The relationship between the community participation of disabled youth and socioeconomic factors: mixed-methods approach in rural Sri Lanka

Mixed methods were applied to examine the association of community participation by disabled youth with socioeconomic factors in rural Sri Lanka. There was a significant association between community participation and socioeconomic factors in the quantitative survey (n = 116): participants living in socioeconomically disadvantaged conditions had lower levels of community participation than those living without these disadvantages. Consistent with the findings of the survey, previous educational experiences, household economic conditions, and perceived resource information were common themes in the qualitative study (n = 26). The dynamics of these factors, including marginalisation of disabled youth within the household, were also observed.     

A note on estimating the common mean of k normal distributions and the stein problem

An unbiased estimator for the common mean of k normal distributions is suggested. A necessary and sufficient condition for the estimator Lo have a smaller variance than each sample mean is given. In the case of estimating the common mean vector of k p-variate (p ≤ 3) normal distributions a combined unbiased estimator may be used. We give a class of estimators which are better than the combined estimator when the loss is quadratic and the restriction of unbiasedness is removed.     

New types of shrinkage estimators of Poisson means under the normalized squared error loss

In estimating p( ? 2) independent Poisson means, Clevenson and Zidek (1975) have proposed a class of estimators that shrink the unbiased estimator to the origin and dominate the unbiased one under the normalized squared error loss. This class of estimators was subsequently enlarged in several directions. This article deals with the problem and proposes new classes of dominating estimators using prior information pertinently. Dominance is shown by partitioning the sample space into disjoint subsets and averaging the loss difference over each subset. Estimation of several Poisson mean vectors is also discussed. Further, simultaneous estimation of Poisson means under order restriction is treated and estimators which dominate the isotonic regression estimator are proposed for some types of order restrictions.     

Experiences of disabled people making the transition from vocational training to employment in Sri Lanka: an exploratory study

This study examines the experiences of disabled people in Sri Lanka as they make the transition out of vocational training programmes into employment. This study was carried out using purposive sampling method to select ‘good practice’ cases and semi-structured interviews with 12 disabled people. The study applied thematic analysis to the qualitative data using NVivo software. The disabled people were found to have distinctive employment experiences following vocational training such as gaining work satisfaction, earning and spending income, presenting workability, expanding social relationships, and facing challenges. This study also identified key factors related to the transition process, including skills acquired through training, job opportunities, participants’ strengths and empowerment, supportive environments, and suitable work. These findings have important implications for both policy and practice.     

Estimation of Ordered Means of Two Poisson Distributions

In this article, we discuss the estimation of linear functions of two Poisson means, on which an order restriction is given. We give a necessary and sufficient condition on the coefficients of the linear function for the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) which satisfies the order restriction to dominate the unbiased estimator under squared error loss. Furthermore, simultaneous estimation of two ordered Poisson means is considered and we suggest the Clevenson–Zidek type modification of MLE which dominates the MLE under normalized squared error loss. We also improve the estimator proposed by Clevenson and Zidek (1975 Clevenson , M. , Zidek , J. ( 1975 ). Simultaneous estimation of the means of independent Poisson laws . J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 70 : 698 – 705 . [CSA] [CROSSREF] [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) which ignores the order restriction.     

A variable selection method for detecting abnormality based on the T2 test

This paper proposes a variable selection method for detecting abnormal items based on the T² test when the observations on abnormal items are available. Based on the unbiased estimates of the powers for all subsets of variables, the variable selection method selects the subset of variables that maximizes the power estimate. Since more than one subsets of variables maximize the power estimate frequently, the averaged p-value of the rejected items is used as a second criterion. Although the performance of the method depends on the sample size for the abnormal items and the true power values for all subsets of variables, numerical experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Since normal and abnormal items are simulated using one-factor and two-factor models, basic properties of the power functions for the models are investigated.     

Accumulation of phyllodulcin in sweet-leaf plants ofHydrangea serrata and its neutrality in the defence against a specialist leafmining herbivore

Among wild plants ofHydrangea serrata (Hydrangeaceae) in Japan, there are sweet plants whose leave contain a kind of isocoumarin, phyllodulcin, which happens to be 350 times as sweet as sucrose to the human tongue. In a primary beech forest in Ashu, Kyoto, the spatial distribution of sweet plants and temporal and the spatial distribution of phyllodulcin within and among plants were investigated using a high performance liquid chromatograph. The distribution of sweet plants was confined within a valley and was parapatric with non-sweet plants. A plant's characteristic phyllodulcin accumulation did not change, even when transplanted into the different habitats. The phyllodulcin content of the sweet plants varied greatly among plants, and the population mean peaked in July when the plants flowered. Within a plant, phyllodulcin content was elevated by partial defoliation. We examined the possible effect of phyllodulcin on herbivory by a specialist leafmining herbivore,Antispila hydrangifoliella (Lepidoptera: Heliozelidae). We transplanted sweet and nonsweet plants reciprocally between their original habitats, excluded attacks by parasitoids, and compared performance of the leafminer. Leafminer colonization and larval survivorship on transplanted andin situ plants was not significantly different between sites. The fact that accumulation of phyllodulcin did not augment a defensive function, at least against herbivory by the leafminer, and the sporadic distribution of phyllodulcin-accumulating plants, suggest that the genotypes synthesizing phyllodulcin emerged independently at separate localities by mutation, and that the genotypes are almost adaptively neutral in defence against the specialist herbivore.     

A mathematical model of the food-consumer system I. A case without food replenishment

Summary A simple mathematical model was proposed to describe the dynamics of a food-consumer system. The model was based on the Logistic Theory and consisted of Eqs. (4), (5) and (6). The model was divided into the following three cases for further analyss; i) without food supply except at the initial time, ii) with continuous food supply at a constant rate, and iii) with food supply at varying rates. Only the first model was dealth with in this paper. The assumptions of the model 1 are that a definite amount of food is given only once at the initial time and only the feeding by animals is responsible for the decrease of food, and that the rate of decrease is proportional to the amount of animals. It is also assumed that the growth of animal population is represented by the logistic curve, and that the upper limit of the population is proportional to the amount of food at that time. For simplicity the parameters of basic differential equations are assumed to be constant throughout the time course. Analytical solutions of this non-linear model were given by Eqs. (8), (9), (10) and (11). The properties of time course of the food amount and consumer population were discussed from the mathematical and biological points of view. The method of the estimation of the three constants λ,b, andc from the experimental data was also suggested. Since we had no available data for animal populations, we applied the model, regarding reserve substance asx and new plant body asy, to the data of the initial growth of Azuki bean plant in the dark. This model is very simple, but it may be useful for analyzing the behavior of food-consumer system. And it may give some clue to the analysis of the more complex systems.     

Minimaxity of empirical bayes estimators of the means of independent normal variables with unequal variances

The problem of simultaneous estimation of normal means is considered when variances are unequal and the loss is sum of squared errors. Minimaxity or non-minimaxity of empirical Bayes estimators is investigated when the common prior distribution is given by normal one with mean 0. Minimaxity results for the case when the loss is a weighted sum of squared errors is also given. Monte Carlo simulation results are given to compare the risk behavior of the empirical Bayes estimator with those of other minimax ones.