demonstrate the methodology.     

Qualitativ-diskursanalytische Erforschung von Coaching-Gesprächen

“What is happening in coaching?”—this question is given two readings in the current article: Coaching is understood as consulting business and as consulting interaction. With respect to the first reading, i.e. the coaching market, the trans- and interdisciplinary research group LOCCS (The Linguistics of Coaching, Consulting and Supervision) is introduced, dedicated to qualitative-linguistic analysis of coaching and other consulting interactions. With respect to the second reading, i.e. the coaching interaction itself, the special contribution of such qualitative-linguistic analysis will be outlined. With the help of concrete examples, we will illustrate this method and its benefits.     

A Bayesian compartmental model for the evaluation of 1,3-butadiene metabolism

Summary. We propose a Bayesian model for physiologically based pharmacokinetics of 1,3-butadiene (BD). BD is classified as a suspected human carcinogen and exposure to it is common, especially through cigarette smoke as well as in urban settings. The main aim of the methodology and analysis that are presented here is to quantify variability in the rates of BD metabolism by human subjects. A three-compartmental model is described, together with informative prior distributions for the population parameters, all of which represent real physiological variables. The model is described in detail along with the meanings and interpretations of the associated parameters. A four-compartment model is also given for comparison. Markov chain Monte Carlo methods are described for fitting the model proposed. The model is fitted to toxicokinetic data obtained from 133 healthy subjects (males and females) from the four major racial groups in the USA, with ages ranging from 19 to 62 years. Subjects were exposed to 2 parts per million of BD for 20 min through a face mask by using a computer-controlled exposure and respiratory monitoring system. Stratification by ethnic group results in major changes in the physiological parameters. Sex and age were also tested but not found to have a significant effect.     

A new class of mixture models for differential gene expression in DNA microarray data

One of the fundamental issues in analyzing microarray data is to determine which genes are expressed and which ones are not for a given group of subjects. In datasets where many genes are expressed and many are not expressed (i.e., underexpressed), a bimodal distribution for the gene expression levels often results, where one mode of the distribution represents the expressed genes and the other mode represents the underexpressed genes. To model this bimodality, we propose a new class of mixture models that utilize a random threshold value for accommodating bimodality in the gene expression distribution. Theoretical properties of the proposed model are carefully examined. We use this new model to examine the problem of differential gene expression between two groups of subjects, develop prior distributions, and derive a new criterion for determining which genes are differentially expressed between the two groups. Prior elicitation is carried out using empirical Bayes methodology in order to estimate the threshold value as well as elicit the hyperparameters for the two component mixture model. The new gene selection criterion is demonstrated via several simulations to have excellent false positive rate and false negative rate properties. A gastric cancer dataset is used to motivate and illustrate the proposed methodology.