Optimal designs under a multivariate linear model with additional nuisance parameters

The purpose of this paper is to characterize optimal designs under a multivariate linear model with additional nuisance parameters. We give relationships between optimality of designs in univariate models and in their multivariate extensions with known and partially known dispersion matrices.     

Gossip as strategy: The management of talk about others on reality TV show 'Big Brother'

In this paper we examine the nature of gossip talk as an activity type in the context of the TV game show 'Big Brother'. Using a detailed analytic approach to the situated nature of gossip sequences, we show how participants in the show manage gossip talk strategically to establish social relationships within the house, as well as to present themselves in a positive way to the viewing (and voting) audience. We argue that there is a contextual double framing for talk in the Big Brother (BB) house which participants are orienting to, both as members of a social group, and as players in a TV game show. The paper thus contributes to existing work on the social function of gossip, as well as exploring its strategic function in this particular interactional context, calling into question the nature of 'natural' discourse.     

Gastrostomy and children: a review of the literature in learning disabilities

Children with developmental delays often suffer feeding difficulties. It has become common for those with a severe likelihood of malnutrition to be considered for alternative methods of nutritional intake, often a gastrostomy. As part of a pilot study investigating the effects of gastrostomy on the child and their family, we conducted a literature review in order to establish the current areas of research, progress and concern. This paper describes the method and findings of the literature review and concludes with a discussion of the topics raised. The main conclusion is that although the need for gastrostomy in this group of children has been shown to be effective in maintaining adequate weight gain and nutritional intake, the support given to the family prior to, and after the operation is inadequate. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on detailed family assessment as part of the early intervention package. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of human-related disturbance on breeding success of urban and non-urban blue tits (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyanistes caeruleus</Emphasis>)

There is a need to study the effects of urbanization on wildlife in order to understand the ecological implications of increasing urbanization and find out how to reduce its threats to biodiversity. The blue tit evolved as a forest species and prefers deciduous and mixed forests, whereas its nesting in urban habitats is a more recent phenomenon. Our long-term study of blue tit populations has been conducted in two habitats: an urban parkland (frequently visited by people) and a deciduous forest outside of the city. Using linear mixed modeling, we revealed that a relationship of blue tit breeding success (and the number of fledglings) with thermal conditions in May differed between the urban parkland and the forest. While the relationship was positive in the forest, it was negative in the parkland. In addition, breeding success in the parkland increased with increasing number of rainy days in May. We argue that the main possible reason for such patterns is human activity in the parkland, which interferes with tit parental care, especially the regular feeding of nestlings, whereas it is evidently associated with weather conditions. Human disturbance in the forest is likely to be negligible.     

Infusing Financial Capability and Asset Building Content Into a Community Organizing Class

As social work’s fight for social and economic justice returns to its historical attention to finances, faculty are called to infuse financial capability and asset building (FCAB) content into their classes. Given few published models, this study contributes a redesign that infuses FCAB in a community organization course, with additional attention to Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning experiences. Results of a pre- and posttest survey suggest an overall pattern of students’ increased interest in further learning about FCAB, understanding its importance to social work, confidence about helping clients with FCAB, likelihood of offering to help a client to manage her or his household finances, and changes to students’ own financial practices.     

Body Weight,Eating Patterns,and Physical Activity: The Role of Education

In this article, we empirically study the role of education attainment on individual body mass index (BMI), eating patterns, and physical activity. We allow for endogeneity of schooling choices for females and males in a mean and quantile instrumental variables framework. We find that completion of lower secondary education has a significant positive impact on reduction of individual BMI, containment of calorie consumption, and promotion of physical activity. Interestingly, these effects are heterogeneous across genders and distributions. In particular, for BMI and calorie expenditure, the effect of education is significant for females and is more pronounced for women with high body mass and low physical activity. On the other hand, the effect of education on eating patterns is significant mainly for males, being more beneficial for men with elevated calorie consumption. We also show that education attainment is likely to foster productive and allocative efficiency of individuals in the context of BMI formation. Given that the literature suggests that education fosters development of cognition, self-control, and a variety of skills and abilities, in our context it is thus likely to promote lifetime preferences and means of individuals, which in turn enable them to achieve better health outcomes. Education also provides exposure to physical education and to school subjects enhancing individual deliberative skills, which are important factors shaping calorie expenditure and intake. Finally, we show that in the presence of strong socioeconomic inequalities in BMI, education is likely to have a pronounced impact on healthy BMI for the disadvantaged groups, represented in our framework by females.     

Cross-border partnership – the impact of institutions on creating the borderland communities (the case of Spree-Neisse-Bober Euroregion)

The aim of the paper is to present the cooperation nets generated as a result of the operation of an organization of a cross-border scope and impact, and such is the Spree-Neisse-Bober Euroregion, and to evaluate and assess their role in creating the bonds among the inhabitants. The main research area is the role that the SNBE plays in creating social connections. The authoresses will pay close attention to: the characteristics of Polish-German relations in the borderland; existing social networks within the frames of created partnerships, and the role of the Euroregion as an institution fostering the development of transborder community. The analysis presented here is the result of the research project “Trust beyond Borders. Sprewa-Nysa-Bóbr Euroregion in Perspective of Integrating Processes in Polish-German Borderland”. Conducted in 2013, it used content analysis, survey (800 respondents) and unstructured interviews (70 experts from Poland and Germany) methods.     

The 1990s Shift in the Media Portrayal of Working Mothers

A cultural theme of distressed working mothers depicts working mothers as caught between the demands of work and family in an unforgiving institutional context. Susan Faludi first identified this theme as a conservative backlash against feminists' attempts “to have it all.” But a similar narrative helps support demands for more flexible work–family policies and more significant housework contributions from fathers. We explore the actual trends and prevalence of this distressed working mothers theme by coding 859 newspaper articles sampled from the 1981–2009 New York Times. Articles discussing problems for working mothers increased in the mid‐1990s and have continued increasing into the twenty‐first century. Other themes about problems and benefits for working mothers show quite different trends. There is also an unexpected mid‐1990s shift in attention from problems working mothers are having at home to problems at work. The increase in the distressed working mother theme coincides with the mid‐1990s stall in the gender revolution. The simultaneity of the cultural, economic, political, and attitude trends suggests that the rise of the distressed working mother theme and the stall in the gender revolution may have mutually reinforced each other over the last two decades.     

Regional indicators in social planning

Social planning requires the application of indicators as instruments for the measuring of phenomena and processes, for monitoring, and for evaluation. The spatial polarization of socio-economic growth together with individual regional features lead to the emergence of considerable differentiations and disparities. Many of them are perceived in social consciousness as ineqities which require equalization, e.g. living conditions in the sphere of satisfaction of elementary social needs. In order to be effective, social planning must take account of, among other things, the hierarchy of centres and institutions for satisfying social needs, which most frequently amounts to 3 ranks of service (local, regional, national). Each region possesses its own central area (centre) and peripheral area (periphery). The differences between them amount to the emergence of changing socio-economic structures together with a changing dynamic in development and rate of economic growth. The gradation of social needs comprised in social planning corresponds to the hierarchy of service centres. Regional indicators serve the analysis of inter-regional disparities as related to the external “model system”, and are most frequently national means, as well as of intraregional disparities as related to the internal “model system”, which are represented by means of separate regions. The selection of an appropriate set of regional indicators requires a lot of attention. The paper points up the danger of the application of inappropriate regional indicators, which cause distortions in the spatial picture of differentiations.