Small area estimation strategies for large population surveys: a comparison of design and model-based methods

Small area estimation (SAE) concerns with how to reliably estimate population quantities of interest when some areas or domains have very limited samples. This is an important issue in large population surveys, because the geographical areas or groups with only small samples or even no samples are often of interest to researchers and policy-makers. For example, large population health surveys, such as Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System and Ohio Mecaid Assessment Survey (OMAS), are regularly conducted for monitoring insurance coverage and healthcare utilization. Classic approaches usually provide accurate estimators at the state level or large geographical region level, but they fail to provide reliable estimators for many rural counties where the samples are sparse. Moreover, a systematic evaluation of the performances of the SAE methods in real-world setting is lacking in the literature. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian hierarchical model with constraints on the parameter space and show that it provides superior estimators for county-level adult uninsured rates in Ohio based on the 2012 OMAS data. Furthermore, we perform extensive simulation studies to compare our methods with a collection of common SAE strategies, including direct estimators, synthetic estimators, composite estimators, and Datta GS, Ghosh M, Steorts R, Maples J.'s [Bayesian benchmarking with applications to small area estimation. Test 2011;20(3):574–588] Bayesian hierarchical model-based estimators. To set a fair basis for comparison, we generate our simulation data with characteristics mimicking the real OMAS data, so that neither model-based nor design-based strategies use the true model specification. The estimators based on our proposed model are shown to outperform other estimators for small areas in both simulation study and real data analysis.     

Doing Good,Public Good,and Public Value

In this article, using multiple illustrative case examples, we demonstrate that philanthropic institutions are in the business of creating public value. In framing the work of philanthropy more broadly to include the process of public value creation, philanthropic institutions and leaders are challenged to be more strategic not only in their mission‐fulfillment grant‐making with nonprofit organizations but also in the way they stimulate and encourage collaboration, create the “third space” necessary to incubate ideas to transform society, and leverage resources to increase the return on their investments toward system‐wide change. The implications for philanthropic actors and institutions suggest that the strategic contributions they make toward creation of public value are those that go beyond transactional performance measures, such as number of dollars spent or clients receiving services, to include ways that their investments are amplified by meaningful partnerships with nonprofit and other organizations, changed behaviors of institutions and individuals, and transformative public policies.     

《小城畸人》中的女性形象及作者的女性观

在《小城畸人》中,舍伍德·安德森生动地描写了一群心灵扭曲、生活压抑的女性"畸人",揭示了19世纪末20世纪初美国中西部由手工业向资本主义工业转化时期女性的社会地位以及男女关系的变化。结合女性主义文学批评的理论和方法,从《小城畸人》反映的女性的社会生活、赋予的女性的社会角色和折射的艺术家身边的女性三个方面,系统分析其中的女性人物形象,可剖析出舍伍德·安德森男权本位的女性观。     

现代语境下的“阿喀琉斯之踵”——《蜗居》与《小镇畸人》的文学伦理学比较研究

本论文将现代都市小说家六六的小说《蜗居》中的主要人物宋思明与美国20世纪早期著名的现代主义小说家舍伍德.安德森(1876—1941)的名著《小镇畸人》(Winesburg,Ohio,1919)中的重要人物哈德曼牧师相比较,以他们所谓的阿喀琉斯之踵为原点,探讨各自文化潜质中迥然不同的现代因素,通过较为细致的文本解读,诠释中西文化中罪感与耻感之间的差异与联系,从而帮助读者更加深刻地认识《蜗居》与《小镇畸人》的文学伦理和社会意义。     

从叙事统一性角度看《小城畸人》的圣经文学元素

圣经文学的渊源影响是经久不衰的重要研究课题,其叙事风格潜移默化地影响了后世作家的创作。从文本表层看,《小城畸人》与《圣经》的联系是显而易见的。叙事的统一性是一种基本的美学品质。从文本深层分析,《小城畸人》与《圣经》在叙事统一性方面有很大的相似性。在文本人物角色的功能方面,两者都具有联结各个叙事单元的功能性人物。圣经叙事的统一性主要通过重复的模式来体现,安德森在《小城畸人》中巧妙地运用了反复出现的意象、框架和主题来论证其叙事的统一性。     

从“自欺”到“自抑”——《小城畸人》解读

运用存在主义的＂自欺＂和＂自由＂等理论,联系《小城畸人》中作者对于＂真理＂与＂畸人＂的态度,分析畸人形成的两个阶段：从＂自欺＂到＂自抑＂;通过俄亥俄州温士堡小城的象征意义和主人公乔治.威拉德的最后离去,指出乔治的离开预示了一个新的畸人的形成。该小说集所揭示的主题具有普遍意义。     

Earthquakes and frack-waste: sounds of extraction-related disaster in Appalachian Ohio

This article critically listens to the sounds of energy extraction in Appalachian Ohio in the United States. It focuses on the sounds of extraction-made disaster from the nineteenth century to the present. In the region, economic busts repeatedly follow booms, and the corresponding energy soundscapes of disaster are bound with labour, capital, and environment. Economic booms become sonic booms and explosions, both below and above the ground. I explore the sonic components of disaster, and draw from local archival materials as well as contemporary field recordings. I map patterns and rhythms of destruction, noting that they are not random or novel but are instead structural components of extraction-based industry.     

Patient Problems Encountered at a Student Health Service

Abstract

Objective: To assess how Ohio colleges conform to recommendations that address barriers to reporting sexual assault. Participants: A study sample of Ohio 4-year colleges (N = 105). Methods: College Web sites were examined between March and November 2011 for their availability of sexual assault policies using 8 measures. Results: Of the colleges in the sample, 66% had an online sexual assault policy. Less than 1% of colleges included definitions for applicable sexual offenses in the Ohio Revised Code. All colleges with a policy included on-campus personnel to whom a victim could report. Approximately 25% and 31% of colleges included confidential or 24/7 reporting options, respectively. Conclusions: Many colleges are failing to offer basic reporting options to victims of sexual assault. Having a clearly labeled sexual assault policy on a campus Web site that includes 24/7 reporting options and defines acts of sexual assault can aid victims in the reporting process.     

Attribute networking: A technique for modeling social perceptions1

An original, network‐based technique is presented for modeling community members’ conceptions of local social space. Social categories derived from the model are used to investigate the social meaning of linguistic variation. The technique is first explained and then demonstrated using linguistic and ethnographic data from Worthington, Ohio, a Columbus suburb. Two linguistic variables are analyzed: (1)/l/ vocalization; and (2) the phonetic realization of the before vowel‐initial words. The results are discussed in the context of Columbus‐area urban sprawl and its perceived threat to Worthington's distinctiveness.     

Youth service caseworkers: Social and legal factors affecting their recommendation to place youths in secure care facilities

This study examines the effects of social and legal variables on youth service caseworkers' recommendation to place youths in a secure care setting. While the findings of this study indicate that caseworkers' recommendation to place youths in such a facility is primarily influenced by their juvenile delinquency or legal background characteristics, the social variable “family composition” has a significant impact on the recommendation. This suggests that caseworkers view single-parent families as less capable than two-parent families of managing youths' serious delinquency problems and, therefore, are more likely to recommend youths from single-parent families for secure care placement consideration. The fact that legal variables are the strongest predictors of secure care decision outcomes indicates that objective criteria are being used to determine which youths to consider for secure care placement. Also, it is found that the more offenses that are committed the more likely that one will be a violent offense. This finding implies that the issue of serious juvenile delinquency should be examined and dealt with from a broad juvenile justice perspective directed at prevention as opposed to a limited focus on only the secure care process.