Inference in Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression

A recent paper expands the well-known geographically weighted regression (GWR) framework significantly by allowing the bandwidth or smoothing factor in GWR to be derived separately for each covariate in the model—a framework referred to as multiscale GWR (MGWR). However, one limitation of the MGWR framework is that, until now, no inference about the local parameter estimates was possible. Formally, the so-called “hat matrix,” which projects the observed response vector into the predicted response vector, was available in GWR but not in MGWR. This paper addresses this limitation by reframing GWR as a Generalized Additive Model, extending this framework to MGWR and then deriving standard errors for the local parameters in MGWR. In addition, we also demonstrate how the effective number of parameters can be obtained for the overall fit of an MGWR model and for each of the covariates within the model. This statistic is essential for comparing model fit between MGWR, GWR, and traditional global models, as well as for adjusting multiple hypothesis tests. We demonstrate these advances to the MGWR framework with both a simulated data set and a real-world data set and provide a link to new software for MGWR (MGWR1.0) which includes the novel inferential framework for MGWR described here.     

Eugenics,Sterilisation and Modern Marriage in the USA: The Strange Career of Paul Popenoe

This article uses the fifty‐year career of Paul Popenoe as a lens through which to examine the North American eugenics movement. Popenoe, a leading advocate of compulsory sterilisation in the 1930s, became a celebrated marriage counsellor in the 1950s, famous for the Ladies' Home Journal feature ‘Can This Marriage Be Saved?’ The ease with which Popenoe metamorphosed from a champion of sterilisation to an expert on marriage was made possible by, and helps to reveal, deep ideological affinities and organisational connections between eugenics and marriage counselling in the United States.     

A first prehistoric case of tuberculosis from Britain

A likely case of tuberculosis in an Iron Age human burial from Dorset, England is described. Osteological examination and biomolecular study support the diagnosis. A radiocarbon determination indicates a date range for the burial of BC 400–230. This case represents the earliest reported case of tuberculosis from Britain, and indicates that the disease was present here prior to the Roman invasion. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reply to “A Critical Comment on the Taylor Approach for Measuring World City Interlock Linkages” by C. Nordlund

I do not treat cities as agents. I do not claim to be an alchemist. I do not consider my original illustrative data set to be an adequate basis for discussing actual intercity relations. Theoretical elaboration was not part of the remit of my original paper.     

A world geography of global media cities

This is an empirical study that analyses the geography of 33 global media firms through their locations in 284 cities across the world. The analyses are set within the world cities literature and a methodology is used that searches out city networks from data on firms to define ‘global media cities’. Resulting definitions of network connectivities allow comparisons to be made with more familiar world city network results on global service centres. The relative importance of media industries in European cities is highlighted. The main analysis uses a principal components model to discover global media fields centred upon specific articulator cities, notably New York, Los Angeles, Munich, Berlin, London and Paris. It is concluded that there is a geographical logic to the growth of large media companies.     

Development and evaluation of geochemical methods for the sourcing of archaeological maize

Strontium (Sr)-isotope values on bone from deer mice pairs from 12 field sites in the Chaco Canyon area, New Mexico, were compared with isotope values of synthetic soil waters from the same fields. The data indicate that mice obtain Sr from near-surface sources and that soil samples collected at depths ranging from 25 to 95 cm contain Sr that is more accessible to the deep roots of maize; thus, synthetic soil solutions provide better data for the sourcing of archaeological maize. However, the Sr-isotope composition of mice may be more valuable in sourcing archaeological remains of animals such as rabbit, turkey, and deer.