Protective factors and risk factors of being a victim of couple violence in women and men / Factores de riesgo y protección de ser víctima de violencia en la pareja en mujeres y hombres

The aim of this study is to determine the risk factors and protective factors of being a victim of couple violence, considering cultural conventions, coping, social support, external attribution and violence in childhood. A non-probabilistic sample of 223 women and 177 men was used. The risk factors in the sample as a whole were being male, the coping strategy of accommodation, violence in childhood and external attribution, while the protective factors were partner support and an active coping style. The study concludes with suggestions for interventions and research.     

Semiparametric Bayesian classification with longitudinal markers

Summary.  We analyse data from a study involving 173 pregnant women. The data are observed values of the β human chorionic gonadotropin hormone measured during the first 80 days of gestational age, including from one up to six longitudinal responses for each woman. The main objective in this study is to predict normal versus abnormal pregnancy outcomes from data that are available at the early stages of pregnancy. We achieve the desired classification with a semiparametric hierarchical model. Specifically, we consider a Dirichlet process mixture prior for the distribution of the random effects in each group. The unknown random-effects distributions are allowed to vary across groups but are made dependent by using a design vector to select different features of a single underlying random probability measure. The resulting model is an extension of the dependent Dirichlet process model, with an additional probability model for group classification. The model is shown to perform better than an alternative model which is based on independent Dirichlet processes for the groups. Relevant posterior distributions are summarized by using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods.     

Effects of fear of negative social evaluation in interaction with potential partners: experimental study of first encounters / Efectos del temor a la evaluación social negativa en interacción con parejas potenciales: estudio experimental de los primeros encuentros

Abstract

This study used an experimental procedure to evaluate the effects of fear of negative social evaluation (FNSE) on courtship strategies and the ability to interact with the opposite sex. 108 university students participated in this study with a mean age of 19.6. Prior to the experimental procedure, FNSE levels were measured. Then two photographs of people of the opposite sex were shown, one more attractive than the other, and the participants were informed that they would meet one of them. Levels of anxiety and self-presentation motivation (SPM) were measured before the planned interaction. Results show that people with low levels of FNSE have positive expectations of reciprocity when they are about to meet a person that they find attractive. Women, but not men, with high levels of FNSE report higher SPM with less attractive people than with more attractive people. High levels of FNSE are associated with a loss of calm in the situation of meeting a person of the opposite sex. Implications of these results are discussed in the context of courtship strategies.     

Global boundary work tactics: managing work and family transitions in a 24–7 global context

ABSTRACT

This study addresses how today’s global managers navigate their work and family transitions through employing various boundary work tactics in a global context. Interviews with 25 global travelers or international business travelers in dual-career families uncovered how they handle global workflows and protect family time when working domestically or abroad. Patterns emerged across a typology of temporal, communicative, behavioral and physical boundary work tactics. A key contribution is that workplace flexibility in addition to technology allows global managers to maintain connectivity beyond spatial or temporal boundaries. Moreover, technology was perceived as an integral tool by global managers, with few cases of tensions reported from a blurring of boundaries. The research contributes to the nascent literature on work-life balance among global managers. It also provides evidence of how mobile and telepresence technologies are being used in performing global work. Companies are encouraged to foster flexibility among their global managers around viewing time and using communication techniques and technology to manage role transitions. Results suggest that global work approached in this manner can be sustainable as well as beneficial to the individual, his/her family, and the organization.     

Estimation of covariance functions by a fully data-driven model selection procedure and its application to Kriging spatial interpolation of real rainfall data

In this paper, we propose a data-driven model selection approach for the nonparametric estimation of covariance functions under very general moments assumptions on the stochastic process. Observing i.i.d replications of the process at fixed observation points, we select the best estimator among a set of candidates using a penalized least squares estimation procedure with a fully data-driven penalty function, extending the work in Bigot et al. (Electron J Stat 4:822–855, 2010). We then provide a practical application of this estimate for a Kriging interpolation procedure to forecast rainfall data.     

Estimation in nonlinear mixed-effects models using heavy-tailed distributions

Nonlinear mixed-effects models are very useful to analyze repeated measures data and are used in a variety of applications. Normal distributions for random effects and residual errors are usually assumed, but such assumptions make inferences vulnerable to the presence of outliers. In this work, we introduce an extension of a normal nonlinear mixed-effects model considering a subclass of elliptical contoured distributions for both random effects and residual errors. This elliptical subclass, the scale mixtures of normal (SMN) distributions, includes heavy-tailed multivariate distributions, such as Student-t, the contaminated normal and slash, among others, and represents an interesting alternative to outliers accommodation maintaining the elegance and simplicity of the maximum likelihood theory. We propose an exact estimation procedure to obtain the maximum likelihood estimates of the fixed-effects and variance components, using a stochastic approximation of the EM algorithm. We compare the performance of the normal and the SMN models with two real data sets.     

Epidemiology of provoked abortion in Santiago,Chile

An exploratory study was conducted to examine the level of success of heterosexual and homosexual couples in their “permanent” pairing relationships. Subjects completed seven self‐report measures of various aspects of their relationships. All couples showed high levels of success; however, homosexual couples had significantly lower levels compared to married couples. Homosexual females had significantly lower scores on self‐esteem and generalized contentment, suggesting that being lesbian and a woman may be a twofold problem. Some evidence of cross gender sex‐role endorsement occurred in all three groups but not in homosexual subjects exclusively as is the societal expectation.     

University-Community Partnerships Promoting Anti-Oppressive Action on Behalf of Latino/a Youth

ABSTRACT

This article emphasizes the effect university-community (UC) partnerships can have on addressing the oppression and discrimination of disenfranchised groups. It will present a process-outcome level, Freirian-inspired and Latino culture-focused UC partnership that seeks to promote anti-oppression strategies that benefit Latino/a youth. The model presented is based on the work of Connecticut United for Latino/a Children (CUPNL), a UC partnership created to advocate and promote changes on behalf of Latino/a youth. The value and usefulness of CUPNL is discussed through the example of its most longstanding initiative, the Escúchenos conference. Partnerships like CUPNL can serve as a mechanism for social workers to engage in and promote anti-oppression action.