A clustering cure rate model with application to a sealant study

In this paper, the destructive negative binomial (DNB) cure rate model with a latent activation scheme [V. Cancho, D. Bandyopadhyay, F. Louzada, and B. Yiqi, The DNB cure rate model with a latent activation scheme, Statistical Methodology 13 (2013b), pp. 48–68] is extended to the case where the observations are grouped into clusters. Parameter estimation is performed based on the restricted maximum likelihood approach and on a Bayesian approach based on Dirichlet process priors. An application to a real data set related to a sealant study in a dentistry experiment is considered to illustrate the performance of the proposed model.     

Would a Commodity‐based Trade Approach Improve Market Access for Africa? A Case Study of the Potential of Beef Exports from Communal Areas of Namibia

Market access for African livestock products has long been stymied by a variety of animal diseases endemic in the region. The concept of commodity‐based trade (CBT) has been advanced to make trade dependent on process‐related attributes of production that ensure freedom from disease rather than the geographical origin of the animals themselves. This article looks at the potential of CBT in improving market access for beef from communal areas of Namibia, which have historically been excluded from high‐value export markets. Model results suggest only modest gains from CBT, given the substantial costs of compliance with SPS and quality standards required for high‐value markets. Regional markets may still offer the best option for beef exports from these areas.     

Exploring the Complex Associations Among Social Determinants of Health in Andalusia After the 2008 Financial Crisis

Social Indicators Research - In this study, we disentangle the complex relationship between structural and intermediary social determinants of health in Andalusia (Spain) after the period of...     

Dissonant Discourses in Institutional Communications on Sexual Violence

ABSTRACT

This article is a discourse analysis of a large Northwestern research university’s official communications regarding sexual violence for a 15-month time frame. Through close reading of these communications, we found that concurrent with high levels of criticism in the spring of 2014 over the university’s handling of a high-profile rape case, the university advanced dissonant discourses of risk and responsibility in its communications regarding sexual violence. At both the institutional and individual levels, these dissonant discourses work to construct who is at risk of committing or experiencing sexual violence, and who is responsible for preventing and responding to it. In conclusion, we discuss possible implications for these dissonant discourses on the future of campus sexual violence prevention and university response.     

The Gender Wage Gap and Poverty in Colombia

Abstract. Using 19 years of cross‐section wage data, we look at the trend of the ratio of male to female wages in Colombia. First, we observe a long‐term trend towards an increase in the gender wage gap that may be related to new labor regulations giving more protection to women and thereby raising the cost of female employment for firms. Second, we measure the impact on poverty of the increasing gap by producing estimates of the income distribution for the subsequent years had the wage gap remained at the low level it used to be in the early 1990s. As mainly low‐skilled women suffered from the increase in the wage gap, we find that the phenomenon contributed to an overall increase in poverty during the decade.     

Economic consequences of Nth-degree risk increases and Nth-degree risk attitudes

We study comparative statics of Nth-degree risk increases within a large class of problems that involve bidimensional payoffs and additive or multiplicative risks. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for unambiguous impact of Nth-degree risk increases on optimal decision making. We develop a simple and intuitive approach to interpret these conditions : novel notions of directional Nth-degree risk aversion that are characterized via preferences over lotteries.     

A flexible cure rate model based on the polylogarithm distribution

Models for dealing with survival data in the presence of a cured fraction of individuals have attracted the attention of many researchers and practitioners in recent years. In this paper, we propose a cure rate model under the competing risks scenario. For the number of causes that can lead to the event of interest, we assume the polylogarithm distribution. The model is flexible in the sense it encompasses some well-known models, which can be tested using large sample test statistics applied to nested models. Maximum-likelihood estimation based on the EM algorithm and hypothesis testing are investigated. Results of simulation studies designed to gauge the performance of the estimation method and of two test statistics are reported. The methodology is applied in the analysis of a data set.     

Lost in translation? The dilemma of alignment within participatory technology developments

As an instrument for participatory technology development, Scenario-Based Design offers significant potential for an early inclusion of future users. Over the course of a 3-year research project, this method was examined as a procedure for participatory technology development. Methods and instruments aimed at achieving a potential user??s participation, and the resulting cooperation of heterogeneous social groups can be seen as translation tools. Their purpose is to act as translators between different social fields and the specific knowledge associated with them. These translation capabilities and participatory methods should result in the best possible convergence of different orientations and purposes. In this paper, attempting to achieve the best possible convergence is described as a dilemma of alignment. Several approaches will be used to describe the dynamic of the alignment dilemma within the above-mentioned project. The reconstruction follows one question that is proposed as a heuristic pattern to meet the requirements of an accurate analysis of holistic participatory methods: Who or what has to adjust to whom or what, why, when, and in which way? The main conclusions include the finding that the alignment dilemma is not equally balanced, that the agency of epistemic objects within the process has to be captured, and that it is easy for translation??provided primarily by core instruments of the participatory method used??to begin to overwrite the needs and purposes of one social group with the interests and orientations of another.     

Volunteer Motivation and Organizational Climate: Factors that Promote Satisfaction and Sustained Volunteerism in NPOs

Keeping volunteers committed and engaged is one of the toughest challenges for NPOs. The aim of the present study is to investigate the individual and organizational factors that promote volunteer satisfaction and, vice versa, foster intentions to quit. Two hundred forty-seven volunteers operating in four different NPOs were asked to fill in a self-report questionnaire that aimed to explore their motivations to volunteer, their degree of satisfaction and their perception of the organizational climate in the NPO they worked with, in addition to providing details of the activities which they were involved in. Results showed that the organizational climate mediates the relationship between autonomous motivation and satisfaction, as well as that between external motivation and intentions to leave an organization.