Reducing child abuse through respite center intervention

Emergency respite care for children is shown to be effective in reducing stress on parents that can result in child abuse.     

Compliance Strategies under Permits for Emissions

We characterize the trade‐offs among firms' compliance strategies in a market‐based program where a regulator interested in controlling emissions from a given set of sources auctions off a fixed number of emissions permits. We model a three‐stage game in which firms invest in emissions abatement, participate in a share auction for permits, and produce output. We develop a methodology for a profit‐maximizing firm to derive its marginal value function for permits and translate this value function into an optimal bidding strategy in the auction. We analyze two end‐product market scenarios independent demands and Cournot competition. In both scenarios we find that changing the number of available permits influences abatement to a lesser extent in a dirty industry than in a cleaner one. In addition, abatement levels taper off with increasing industry dirtiness levels. In the presence of competition, firms in a relatively clean industry can, in fact, benefit from a reduction in the number of available permits. Our findings are robust to changes in certain modeling assumptions.     

Tests for symmetry of two-piece normal distribution

In this paper, classical optimum tests for symmetry of two-piece normal distribution is derived. Uniformly most powerful one-sided test for the skewness parameter is obtained when the location and scale parameters are known and is compared with sequential probability ratio test. An ad-hoc test for symmetry and likelihood ratio test for symmetry for large samples, can be found in literature for this distribution. But in this paper, we derive exact likelihood ratio test for symmetry, when location parameter is known. The exact power of the test is evaluated for different sample sizes.     

The Selection of Computer-Aided Software Engineering Tools: A Multi-Criteria Decision Making Approach

The selection of the appropriate computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools to suit the needs of an organization requires the systematic application of the multi-criteria decision methodology (MCDM). In order to make a case for the use of MCDM, the application of the ELECTRE I method to the selection of CASE tools from a possible set of six alternatives is demonstrated. The demonstration helps in gaining a grasp of the MCDM approach and the ELECTRE I method. There is potential for the application of the MCDM approach in other software engineering decisions, especially in the feasibility analysis of the systems life cycle.     

Function-based hypothesis testing in censored two-sample location-scale models

Function-based hypothesis testing in two-sample location-scale models has been addressed for uncensored data using the empirical characteristic function. A test of adequacy in censored two-sample location-scale models is lacking, however. A plug-in empirical likelihood approach is used to introduce a test statistic, which, asymptotically, is not distribution free. Hence for practical situations bootstrap is necessary for performing the test. A multiplier bootstrap and a model appropriate resampling procedure are given to approximate critical values from the null asymptotic distribution. Although minimum distance estimators of the location and scale are deployed for the plug-in, any consistent estimators can be used. Numerical studies are carried out that validate the proposed testing method, and real example illustrations are given.

     

The relationship between supply chain manager capabilities and performance: empirical evidence

This study seeks to answer the question how supply chain managers’ capabilities impact individual and firm performance. Organisations have begun to recognise the importance of their supply chain and the necessity for qualified supply chain managers. Therefore, there is a need for further research on the impact of these capabilities on individual and firm performance. Sustained performance of a firm depends on dynamic capabilities and it allows firms to align and adapt strategies according to the volatile external environment. Using dynamic capabilities theory, the supply chain manager capabilities model was developed as a way for supply chain managers to effectively use their skills and past experiences to improve their own and firm’s performance. Primary data was collected through a survey distributed to supply chain management professionals. The results strongly support the relationship between technology and soft skills with supply chain manager capabilities. Interestingly, our study identifies sequential relationship amongst the three constructs such as capabilities, individual and firm performance. Capabilities are related with individual performance whereas individual performance is related with the firm performance. However, our findings revealed that there is no direct relationship between supply chain manager capabilities and firm performance.     

Being well and doing well: on the importance of income for health

Income is robustly associated with health status. Higher income is associated with lower mortality and morbidity, both cross-nationally and within societies. This relationship is not just confined to low levels of income, but extends well beyond median levels of income in society with diminishing marginal returns to health status with additional increments in income. Drawing upon the absolute and relative interpretations of income and conceptualising them simul-taneously at the individual and community level, we develop a typology of income–health relationships and discuss the distinctiveness of, and connections between, each type. We conclude that a multilevel conceptual and methodological framework is most appropriate to understand the income–health relationship.     

Survival analysis for the missing censoring indicator model using kernel density estimation techniques

This article concerns asymptotic theory for a new estimator of a survival function in the missing censoring indicator model of random censorship. Specifically, the large sample results for an inverse probability-of-non-missingness weighted estimator of the cumulative hazard function, so far not available, are derived, including an almost sure representation with rate for a remainder term, and uniform strong consistency with rate of convergence. The estimator is based on a kernel estimate for the conditional probability of non-missingness of the censoring indicator. Expressions for its bias and variance, in turn leading to an expression for the mean squared error as a function of the bandwidth, are also obtained. The corresponding estimator of the survival function, whose weak convergence is derived, is asymptotically efficient. A numerical study, comparing the performances of the proposed and two other currently existing efficient estimators, is presented.     

The welfare state as a context for children's development: a study of the effects of unemployment and unemployment protection on reading literacy scores

Data were analysed from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) to examine whether the relationship between parental unemployment status and child reading literacy is modified by the level of unemployment protection provided by the nation. The sample consisted of 61,946 children, nested in 3,918 schools among 17 market economies. The results of multi-level analyses indicated that, after controlling for a range of individual, family and school covariates, children with unemployed fathers in all countries had significantly lower reading literacy scores than those of employed fathers (β = −8.84, SE = 2.01). The contextual effect of unemployment protection was not significant after accounting for fathers' employment status (β = −18.63, SE = 16.26). However, there was a significant negative interaction between unemployment protection and fathers' unemployment, yielding the unexpected suggestion that, in countries with higher levels of unemployment protection, children with unemployed fathers fare worse, both in relation to children with unemployed fathers in lower protection countries, and in comparison with children with employed fathers (β = −26.96, SE = 8.08). Possible explanations are advanced for this result, including the potential for a 'discouraged child effect' arising from the potential association between unemployment protection and higher local unemployment rates (though unemployment rates at the national level were not significant).