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This week's Agent Spotlight features Holly Root of Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.
Status: Open to submissions.
About: "My favorite part of being an agent is the thrill of discovery. Being the first to experience a new world or a brand-new author simply never gets old. Couple that with the joy of sharing that wonderful book with editors and eventually readers and you've got the reason I truly love my job.
"I'm drawn to well-told commercial novels in a variety of genres. I'm much more likely to keep reading if I know from that perfectly-executed first page that this character (or author, in the case of nonfiction) is someone who interests me, someone whose story I'd like to get lost in for the next two hours. I know I've found a winner when I encounter writers whose skills on the page make me know beyond any doubt that I'm in excellent hands.
"I'm currently seeking middle grade and young adult fiction, women's fiction (both commercial and upmarket), urban fantasy and romance. I also represent select nonfiction projects.
"I do not represent poetry, screenplays, picture books, thrillers, or erotica.
"Prior to joining the Waxman Literary Agency in 2007, Holly Root worked at the William Morris Agency and Trident Media Group." (Link)
About the Agency:
"The Waxman Leavell Literary Agency is a development-oriented firm, specializing in representing nonfiction and fiction authors with powerful stories. Our strength lies in our ability to match authors with ideas and to connect them with the best possible publisher for their book. Our clients are accomplished journalists, experts in their fields, celebrities and first time writers with an exceptional story or message to share. We have been associated with dozens of bestsellers and award winning projects, and look forward to continuing to help bring exciting and successful new voices to American and international markets.
"Founded by Scott Waxman and Byrd Leavell, the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency is a full-service boutique literary agency with a hands-on, dynamic approach to literary representation. Due to the ever-shifting landscape of the publishing business, editors come and go, but WLLA prides itself on building long-term relationships with its clients and remaining as a constant in a writer's life. Proactive from the start, WLLA offers a range of creative input from idea generation to project development, and proposal editing. WLLA clients benefit from the personalized attention of an intimate, editorially driven office, and from more than forty years of publishing experience." (Link)
Web Presence:
Waxman Leavell Literary website.
What She's Looking For:
Genres / Specialties:
Middle grade, young adult, women's fiction (commercial and upmarket), urban fantasy, romance, select nonfiction. (Link)
From Her Website Bio (as above):
"I'm drawn to well-told commercial novels in a variety of genres. I'm much more likely to keep reading if I know from that perfectly-executed first page that this character (or author, in the case of nonfiction) is someone who interests me, someone whose story I'd like to get lost in for the next two hours. I know I've found a winner when I encounter writers whose skills on the page make me know beyond any doubt that I'm in excellent hands." (Link)
From an Interview (05/2011):
"I love being genuinely surprised (I should clarify this is 'surprised,' not 'baffled'). What does that look like? A fresh spin on a genre I thought I was completely tired of, the execution that reminds me I actually LOVE [whatever genre I forgot that I love], the concept I can't get out of my head, the character who is flawed and frustrating and yet totally, completely lovable for those vulnerabilities. I'm really a fan of lots of kinds of books; it's so much about voice for me that I've fallen for all manner of things against my better sense and only after I've sold it had to be like, 'Um. Right. I guess I do [chick lit/steampunk/witch/Amish/high fantasy/etc] now.'" (Link)
From an interview 03/2010:
"I do both fiction and nonfiction. For fiction, commercial women's (I'd love to see more projects with book-club appeal along the lines of my client Lisa Patton's WHISTLIN' DIXIE IN A NOR'EASTER), romance (mostly paranormal although not exclusively), and a very select few mysteries. I love young adult and middle grade fiction, which is a growing portion of my list, particularly middle grade. If you've got a good one please do think of me! On the nonfic side, I tend to know it when I see it, but a strong sense of voice, a great platform and the ability to make me really think are essentials for both prescriptive and narrative projects.
"I am always looking for something that will truly transport me--make me ignore the cats and husband (temporarily) because I just cannot stop reading (they're used to it, don't worry). I love humor, but am tough on anything that tries too hard to be wacky. I love finding writers whose words just ooze confidence and make the reader know they're in excellent hands. Notice how subjective all of that is? :) As far as specifics, I mentioned above that I'd love to find a middle grade. It doesn't mean I'm not looking for other things but there's definitely a nice opportunity there if you've got a killer MG ready to go." (Link)
From a Tweet 02/2010:
"If you have a classic ghost-story-haunting for kids, think of me. Or if you write ghosts like Laura Whitcomb." (Link)
From an interview 12/2009:
"I'd love to see more middle grade, but I am exceptionally specific about voice for that age group, maybe even more reflexively than other genres I handle, so I know I will pass on saleable projects that just don't click with me.
"I continue to love YA that hits me sideways with a completely indelible voice. I'm also a sucker for contemporary fiction, both for young adults and adults, where the worldbuilding is as specific and well done as it would be in the strongest paranormal (as in Kay Cassidy's The Cinderella Society or Lisa Patton's Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter).
"I've talked before about wanting to see fiction for young readers that deals with faith in an ecumenically relatable/personal, rather than strictly market, sense. Think of the way Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret involves, but is not strictly about, a young girl's faith." (Link)
From AgentQuery:
"For mysteries, primarily interested in high-concept cozies. If you have a thriller, try Scott Waxman or Byrd Leavell instead." (Link)
What She Isn't Looking For:
Picture books, poetry, screenplays/scripts, thrillers, erotica, sci-fi, epic fantasy, romantic suspense, category romance, true crime, military thrillers, thrillers with Russia or China in the premise, or woman/child peril stories. (Link, Link, Link)
"I think my agenting philosophy and my life philosophy are basically the same--do good work and do right by others. I hope to work with people who are out to do the same. I also believe that you never stop learning--as an agent, a writer, an editor--and like to work with others who see it that way too. I expect my clients to be brilliant writers, and to be professionals who can work respectfully with me and their team whether everything's going perfectly or when it gets trickier." (Link)
"I want my authors to be out there connecting with readers and potential readers, whether via blog or twitter or even in real life, or best yet, all three. Different approaches are right for different kinds of personalities and books. I expect authors to ask questions if they're unsure of what to do next, and to conduct themselves professionally even when frustrated. Beyond that, I want authors to play to their strengths, because you can always tell when someone has a blog only because someone told them that to move copies you have to have a blog (exchange "blog" for whatever other promo tool suits). No two authors' promotional efforts will look exactly the same, and that's a good thing." (Link)
Her Advice to Writers:
"I have a favorite saying that I think addresses most, if not all, of the things that make us crazy at any and every stage of the journey, and it is one we all should've learned by third grade: Eyes on your own test paper. Don't worry about Joe's query or how many full requests Suzy got, or whether Lisa got more co-op or David's deal was a pre-empt. Everyone's road is going to look different. Same thing applies to agents, honestly. Competing with yourself should be challenge enough. Getting wound up in the comparison game is unhealthy: It's unproductive because it's nearly impossible to know the entire story behind the scenes; it encourages a mentality that if someone else gets something good, there is one less good thing for me to get; and perhaps most of all, focusing on others takes your attention off things you can actually improve (i.e., your own work)." (Link)
"90% of writing is rewriting. I don't know that it ever gets easier, but I know that the more you learn to self-edit and polish, the stronger you'll be at those skills." (Link)
Editorial Agent?
"I'm a pretty editorial agent; the competition is so stiff these days that I can't imagine not being that way. There's definitely a point where you just have to put it out and let the market speak but if I see a way to make a ms that much tighter, why wouldn't I jump on it?" (Link)
"I almost always have some sort of notes for my clients before submitting a project. It's always good for them to have a fresh set of eyes, and the market is too tough to send a book out with deficiencies I can see and fix. With some authors, I'll help brainstorm concepts from the ground up; with others, it's helping the author decide which of several projects to pursue; and sometimes it's a more specific edit of a completed project." (Link)
There is a page of client books on the agency website.
Ms. Root's client include: Leo Babauta, Josie Brown, Chelsea Campbell, Rae Carson, Kay Cassidy, Nancy J. Cavanaugh, Jen Cervantes, Lara Chapman, Alison Cherry, Manda Collins, Trish Cook, Diana Cosby, Virna De Paul, Liz Fichera, Jenny Gardiner, Nancy Grossman, Gemma Halliday, Rachel Hawkins, Mary Kennedy, Christina Lauren, Maureen Lipinski, Jennifer Malone, Myra McEntire, Theresa Meyers, Lisa Patton, Misa Ramirez, CJ Redwine, Serena Robar, Victoria Schwab, Kiera Stewart, Sara Bennett-Wealer, Skyler White, among others!
Query Methods:
E-mail: Yes (only).
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: No.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Send a query letter and the first ten pages of your manuscript in the body of an e-mail. No attachments.
Please check the Waxman Leavell website, blog, and Ms. Root's Publisher's Marketplace page for the most current information.
Query Tips / Peeves:
"No need to apologize for yourself— 'I'm so sorry to take up your time.' Please don't threaten or beg me to 'make your dream come true' or try to pump up the project in ways that mean nothing—telling me how your mom or friends loved it, or that you have 150 Facebook friends, all of whom you're sure would buy a copy. Don't get in your own way! Just tell me about the book, and we'll go from there." (Link)
"Focus on the story. I don't need to know how long you've been writing, or what demons writing helps you exorcise, or any of those things. Just tell me a story and I'll go with you. But if you must have a peeve, I am a relentless devil's advocate so if you ask me a rhetorical question in a query, you can bet I'm on the other end of my computer screen responding obstinately." (Link)
Response Times:
Ms. Root has an auto-responder for receipt of submission. She only responds personally if interested. Response times on requested material range from one week to several months.
What's the Buzz?
Holly Root a top-notch agent with an incredible list of clients and sales. Her clients adore and gush about her every chance they get and she's one of the sharpest, funniest agents I've come across. She's recommended by P&E and her active presence on the web makes her visible and popular among aspiring authors. Definitely follower her on Twitter and subscribe to the Waxman blog.
Worth Your Time:
Interview with Holly Root at I Want Her Job (10/2011).
7 Questions For: Literary Agent Holly Root at Middle Grade Ninja (05/2011).
Friday in the Fort Interview with Holly Root at Myra McEntire's blog (04/2010).
Hilarious Interview with Agent Holly Root at The Last Word (03/2010).
Interview with an Agent: Holly Root at Mother.Write.Repeat (03/2010).
Brief interview with Holly Root at Jill Myles blog (01/2010).
Agent Advice Interview with Holly Root at the Guide to Literary Agents Blog (12/2009).
Holly Root on Negotiating Publishing Contracts at Romance University (12/2009).
Marvelous Marketer Interview with Holly Root at Market My Words (11/2009).
Book Lover of the Week Interview with Holly Root at Kay Cassidy's blog (09/2009).
Interview with Agent Holly Root at Adventure Into Romance (09/2009).
Interview with Agent Holly Root at The Novel Girls (01/2009).
AuthorMBA Q&A with agent Holly Root (05/2008).
Interview Question with Holly Root of Waxman Literary at A View From The Top (06/2007).
Guest Posts by Ms. Root:
Querying Blunders: How Not to Query featuring Holly Root (04/2010).
Guest Post by Holly Root at Magical Musings (02/2008).
Guest Post by Holly Root at The Plot Monkeys (02/2008).
Selected Posts by Ms. Root From the Waxman Blog:
Is it Who You Know? (08/2012).
Middle Grade Weremonkeys & Embracing Scary (02/2011).
The 10 Commandments of Social Networking for Writers (11/2010).
A Few #askagent Questions (05/2010).
Quick Submissions Update (04/2009).
On Referrals (03/2010).
Letting the Market Speak (10/2009).
With a (Moutain) of Salt (09/2009).
Why I Say No (05/2009).
Recipe for Success? High Concept (02/2009).
Rejection (10/2008).
There are other fabulous posts on the Waxman Lit blog and more to come, so make sure you subscribe.
Around the Web:
Waxman Leavell Literary at P&E.
Holly Root at P&E ($, recommended).
Waxman Leavell Literary Agency at P&E ($, recommended).
Waxman Leavell Literary Agency thread at AbsoluteWrite.
Check out the latest at Waxman via their News page.
How I Got My Agent by Jennifer Malone at I Write For Apples (10/2012).
All Your Publishing Questions… Answered by editors Molly O'Neill and Martha Mihalick, and literary agent Holly Root at WriteOnCon (08/2012).
Live YA Q&A chat with Holly Root and Barbara Poelle at WriteOnCon (08/2011).
A Flawless Book Pitch: How Does Literary Agent Holly Root Sell a High-Concept Novel? Like this. at Pitch University (07/2011).
Myths and Misconceptions by literary agent Holly Root, and editors Molly O'Neill and Martha Mihalick at WriteOnCon (08/2010).
Query Dos and Don'ts from Holly Root, Auburn Writers Conference notes at See Heather Write (10/2010).
Professionally grabbing the attention of editors and agents and keeping it (article featuring some info on Holly Root) by Nikki Duncan (03/2010).
A Look at Diversion Books: What it is and how it relates to the Waxman agents.
2009 Agent Appreciation Day posts here, here, here, here, here, here.
Fall 2008 article on Holly Root from a Harding Univesity Collegiate Seminar Series (about halfway down).
Holly Root was the July 2008 Secret Agent at Miss Snark's First Victim. If you dig through the archives you can read her critique comments.
Please see the Waxman Leavell Literary website and Ms. Root's Publisher's Marketplace page for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last Updated: 6/2/13.
Last Reviewed By Agent? 6/3/10.
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com
Note: These agent profiles presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. They are not interviews. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found herein is subject to change.


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|What The Heck Is "Obsessive Slowness?"
What The Heck Is
"Obsessive Slowness?"
by Fred Penzel, Ph.D.
Everybody has pet peeves. Mine happen to include technical terms that are commonly used but don't really mean anything. Within the field of OCD, one particular term that I really wish should go away is "obsessive slowness." Researchers and practitioners generally use it to describe the behavior of people who carry out everyday activities in an extremely slow manner. Examples would include someone taking thirty minutes to wash their face, ten minutes to put on one shoe, or two hours to decide what brand of detergent to buy.
The term covering all of these behaviors doesn't really tell you about what is actually happening. There are a great many subtypes of OCD, and many of them cause sufferers to do things slowly or tediously. OCD usually makes sufferers inefficient because of all the extra steps and activities it adds to their lives. However, lumping them all together under the heading of "slowness" makes anxiety caused by the obsessions. When we say "obsessive slowness," it sounds as if we are literally describing the slow-motion thinking of obsessive thoughts. This is obviously meaningless. What we are really talking about is not a thought, but an observable behavior or set of behaviors. To accurately describe what is happening, it would make a lot more sense to call it "compulsive slowness," but even this term is inadequate. It still doesn't really tell us much about what is going on.
There are many reasons why some OCD sufferers do things in what appear to be painfully slow ways. If an OCD sufferer who carries out particular behaviors slowly is to be treated properly, the reason behind their slowness must be identified. Only than can there be a proper intervention. Here are several reasons why this type of behavior is likely to occur. It is to these that we should really be paying attention, rather than coming up with meaningless labels.
Another form of perfectionism involves the need for closure. If a sufferer with this problem starts something, they must stay with it or wait around until it is absolutely and completely finished. This can apply to both mental and physical activities. They cannot start or do anything else in the meantime, as this would cause them considerable distraction and discomfort. Being able to do or think of only one thing at a time (no matter how long it takes) can also slow a sufferer down.
The need to make "perfect" decisions as a way of combating doubtfulness (mentioned earlier) would also come under the heading of perfectionism, and is another cause of slowness.
As can be seen, there are many reasons why an OCD sufferer may appear to be moving very slowly, and they really cannot be adequately described by a single term. I suggest that we drop the term "obsessive slowness," and stick to describing the causes of the individual's slowness using the more specific terms we already have. What I am doing here, is making an appeal for more precision in the terms that we use to describe the experience of OCD. Accurate descriptions are more likely to lead to the most appropriate treatments, and thus to a lot more recoveries.
If you would like to read more about what Dr. Penzel has to say about OCD, take a look at his self-help book, "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Complete Guide to Getting Well and Staying Well," (Oxford University Press, 2000). You can learn more about it at www.ocdbook.com
Please Note: Then information in this site is presented as a public service to our patients and friends. It is not a substitute for a careful evaluation by a qualified mental health professional. If you are already under treatment, do not make any changes in your regimen without consulting your doctor.
Staff Articles
- Behavioral Treatment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- The Boy Who Didn't Know Who He Was (Teen Obsessions About Homosexuality)
- Acceptance and OCD
- Acceptance and OCD
- But I Love My Kids (Parents With Thoughts of Harming Their Children)
- Call Me Irresponsible (OCD and hyperresponsibility)
- Coming To Terms With The Lost Years
- Contamination and OCD ("Stronger than Dirt")
- Do-it-Yourself Therapy: Self-Directed Treatment
- Fight for Your Rights: Getting Insurance to Pay for an OCD Specialist
- Getting the Right Treatment (Finding proper CBT treatment for OCD and BFRBs)
- Here's Looking At You, Kid: People With OCD Who Notice Things Too Much
- How Clean is Clean? (Compulsive cleaning and ordering)
- How Do I Know I'm Not Gay? (Homosexuality obsessions)
- How I Treat Violent Obsessions
- How Much Is Too Much? (Taking a more humane approach to behavioral therapy)
- How to Manage Your Parents When You Have OCD (a guide for teens)
- In Search of the Elusive Behavior Therapist
- Inositol and OCD
- Intensive vs. Self-Directed OCD Treatment
- Langley Collyer: The Mystery Hoarder of Harlem
- Let He Who is Without Sin (Religious obsessions)
- Loves Me? Loves Me Not? (Relationship obsessions)
- Morbid Obsessions
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (General information)
- Obsessive Love (When People Become "Obsessed" with Other People)
- Panic Disorder (General information)
- Samuel Johnson: A Patron Saint of OCD
- Saving the World (Compulsive Hoarding)
- Teens With Morbid Obsessions
- Ten Things You Need to Know to Overcome OCD
- A Touching Story (Touching and movement compulsions)
- Treating Morbid Obsessions
- Very Superstitious (Magical and superstitious obsessions)
- What Do You Say After You Say You're Sorry (Coming to terms after you recover from OCD)
- What The Heck Is "Obsessive Slowness?"
- When Epidemics Collide: OCD and AIDS
- Your Number is Up! ("Magical" numbers and OCD)
- Advice for Significant Others (Dealing with a TTM sufferer)
- Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Trichotillomania
- Coming to Terms With Your Child's Hair Pulling
- Childhood Trichotillomania (Dealing with the reluctant child's pulling)
- Fight for Your Rights: Getting Insurance to Pay for Your Treatment
- Inositol and Trichotillomania
- A Stimulus Regulation Model of Trichotillomania (Why people pull)
- Trichotillomania (General information)
- Unconditional Self Acceptance and Trichotillomania
- What Cognitive Therapy Can Do for TTM
- Skin-Picking and Nail-Biting - Related Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders: More Than "A Bad Case of Nerves"
- Common Questions, Myths and Misconceptions About Psychiatric Medicine
- Medications that Treat OCD and OC Spectrum Disorders
- OCD and Managed Care
- PANDAS: The OCD - Strep Connection
- Depression: from Children through Adults
- How Do I Know I'm Not Really Gay - Part 2
- How To Defeat OCD By Surrendering
- Living With Your Loved One's OCD: Some Advice For Significant Others
- NAC and Trichotillomania
- Stimulation Substitutes for Trichotillomania
- To Be Or Not To Be. That Is The Obsession: Existential And Philosophical Obsessions
- 25 Tips For Succeeding In Your OCD Therapy
- My Parents Don't Believe I Have OCD
- Both Ends Against The Middle: When OCD Tries To Disrupt Its Own Treatment
- Driven To Distraction: Hit and Run OCD

subset: commoncrawl


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Blind poised to see
The wobbly white organ is a silicon replica of the human one a 60-strong team of researchers at Melbourne_s Mon...
The wobbly white organ is a silicon replica of the human one a 60-strong team of researchers at Melbourne_s Monash University is trying to rewire, sending electrical impulses directly to the region creating visual percepts -- the brain_s interpretation of the nerve signals it would receive from a functioning eye. Their device will be tested in animals later this year before the first human studies in 2014.
Across town, doctors at the University of Melbourne are taking a different tack, developing an implant to sit at the rear of the eye and do the work for damaged retinas. Both groups are in a race to capture the market for bionic vision, offering hope to the world_s 285 million blind or partially sighted people. The Melbourne teams may have an edge: expertise in stimulating the brain in the city that produced the top-selling bionic ear and made a $4 billion company of maker Cochlear Ltd. (COH)
_As far as we_re aware, we_re at around similar stages to all of the other groups -- certainly not too far behind and, if anything, a little bit ahead,_ said Pritchard, Monash Vision Group_s general manager.
No Steve Austin
Almost four decades after bionic implants created the fictional Six Million Dollar Man, scientists are far from being able to replicate a fully functioning human eye, let alone the one with zoom and infrared capabilities of Steve Austin, Lee Majors_ character in the 1970s television show. The most advanced attempts have produced pixilated images in monochrome.
Besides the two groups in Melbourne, Second Sight Medical Products Inc., based in Sylmar, California, and Retina Implant AG, based in Reutlingen, Germany, are among as many as 20 groups worldwide trying to reproduce vision that_s closer to that enjoyed by sighted people. Most research utilizes retinal implants, relying on still-functioning components of the visual sensory system, including the optical nerve.
By acting directly on the brain, Monash Vision_s device will counter all causes of blindness, except those resulting from damage to the visual cortex -- where the percepts are formed. The group devised the approach three years ago for the project, which has a budget of about A$15 million ($15 million).
It entails surgically implanting more than a dozen 8 millimeter-square tiles -- each about a quarter of the size of a thumbnail -- into the visual cortex, located at the back of the brain. Each tile contains 45 electrodes that will penetrate about 2 millimeters into the surface of the brain.
The tiles also contain a microchip and wireless receiver to convey signals delivered from a mobile phone-sized computer that relays compressed visual data from a camera worn by the user. The device will have modes for navigation, detecting people and gauging the proximity of objects, said Arthur Lowery, director of Monash Vision Group.
_In the Race_
Researchers are testing the tiles in animals for safety and biocompatibility and are studying their function in rats, said Jeffrey Rosenfeld, head of neurosurgery at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, who will lead the team implanting the Monash device. Studies in primates will start later this year, he said.
_We_re in the race and are confident we_ll produce a commercial device,_ Rosenfeld said in an interview. _Whether it will be as successful as the Cochlear device, who knows. It_s at the forefront of Australian technological design, but it_s also at the world_s forefront of new technology._
Retinitis Pigmentosa
Even among the groups developing bionic prostheses for the retina, there are differences in approaches. The team at the University of Melbourne, known as Bionic Vision Australia, has implanted its device behind the eye in an area known as the super-choroidal space. Their prototype, carrying 24 electrodes on a thin silicon sheet, has been put in three patients with retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited condition affecting about 1 in 4,000 people in the U.S.
The first recipient, Dianne Ashworth, described seeing flashes of light when the electrodes were stimulated by a computer connected to a wire attachment behind her ear.
_It was amazing,_ Ashworth said in an Aug. 30 statement. _Every time there was stimulation, there was a different shape that appeared in front of my eye._
Ashworth_s response to the stimulation was _vital,_ said Penny Allen, who led a surgical team implanting the prototype at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
Right Assumption
_The fact we are getting visual stimulation from the device in that position means that we are right in our assumption,_ Allen said. _We believe it will be stable there long term, and that_s very important in any prosthesis._
Ashworth_s surgery took four and a half hours. It involved removing some muscle around the eye so the eyeball could be rolled over and the device placed behind the retina. Once fitted, the muscle was stitched back on. The third surgery took just over three hours, indicating the technique may be less taxing than some approaches that have taken as long as 12 hours, she said.
Researchers will work with the recipients over the next 12 months to determine exactly what they perceive each time the retina is stimulated. They_re looking for consistency of shapes, brightness, size and location of flashes to determine how the brain interprets the information, said Rob Shepherd, director of the Bionics Institute, which designed, built and tested the early prototype.
The next stage of development will incorporate an external camera from which messages will be sent to the device behind the eye. The scientists aim to produce a wide-view implant with 98 electrodes, producing vision with about as many pixels, and a high-acuity model with 1,024 electrodes that might enable users to read large-font text, Shepherd said. By early 2016, he expects the devices to be used in a large-scale patient study.
Recognizing Faces
_All these patients really want is facial recognition,_ he said. _That_s potentially possible with a high-resolution device._ A more achievable target is a device that enhances mobility, enabling users to _walk through doors, see large objects,_ he said.
Shepherd, who is also professor of medical bionics at the University of Melbourne, was a member of the team that developed the Cochlear implant in the 1970s. At the time, scientists weren_t aware of the brain_s ability to reorganize its neural pathways in response to the hearing device, so amplifying its benefit, he said.
_We called it an aid to lip-reading,_ Shepherd said. _But now, children as young as six months are using them and people are using them with mobile phones and in noisy environments._
Second Sight, co-founded by rival cochlear implant pioneer Alfred E. Mann, began selling its Argus II device in Europe in October. Some patients have been using the implant for more than five years, said Brian Mech, vice-president of business development.
Beer Glasses
The device typically takes 2-3 hours to fit, with users able to detect faces -- though not recognize them -- and read large-text font, he said in an e-mail. _Most significant gains are in the areas of orientation and mobility,_ he said.
Another approach is used by Retina Implant, whose device has 1,500 electrodes that convert light entering the eye into electrical energy, relying on intact nerves inside the retina to relay information via the optical nerve to the brain.
It takes about 8 hours to fit the implant, which lets users identify and locate objects like beer glasses, cutlery or bananas, Walter Wrobel, the company_s chief executive officer, said via e-mail. Users can also read 4-5 centimeter letters from a distance of about half a meter, he said.
While the teams in Melbourne are playing catch-up with more advanced products, it_s not a prospect that fazes Allen.
_If we have a surgical procedure that is safe and readily reproducible, then you don_t really need to be first,_ she said. _You actually want to be better._
By Jason Gale and Natasha Khan


text:
First Look: Ripple's Grilled Cheese Bar, Washington D.C.
Note: First Looks give previews of new dishes, drinks, and menus we're curious about. Since they are arranged photo shoots and interviews with restaurants, we do not make critical evaluations or recommendations.
The great thing about a grilled cheese? It's really hard to screw up. Anyone can make it and, generally, it'll be pretty good. Another great thing about grilled cheese is that, while it's hard to screw up, if you've got the resources to make a really good grilled cheese, it's really, really good.
That's where Ripple comes in. With the launch of its Grilled Cheese Bar in early June, the D.C. wine bar has been leveraging its housemade charcuterie and artisanal cheese program to craft sandwiches.
The Grilled Cheese Bar operates on a small counter separate from the main bar, complete with a meat slicer, panini press, an array of cheeses and other toppings. You have the option of choosing from a number of original creations including the Stinky Pete ($9) made with "hideously smelly" Torta la Serena cheese, asparagus, and anchovies; and Krusty Krab ($11), made with jumbo lump crab and béchamel. Of course there are also classics like the BLT ($9) with Benton's bacon, organic greens, sun dried tomatoes, and a Dancing Fern cheese (a washed rind).
The other option, which is arguably more fun, is to make your own. You get to choose from 15 artisanal cheeses from around the world and local producers, a variety of meats and spreads, and ciabatta, brioche, or multigrain bread. There is a full page of descriptions of the various cheese on the menu and it can be a little daunting to try and match complementary flavors, but ask and the staff are more than willing to point you in the right direction. "If you dream it, [they] can build it," says the menu.
Owner Roger Marmet has really been delivering on his commitment to fun, artisanal interpretations of classic, comfort foods. (Nextdoor you'll find an ice cream sandwich purveying annex, Sugar Magnolia.) The Grilled Cheese Bar is available Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to midnight. To sweeten the deal, Ripple is offering a happy hour of sorts for the first time with all beer on tap and wine by the glass at half price during the early session. The menu, like everything else at Ripple, will rotate with what is seasonally available.
See some of the grilled cheese offerings in the slideshow >>
Ripple 3417 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (map) 202-244-7995; rippledc.com
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"I am so obsessed with inflammation and gut health and Dr. Amy Shah was the perfect person to help me with my own issues! Her combination of scientific knowledge, nutrition, and ancient medicine expertise is exactly what I needed. I've never felt better thanks to her!"
"I have been in Dr. Shah's care for a few years now, and I know without a doubt I wouldn't see anyone else. She doesn't just look at the problem from one lens, but uses her extensive knowledge and experience to view your symptoms and issues holistically. She has also helped me find other resources and doctors to continue to take control of my health. Dr. Shah understands that medicine and healing is not a sprint but a marathon, and her patience and dedication to finding the root of the problem is what gives me the confidence to trust her!"
"I've suffered from genetic acid reflux since I was 26 years old. Dr. Amy understood my stressful work schedule and gave me realistic anti-inflammatory lifestyle changes I can make to assuage my constant pain. Her modern western knowledge combined with ancient methods have changed my life."
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So recently with the posting of Yahoo!'s Tiny House Video (see my post on it here) we have had a huge explosion of traffic, we are up around 300% and busted all sorts of records! Since we have so many new folks I always like to take a moment to say "Hello!". My name is Ryan Mitchell and I run TheTinyLife.com, to find out more about me and this site check out this post which is a more in depth introduction to the website.
With many people who are new to Tiny Houses they have many questions, some are just intrigued by the idea that there are literally 10's of thousands of people today who are making their way to living in 100-200 square feet. For some this concept of down sizing the space you live in is the answer you have been looking for. Whether it is for financial reasons, environmental reasons, practicality Tiny House seem to resonate with a wide variety of people. If you want to get a better gist of what the Tiny House Movement is all about I suggest you check out this post here.
We all know and love Jay's Tiny Houses, his approach has been instrumental in the Tiny House Movement, To show you some variety of Tiny Houses here are few of my favorites:
Info Here
Info Here
Info Here
Of Course we have Jay's Houses, here are some videos of it:


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It Is All About BTC, LTC, ETH, ZEC mining as well as other alternative crypto currencies
If you have been following our reviews of automated trading solutions for crypto currency trading, they you've probably seen our review of the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot. One of the things we have noted in our review is that the trading strategy utilized in the robot has relied on data form MtGox and that is not anymore possible with the current situation with MtGox. However the authors of the software have already announced that they have implemented a change in the software, so that it will still be fully functional and making profit from automated trading on the BTC-E crypto exchange (the only exchange supported). Apparently Mtgox has been replaced by Bitstamp some time ago in BTC Robot trading algorithms, so the issues with MtGox should not affect the robot in any way.
As we have already reported in our review, we are recommending to go for the plans where you get the robot cloud hosted and not in a downloadable form as we've had some trouble with it. Also note that our review of the product coincided with the start of the trouble that MtGox had before completely closing down, so our trading experience with the automated trading robot was not too positive. But if you are interested in trying it out, then you may do so now that it no longer relies on MtGox data. We have also tested the 60 day money back guarantee and it works, though it may take 2-3 days for you to get your payment back if you are not happy with the software. This kind of works as a kind of trial mode for the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot, so you can try it for a bit and if you are not happy with the software or the results to get your money back. Another thing that we still haven't tried is a version of the automated trading software for trading Litecoin called LTC Robot that you can also get either as bonus with the BTC trading software or for a little extra on top for what you pat for the Bitcoin trading product.
– For more information about the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading software…
We have been testing the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot for a few days and we went for the Silver plan that gives you a downloadable version of the software to use on your own computer. We have already described some of the issues we've went through using that version as you can only install it on one computer and not move it to another later on (unless you contact the support and request you want to do that). We have also had some trouble making the automated trading software work properly on Windows, even though it should be supported. As a result we would recommend to go for the higher plans that will give you a cloud based version of the trading bot that you can access and use from different computers and that will be online all the time, so yo don't have to keep your computer online 24/7 like you need to with the Silver Plan and the downloadable version.
Furthermore, due to the fact that the BTC Robot trading algorithm relies on data coming from MtGox and that exchange has been having some trouble lately and things are really crazy with the exchange rate there for the moment the market situation is preventing the bot from executing trades properly. That is precisely why we have decided to test another advertised feature of the software – 60 days money back guarantee. We have requested a full refund and now, 2 days later we have just received our payment back. We have used BTC to pay for the Silver Plan and we got BTC back in our account, though the amount is a bit less than what we have sent as apparently the payment processor takes into account the exchange rate at the time of payment and refund. The refund took about 2 days to process and us having back the money in our BTC wallet after making our full refund request as per the 60 day money back guarantee. So that works pretty good as well and it gives you the ability to test the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot for a few days and if you are not happy you can get your money back. Kind of works like a trial version, so you can test the software and if you are not happy with it to get your money back.
– Check out our initial thoughts about the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot here…
– And some more information about the BTC Robot Automated Bitcoin Trading Robot here…
Three days have passed already since we have started testing out the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot, so it is time to report how things are progressing so far. Nothing much has happened since we've started using the software for automated trading, though we suspect that the reason for that is the current BTC market situation and the way that the trading bot operates. The fact that MtGox and Bitstamp – two of the largest BTC exchanges are currently not allowing Bitcoin withdraws due to possible vulnerability in the BTC transactions has created some chaos on the market and the exchange rate is going mostly down as a result. Even though the BTC Robot actually trades on the BTC-e exchange that has not suspended any of its operations regarding BTC withdraws or deposits and the BTC/USD exchange rate is fluctuating the robot is not executing trades on it. Even considering the fact that we've set the Aggressive trading option that should be more active on executing trades with a bit higher risk, but also with supposedly higher profit on success there are no trades because of the weird situation on the market. Hopefully things will get better soon and the trade bot will be able to trade properly soon, or the authors will implement a different trading strategy that will be effective even at the current market situation.
What you cannot normally learn before you purchase the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot is the trading strategy it relies on. Normally these automated trading solutions rely on some sort of market indicators such as EMA to "know" when to buy and sell to generate you profit. This solution however relies on a slightly different market indicator, it compares the current price at MtGox and compares it to the exchange rate at BTC-e to decide if it should buy or sell. The software uses three different indicators to make its decisions and they have different values for each of the preset modes you can choose from – Conservative, Medium and Aggressive mode or use your own custom settings. Below you can find the default trading settings for the three modes and in the Custom mode you can change them as you wish in order to get better results – less risk and profitability or higher risk and profitability.
Rmin = 0.09
Rmax = 0.12
R step = 0.01
Rmin = -0.01
Rmax = 0.11
R step = 0.012
Rmin = -0.01
Rmax = 0.11
R step = 0.02
One more important thing to note, especially if you are getting the Silver Plane where you get the BTC Robot as a downloadable software to install on your own computer as we did, instead of a version of the bot preinstalled in the cloud. You can only install the trading software on one computer as it does not checks, so do not install it on a laptop at work for example just to test it first – go directly to a dedicated computer that can be online 24/7 at your home. We have contacted the support to see if we can move the software to another computer as now we have to keep online a laptop that we installed it for a quick test running and on all the time, so this is just a bit of inconvenience, though the support helped us resolve the issue and the software has been moved on another system. Going for a cloud-based service with the other two plans will probably be much easier and problem free solution, so you better consider these.
– Check out our initial thoughts about the BTC Robot automated Bitcoin trading robot here


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We all knew Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's new film "By the Sea" was about an unhappy couple, but man, they weren't kidding.
Fans got a first glimpse at the highly anticipated movie Thursday once the trailer was released, and it is a minute and 15 seconds of feeling sorry for these two people who clearly hate each other.
The pair's characters are ridiculously disconnected, with Roland (Pitt) going about his business after the couple arrives at a seaside resort in 1970s France. Vanessa (Jolie) sits and sulks in a room as crocodile tears roll down from those big baby blues
U.S. & World
And then, when they finally have to interact, it's not pretty.
"Are we ever going to talk about it?" Roland is heard asking. "Do you hate me?" Vanessa replies, "You know my reason."
And then she gives him a solid slap in the face! Ooooooh.
PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie's best movie roles
"By the Sea" marks the first film the pair are starring in together since their famous 2005 flick "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and Jolie, who also wrote and directed this project, explained that the duo had to pull from their personal lives to accomplish the tension felt between these characters.
"I'd be directing myself and him in a scene where we're having a fight, and I'd be pulling out the parts [of him] that have an aggression toward me or when you're frustrated with each other–it was very heavy," Jolie recently said in an interview with the DGA.
"We kept joking that all of the crew felt like they were living in a house where the parents were fighting and you don't know where to stand or where to look."
Watch the trailer above to see for yourself. "By the Sea" hits theaters Nov. 13.
PHOTOS: Brangelina quotes on love
(NBC, E! and Universal Pictures are part of the NBCUniversal family.)


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Mplus Home
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Factor Scoring Coefficients
Mplus Discussion
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Charles Cleland
posted on Monday, January 31, 2000 - 11:10 am
Some EFA programs such as BMDP4M and SAS Proc FACTOR return a variables by factors scoring coefficient matrix. I would like to be able to get that matrix for a promax rotated EFA in MPLUS with the WLSMV estimator. Is there any way to get that matrix?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, February 01, 2000 - 9:35 am
The WLSMV estimator is used with categorical outcomes. Unlike continuous outcomes, with categorical outcomes a factor score coefficient matrix is not used to produce the factor scores. Instead, factor scores for each person have to be estimated by an iterative technique (see Appendix 11 in the Mplus User's Guide).
posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2000 - 9:41 am
I'm trying to develop a factor that contains the same items at time 1 and time 2. I'd like to know that the relationships between my factor and items are similar (not significantly different) across time. How do I test this?
posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2000 - 10:10 am
You should test that the loadings are invariant over time while allowing factor variances to vary across time. You get the chi-square difference between the model with invariance and the model without invariance. With categorical outcomes, the analysis is a bit more involved. Here you need to hold both loadings and threshold invariant over time, letting factor means and variances vary across time, and letting scale factors vary across time (see the Muthen 1996 paper on growth modeling with binary responses as listed on this web site).
posted on Saturday, July 20, 2002 - 7:36 pm
As a followup to the message of Charles Cleland from Jan 31, 2000 concerning the estimation of factor scores using the stated iterative technique:
I understand that a factor score matrix is not possible with categorical data. However, is there a facility in Version 2.1 to output the factor scores for each individual into a dataset using the stated iterative technique, for an EFA model with ordinal (3 level) indicators? Or with binary indicators as mentioned in Appendix 11 of the manual?
Many thanks.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 6:34 am
Saving factor scores is not an option for EFA. It is an option for CFA for all variable types - continuous, binary, polytomous, and combinations of continuous, binary, and polytomous. If you want an EFA model, you can specify an EFA model in a CFA framework and get factor scores for that.
posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 6:27 am
In doing an EFA in a CFA framework, is there any general advice about *which* parameters to be constrained to enable identifiability? For example suppose there are 20 categorical indicators and 3 factors, with all 20 indicators loading on each factor. I recall reading that there needs to be k^2 constraints for a k-factor "EFA in CFA" model, so 9 constraints here. One can fix the 3 latent variable variances at 1, but is there a general rule about how to determine which 6 paths to constrain to enable identifiability?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 9:53 am
I don't know of any reference for this, but we recommend selecting one item per factor as an anchor item. Anchor items have high loadings on their factor and low loadings on the other factors. You can fix the loadings of the anchor items for the factors for which they have low loadings to zero. This will give you the remaining six constraints that you need.
posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 12:10 pm
Is it possible to include an identifiaction variable(IDS) with save fscore coommand in mplus version 2?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 12:34 pm
Yes, see page 57 of the Mplus User's Guide.
Yuhchang Hang
posted on Thursday, August 07, 2003 - 3:00 pm
I am a new user on this program, we purchase this program for the purpose of generating factor scores (EFA model) for binary data in our research project. We were disopinnanted that the manual does not give enough information on this matter.
Can anayone help me on having a sample program in doing EFA in CFA for the purpose of deriving the factor score?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, August 07, 2003 - 3:09 pm
If you send me a fax number at
, I can fax you the pages about EFA in a CFA framework from our course.
Benjamin Shao
posted on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 12:35 pm
To follow on Yuhchang Hwang's question above, thanks for your fax. But after incorporating the additional constraints into the CFA models, we still can't obtain the factor scores. The results are either "cannot converge" or "The correlation matrix is not positively definite". We made all attempts, but to no avail. Is there any other suggestion? Thanks!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 4:23 pm
Why don't you send the output and data. I will take a look at it.
posted on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 2:56 am
I have a similar question when doing EFA at CFA framework. From the EFA 4 factor testing, I define 4 Achors for the 4 factors and put in total 4*3= 12 constraints (zero loadings of each achors) and 4 constraints as factor variance to be fixed equal to one, but I still get the following error message:
I don't understand why this model is nonidentified because I put in fact 4 square = 16 constraints already. And what's the problem of non convergence?
my second question: when doing 2-level EFA of CFA, should I seperate the two EFA models or I can do pooling model without consider the nest effect?
Thanks a lot!
posted on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 11:09 am
The error message also says NO CONVERGENCE, which means that factor scores will not be computed. The nonconvergence of the EFA within CFA may be due to not giving enough key starting values for the loadings.
I would do Step 1 EFA, Step 3 EFA (pooled-within), as well as EFA on the between matrix.
Shuang Wang
posted on Monday, April 25, 2005 - 5:35 pm
I was trying to fit an EFA within CFA, and got similar error message.
Since this is EFA in CFA for categirical outcome, I used:
ANALYSIS: Type = general ;
estimator = wlsmv ;
May I ask where is the problem here?
Thanks a lot!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 25, 2005 - 5:39 pm
It may be that you need starting values for some of the loadings as mentioned above.
Shuang Wang
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 6:51 am
Hi Linda,
Thanks for the promptly reply. I did add starting values as in the examples from the Mplus short course. Here is what I did:
ANALYSIS: Type = general ;
estimator = wlsmv ;
weak BY Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18*
axiety BY Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18*
slowness BY Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18*
weak axiety
weak WITH axiety ;
weak WITH slowness ;
axiety WITH slowness ;
sampstat standardized ;
Where the Q2, Q17, and Q8 are the anchor items from the three factors.
Is there anything wrong in the syntex?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 7:42 am
The following statement only fixes the variance of slowness to one.
weak axiety
Change it to
Shuang Wang
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 7:56 am
That is quick!
I also tried
before (and just tried it again), I still got the same error message.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 8:23 am
Then try starting values that you take from your EFA for the factor loadings, for example,
weak BY Q1*.8 Q2*8-.5 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18*
Starting values are given using the * followed by a number.
Shuang Wang
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 8:48 am
Thanks a lot!
Somehow I still got the same error message after I specified starting values for each items. For example, I did:
weak BY Q1*.8 Q2*.8 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18*
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 8:51 am
What you are showing is not giving starting values for each item. You need to give more than 2 starting values. And you need to use the factor loading values from your EFA not the ones I made up. You can choose the largest factor loadings to start.
Shuang Wang
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 9:10 am
The number I added after * are the factor loadings from EFA, I did not make them up, they just happen to be around 0.8. I only added starting values for these two because only these two items are loaded on factor one.
I did similarly for factor two and factor three, where I added factor loadings as starting values to those items that loaded on the factors.
Do I understand your suggestion incorrectly?
Thank you!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - 10:45 am
I think you understand correctly. You must be doing something else. If you send your input/output and data along with your license number to
, we can take a look at it. Please also send your EFA output.
posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 2:47 am
I am a new user of Mplus. I want to do EFA for binary and ordinal responses. My question is how can I get factor scores? Anyone who help me by sending a code?
Thank u in advance
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 6:13 am
Factor scores cannot be saved for EFA only for EFA in a CFA framework or CFA. See Example 12.15 in the Mplus User's Guide to see how to save factor scores. Example 4.2 shows EFA for categorical factor indicators.
posted on Saturday, April 30, 2005 - 7:11 am
Linda, thanks a lot for your advise. What I did after your comment , first I did EFA and then CFA and saved the factor scores. Am I correct?
posted on Saturday, April 30, 2005 - 11:29 am
I think Linda referred to "EFA in a CFA framework" - see the "Day 1" handout from the Mplus Short Courses.
posted on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 6:38 am
I am a new user of mplus . When I did EFA I got the following message
Unexpected end of file reached in data file.
What is wrong?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 7:32 am
You most likely have blanks in your data and are reading the data as free format. Because of this, Mplus is not finding enough information. If you cannot figure this out, you need to send your input, data, and license number to
posted on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 10:02 am
I want to do reliability assessment using factor analysis. The measurements are taken at two time points and all the measurements are binary and polytomous. How can I do it? May you suggest me some reading further?
posted on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 3:04 pm
I am not sure if you want to know the reliability of an item, or how well a factor is measured, or using the factor model to find out the reliability of the sum of the items.
In the first case, you can think of item reliability as the variance proportion of y* that is explained by a factor, where y* is an underlying continuous latent response variable. You get that from the Mplus output when requesting a standardized solution.
In the second case, you want to find the precision with which a factor score is estimated - you find writings on this in the IRT literature under information functions.
In the third case, you need to do some statistical calculations.
posted on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 10:37 pm
Thx Bmuthen. My idea is to see whether an items are reliable when they measured at two time points from same persons.It's like test-retest method.If you have further suggestion,that is highly appreciated.
Julia Grieser
posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 7:10 am
I have a question regarding the EFA output.
If I run an EFA I get as output:
-Varimax rotated loadings
-Promax rotated loadings
-estimated residual variances
-Factor structure
Is the Factor structure the same as the unrotated loadings and if not what does it tell me?
Thank you.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 8:04 am
Factor structure gives the correlations between the factors and the observed variables.
Tait Medina
posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 - 11:55 am
Dear Professors.
I am hoping you might tell me why saving factor scores is not an option for EFA? Is this something you do not recommend doing?
Thank you,
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 - 2:30 pm
We don't do this because when someone extracts, for example, 1 through 8 factors, it would result in a lot of factor scores. There will be a new feature in Version 5.1 that will allow factor scores for an EFA model.
Tait Medina
posted on Friday, May 02, 2008 - 6:06 am
Thank you for your response and I am looking forward to the next version with this new feature. In the meantime I plan to use EFA within a CFA framework to output factor scores (as suggested in a prior post). Would you expect factors scores from an EFA within a CFA framework to be fairly similar to factor scores from an EFA?
Thank you.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, May 02, 2008 - 9:04 am
Yes. Version 5.1 will probably be available on Monday unless some disaster strikes.
Tait Medina
posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 12:25 pm
I am having some difficulty saving factor scores following an EFA using version 5.1. I must be doing something wrong as all of the factor scores in the generated text file are equal to 0.
I am using this model & savedata command:
f1-f2 BY Rimpborn-Rimpfeel(*1);
file is impfs.txt;
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 3:00 pm
This problem was discovered shortly after the release of Version 5.1. If you send your input, data, and license number to
, I will run your analysis and send you the results.
Elaine Zanutto
posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 7:23 am
I am new to Mplus, but have used Proc Calis in SAS. I see from the above discussion on factor scoring coefficients that these coefficients are not available when using WLSMV, but what about when using ML with a continuous outcome. How would I get the factor scoring coefficients?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 5:33 pm
If this is for EFA, perhaps the version you are using only reports the scoring coefficients for CFA.
Elaine Zanutto
posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 2:07 pm
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm using Mplus 5.1. How would I get the scoring coefficients for CFA? (the coefficients that let me predict the latent score from the observed items).
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 2:36 pm
We don't give them currently for categorical outcomes. We will add this in the next update.
Elaine Zanutto
posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 7:00 am
Thanks again! How would I get the scoring coefficients for continuous outcomes?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 8:01 am
See formula 226 of Technical Appendix 11 which is on the website.
abdul jalil
posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 12:06 am
i want to know that to derive factor scors that can further be used for multiple regression analysis, factor analysis will be applied only to those variables that are independent or dependent variables are also included to derive principal factors.
i need complete logical reason for an accurate stretegy
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 9:33 am
Factor scores will be estimated based on all observed variables that are used in the model. They all contribute information about the factors.
Tait Medina
posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 2:55 pm
When saving factor scores, is there a way to change the default for missing from an asterisk (*) to a period (.)?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 4:30 pm
No. But you could do a global replace on the dataset outside of Mplus.
Michael G Wheaton
posted on Friday, May 22, 2009 - 1:20 pm
Dear Drs. Muthen,
I am running an EFA with categorical outcome variables and trying to save factor scores. On 4/28/2008 L. K. Muthen wrote that version 5.1 would allow for saving factor scores in an EFA model but I am running version 5.2 and still got the error message
*** WARNING in SAVEDATA command
Factor scores cannot be computed for analysis types BASIC or EFA. Request to save FSCORES is ignored.
Did I do something wrong or is this not possible without the EFA in a confirmatory framework mentioned above?
Thank you
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, May 22, 2009 - 2:26 pm
If I wrote that, I was wrong. We do however give factors scores when EFA is run using our new ESEM model. See the Version 5.1 Examples and Language addenda on the website with the user's guide.
Tait Medina
posted on Saturday, May 23, 2009 - 7:07 am
Hi Michael. A couple of months ago, Linda Muthen helped me to extract factor scores for an efa. Here is the code she used:
f1-f2 BY x1-x7(*1);
file is example.txt;
BTW-I am still running version 5.1
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, May 23, 2009 - 1:03 pm
Yes, this is our new ESEM which started in Version 5.1.
Michael G Wheaton
posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 - 11:50 am
The code worked perfectly, thanks so much to both of you!
Holly Burke
posted on Friday, June 22, 2012 - 5:02 pm
I successfully conducted an EFA and had no convergence problems. However, when I specified one of the factor solutions from the EFA (which had no problems in the EFA and was a good fit) in an Exploratory SEM model to get the factor scores I could not get the model to converge. The solution was non-positive definite. Do you have any idea what I may be doing wrong? Thank you.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, June 22, 2012 - 8:28 pm
It sounds like the 1-factor model in the context of a larger SEM has a problem. That can happen if the correlations between the factor indicators and these other SEM variables are not specified correctly. Can't say anything more specific without knowing more.
Holly Burke
posted on Saturday, June 23, 2012 - 10:57 am
Hello Dr. Muthen,
Thank you for your response. I did not add any other variables to the ESEM. I only did the ESEM to get factor scores (since my variables are categorical) from the three factor solution I found acceptable from the EFA. Here is my EFA code:
Here is my ESEM code (using the same 11 variables with the same data):
I am not sure what I am doing wrong, but the EFA 3-factor solution converges and has good fit, but the ESEM solution does not work (THE RESIDUAL COVARIANCE MATRIX (THETA) IS NOT POSITIVE DEFINITE...FACTOR SCORES WILL NOT BE COMPUTED DUE TO NONCONVERGENCE OR NONIDENTIFIED MODEL.)
I appreciate your help.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, June 23, 2012 - 1:13 pm
Please send the output and your license number to
posted on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 - 9:02 am
Back in the 1990's when I first learned about EFA, I was taught to calculate factor scores by summing or averaging the variables that had high loadings on a factor.
Although, I think this is a still common practice today, I assume that this is a really bad practice. What are your thoughts on this? Thank you.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 - 5:36 pm
Probably not a terribly bad approximation if you have many such items, but why not use the estimated factor scores instead? Or better still, do SEM or ESEM without first going for the factor scores.
Michael Boudreaux
posted on Friday, May 08, 2015 - 12:25 pm
Is it possible to request scoring coefficients in ESEM with categorical indicators? I am able to get factor scores using ESEM, but would like to get the scoring coefficients instead in order to apply them to another data set. Thank you.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, May 08, 2015 - 4:50 pm
Factor score coefficients are available for only continuous indicators because factor scores are computed iteratively for categorical indicators. They can't be computed by hand.
Michael Boudreaux
posted on Saturday, May 09, 2015 - 12:07 pm
Thank you. Instead, I will get the scoring coefficients from an EMLFA. Could you please tell me where I might find information for applying scoring coefficients to raw data in Mplus? Thanks again.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, May 10, 2015 - 6:39 am
Technical Appendix 11 on the website shows how Mplus estimates factor scores. This cannot be done by hand for categorical indicators. It is an iterative procedure.
Michael Boudreaux
posted on Sunday, May 10, 2015 - 7:16 pm
Sorry, I think I wasn't clear in my previous post. I am hoping to get scoring coefficients for an EFA using ML estimation on continuous variables, and then apply these scoring coefficients to raw data. My question is: where might I find information for applying scoring coefficients to raw data in Mplus? I do not want the factor scores because I will be applying the scoring coefficients to a separate data set. Thanks again.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Sunday, May 10, 2015 - 8:12 pm
Page 731 of the UG describes the FSCOEFFICIENT option for getting factor score coefficients for continuous outcomes.
Shraddha Kashyap
posted on Monday, January 11, 2016 - 7:49 pm
I tried running an EFA (5 categorical variables EB1-EB5) and I got this message in the output:
Any suggestions on how to tackle this issue?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - 8:14 am
Please send the output and your license number to
posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2016 - 1:52 am
is there any possibility to create factor score coefficients for models with categorical variables?
I need them to create a weighted sum score and now I have no idea to weight except with the factor loadings. But this don't seeme to be a fine procedure in the literature.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, June 08, 2016 - 10:48 am
No, the scores are not obtained in that simple fashion with categorical variables but instead by an iterative technique.
Marco Pannacci
posted on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - 12:06 am
Dear MPLUS support,
I am working on a two levels CFA.
The structure is this (MPLUS annotation):
lung1 by X1 X2 X3 X4;
lung2 by X5 X6 X4;
lung3 by X1 X7 X8 X9;
SAD by lung1 lung2 lung3;
My objective is to obtain a SAD score for new observations that I will have in the future, by using the previous model. Two questions on it:
1) In the previous model, I have 42 missing patterns for the FACTOR SCORE COEFFICIENTS. Is there an easy way to obtain from MPLUS a SAD score based on this model for new observations? Since manually is very difficult with 42 missing patterns.
2) In general, is it possible that the SAD score derived with the FSCoefficients is not in Monotonic relationship with the SAD score that MPLUS save (I mean the one I obtain with SAVEDATA: FILE=Fscores.dat;SAVE=FSCORES ;)
Many Thanks,
Marco Pannacci
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - 7:40 am
1) To get the SAD score for new observations you can fix all parameters at their estimated values and just ask for factor scores for these new observations. You do this easily using SVALUES in the first run and then change * to @ to fix the values for the second run.
2) They should agree if you do it correctly.
Elaine Quah
posted on Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 5:57 am
Hi there Muthen&Muthen,
I am trying to generate predicted scores after running my EFA. I ran a parallel analysis which indicated I should extract 6 factors.
Right now I want to generate subscale scores for these 6 factors. Would be grateful if you could advise the appropriate syntax to use.
My current EFA syntax is:
TITLE: EFA with continous Likert Scales scores for CEBQ at 5 years by Elaine Q.
DATA: FILE IS "/WORK FOLDER/2018/MPlus/Validation of CEBQ at 5 years _copy_missing99.csv";
VARIABLE: NAMES ARE u1-u35; MISSING is u1-u35 (99);
Rotation IS CF-VARIMAX;
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 4:45 pm
You can either use ESEM with 6 factors or Type = EFA 6 6 and add
Save = fscores;
Elaine Quah
posted on Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 6:32 pm
Dear Muthen,
I'm afraid I'm still not generating the scoring coefficients right.
Using the syntax you provided, MPLUS generated a "T=SAVE'FSCORES" file for me which i opened but found that it only contains what looks like my dataset containing only my original Likert Scale scores?
Could you please advise on how to proceed or modify the syntax?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, March 16, 2018 - 7:51 am
Please send your output and data to Support along with your license number.
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text:
What separates a "newbie" and an "experienced" hacker is defined by two ideas: finding/researching security flaws in a target system, and hiding one's location. For many, its a simple matter to hack a computer - run a scanner, get an exploit, and break in. But alas, this is (ironically) the least secure methods of hacking. You leave your IP address all over your actions, and its a simple matter of asking your ISP "who was where on this date".
So what would make a hack (more) professional? A professional would do all they could to keep themselves from being traced. Once you're caught, that's Game Over. You're in the slammer for life, and there's very little you can do about it. So experienced hackers employ a few trick to hide their location; Lets examine them:
There's two ways of hiding yourself on the 'net. The first way is through phone bouncing and the second is through computer/box bouncing. Imagine this example:
Joe Hacker was payed by Company Y to hack into company X. Joe doesn't want to live in a jail and "drop the soap," so he tries to hide his location. He will do the following things (in this order)
1. Find a good spot to connect his laptop to the phone network. Laptops are portable and allows Joe to flee the scene if anyone suspicious comes along. The phone network lets Joe connect to a phone-based ISP. The phone network also allows Joe to do a few other tricks...
2. Fire up a wardialer and search a block of phone numbers. When you call a phone number, often you'll get a ringing noise on the other end (duh). But sometimes companies will leave certain phone numbers for outgoing phone calls, so when Joe calls one number, he can then call another number immediately. Its the same idea as using your phone card to call one place after another. Joe is also a smart kid - he'll scan 800-numbers so that he can call anywhere in the world, without having to pay long-distance bills.
3. Find a free ISP-account (such as NetZero) to use for their 1st hacking attempts. Joe would like to have tons of cracked ISP-accounts for later, but he can't hack the ISP without being on the internet. Problem? No, because certain ISPs, such as NetZero, let you on for free, giving Joe the time he needs to safely find a few vulnerable computers and hack into other ISPs.
4. Scan the internet for vulnerable computers and anonymous proxies. These serve to hide Joe's IP address over the internet, else Joe's target may call Joe's cracked ISP, which in turn calls Joe's phone company, and then things get much harder for Joe. So by using computers to bounce his packets off of, Joe can effectively hide himself on the internet.
---Note--- Joe bounces his call around the phone network to hide his "real" location. Joe bounces his attack around the internet to hide his "virtual" location. Tu comprendes?
5. Carry out the hack. Joe has effectively hidden himself on the internet, and now carries out his attack on Company X. Its game over, because tracing Joe would reqire assitance from the ISP, the phone company, and possibly the police in Joe's area (quite a massive undertaking).
In conclusion, what do we learn from Joe's actions? We learn that being completely anonymous on the internet is impossible, but we can get pretty close to it. Such a hack would require skill in areas other than computing, such as phones (called "phreaking"). Learning this much requires skill, no questions asked. But most importantly, we learn that covering your tracks is all important. Once you're compromised, its Game Over. You can't come back from something like that.


text:
The Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School Board on Tuesday tried to satisfy critics of a consolidation study by directing the superintendent to investigate the prices that two district-owned properties could fetch if they were put up for sale.
The call to analyze the value and use of the administration building at 1500 Colvin Blvd. and the former Philip Sheridan Elementary School on Elmwood Avenue came after many of the 13 residents who spoke during the public comment portion of the regular monthly meeting implored the board to investigate selling them before considering closing schools.
"Before you're going to rip little tiny lives apart and implode their world, let's look at the numbers on those buildings," said Erin Laughlin, treasurer of the Lindbergh Elementary School Parent Teacher Association.
The board, until now, has resisted calls to consider selling the two properties as alternatives to consolidation because the consultant team hired to conduct the consolidation study – SES Study Team – was directed only to look at buildings currently housing students, said board member Judy Frank.
"For the administration building to be looked at, we now have to charge our administration to look at that," she said. "That was not something the SES study group was asked to look at in any capacity of their study."
The board called for Superintendent Mark P. Mondanaro to also look into where administrators would move their offices and the cost of doing so.
Several board members raised security concerns about moving administrators and their frequent visitors into a building occupied by students.
"I think the less community traffic we have going in and out of a building with students in it is much safer," said Frank, who agreed with other board members that an empty district building would be more suitable.
Board members questioned whether it made sense to sell the Sheridan building because they thought it was profitable for the district, which leases space there to outside agencies.
During the public comment session, residents spoke in support of Holmes Elementary School, which would close in seven of the eight scenarios outlined in the consolidation report and serves mostly low-income families.
A scenario that would close Holmes and Kenmore Middle School was ranked as most preferred by a focus group of community stakeholders.