Regression models to dependence for exceedance

Extreme Value Theory (EVT) aims to study the tails of probability distributions in order to measure and quantify extreme events of maximum and minimum. In river flow data, an extreme level of a river may be related to the level of a neighboring river that flows into it. In this type of data, it is very common for flooding of a location to have been caused by a very large flow from an affluent river that is tens or hundreds of kilometers from this location. In this sense, an interesting approach is to consider a conditional model for the estimation of a multivariate model. Inspired by this idea, we propose a Bayesian model to describe the dependence of exceedance between rivers, where we considered a conditionally independent structure. In this model, the dependence between rivers is captured by modeling the excess marginally of one river as a consequence of linear functions of the other rivers. The results showed that there is a strong and positive connection between excesses in one river caused by the excesses of the other rivers.     

Total testosterone levels are correlated to metabolic syndrome components

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of interrelated risk factors of metabolic origin. Some studies suggest a possible link between low total testosterone (TT) levels and the presence of MetS.

Aim: To analyze the strength and independence of associations between TT and MetS components in non-diabetic men.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 143 non-diabetic men older than 40 were analyzed.

Main outcomes measure: Blood samples were collected to evaluate metabolic profile and TT levels. MetS was defined as the presence of three or more of the following characteristics: fasting blood glucose levels?≥?100?mg/dL, triglyceride?≥?150?mg/dL, HDL-c??102?cm.

Results: Mean age of the study population was 61.5?±?8.61 years old. MetS was present in 47.9% of the individuals. Thirty-four men had low TT and MetS was observed in 23 (70%) against 50 (46%) in those with normal TT (≥?300?ng/dL) (OR 4.94, p?p?=?0.03) and HDL-c (Beta: 0.19; p?=?0.04) remained significantly correlated with TT levels.

Conclusions: Low TT levels were associated with MetS diagnosis. Abdominal obesity was the MetS component independently correlated to low TT levels.     

Administrative rationality and coping strategies in shift work

Shift work (SW) can affect worker health and productivity. Working at night, workers often accumulate fatigue and are less productive. In Brazil, laws have been drafted aiming to reduce night work and rotating shift hours. In order to slash costs, companies have been looking for new arrangements to improve productivity under these conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine management changes and their outcomes in a large glass factory located in an industrial region of Brazil. The results show that the management, seeking equal productivity among shifts, focused its efforts mainly on distributing employee expertise. The arrangement resulted in 12 different groups that combine to serve three fixed shifts. A same shift can be served by more than one group, and the members of a same group share days off on different days. There was no statistically significant productivity difference among the three shifts. The on-site examination showed that part of the production was held by the workers and transferred to the next shift in order for them to be able to meet the management's performance rate requirements. The finding shows how a Brazilian cultural trait (resistance without conflict) is used to drive coping in SW.     

Planning responses to voluntary sector crises

Planning in voluntary organizations is examined as a response to external crises that jeopardize organizational survival. The voluntary sector in London was investigated in order to understand the extent, nature, and rationale of planning in response to an extreme change in the political and funding context of voluntary action during the mid 1980s. Planning and the ability to plan may be the benchmark of organizational survival in the future, as pressure to plan increases from many arenas and statutory penetration of voluntary organizations deepens. The dilemma this poses for voluntary organizations is discussed, and alternative planning approaches are proposed.     

The Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court: 3-year self-report outcome study

This study reports results from interviews with 157 research participants who were interviewed 3 years after randomization into treatment and control conditions in the evaluation of the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court. The interviews asked about crime, substance use, welfare, employment, education, mental and physical health, and family and social relationships. Program participants reported less crime and substance use than did controls. Few differences between groups were observed on other outcomes, although treatment cases were less likely than controls to be on the welfare rolls at the time of the interview. Effects differed substantially according to the originating court.     

Profiles identification on hierarchical tree structure data sets

In this work we study a way to explore and extract more information from data sets with a hierarchical tree structure. We propose that any statistical study on this type of data should be made by group, after clustering. In this sense, the most adequate approach is to use the Mahalanobis–Wasserstein distance as a measure of similarity between the cases, to carry out clustering or unsupervised classification. This methodology allows for the clustering of cases, as well as the identification of their profiles, based on the distribution of all the variables that characterises each subject associated with each case. An application to a set of teenagers' interviews regarding their habits of communication is described. The interviewees answered several questions about the kind of contacts they had on their phone, Facebook, email or messenger as well as the frequency of communication between them. The results indicate that the methodology is adequate to cluster this kind of data sets, since it allows us to identify and characterise different profiles from the data. We compare the results obtained with this methodology with the ones obtained using the entire database, and we conclude that they may lead to different findings.     

Teaching Family Policy Through a Policy Practice Framework

This article reports on the development of an innovative family policy practice course for direct practice students that emphasizes experiential learning to develop policy practice skills. The course uses a policy practice framework to understand the creation and implementation of major family legislation. A semester-long project provides students with opportunities to develop skills in advocacy, policy development, and planning by working for social change in the community. The article discusses examples of projects that have been implemented by students, discusses challenges to teaching experiential methods for skill building, and provides critical evaluation of the projects and their relevance for macro practice research.