Web based resource for Statistical Consultants in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The intention of this article is to highlight sources of web-based reference material and software that will aid consulting statisticians when designing clinical trials. The article includes websites that provide links to explanation of statistical concepts for non-statisticians, regulatory guidelines, and free statistical study design software.     

Theory of mind,gender, gains in friendships versus peer acceptance and anxious solitude from middle childhood through early adolescence

This investigation proposes that theory of mind (ToM) may be related more strongly to change in friendships than peer acceptance in late middle childhood through early adolescence, and examines the relation between ToM and anxious solitude. Fourth grade ToM was tested as a predictor of change in reciprocated friendships, peer acceptance, and anxious solitude from 4th to 7th grade, and, conversely, reciprocated friendships, peer acceptance, and anxious solitude in 3^rd grade were tested as predictors of 4th grade ToM. Gender moderation of these relations was evaluated. Participants were 688 American public-school children (51.5% girls), 193 of whom completed a ToM questionnaire in 4th grade. In 3rd–7th grade children and their peers reported reciprocated friendship, and peers reported peer acceptance and anxious solitude annually. A multi-group (gender split) autoregressive cross-lagged panel analysis modeled relations between ToM and reciprocated friendship, peer acceptance, and anxious solitude over time. Consistent with hypotheses, girls’ more advanced 4th grade ToM predicted incremental gains in their number of friendships two years later, but not their peer acceptance. In contrast, boys’ more advanced 4th grade ToM did not predict change in their number of friendships or peer acceptance over time. Gender differences in the relation between ToM and friendship are discussed in the context of gender-specific peer relations patterns in late middle childhood and early adolescence. Additionally, more advanced 4th grade ToM predicted gains in anxious solitude in middle school for both genders. This somewhat surprising result is discussed in relation to ToM assessment and peer relations in anxious solitary children.     

中国外语院校非英语专业本科英语学习者对慕课学习认同感的实证研究——任务教学法视角

慕课教育对传统教学方式既是机遇也是挑战,越来越多的学习者通过慕课方式在网络等多元交互平台将英语学习延展的更加随时性,碎片化。本研究基于任务教学法理论,以问卷调查方式对中国外语院校非英语专业本科英语学习者通过慕课网络学习的满意度进行调查,探索其在学习意识、学习行为上对慕课英语课程学习的认同感和满意度,以及各个维度之间的差异,对英语类慕课课程的设置和开放提供借鉴。     

文话:古代文学批评的重要学术资源

文话是中国古代文学批评的重要著作体裁,除具有说部性质、随笔式的狭义“文话”外,还有理论性专著、资料汇编式、选本评点式等不同著作类型。这四种著作类型都在宋代开始集中出现,标志着我国古代文章学的成立,在明清两代更显繁荣。其在文道、文气、文境、文体、文术、品评等方面,均蕴含真知灼见和艺术经验。对其价值的评判,经过对“五四”的反思,当能更趋全面和科学。     

Blinded sample size recalculation for clinical trials with normal data and baseline adjusted analysis

Baseline adjusted analyses are commonly encountered in practice, and regulatory guidelines endorse this practice. Sample size calculations for this kind of analyses require knowledge of the magnitude of nuisance parameters that are usually not given when the results of clinical trials are reported in the literature. It is therefore quite natural to start with a preliminary calculated sample size based on the sparse information available in the planning phase and to re‐estimate the value of the nuisance parameters (and with it the sample size) when a portion of the planned number of patients have completed the study. We investigate the characteristics of this internal pilot study design when an analysis of covariance with normally distributed outcome and one random covariate is applied. For this purpose we first assess the accuracy of four approximate sample size formulae within the fixed sample size design. Then the performance of the recalculation procedure with respect to its actual Type I error rate and power characteristics is examined. The results of simulation studies show that this approach has favorable properties with respect to the Type I error rate and power. Together with its simplicity, these features should make it attractive for practical application. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Responding to the call: a conceptual model for kinship care assessment

Kinship care has become an important care option worldwide. However, in many jurisdictions, child welfare services use traditional foster care assessment systems. The assessment of the kinship home poses particular challenges. The initial assessment of the kinship home, enabling emergency placements, provides a child‐centred perspective. However, agencies frequently fail to meet the designated time frame for completion of the assessment/approval process. Such failures require the development of different conceptual models for kinship care service delivery, especially for assessments. This paper builds on earlier work on assessment models, drawing on the international literature and the author's involvement and research on kinship care in Ireland. The usability of the proposed model needs to be evaluated across different legislative, policy and practice contexts internationally.     

Nonparametric Comparison for Multivariate Panel Count Data

Multivariate panel count data often occur when there exist several related recurrent events or response variables defined by occurrences of related events. For univariate panel count data, several nonparametric treatment comparison procedures have been developed. However, it does not seem to exist a nonparametric procedure for multivariate cases. Based on differences between estimated mean functions, this article proposes a class of nonparametric test procedures for multivariate panel count data. The asymptotic distribution of the new test statistics is established and a simulation study is conducted. Moreover, the new procedures are applied to a skin cancer problem that motivated this study.     

An Approach to Determine Sample Size and to Allocate Sample Size for a Specific Region in a Multiregional Trial for Survival (Time-to-Event) Data under Accelerated Failure Time Model

For the time-to-event outcome, current methods for sample determination are based on the proportional hazard model. However, if the proportionality assumption fails to capture the relationship between the hazard time and covariates, the proportional hazard model is not suitable to analyze survival data. The accelerated failure time (AFT) model is an alternative method to deal with survival data. In this paper, we address the issue that the relationship between the hazard time and the treatment effect is satisfied with the AFT model to design a multiregional trial. The log-rank test is employed to deal with the heterogeneous effect size among regions. The test statistic for the overall treatment effect is used to determine the total sample size for a multiregional trial, and the proposed criteria are used to rationalize partition sample size to each region.     

IT外包中企业绩效的影响因素实证研究

在已有文献的基础上,识别了关系治理的三个维度：良好冲突处理、相互依赖和关系规范,并从关系治理角度出发,构建了IT外包企业绩效影响因素的概念模型。通过对北京、上海和西安三地20多家外包企业进行问卷调查,利用结构方程模型进行实证分析。实证结果表明：信任、承诺和知识共享对企业绩效有显著的正向影响,其中信任和承诺对企业绩效的影响既有直接的影响又有间接的影响,知识共享对企业绩效有直接的影响;信任、承诺和知识共享具有很强的中介作用,良好冲突处理和相互依赖以信任、承诺和知识共享为中间变量间接影响企业绩效,关系规范以承诺和知识共享为中间变量间接影响企业绩效。     

运用案例教学法培养优秀公关人才

新时期要求高等教育培养出来的学生既要掌握扎实的理论知识,又要有实践操作技能。公共关系案例教学是集理论教学与能力培养于一体的科学有效的教学方法,在理论学习的基础上,通过对案例的讨论、分析,激发学生对“公共关系”这门课的学习兴趣,从而提高学生发现问题、分析问题的能力,沟通、协调能力和创新、决策能力。为将来从事营销公关工作做好充分准备。