Variable selection in proportional hazards cure model with time-varying covariates,application to US bank failures*

From a survival analysis perspective, bank failure data are often characterized by small default rates and heavy censoring. This empirical evidence can be explained by the existence of a subpopulation of banks likely immune from bankruptcy. In this regard, we use a mixture cure model to separate the factors with an influence on the susceptibility to default from the ones affecting the survival time of susceptible banks. In this paper, we extend a semi-parametric proportional hazards cure model to time-varying covariates and we propose a variable selection technique based on its penalized likelihood. By means of a simulation study, we show how this technique performs reasonably well. Finally, we illustrate an application to commercial bank failures in the United States over the period 2006–2016.     

Nonparametric semi-supervised classification with application to signal detection in high energy physics

Statistical Methods & Applications - Model-independent searches in particle physics aim at completing our knowledge of the universe by looking for new possible particles not predicted by the...     

Looking at the IPO from the “top floor”: a literature review

This article aims to assess the current situation and the evolution of the literature on the role of top level decision-makers in initial public offerings. The article combines bibliometric and qualitative reviews of 147 articles published in 57 journals until 2015. Findings show that the debate on the role of top-level decision-makers in initial public offerings has followed an irregular pathway. Research attention has moved from studies on the actors and the dynamics of going public to a focus on the strategic implications of initial public offerings. The paper is a good starting point for future policy-making interventions designed to support top-level decision-making. By enhancing awareness of the strategic role of initial public offerings, we hope to improve the governance practices associated with them. The paper also sheds light on the importance of fostering the corporate transparency of top-level decision-making in firms going public, as an additional tool to increase investors’ trust and attract financial resources. Finally, the paper provides a comprehensive overview of the academic field, examining research trends and the evolutionary pattern. It also suggests future research avenues by identifying un(der)explored issues to advance knowledge on the topic.     

SMEs and Marketing: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper presents a systematic review of recent academic literature analysing the role, organization and management of marketing activities in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). To this end, 310 articles published between 2006 and 2015 in 69 main journals devoted to small firms/entrepreneurship and management/marketing fields were analysed. This review shows that SMEs’ marketing has received great attention in both management and marketing literature in recent years. Findings reveal, on the one hand, the emerging role of networks and information and communication technologies in marketing behaviour by SMEs, and on the other hand a research gap in terms of specific marketing practices. Entrepreneurial marketing has been used as the main conceptual framework in reviewed studies, even if findings overall still point out a distance between the theoretical bases of reviewed contributions and the study of SMEs’ marketing behaviour and practices. Therefore, future research on the role of resources, relationships and networks could benefit from the combination of theories developed within the field of entrepreneurship with other approaches such as the resource‐based view, the dynamic capabilities theory and the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) framework.     

A bivariate geometric distribution allowing for positive or negative correlation

In this paper, we propose a new bivariate geometric model, derived by linking two univariate geometric distributions through a specific copula function, allowing for positive and negative correlations. Some properties of this joint distribution are presented and discussed, with particular reference to attainable correlations, conditional distributions, reliability concepts, and parameter estimation. A Monte Carlo simulation study empirically evaluates and compares the performance of the proposed estimators in terms of bias and standard error. Finally, in order to demonstrate its usefulness, the model is applied to a real data set.     

When friendship is stronger than prejudice. Role of intergroup friendships among adolescents in two distinct socio-cultural contexts of immigration

Despite the structural characteristics of international migration in most European countries, the persistence of prejudice and negative attitudes towards immigrants represents an unsolved problem that erodes social cohesion. European institutions continue to be concerned about the spread of xenophobia, especially among young generations. This article aims to shed light on the crucial role of intergroup friendships, considered a key factor in reducing the hostility toward immigrant groups. In particular, the aim is to verify the effects of intergroup friendships on prejudice, using data derived from an international survey carried out in France and Italy, two emblematic European countries as regarding the experience of international migration. 1,642 French and Italian adolescents, selected by a rationale choice sample, were involved: multivariate analysis confirmed the hypothesis that adolescents who hold intergroup friendships show lower levels of prejudice. The influence of the intergroup friendships on the decrease of intolerance is evident especially on socioeconomic and security issues while for the identity matters its effects are moderated by the country of residence of the participants. Considering these results, positive contacts among local and immigrant populations are recommended in order to reduce social fragmentation and foster social cohesion.     

A method for work modeling at complex systems: towards applying information systems in family health care units

Work in organizations requires a minimum level of consensus on the understanding of the practices performed. To adopt technological devices to support the activities in environments where work is complex, characterized by the interdependence among a large number of variables, understanding about how work is done not only takes an even greater importance, but also becomes a more difficult task. Therefore, this study aims to present a method for modeling of work in complex systems, which allows improving the knowledge about the way activities are performed where these activities do not simply happen by performing procedures. Uniting techniques of Cognitive Task Analysis with the concept of Work Process, this work seeks to provide a method capable of providing a detailed and accurate vision of how people perform their tasks, in order to apply information systems for supporting work in organizations.     

Objectified conformity: working self-objectification increases conforming behavior*

The present work explores whether self-objectification triggered by doing peculiar work activities would increase people’s conforming behavior. We conducted an experimental study in which participants (N = 140) were asked to perform a high objectifying activity (vs. low objectifying activity vs. baseline condition) simulating a real computer job. Afterwards, their levels of self-objectification and conforming behavior were assessed. Results revealed that participants who performed the high objectifying activity self-objectified (i.e., perceived themselves as lacking human mental states) more than the other conditions and, in turn, conformed more to the judgments of unknown similar others. Crucially, increased self-objectification mediated the effects of the high objectifying activity on enhancing conforming behavior. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed.     

Self-enforcing family rules,marriage and the (non)neutrality of public intervention

We demonstrate that the notion of a family ‘constitution’ (self-enforcing, renegotiation-proof norm) requiring adults to provide attention for their elderly parents carries over from a world where identical individuals reproduce asexually, to one where individuals differentiated by sex and preferences marry, have children and bargain over the allocation of domestic resources. In this heterogenous world, couples are sorted by their preferences. If a couple’s common preferences satisfy a certain condition, the couple have an interest in instilling those preferences into their children. Policies are generally nonneutral. In particular, wage redistribution may raise, and compulsory education will reduce, the share of the adult population that is governed by family constitutions, and thus the share of the elderly population who receive attention from their children.