A Multi-Component Analysis of CPTED in the Cyberspace Domain.

The visual fidelity of a virtual environment lacks the exceedingly complex layers from the physical world, but the continuous improvements of image rendering technology and computation powers have led to greater demands for virtual simulations. Our study employs Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) as a risk control measure and utilizes two principles: Access Control and Natural Surveillance. We conducted an experiment with (n-sample: 100) graduate students. For the experiment, we utilized the Factor Analysis of Information Risk (FAIR) to quantitatively analyze the risk. Furthermore, we adopted the lme4 package for R to estimate the mixed effect of the 6,242,880 observations retrieved from Kaggle. Based on the two experiments, we were able to critically evaluate the contributions of CPTED through a multi-component analysis. Our study investigates how spatial syntax and territorial demarcation may translate in the cyberspace realm. We found that the corollaries of the mophology in the virtual environment effects the distribution of crime. The results of our study discusses how to determine the criminogenic designs and capacity in the cyberspace realm.

The importance of including dynamic social networks when modeling epidemics of airborne infections: does increasing complexity increase accuracy?

Mathematical models are useful tools for understanding and predicting epidemics. A recent innovative modeling study by Stehle and colleagues addressed the issue of how complex models need to be to ensure accuracy. The authors collected data on face-to-face contacts during a two-day conference. They then constructed a series of dynamic social contact networks, each of which was used to model an epidemic generated by a fast-spreading airborne pathogen. Intriguingly, Stehle and colleagues found that increasing model complexity did not always increase accuracy. Specifically, the most detailed contact network and a simplified version of this network generated very similar results. These results are extremely interesting and require further exploration to determine their generalizability.

Social distance and homophily in adolescent smoking initiation.

BACKGROUND: Studies often demonstrate homophily in adolescent smoking behavior, but rarely investigate the extent to which this is due to the peer network processes of selection versus influence. Applying the concept of social distance, this study examines these two processes for smoking initiation. METHODS: We analyzed socio-centric network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=2065; grades=7th-12th). Social distance (degrees of separation), combined with stability and change in friendship networks, was used to derive indicators of peer selection and influence on initiation. Multilevel modeling was used to predict initiation from these indicators, and propensity score modeling was used to determine whether these associations remained after adjusting for pre-existing differences between initiators and consistent non-smokers. RESULTS: We found that both peer influence and selection effects increased the likelihood of initiation even after adjusting with propensity score weights and demographic controls. While the effect size for peer influence depended on the overall proportion of smokers at the school, the selection effect was independent of the school environment. De-selection and indirect influence effects were not significant after controlling for school norm interactions. CONCLUSIONS: The association between peer smoking and adolescent smoking initiation appears to be due to both peer selection and direct influence. However, "friends of friends" effects are likely to be confounded with contextual factors. Given that smoking initiation is primarily associated with close personal interactions between the adolescent and his/her friends, prevention efforts should focus on the role of smoking in fostering personal relationships among adolescents.

Romantic attraction and adolescent smoking trajectories.

Research on sexual orientation and substance use has established that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are more likely to smoke than heterosexuals. This analysis furthers the examination of smoking behaviors across sexual orientation groups by describing how same- and opposite-sex romantic attraction, and changes in romantic attraction, are associated with distinct six-year developmental trajectories of smoking. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health dataset is used to test our hypotheses. Multinomial logistic regressions predicting smoking trajectory membership as a function of romantic attraction were separately estimated for men and women. Romantic attraction effects were found only for women. The change from self-reported heterosexual attraction to lesbian or bisexual attraction was more predictive of higher smoking trajectories than was a consistent lesbian or bisexual attraction, with potentially important differences between the smoking patterns of these two groups.

Cost implications to health care payers of improving glucose management among adults with type 2 diabetes.

Objective. To assess the cost implications to payers of improving glucose management among adults with type 2 diabetes. Data Source/Study Setting. Medical-record data from the Community Quality Index (CQI) study (1996-2002), pharmaceutical claims from four Massachusetts health plans (2004-2006), Medicare Fee Schedule (2009), published literature. Study Design. Probability tree depicting glucose management over 1 year. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. We determined how frequently CQI study subjects received recommended care processes and attained Health Care Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) treatment goals, estimated utilization of visits and medications associated with recommended care, assigned costs based on utilization, and then modeled how hospitalization rates, costs, and goal attainment would change if all recommended care was provided. Principal Findings. Relative to current care, improved glucose management would cost U.S.$327 (U.S.$192-711 in sensitivity analyses) more per person with diabetes annually, largely due to antihyperglycemic medications. Cost-effectiveness to payers, defined as incremental annual cost per patient newly attaining any one of three HEDIS goals, would be U.S.$1,128; including glycemic crises reduces this to U.S.$555-1,021. Conclusions. The cost of improving glucose management appears modest relative to diabetes-related health care expenditures. The incremental cost per patient newly attaining HEDIS goals enables payers to consider costs as well as outcomes that are linked to future profitability.

Cost implications of improving blood pressure management among U.S. adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the cost-effectiveness of improving blood pressure management from the payer perspective. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING: Medical record data for 4,500 U.S. adults with hypertension from the Community Quality Index (CQI) study (1996-2002), pharmaceutical claims from four Massachusetts health plans (2004-2006), Medicare fee schedule (2009), and published literature. STUDY DESIGN: A probability tree depicted blood pressure management over 2 years. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We determined how frequently CQI study subjects received recommended care processes and attained accepted treatment goals, estimated utilization of visits and medications associated with recommended care, assigned costs based on utilization, and then modeled how hospitalization rates, costs, and goal attainment would change if all recommended care was provided. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Relative to current care, improved care would cost payers U.S.$170 more per hypertensive person annually (2009 dollars). The incremental cost per person newly attaining treatment goals over 2 years would be U.S.$1,696 overall, U.S.$801 for moderate hypertension, and U.S.$850 for severe hypertension. Among people with severe hypertension, blood pressure would decline substantially but seldom reach goal; the incremental cost per person attaining a relaxed goal (≤ stage 1) would be U.S.$185. CONCLUSIONS: Under the Health Care Effectiveness Data and Information Set program, which monitors the attainment of blood pressure treatment goals, payers will find it slightly more cost-effective to improve care for moderate than severe hypertension. Having a secondary, relaxed goal would substantially increase payers' incentive to improve care for severe hypertension.

Adolescent romantic relationships and change in smoking status.

Although smoking rates have decreased, smoking among adolescents continues to be a problem. Previous research has shown the importance of peer influences on adolescent smoking behavior but has mostly neglected the impact of adolescent romantic relationships. This study examines the influence of romantic relationships with smokers and non-smokers on smoking initiation and cessation over a one-year period using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). For initial non-smokers, we examined whether the total length of time in romantic relationships with smokers and non-smokers at Wave I, as well as amount of exposure to smoking through romantic partners, predicted smoking initiation at Wave II. Among initial regular smokers, we examined whether these same relationship characteristics predicted smoking cessation at Wave II. These analyses were conducted separately for respondents in any type of romantic relationship, as well as just those respondents in close romantic relationships. Results indicated that, for close romantic relationships, cessation was more likely among smokers with more time in relationships with non-smoking partners. Greater exposure to smoking through romantic partners at Wave I significantly decreased the likelihood of cessation among initial smokers and increased the likelihood of initiation among initial non-smokers. For all relationships, greater exposure to smoking through romantic partners at Wave I significantly reduced the likelihood of cessation. These associations held when controlling for best friend smoking, as well as demographic factors and school-level smoking, suggesting that peer-based smoking programs aimed at adolescents should incorporate a focus on romantic relationships.

Peer influence and selection effects on adolescent smoking.

BACKGROUND: Studies showing that adolescents are more likely to smoke if they have friends who smoke typically infer that this is the result of peer influence. However, it may also be due to adolescents choosing friends who have smoking behaviors similar to their own (i.e., selection). One of the most influential studies of influence and selection effects on smoking concluded that these processes contribute about equally to peer group homogeneity in adolescent smoking (Ennett and Bauman, 1994). The goal of this study was to conduct a partial replication of these findings. METHODS: Data are from 1223 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Spectral decomposition techniques identified friendship cliques, which were then used as the unit of analysis to examine influence and selection effects over a one-year period. RESULTS: Non-smokers were more likely to become smokers if they initially belonged to a smoking (vs. non-smoking) group, and smokers were more likely to become non-smokers if they initially belonged to a non-smoking (vs. smoking) group, indicating an influence effect on both initiation and cessation. Further, group members who changed groups between waves were more likely to select groups with smoking behavior congruent to their own, providing evidence of a selection effect. CONCLUSIONS: While our results generally replicate the group analyses reported by Ennett and Bauman (1994), they suggest that peer influence and selection effects on adolescent smoking may be much weaker than assumed based on this earlier research.

Friendship networks and trajectories of adolescent tobacco use.

This article examines how friendship networks in adolescence are linked to tobacco use trajectories through a combination of analytic techniques that traditionally are located in separate literatures: social network analysis and developmental trajectory analysis. Using six years of longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we identify a set of six unique developmental trajectories of smoking (never smokers, steady lows, delayed increasers, early increasers, decreasers, and steady highs). Individuals' locations in their friendship networks were then linked to their trajectory group membership. Adolescents with a greater number of smoking friends were more likely to belong to the higher use trajectories. Beyond this exposure to smoking peers, individuals who at baseline were either members of a smoking group or liaisons to a smoking group were more likely than members of a nonsmoking group to belong to the higher use trajectories. Liaisons to a smoking group were particularly likely to belong to the delayed increaser trajectory group. Trajectory group membership for adolescents who belonged to a nonsmoking group did not significantly differ from those who were isolates or liaisons to a nonsmoking group. The study suggests features of an individual's social network have long-lasting associations with smoking behaviors.