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Bayes data analysis in the social sciences curriculum: a review
No full textIn September 2017, I attended 'Bayesian Data Analysis in the Social Sciences Curriculum', a one-day conference organised by Thom Baguley and Mark Andrews (Nottingham Trent University), marking the culmination of a 3-year ESRC funded programme on Bayesian Data Analysis. The core of this programme was an annual series of 4 workshops (www.priorexposure.org.uk), and the conference delegates included workshop graduates alongside Bayesian newbies like myself. Essentially, Bayesian data analysis is an alternative to 'classical' or 'frequentist' null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), based on probabilistic reasoning (Dienes, 2008, Andrews, 2016). Neither frequentist nor Bayesian analysis are right or wrong: they are different approaches to how scientific inference can be drawn from data sets
Hide-and-Seek in Corporate Disclosure: Evidence from Negative Corporate Incidents
Get PDFThis paper scrutinizes the legitimacy tactics employed in the annual reports of UK listed companies after their major corporate scandals.
For a sample consisted of 19 companies that are indulged in corporate scandals, the content analysis approach was used to comprehend how corporate disclosure is used as an intermediary to rationalize corporate actions subsequent to corporate scandals.
The findings reveal that firms use a wide range of legitimisation strategies in the manner that contribute to shape disclosure communications concerning negative incidents. We discovered that disclosure blur is used by the firms in times when there is an urge intended to create management by the firms for its stakeholders. For instance, some firms may offset the negativity linked to an incident by rendering such explanations amidst positive information.
Contrary to earlier studies conducted on accounting scandals, we incorporated extensive corporate scandals such as human rights violations, controversies pertinent to child labour, environmental scandals, corruption, financial embezzlement, and tax evasion
South Asians living in the UK and adherence to coronary heart disease medication: a mixed- method study.
Get PDFBackground The prevalence of coronary heart disease amongst South Asian population in the UK is higher compared to the general population. Objective This study sought to investigate beliefs and experiences of South Asian patients regarding coronary heart disease and medication taking behaviour. Setting A London Heart Attack Centre. Methods This mixed method study is part of an original pilot randomised study on 71 patients involving a pharmacy-led intervention to improve medication adherence in coronary heart disease patients. South Asian patients from the randomised study took part in qualitative semi-structured telephone interviews. Both South Asian and non-South Asian patients completed the questionnaire about adherence and beliefs regarding medicines using Morisky Scale and the Belief About Medicines Questionnaire-Specific at 2 weeks, 3 and 6 months. Outcome Patients' beliefs about coronary heart disease and medication adherence. Results Seventeen South Asian patients and 54 non-South Asian patients took part. Qualitative data from 14 South Asian patients showed that while some attributed coronary heart disease to genetic, family history for their illness, others attributed it to their dietary patterns and 'god's will' and that little could be done to prevent further episodes of coronary heart disease. On the Belief About Medicines Questionnaire-Specific in South Asian patients, beliefs about necessity of medicines outweighed concerns. South Asian patients (n = 17) showed a similar pattern of adherence compared to non-Asian patients (n = 54). Adherence decreased with time in both populations, adherence measured by Morisky Scale. Conclusion South Asian patients in this study often attributed coronary heart disease to additional causes besides the known risk factors. Future studies on their understanding of the importance of cultural context in their attitudes to prevention and lived experience of the disease is warranted
Computer-aided Landmark based Phenotyping to Identify the Genetic Basis of Skeletal Abnormalities from Mouse X-ray Images
Get PDF“Jews, Judaism and the Jewish State: ethnic rights and international wrongs”
Get PDF"Under international law, following the promulgation of the Palestine Mandate by the League of Nations, ethnic Jews enjoy the right of "close settlement" in the entire area of Mandate Palestine west of the Jordan River. This right, which is guaranteed and underpinned by Article 80 of the UN Charter, is enjoyed by Jews whether or not they are citizens of the State of Israel. It is not enjoyed by Israelis who are not ethnically Jewish.
The right of ethnic Jews to establish communities in the area of the Mandate east of the Jordan River was for all practical purposes extinguished by the First Partition of Palestine (1922). In this territory (subsequently The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan - now "Jordan") Jews were prohibited from settling, and even now it is exceedingly difficult for any ethnic Jew to own property in less still to become a citizen of the Jordanian state. It will be argued that, although relinquished by the United Kingdom (1947) the Mandate persists, and that, therefore, the State of Israel (even within the 1949 Armistice Lines) was, is and remains under an obligation to facilitate and protect such settlement, which obligation is fully in accord with relevant Geneva Conventions.
We must note in this connection that whilst the oft-cited UN resolution 242 (November 1967) calls for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the West Bank (as part of an overall peace settlement) it makes no mention of Jews (or even of Israeli civilians).
Stigma and self-management: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the impact of chronic recurrent urinary tract infections after spinal cord injury
No full textStudy Design: Qualitative, phenomenological design.
Objectives: Neurogenic bladder dysfunction and urinary tract infection (UTI) are common secondary consequences to neurological damage to the spinal cord. This study sought to establish the impact of chronic, recurrent UTIs on people with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting: Community sample, United Kingdom.
Methods: Twelve participants with SCI, aged between 28 and 68 years, who had experienced at least three recurrent UTI events within the previous 12 months were recruited. Detailed qualitative information was obtained from semi-structured interviews, which lasted between 30-60 minutes. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was performed to explore the lived experience of UTIs.
Results: Interview findings identified a range of factors related to the experience of recurrent UTIs in people with SCI. These were classified into the following themes: (1) Symptom Management Precedence, (2) Stigma-Motivated Risk Management, and (3) Exhaustive Exploration of Treatment Options. Participants discussed management of acute exacerbations. Distress arose from perceptions of UTIs as potentially stigmatizing, and fear of relying on antibiotics. Arising from this fear, many participants sought alternative prevention and management strategies.
Conclusions: These results suggest that chronic recurrent UTIs act as major barriers to social participation, with adverse effects on quality of life of people with a neurogenic bladder after SCI. People with SCI would benefit from additional assessment of the impact of recurrent UTIs, so that healthcare professionals can address specific concerns, such as the psychosocial impact of urinary incontinence, and stigmatizing views. Additional support to enhance self-management and facilitate social participation should be provided
Internet-delivered mindfulness for people with depression and chronic pain following spinal cord injury; a randomised, controlled feasibility trial
Get PDFStudy Design: Between-subjects, randomised controlled feasibility study.
Objectives: Populations with reduced sensory and motor function are at increased risk of depression, anxiety, and pain, and may be less geographically mobile. This study explored the efficacy and feasibility of web-based mindfulness training for people with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting: UK community sample.
Methods: Participants were randomly allocated to an eight-week online mindfulness intervention (N = 36), or to internet-delivered psychoeducation (N = 31). Depression symptom severity was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included anxiety, quality of life (QoL), pain perception, pain catastrophising, and mindfulness. Measures were taken before (T1), at completion of, (T2), and three months following the intervention (T3).
Results: At T2, ten participants discontinued mindfulness training, and five discontinued psychoeducation. Dropouts were of significantly older age. Nine participants were lost to follow-up. Mindfulness reduced depression significantly more than psychoeducation at T2 (mean difference = -1.50, 95% CI [-2.43, -.58]) and T3 (mean difference = -2.34, 95% CI [-3.62, -1.10]). Anxiety, pain unpleasantness, and catastrophising were significantly reduced compared with psychoeducation. Total mindfulness scores, and all facets of mindfulness except observing were significantly higher following mindfulness training. At follow-up, reductions in anxiety and catastrophising persisted.
Conclusions: Internet-delivered mindfulness training offers unique benefits and is viable for people with reduced sensory awareness. Future work should explore the feasibility of combined education and mindfulness training. The use of brief interventions shows promise in maximizing participant retention
The efficacy of macroeconomic policies in resolving financial market disequilibria: A cross‐country analysis
Get PDFThis study attempts to evaluate the efficacy of macroeconomic policies in resolving financial market disequilibria and to elucidate the influence of the
political landscape and global financial integration on the policymaking process. The current investigation examines three macroeconomic policies: (a)government spending, (b) liquidity provision, and (c) central bank interest rates by analysing 21 countries around the globe. The results suggest that government spending is a suboptimal macroeconomic policy for mitigating imbalances in financial markets, as it may have destabilizing effects. Liquidity provision was found to be ineffective in facilitating financial market stability whereas the adjustment of interest rates was found to be a viable tool for mitigating financial market imbalances. Therefore, an appropriate policy framework would comprise the following: prudent government spending, conditional liquidity provision, and a reduction in interest rates following the development of financial market disequilibria. Furthermore, this study found strong evidence against the notion that political orientations influence policy frameworks, which were designed to redress financial market disequilibria.
This study also found that global financial integration does not influence the policymaking process
