Optimal Method for Realizing Two-Sided Inferences About a Linear Combination of Two Proportions

In order to reach the inference about a linear combination of two independent binomial proportions, various procedures exist (Wald's classic method, the exact, approximate, or maximized score methods, and the Newcombe-Zou method). This article defines and evaluates 25 different methods of inference, and selects the ones with the best behavior. In general terms, the optimal method is the classic Wald method applied to the data to which z ² _α/2/4 successes and z ² _α/2/4 failures are added (≈1 if α = 5%) if no sample proportion has a value of 0 or 1 (otherwise the added increase may be different).

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Communications in Statistics - Simulation and Computation to view the free supplemental file.     

Rural Disadvantage and Malaria in Less‐Developed Nations: A Cross‐National Investigation of a Neglected Disease

Although often forgotten among people in affluent nations, malaria represents a leading global health concern in poor, rural countries. Malaria is traditionally thought of as a rural disease, given the close proximity of rural households to mosquito disease vectors. However, more insight is needed to investigate the larger social, economic, and environmental conditions that perhaps interact with rurality to explain why some nations continue to have high levels of prevalence of this preventable and eradicable parasitic infection. We employ structural equation modeling to efficiently test for both direct and indirect effects of rurality. The results demonstrate that rurality works in important indirect ways; although rurality has indirect links to malaria through export agriculture, health spending, and sociohealth resources, careful decomposition of the indirect effects illustrates that the indirect effects through heath spending and sociohealth resources are most important. Overall, the findings suggest that rural vulnerabilities to malaria are not inherent and can be largely addressed by increasing public health provisions among rural populations.     

Pathway planning with unaccompanied young people leaving care: Biographical narratives of past,present, and future.

This article presents findings from a qualitative study with Unaccompanied Young People (UYP) who have sought asylum alone in the UK without a parent or guardian. The findings explore how UYP create biographical narratives of their past, present, and future as they prepare to leave care, suggesting that UYP who have settled immigration status create coherent biographical narratives that reconcile the past with a positive imagined future. Themes of return and reciprocity emerged in their narratives as they developed aspirations to reunite with their families and return support received in the past by succeeding in education and careers. Unaccompanied young people who did not have settled status struggled to create biographical narratives and could not imagine the future or the past. These findings have significant implications for pathway planning with UYP, suggesting the need to recognise the interconnected nature of the past, present, and future as well as the role of families and education in future plans. Pathway planning for UYP with uncertain immigration status can be complex as young people struggle to maintain a biographical narrative. Further research is necessary to support young people and professionals with these challenges.     

The Relationship Between Liberian CSOs and International Donor Funding: Boon or Bane?

The Liberian environment is characterized by enormous reliance on international aid, substantial amounts of which is channeled through civil society organizations (CSOs). These civil society organizations have played an important role in Liberia’s redevelopment since the end of the civil war in 2003, despite the fact that international aid to Liberia is increasingly characterized by unstable funding patterns and shifting donor priorities. This makes it vital to deepen our understanding of international aid funding to Liberian CSOs. This study uses mixed methodology to examine what impacts the ability of Liberian CSOs to attract aid funding, the nature of the donor–CSO relationship, and how this relationship impacts the capacity and behavior of CSOs. Results indicate CSO competence and efficiency are associated with ability to attract aid funding. Pressures and imbalance in the donor–CSO relationship contribute to high levels of environmental uncertainty for Liberian CSOs in the sample, leading to adaptive behaviors related to activities and funding streams.     

‘She has like 4000 followers!’: the celebrification of self within school social networks.

Online social interaction has become integral to contemporary social life, adding new dimensions to how young people learn, interact, and perceive themselves and one another. This paper presents theoretical insights from a year-long ethnographic study within a Scottish secondary school, where participant observation and qualitative interviews were used to explain pupils’ informal social relationships. Here, pupils aged 11–18 constructed and negotiated a hyper-surveillanced social space within which many became (or strived to become) visible and ‘known’ amongst others and where online presentations of self were highly important. This facilitated a celebrity-esque culture amongst the pupil population whereby pupils learnt from and emulated macro celebrity culture and often framed social interactions as entertainment. Central to these practices, was a continual desire to ‘make gains in distinction’ by demonstrating high social status amongst peers. The paper explores the resulting implications for teaching, learning and pupil wellbeing within contemporary educational environments.