Dynamic Time Warping Algorithm in Modeling Systemic Risk in the European Insurance Sector.

We are looking for tools to identify, model, and measure systemic risk in the insurance sector. To this aim, we investigated the possibilities of using the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm in two ways. The first way of using DTW is to assess the suitability of the Minimum Spanning Trees' (MST) topological indicators, which were constructed based on the tail dependence coefficients determined by the copula-DCC-GARCH model in order to establish the links between insurance companies in the context of potential shock contagion.

Coping with the challenges of living in an Indonesian residential institution.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe challenges and strategies for coping with these challenges among individuals living in an institutional setting.

Method: This study used a qualitative approach to analyze the interviews of fourteen participants (11 males and 3 females) ages 10-24 residing in an Indonesian residential institution (orphanage and Muslim boarding school).

Results: Insufficient access to educational resources and basic necessities were major concerns of the participants, as was the residential institution's unresponsiveness and the lack of connection experienced by residents.

Chemistry courses as the turning point for premedical students.

Previous research has documented that negative experiences in chemistry courses are a major factor that discourages many students from continuing in premedical studies. This adverse impact affects women and students from under-represented minority (URM) groups disproportionately. To determine if chemistry courses have a similar effect at a large public university, we surveyed 1,036 students from three entering cohorts at the University of California, Berkeley.

The leaky pipeline: factors associated with early decline in interest in premedical studies among underrepresented minority undergraduate students.

Purpose: To determine the causes among underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups (URM) of a decline in interest during the undergraduate years in pursuing a career in medicine.

Method: From fall 2002 through 2007, the authors conducted a longitudinal study of 362 incoming Stanford freshmen (23% URM) who indicated on a freshman survey that they hoped to become physicians. Using a 10-point scale of interest, the authors measured the change in students' levels of interest in continuing premedical studies between the beginning of freshman year and the end of sophomore year.

A pilot study of an interactive web site in the workplace for reducing alcohol consumption.

An interactive web-site-based intervention for reducing alcohol consumption was pilot tested. Participants were 145 employees of a work site in the Silicon Valley region of California, categorized as low or moderate risk for alcohol problems. All participants were given access to a web site that provided feedback on their levels of stress and use of coping strategies.

Religion and spirituality in coping with breast cancer: perspectives of Chilean women.

This study examined the roles of religion and spirituality in relation to coping with breast cancer in Chilean women. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to examine how these patients used religion and spirituality to cope with their illness; how their illness changed the roles of religion and spirituality in their lives; and their views regarding whether, and if so how, spiritual faith can help patients recuperate from breast cancer. Twenty-seven women with breast cancer who were patients at a clinic in Santiago, Chile were recruited to participate in one-on-one interviews.

Listening to patients: cultural and linguistic barriers to health care access.

Background And Objectives: Full access to medical care includes cultural and linguistic access as well as financial access. We sought to identify cultural and linguistic characteristics of low-income, ethnic minority patients' recent encounters with health care organizations that impede, and those that increase, health care access.

Methods: We conducted four focus groups with ethnically homogeneous African American, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander patients.

Assessment of binge drinking of alcohol in highly educated employees.

This study evaluated the usefulness of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and CAGE, a standardized screening instrument for detecting alcohol dependence in identifying binge drinking among highly educated employees. Brochures were mailed to an entire workforce inviting employees to learn about their coping strategies, stress levels, and risk for alcohol-related problems, with 228 employees providing complete data. Binge drinking in the previous 3 months was reported by 29% of the employees, with greater binge drinking reported by White employees, of mixed/other ethnic background, or younger.

Relationships of alcohol use, stress, avoidance coping, and other factors with mental health in a highly educated workforce.

Purpose: The relationships of drinking, stress, life satisfaction, coping style, and antidepressant use to mental health were examined in a highly educated workforce.

Design: This study used a one-time mail-out, mail-back cross-sectional survey design to examine the relationships of mental health with three kinds of stress (life events, work stress, home stress); two kinds of life satisfaction (work and home); use of avoidance coping; and antidepressant use.

Setting: This study was conducted at a large worksite in northern California in which the workforce was comprised of predominantly highly educated employees.

Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in a highly educated workforce.

This study examined alcohol and licit and illicit drug use in a highly educated workforce. A comprehensive health survey of a 10% random sample of a workforce (n = 8,567) yielded a 60% response rate (n = 504) after accounting for 15 undeliverable surveys. Many respondents reported past-year use of alcohol (87%).

The Employee Stress and Alcohol Project: the development of a computer-based alcohol abuse prevention program for employees.

The Employee Stress and Alcohol Project (ESAP) developed an interactive computer-based alcohol abuse prevention and early intervention program accessible to employees over the Internet. Behavioral health research recommends that specialists develop and provide comprehensive yet cost-effective approaches to alcohol abuse prevention, early intervention, and treatment within the context of workplace managed care. ESAP is implementing this web site for a diverse 8,567-employee work site.