1,720,963 research outputs found
Non-Motherhood between Obligation and Choice: Statistical Analysis Based on Permutation Tests of Spontaneous and Induced Abortion Rates in the Italian Context
No full text(1) Background: This paper aims to examine two relevant phenomena in the context of public health: spontaneous abortion (SA) and induced abortion (IA). SA is one of the most common complications of pregnancies; IA is a conscious choice that is made by the mother/couple. (2) Methods: Permutation tests were applied to SA and IA standardized rates detected by ISTAT (2016–2020). The NPC test, chosen for its optimal properties, was applied to compare different Italian territorial divisions (stratifying for year and age classes of women) and analyze the trend of years by stochastic ordering. (3) Results: Only for SA, there are significant differences among the three territorial divisions: the South records higher SA standardized rates than the North and the Center; the rates of IA are similar. Relating to distinct women age classes, the SA standardized rates do not show significant differences among the three analyzed geographical areas; different results are highlighted for IA. Stochastic ordering shows that only the IA standardized rates are characterized by a significant monotonous decreasing trend over the years. (4) Conclusion: The SA phenomenon has shown a decreasing trend that could be justified by the progress of science. For IA, we can certainly say that the general decrease in the phenomenon is due to the greater use of contraceptive methods that help to prevent unwanted pregnancies
A Cumulative Proportional Odds Model to Analyze the Influence of Mass Media on Teenagers in Messina
No full textThe media are constantly evolving at a breakneck pace and mainly young people, with their flexibility of mind and their continuous curiosity, can better understand the characteristics and potential of such advances. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between teenagers and media, in order to try to better understand the habits and to conduct analysis on social interactions with young people. In order to evaluate the influence of mass media in the life of the young people, the Statisticians of Messina University decided to perform a statistical survey to evaluate the influence of the media in the life of Messina’s teenagers. A questionnaire entitled "Perceptions of the influence exerted by mass media" was administered in some schools. From the methodological point of view, three statistical models were estimated in order to formalize the dependence of the mass media influence by the kind of TV programs, the time spent on TV viewing and computer use and the kind of most used social networks. Since the mass media influence is an ordinal variable expressed by four ordered categories (1 = nothing; 2 = low; 3 = average; 4 = high) we used the Cumulative Proportional Odds Model to formalize the dependence by the potential predictors
Canine Euthanasia’s Trend Analysis during Thirty Years (1990–2020) in Italy: A Veterinary Hospital as Case Study
Get PDFThis study aimed to investigate changes in the number of, and reasons for, requests for dogs’ euthanasia over the last thirty years. Data (breed, age, gender, neuter status, manner, and cause of death) from dogs’ euthanasia registered between 1990 and 2020 in a small animals’ veterinary hospital were analyzed. The overall period examined has been split into two terms (T1 = 1990–2004 and T2 = 2005–2020) considering the introduction and enforcement of Law 189/2004. During the whole period examined, a significant increasing trend in euthanasia cases has been recorded (p = 0.027). Comparing the two terms, we observed significant differences regarding variables such as age, breed, reproductive status, and ownership. The number of euthanized dogs was significantly higher in T1 than in T2. Dogs euthanized in T2 were older than dogs in T1. A high percentage of the euthanized dogs were crossbred and stray dogs. Additionally, the number of neutered/spayed dogs was significantly higher. Regarding the cause of death, a significantly higher percentage of neoplastic processes was detected in T2. The data here reported suggest a potential influence of Law 189/2004. This law in Italy has proven to be a legal milestone that has influenced the decision-making process between euthanasia and natural death
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
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
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
Psychological stress in nurses assisting Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis patients: a statistical analysis based on Non-Parametric Combination test
Get PDFWe aimed to evaluate the psychological, emotional and relational burden of nurses who provide
assistance to patients affected by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). A survey was conducted by
administering a questionnaire, the “Health Professions Stress and Coping Scale”, which proposes
some potentially stressful work situations. The questionnaire was administered to 105 nurses working
in hospitals where there is a ward for patients suffering from ALS. We used the "Non-Parametric
Combination Test", a multivariate methodology based on permutation solution, widely applicable in
various research contexts. Firstly, we investigated the areas of stress; then, the attention was focused
on the different coping strategies adopted by respondent nurses within each stress area. The analyses
were stratified according to different confounding factors, in order to control their potential effect.
The results show the presence of an average level of stress, regardless of gender and educational status.
Furthermore, there are significant differences in stress levels in subjects classified according to the
ward in which they operate and a positive correlation between higher stress levels and the number of
service years was found. In the future this study could also be of interest to nurses working in wards
with potentially stressful situations
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