From the manifestations of culture to the underlying sensemaking process. The contribution of semiotic cultural psychology theory to the interpretation of socio-political scenario

Several explanations of the current syndrome affecting advanced democracies make reference to a process of cultural change that has been triggered by the complex and interrelated phenomena known as globalization. The rise of populist-authoritarian parties, the advent of post-truth politics and the increasing dissatisfaction with democracy are seen by many political scientists as rather direct consequences of social and economic transformations which had changed the context in which the democratic process takes place. The main limitation of this literature is that it treats culture as a black box receiving inputs from the social context and translate them into political consequences. By doing so it cannot explain why the same conditions produce different consequences in different contexts and it is silent on the criteria to develop anti-crisis policies. This article argues that some of the insights offered by the Semiotic Cultural Psychology Theory, most notably the idea that cultural evolution is moved by the need to find affect-laden, simplified interpretations of the reality to restore the capacity of making sense on an uncertain socio-political context, can enhance the ability of political scientists to understand the current political phenomena and to develop methodological criteria to counteract the current scenario of democratic crisis.     

A harmonically weighted filter for cyclical long memory processes

AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis - The estimation of the long memory parameter d is a widely discussed issue in the literature. The harmonically weighted (HW) process was recently introduced...     

On the mvue for the distribution in the multivariate normal regression

In the multivariate normal regression setting, the estimability of a distribution is studied generalizing earlier results for the univariate case. The MVUE of an estimable distribution is obtained.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Sequential entry in many-to-one matching markets

We study sequential bargaining in many-to-one matching markets. We show that there is an advantage to entering late in the market, and that the last agent to enter the market will receive his or her best partner in a stable matching, extending the results of Blum and Rothblum (J Econ Theory 103(2):429–443, 2002) and Cechlárová (Randomized matching mechanism revisited. Mimeo, Safarik University, 2002) for the marriage model. We also discuss the relation between sequential bargaining and a possible alternative formulation based on the NTU Shapley value. We thank Peter Biró and Utku ünver for their advice on the related literature. We also thank an anonymous referee for comments.     

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.