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We implement an analytic approach for ordinal measures and we use it to investigate the structure and the changes over time of self-worth in a sample of adolescents students in high school. We represent the variations in self-worth and its various sub-domains using entropy-based measures that capture the observed uncertainty. We then study the evolution of the entropy across four time points throughout a semester of high school. Our analytic approach yields information about the configuration of the various dimensions of the self together with time-related changes and associations among these dimensions. We represent the results using a network that depicts self-worth changes over time. This approach also identifies groups of adolescent students who show different patterns of associations, thus emphasizing the need to consider heterogeneity in the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual subjects' ratings neither are metric nor have homogeneous meanings, consequently digital- labeled collections of subjects' ratings are intrinsically ordinal and categorical. However, in these situations, the literature privileges the use of measures conceived for numerical data. In this paper, we discuss the exploratory theme of employing conditional entropy to measure degrees of uncertainty in responding to self-rating questions and that of displaying the computed entropies along the ordinal axis for visible pattern recognition. We apply this theme to the study of an online dataset, which contains responses to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. We report three major findings. First, at the fine scale level, the resultant multiple ordinal-display of response-vs-covariate entropy measures reveals that the subjects on both extreme labels (high self-esteem and low self-esteem) show distinct degrees of uncertainty. Secondly, at the global scale level, in responding to positively posed questions, the degree of uncertainty decreases for increasing levels of self-esteem, while, in responding to negative questions, the degree of uncertainty increases. Thirdly, such entropy-based computed patterns are preserved across age groups. We provide a set of tools developed in R that are ready to implement for the analysis of rating data and for exploring pattern-based knowledge in related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the quantitative literature on social support networks for childcare in Italy. As italy is a country characterised by a familistic welfare model, women who lack kin-based support networks, which are indeed a useful tool in this type of countries, may be disadvantaged. We considered foreign working women that have at least one cohabiting child in preschool age, and, using large scale survey data, we defined and built their ECSEN (Effective Children Support Ego-Network). We synthesized the networks observed into five main typologies through a cluster analysis, followed by an aggregative inductive procedure. This allowed to single out the support given by kin members and by other children, and to highlight situations of potential social frailty. We then identified three situations of interest that we further analysed through logistic modeling. Results underline the crucial role of living arrangements and of kin's availability in shaping the ECSEN, highlight that, differently from other family behaviours, cultural background and country of origin play a marginal role, and identify some Italian specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the quantitative literature on social support networks for childcare in Italy. As italy is a country characterised by a familistic welfare model, women who lack kin-based support networks, which are indeed a useful tool in this type of countries, may be disadvantaged. We considered foreign working women that have at least one cohabiting child in preschool age, and, using large scale survey data, we defined and built their ECSEN (Effective Children Support Ego-Network). We synthesized the networks observed into five main typologies through a cluster analysis, followed by an aggregative inductive procedure. This allowed to single out the support given by kin members and by other children, and to highlight situations of potential social frailty. We then identified three situations of interest that we further analysed through logistic modeling. Results underline the crucial role of living arrangements and of kin's availability in shaping the ECSEN, highlight that, differently from other family behaviours, cultural background and country of origin play a marginal role, and identify some Italian specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European R Users Meeting 2020 (e-Rum2020) was a conference that was held virtually in June 2020. Originally, e-Rum2020 had been planned as a physical event to be held in Milano. However, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the declaration of a nationwide lockdown induced the Organizing Committee to fully rethink the event, and to turn it into a live virtual conference. In this article, we describe the challenges that we encountered during the organization of e-Rum2020, and how we reacted to them. in doing so, we aim to provide future conference organizers with useful information on how to organize a successful virtual conference, and even to turn a physical conference into a virtual meeting on a relatively short notice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]