This book provides a comprehensive introduction to latent variable growth curve modeling (LGM) for analyzing repeated measures. It presents the statistical basis for LGM and its various methodological extensions, including a number of practical examples of its use. It is designed to take advantage of the reader's familiarity with analysis of variance and structural equation modeling (SEM) in introducing LGM techniques. Sample data, syntax, input and output, are provided for EQS, Amos, LISREL, and Mplus on the book's CD. Throughout the book, the authors present a variety of LGM techniques that are useful for many different research designs, and numerous figures provide helpful diagrams of the examples.
Updated throughout, the second edition features three new chapters--growth modeling with ordered categorical variables, growth mixture modeling, and pooled interrupted time series LGM approaches. Following a new organization, the book now covers the development of the LGM, followed by chapters on multiple-group issues (analyzing growth in multiple populations, accelerated designs, and multi-level longitudinal approaches), and then special topics such as missing data models, LGM power and Monte Carlo estimation, and latent growth interaction models. The model specifications previously included in the appendices are now available on the CD so the reader can more easily adapt the models to their own research.
This practical guide is ideal for a wide range of social and behavioral researchers interested in the measurement of change over time, including social, developmental, organizational, educational, consumer, personality and clinical psychologists, sociologists, and quantitativemethodologists, as well as for a text on latent variable growth curve modeling or as a supplement for a course on multivariate statistics. A prerequisite of graduate level statistics is recommended.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to latent variable growth curve modeling (LGM) for analyzing repeated measures. It presents the statistical basis for LGM and its various methodological extensions, including a number of practical examples of its use. It is designed to take advantage of the reader' s familiarity with analysis of variance and structural equation modeling (SEM) in introducing LGM techniques. Sample data, syntax, input and output, are provided for EQS, Amos, LISREL, and Mplus on the book' s CD. Throughout the book, the authors present a variety of LGM techniques that are useful for many different research designs, and numerous figures provide helpful diagrams of the examples.
Updated throughout, the second edition features three new chapters-- growth modeling with ordered categorical variables, growth mixture modeling, and pooled interrupted time series LGM approaches. Following a new organization, the book now covers the development of the LGM, followed by chapters on multiple-group issues (analyzing growth in multiple populations, accelerated designs, and multi-level longitudinal approaches), and then special topics such as missing data models, LGM power and Monte Carlo estimation, and latent growth interaction models. The model specifications previously included in the appendices are now available on the CD so the reader can more easily adapt the models to their own research.
This practical guide is ideal for a wide range of social and behavioral researchers interested in the measurement of change over time, including social, developmental, organizational, educational, consumer, personality and clinicalpsychologists, sociologists, and quantitative methodologists, as well as for a text on latent variable growth curve modeling or as a supplement for a course on multivariate statistics. A prerequisite of graduate level statistics is recommended.

Modern day Malthusians warn that Malthus will ultimately be right: the world will be less and less able to feed itself as populations keep expanding and crop yields seem to have reached a peak. The authors of this volume believe that this pessimism is misplaced, and that there is in fact no worldwide food crisis. On the contrary, they show that the world food situation has improved dramatically over the past three decades: prices of agricultural commodities are at their lowest level in history in real terms and crop output is continuing to rise faster than population. This book provides a much needed and reasoned view on a subject that is too often treated emotionally. The important changes in the international food economy are considered in historical context and provide a basis for projections to 2010. The situation should continue to improve and food should become cheaper than it is today.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORK IS NOT SO MUCH TO GRATIFY THE CURIOSITY OF THE UNINITIATED AS TO FURNISH A GUIDE FOR THE NEOPHYTES OF THE ORDER, BY MEANS OF WHICH THEIR PROGRESS FROM GRADE TO GRADE MAY BE FACILITATED.