Volunteers for NPOs in Welfare Services in Iceland: A Diminishing Resource?

The question of declining membership of non-profit organizations (NPOs) has been central in academic discussion and research has indicated changes in the way people volunteer. Less emphasis has been on the functions of volunteers as a resource for NPOs and how changes such as increased reliance on professionals in their operations can influence the volume and type of volunteering. This paper examines the value of volunteers as a resource for Icelandic NPOs in the field of welfare services. It is based on a study of the majority of active Icelandic NPOs in the welfare field, as well as an analysis of their respective websites. The findings show that volunteer contributions do not constitute a significant part of the activities of most Icelandic NPOs in welfare services. Apart from membership of boards, volunteers seem to be used primarily as a means of supplementing other resources, such as temporary fundraising efforts. However, the level of volunteering varies according to the size and operational type of organization.     

Different Factors for Different Causes: Analysis of the Spatial Aggregations of Fire Ignitions in Catalonia (Spain)

The present study analyzes the effects of different socioeconomic factors on the frequency of fire ignition occurrence, according to different original causes. The data include a set of documented ignition points in the region of Catalonia for the period 1995–2008. The analysis focused on the spatial aggregation patterns of the ignitions for each specific ignition cause. The point‐based data on ignitions were interpolated into municipality‐level information using kernel methods as the basis for defining five ignition density levels. Afterwards, the combination of socioeconomic factors influencing the ignition density levels of the municipalities was analyzed for each documented cause of ignition using a principal component analysis. The obtained results confirmed the idea that both the spatial aggregation patterns of fire ignitions and the factors defining their occurrence were specific for each of the causes of ignition. Intentional fires and those of unknown origin were found to have similar spatial aggregation patterns, and the presence of high ignition density areas was related to high population and high unemployment rates. Additionally, it was found that fires originated from forest work, agricultural activities, pasture burning, and lightning had a very specific behavior on their own, differing from the similarities found on the spatial aggregation of ignitions originated from smokers, electric lines, machinery, campfires, and those of intentional or unknown origin.     

Effects of urbanization on breeding birds in European towns: Impacts of species traits

Urbanization acts as a filter on bird species behavioral traits so that only few species can tolerate urban constraints. We analyzed how behavioral traits (nesting, feeding, and migratory habits) of breeding bird species affect their frequency of occurrence in the urban centers of 38 European towns. We used binary logistic regression analysis to predict the bird species traits belonging to each trait group. A total of 108 species (21% of the European breeding bird species) were found to breed in the European town centers. According to our broad-scale analyses the bird species most frequently breeding in town centers nest in buildings and/or buildings have diverse diets, in trees (40%) and are resident omnivores, or relied on seeds or fruits as their sources of food. However, almost all bird species also fed on arthropods (92%) during the breeding season. Only a few urban bird species bred on the ground. Four out of the studied 108 species were non-native and five species were predators. Our broad-scale results from Europe indicate that bird species with different behavioral traits can respond differently to urbanization. Bird species that nest in cavities/buildings have diverse diets, that benefit a resident way-of-life, may have an advantage in living and settling in European town centers. Our results from Europe may provide insights related to the development of bird assemblages in the urban core areas of the New World.     

Système de soins et mortalité régionale: une analyse causale

Nous examinons l'impact du système de soins sur les différences régionales de mortalité adulte en Espagne, en distinguant l'offre et la demande de soins. Nous avons utilisé un modèle d'analyse des covariances, ajusté aux données par le logiciel LISREL 7. La distinction faite entre l'offre et la demande de soins conduit à observer un impact spatial significatif de l'utilisation du système de soins sur la mortalité des adultes. Hormis le cas des accidents, le signe de la relation est toutefois opposé à celui prévu! Une meilleure spécification du modèle permettrait peut-être de modifier cette conclusion.We examine the impact of the health care system on regional adult mortality differences in Spain, distinguishing between the demand and supply of health care. We have used a covariance analysis model, fitted to the data using LISREL 7. The distinction made between supply and demand of medical care leads to a significant spatial impact of the use of the health care system on adult mortality. Except for accidents, however, the sign of the relation is opposite to what is expected! Better specification of the model could possibly reverse this conclusion.     

The Equivalence of Two Proportions Revisited

The classic conditional test for checking that the difference between two independent proportions is not null may not be appropriate in many circumstances. Dunnett & Gent (1977) showed that in clinical trials, in studies of drugs, etc, the aim is to prove the practical equality (equivalence) of both proportions. On other occasions the aim may be the opposite: i.e. to prove that the two proportions are substantially different (biologically significant). Both cases are usually solved by two one-sided tests (TOST test). In this article, this procedure is shown to be conservative and two true two-sided tests for each case are proposed.     

Les réseaux de PME en Argentine : une voie alternative ?

Do small businesses in Argentina really form “local networks of production” similar to those in Italy? Institutional, regional (public or private) networks of support for small businesses are identified along with the strategies of various parties and the sorts of agreements worked out between them. A survey of small business networks in four areas chosen for the variety of their output and for their positions in the market and in the chain of production shows that regional networks lack consolidation, except in the Mendoza area, where small businesses, big firms, universities and private as well as public institutions function in an “integrated” network. — Special issue: Latin America.     

Semiparametric Bayesian Techniques for Problems in Circular Data

In this paper, we consider the problems of prediction and tests of hypotheses for directional data in a semiparametric Bayesian set-up. Observations are assumed to be independently drawn from the von Mises distribution and uncertainty in the location parameter is modelled by a Dirichlet process. For the prediction problem, we present a method to obtain the predictive density of a future observation, and, for the testing problem, we present a method of computing the Bayes factor by obtaining the posterior probabilities of the hypotheses under consideration. The semiparametric model is seen to be flexible and robust against prior misspecifications. While analytical expressions are intractable, the methods are easily implemented using the Gibbs sampler. We illustrate the methods with data from two real-life examples.     

Living with Dementia: Lay Definitions of Alzheimer's Disease among African American Caregivers and Sufferers

While the medical world aggressively pursues scientific knowledge about Alzheimer's disease, sufferers and caregivers live with this ailment, not as patients, but as people going about their lives, needing and providing care. This article reports explanations of Alzheimer's from the perspectives of African American family caregivers and sufferers. Data were collected from thirty‐six families using participant observation and focus group interviews. Although caregivers sought and used medical expertise, their explanations of Alzheimer's were not only nonmedical, but not necessarily explanations of illness per se. Alzheimer's was presented instead as a way of being, predominantly characterized by views of the sufferer as childlike and by issues of continuity/discontinuity, though some saw Alzheimer's as part of a larger picture.     

Robustness issues under imprecise beliefs and preferences

Robust Bayesian analysis has been rapidly developing, specially in terms of sensitivity to the prior. We argue that these studies are insufficient in decision-making contexts. Consequently, we discuss what robustness issues should be of interest in those situations and provide answers in some important cases.     

Issues in psychotherapy with HIV-infected Latinos in New York city

This article will discuss issues important in psychotherapy with Latinos with HIV/AIDS in New York City. The various levels of oppressed group membership will be discussed as they relate to a therapeutic understanding of the mental health needs of Latinos. A case study will be used to demonstrate the clinical applications of the Model of Multiple Oppression.