Impulsivity and pathological gambling across depressive versus bipolar disorders

Impulsivity has been implicated in the development of pathological gambling (PG); sensation seeking and urgency in particular have predicted gambling pathology in undergraduate and psychiatric samples. In light of the relevance of both depressed and elevated mood to impulsivity and gambling, the components of impulsivity associated with PG across mood disorders warrants investigation. The aim of the current investigation was to examine the association between impulsivity and gambling pathology severity across depressive versus bipolar disorders. A total of 275 participants with lifetime depressive or bipolar disorder completed measures of impulsivity and gambling. Urgency was consistently associated with gambling pathology indicators; lack of perseverance was specifically associated with gambling pathology within participants with depressive disorders. Reckless action during negative mood is associated with gambling pathology across mood disorders, whereas difficulty remaining focused is associated with PG solely within depressive disorders. Impulsivity and affective comorbidity may inform current understanding of PG.     

On generalized conditional cumulative residual inaccuracy measure

Abstract

Recently, the notion of cumulative residual Rényi’s entropy has been proposed in the literature as a measure of information that parallels Rényi’s entropy. Motivated by this, here we introduce a generalized measure of it, namely cumulative residual inaccuracy of order α. We study the proposed measure for conditionally specified models of two components having possibly different ages called generalized conditional cumulative residual inaccuracy measure. Several properties of generalized conditional cumulative residual inaccuracy measure including the effect of monotone transformation are investigated. Further, we provide some bounds on using the usual stochastic order and characterize some bivariate distributions using the concept of conditional proportional hazard rate model.     

Convergence of Known Distributions to Limiting Normal or Non-normal Distributions: An Elementary Ratio Technique

This article presents an elementary informal technique for deriving the convergence of known distributions to limiting normal or non-normal distributions. The presentation should be of interest to teachers and students of first year graduate level courses in probability and statistics.     

Purchasing management and business competitiveness in the coming decade

Changing dynamics of the marketplace require that old mind-sets of the procurement function radically shift directions. Cost-based practices of the past should be replaced by a value-added focus in today's organizational supply channel. This paper, based upon in-depth discussions with a focus group of experts, documents the upcoming challenges for purchasing professionals and defines a new role for purchasing managers. Additionally, key questions are suggested as an impetus for future research.     

Identification and Inference in Ascending Auctions With Correlated Private Values

We introduce and apply a new nonparametric approach to identification and inference on data from ascending auctions. We exploit variation in the number of bidders across auctions to nonparametrically identify useful bounds on seller profit and bidder surplus using a general model of correlated private values that nests the standard independent private values (IPV) model. We also translate our identified bounds into closed form and asymptotically valid confidence intervals for several economic measures of interest. Applying our methods to much studied U.S. Forest Service timber auctions, we find evidence of correlation among values after controlling for a rich vector of relevant auction covariates; this correlation causes expected profit, the profit‐maximizing reserve price, and bidder surplus to be substantially lower than conventional (IPV) analysis of the data would suggest.     

Identity,Belonging and Intentions to Leave of First and 1.5 Generation FSU Immigrants in Israel

Recent studies examining immigrant intentions to leave the host country have focused on return migration to the origin country (De Haas and Fokkema in Demogr Res 25:755–782, 2011; De Haas et al. in J Int Migr Integr 16(2):415–429, 2015). The current study examines immigrant intentions to leave the host country, but not necessarily to return to the homeland. The predictive model, which focuses on immigrant subjective identity, was tested through a survey of 338 first and 1.5 generation Former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrants in Israel, who applied to a prominent NGO to obtain proof of their Jewishness. These individuals are from the largest recent immigrant group in Israel, and are highly represented among the young adult (aged 25–40) immigrants leaving Israel. The findings indicate that contrary to our expectations, Israeli local identity did not have a significant effect on the immigrants’ intentions to leave Israel. By contrast, Jewish identity and level of religiosity did play a significant role in attenuating the immigrant’s tendency to leave. This paper highlights the complex relationship between ethnic identities and religiosity among immigrants in general, and in Israel in particular.     

The Subjective Well-Being of Immigrants Aged 50 and Older in Israel

The present study evaluated the integration of elderly people who migrated to Israel during their lifetimes. Subjective well-being, as measured by the immigrants’ perception of quality of life, satisfaction with life and emotional state, served as a general indicator of integration. The integration of elderly immigrants has not received adequate attention in the literature. A unique database (SHARE-Israel) that was recently released has made study of this topic possible. The current study sample was composed of former migrants aged 50 and older (n = 930). The analytic model examined ethnic origin and migration variables in relation to the respective subjective outcomes, controlling for sociodemographic background, human and social capital and health. The findings show that in general, ethnic origin seems to matter less for the evaluation of immigrants’ subjective well-being than other socio economic factors such as economic status, social capital and health status. However, recent arrivals from the Former Soviet Union do differ from all other immigrant groups in their lower levels of well-being. In addition, the study points to the importance of language proficiency as a central means for integration in the destination country.     

Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging to the Host Country: The Role of Life Satisfaction,Language Proficiency,and Religious Motives

This paper focuses on a significant concept in migration studies: immigrants’ sense of belonging to the host society. Drawing upon the literature of immigration and subjective well-being, we proposed a model in which life satisfaction is a major predictor of immigrants’ sense of belonging, and is explained by background variables including religious affiliation, religious motivation, native language proficiency and ethnic segregation. The study was based on a survey of two groups of highly skilled migrants in Israel; immigrants from France and the Former Soviet Union who moved to Israel in the last two decades. The findings suggest that, as expected, life satisfaction had a significant influence on immigrants’ sense of belonging and served as a mediator variable in the model. Whereas ethnic segregation was not found to be a significant parameter in the model, religious motivation and Hebrew language proficiency were found to be prominent. In light of the literature, we also discuss the importance of religious motivations to immigrants’ subjective well-being, identity, and sense of belonging.

     

Medical tourism: reverse subsidy for the elite

The medical tourism sector in India has attracted global attention, given its phenomenal growth in the past decade. India is second only to Thailand in the number of medical tourists that it attracts every year. Estimates indicate that the medical tourism market in India could grow from $310 million in 2005 to $2 billion by 2012. These figures are significant when contrasted with India's overall health care expenditure - $10 billion in the public sector and $50 billion in the private sector. Factors that have contributed to this growth include the relative proficiency in English among health care providers and the cost effectiveness of medical procedures in India. Generally, most procedures in Indian hospitals cost a quarter (or less) of what they would cost in developed countries. The expansion of medical tourism has also been fueled by the growth of the private medical sector in India, a consequence of the neglect of public health by the government. India has one of the poorest records in the world regarding public financing and provisioning of health care. A growing driver of medical tourism is the attraction of facilities in India that offer access to assisted reproductive care technologies. Ironically, this is in sharp contrast with the acute neglect of the health care needs of Indian women. The Indian government is vigorously promoting medical tourism by providing tax concessions and by creating an environment enabling it to thrive. However, there is a distinct disjunction between the neglect of the health care needs of ordinary Indians and public policy that today subsidizes the health care of wealthy foreigners.