Claim Dependence Induced by Common Effects in Hierarchical Credibility Models

In the usual credibility model, observations are made of a risk or group of risks selected from a population, and claims are assumed to be independent among different risks. However, there are some problems in practical applications and this assumption may be violated in some situations. Some credibility models allow for one source of claim dependence only, that is, across time for an individual insured risk or a group of homogeneous insured risks. Some other credibility models have been developed on a two-level common effects model that allows for two possible sources of dependence, namely, across time for the same individual risk and between risks. In this paper, we argue for the notion of modeling claim dependence on a three-level common effects model that allows for three possible sources of dependence, namely, across portfolios, across individuals and simultaneously across time within individuals. We also obtain the corresponding credibility premiums hierarchically using the projection method. Then we derive the general hierarchical structure or multi-level credibility premiums for the models with h-level of common effects.     

Domestic violence against women: A field study in Turkey

Factors affecting domestic violence against women in four Turkish cities (Adıyaman, Sivas, Denizli and Kırklareli) having different socioeconomic structures, are analyzed in this study. These factors consist of social, cultural, economic and psychological factors. In contrast to what we expected based on earlier literature, family income level has a positive relationship with violence. Logistic regression analysis also revealed that being a university graduate and having a personal income decreases the prevalence of violence as expected. However, working women and women with children are more prone to domestic violence. Again, there is a strong association between the neighborhood where the family lives and the incidence of violence. The extent of male dominance, as measured by the question “How are decisions taken in the family” is also associated with domestic violence: woman is less likely to be abused in households where decisions are taken collectively. Likewise, families where women have to get permission from the husband to carry out certain activities, have an increased incidence of suffering from husband's violence. Psychological factors, like being abused or having witnessed violence as a child, are also significantly correlated with domestic violence.     

Assessing Schools’ Academic Performance Using a Belief Structure

A lot of attention has been given to education as it is the most practical way of improving social mobility. In order to be progressive and resilient, there has to be an overall transformation of society as evidenced in the annual budget allocations which has educational implications to it. Therefore, schools will come to term that they are under the watching eyes of interested parties who want them to perform academically. Thus, this will lead the stakeholders of education to make assessment and comparison between schools. However, the process of assessing schools is not an easy task as it involves many attributes. The problem of aggregating a large number of attributes will be a challenge if we use the traditional Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method. Hence, in this paper an innovative approach called Evidential Reasoning (ER) will be used to assess school performance in a multilevel or hierarchical setting which involved indirect measurement of quality by using standardized examination results, rather than directly measuring the quality of the processes unfolding within the schools. The approach is different from most conventional decision making modeling methods in that it employs a belief structure to represent an assessment as a distribution. By using this method, we are able to assess and rank the schools involved by giving an appropriate weight and merit point for each attribute and grade, respectively. For easy comprehension of the method, a numerical example was given on how to utilize the proposed method in order to obtain a single performance figure for school ranking purposes. Finally, by comparing the school ranking reveals that there is little similarity with the normal practice currently adopted.     

Planners’ Perspectives on Governing and Producing Sustainable Cities in Malaysia

Since the mid-1990s, sustainable principles have been embedded in Malaysia’s development plans. The assumption has been that policies, programs, and plans that promote good communities—requiring a mix of housing types, uses, and densities—will produce sustainability. This study examines planning policies and interviews data with local planners to understand the challenges in interpreting and implementing a sustainability agenda in practice. The findings of the study suggest that although planners use various strategies and mechanisms to achieve sustainable cities, problems and barriers limit efforts to produce sustainable cities. Planners have reached a consensus on the need to improve current practice in producing sustainable cities and find effective solutions to deliver good governance practices. The weak commitment of different agencies and leadership, and limited staff resources and unnecessary political intervention, mean that planners in Malaysia face increasing challenges when implementing sustainable cities.

     

Examining the relationship between religiosity and happiness in Medan,Indonesia: The mediating role of self-control,self-regulation,and life satisfaction

Social harmony and community wellbeing can be addressed by promoting life satisfaction and happiness within society. As part of the attempts to understand and promote life satisfaction and happiness within society, this study examined how religiosity can contribute to these two outcome variables. More specifically, this study examined the mediating effect of self-control, self-regulation, and life satisfaction on the relationship between religiosity and happiness. Six hundred and twenty-eight middle (628) adults from Medan, Indonesia were recruited through stratified sampling. They completed five self-report scales on Subjective Happiness Scale; Satisfaction with Life Scale; Centrality of Religiosity Scale; brief Self-control Scale and Self-regulation Scale. Data were analyzed by applying Structural Equation Model (using the LISREL software 8.80), which provides simultaneous examination of variance between endogenous and exogenous variables. Results revealed that people who reported higher level of religiosity also scored high on self-control and self-regulation scales, life satisfaction, which, in turn, are related to more happiness. The finding provides evidence for more specific mechanism in which religiosity contributes to life satisfaction and happiness of the individuals and consequently society wellbeing. Theoretical and practical implications related to the findings are discussed.     

Lean thinking in the highways construction sector: motivation,implementation and barriers

The interest in lean thinking in the UK’s civil construction industry is on the rise. The research presented in the paper evaluates the adoption of lean thinking in the highways construction sector by investigating 7 motivation factors, 20 lean techniques and 16 barriers through in-depth interviews with 20 sector managers and a questionnaire survey of 110 responses. The findings show the existence of strong external motivational factors for lean thinking such as clients’ push and companies’ expectation of winning more contracts alongside lean’s operational benefits. Limited adoptions of the lean techniques, mostly in the stepwise process improvement cycle, the Last Planner System and Visual Management, were determined. This raises concerns about ‘pseudo-lean’ practices in the sector. Lack of standardisation, insufficient benefit capturing, insufficient know-how, insufficient control of the entire value stream and limited view to the techniques were found as the top barriers.     

Leadership styles,Machiavellianism, and needs of Saudi Arabian managers

The findings indicated that the economic environment and the cultural and religious orientations of managers in Saudi Arabia significantly influenced their scores on Machiavellianism and the relationships between their needs and leadership styles. In comparison to the U.S. norms the Saudi Arabian managers were found to be lower on Machiavellianism. Need for achievement was found to be positively related to need for power and structure dimension of leadership. The findings also showed Machiavellianism to be positively related to need for power and negatively related to consideration dimension of leadership. The findings are discussed in the context of a fast-growing economy and a highly religious and a traditional society.     

Logistic Regression Analysis of the Outlook of People in Turkey Regarding the Principles of Secularism and Republic for the New Constitution to be Prepared

This paper studies demands and expectations of people about the content of the new constitution supposed to be prepared after the parliamentary election of June, 2011 in Turkey. For that purpose, a survey was applied across the country to 6,810 people with different ethnic identities, religious faiths and political tendencies. Economic and social conditions of the respondents were studied and subsequently their tendencies regarding two of the most frequently discussed topics of the country namely Secularism and Republic were explored. For that purpose, statistical technics and the logistic regression technic were used. We interestingly found out that the two principles mentioned above have been substantially accepted by different parts of the society and there are no considerable negative reactions regarding those issues. It was found out in this study that almost all parts of the Turkish society accept some fundamental principles of the regime like Republic and Secularism as well as the Presidency of Religious Affairs. It appears that in Turkey basic differences regarding perspectives on political and social values arise rather from sectarian identities.     

Mediating effects of regulatory modes on the relationship between implicit beliefs and procrastination

ABSTRACT

This study explores the relationships among implicit beliefs, regulatory modes, and procrastination. Prior research showed that regulatory modes and implicit beliefs are strong predictors of procrastination, but their interrelationship is not well known. Using 204 Pakistani college student samples, we found that regulatory modes were strong predictors that explained a significant amount of additional variance after controlling for implicit beliefs. Moreover, our mediation analysis revealed that assessment as a regulatory mode mediated the relationship of procrastination with both incremental and entity beliefs. Locomotion failed to mediate the relationship between implicit beliefs and procrastination. Results are discussed in terms of Temporal Motivation Theory. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in terms of an explanatory mechanism relating implicit beliefs, regulatory modes, and procrastination.     

New Economic Policy and the Malaysian multiethnic middle class

Generally the processes of modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation that took place especially after the National Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented in 1971, had transformed the economic structure and the Malaysian society. This transformation took place during an era of rapid economic growth and prosperity in Malaysia. One of the more important phenomena resulting from this transformation is the emergence, growth and expansion of the multiethnic middle class in the country, but particularly the Malay middle class. The emergence of this multiethnic middle class is significant economically, socially and politically. The growth and expansion of this middle class shows that it is very much a dynamic entity. It also shows that the class has yet to consolidate. This paper briefly traces the emergence and growth of the Malaysian multiethnic middle class, followed by a discussion on the roles they play in effecting changes in the Malaysian society.