INCIDENCE AND CONSEQUENCES OF RISK‐TAKING BEHAVIOR IN TOURNAMENTS—EVIDENCE FROM THE NBA

We empirically explore the relevance and efficiency of risk‐taking behavior in tournaments. We use data from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and measure risk‐taking by the fraction of three‐point shots in basketball games. We examine how point differences between teams during games affect their subsequent risk‐taking behavior. It is found that teams that are trailing are more likely to increase their use of three‐point shots. We additionally analyze the consequences of this change in behavior. Enhanced risk‐taking is inefficient in the vast majority of cases and is only beneficial if a team is trailing by a rather large margin. We discuss possible explanations for these decision errors. (JEL M5, D81, J30)     

A Task Based Approach to the Assessment of Social Work Students' Practice

Summary An assessment framework based on nine course objectives is described.Each course objective has related placement objectives whichbecome increasingly demanding as the course progresses. Studentson placement are required to produce written tasks to show howthey have applied their understanding of each placement objectivein their practical work. It is suggested that this framework improves the comparabilityof placements and the availability of evidence for pass/faildecisions. The framework provides a syllabus for learning oneach placement.     

Efficient Estimation of an Additive Quantile Regression Model

Abstract. In this paper, two non‐parametric estimators are proposed for estimating the components of an additive quantile regression model. The first estimator is a computationally convenient approach which can be viewed as a more viable alternative to existing kernel‐based approaches. The second estimator involves sequential fitting by univariate local polynomial quantile regressions for each additive component with the other additive components replaced by the corresponding estimates from the first estimator. The purpose of the extra local averaging is to reduce the variance of the first estimator. We show that the second estimator achieves oracle efficiency in the sense that each estimated additive component has the same variance as in the case when all other additive components were known. Asymptotic properties are derived for both estimators under dependent processes that are strictly stationary and absolutely regular. We also provide a demonstrative empirical application of additive quantile models to ambulance travel times.     

Asymptotics for the Hirsch Index

Abstract. The last decade methods for quantifying the research output of individual researchers have become quite popular in academic policy making. The h‐index (or Hirsch index) constitutes an interesting combined bibliometric volume/impact indicator that has attracted a lot of attention recently. It is now a common indicator, available for instance on the Web of Science. In this article, we establish the asymptotic normality of the empirical h‐index. The rate of convergence is non‐standard: , where f is the density of the citation distribution and n is the number of publications of a researcher. In case that the citations follow a Pareto‐type respectively a Weibull‐type distribution as defined in extreme value theory, our general result specializes well to results that are useful for practical purposes such as the construction of confidence intervals and pairwise comparisons for the h‐index. A simulation study for the Pareto‐type case shows that the asymptotic theory works well for moderate sample sizes already.     

Using Autobiographical Approaches with People with Learning Difficulties

Biography and autobiography have been used in numerous ways to represent people with learning difficulties. In this paper we review a variety of approaches to biography and autobiography with people with learning difficulties, and discuss the roles researchers play. The paper ends with a discussion of the potential of autobiography as a means to change the power relationships in disability research.     

Semiparametric Regression with Kernel Error Model

Abstract.  We propose and study a class of regression models, in which the mean function is specified parametrically as in the existing regression methods, but the residual distribution is modelled non-parametrically by a kernel estimator, without imposing any assumption on its distribution. This specification is different from the existing semiparametric regression models. The asymptotic properties of such likelihood and the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) under this semiparametric model are studied. We show that under some regularity conditions, the MLE under this model is consistent (when compared with the possibly pseudo-consistency of the parameter estimation under the existing parametric regression model), is asymptotically normal with rate and efficient. The non-parametric pseudo-likelihood ratio has the Wilks property as the true likelihood ratio does. Simulated examples are presented to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed semiparametric MLE method.     

Working Together to Protect Children on the Child Protection Register: Myth or Reality

Correspondence to Jan Horwath, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Elmfield, Northumberland Road, Sheffield S10 2TU, UK. Summary Child protection guidance at a national level has predominantlyfocused on the investigation and assessment of child abuse andneglect. Post-registration practice has received little attention,resulting in a variety of local responses. This paper describesthe findings from a national study designed to identify theimpact of the lack of national guidance on local post-registrationframeworks for practice. Data collected indicate that very fewArea Child Protection Committees (ACPCs) have developed policies,procedures or practice guidance which would provide a structurefor post-registration practice. This position is aggravatedfurther as individual professionals are confused about theirown roles and responsibilities and those of colleagues. We considerthe impact of these findings on practice and conclude by suggestinga macro level framework that can be utilized by ACPCs who wishto develop practice in this area.