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Certain Categories (certain + category)
Selected AbstractsInternational Migration at the Beginining of the Twenty-First Century: Global Trends and IssuesINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 165 2000Stephen Castles Globalisation leads to increases in all kinds of cross-border flows, including movements of people. In recent years international migrationhas grown in volume, and is now an important factor of social transformation in all regions of the world. States classify migrants into certain categories, and seek to encourage certain types of mobility while restricting others. However,control measures are often ineffective if they are not based on understanding of the economic, social and cultural dynamics of migration. The article reviews causes and patterns of migration, and discusses some key issues: migration anddevelopment, international cooperation, settle-ment and ethnic diversity, and migration as a challenge to the nation-state. It is argued that most national governments have taken a short-term and reactive approach to migration. Effortsat international regulation are also relatively under-developed. There is a need for long-term cooperative strategies to achieve agreed goals such as: ensuring orderly migration and preventing exploitation by agents and recruiters;safeguarding the human rights of migrants; making migration an instrument of sustainable development; avoiding conflicts with populations of migrant-receiving areas, and maximising positive aspects of social and culturalchange. [source] The occurrence of commensal rodents in dwellings as revealed by the 1996 English House Condition SurveyJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2001S.D. Langton Summary 1,The presence of commensal rodents was assessed in the 1996 English House Condition Survey (EHCS). Logistic regression techniques were used to identify the key factors that might determine the susceptibility of dwellings to infestation. 2,The overall percentages of dwellings that were infested, weighted to allow for the more intensive sampling used in certain categories of dwellings, were 1·83% for mice Mus domesticus, 0·23% for rats Rattus norvegicus living indoors and 1·60% for rats living outdoors. These figures excluded vacant properties, properties with some commercial use, and purpose-built flats, as these groups showed different patterns of infestation and were therefore excluded from the logistic regressions. 3,The prevalence of both rats and mice was significantly greater for dwellings where pets or livestock were kept in the garden. 4,Dwellings classed as unfit for human habitation were more likely to be infested with mice. 5,Dwellings in areas of low-density housing had a significantly higher prevalence of both rat and mouse infestation. This probably reflects the general suitability of the rural environment for commensal rodents. 6,Older properties had a relatively high prevalence of rats. This may be because their mature gardens provided suitable habitats for colonization. Once other confounding factors were taken into account, the age of the property did not influence the rate of infestation by mice. 7,Dwellings in areas with substantial problems, such as dereliction, litter, vacant properties and unkempt gardens, had a significantly higher prevalence of rats and mice. 8,This study reveals the value of applied ecological techniques, including logistic regression of presence,absence data, in understanding the distribution of commensal rodents in relation to dwellings, with the prospect of more effective management practices being developed as a consequence. [source] Evaluation of the evidential value of physicochemical data by a Bayesian network approachJOURNAL OF CHEMOMETRICS, Issue 7-8 2010Grzegorz Zadora Abstract The growing interest in applications of Bayesian networks (BNs) in forensic science raises the question of whether BN could be used in forensic practice for the evaluation of results from physicochemical analysis of a limited number of observations from flammable liquids (weathered kerosene and diesel fuel) by automated thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (ATD-GC/MS), car paints by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and fibres by microspectrophotometry (MSP) in the visible (VIS) range. Therefore, various simple BN models, which allow the evaluation of both discrete and continuous types of data, were studied in order to address questions raised by the representatives of the administration of justice, concerning the identification and classification of objects into certain categories and/or the association between two items. The results of the evaluation performed by BN models were expressed in the form of a likelihood ratio, which is a well-documented measure of evidential value in the forensic field. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that BN models seem to be promising tool for evaluating physicochemical data. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Real-Time Feedback on Rater Drift in Constructed-Response Items: An Example From the Golden State ExaminationJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 2 2001Machteld Hoskens In this study, patterns of variation in severities of a group of raters over time or so-called "rater drift" was examined when raters scored an essay written under examination conditions. At the same time feedback was given to rater leaders (called "table leaders") who then interpreted the feedback and reported to the raters. Rater severities in five successive periods were estimated using a modified linear logistic test model (LLTM, Fischer, 1973) approach. It was found that the raters did indeed drift towards the mean, but a planned comparision of the feedback with a control condition was not successful; it was believed that this was due to contamination at the table leader level. A series of models was also estimated designed to detect other types of rater effects beyond severity: a tendency to use extreme scores, and tendency to prefer certain categories. The models for these effects were found to be showing significant improvement in fit, implying that these effects were indeed present, although they were difficult to detect in relatively short time periods. [source] Families and family study in international perspectiveJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2004Bert N. Adams Many changes are occurring in the world's families. Some observers feel that the changes are destructive, whereas others see them as leading to new opportunities and understanding. Issues in international family studies include regional limitations and the various aspects of doing research cross-culturally. Knowledge regarding certain categories of families, inheritance, and the social psychology of families is incomplete. There are, however, some universals and universal or worldwide changes, including movement toward individual partner choice, more divorces, lower fertility, and greater opportunities for women. [source] Students' levels of explanations, models, and misconceptions in basic quantum chemistry: A phenomenographic studyJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2009Christina Stefani We investigated students' knowledge constructions of basic quantum chemistry concepts, namely atomic orbitals, the Schrödinger equation, molecular orbitals, hybridization, and chemical bonding. Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning provided the theoretical framework and phenomenography the method of analysis. The semi-structured interview with 19 second-year chemistry students supplied the data. We identified four levels of explanations in the students' answers. In addition, the scientific knowledge claims reflected three main levels of models. By combining levels of explanations with levels of models, we derived four categories. Two of the categories are shades of variation in the rote-learning part of a continuum, while the other two categories are in the meaningful-learning part. All students possessed alternative conceptions some of which occurred within certain categories, while others spanned more categories. The insistence on the deterministic models of the atom, the misinterpretation of models, and the poor understanding of the current quantum concepts are main problems in the learning of the basic quantum chemistry concepts. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 520,536, 2009 [source] Temporal analysis of a very large topically categorized Web query logJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Steven M. Beitzel The authors review a log of billions of Web queries that constituted the total query traffic for a 6-month period of a general-purpose commercial Web search service. Previously, query logs were studied from a single, cumulative view. In contrast, this study builds on the authors' previous work, which showed changes in popularity and uniqueness of topically categorized queries across the hours in a day. To further their analysis, they examine query traffic on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis by matching it against lists of queries that have been topically precategorized by human editors. These lists represent 13% of the query traffic. They show that query traffic from particular topical categories differs both from the query stream as a whole and from other categories. Additionally, they show that certain categories of queries trend differently over varying periods. The authors key contribution is twofold: They outline a method for studying both the static and topical properties of a very large query log over varying periods, and they identify and examine topical trends that may provide valuable insight for improving both retrieval effectiveness and efficiency. [source] Inputs and Outcomes of Outdoor Management Development: Of Design, Dogma and DissonanceBRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007Philip J. Jones Although it is now a multi-million pound international industry, there is continuing scepticism about the benefits of Outdoor Management Development (OMD). This study investigates the impact of participation in an archetypal example of OMD on a cohort of junior managers (n=19). Participants reported changes in a variety of attitudes including, their opinions of themselves, team-working and the theoretical frameworks used to underpin the programme. Analysis of individuals' accounts found associations between participation in particular forms of outdoor training activities and changes in certain categories of attitude. Cognitive dissonance theory is used as a framework to explain these changes. More specifically, we contend that task selection and review-style choices made by providers and sponsors significantly influenced the reactions, sense-making processes and training outcomes reported by participants. This study challenges the design of contemporary OMD programmes that privileges a linear, incremental view of development where one starts with simple tasks of short duration and gradually progresses to longer and more complex activities. [source] Case,control study of pleural mesothelioma in workers with social security in MexicoAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 3 2010Guadalupe Aguilar-Madrid MD Abstract Background Environmental and occupational exposure to asbestos in Mexico in the past has been a cause of deaths and health damages. Its magnitude is unknown to date. Our objective was to identify the proportion of cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) that can be attributed to and occupational exposure to asbestos. Methods We carried out a case,control study of MPM in 472 workers insured by the Mexican Institute of Social Security, all Valley of Mexico residents, with 119 incident cases and 353 controls. Cases were histologically confirmed. Participants were questioned concerning their occupational history and sociodemographic data. Assignment to one of the four exposures was performed qualitatively by an expert hygienist. Odds ratios (ORs) and attributable risks (ARs) were calculated using a non-conditional logistic regression model. Results A total of 80.6% of cases and 31.5% of controls had occupational exposure to asbestos. ORs were adjusted for age and gender and by exposure category, and exhibited an increase with probability of exposure as follows: 3.7(95% CI 1.3,10.4) for the likely category and 14.3(95% CI 8,26) for the certain category; AR in the group occupationally exposed to asbestos was 83.2%, and the population AR was 44%. Conclusions Our results show that the relationship between industrial uses of all forms of asbestos is generating an increase in mesothelioma-related diseases and deaths among Mexican workers. As a public health policy, Mexico should prohibit the use of asbestos in all production processes with the aim of controlling the epidemic and preventing the occurrence of new cases of MPM. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:241,251, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||