1,721,068 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Assessing hospital quality of care: Is there a link between accreditation and mortality?
No full textHealth care quality is an increasingly important issue in today's society. In hospital quality assessment, two prevalent measures of quality are accreditation and mortality. This research hypothesizes that hospitals with higher accreditation scores have lower mortality rates. A review of the literature indicated that there is a significant gap in the research that tests associations between different evaluation mechanisms of organizational performance. A cross-sectional study design was used with the hospital serving as the unit of analysis and the study period representing data primarily from 1996. The hospital sample consisted of 965 nonfederally owned, general acute care, U.S. hospitals. Using secondary data sources, logistic regression modeling was performed with the independent variables consisting of hospital control variables (hospital ownership, teaching status, bed size, volume), environmental control variables (geographic location and setting) and hospital accreditation scores and the dependent variable consisting of mortality rate. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) accreditation scores measured the accreditation variables and the mortality variable was measured by risk-adjusted, statistically significant mortality rate differences. Three main conclusions can be drawn from the results: (1) The direction of the correlation between the accreditation and mortality variables is in support of the hypothesis that hospitals with higher accreditation scores have lower mortality rates; (2) The associations between the accreditation and mortality variables are generally not statistically significant; and (3) Of the accreditation variables, the Accreditation Decision variable exhibits the strongest relationship with mortality (and was statistically significant). Although the results linking hospital accreditation scores and mortality were not consistently strong, given the limitations of data variance, variable construction and measurement error, the presence of an association between accreditation and mortality is notable. Accreditation is a significant force in health care quality and mortality rates and other outcome measures are also widely used as markers of quality. Additionally, with increasing consumer demand for health care quality information and the advancement of outcomes measurement, finding associations between different organizational performance evaluations is critical if the science of quality (assessment, assurance and improvement) is to contribute towards better health care.Doctor of Public Health (DPH)Health and Environmental SciencesHealth care managementPublic healthUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Healthhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/132518/2/9968865.pd
Consumer behavior and health insurance among two populations: Elderly Medicare beneficiaries and low -income parents.
No full textThe first study of this dissertation examines the determinants of Medicare supplemental coverage choice, focusing on the relationship between Medigap premiums and supplemental coverage decisions of elderly Medicare beneficiaries across geographic markets. Using data from the Community Tracking Study (1998--99) combined with Medigap premium data, multinomial logit results suggest that Medigap premiums have a positive and highly statistically significant effect on Medicare HMO participation. Medigap premiums also have a marginally significant and positive effect on Medicaid participation, but do not drive individuals from supplemental coverage altogether. Implied elasticity estimates indicate that Medigap premiums have a much larger effect on the likelihood of Medicare HMO participation (cross-price elasticity around 1) than do Medicare HMO premiums. The results reveal how Medigap premiums influence coverage decisions and highlight important connections between Medicare supplemental alternatives. The second study develops a conceptual framework for and describes existing literature on pent-up demand for medical care. If previously uninsured individuals exhibit pent-up demand after obtaining coverage, program expansions and reform efforts could face large start-up costs. I present a conceptual framework that identifies several types of pent-up demand and suggests how they might be measured empirically. Although much research has documented utilization differences between insured and uninsured persons, fewer studies have examined utilization patterns of newly enrolled individuals across time. Existing evidence for pent-up demand is mixed and few studies have tried to disentangle it from moral hazard and adverse selection. The third study presents an empirical analysis of pent-up demand, modeling utilization patterns of low-income parents who obtain coverage from a Medicaid HMO. Although the program represents a local initiative, it resembles efforts in some states to cover parents of publicly-insured children. Using self-reported utilization data from a telephone survey, results provide some evidence for pent-up demand for overall health care utilization in the first six months of enrollment, relative to the second six. However, intensity of use (i.e., number of visits) does not differ over this time. I also examine utilization before and after enrollment and find strong evidence for higher utilization after enrollment, both in terms of its likelihood as well as its intensity.PhDHealth and Environmental SciencesHealth care managementPublic healthUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/123720/2/3096216.pd
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Health plan report cards and managed care enrollment.
No full textThis dissertation examines the relationship between health plan ratings and 1995 managed care (MC) enrollment decisions for employees and retirees of a Fortune 100 firm. The study takes advantage of an initiative at the firm to collect data from the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS), and to construct, and disseminate health plan ratings to employees and retirees based on the data. Conditional logit, nested logit, and market share regression models are estimated for the probability of plan enrollment as a function of five health plan ratings (physician quality, medical treatment, surgical care, preventive care, and employee satisfaction), out-of-pocket price, health plan model type. and the ratio of physicians to plan enrollees. Models are estimated by coverage category for eight samples, including union and non-union employees, Medicare and non-Medicare retirees, new employees, and employees switching to MC plans between 1994 and 1995. The findings suggest that the relationship between managed care enrollment and plan ratings is mixed. The most robust findings are that enrollment is correlated positively with the rating labeled by the firm as 'preventive care', and correlated inversely with the rating labeled 'enrollee satisfaction.' The preventive care estimates suggest that employees and retirees are between 23 and 90 percent more likely to enroll in plans rated superior on preventive care, relative to otherwise identical plans not rated superior. The counterintuitive finding for the employee satisfaction rating may be due to positive correlations between the measures that comprise the satisfaction rating (e.g., appointment waiting times) and measures that are unobserved by the researcher, but valued by consumers (e.g., physician popularity). The findings also suggest that health plan enrollment is inversely related to out-of-pocket price, consistent with what other studies have found. Estimates suggest that employees and retirees are between 2 and 14 percent less likely to enroll in health plans with monthly premiums that are five dollars more expensive than otherwise identical plans. The mixed results for the report card ratings, coupled with the consistent results for out-of-pocket price, suggest that price incentives may be the best way to increase managed care enrollment in insured populations.PhDEconomicsHealth and Environmental SciencesHealth care managementPublic healthSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/131088/2/9825337.pd
Medicaid HMO enrollees in the emergency room: Use of non-emergency care.
No full textThis study examined economic, sociological, and psychological factors associated with the use of hospital emergency departments (EDs) by Medicaid enrollees in an HMO. Medicaid programs throughout the nation are moving rapidly to enroll beneficiaries into managed care plans, partly due to the belief that managed care can lower costs by reducing inappropriate ED use. Yet research on Medicaid managed care does not explain why variations in ED use; nor does it distinguish between emergency and non-emergency ED use or include attitudes and beliefs about health care as possible explanatory variables. The present study addressed these gaps in the literature by using a multivariable logistic regression model of factors associated with the likelihood that a non-emergency ambulatory visit was to an ED rather than a doctor's office. Data came from a consumer satisfaction survey completed by a random sample of 640 Medicaid enrollees in a Colorado HMO and utilization information provided by the HMO. Conditional on other variables in the model, the study found that non-emergency visits are less likely to be to the ED when made by women or people who are older, speak English as a primary language, are satisfied with the HMO and their doctor, do not feel vulnerable to illness, are willing to seek care from their physicians, report they know how and when to seek care, have more primary care visits, and are enrolled longer in the HMO. In contrast, non-emergency visits on weekends and those by people who live farther from their physicians, are disabled, or have more inpatient admissions are more likely to be to the ED. The results persisted across alternative definitions of emergency visits using ICD-9 codes. Perceptions of what constitutes an emergency are likely to vary among patients, ED professionals, and third party payers such as health plans. Findings indicate that familiarity with the medical care system and experience with the HMO, geographic distance from providers, cultural and language differences, and attitudes and beliefs such as satisfaction with the physician and the HMO, knowledge of how and when to seek care from the primary care physician, and perceived vulnerability to illness can help explain why some people enrolled in an HMO continue to use the ED for non-emergency care and suggested policy options to address these psychological, economic, and sociological barriers to access to primary care providers.Doctor of Public Health (DPH)Health PolicyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/105055/1/9626021.pdfDescription of 9626021.pdf : Restricted to UM users only
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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