Analysis of Three Factors Possibly Influencing the Outcome of a Science Review Process

We analyzed a process for the annual selection of a Federal agency's best peer-reviewed, scientific papers with the goal to develop a relatively simple method that would use publicly available data to assess the presence of factors, other than scientific excellence and merit, in an award-making process that is to recognize scientific excellence and merit. Our specific goals were (a) to determine if journal, disease category, or major paper topics affected the scientific-review outcome by (b) developing design and analytic approaches to detect potential bias in the scientific review process. While indeed journal, disease category, and major paper topics were unrelated to winning, our methodology was sensitive enough to detect differences between the ranks of journals for winners and non-winners.     

Reliability and Validity of the Personal Social Capital Scale 16 and Personal Social Capital Scale 8: Two Short Instruments for Survey Studies

Rapid developments in social capital and health research require short instruments for large-scale survey studies. The Personal Social Capital Scale (PSCS) is a theory-based and empirically tested instrument with reliability and validity established in the US and China, but it is too long for large-scale survey research. In this study, we described two short versions of the instrument: the PSCS-16 and PSCS-8. The two short scales were evaluated with survey data collected among an adult sample (N = 259) in China. The sample consisted of rural-to-urban migrants and non-migrant rural and urban residents. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were .90 for the PSCS-18 and .83 for the PSCS-8. Both short instruments satisfactorily fit a two-factor model comprising the bonding capital and bridging capital subscales. The two short scales were highly correlated with the original PSCS (r = .95 for the PSCS-18 and .93 for the PSCS-8 respectively, p < .001 for both); significantly distinguished the migrant subsample from the two non-migrant subsamples; and significantly predicted social capital investment and stress level. In conclusion, the two short instruments PSCS-16 and PSCS-8 were reliable and valid, and can be used in large-scale survey studies to assess personally owned social capital. Further research is needed to replicate their reliability and validity in different cultural settings and to establish the test–retest reliability.     

More Than Help? Volunteerism in US Latino Culture

Volunteerism makes critical contributions to individual lives and society as a whole. However, to date, few studies have investigated volunteerism within Latino communities, a large and growing US population. The aim of this study was to understand how non-metropolitan US Latinos perceive volunteerism, as well as to determine what motivates and what deters their participation in volunteer programs. Our research team conducted six focus groups with 36 Latina women living in the State of Illinois. The focus groups covered topics such as the definition of volunteerism, participation motives and barriers, personal volunteer experience, and Latino culture, community, and organizations. We also assessed demographic information. Results from this study indicate that Latinas have a unique understanding of the concept of volunteerism. Participants associated everyday “helping” with volunteerism, establishing commonplace forms of aid as perhaps a “Latino way of volunteering.” We found time-consuming activities such as family responsibilities and work to be deterrents to Latinas participating in more formal volunteer activities.     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

Five reports cover the 2009 Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians Conference, the COUNTER and Usage Data webinar, the 2009 Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge, the 2009 North American Serials Interest Group Conference, and selected sessions of the 2009 annual conference of the American Library Association in Chicago, Illinois.     

Rank-based test procedures for interaction in the two-way layout with one observation per cell

New aligned-rank test procedures for the composite null hypothesis of no interaction effects (without placing restrictions on the two main effects) against appropriate composite general alternatives are developed for the standard two-way layout with a single observation per cell. Relative power performances of the two new aligned-rank procedures and existing tests due to Tukey (1949) and to de Kroon & van der Laan (1981) are examined via Monte Carlo simulation. Extensive power studies conducted on the 5 × 6 and 5 × 9 two-way layouts with one observation per cell show superior performance of the new procedures for a variety of interaction effects. Simulated critical values for the new procedures are provided in settings where the number of levels for each of the factors is between 3 and 9, inclusive.     

The Effect of Changing Sexual, Marital and Contraceptive Behaviour on Conceptions, Abortions, and Births

A model is proposed to estimate the number of conceptions during a single year using scarce survey data, official data on births and abortions for the two years following the survey, and some parameters on contraception failure. The model is fitted for 1979, 1989, 1994 to Puglia, a Southern Italian region with a population of 4 millions. Simulations are also produced.The decrease in births is caused mainly by the decline in wanted births, whereas the decline in abortions is caused by diffusion of the pill, IUD, and condom. The rapid increase in the proportion of never-married women explains the slow decrease in unwanted births and conceptions, compared to the fast decline in wanted ones. This situation is different compared to other Western countries (e.g. France, UK, and USA) where the decline in TFR during the 1960s and 1970s was largely caused by the decline in unwanted fertility, thanks to improved modern contraception and sterilisation.     

The Relevance of Interactional and Institutional Contexts for the Study of Gender Differences: A Demonstrative Case Study

Previous studies of gender differences in language and interaction have made inadequate use of the context of the language behavior being studied. In this paper, I use a single-case method to demonstrate how a conversation analytic approach to the interactional and institutional context of a mediation hearing can be informative in the search for gender differences. In the mediation hearing studied, an apparent gender difference in the mediator's address of disputants is first identified and then shown to disappear when the interactional and institutional context of the utterances are taken into account.     

The Waterbirth Project: São Bernardo Hospital experience

Introduction

The following quantitative observational study aimed to analyse the maternal and neonatal outcomes of 90 low-risk pregnant women who gave birth in water at São Bernardo Hospital.

Using geographically weighted regression for environmental justice analysis: Cumulative cancer risks from air toxics in Florida

Previous quantitative research on environmental justice has been limited by simplistic assumptions used to measure health risks and traditional regression techniques that fail to discern spatial variations in statistical relationships. We address these gaps through a case study that examines: (a) whether potential health risks from exposure to hazardous air pollutants in Florida are related to race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and (b) how the significance of statistical associations between health risk and race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status vary across the state. This study integrates census tract level estimates of cumulative cancer risk compiled by the EPA with Census 2000 data and a spatial statistical technique known as geographically weighted regression that allows us to explore spatial variability in analytical results. Our findings indicate that while race and ethnicity are significantly related to cancer risks in Florida, conventional regression can hide important local variations in statistical relationships relevant to environmental justice analysis.