Distractions N' Driving: video game simulation educates young drivers on the dangers of texting while driving

The proliferation of portable communication and entertainment devices has introduced new dangers to the driving environment, particularly for young and inexperienced drivers. Graduate students from George Mason University illustrate a powerful, practical, and cost-effective program that has been successful in educating these drivers on the dangers of texting while driving, which can easily be adapted and implemented in other communities.     

Testing for abrupt breaks in variance structures with smooth changes

Abstract

We investigate the problem of testing for variance breaks in the case where the variance structure is assumed to be smoothly time-varying under the null. Since the classical tests are aimed to detect any change in the variance, they are not able to distinguish between smooth non constant variance and abrupt breaks. In this paper a new procedure for detecting variance breaks taking into account for smooth changes in the variance under the null is proposed. The finite sample properties of the test we introduce are investigated by Monte Carlo experiments. The theoretical outputs are illustrated using U.S. macroeconomic data.     

Setting the clock back to zero property of a class of bivariate life distributions

In a previous paper. B. R. Rao and Talwalker (1993) considered absolutely continuous life distributions and extended the Lack of Memory Property (L.M.P.) of the exponential distribution and showed that several classes of life distributions have this property, which was called the 'setting the clock back to zero' property. ¶Its analog is discussed in the present paper for hivariate and multivariate classes of life distributions. As a simple application of this analog, it is proved that the Life expectancy and the Percentile Residual Life vectors of a population of individuals under the influence of multiple competing risks have simple expressions if the class of their joint life distributions has the setting the clock back to zero property,     

The Planning Stage in Statistical Reasoning

An important step in the statistical problem-solving process is the selection of the appropriate statistical procedure for the real-world situation under analysis. A decision-tree term project has been found to be an effective teaching device to help MBA students understand this step. The project requires the students to construct a decision-tree structure, which, through a series of questions and responses, will lead from the statement of a statistical question to the appropriate sampling distribution to use in addressing the question.     

Partial Correlation in Terms of Path Coefficients

The distribution of members of the American Statistical Association (ASA) by several demographic and professional measures is characterized. The analysis is based on a 1979 survey of ASA members who resided in the U.S. More detailed analysis focuses on how demographic and professional characteristics affect the distribution of income and the odds of participating in ASA activities. Several interesting observations are made. Years of experience since highest degree is the most important predictor of income. Highest degree and whether employed in academia are also important. There is a significant difference between the distribution of income for men and women; although the difference is insignificant at one year of experience, it increases with the experience level. Although the survey represented a 100% sample of blacks, Hispanics, and native Americans in the ASA, there is insufficient data to formulate a detailed model of income for this minority group; its average income, however, falls below the expected income of the majority population for higher experience levels. For both the odds of attending annual meetings and serving ASA as an officer or committee member, the most important discriminator is the highest degree of the member. Race is also a significant factor: blacks, Hispanics, and native Americans were least likely to attend annual meetings, and Asians and Pacific Islanders were least likely to hold office. Years of experience is important also for predicting the odds of having held office but not of having attended meetings.     

Assessing Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men: The Modern Homophobia Scale

The authors developed the Modern Homophobia Scale (MHS), a scale that includes measures of attitudes toward lesbians (MHS-L) and attitudes toward gay men (MHS-G). An initial pool of 97 items was generated by the authors based on a review of the literature on homophobia and feedback from several focus groups. Responses to the initial pool of items were factor analyzed. The final versions of the MHS-L and the MHS-G included items reflecting the following factors: Personal Discomfort with lesbians/gay men, Institutional Homophobia toward lesbians/gay men, and the Deviance/Changeability of female/male homosexuality. Although the Personal Discomfort, Institutional, and Deviance/Changeability factors were separable, they were highly correlated and showed little evidence of divergent validity. Reactions to gay, lesbian, and heterosexual characters in written vignettes provided initial support for the validity of the MHS. Both the MHS-L and MHS-G were significantly correlated with the Index of Homophobia and the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. A greater degree of homophobia on the MHS-L and MHS-G was associated with a greater degree of socially desirable responding as measured by the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Lower levels of homophobia on the MHS-L and MHS-G were associated with having lesbian and gay acquaintances and friends. On the MHS-L, men and women did not differ in their overall level of homophobia toward lesbians, but significant gender differences on MHS-L factor scores were present. Compared to men, women were more supportive of gay men on all three factors of the MHS-G.