Variety Of Individual Characteristics Research Articles

Type-II Diabetes Prediction by using Classification and Novel based Method (AWOD)

Type II diabetes is the deadliest disease. It must be identified early to be cured. Prediction models for detection systems typically use common parameters that might not be suitable for all individuals with various health conditions. As a result, this study suggests a way for diabetes type II prediction using variables that reflect individual health issues. More specifically, this work proposes a unique prediction method called Average Weighted Objective Distance (AWOD) based on the idea that the person has a variety of health states coming from a variety of individual characteristics, which is a need for an efficient prediction model. Using information gain to expose significant and inconsequential individual components with varying priorities, denoted by distinct weights (AWOD), modifies Weighted Objective Distance (WOD). To calculate AWOD, the data set is split into a training set and a testing set. The training set is utilized to establish all significant thresholds and constant values. In particular, binary classification issues with a small dataset are developed by AWOD. Two open-source datasets, Pima Indians Diabetes (First Dataset) and Mendeley Data for Diabetes (Second dataset) are examined to validate the suggested methodology. With machine learning-based prediction techniques like (K-Nearest Neighbors, Support Vector Machines, and Random Forest), the prediction performance for both datasets is compared, including statistical measures: Accuracy, Sensitivity, and specificity. The AUC-ROC curve graph reveals how well the model can differentiate across classes for all ML classifiers. The comparison findings demonstrated that the ML classifiers resulted in poor accuracy for the first Dataset. Although better for the second Dataset, the proposed method had greater accuracy than other machine learning based methods, with 95.26 percent and 99.01 percent for Datasets I and II, respectively.

The effects of school choice on mental health

ABSTRACT School choice allows families to choose schools that are more suited to their children. These choices may affect non-academic outcomes, including students’ mental health. We empirically examine the relationship between school choice and mental health using two methods. First, we use difference-in-differences to estimate the effects of state voucher and charter school laws on adolescent suicide rates. States adopting charter school laws witness declines in adolescent suicides, whereas private school voucher laws are generally not associated with statistically significant changes in suicides. Second, we use survey data to estimate the effects of private schooling on adult mental health. Controlling for a post-baseline measure of mental health and a variety of individual characteristics, the estimates suggest that private schooling reduces the likelihood that individuals report having mental health issues as adults.

The Effects of School Choice on Mental Health

School choice allows families to choose schools that are more suited to their children. These choices may affect non-academic outcomes, including students’ mental health. We empirically examine the relationship between school choice and mental health using two methods. First, we use difference-in-differences to estimate the effects of state voucher and charter school laws on adolescent suicide rates. States adopting broad-based voucher programs and charter schools witness declines in adolescent suicides. Second, we use survey data to estimate the effects of private schooling on adult mental health. Controlling for a post-baseline measure of mental health and a variety of individual characteristics, the estimates suggest that private schooling reduces the number of times individuals are seen for mental health issues.

A methodology to discover and understand complex patterns: Interpreted Integrative Multiview Clustering (I2MC)

The main goal of this work is to develop a methodology for finding nutritional patterns from a variety of individual characteristics which can contribute to better understand the interactions between nutrition and health, provided that the complexity of the phenomenon gives poor performance using classical approaches. An innovative methodology based on a combination of advanced clustering techniques and consistent conceptual interpretation of clusters is proposed to find more understandable patterns or clusters. The Interpreted Integrative Multiview Clustering (I2MC) combines the previously proposed Integrative Multiview Clustering (IMC) with a new interpretation methodology NCIMS. IMC uses crossing operations over the several partitions obtained with the different views. Comparison with other classical clustering techniques is provided to assess the performance of this approach. IMC helps to reduce the high dimensionality of the data based on multiview division of variables.Two innovative Cluster Interpretation methodologies are proposed to support the understanding of the clusters. These are automatic methods to detect the significant variables that describe the clusters; also, a mechanism to deal with the consistency between the interpretations inter clusters of a single partition CI-IMS, or between pairs of nested partitions NCIMS. Some formal concepts are specifically introduced to be used in the NCIMS.I2MC is used to validate the interpretability of the participant’s profiles from an intervention nutritional study. The method has advantages to deal with complex datasets including heterogeneous variables corresponding to different topics and is able to provide meaningful partitions.

The Status of Universal Human Rights in the 21st Century: An Appraisal

The emergence of human rights into human ethical consciousness and their development and now worldwide recognition constitutes a moral phenomenon of astonishing scale and unparalleled significance, well meriting the remark of Henkin (1990: p.xvii) that “Ours is the age of human rights. Human rights is the idea of our time (Mahoney, 2007: viii). On 10th December, 1948, the famous Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was proclaimed as one of the most widespread and globally binding internationally-recognized human rights document in the horrendous aftermath of the First World War. Its universal importance is seen in the recognition of the day as International Human Rights Day, and celebrated as such throughout the world. One of the principal objectives then was to avert a repetition of the holocaust, and to safeguard the provision of human rights contained in this document. Dinah L. Shelton places significant emphasis on this for good reasons. As she notes, “the concept of human rights involves consideration of what “rights” a person possesses by virtue of being “human”, that is rights that human beings, independent of the infinite variety of individual characteristics and human social circumstances” (Shelton, 2014: 1). The essence of this emphasis, especially her emphasis on “infinite” human characteristic, is perhaps, to safeguard future generations from the challenges of “identity” and the idea of “us” versus “them” often used in cases of “just wars”. It is the development of this aspect which this article seeks to investigate, using circumstances of the Ebola virus threat as a reference point. The article concludes that, there are emerging threats that question the extent of universality.

Perceptions of Self-Employment Among Mid-Career Executives in the People’s Republic of China

Policy makers in transitional economies have recognized the importance of self-employment as a mechanism for economic growth. Institutional support, however, lags this recognition. Individuals, therefore, must draw on their personal characteristics to venture into self-employment. We used a variety of individual characteristics to capture an important antecedent of the transition to self-employment using data from 133 mid-career Chinese executives. At the most aggregate level, hierarchical regression showed that views on self-employment are positively related to having a self-employed relative and openness to experience. A more refined analysis indicated that a variety of individual characteristics are related to perceptions of self-employment. Using these findings, we conclude that public policy will create an environment of inter-generational entrepreneurial activity. We argued, moreover, that the continued transition from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to privately owned enterprises will require the identification, training, and development of a new breed of self-employed individual.

PDP or MA-PD? Medicare part D enrollment decisions in CMS Region 25

Background The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 provides outpatient prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries through private insurers. This coverage is available through 2 primary venues: stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) and integrated managed care (or Medicare Advantage) plans that also provide prescription drug coverage (MA-PDs). Objectives The first objective was to describe factors associated with Medicare beneficiaries choosing to enroll in any Medicare part D PDP. The second objective was to describe factors associated with the choice of an MA-PD, given enrollment in the part D program. Methods The study used a cross-sectional, survey design. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of 5000 community-dwelling adults, aged 65 years and older in the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services Region 25. Data were collected by means of a mailed questionnaire. Data analyses included univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics and multivariate probit modeling. Results The overall adjusted response rate was 50.2% (2309 of 4603). Data from 1490 respondents (32.4% of those attempted) were analyzed in this study. Nearly 75% of sample members elected to enroll in one of the Medicare part D coverage options in 2007, with more than 3 times as many choosing a PDP compared with a MA-PD option (57.2% vs 17.8%). A variety of variables including rurality, plan price, perceived future need for medications, and preferences emerged as important predictors of choosing to enroll in any Medicare part D drug plan, whereas rurality, state of residence, and number of diagnosed medical conditions were associated with the decision to enroll in a MA-PD. Conclusions Models of health insurance demand and plan choice applied in this context appear to be modestly effective. Rurality and state of residence were particularly important contributors to both of these decisions, as were a variety of individual characteristics.

A Lethal Change in the Weather: Temperature Extremes and Premature Mortality

Extremely hot and cold days can be fatal to certain vulnerable populations, as the more than 160 deaths in two weeks during California’s July 2006 heat wave clearly showed. The elderly and lower-income individuals are generally acknowledged to be most vulnerable to the effects of temperature extremes, but relatively little is known about how such extremes combine with underlying medical conditions to increase mortality risks. Now, a team from the Harvard School of Public Health has analyzed millions of death records from 50 U.S. cities to identify factors that increase the risk of dying on extremely hot or cold days [EHP 114:1331–1336; Medina-Ramon et al.]. The study is the first of its size to identify specific diseases that produce the largest relative mortality increases on extreme temperature days. The researchers examined approximately 7.8 million death records for the period 1989 through 2000. They defined extreme temperatures for each city as the coldest 1% of daytime highs and the warmest 1% of nighttime lows. These are the most physically challenging conditions, with people unable to warm up even in the daytime or cool off even at night. The data were analyzed using a case-only approach, a technique borrowed from genetic research that allows the identification of time-invariant factors (such as gender) that modify the effect of a time-variant risk factor (such as weather). This approach allowed the researchers to compare the individual characteristics of those dying under extreme weather conditions with those dying on other days. The study’s large sample size provided enough statistical power for researchers to see how a variety of individual characteristics, including presence of chronic conditions, affected vulnerability to weather extremes for a specific cause of death. For example, previous studies had already shown that blacks are more likely than whites to die on a hot day, but the authors found that susceptibility in this subgroup was more pronounced when death was due to cardiovascular disease. Conversely, the elderly and diabetics were more vulnerable to heat when the primary cause of death was not due to cardiovascular disease. The researchers also found a large increase in vulnerability to heat in individuals who suffered from atrial fibrillation, a finding that has not previously been reported. Cardiovascular deaths, especially cardiac arrest deaths, also showed a greater relative increase on extremely cold days. The authors note that public health officials can target appropriate health services and infrastructure by knowing which subpopulations are particularly at risk from temperature extremes as well as the most common mortality causes that may affect them. This kind of information will be even more important as some subgroups (such as diabetics and the elderly) increase as a percentage of the population at large, and as global warming raises the probability of higher maximum temperatures.

Access to Health Care: Does Neighborhood Residential Instability Matter?

Many Americans do not have access to adequate medical care. Previous research on this problem focuses primarily on individual-level determinants of access such as income and insurance coverage. The role of community-level factors in helping or hindering individuals in obtaining needed medical care, however, has not received much attention. We address this gap in the literature by investigating the association between neighborhood residential instability and access to health care. Using individual-level data from the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and block-group level data from the 2000 decennial census, we find that individuals who live in neighborhoods with high residential turnover have worse health care access than residents of other neighborhoods. This association persists even when the prevalence of poverty, the supply of health care, and a variety of individual characteristics are held constant. We offer explanations for these findings and suggest directions for future research.

Work-related illness in offices: A proposed model of the ‘sick building syndrome’

Abstract A nationwide survey of 4 373 office workers at 47 office sites was conducted to assess the prevalence of the sick building syndrome and to investigate associated factors. The office buildings sampled included those ventilated by either natural, mechanical, or forced air, or by air conditioning or some form of comfort cooling, including fan-coil, induction, and constant or variable air volume systems. Results showed a higher prevalence of reports of work-related symptoms of dry eyes, dry throut, stuffy/congested nose, itchy/watery eyes, runny nose, lethargy/tiredness, and headache in air conditioned buildings than in unconditioned buildings. Symptom prevalence was higher in buildings ventilated with water-based cooling systems, e.g., fan-coil or induction systems, than in buildings with all-air systems. A significant relationship was found between the type of humidification used in air-conditioned buildings (none, evaporative/spray, or steam) and the prevalence of itchy eyes, stuffy nose, lethargy, breathing difficulty, and chest tightness. Results also suggest that the “sick building syndrome” is associated with a variety of individual characteristics (sex, age), occupational factors (job type, length of video display unit use, occupancy duration in building, job stress), architectural features (type of office, type of building ventilation system), and psychological processes (perceived environmental control, perceived ambient conditions, perceived environmental satisfaction). A path analytic model is presented that suggests that psychological processes mediate the association between individual, occupational, and environmental characteristics and reports of the “sick building syndrome”.

Work-related illness in offices: A proposed model of the “sick building syndrome”

A nationwide survey of 4 373 office workers at 47 office sites was conducted to assess the prevalence of the sick building syndrome and to investigate associated factors. The office buildings sampled included those ventilated by either natural, mechanical, or forced air, or by air conditioning or some form of comfort cooling, including fan-coil, induction, and constant or variable air volume systems. Results showed a higher prevalence of reports of work-related symptoms of dry eyes, dry throut, stuffy/congested nose, itchy/watery eyes, runny nose, lethargy/tiredness, and headache in air conditioned buildings than in unconditioned buildings. Symptom prevalence was higher in buildings ventilated with water-based cooling systems, e.g., fan-coil or induction systems, than in buildings with all-air systems. A significant relationship was found between the type of humidification used in air-conditioned buildings (none, evaporative/spray, or steam) and the prevalence of itchy eyes, stuffy nose, lethargy, breathing difficulty, and chest tightness. Results also suggest that the “sick building syndrome” is associated with a variety of individual characteristics (sex, age), occupational factors (job type, length of video display unit use, occupancy duration in building, job stress), architectural features (type of office, type of building ventilation system), and psychological processes (perceived environmental control, perceived ambient conditions, perceived environmental satisfaction). A path analytic model is presented that suggests that psychological processes mediate the association between individual, occupational, and environmental characteristics and reports of the “sick building syndrome”.

Gender and Promotions: Promotion Chances of White Men and Women in Federal White-Collar Employment

Using logit analysis on 1 percent samples of federal personnel records for 1973-82, this paper finds strikingly similar promotion probabilities for white men and women, once a variety of individual characteristics are accounted for.