The Role of Giving and Receiving Emotional Support on Depressive Symptomatology among Older Couples: An Application of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

The present study investigated whether perception of receiving emotional support mediates the relationship between one partner's giving of emotional support and the other partner's depressive symptomatology using a population-based sample of 423 couples from the Changing Lives of Older Couples study. A path model was used guided by the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. Results indicated that spouses' giving emotional support was related to the degree to which their spouse reported receiving emotional support. Perception of receiving emotional support, in turn, was related to lower depressive symptomatology of the support recipient. Both husbands and wives can benefit from emotional support through their perception of receiving emotional support, and spouses' perceptions, as well as their actions, should be considered in support transactions.     

Nonparametric estimation of the ROC curve based on smoothed empirical distribution functions

The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between false positive and true positive rates. It is a widely used statistical tool for describing the accuracy of a diagnostic test. In this paper we propose a new nonparametric ROC curve estimator based on the smoothed empirical distribution functions. We prove its strong consistency and perform a simulation study to compare it with some other popular nonparametric estimators of the ROC curve. We also apply the proposed method to a real data set.     

Book Reviews

This article examines some difficulties associated with the Haynes–Stone model and attempts to clarify how the model can be justified as representing the hypothesis that “quantity is demand determined and price is supply determined.” It also argues that the applications of such a model as was done by Haynes and Stone might not have resolved the controversies related to the Phillips curve and the supply function of exports (or imports).     

A version of the Kolmogrov–Feller weak law of large numbers for maximal weighted sums of random variables

Abstract

In this paper we establish Kolmogrov–Feller weak law of large numbers for maximal weighted sums of i.i.d. random variables.     

Proposition of a General Formula for Price Indices

In this article, we propose a general formula for aggregative price indices that satisfies most postulates coming from the axiomatic price index theory. We show that the ideal Fisher index, Laspeyres and Paasche formulas, and a lot of other indices are particular cases of the proposed formula. Moreover, using the general formula we can easily define new indices, that would satisfy given postulates. We also present an interesting result for the proposed formula.     

On the Asymmetric Marcinkiewicz-Zygmund Strong Law of Large Numbers for Linear Random Fields

In this article, the asymmetric Marcinkiewicz-Zygmund strong law of large numbers for linear random field under negative association is obtained. Our result generalizes a result in Gut and Studtmüller (2009 Gut , A. , Studtmüller , U. ( 2009 ) An asymmetric Marcinkiewicz-Zygmund LLN for random fields . Statist. Probab. Lett. 79 : 1016 – 1020 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). An asymmetric Marcinkiewicz-Zygmund LLN for random fields to the linear random field by using the Beverige-Nelson decomposition.     

First‐order bias correction for fractionally integrated time series

Most of the long memory estimators for stationary fractionally integrated time series models are known to experience non‐negligible bias in small and finite samples. Simple moment estimators are also vulnerable to such bias, but can easily be corrected. In this article, the authors propose bias reduction methods for a lag‐one sample autocorrelation‐based moment estimator. In order to reduce the bias of the moment estimator, the authors explicitly obtain the exact bias of lag‐one sample autocorrelation up to the order n⁻¹. An example where the exact first‐order bias can be noticeably more accurate than its asymptotic counterpart, even for large samples, is presented. The authors show via a simulation study that the proposed methods are promising and effective in reducing the bias of the moment estimator with minimal variance inflation. The proposed methods are applied to the northern hemisphere data. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 37: 476–493; 2009 © 2009 Statistical Society of Canada     

An Automatic Test for the Umbrella Alternatives

The paper proposes a new test for detecting the umbrella pattern under a general non‐parametric scheme. The alternative asserts that the umbrella ordering holds while the hypothesis is its complement. The main focus is put on controlling the power function of the test outside the alternative. As a result, the asymptotic error of the first kind of the constructed solution is smaller than or equal to the fixed significance level α on the whole set where the umbrella ordering does not hold. Also, under finite sample sizes, this error is controlled to a satisfactory extent. A simulation study shows, among other things, that the new test improves upon the solution widely recommended in the literature of the subject. A routine, written in R, is attached as the Supporting Information file.     

The Impact of Cultural Events on Community Reputation and Pride in Maribor,The European Capital of Culture 2012

Social Indicators Research - This paper examines the cultural and social impacts of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) on the case of the Slovenian city Maribor, the cultural capital of Europe...     

Development of urban behaviour is associated with time since urbanization in a reed-nesting waterbird

Behavioural adaptations are recognized as crucial determinants for successful establishment and persistence of animal populations in a novel urban environment. Here, we examined mechanisms responsible for the development of urban behavioural type in a common waterbird, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. We compared the behaviour of coots from a rural population and two urban populations that differed in the timing of colonization event (1960s vs. 2000s). We found that some behavioural characters associated with urban life (aggression during nest defence and boldness towards humans during foraging) were more strongly expressed in the older urban population when compared with the recently established urban population. By contrast, coots from the two urban populations showed a similar likelihood of exploiting human-derived food resources, as well as they showed similar levels of physiological stress. Urban coots were generally more aggressive, bolder, and less stressed than their rural conspecifics. Large behavioural and physiological divergence of coots from the recently established urban population and their rural conspecifics suggested that phenotypic plasticity and phenotype sorting may play a key role in the initial stages of urban colonization. On the other hand, increasing expression of boldness and aggression with the time since urbanization may suggest the role of microevolutionary adaptation in response to novel selective forces associated with the urban environment. Our results indicate that a combination of different processes (phenotypic plasticity, phenotype sorting, and microevolution) can determine successful colonization of urban areas by the Eurasian coots, and possibly other bird species.