A consistent and numerically efficient variable selection method for sparse Poisson regression with applications to learning and signal recovery

Statistics and Computing - We propose an adaptive $$\ell _1$$ -penalized estimator in the framework of Generalized Linear Models with identity-link and Poisson data, by taking advantage of a...     

Collective consumption models with restricted bargaining weights: an empirical assessment based on experimental data

We use experimental data to analyze consumption decisions by groups of individuals who have to reach a consensus on spending a joint budget. Our experiment involves dyads (i.e. two-member groups) who have to compose consumption bundles consisting of three commodities (wine, orange juice and M&Ms). We focus on the collective consumption model to describe group behavior. This model represents group decisions as Pareto optimal outcomes of a within-group bargaining process, with rational group members who are each characterized by individual bargaining weights. We also consider specifications of the collective model that restrict the variation of these bargaining weights. A distinguishing feature of our study is that we use revealed preference testing tools to assess the goodness-of-fit and discriminatory power of alternative specifications of the collective model. Our experimental results suggest that the most appropriate model specification allows for a limited variation of the bargaining weights.     

Parental transfers, student achievement, and the labor supply of college students

Using nationally representative data from the NLSY97 and a simultaneous equations model, this paper analyzes the financial motivations for and the effects of employment on U.S. college students’ academic performance. The data confirm the predictions of the theoretical model that lower parental transfers and greater costs of attending college increase the number of hours students work while in school, although students are not very responsive to these financial motivations. They also provide some evidence that greater hours of work lead to lower grade point averages (GPAs).     

Association of Problem Gambling with Type of Gambling Among Italian General Population

The origin of gambling disorders is uncertain; however, research has shown a tendency to focus on specific types of games as a potential important risk factor. The principal aim of this study is to examine the relationships between types of gambling practices and gambling disorder. The data were extracted from IPSAD-Italia^® 2010–2011 (Italian Population Survey on Alcohol and other Drugs), a survey among the Italian general population which collects socio-cultural information, information about the use of drugs, legal substances and gambling habits. In order to identify the “problem gambler” we used the Problem Gambling Severity Index. Three groups are considered in this analysis: no-risk gamblers, low-risk gamblers, moderate-risk/problem gamblers. Type of gambling practice was considered among two types of gambler: one-game players and multi-games players. 1.9 % of multi-game players were considered problem gamblers, only 0.6 % of one-game players were problem gamblers (p < 0.001). The percentage of players who were low and moderate-risk gamblers was approximately double among multi-game players, with 14.4 % low-risk and 5.8 % moderate-risk; compared with 7.7 % low-risk and 2.5 % moderate risk among one-game players. Results of ordinal logistic regression analysis confirmed that higher level of gambling severity was associated with multi-game players (OR = 2.23, p < 0.0001). Video-poker/slot-machines show the highest association with gambling severity among both one-game players and multi-game players, with scores of OR equal to 4.3 and 4.5 respectively. These findings suggest a popular perception of risk associated with this type of gambling for the development of gambling problems.     

Out‐of‐School Time and Behaviors During Adolescence

Although adolescents experience an array of out‐of‐school time (OST) settings, research has primarily focused on these settings in isolation. This study examined time in four OST settings (unsupervised time with peers, paid employment, sports, and nonsports organized activities) in relation to adolescent functioning at age 15 and the end of high school. Individual fixed effects analyses provided a more rigorous control of selection into OST activities by controlling for time‐invariant observable and unobservable characteristics. More unsupervised time with peers predicted increases in risky and externalizing behaviors, whereas increases in paid employment predicted gains in work orientation and self‐identity. Time in organized sports was associated with increased positive self‐identity, highlighting the value of expanding consideration of multiple OST contexts and selection effects.     

A copula-based approach to account for dependence in stress-strength models

The focus of stress-strength models is on the evaluation of the probability R = P(Y < X) that stress Y experienced by a component does not exceed strength X required to overcome it. In reliability studies, X and Y are typically modeled as independent. Nevertheless, in many applications such an assumption may be unrealistic. This is an interesting methodological issue, especially as the estimation of R for dependent stress and strength has received only limited attention to date. This paper aims to fill this gap by evaluating R taking into account the association between X and Y via a copula-based approach. We calculate a closed-form expression for R by modeling the dependence through a Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern copula and one of its extensions, numerical solutions for R are, instead, provided when members of Frank’s copula family are employed. The marginal distributions are assumed to belong to the Burr system (i.e. Burr III, Dagum or Singh-Maddala type). In all the cases, we prove that neglect of the existing dependence leads to higher or lower values of R than is the case.     

Advances on a Decision Analytic Approach to Exposure-Based Chemical Prioritization

The volume and variety of manufactured chemicals is increasing, although little is known about the risks associated with the frequency and extent of human exposure to most chemicals. The EPA and the recent signing of the Lautenberg Act have both signaled the need for high-throughput methods to characterize and screen chemicals based on exposure potential, such that more comprehensive toxicity research can be informed. Prior work of Mitchell et al. using multicriteria decision analysis tools to prioritize chemicals for further research is enhanced here, resulting in a high-level chemical prioritization tool for risk-based screening. Reliable exposure information is a key gap in currently available engineering analytics to support predictive environmental and health risk assessments. An elicitation with 32 experts informed relative prioritization of risks from chemical properties and human use factors, and the values for each chemical associated with each metric were approximated with data from EPA's CP_CAT database. Three different versions of the model were evaluated using distinct weight profiles, resulting in three different ranked chemical prioritizations with only a small degree of variation across weight profiles. Future work will aim to include greater input from human factors experts and better define qualitative metrics.     

Policing gender mobilities: interrogating the ‘feminisation of migration’ to Europe

This article proposes a gendered critique of the European Neighbourhood Policy, a framework that, amongst other things, aims to facilitate the mobility of migrants to the EU from the bordering countries. We highlight the ambivalences of European gender and migration regimes, and we take issue with the celebration of the ‘feminisation of migration’. The former fails to offer opportunities to women to safely embark on autonomous migratory projects, the latter contributes to reproduce traditional gender biases in the countries of origin as well as of destination. We conclude by suggesting that the EU critique to emigration countries for failing to tackle women’s discrimination is less than persuasive when assessed vis-á-vis with the curtailment on women’s independent mobility across European borders.