Barcoding,linear and nonlinear analysis of full-day leg movements in infants with typical development and infants at risk of developmental disabilities: Cross-sectional study

Traditional methods do not capture the multidimensional domains and dynamic nature of infant behavioral patterns. We aim to compare full-day, in-home leg movement data between infants with typical development (TD) and infants at risk of developmental disabilities (AR) using barcoding and nonlinear analysis. Eleven infants with TD (2–10 months) and nine infants AR (adjusted age: 2–14 months) wore a sensor on each ankle for 7 days. We calculated the standard deviation for linear variability and sample entropy (SampEn) of leg acceleration and angular velocity for nonlinear variability. Movements were also categorized into 16 barcoding states, and we calculated the SampEn and proportions of the barcoding. All variables were compared between the two groups using independent-samples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. The AR group had larger linear variability compared to the TD group. SampEn was lower in the AR group compared to TD group for both acceleration and angular velocity. Two barcoding states’ proportions were significantly different between the two groups. The results showed that nonlinear analysis and barcoding could be used to identify the difference of dynamic multidimensional movement patterns between infants AR and infants with TD. This information may help early diagnosis of developmental disabilities in the future.     

Distortions of Asymptotic Confidence Size in Locally Misspecified Moment Inequality Models

This paper studies the behavior, under local misspecification, of several confidence sets (CSs) commonly used in the literature on inference in moment (in)equality models. We propose the amount of asymptotic confidence size distortion as a criterion to choose among competing inference methods. This criterion is then applied to compare across test statistics and critical values employed in the construction of CSs. We find two important results under weak assumptions. First, we show that CSs based on subsampling and generalized moment selection (Andrews and Soares (2010)) suffer from the same degree of asymptotic confidence size distortion, despite the fact that asymptotically the latter can lead to CSs with strictly smaller expected volume under correct model specification. Second, we show that the asymptotic confidence size of CSs based on the quasi‐likelihood ratio test statistic can be an arbitrary small fraction of the asymptotic confidence size of CSs based on the modified method of moments test statistic.     

Un indicateur de la qualité de l'emploi appliqué au Brésil

Dans les pays où les activités informelles et le travail précaire sont répandus, on peut s'interroger sur la pertinence des taux d'activité et de chômage. Pour analyser le marché du travail brésilien entre 2002 et 2011, les auteurs utilisent ici un indicateur multidimensionnel de la qualité de l'emploi, prenant en compte les revenus, l'existence d'un contrat de travail, le fait de cotiser à la sécurité sociale et l'ancienneté dans l'emploi. Les résultats montrent une augmentation significative de la qualité de l'emploi, surtout de 2009 à 2011, avec d'importantes variations d'un secteur d'activité à l'autre, ainsi qu'entre salariés et indépendants.     

Linking global value chains and supply chain management: evidence from the electric motors industry

The global value chain (GVC) framework and its central concept of governance are increasingly advocated as powerful tools for interpreting managerial issues with particular reference to global supply chain (SC) management. However, a gap still exists about how the GVC concepts, which have been developed at the industry level, can be applied at the company level. The aim of this work is therefore to investigate how the concepts of GVC structure and governance are related to the way the SC is managed. Several research propositions drawn from the literature are investigated by means of seven case studies in the electric motors industry. The results show that the GVC can be a useful framework for understanding and deploying SC management at the company level. Moreover, the analysis of the governance modes provides an effective tool to explain the existing degree of technological and operational collaboration in the SC. Finally, we show the importance of considering such contextual factors as company size and the competitive priorities of the company to move seamlessly between the GVC, at the industry level, and SC management, at the company level.     

Estimability and linearity in normal regression

In the normal regresion model, a relation between the notion of estimability of a distribution and the existence of a linear function of the observations with some desired property is studied. Several definitions of estimability are shown to be equivalent.     

Conditional and predictive probability integral transforms

The conditional probability integral transform, used in goodness-of-fit tests, is compared with its Bayesian counterpart, the predictive probability integral transform, and it is shown that under suitable conditions, in the presence of an adequate group structure, they yield the same transformed random variable, usually uniform on the unit interval.     

Challenging the courtesy bias interpretation of favorable clients' perceptions of family planning delivery

Favorable client perceptions of provider's interpersonal behavior in contraceptive delivery, documented in clinic exit questionnaires, appear to contradict results from qualitative evaluations and are attributed to clients' courtesy bias. In this study, trained simulated clients requested services from Ministry of Health providers in three countries. Providers excelled in courteousness/respect in Peru and Rwanda; in India, providers were less courteous and respectful when the simulated clients chose the pill. Privacy and two-way communication were less prevalent in all three countries. The findings challenge the courtesy bias interpretation. Global results from qualitative studies may have expressed the views of the minority of clients who are not treated well by providers.     

Strategic approaches to sustainability in fashion supply chain management

Today, the sustainability challenge has become a relevant issue in the fashion industry. However, given that the request for sustainability is relatively new in this industry, empirical research that could guide companies towards supply chain sustainability is lacking. This study aims to deepen the understanding of the main strategic approaches to sustainability used in fashion supply chain management (SCM). Ten case studies were examined in terms of the practices that characterise these approaches. Moreover, contextual factors, drivers and barriers that support or hinder different approaches were identified. To accomplish this goal, both environmental sustainability and social sustainability were investigated, and all the areas of fashion SCM (i.e. new product development, source, make, deliver, retail, return, governance) were considered simultaneously to offer a wide overview of this industry’s sustainability issue.     

A comparative assessment of track plates to quantify fine scale variations in the relative abundance of Norway rats in urban slums

Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) living in urban environments are a critical public health and economic problem, particularly in urban slums where residents are at a higher risk for rat borne diseases, yet convenient methods to quantitatively assess population sizes are lacking. We evaluated track plates as a method to determine rat distribution and relative abundance in a complex urban slum environment by correlating the presence and intensity of rat-specific marks on track plates with findings from rat infestation surveys and trapping of rats to population exhaustion. To integrate the zero-inflated track plate data we developed a two-component mixture model with one binary and one censored continuous component. Track plate mark-intensity was highly correlated with signs of rodent infestation (all coefficients between 0.61 and 0.79 and all p-values?<?0.05). Moreover, the mean level of pre-trapping rat-mark intensity on plates was significantly associated with the number of rats captured subsequently (Odds ratio1.38; 95 % CI 1.19–1.61) and declined significantly following trapping (Odds ratio 0.86; 95 % CI 0.78–0.95). Track plates provided robust proxy measurements of rat abundance and distribution and detected rat presence even when populations appeared ‘trapped out’. Tracking plates are relatively easy and inexpensive methods that can be used to intensively sample settings such as urban slums, where traditional trapping or mark-recapture studies are impossible to implement, and therefore the results can inform and assess the impact of targeted urban rodent control campaigns.     

Quaternary dichotomous voting rules

In this article, we provide a general model of “quaternary” dichotomous voting rules (QVRs), namely, voting rules for making collective dichotomous decisions (to accept or reject a proposal), based on vote profiles in which four options are available to each voter: voting (“yes”, “no”, or “abstaining”) or staying home and not turning out. The model covers most of actual real-world dichotomus rules, where quorums are often required, and some of the extensions considered in the literature. In particular, we address and solve the question of the representability of QVRs by means of weighted rules and extend the notion of “dimension” of a rule.