In the class of normal regression models with a finite number of regressors, and for a wide class of prior distributions, a Bayesian model selection procedure based on the Bayes factor is consistent [Casella and Moreno J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 104 (2009) 1261–1271]. However, in models where the number of parameters increases as the sample size increases, properties of the Bayes factor are not t...

OBJECTIVES There is a strong relationship between subjective health and mortality, level of functional ability and medical consumption. The aim of this study was to describe the correlation of objective health-related factors with self-reported health (SRH) of a sample of the Belgian population. METHODS Participants were recruited during an exhibition at the Brussels Exhibition Centre. They c...

In this paper, we propose a new video quality measurement method which is based on several degradation factors. The proposed method assumes that reference videos are available. In the proposed algorithm, the VQM (Video Quality Metric) is calculated as a weighted sum of seven features which represent sources of various video degradations. In particular, the degradation factors include PSNR in th...

We propose an objective Bayesian method for the comparison of all Gaussian directed acyclic graphical models defined on a given set of variables. The method, which is based on the notion of fractional Bayes factor, requires a single default (typically improper) prior on the space of unconstrained covariance matrices, together with a prior sample size hyper-parameter, which can be set to its min...

BACKGROUND The longitudinal birth cohort study is the preferred design for studies of childhood health, particularly atopic disease. Still, prospective data collection depends on recollection of the medical history since the previous visit representing a potential recall-bias. We aimed to ascertain the quality of information on atopic disease and other health symptoms reported by parental inter...

Product listing agreements (PLAs) with pharmaceutical manufacturers are increasingly viewed as an innovative and useful tool in the effort to control drug expenditures. To date, Quebec is the only province that has been reluctant to enter into such agreements, arguing that their confidential nature may lead to a disparity in coverage between individuals covered by the public plan and those cove...

Companies are increasingly conscious of the fact that the achieving of their objectives, together with the improvement of their competitive advantages, depends on the appropriate management of the human factor. The dynamism and strong competition that characterize the business world make it increasingly necessary to introduce a system of human resources to allow the exploiting of the knowledge ...

Human Resource processes and systems, like other key components of the organization should directly support the strategic goals and objectives of the organization. The strategic plan should be translated into behavioral objectives that will guide the activities of the people in the organization. This shifts the focus of Human Resource processes from rules to results and “raises the bar” on empl...