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The number of students being stood down for bad behaviour is at its lowest point for more than a decade.
Suspensions and exclusions are slightly lower than previous years and the number of pupils being expelled from school is also the lowest it has been in years.
But principals, teachers and other experts say there is still an increasing number of children who are difficult to handle and that schools simply had better restorative programmes in place now - rather than children becoming better behaved.
The latest figures on stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsion rates, released by the Ministry of Education, show a drop in all areas.
In particular, stand-down rates have fallen for the fifth consecutive year since peaking in 2006.
Back then, the age-standardised stand-down rate stood at 30.9 per 1000 students.
The numbers fell to 24.5 stand-downs per 1000 students in 2011.
Maori pupils and male students in particular continue to top the number of stand-downs.
Maori also had a higher number of stand-downs than any other ethnic group, while Asian students had the lowest. The students least likely to be stood down from school were Asian girls.
NZ Principals' Federation president Phil Harding said schools had become smarter about addressing misbehaviour in the classroom.
"I'm not certain that [the figures] necessarily represent a change in human behaviour as much as a commitment from schools to do all they can," said Mr Harding.
"Schools are owning their kids and saying they're going to look for ways to modify and to change, to speak to the whanau and to do whatever it takes, because we recognise that booting a kid out isn't actually helping that family find a solution.
"There's a whole lot of initiatives across the sector that are contributing to changes in student behaviour and maybe some of those are starting to work."
Such restorative measures include having a conflict management programme in place, introducing peer monitoring, buddy systems, and a no-blame approach to bullying.
Having restorative systems in place may well account for the drop in expulsions throughout the country. In 2011, the age-standardised expulsion rate was 1.6 - the lowest since 2004.
Mr Harding, who is principal at Christchurch's Paparoa Street Primary School, said restorative measures provided an actual solution rather than just a punishment.
"It's a wonderful way to reveal to children the impact of what they're doing. It's a much more powerful driver than simple punishment or saying, 'you're out of this school, we hate you, go find somewhere else'. How does that help a child?
"I'd like to think that's a big factor than suddenly kids have all turned good. It's reflecting probably those other factors."
Secondary Principals' Association president Patrick Walsh reiterated those ideas, saying the figures did not mean students were becoming better behaved.
"In the past a student was suspended or stood down automatically. We're now seeing more schools using restorative practices, where they meet with a student and discuss their behaviour and how it can be improved."
Mr Walsh said cyberbullying and text bullying had also skyrocketed and those behind it could easily go unpunished as they were sometimes hard to track down.
In 2011 there were 46.1 stand- downs per 1000 students for Maori - 1.5 times higher than Pasifika pupils and 2.6 times higher than European or Pakeha. Those from poorer backgrounds were also more likely to be stood down.
Other figures - categorised by the type of behaviour that resulted in a stand-down, suspension or expulsion - indicate why many students were punished.
Up to 25.5 per cent of students were stood down because of physical assaults on other students, while 21.9 per cent received a stand-down because of continual disobedience.
More serious reasons for stand- downs included consuming or bringing alcohol to school, 3.6 per cent, arson, 0.4 per cent, and physical assault on staff, 2.7 per cent.
Psychologist Fiona Ayers, who has more than 20 years' experience and is also a qualified teacher, said changing lifestyles and various changes within society had led to some big changes in children's behaviour.
"A lot of it comes down to that they haven't had the experience of boundaries. They find it quite difficult to do things like sit on the mat for 10 minutes, sit on their seats and read. We see kids that don't sleep at night - there's the TV running all night and they're watching programmes after 8.30pm and fall asleep on the couch," Mrs Ayers said.
"We don't discount the impact of video games. A lot of them are playing R18 video games and lots of homes now have an Xbox or PlayStation attachment.
"There are a lot more challenging children than there used to be," she said.
Editor of parent information website Kiwi Families Rochelle Gribble said young people were more aware of their surroundings and not afraid to confront authority.
"There is less respect for teachers and, sometimes, parents. I overheard my dad and his partner the other day talking about what it was like back when I was young.
"When a child did something wrong, you'd get a clip around the ear and that would be it. Today practices are very different obviously."
The Ministry of Education's latest initiative is a new website set up this year - Wellbeing@school - to help teachers and parents share best practice in tackling bad behaviour, including bullying.
Mum blames changing world for behaviour issues
A different world has led to differences in behaviour for one Auckland family.
Mother of four Naomi Nanai, of Glendene, says her eldest children, aged 19, 18 and 12, were much better behaved than her youngest child, aged 5.
Her 19-year-old daughter Parma and 18-year-old son Evan - both university students - had been easy children, she said. So too was 12-year-old son PJ.
"My older kids were quiet and not at all difficult. The boys were sometimes a handful, but nothing big. There was never a time when I was called into school because of any bad behaviour."
However, she admits her youngest son, Latu, had been trouble.
"I've been called into school twice because of his behaviour. He's a loving boy but he's not scared of anybody.
"The teachers are the same ones who taught my older children and they say, 'oh he's very different from the other kids'."
She said the modern world's elevated consumption had created different expectations - and had a knock-on effect on behaviour.
She added her family could not afford much when her eldest were young, and they valued what they had more.
"My youngest son has more things like toys, compared to my older children.
"Latu, though, lives in a different world today. There are computers, cellphones, DVDs and video games."
Mrs Nanai said there were only slight differences in the way she had raised her children.
She hoped her youngest son would grow out of his bad behaviour and follow in his siblings' footsteps and do well at school.
"When he is naughty I send him to his room or say he can't watch cartoons until the weekend.
"I hope he grows up and is a good boy."


text:
I love your music since I heard 'I'll be in the sky'. In Slovakia your music is not very known among other people, which is a shame, but I adore your every song. Please, come to concerts in the heart of Europe - Slovakia.
A great opportunity! ;) It has long been thinking of buying this Polaroid, but signed by B.O.B.? Perfect! I want it, I love it! :)
i want this!!!! pleeeeaaasssee :) this would make my year :D x luv b.o.b x love the new epic mixtape too ... who says you've changed, still the same amazin b.o.b :)
Honestly speaking, i must say the Strange Clouds (wwwooooowwww) is the best album atleast for me and I love to listen it day and night... Love u B.o.B. awesome BASSSSSSS ....wooooo
just saw B.o.B november 29th in NYC at the bowery ballroom... the concert was AMAZING .. best one I've been too! and I'm pretty sure i saw this camera being used for a picture or two by someone on the stage hahahah!!! would love to have one autographed!!
B.o.B songs make up a full playlist for my ipod and I just listen on shuffle because I have over 150 songs in that playlist... but for the B.o.B vs Bobby Ray mixtape, I'd have to say that Bobby Ray appeals to me more ;P besides that is an EPIC name, no need to be ashamed (but you know that now Bobby)
I love me some B.O.B. i think he is so amazing
i cant wait till he comes to new orleans to da dirty south to see him in concert
But come on hook a big fan up wit a camera
B.O.B and me should just wear our addias colors and do a photo shoot with the Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S Camera. How about that B.o.B sound like a plan?
GAHH OMG IV TRIED COMMENTING LIKE A MILLION TIMES ALREADY BUT I HAVE TERRIBLE INTERNET BC WE JUST HAD A MAJOR POWER OUTAGE FROM A WIND STORM !!!!! I could have been first comment, then 50th, then a
Hundredth, now 300th??? ;( I'm dying to get this camera. IV always loveeeeeeed b.o.b soooo much it's kinda crazy. Especially ever since I saw him live at isa la back in september where he stayed up there for like 20 songs it seemed like just keepin the crowd going crazy. He was by far my fav act there
B.o.B. is such a BOSS!!! No jk around here. A collaboration with Weezy was so intelligent, cuz that's how B.o.B. flies!
Love the song "Strange Clouds" Can't wait for the video to come out. My crew Superbad Inc are in it too! I want that camera to look back on the time I was on the actual set of the Strange Clouds video shoot. It would be like an accomplishment trophy for Superbad Inc.
Reminds me of the song Camera off of the B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray mixtape. Taking it back to 2009. Much love from Colorado.
B.o.B your the realest rapper out there, props to all the good work you've been doing, keep it up.. a autograph from you would truly be a honor!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Strobeflux wrote:I gotta say that im completely stuck on this one.
No matter what I try, I end up with garbage. and ive tried lots of things =(
A little nudge in the right direction would make strobey a happy panda!
Strobeflux wrote:Today i ended up scanning for members who completed the challenge to see if there was a common thread. (like if they where coders, graphicians or any other expertise) or similiar to use that as a guideline. Thats when i realized how desperate i was starting to get.
Edit: 4 of the members who completed this is in the Top 150 page. just a random notice.
Strobeflux wrote:Ive made tons of programming for this one! =D ,
However, one of the solutions i have seems to be a rather likely one, because it kind of fits how the file is structured.
but no matter how i twist this specific idea i get nothing else than garbage, so now im kind of stuck in this specific
thought of how this must work. Can i send you a PM (Defience) with what this specific idea of mine is, and then you can tell
me if im completely off or not? Its actually kind of 2 ideas, its two very specific conditions that ive found so far that makes
them interesting for me.
Arty251 wrote:I assume none of the few who have solved this are still keeping tabs with the forum topic, much to my (and it seems, everyone else's) dismay. I've been analyzing this image in many different ways, but don't see anything odd beyond the utter lack of one value in any of the three color values (RGB) and the heightened presence of another value in 1/3 of the color values. Studying these and replacing bytes has given me nothing, however, and I am at a loss to whether this avenue is even worth pursuing. In the off-chance that a user who has successfully completed this mission sees this message, is there any insight or specific topics that would help crack this challenge?
Apologies if something in here is too revealing, but without the solution at hand, I have clue what's just pointless information and what may be considered a spoiler.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests


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Q: I'm getting tired of pulling weeds by hand. Any tips for removal?
Maynard – Monroe, CT
A: Weeds just seem to keep growing and growing, don't they? No matter how many times you pull on your hip waders, trudge down to the pond and pull out those pesky pond pests, they just grow back thicker than ever.
Part of the challenge, too, is that many herbicides, including Shoreline Defense® are prohibited in some states. If you live in one of these places, you have no choice but to manually or mechanically remove pond weeds.
Thank goodness for these trusty tools. They make the weeding chore a breeze – well, at least a little easier.
Weed Cutter
A weed cutter, like the Weed Cutter and the Weed Razer™, mechanically slices through weeds at their base so they can then be raked out.
The 28-inch, double-sided Weed Cutter features a two-piece, rust-proof, powder-coated aluminum handle that's 11 feet long. It's great for removing floating aquatic vegetation, marginal weeds and cattails that extend past the pond's edge.
The V-shaped Weed Razer™ clears a 4-foot-wide path in pond weeds by sinking to the bottom and slicing through submerged weeds like watermilfoil, cattails and lily pads as you pull it across the pond. The razor-sharp tool weighs just 8 pounds, making it light enough to toss 30 feet or more yet heavy enough to sink straight to the bottom.
Pond Rake and Skimmer
A pond rake or skimmer pulls, gathers and removes dead debris from the surface or the bottom of a pond.
Debris on the surface of a pond, like algae or freshly cut pond weeds, can sink to the bottom and start to decay, adding to the muck and detritus that's already there. All that debris degrades water quality, compromises fish health, provides a nutrient source for nuisance plants, and can even affect chemical treatments' ability to work.
A floating pond rake, like the PondSkim™ Debris Skimmer, or a sub-surface pond rake, like the Pond & Beach Rake with float attachment, lends a long helping hand. Elongated by rope so you can easily get the hard-to-reach and deep-water growth, both rakes work by bringing those weeds back to shore.
Weed Prevention
Though you'll have a tough time fighting Mother Nature and stopping her from propagating pond weeds, you can slow her down by following up your weed-whacking chores with treatments of MuckAway™ and Pond Dye. MuckAway's™ beneficial bacteria will eliminate bottom-of-the-pond muck that fertilizes pond weeds, while Pond Dye will shade the water and prevent UV rays from accelerating weed growth.
Pond Talk: What manual or mechanical weed-killing tips can you share with fellow hobbyists?
Filed under: Emergent Weeds, Pond & Lake, Pondweeds | Tagged: pond rake, pond skim, prevention, skimmer, Tools, weed, weed cutter, weed removal, weeds | Leave a comment »


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AUSTIN –For the fifth consecutive season, Texas failed to produce a 1,000-yard rusher in 2012. And for the fifth consecutive season, the Longhorns failed to crack the nation's Top 20 in rushing yards. Their 171-yards-per-game average placed them 53rd nationally and only sixth in the pass-happy Big 12.
Still, the Longhorns believe they are on the verge of unleashing one of college football's premiere running attacks. Here's a breakdown of how they plan to do it:
UT returns the same three ballyhooed tailbacks it used last season, but this fall the hierarchy has changed. Sophomore Johnathan Gray, who led all Longhorns rushers with 701 yards last season, is now the No. 1 option. That's not necessarily because he's the most talented — which he might be — but rather because coaches believe they can count on him.
The staff still holds junior Malcolm Brown in high regard, but he has spent much of his first two years in Austin struggling to stay on the field due to injury problems. After spraining his ankle at Oklahoma State, doctors initially said he'd be recovered in a couple of weeks. Instead, he sat out five consecutive games, and wasn't much of a factor when he returned. He has the body and the skill set to be a workhorse, but he needs to stay on the field.
As for Joe Bergeron? He scored 16 touchdowns as a sophomore, but coaches would like to see him stay in better shape before they consistently use him as a featured back. He might end up becoming more of a short-yardage specialist, a role at which he's built to excel.
Then there are the ball-carriers who offensive coordinator Major Applewhite will attempt to utilize at positions other than tailback. Jalen Overstreet, the converted quarterback, will get some practice repetitions at tailback, but he'll also get a look at the slot position along with Daje Johnson.
Johnson, a sophomore, is a player for whom the Longhorns need to find more opportunities to run in space. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry and 15.1 yards per catch last season, but touched the ball only 46 times in 12 games.
Previous breakdowns: Offensive line, receivers/tight ends.
Next breakdown: Quarterbacks.


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Kenneth W. Graham, Jr. is Professor of Law Emeritus at the UCLA School of Law. His scholarship focuses on the law of evidence and he has published twelve volumes of Federal Practice and Procedure: Evidence (with Wright, 1978-2001). Professor Graham was a 1987 recipient of the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, and following retirement, he continued to teach two undergraduate classes: Evidence in Law, Science, History, and Journalism and Peace, Nonviolence, and the Law.
Professor Graham has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Michigan, Texas, and Southern California. He taught for many years at the National Judicial College in Reno, and he has also taught continuing legal education courses for UCLA Extension, the CEB, ALI-ABA, and the Oklahoma State Bar. He has worked in a large corporate law firm in Los Angeles and prosecuted cases in the office of the Ventura County District Attorney's office. Additionally, Professor Graham has handled appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, and the California Court of Appeals. For twenty years, he also wrote and produced the annual Law School Musical, performed by students, staff, and faculty.


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Lester Goldman: Flights of Fancy Fulfilled
Artist Glenn Goldberg and art historian Elisabeth Kirsch will discuss the exhibit Lester Goldman: Flights of Fancy Fulfilled. Sean Kelley, the Library's volunteer chief curator of art, will moderate the discussion, which complements the Library's exhibit of Goldman's paintings and ceramics in the Library's North Gallery. Many works have never been on public display.
Goldman, professor of painting at the Kansas City Art Institute from 1966 until his death in 2005, abandoned figurative portraiture for more playful abstract experimentation: electric colors, sweeping lines, personal and political symbols, and a variety of media from sculpture to performance. The exhibit was made possible with the support of Kathrin Goldman, her family, and volunteer curators Andrea Phillips and Stephanie Finkelstein.
Goldberg and Kirsch will discuss the symbols in Goldman's work and the philosophy behind his creative process. Goldberg studied at the New York Studio School and received a MFA from Queens College. He was named the 1996 Heilman Artist and has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. Kirsch has been a curator of contemporary art, administrator, historian, and critic since 1976. Kirsch was a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in 1980, and she has curated more than one hundred exhibitions of photography, contemporary art, and American Indian art for not-for-profit and public institutions.
Sean Kelley operated the Sean Kelley Gallery in the Uptown Theatre Building at 36th and Broadway from 1989 - 1994. Kelley co-founded Grand Arts in 1995, a non-profit art gallery and foundation, where he was the director until 2003.
The exhibit is open in the North Gallery of the Central Library from September 18 to October 31, 2009.


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How many votes could have stolen the 1980 election for Jimmy Carter? Less than 3 percent
Do 2012 turnout figures indicate likeliness of voter fraud?
"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."
Henry David Thoreau
Evidence of vote fraud is very much like that. Those who engage in it are slick and do all they can to hide it, so the evidence is often quite circumstantial.
In fact, often the circumstantial evidence is all the evidence we have, such was finding tens of thousands of bogus votes in the ballot box, we didn't see someone actually put them there, but they are found, they are there, and they are clearly evidence of vote fraud. Such is true of the voting divisions where Obama gets 100 percent of the votes cast.
As if anyone REALLY believes that is legitimate


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Key Handle, Roman Officer Showing Off, c. 1st-3rd Cent
Copper alloy; 49mm/30.3gm
Description/ Smiling Roman officer wearing high-crested helmet and showing his phallus.
Con/ as near cast, missing (iron?) key, sharp green and glossy patina, cleaned and waxed.
Seller's note/ Certainly of Roman provincial make, perhaps from Siscia or Mursa. We're positive that this very lovely and interesting Roman figure was the clasp of a key and either the Æ key part was either plow-broken away or the iron end simply disintegrated in the earth. Such key ends were not inexpensive back in the day and our conjucture is that it was owned by an elite Roman officer that had the denarius to spend on such a whimsical key. Is the officer simply shown smiling, just enjoying having a good long piss? Your explanation is as good as ours.
Museum quality and very rare. Trust me, you will never, ever, see another such example.


text:
Moser Engineering - Ford 9" - Housing & Axle Package - 1977-1996 GM B-Body: Impala, Caprice, etc.
Application: 1977-1996 GM B-Body: Impala, Caprice, etc.
If you have questions regarding rear ends and their options read the "Ordering A Rear End - The Master FAQ List" article in our Support Center.
Moser Engineering Ford 9" Bolt-In Housing and Axles Package for the 1977-1996 GM B-Body Impala, Caprice, etc.: If you're looking for everything but the center section then this is the package for you!
The Moser Engineering Ford 9" rear end for the 1977-1996 GM B-Body Impala, Caprice, etc. is for those looking for the ultimate in "bullet-proof" performance and longevity! All Moser Engineering bolt-in Ford 9" housings are made with new heavy duty housing cores, seamless steel axle tubes (3.00" o.d. x 0.250" wall) and new CNC laser cut suspension mounting brackets.
The Moser Ford 9" rear end is 100% bolt in compatible for your 1977-1996 GM B-Body Impala, Caprice, etc.It includes all suspension control arm and shock mounts installed on the housing.
The standard set up includes:
- Housing with all stock style suspension brackets installed
- Custom alloy axles (up to 40 spline)
- Wheel bearings
- Wheel studs
- Retainer plates
- Powder coating available
They are available with many options, please select the components you wish to have your rear end built with from the drop down option boxes. If you have any questions on the best set up for your application, email our tech department for assistance in making the right choices.
Shipping: The Moser Ford 9" rear end ships via UPS Ground.


text:
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Manual 3-step approach with auxiliary...
Mplus Discussion
Latent Variable Mixture Modeling
Lewina Lee
posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - 4:09 pm
Dear Drs. Muthen,
I would like to do (1) an LPA of 21 continuous variables, and (2)test class membership in relations to 9 covariates (x's) and 2 distal outcomes (y's). I intend to use the procedure for manually implementing the 3-step approach described in M+ webnotes #15 v5.
In the 3-step approach, given that the measurement model is estimated independent of the auxiliary variables, does it make sense to proceed in the following manner?
1. Do class enumeration in Step 1 (e.g., do Step 1 with 1 - 8 classes) to identify the best one or two models while specifying AUXILIARY = x1, x2,..x9, y1, y2.
2. Do Step 2 (calculating measurement error for most likely class variable) for the best one or two models identified in class enumeration.
3. Do Step 3 (estimating the auxiliary model while specifying the latent class model with measurement errors obtained in Step 2) for the best one or two models from class enumeration.
Can latent class membership (C) be regressed on covariates?
Can distal outcomes be regressed on class membership in Step 3?
Is it accurate to say that class membership will not shift regardless of modifications in the auxiliary model (e.g., adding/removing covariates and distal outcomes)?
Thank you,
Lewina Lee
posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - 4:18 pm
One more short question in addition to the above:
In M+ webnotes #15 v5 Appendix F, Step 3 of the manually-implemented 3-step model is specified with STARTS=0, are users supposed to follow that in actual analyses?
(In Step 1, the authors noted that STARTS=0 was only specified to retain the order of classes as in the data generation step, and that users should remove that in actual analyses.)
Thank you,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - 5:24 pm
Regarding your questions
"Can latent class membership (C) be regressed on covariates?
Can distal outcomes be regressed on class membership in Step 3?"
- you can do that automatically using R3STEP and DU3STEP, but you can also do it manually. The class membership will not change due to the auxiliaries.
For Step 3, STARTS=0 should be used because the class membership is essentially known.
Lewina Lee
posted on Thursday, November 01, 2012 - 12:01 pm
Thank you for your quick response, Dr. Muthen.
In Step 3, if any of the distal outcomes and/or covariates are binary, do I need to specify that in a "CATEGORICAL ARE x1 x2 y1" statement?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, November 01, 2012 - 9:23 pm
No, that is not available. They are treated as continuous so for binary distals you will get proportions.
Lewina Lee
posted on Wednesday, November 07, 2012 - 8:15 pm
Dr. Muthen,
Regarding my question on 11/1/2012 - 12:01pm on using the CATEGORICAL ARE statement on distal outcomes -- could you please clarify what you meant by "not available"?
I tried Step 3 of the manual 3-step approach by specifying:
Y on x1 x2 x3;
c on x1 x2 x3;
Y on x1 x2 x3;
Y on x1 x2 x3;
I tried it with vs. without the "CATEGORICAL = Y" statement. The regression results (p-values) for Y on X1-X3 are comparable in both cases. I see that I got an intercept for Y in each class when Y was modeled as continuous, as opposed to a threshold.
Could you please help me understand why I could not use "CATEGORICAL ARE" with binary distals?
What do I need to do to obtain P(distal=1), or odds of distal=1 in one class versus another class?
Thank you very much for all your help.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 9:51 am
All variables on the AUXILIARY list are treated as continuous variables for the AUXILIARY functions whether they are on the CATEGORICAL list or not.
Lewina Lee
posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 1:42 pm
If I am doing the manual 3-step approach, I do not need to use the AUXILIARY= statement according to WebNote 15. (I only need to use AUXILIARY= in the automatic 3 step approach, e.g., using DU3STEP). Does that mean, in Step 3 of the manual 3-step approach, I can specify covariates and outcomes with CATEGORICAL= ?
Because when I used CATEGORICAL= at Step 3 of the manual 3-step approach with a binary outcome, I was able to get an output on "LOGISTIC REGRESSION ODDS RATIO RESULTS." I just want to verify that this is ok.
Thank you,
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 2:05 pm
Yes, it is. But you should not put any observed exogenous covariates on the CATEGORICAL list. This list is for dependent variables only.
Lewina Lee
posted on Thursday, November 08, 2012 - 4:32 pm
Thank you for the clarification, Linda!
Scott Weaver
posted on Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - 6:25 pm
I am interested in testing whether means on a set of distal outcomes differ across growth trajectory classes (GMM), controlling for a set of covariates. The covariates have direct effects on growth factor means (class indicators) and the class indicators have direct effects on the outcomes within class (constrained equal across class). I used a one-step approach , but a reviewer suggested a 3-step approach.
Two questions:
(1) Can I test whether *adjusted* means for the distal outcomes differ between classes with a manual 3-step approach, and
(2) Given the direct effects of covariates on class indicators (and class indicator effects on the distal outcomes) with entropy =.63 (obtained from the 1-step final model), would the 1-step approach be better suited than the 3-step approach based on simulation results in webnote 15. Thanks!
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 - 9:32 am
I don't think it is possible to do a 3-step approach for this model because you have a
"class indicator effects on the distal outcomes". Since the class indicators are latent variables in stage 3 you cant use them (these latent variables, the growth factors, are measured and created in stage 1 only so they wont be available in stage 3).
posted on Monday, January 28, 2013 - 7:24 pm
I would like to use latent class membership from one series of indicators (along with a few other continuous covariates), to predict latent profile membership derived from a separate series of indicators. Clustering independently is theoretically important (separate domains), which is why the 3-step procedure is appealing.
I can manually run the 3-step procedure separately for each latent class analysis (at least up to the 2nd step), to get the misclassification stats for each one. A 4-profile/class solution fits best in both cases.
Something along the lines of Ex7.14 appears to be close to what I need, except that I have a directed prediction from theory (actually more similar to Ex7.19, with a separate clustering variable instead of the factor), and a number of continuous covariates.
So, what type of specification am I dealing with here, and how can I implement it (the auxiliary option doesn't seem designed to support this)?
I can imagine that an analysis with categorical misclassification might be probability-based/fuzzy, or might need some sort of MCMC sampling? As a fall back, entropy is high (>.90) in both cases, so I guess I could 'hard-code' most likely cluster membership and run something like a multinomial logistic regression with covariates?
Any help or direction here would be greatly appreciated.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - 9:51 am
With entropy of .9 or greater, you can use most likely class membership. You do not need the 3-step procedure.
Jonathan Larson
posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 1:45 pm
We are using the manual 3-step method to test predictors in a latent transition analysis with three time-points. Changing the predictors changes our class sizes, particularly for the third time-point. Do you know why this is happening?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 1:54 pm
Are you following the approach in Web Note 15 shown in Appendices L, M, N, O?
Jonathan Larson
posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - 8:46 am
We have measurement non-invariance, so each LCA is estimated separately. The nominal most likely class variable is obtained from each LCA estimation, without constraining any of the item thresholds. Other than that, we are following the approach in Web Note 15 shown in Appendices L, M, N, and O.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 8:27 am
If you don't constrain item thresholds all bets are off for keeping the same class formation.
Jonathan Larson
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 10:57 am
You constrained the item thresholds in your individual LCAs so that they would be the same as the LCAs from the initial LTA, which had measurement invariance. You then used the most likely class variable from the individual LCAs to run a second LTA, this time with predictors. When you change your predictors, do the class sizes change?
This is the problem we are experiencing. We don't need to constrain item thresholds in our individual LCAs because they don't need to be the same as the LCAs from an initial LTA, because we don't want measurement invariance. The class sizes are changing considerably when we use the most likely class variable to run an LTA with predictors. We aren't changing the most likely class variable, we're just changing the predictors. Does that make sense?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 11:17 am
I actually meant to refer to fixing the nominal parameters (not the threshold invariance) - I assume you are doing that fixing in the 3rd step. So you are following appendices H, I, J. Those don't have a covariate. You could do your analyses on the Appendix K generated data which include x and follow the H-I-J steps to see what happens. I don't think we have explored that.
Jonathan Larson
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 12:59 pm
That's correct, we're fixing the nominal most likely class variable in the 3rd step.
You think we should generate data with measurement invariance and a covariate, estimate LCAs without assuming measurement invariance, and then test the influence of that same covariate on our class solutions? Wouldn't that illuminate the consequences of not assuming measurement invariance when it exists?
We would like to test the predictive strength of variables without changing the class solutions, like in r3step. It might be useful to generate data with two covariates and then test each independently to see if the class sizes change. However, we already have data and multiple covariates, and we already know the class sizes are changing. Why would this happen when we've fixed the probability of being in one class versus another?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 1:25 pm
On your first question, I think it a useful exercise to make sure that class formation doesn't change in this simple case.
On your second question, please send inputs, outputs, data, and license number to support so we can diagnose it.
Jonathan Larson
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 1:29 pm
Will do!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 3:11 pm
I see that you are using multiple imputation data. There seems to be a lot of variation across imputations given those huge SEs. A first step would be to analyze only one of those data sets.
Also, which variables are imputed - the x's? So that there is no missing on the latent class indicators and the nominal logits don't vary across imputations.
Laia Becares
posted on Friday, April 18, 2014 - 10:37 am
I am running a manual 3-step approach with auxiliary variables following the web note 15, version 7. I have some missing data on my y variable, and I am using weights. When I run the syntax for step 3, I get the following error message:
Invalid symbol in data file: "*" at record #: 2, field #: 44
Below is the code, what am I doing wrong?
MISSING ARE all (-9999);
CLASSES = c(4); NOMINAL = N;
Analysis: TYPE = mixture; ESTIMATOR = MLR;
C7CONCPT on RACE3 SEX;
C7CONCPT on RACE3 SEX; C7CONCPT;
C7CONCPT on RACE3 SEX; C7CONCPT;
C7CONCPT on RACE3 SEX; C7CONCPT;
C7CONCPT on RACE3 SEX; C7CONCPT;
Many thanks in advance
Laia Becares
posted on Friday, April 18, 2014 - 2:15 pm
Hello, I figured out my previous question, but now I have come across another error message (same syntax as above):
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#2
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#3
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#2
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#3
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#2
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#3
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#2
*** ERROR in MODEL command
Unknown threshold for NOMINAL variable N: N#3
*** ERROR The following MODEL statements are ignored:
* Statements in Class 1:
* Statements in Class 2:
* Statements in Class 3:
* Statements in Class 4:
One or more MODEL statements were ignored. These statements may be incorrect or are only supported by ALGORITHM=INTEGRATION.
I took the parameters from the Logits for the Classication Probabilities table from step 1. What is producing the error?
Thank you
Laia Becares
posted on Friday, April 18, 2014 - 2:24 pm
P.S: When I add ALGORITHM=INTEGRATION I still get the error message.
Thank you (and apologies for all the postings).
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, April 18, 2014 - 3:48 pm
In the future, please limit posts to one window. If you require more space it is not an appropriate question for Mplus Discussion.
Please send your output and license number to
matteo giletta
posted on Friday, April 25, 2014 - 9:05 am
Dear Drs. Muthen,
I would like to use the 3-step approach to examine the effects of some covariates on latent trajectory classes. Because I have censored data, I cannot use the auxiliary function (R3STEP), as it does not run with algorithm = integration. I would like to use the manual 3-step approach but I do not know how to obtain the logits for the classification probabilities. In my output I only have the average latent class probabilities. How could I obtain classification probabilities or logits in growth mixture models?
Thank you so much!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, April 26, 2014 - 10:52 am
All covariates are treated as continuous so this is not a problem.
Download Version 7.11 to obtain the values you want.
matteo giletta
posted on Monday, April 28, 2014 - 6:04 am
Thank you so much! I downloaded version 7.11 and got the logits.
Dustin Pardini
posted on Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 2:50 pm
I am running a model predicting continuous and categorical outcomes using a latent class variable and several covariates based on the manual 3 step procedure. I am freely estimating the means and thresholds of the Dvs for each class. I was wondering whether the means and thresholds of the DVs for each class are estimated values based on the mean value of all covariates in the model as a default or do I have to mean center them. We want to present the estimated means in a table for each class, but are unsure how they should be interpreted.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 6:01 am
The means of the covariates have an influence if the covariates have direct effects on the outcomes, in which case you can center them.
Brooke Magnus
posted on Friday, September 19, 2014 - 8:25 am
We are interested in using latent class as a predictor of a distal binary outcome (using the manual version of the 3-step approach). Specifically, in step 3 we want to test whether the thresholds for the binary outcome differ between our two classes. As far as we understand, we can do this with a Wald test using the Model Test statement -- that's what we did.
In our first model, we use only latent class as a predictor. We get the Wald test as requested, but we also get an odds ratio and its corresponding significance test, which is exactly what we want. In our second model, we use latent class and some covariates as predictors of the outcome. When we include the covariates, the odds ratio we are interested in is no longer provided, just the requested Wald test. Would it be accurate to compute an odds ratio ourselves using the covariate-adjusted thresholds from the output? Or if not, is there another way we can get this information from Mplus? We would like to be able to present the degree to which the odds ratio changes after taking into account the effects of the covariates on the outcome.
Thank you very much!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Saturday, September 20, 2014 - 2:28 pm
For both of your models you can express the odds ratio in Model Constraint using parameter labels from Model. That also gives you SEs so you can get a test. With covariates the odds ratio would be based on only the thresholds as you say.
Brooke Magnus
posted on Monday, September 22, 2014 - 8:24 am
Thank you very much for your response, that was very helpful.
From that, I have a follow-up question. I'm noticing that when I use Model Test to test threshold #2 = threshold #1 and compare that result to the "Latent Class Odds Ratio Results" that Mplus outputs automatically, or to the OR result from Model Constraint, I get quite different significance test results. The two OR significance tests are identical, but the test for the difference in thresholds from Model Test is quite different from the test of the OR. The only thought I've had is that the OR is being tested against a null value of 0 and not 1, but I'm not sure. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on my confusion.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, September 22, 2014 - 12:51 pm
You are right that the printed OR significance testing is the usual Mplus ratio:
(Est - 0)/ SE(Est)
With ORs, the relevant ratio is instead
so you have to do that by hand.
Related to your testing you might be interested in the paper on our website
Muth�n, B., Brown, C.H., Masyn, K., Jo, B., Khoo, S.T., Yang, C.C., Wang, C.P., Kellam, S., Carlin, J., & Liao, J. (2002). General growth mixture modeling for randomized preventive interventions. Biostatistics, 3, 459-475.
Section 3.2 deals with thresholds for a binary distal outcome.
Chris Kenaszchuk
posted on Thursday, January 08, 2015 - 2:45 pm
Hi. How do I produce the table, "Logits for the Classification Probabilities for Most Likely Latent Class Membership (Column) by Latent Class (Row)"?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, January 08, 2015 - 7:07 pm
That is included in the output since I think Version 7.
Chris Kenaszchuk
posted on Friday, January 09, 2015 - 11:07 am
Thanks. I have Mplus Version 7.2. My output does not have the table I asked about, logits. It does not have the table, "Classification Probabilities for the Most Likely Latent Class Membership (Row) by Latent Class (Column)". The output does have the table, "Average Latent Class Probabilities..."
The output is from nonparametric two-level mixture models that have categorical latent variables on both the within and between levels. These were demonstrated in Henry & Muthen, 2010, "Multilevel Latent Class Analysis: An Application...", Structural Equation Modeling, vol 17.
The output states that Auxiliary= is not available for R3STEP, DCON, etc., when there are latent variables on the between and within levels.
The desired model is: (1) use Time 1 indicators to derive latent classes, (2) regress a Time 2 distal outcome on Time 1 class membership, (3) use the Time 1 version of the Time 2 distal outcome as a latent class covariate/auxiliary.
Can this be done with the manual 3-step method if I have the table of logits (or table of classification probabilities to calculate the logits)? Thanks.
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Friday, January 09, 2015 - 10:44 pm
The 3 step methodology has not been developed and used yet for TYPE=TWOLEVEL MIXTURE.
posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2015 - 6:43 am
It is said previously in this page that
"With entropy of .9 or greater, you can use most likely class membership.
You do not need the 3-step procedure."
Does this also apply to situations when analysing the predictors of latent classes in LCGA (using multinomial logistic regression, for example)?
Is it possible to use the R3step method with the Mplus version 7, or do I need a newer version for that? I tried out an analysis with the auxiliary(r3step) in LCGA. The results were completely different to those obtained with auxiliary(r), and the standard errors were zeros for many of the predictors.
Thank you in advance!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2015 - 7:39 am
Q1. Yes.
Q2. If you don't get stopped when mentioning the R3STEP option then it is available. But you should always use the latest Mplus version. The tables as the end of our BCH paper explains that aux(r) is superseded by aux(r3step).
posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2015 - 9:01 am
Ok, thank you. Is there any reference for using the most likely latent class when the entropy is high (over 0.9)? At least in Clark & Muthen (2009) this was compared to some other methods.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2015 - 10:17 am
This reference should do it:
Asparouhov, T. & Muth�n, B. (2014). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: Three-step approaches using Mplus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21:3, 329-341. The posted version corrects several typos in the published version. An earlier version of this paper was posted as web note 15.
posted on Friday, May 15, 2015 - 6:16 am
Dear Bengt,
might I add to Lauras question. The entropy of my latent class is 0.85. Would you consider this high enough so I dont have to use the 3step procedure?
Jon Heron
posted on Friday, May 15, 2015 - 11:50 am
Well I have a paper in press showing bias even up to entropy of 0.9 and I'm sure you could simulate the odd bizarre example where some estimates were biased at even higher values of entropy depending on the class distribution.
I spent the best part of ten years avoiding the one-step model but I'm quite amenable to it now.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, May 15, 2015 - 5:54 pm
In many cases we found that 0.85 is probably high enough, but as Jon says you cannot be sure. You should read his new paper.
Raghav Ramachandran
posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 9:18 am
Drs. Muthen,
I am trying to implement a 3-step LTA model to ensure that the latent class variable measurements are not affected by inclusion of covariates in the model. In order to do so, I am using MPlus Web Note 15: Appendix K-N and the Nylund-Gibson paper titled "A Latent Transition Mixture Model Using the Three-Step Specification".
I ran the LTA model with measurement invariance and separately calculated the most-likely class variables N1 and N2 for the Step 1 LCA at each of my two time points separately. However, I do not see Step 1 for the overall LTA in either the web note or the paper.
I am not clear on how to obtain the nominal variable N1, N2 thresholds for latent class variables C1 and C2 in the LTA. Would I use the "Logits for the Classification Probabilities for the Most Likely Latent Class Membership" in the output of step 1 for C1 and C2 (Appendix L and M) or will these values change when running the LTA?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 6:26 pm
Answer to your paragraph 2: Use appendices L, M, and N. There is no "overall LTA".
Answer to your last paragraph: Yes, you would use those logits.
Alysia Blandon
posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 - 8:10 am
I am trying to do the 3rd step of the manual 3-step approach for a LPA with a distal outcome and I have a couple of questions:
(1) I can't figure out the auxiliary model input that I need to include so that I get the same output that I would have gotten using the DU3STEP for a distal outcome (which I can't use because of missing data on covariates having to use integration = montecarlo).
(2) If I included covariates of the classes in Step 1, do I still include those covariates in the overall model statement in step 3?
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 - 12:39 pm
1) Take Appendix E and remove "Y on X"
2) No
John Woo
posted on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 12:38 pm
Hi, adding to Laura and db40 questions, does the average latent class probabilities for most likely latent class membership also matter? If entropy is below 0.9 but the average probabilities for the most likely are above 0.9 for all classes (i.e., the diagonals), can I still consider skipping the 3-step approach? Thank you.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 5:19 pm
Jon Heron
posted on Thursday, August 13, 2015 - 7:58 am
My paper is still not published, but I found the off-diagonal elements of the D-matrix (Mplus' second classification matrix) to be important.
Setting entropy aside, if you have three classes and the off-diagonal elements of D relating to classes 1 & 2 are effectively zero (i.e. elements [1,2] and [2,1]) whilst those for classes 2 & 3 are not, then a parameter such a covariate effect comparing classes 1 and 2 (e.g. risk of class 2 relative to class 1) would be less biased than the same effect for class 3 relative to class 2.
Bottom line
(1) entropy and this "class separation" are both important
(2) it's easier to do a one-step or new 3-step than work out whether a simpler approach is adequate.
John Woo
posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - 11:50 am
Hi, if i understand correctly, one of the rationales for 3-step approach (or even 1-step approach) is the idea that latent class formation is independent of the influences of the covariates. [I am leaving aside the matter of distal outcome.] In case of GMM, where covariates have potential paths to both the growth factors and latent class structure, does this 3-step rationale apply only to the paths towards the latent class structure and not the growth factors? That is, when I run 3-step approach, is it consistent with the 3-step rationale that I include the covariates predicting the growth factors? I am a bit confused because it seems class formation can be influenced by growth factors, and, if the covariates influence the growth factors, then they indirectly influence the class formation as well? Thank you in advance.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - 2:48 pm
In GMM with effects from covariates on not only c but also i and s, you shouldn't use the R3STEP approach because your model has direct effects beyond those on c.
posted on Friday, March 11, 2016 - 2:40 am
I used the 3-step estimation. First, I estimated LCA, and I got 3 classes. Second, I fixed the log ratio to the parameters [N#1][N#2]in the class 1,2,and 3.The third step I the Linear regression auxiliary model which is almost the same as the web note 15(page.15), but I have two predictors(extrinsic and intrinsic motivation) and five plausible values on math achievement(y).
So, I run the 3rd step separately in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation . The slopes are significant on all classes, no matter when I used intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation as a predictor.
Later, I put the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as predictors(the correlation between the predictors is 0.67), and it turned out that the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are not significant on class 2.
So, I am wondering that it is better to run the model with one predictor or two predictors.
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Saturday, March 12, 2016 - 9:05 am
You can use the likelihood ratio test to decide this.
posted on Thursday, March 17, 2016 - 3:19 am
But, I have five plausible values for the dependent variable, so I got the mean of likelihood across five plausible values.So, maybe the likelihood ratio test could not work to compare the model with one predictor or two predictors. Is possible to compare models with five plausible values ?
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Friday, March 18, 2016 - 1:57 pm
Because of the plausible values LRT is much more complicated and not available in Mplus. You can use Model Test though (include both predictors and test various combinations of coefficients).
posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 - 12:53 am
Hello, I posted the post on March 11th. I am using the LCA 3-step estimation manually. I have two predictors to predict the five plausible values in students' math score. But, I had missing data on two predictors due to missing at random . I tried to do imputation on two predictors, but it seems that I can not do it, because I typed"TYPE=Imputation" in the DATA command for the five plausible values.After I run it, I still had around 12000 sample size,but the sample size decreased around 50%. Is it any way to deal with the missing data on the predictors?
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 - 2:49 pm
Run the 5 data sets one at a time and combine the results using the usual Imputation rules.
see page 5
posted on Thursday, April 14, 2016 - 12:06 am
Do you mean that I impute the missing data on the predictors for five times at the first time? For example, the first data with the first plausible values, so I impute the missing data on the predictors. And, do it five time.Then, run the five data sets in the same time?
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Friday, April 15, 2016 - 10:06 am
Yes - it is standard MI. You would have to combine the results from the 5 runs manually as described in this Section "Combining Inferences from Imputed Data Sets" in the above link.
Linn Gjersing
posted on Thursday, April 21, 2016 - 11:56 pm
Hi, I need the odds ratio and confidence intervals from the latent variable multinominal logistic regression using the 3-step procedure (R3STEP).
I could calculate this manually by exponating the estimate, but I still need the confidence intervals. When I add CINTERVAL to the output: statement I only get the ci for "Model Results", "The probability scale" and for the "Latent Class Odds Ratio", but none from the multinominal logistic regression analysis.
Is there a way to get the odds ratio and confidence intervals using the AUXILARY R3STEP procedure?
Jon Heron
posted on Friday, April 22, 2016 - 5:46 am
Just derive the confidence interval for the log-odds and exponentiate that too
OR = exp(Estimate)
lower bound = exp(Estimate - 1.96*S.E)
upper bound = exp(Estimate + 1.96*S.E)
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, April 22, 2016 - 8:55 am
See also our FAQs on odds ratios.
Megan Ames
posted on Monday, July 25, 2016 - 12:42 pm
Hello Drs. Muthen, I am attempting to run a manual 3-step latent class growth model with several distal outcomes and covariates. I am confused by how to get output regarding individual pairwise comparisons between the 5 classes. Below is my attempt at the syntax- I would like to be able to compare each of the class means for the distal outcome (dep13). Also, is there a way to include more than one outcome in the model?
Model: %OVERALL%
dep13 on sexw1 phhhc dep3;
dep13 (m1);
dep13 (m2);
dep13 (m3);
dep13 (m4);
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, July 25, 2016 - 4:00 pm
You can use Model Constraint to express any difference you like, such as
pdiff = p1 - p2;
The Model Test approach you show tests all equalities at once.
You can have several distals but they are done one at a time.
Megan Ames
posted on Friday, July 29, 2016 - 12:44 pm
Thank you for your quick reply. I am still unclear how/where the pairwise comparisons are called for? In the one-step approach, chi-square statistics for each of the class mean comparisons is provided at the end of the output; however, in the manual three-step approach this output is not provided. I attempted the following syntax without success:
USEVAR ARE dep13 sexw1 phhhc dep3
MISSING = all (999);
IDVARIABLE = responid;
classes = c(5);
nominal = n;
Analysis: TYPE = MIXTURE;
estimator = MLR;
Model: %OVERALL%
dep13 on sexw1 phhhc dep3;
]; etc.
[dep13] (p1);
]; etc.
[dep13] (p2);
]; etc.
[dep13] (p3);
]; etc.
[dep13] (p4);
]; etc.
[dep13] (p5);
Model constraint:
p1=p4; etc....
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, July 29, 2016 - 3:16 pm
Send your output and license number to Support.
Yajing Zhu
posted on Monday, August 01, 2016 - 7:36 am
Dear Profs,
I have 2 questions regarding the 3-step approach with 1 continuous distal outcome , using modal assignment.
1. In step3,essentially only the relationship between modal class and latent class is fixed, it is essentially again a latent class model with one loading fixed. How come the latent class proportion remain unchanged in step3? (it is not fixed at values in previous steps)
2.Is step3 also subject to the assumption of conditional independence between the distal outcome and the modal class? (it seems so to me!)
Thanks for your support
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, August 01, 2016 - 4:17 pm
1. Failure to maintain the latent class proportions are discussed in Section 7.1 of Web Note 15. See also the better BCH method in Web Note 21.
2. Yes.
Yajing Zhu
posted on Tuesday, August 02, 2016 - 8:37 am
Thanks, Prof Muthen for confirming this. Following my last post item 1, I therefore wonder why in Step3, you do not fix P(C=latent class) to be used in step 3, but rather, using estimates from step 1 as starting values (Is this what you suggested in webnote 15 when you discuss the difference between automatic and manual way?)? If this is implemented in the manual step3, class proportions shall be maintained, is it? [I am saying this as in step 1, we can calculate P(C|M=modal class) and we have P(M) as M is observed, can't we use empirical distribution of M and use bays total prob. theorem to get P(C)]
Please correct me if I am wrong somewhere. Thanks for your support
Best wishes,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, August 02, 2016 - 6:20 pm
The 3-step method tries to classify each subject in the correct way. It is not enough that the class sizes are unchanged, the subjects occupying the classes also need to be unchanged.
Fan Xizhen
posted on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - 7:58 pm
Dear Drs. Muthen,
I am attempting to run a 3-step latent profile model with several distal outcomes using R3STEP.I got the output of "EQUALITY TESTS OF MEANS ACROSS CLASSES". But I am confused why it provide Chi-square instead of F value, so is it the same with F value of ANOVA? Are "EQUALITY TESTS" here similar to ANOVA that can be used to conduct pairwise comparisons?
Thank you!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 - 1:05 pm
Q1. Yes, they are analogous.
Q2. Yes.
Fan Xizhen
posted on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 - 5:27 pm
Thank you for your quick answer, Prof Muthen.
Kiki van Broekhoven
posted on Monday, February 27, 2017 - 11:53 pm
I am new to Mplus and attempting to perform a LCGA and then relating predictor variables to the latent classes using 3-step method. I tried to use the syntax for the automatic 3-step method.
Part of my syntax for the "step 1":
NAMES ARE numero EDS1-EDS7;
CENSORED = EDS1-EDS7(b);
MISSING = all (999);
CLASSES = c(3);
i s q |
Part of my syntax for the automatic 3step:
NAMES ARE numero ocpd EDS1-EDS7;
CENSORED = EDS1-EDS7(b);
MISSING = all (999);
CLASSES = c(3);
AUXILIARY = ocpd (R3STEP);
I can't find the model that I found before, while I was performing my LCGA. The classes change (mean scores and class sizes), whereas I thought the advantage of a 3-step method was that the classes wouldn't change anymore?
Kiki van Broekhoven
posted on Monday, February 27, 2017 - 11:54 pm
In addition:
Maybe it is better to use the manual 3-step method? However, I don't quite understand the lower part of the syntax provided in the M+webnotes:
What are these numbers, e.g. 1.901 and -0.990?
I think I am doing something wrong, I'm just not sure what it is.
Thank you in advance.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - 6:18 pm
You want to send your 2 outputs to Support along with your license number: Step 1 and the R3Step run.
Fangsheng Zhu
posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 - 12:17 am
I'm trying to run a two-level multinomial logistic regression on latent class assignments, as the third step in the three-step procedure. I saw a post above in 2015 saying it hasn't been developed. Can I ask if it has been developed now? Thanks!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 - 5:26 pm
No 3-step for 2-level yet.
Chris Giebe
posted on Sunday, August 27, 2017 - 7:12 am
I'm still fairly new to Mplus and LCA and may need some help with terminology.
I'm using the manual BCH method of estimating LCA with 4 distal outcomes, constant slopes across 4 classes, using a Wald Test to test mean equivalence on my outcomes, and controling for one variable (covariate).
I have gone through the enoumeration process without covariates no problem.
Both steps in the manual BCH seem to be working fine as well.
However, when I look at the class specific means in the output for each of the 4 distal outcome variables, I'm unsure if the classes are still the same as they were for the previous (i.e. if c#1 is still c#1, ect.)
I've read something about using SVALUES to fix classes? I'm not even sure what that means? I've seen people post fragments of syntax containing [
] or whatever number, and it seems like it's what I need... but I'm neither sure of that, nor how to get what I need from the Mplus output.
I'd like for my c#1-c#4 to be the same for all 4 distal outcomes in step 3.
Thanks for your help.
Jasmijn de Lijster
posted on Friday, September 22, 2017 - 3:59 am
Dear Dr. Muth�n,
When I run the analysis for the third step, I receive an error for a 4 class GMM model with a binary outcome variable. I would like to test the differences between variable schoprob (0 or 1) over the 4 classes while controlling for covariates.
I receive the following error messages:
When I look at the proportions of schoprob across the four classes, the counts are fairly distributed:
Scho prob 0 1
1 2333 1012
2 117 130
3 75 64
4 78 48
I would state that the variable has within class variation. The starting values are zero as specified for this step. Do you have any other ideas why the model does not run and how I could make it work?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, September 22, 2017 - 4:48 pm
Please send to Support along with your license number.
posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - 8:35 am
Dear Professor,
Iam conducting a linear regression auxiliary model but have 7 covariates and have regressed both of my distal outcomes on the 7 covs (In the model command and under each class (as per appendix F of the 3step approach)
The estimation process is taking a long time. is there anyways I can speed this up?
Can I use the OPTSEED command in step 3 after step 1, if I have ascertained the optimal class during step 1?
kind regards,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - 10:50 am
Perhaps you don't use Starts=0. Send your step 3 output to Support so we can see what's going on; include your license number.
posted on Monday, March 05, 2018 - 1:05 pm
are the thresholds estimates in between classes and distals standardised or unstandardised? If they are un, is there a way to covnert them? I have request standardised estimates.
Class 1
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, March 05, 2018 - 1:28 pm
They are unstandardized unless they are printed in the standardized section. If they don't appear in the standardized section Mplus doesn't provide them in this particular case. You can standardize them using the y* mean and variance.
posted on Monday, March 05, 2018 - 10:02 pm
aplogogies, actually except age, these are all binary, so I am supposed to use stdY. I will convert age to StdYX.
Jacqueline Homel
posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - 8:47 pm
I have a question about estimated means of covariates using the manual 3-step approach. I am using the manual 3-step method to look at the effect of some covariates on class membership. There are four latent classes. My code for the final step looks like:
c#1 on x1 ;
c#1 on x2 ;
c#1 on x3 ;
c#2 on x1 ;
c#2 on x2 ;
c#2 on x3 ;
c#3 on x1 ;
c#3 on x2 ;
c#3 on x3 ;
] ;
I am interested in presenting the estimated mean of my key covariate x1 in each latent class, adjusted for the other covariates in the model. Tech4 provides model-estimated means and standard errors for the covariates in each class under �estimated means for the latent variables�� I am wondering (1) whether these values are appropriate to use as model-estimated means of covariates in each class? And (2) how these means and SEs in tech4 are calculated?
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Friday, August 31, 2018 - 8:08 pm
(1) Yes
(2) They are estimated from the H1 model ML information matrix where the sample size for each class is estimated from the mixture model and the sample mean and variance are posterior probability weighted.
Anna Austin
posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 - 8:25 am
I am conducting the 3-step approach manually to examine predictors in a 3 class LCGA model. Is the below code the correct code for the MODEL statement in the third step? Is there anything else I need to include? Thank you!
C on x1 x2 x3 x4; !x1-4 are predictors of interest, C is class;
!ModalC is modal class assignment, here fixed logits based on output from step 1 to account for classification uncertainty;
!ModalC is modal class assignment, here fixed logits based on output from step 1 to account for classification uncertainty;
!ModalC is modal class assignment, here fixed logits based on output from step 1 to account for classification uncertainty;
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 - 5:42 pm
See Web Note 15's Appendix with Mplus scripts, especially Appendix A at
Anna Austin
posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - 10:25 am
Thank you!
An additional question:
In the output from step 3 of the 3 step approach, there is output labeled "LOGISTIC REGRESSION ODDS RATIO RESULTS" and output labeled "ALTERNATIVE PARAMETERIZATIONS FOR THE CATEGORICAL LATENT VARIABLE REGRESSION". Which is the appropriate output to use to for reporting odds ratios of covariates associated with the latent classes? I understand that for the "ALTERNATIVE PARAMETERIZATIONS FOR THE CATEGORICAL LATENT VARIABLE REGRESSION" output I will need to exponentiate the parameter estimates to get odds ratios. However, these two outputs seem to provide different SEs.
Thank you!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - 10:32 am
Those will appear in the next Mplus version, 8.2. For now, please see the FAQ on our website which shows how to do it yourself:
Odds ratio confidence interval from logOR estimate and SE
Anna Austin
posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - 10:43 am
Thank you! The FAQ is helpful.
My question is whether I use the SE provided under "LOGISTIC REGRESSION ODDS RATIO RESULTS" or under "ALTERNATIVE PARAMETERIZATIONS FOR THE CATEGORICAL LATENT VARIABLE REGRESSION" for calculating the odds ratios. I think "ALTERNATIVE PARAMETERIZATIONS FOR THE CATEGORICAL LATENT VARIABLE REGRESSION" is correct, but I wanted to check.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - 10:54 am
"Alternative Parameterizations..." use different reference classes than the default last class that is presented under "Logistic Reg...". So if you want one of the alternatives, that's where you would get the ingredients to compute their ORs and SEs.
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Struggling to find the best buy-to-let mortgage in Didcot? speak to one of our buy to let mortgage advisers today
The term 'buy to let' generally refers to either the practice of buying a property to be let for profit or to the type of mortgages used to purchase a property for such letting. Many countries, both in the western world and in the developing nations, have seen a surge in the growth of the buy to let property market in the last 2 decades and this has fuelled a growth in amateur landlords and the but to let mortgage providers who are keen to encourage and profit from them in turn. In addition, this growth has generated a lot of commerce in other related sectors such as buy to let insurance.
What Are Professional Buy To Lets? | Property Investments UK
Many countries, both in the western world and in the developing nations, have seen a surge in the growth of the buy to let property market in Didcot the last 2 decades and this has fuelled a growth in amateur landlords looking for quality mortgage advice, this is why mortgage brokers in Didcot who specialise in Buy-to-let are so important and the but to let mortgage providers who are keen to encourage and profit from them in turn. In addition, this growth has generated a lot of commerce in other related sectors such as buy to let insurance.
Didcot Buy to let mortgages have been available in the UK since the mid-nineties and they are specifically designed for investors to borrow money to purchase property in the private rental sector. The amount that a prospective but to let investor can borrow is generally determined by the rental valuation of the property. The annual income for a rented property has to cover a certain percentage of the mortgage repayments, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) states that landlords should seek to be able to obtain gross rent returns equivalent to between 130 per cent and 150 per cent of the rental property's mortgage repayments, this takes into account the surplus rent to cover costs of property maintenance and slack periods when the property may be vacant of tenants.
Didcot Buy To Let Mortgages.
Some buy to let mortgage lenders in Didcot will lend you a maximum sum based on a multiple of your salary (usually a multiple of three) plus a percentage of the forecast rental income on the property. So if your annual salary is said 30,000 Franks and the forecast rental income is 10,000 Franks they will lend you 95,000 Franks. Other mortgages, in addition to factoring in your salary, will include any existing loan commitments you have, and then apply what is known as the 'deduction rule'. This rule relates to the annual mortgage payments worked out at a pre-set level of interest.
Buy to let mortgage interest rates are generally fairly close to residential mortgage rates but will generally be slightly higher and typically charge higher fees. This is due to the fact that buy to let loans are considered by the financial sector to represent a greater risk than residential owner-occupier mortgages, and they generally are.
The Situation in the UK About Buy To Lets
The buy to let market literally 'exploded' in the Didcot around the beginning of the millennium with rising property prices and the increasing availability of buy to let funding fueling a surge in would-be investors trying to cash in on the trend of the market. One reason for their popularity is the tax advantages that are available to the UK buy to let investors. Rental income is treated just like a salary by the Inland Revenue, and is therefore often taxed at 22% or even 40%. However, landlords are allowed to deduct costs from the taxable portion of their rental income, and these costs can include the interest of the buy to let mortgage repayments as well as maintenance costs on the property. These tax incentives made the buy to let market very attractive for both professional investors and amateurs looking to make the most out of their savings.
Would-Be Buy-to-let Investors
The market peaked around 2007 and now the market is saturated in many areas across the country with too many properties available to tenants. While buy to let is generally not a good idea for people who do not possess some extra budget there are a lot of remortgage deals which will fund a deposit for a home. If you are worried about losing money during void periods many companies will provide insurance which can deliver as much as six months mortgage payments in the event of a property in Didcot remaining unoccupied.
You may still be lucky, and find a hotspot but you need to do your homework and the figures correctly. Buy to let trends differ from town to town and literally from street to street. Good advice for potential investors is to visit the local letting agents who should be able to tell you who is renting what at the moment so you can define your target audience. It could be students, young professionals or families, for example. Look for areas that do have a shortage of properties and for indicators that people will move there, such as new business developments.
Buy to let mortgage deals are still rife and the rates are almost as competitive as with conventional deals. The mantra with your buy-to-let must be 'don't expect to get rich quickly'. You need to look long-term: an absolute minimum of five years – but probably nearer to ten years.
Hello and welcome to Property InvestmentsUK and today we're going to be looking at a couple of client questions.
This one inparticular is looking at what areas maybe they should focus on around the Manchesterarea, if they're looking at both capital growth and also rental yield.
The question is from Raj and it's, "Dear Rob,I watched some of your videos and thought they were quite thorough and very thoughtprovoking indeed.
" That's alright, thanks Raj.
"I am looking to invest for yields andcapital gains in England.
Since house prices in London have soared, I started looking atthe Manchester area.
My budget is just below 200,000 pound in cash.
Would appreciate someadvice.
Thank you.
Best, Raj.
" Okay, perfect.
There's a few things to consider,Raj, in terms of which locations or what areas of Manchester you should consider.
For a budgetfor 200,000 pound, that's quite a healthy budget.
You'll get a lot of rentin the Manchester location for that, so what I'd probably suggest is instead of just thinkingon the headline amount is to look a little bit deeper in terms of what rental yieldsor what return, what cash flow, you're looking to achieve in the property.
Also, the trade-offthere for is what kind of capital growth you're potentially aiming for with the property aswell.
I can then guide you some more on giving youa bit of an idea in terms of what locations might fit, so if you're looking for a rentalyield of, say, 8%, there are only certain locations around Manchester that are goingto fit that criteria.
Likewise, if you're looking for a particular tenant profile, ifthat's working tenants or a local housing allowance tenants, or maybe students,again there will be locations or pockets around Manchester that will fit that criteria better.
So as a rough rule of thumb, South Manchesterat the moment is performing very well for capital growth and has performed very wellin the past as well and should continue to do that in the future, because a lot of reasonsbut there's investment going on in the area and with employment, business parks.
There'salso the metro-link, which is going through south Manchester at the moment and a few otherareas as well.
The yields, though, in south Manchester currently are only about 6, 6-1/2%.
When you compare that to other locations around Manchester, you might get 7, 7-1/2, even 8%plus in other locations.
It's important to try to strike that balance between growthand yields.
In south Manchester, you'll probably get more capital growth in the next 5 to 10years than in some of those higher yield, lower value locations around Manchester.
It's a case of trying to sit down initially,work out your kind of individual aims and goals.
What's your priority, whether that'scash flow and income coming in on a monthly basis, in which case yields are probably goingto be a bit more of a priority, or alternatively, if your potential is pension plan, growth,then maybe capital growth is an area you should be focusing on more and south Manchester mightbe a better location.
If yields are your target, then probably maybethe east, north and also west of Manchester are going to give you the slightly higheryields, so see which is most preferable for yourself, Raj, and then kind of look at theareas around there.
There's lots of other links that we can introduce you to at thebottom of this video as well which will show you how to work out the yields in the differentlocations across Manchester.
Also, how to check out which areas that may be performingbetter in growth and property prices as well.
Look to those in the videos, but hopefullyyou found that helpful.
Thank you for watching this video.
If youlike this content and you'd like to join our free online property training course, we'vegot a link for it on this page.
In there, we cover a range of different property strategiesto help you get started in building the long term property portfolio, or creating cash-flowingproperty business.
We also look at ways to increase your return on investment with anyof the properties you may be considering, and we also have a couple of cheat sheetsand downloadable documents in there as well.
Simply click on the link to join the freetraining course today.
Buy to Let Deal of the Day 11th Jan 2017
Welcome to Property Investments UK,and today we're going to be looking at a couple of client's questions.
This one is regardinghow to best work out rental demand, so if the property is going to be popular when youcome to rent it out.
The question is "Hi, Rob.
Hope you're well.
Just a quick question.
What is the best way to work out rental demand?" There's a couple of ways to do this, whetheryou're looking at maybe single lets or HMOs which are classed as houses of multiple occupation.
They're slightly different, you see, depending on how you're looking to see what the levelof demand in a particular area for those types of listings.
The first way is to simply checkhow many listings there are in an area and how long they've been on the market for.
Ifa property's been on the market for a long time, available to let, it might be somethingto do with that property or it might be an indication that in the area, there might be toomuch supply and not enough demand, so it might not be the best of area to currently buy inor you need to do something slightly different with your property strategy in terms of providinga slightly different type of property or different standard or property to make sure yours isrented over and above anyone else's.
Essentially you're looking to see how much propertiesthere are in an area and how long they've been on the market.
That's key for not only properties that arecurrently showing as lives, properties that are available to let, but it's also good tohave a look at properties that have currently lets, so when you're looking at Rightmove andZoopla, they're the two main property portals you'll probably be using on a day to day basis,you can check on there or tick a filter that gives you access to properties that have "LetAgreed" on it.
If you do a property search in your chosen area, so whether that's Manchesteror Liverpool or London, whatever the location might be, and tick "Property" or "Let Agreed"it'll give you an indication of how active that property market is and how many of thoseproperties.
If you're showing 50 property listings and only 2 of those are let agreedthan maybe there's a bit too much supply.
If you're showing 50 listings and 20, 30,40 of those are let agreed, then you can have a bit more confidence and more active demandor buoyant area.
One thing Rightmove and Zoopla will also showyou is how long the listing has been live, so you can see when that listing first cameon the market.
For example if you're checking listings in March and the listings showingwas 1st of January or was 2nd of January, you know it'd been on the market for a coupleof months.
That's probably an indication that the market isn't that buoyant.
As we saidearlier it might be a problem with that particular property, either the description, the photos,or the type of listing, but I'd also look at not just one property but a couple of otherdifferent listings in that area to see if maybe is actually the area.
There's just notas much demand for rental properties.
Obviously the key thing to look for is thelowest listing time possible, so if you're in a very buoyant area those properties willbe coming on the market and then getting rented very quick.
If they're only on the marketfor a couple of days, perfect.
If it's a couple of weeks, that's generally okay.
That's probablyactive for most locations around the UK.
If it's been on for a couple of months then that'sprobably an indication that it's not as quite an active area.
When it comes to HMOs we tend to use slightlydifferent property portals, so Rightmove and Zoopla is fantastic for straight forward vanillabuy to lets to check that kind of rental demand, but the majority of listings for HMOs or sharedaccommodation, individual rooms, is going to be using the main website if the momentis Spare Room.
You look for something similar.
You look for the level of listings, the amountof kind of demand and supply within these particular areas and how long listings havebeen live for.
You just follow the same kind of process just use probably slightly differentportals.
For straightforward vanilla buy to lets, Rightmove and Zoopla are great.
If you'relooking at HMOs then Spare Room is great, so hopefully that helps give you a bit ofan indication of how to check the rental demand in any particular area.
Thank you for watching this video.
If youlike this content and you'd like to join our free online property training course, we'vegot a link for it on this page and in there we cover a range of different property strategiesto help you get started either building a long-term property portfolio or creating cashflowing property business.
We also look at ways to increase your return on investmentwith any of the properties you may be considering, and we also have a couple of cheat sheetsand downloadable documents in there as well.
Simply click on the link to join the freetraining course today.


text:
David Reviews
Nice Shirt Films have made another addition to their roster in the form of director Matt Houghton.
FAMILIA are pleased to announce the arrival of eleven new directors after a recent signing spree.
Brooklyn and Intermission director John Crowley has joined RSA Films for commercial representation.
Award-winning director Ross Bolidai has joined The Visionaires for commercial representation.
I mean.


text:
- This event has passed.
Holiday Handmade Market
December 15, 2018 @ 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
We're heading into the Christmas in Shepherdstown celebration in with a lot more community festivities, family fun and creative shopping opportunities to help you find the perfect gifts. The Shepherdstown Community Club's Ho Ho Ho-liday Handmade Market continues with a variety of local handmade goodness. The Handmade Market will be open on Saturday from 10am-7pm and Sunday from 9am-4pm until Dec 23rd.
While you're in historic downtown Shepherdstown, check out all the fine locally-owned and family-owned retail shops and boutiques, where you'll find great gifts such as books, bikes, candles, record albums, décor, wine, gourmet foods and countless other items. Have a great lunch or snack at one of the many eateries and coffee shops, all within a short walking distance. Stop by the Shepherdstown Visitor Center for walking tours, information on holiday events, and Shepherdstown history. Free weekend parking is available at Shepherd University Lot A at the corner of High and Princess Streets.
For more information on the Ho Ho Holiday Market please visit their site at http://scchandmademarket.blogspot.com/


text:
Nice story.
A girl is telling her friends that every year we have running competitions in our school (Be consistent with subjects in the sentence: A girl is telling her friends that every year her school has a running competition.) In this competition,
my friendAjay is the only one who used to win every time. He is very good at heart and he helps everyone in the school; so, everybody likes him.
Akash,the co-participant who had been loosing the competition every time, had listened to their words and decided to win this time.
So, as to win the competition, he asked his friends to throw stones over Ajay in the race.
The race has started.....
This time Akash has a very good practice .
And he was running faster than
theAjay and croosedcrossed him.
The stones thrown by his friends over Ajay but it hit Akash.
He fell down and got hurt. Ajay saw it and came to help Akash..
As soon as
,Akash got up, he started running. Ajay also started running but ,he iswas behind Akash.
Finally, Akash
hashad won the competition. Ajay gonewent to Akash and congratulated him for the success.
Akask was embarrassed by his praise and he thought that...
I had never praised Ajay like he did to me now. And, he realized that Ajay would have won the race if he
doesn'thad not helped Akash when he fell down.
Akash thanked Ajay for helping him, And said to him that,"Though you didn't win the race, you have changed my mind. So, the real winner is you."
Student or Learner


text:
Diseñadores de todas las partes del mundo están proponiendo diseños creativos a r.ridge en la categoría de diseño logotipo - custom.
UPDATED CONTEST PRIZE: US$350! for that perfect logo.
An upscale denim retail store needs a logo!
Take a look at client's competitor's logo:
or http://www.denimbaronline.com/
We need our logo to be hotter and sexier than that!
Note: There should be no back to back "db" as that would get us sued.
Designer of winning logo might also be asked to design letterhead and business card.
(see complete brief)
Desired Color Scheme:
denim blue or any other colors are welcome, but no pink or yellow please!
Desired Style:
anything sexy and hot,
Accepted File Formats:
any vector file (AI, vectorized PSD, CDR, Freehand, etc)
Updated Info:
We have upgraded the contest prize to $350 from 250 to get your imagination working.
The symbol itself must be identifiable even without the text.
Client needs logo for an upscale denim retail store that sells high-end and super expensive denim. The store is called "The Denim Bar International" so as you might have guessed the store has a bar theme to it.
Please see competitor's logo (URL found in contest summary). Basically the ambiance of the store will be similar to this, so you have to keep this in mind. The logo you will design needs to be hotter than this (and of course you cannot copy the d and b like they did, but that level of sexiness should be there):
The logo needs to be linear and wide. Your logo will be used for everything (signage, custom door fixtures, business cards, letterheads, etc...) so keep that in mind also when designing.
Happy designing guys!
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Lexington Medical Center Earns 53 Prestigious Marketing Awards
Lexington Medical Center's Marketing department has earned 53 state, national and international awards that honor outstanding advertising, marketing and public relations campaigns. The honors include a Telly Award, Aster Awards, Healthcare Advertising Awards, and South Carolina Public Relations Society of America awards.
Lexington Medical Center won a Telly Award for its 2012 Pink Glove Dance video, a project that has become a community favorite and honors breast cancer survivors. The Tellys are a premier competition honoring excellence in local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films.
The hospital received 20 Aster Awards, a medical marketing awards program with entries from across the nation and world. Importantly, Lexington Medical Center received two "Judges Choice" awards from the Asters for its cancer services campaign and cardiac services advertising campaign. Out of 4,000 entries, only eight "Judges Choice" awards are given each year. Lexington Medical Center is the first organization to take home the honor for two categories in the same year.
In addition, Lexington Medical Center earned 29 accolades in the Healthcare Advertising Awards, a health care marketing and advertising awards program that judges entries on quality, creativity and message effectiveness. The hospital received six "Gold" Healthcare Advertising Awards for its work on TV and video campaigns, event promotion, print materials, and external publications.
Lastly, the South Carolina Public Relations Society of America recognized the hospital with three awards for exceptional public relations programs, tactics and campaigns. The hospital received the Silver Wing Award of Merit for House Call magazine, a heart surgery guide, and the Every Woman Blog (www.everywomanblog.com).
"LMC is an excellent hospital with state-of-the-art service lines that provide high quality heath care to our community. Our marketing team is privileged to showcase our services that highlight our compassionate care and cutting-edge technology," said Mark Shelley, Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
The campaigns pictured above are winners of the "Judges Choice" award from the Asters.
The Pink Glove Dance was a winner of a Telly award: