Frailty modeling for clustered survival data: an application to birth interval in Bangladesh

The present work demonstrates an application of random effects model for analyzing birth intervals that are clustered into geographical regions. Observations from the same cluster are assumed to be correlated because usually they share certain unobserved characteristics between them. Ignoring the correlations among the observations may lead to incorrect standard errors of the estimates of parameters of interest. Beside making the comparisons between Cox's proportional hazards model and random effects model for analyzing geographically clustered time-to-event data, important demographic and socioeconomic factors that may affect the length of birth intervals of Bangladeshi women are also reported in this paper.     

Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic: Confronting forced labour through public procurement and crisis

This paper evaluates ways in which labour issues in global value chains for medical gloves have been affected by, and addressed through, the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on production in Malaysia and supply to the United Kingdom's National Health Service and draws on a large-scale survey with workers and interviews with UK government officials, suppliers and buyers. Adopting a Global Value Chain (GVC) framework, the paper shows how forced labour endemic in the sector was exacerbated during the pandemic in the context of increased demand for gloves. Attempts at remediation are shown to operate through both a reconfigured value chain in which power shifted dramatically to the manufacturers and a context where public procurement became higher in profile than ever before. It is argued that the purchasing power of governments must be leveraged in ways that more meaningfully address labour issues, and that this must be part of value chain resilience.     

Correlation Between Perception-Based Journal Rankings and the Journal Impact Factor (JIF): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This study, based on systematic review and meta-analysis, aimed to collect and analyze evidence on correlation between perception-based journal rankings and the most popular citation-based measure, Thomson Reuters Journal Impact Factor (JIF). A search was conducted in the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. After the screening of titles, abstracts, and full text, 18 articles were selected as eligible for review and analysis. The included studies belonged to various subject areas in social sciences, science, and technology. The correlation coefficients found in most of the studies were statistically significant in a positive direction. The heterogeneity test was positive. Therefore, the random-effect method of meta-analysis was applied. The value of pooled correlation coefficient indicated a moderate positive relationship between two methods of assessing the quality of academic journals. The absence of a high correlation makes decision making based on a single ranking method dangerous. Therefore, a hybrid approach for journal assessment is recommended.     

Project agility assessment: an integrated decision analysis approach

Agility is the ability of a project to respond to a changing environment effectively. This may include the capability of a project to be adapted to the dynamism that exists in the stakeholders’ needs, technological changes, etc. To assure such a capability, it is necessary to assess the extent of projects’ adaptability to change. This could be done by expressing the agility in terms of some quantifiable parameters such as size of the project's organisation, levels of expertise, etc. However, there are uncertainties embedded in measurement of such parameters caused by imprecision and lack of well-defined information, which cannot be well treated by conventional assessment approaches. To address such a complexity, in this article, a decision aid model using fuzzy set theory is proposed for agility assessment of projects. The applicability of the proposed model will be demonstrated by a case study in software development project management.     

Anopheles subpictus Grassi: Observations on survivorship and population size using mark-release-recapture and dissection methods

Summary A mark-release-recapture experiment to estimate population survivorship and absolute size was performed with wild-caughtAn. subpictus adults at the village of Khano-Harni, Lahore District, Punjab Province, Pakistan during September 1978, the end of the monsoon rainy season, when temporal population abundance was maximized. Daily survival rate estimated from the recapture sequence of marked adults was low, males=0.192 and females=0.343. Survivorship for females estimated by several vertical age-grading procedures ranged from 0.347 to 0.628. Both stage- and age-specific life tables were calculated from vertical age-grading data determined by the dilatation method. Female and male population size was estimated byBailey’s modification of theLincoln Index and was found to average 4478.4 and 6106.8, respectively. The bionomics, survivorship and population size ofAn. subpictus in the Lahore are indicated that this species was probably not important in the transmission of human malaria.     

Two-Dimensional Warranty Cost Analysis for Second-Hand Products

In spite of the recent steady increase of the volume of the second-hand markets, often customers remain in doubt regarding the quality and durability of the second-hand products. Aiming to reduce and share this uncertainty, dealers offer warranty on their products. Offering warranty for second-hand products is a relatively new marketing strategy employed by dealers of used electronic equipment, furniture, automobiles, etc. Usually, for used products, the dealer's expected warranty cost is a function of product reliability, past age and usage, servicing strategy and conditions and terms of the warranty policy/contract. Sometimes the offered policy is limited by two parameters, typically the product age and usage after the sale. This type of policies is referred to as two-dimensional warranty policies. In this article, we develop statistical models for estimating the dealer's expected warranty cost for second-hand products sold with two-dimensional free repair/replacement warranty.     

The frequency of sexual abuse and depression in a sample of street children of one of deprived districts of Tehran

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of sexual abuse and depression among street children who live in a deprived district of Tehran. The researchers used the K-SADS questionnaire and a clinical interview were used to evaluate depression and sexual abuse in 87 street children in Tehran. Eighteen (20.9%) of the children had been sexually abused. Depressed children were 3.2 times more likely to be sexually abused than non-depressed children. Furthermore, 26 girls (86.7%) and 27 boys (48.2%) suffered from depression. The frequency of depression demonstrated a significant association with the father's or breadwinner's history of imprisonment or unemployment. Interventional programs providing education and support should be implemented for street children.     

The role of neighborhood physical environment on mobility and social participation among people using mobility assistive technology

This paper presents a systematic literature review on the impact of the neighborhood physical environment on mobility and social participation among people using mobility assistive technology (MAT). Peer-reviewed articles from eight databases published in French or English from 1990 to 2016 were searched. Thirty studies were included in this review. Factors related to neighborhood environmental features, mobility in transit, and accessibility of homes and public buildings influenced mobility and social participation of MAT users. The majority of reviewed studies combined different types of MAT, which made the interpretation of the results challenging. Few studies included walker, cane, and crutch users. Definitions of mobility and social participation lacked consistency and were often simplistic. Future empirical research needs to examine the impact of neighborhood physical environment factors separately for different MAT users. Causality and links between mobility and social participation of different MAT users at the neighborhood level should be further explored.     

Public Policy toward Employee Benefits in the United States,Canada and Taiwan:Lessons for European Integration

Abstract. Most governments intervene in the labor market to promote the provision of certain merit goods such as retirement income and health insurance. As economic integration has progressed within the European Community, questions have arisen concerning the harmonization of such benefits. Using case studies from three non-EC countries—the US., Canada, and Taiwan—the authors show that benefit structures and decisions reflect institutions which are difficult to change and whose patterns do not seem to reflect a simple economic determinism. The U.S. and Canada, two similar countries with integrated product markets, have adopted very different health insurance policies, but similar pension policies. Taiwan, despite its different stage of development, has a Canadian-style health insurance system and is currently grappling with how to arrange its pensions. A key outcome of the benefit-decision process is whether entitlements are external to the firm or contingent on maintaining a specific job attachment. An important factor in modifying benefit arrangements is the degree of social concertation present in national political systems. Benefits systems are best designed or reformed when institutions permit discussion of macro pressures. EC countries, now considering harmonization of economic institutions, have the opportunity to modernize their benefit arrangements. A related paper was presented to the Ninth World Congress of the International Industrial Relations Associations and its associated Study Group on Economic Policy and Social Concertation, Sydney, Australia, August 30-September 4, 1992.