Estimation of dependence between paired correlated failure times in the presence of covariate measurement error

Summary. In many biomedical studies, covariates are subject to measurement error. Although it is well known that the regression coefficients estimators can be substantially biased if the measurement error is not accommodated, there has been little study of the effect of covariate measurement error on the estimation of the dependence between bivariate failure times. We show that the dependence parameter estimator in the Clayton–Oakes model can be considerably biased if the measurement error in the covariate is not accommodated. In contrast with the typical bias towards the null for marginal regression coefficients, the dependence parameter can be biased in either direction. We introduce a bias reduction technique for the bivariate survival function in copula models while assuming an additive measurement error model and replicated measurement for the covariates, and we study the large and small sample properties of the dependence parameter estimator proposed.     

“Lost Childhood”—Lessons from the Holocaust: Implications for Adult Adjustment

This paper was written in memoriam to the one and a half million children murdered during the Holocaust; in celebration of the tiny percentage who survived; in honor of their rescuers, the Righteous Christians and in meeting our own responsibility as survivors to bear witness.     

Challenging machismo: promoting sexual and reproductive health with Nicaraguan men

This article presents the results of a participatory exploration of male attitudes towards sexual and reproductive health issues in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan culture views men in a machismo concept. The study examined the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of men in relation to the social construction of masculinity: sexuality, reproduction, and fatherhood. Employing 90 men from both rural and urban communities, attitudes towards sexuality, reproduction, abortion and fatherhood were discussed. Several insights were gathered from the research, which explains men's behavior. Thus, it was deemed imperative that in empowering women by promoting sexual and reproductive health among men would require challenging male hegemony and persuading men to participate in health promotion. However, the setting and application of a men's agenda for sexual health promotion should not result in the curtailment of services for women because funds are being reallocated to men, nor should it give men the opportunity to more subtle forms of domination and exploitation.     

Images of Mindfulness

This article addresses the question: How should mindfulness be understood? Three views are considered. The first is that mindfulness should be understood as a cognitive ability. According to this view, people differ in their capacity to think in a mindful way, much as people differ in memory or intelligence. The second view is of mindfulness as a personality trait. According to this view, mindfulness is a stable disposition, much as would be extraversion or neuroticism. The third view is of mindfulness as a cognitive style. According to this view, mindfulness represents a preferred way of thinking. Mindfulnesshas characteristics of all three but seems closest to being a cognitive style. Construct validation is needed in order to address this and related questions.     

Calibrated predictions for multivariate competing risks models

Prediction models for time-to-event data play a prominent role in assessing the individual risk of a disease, such as cancer. Accurate disease prediction models provide an efficient tool for identifying individuals at high risk, and provide the groundwork for estimating the population burden and cost of disease and for developing patient care guidelines. We focus on risk prediction of a disease in which family history is an important risk factor that reflects inherited genetic susceptibility, shared environment, and common behavior patterns. In this work family history is accommodated using frailty models, with the main novel feature being allowing for competing risks, such as other diseases or mortality. We show through a simulation study that naively treating competing risks as independent right censoring events results in non-calibrated predictions, with the expected number of events overestimated. Discrimination performance is not affected by ignoring competing risks. Our proposed prediction methodologies correctly account for competing events, are very well calibrated, and easy to implement.     

The Association of Knowledge with Concern About Global Warming: Trusted Information Sources Shape Public Thinking

During the last decade, a great deal of news media attention has focused on informing the American public about scientific findings on global warming (GW). Has learning this sort of information led the American public to become more concerned about GW? Using data from two surveys of nationally representative samples of American adults, this article shows that the relation between self‐reported knowledge and concern about GW is more complex than what previous research has suggested. Among people who trust scientists to provide reliable information about the environment and among Democrats and Independents, increased knowledge has been associated with increased concern. But among people who are skeptical about scientists and among Republicans more knowledge was generally not associated with greater concern. The association of knowledge with concern among Democrats and Independents who trust scientists was mediated by perceptions of consensus among scientists about GW's existence and by perceptions that humans are a principal cause of GW. Moreover, additional analyses of panel survey data produced findings consistent with the notion that more knowledge yields more concern among Democrats and Independents, but not among Republicans. Thus, when studying the relation of knowledge and concern, it is important to take into account the content of the information that different types of people acquire and choose to rely upon.     

Smartphones and young publics: A new challenge for public relations practice and relationship building

This study focuses on smartphones and their potential contribution to relationship building, between organizations and young publics. A survey among a representative sample of 550 young, Israelis, aged 21–31, and sixty personal in-depth interviews with undergraduate students were, conducted. The findings reveal that the smartphone satisfies both interaction-related and cognitive-related, needs, but organizations do not utilize the dialogic potential of the smartphone to engage and, to build relationships with young publics.     

Trauma and Stress Among Older Adults in the Criminal Justice System: A Review of the Literature with Implications for Social Work

The purpose of this article was to review the empirical literature that investigated trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system. Nineteen journal articles published between 1988 and 2010 were identified and extracted via research databases and included mixed age samples of adjudicated older and younger adults (n = 11) or older adult only samples (n = 8). Findings revealed past and current trauma and stress, consequences and/or correlates, and internal and external coping resources among aging offenders. The implications and future directions for gerontological social work, research, and policy with older adults in the criminal justice system are advanced.