Relationships between occupational physical exposures and risks of contracting musculoskeletal disorders are still not well understood; exposure-response relationships are scarce in the musculoskeletal epidemiology literature, and many epidemiological studies, including intervention studies, fail to reach conclusive results. Insufficient exposure assessment has been pointed out as a possible explanation for this deficiency. One important aspect of assessing exposure is the selected measurement strategy; this includes issues related to the necessary number of data required to give sufficient information, and to allocation of measurement efforts, both over time and between subjects in order to achieve precise and accurate exposure estimates. These issues have been discussed mainly in the occupational hygiene literature considering chemical exposures, while the corresponding literature on biomechanical exposure is sparse. The overall aim of the present thesis was to increase knowledge on the relationship between data collection design and the resulting precision and accuracy of biomechanical exposure assessments, represented in this thesis by upper arm postures during work, data which have been shown to be relevant to disorder risk. Four papers are included in the thesis. In papers I and II, non-parametric bootstrapping was used to investigate the statistical efficiency of different strategies for distributing upper arm elevation measurements between and within working days into different numbers of measurement periods of differing durations. Paper I compared the different measurement strategies with respect to the eventual precision of estimated mean exposure level. The results showed that it was more efficient to use a higher number of shorter measurement periods spread across a working day than to use a smaller number for longer uninterrupted measurement periods, in particular if the total sample covered only a small part of the working day. Paper II evaluated sampling strategies for the purpose of determining posture variance components with respect to the accuracy and precision of the eventual variance component estimators. The paper showed that variance component estimators may be both biased and imprecise when based on sampling from small parts of working days, and that errors were larger with continuous sampling periods. The results suggest that larger posture samples than are conventionally used in ergonomics research and practice may be needed to achieve trustworthy estimates of variance components. Papers III and IV focused on method development. Paper III examined procedures for estimating statistical power when testing for a group difference in postures assessed by observation. Power determination was based either on a traditional analytical power analysis or on parametric bootstrapping, both of which accounted for methodological variance introduced by the observers to the exposure data. The study showed that repeated observations of the same video recordings may be an efficient way of increasing the power in an observation-based study, and that observations can be distributed between several observers without loss in power, provided that all observers contribute data to both of the compared groups, and that the statistical analysis model acknowledges observer variability. Paper IV discussed calibration of an inferior exposure assessment method against a superior “golden standard” method, with a particular emphasis on calibration of observed posture data against postures determined by inclinometry. The paper developed equations for bias correction of results obtained using the inferior instrument through calibration, as well as for determining the additional uncertainty of the eventual exposure value introduced through calibration. In conclusion, the results of the present thesis emphasize the importance of carefully selecting a measurement strategy on the basis of statistically well informed decisions. It is common in the literature that postural exposure is assessed from one continuous measurement collected over only a small part of a working day. In paper I, this was shown to be highly inefficient compared to spreading out the corresponding sample time across the entire working day, and the inefficiency was also obvious when assessing variance components, as shown in paper II. The thesis also shows how a well thought-out strategy for observation-based exposure assessment can reduce the effects of measurement error, both for random methodological variance (paper III) and systematic observation errors (bias) (paper IV).

This paper investigates the determinants of excess returns using dividend yields as a proxy in a cross-sectional setting. First, we find that types of industry and the current business cycle are determining factors of returns. Second, our results suggest that dividend yield serves a signaling mechanism indicating “healthiness” of a firm among prospective investors. Third we see that there is a positive relationship between dividend yield and risk, especially in the utility and financial sectors. And finally, using actual excess returns, instead of dividend yield in our model shows that all predictors of dividend yield were also significant predictors of excess returns. This connection between dividend yield and excess returns support our use of dividend yield as a proxy for excess returns.

This thesis analyzes determinants of housing construction in regions in the Czech Republic. The main research question is the impact of standard of living on housing construction. The living standard is expressed in terms of net disposable income per capita and housing construction represents the number of housing starts. Other determinants included to the model estimation are rate of unemployment, housing price and number of mortgage. Analysis works with the panel data from period 2005- 2015 and all variables are used in the logarithmic form with one year lag. The model is estimated by random effects model. The assumption about positive impact of living standard on housing construction is not confirmed, because of the statistical insignificance of variable net disposable income. In case of other variables expected effects are confirm. The increases in rate of unemployment and housing prices have the negative impact on housing construction. And opposite the number of mortgage has positive impact on housing construction.

This thesis is focused on the question whether implementing of a malus policy into a bonus-malus system encourages drivers to be more responsible on the road. The drivers should be motivated to change their behaviour be aimed at decrease of reported insurance events because this system increases their premium whenever they are in an accident. To answer the given problem I used regression analysis with a random effects model and I analysed the drivers registered at insurance company Allianz in years 2000 - 2005. The result of this analysis shows that there was no change in the behaviour since the malus policy was introduced. The examined impact has been detected in case which was interacting with a different variable. The malus policy had the impact on a reduction of accidents in regions below 10 000 inhabitants. This thesis is also focused on the influence of driver characteristic and technical properties of his vehicle on reported insurance events. Tested variables are sex of the drivers, region of driver's residence, age and engine capacity. All explanatory variables have effect on the reported insurance events.

Genetic association studies have successfully identified many genetic markers associated with complex human diseases and related quantitative traits. However, for most complex diseases and quantitative traits, all associated genetic markers identified to date only explain a small proportion of heritability. Thus, exploring the unexplained heritability in these traits will help us discover novel genetic determinants for these traits and better understand disease etiology and pathophysiology. Due to limited sample size, a single cohort study may not have sufficient power to identify novel genetic association with a small effect size, and meta-analysis approaches have been proposed and applied to combine results from multiple cohorts in large consortia, increasing the sample size and statistical power. Rare genetic variants and gene by environment interaction may both play a role in genetic association studies. In this dissertation, we develop statistical methods in meta-analysis, rare genetic variants analysis and gene by environment interaction analysis, conduct extensive simulation studies, and apply these methods in real data examples. First, we develop a method of moments estimator for the between-study covariance matrix in random effects model multivariate meta-analysis. Our estimator is the first such estimator in matrix form, and holds the invariance property to linear transformations. It has similar performance with existing methods in simulation studies and real data analysis. Next, we extend the Sequence Kernel Association Test (SKAT), a rare genetic variants analysis approach for unrelated individuals, to be applicable in family samples for quantitative traits. The extension is necessary, as the original test has inflated type I error when directly applied to related individuals, and selecting an unrelated subset from family samples reduces the sample size and power. Finally, we derive methods for rare genetic variants analysis in detecting gene by environment interaction on quantitative traits, in the context of univariate test on the interaction term parameter. We develop statistical tests in the settings of both burden test and SKAT, for both unrelated and related individuals. Our methods are relevant to genetic association studies, and we hope that they can facilitate research in this field and beyond.

Meta-analysis is a popular statistical method that synthesizes evidence from multiple studies. Conventionally, both the hierarchical and bivariate models for meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) studies assume that the random-effects follow the bivariate normal distribution. However, this assumption is restrictive, and inferences could be misleading when it is violated. On the other hand, subjective methods such as inspection of forest plots are used to identify outlying studies in a meta-analysis of DTA studies. Moreover, inferences made using the well-established bivariate random-effects models, when outlying or influential studies are present, may lead to misleading conclusions. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to address these issues by introducing alternative and robust statistical methods. First, we extend the current bivariate linear mixed model (LMM) by assuming a flexible bivariate skew-normal distribution for the random-effects. The marginal distribution of the proposed model is analytically derived so that parameter estimation can be performed using standard likelihood methods. Overall, the proposed model performs better in terms of confidence interval width of the overall sensitivity and specificity, and with regards to bias and root mean squared error of the between-study (co)variances than the traditional bivariate LMM. Second, we propose objective methods based on solid statistical reasoning for identifying outlying and/or influential studies in a meta-analysis of DTA studies. The performances of the proposed methods are evaluated using a simulation study. The proposed methods outperform and avoid the subjectivity of the currently used ad hoc approaches. Finally, we develop a new robust bivariate random-effects model which accommodates outlying and influential observations and leads to a robust statistical inference by down-weighting the effect of outlying and influential studies. The proposed model produces robust point estimates of sensitivity and specificity compared to the standard models, and also generates a similar point and interval estimates of sensitivity and specificity as the standard models in the absence of outlying or influential studies. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Diagnostic tests vary from the noninvasive rapid strep test used to identify whether a patient has a bacterial sore throat to the much complex and invasive biopsy test used to examine the presence, cause, and extent of a severe condition, say cancer. Meta-analysis is a widely used statistical method that synthesizes evidence from several studies. In this thesis, we develop novel statistical methods extending the traditional methods for meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies. Our proposed methods address the issue of modelling asymmetrical data, identifying outlier studies, and optimally accommodating these outlying studies in a meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies. Using both real-life and simulated datasets, we show that our proposed methods perform better than conventional methods in a wide range of scenarios. %Therefore, we believe that our proposed methods are essential for methodologists, clinicians and health policy professionals in the process of making a correct judgment to using the appropriate diagnostic test to diagnose patients.

推薦系統的出現是為了解決訊息過載的問題，其需求隨著科技的進步、網路的普及而增加，相關技術也越發多樣且成熟。廣泛應用於各領域的統計模型也在技術的行列中。 推薦系統的運作仰賴使用者偏好訊息，而使用者對項目所組成的偏好空間往往十分巨大且不平衡，統計上需要相對複雜的隨機效應模型或混合效應模型來描繪這樣的變數結構，且通常需要計算效率相對低的反覆疊代過程來估計模型參數。因此Perry（2014）、Gao & Owen（2016）先後提出以動差法處理階層線性模型與兩因子隨機效應模型，是一種犧牲統計效率換取計算效率的做法。 本研究便是採用統計模型中的隨機效應模型法，分別以最大概似法和動差法估計參數，與同為協同過濾技術觀點的矩陣分解法進行分析比較。透過預測準確度和運算效率兩個層面，來評估各演算法在MoiveLens這筆資料上的推薦表現。 根據試驗結果歸納出隨機效應模型法無論以什麼樣的參數估計方式，在預測準確度的表現上都不如矩陣分解法來得好；但以動差法估計參數在穩定度上與矩陣分解法的表現差不多，且在運算效率上好很多。 / The recommender system (RS) appeared to solve the problem of information overload. The demand of the RS has increased with the advancement of technology and the popularity of the Internet, and related techniques have become more diverse and mature. The statistical models widely used in various fields are also in the list of techniques. The operation of the RS relies on user preference information, and the space of users’ preference to items is often large and unbalanced. Statistically, relatively complex random effects models or mixed effects models are needed to describe such variable structures, and often require a large number of iterations to estimate model parameters. Perry (2014), Gao & Owen (2016) proposed using the moment-based method to deal with hierarchical linear models and two-factor random effects models, respectively, expressing an idea of sacrificing statistical efficiency in exchange for computational efficiency. In this study, we analyze and compare the random effects model, using the maximum likelihood method and the moment-based method to estimate the parameters with the matrix factorization. Through the prediction accuracy and computational efficiency to evaluate the performance of each algorithm on the MoiveLens data. According to the experiment results, the random effects model is not as good as the matrix factorization in terms of the prediction accuracy no matter what kind of parameter estimation method is used; however, the performance of the moment-based parameter estimation is consistent with the matrix factorization in terms of the prediction stability, and much better in terms of the efficiency.

No description available.

No description available.

This dissertation analyses the effects of current fisheries practices and management regulations of the green spiny lobster (Panulirus gracilis) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Region (ETP). P. gracilis has reached a critical state in the ETP. Country-based studies report that between 60 and 98% of lobsters caught in the wild are under the minimum landing size (MLS). This means that spiny lobsters are being extracted before reproducing and contributing to the replenishment of interconnected populations. The recovery of green spiny lobster populations in the ETP and the future maintenance of a sustainable fishery will depend on effective management decisions and on taking in account environmental factors that influence the population dynamics of the lobsters. In the first study (Chapter 2), the B52 Spiny Lobster individual based simulation model was used for conducting a population viability analysis to quantify the effect of current fishing practices and the effect of varying management regulations on minimum landing size (MLS) and fishing effort. The best suit of regulations to maintain the highest abundance, production of offspring and catch is to protect juveniles and egged females, and to establish a MLS that assures the reproduction of individuals before being extracted. This study revealed regional variations, however the patterns and the causes for variation were not yet clear. This led to the next chapters in this dissertation. In Chapter 3, I used a meta-analysis to explore regional lobster variability by comparing published studies from the ETP. The objective was to identify patterns of variation related to geographic and environmental factors of the region that can inform the establishment and evaluation of coordinated regulations. Morphological relationships showed to be more variable at northern latitudes, where the mean annual sea surface temperatures are higher than at lower temperatures at the Equator. In terms of management, MLS regulations should be adapted accounting for the effect of sea surface temperature and its variation. Additionally, it was observed that monitoring methodologies are not standardized within the region and even in some cases, neither within countries. Furthermore, in most places monitoring of the spiny lobster fishery happens sporadically, only in Galapagos takes place every year. Identifying patterns of variations can improve the accuracy of prediction models which can help to explore, design, and apply more effective management measures, as well as promote regional coordination to support the recovery and maintenance of spiny lobsters. In Chapter 4, I contrast current Ecuadorian minimum landing size (MLS) regulation to lobster empirical measurements within Ecuador in order to recognize potential pitfalls for management enforcement. I used linear regression and multiple regression models with the objective of identifying potential relative size variations of the individuals caught in the wild over time and in the different fishing areas in Ecuador, as well as to analyse the effect of locality, sex, age and mean SST on the tail length/total length ratio. Morphological relations were significantly different among sexes, in time and by all sites. Most importantly, this study shows that current minimum size regulations are not applicable to all sites. Additionally, I found that water temperature has a significant effect on morphological relationship variations. However, it was not the main site-specific variable responsible for explaining such variations. In general, this work emphasizes the need for length data collection standardization and the consideration of temporal and spatial variation implications in national and regional fishery management planning, enforcement and evaluation.