The uniform convergence of the nadaraya-watson regression function estimate

If (X₁,Y₁), …, (X_n,Y_n) is a sequence of independent identically distributed R_d × R-valued random vectors then Nadaraya (1964) and Watson (1964) proposed to estimate the regression function m(x) = ? {Y₁|X₁ = x{ by where K is a known density and {h_n} is a sequence of positive numbers satisfying certain properties. In this paper a variety of conditions are given for the strong convergence to 0 of ess_Xsup|m_n (X)-m(X)| (here X is independent of the data and distributed as X₁). The theorems are valid for all distributions of X₁ and for all sequences {h_n} satisfying h_n → 0 and nh/log n→0.     

Experiencing Loneliness in Adolescence: A Matter of Individual Characteristics,Negative Peer Experiences,or Both?

The present study builds on the child‐by‐environment model and examines the joint contribution of intra‐individual characteristics (i.e., self‐esteem and shyness) and peer experiences (i.e., social acceptance, victimization, friendship quantity, and friendship quality) in the association with loneliness. A total of 884 adolescents (M_age = 15.80; 68 percent female) participated in this multi‐informant study. Results indicated that, in addition to self‐esteem and shyness, being poorly accepted by peers, being victimized, lacking friends, and experiencing poor‐quality friendships each contributed independently to the experience of loneliness. Further, friendship quantity and quality mediated the relation between the two intra‐individual characteristics and loneliness. Finally, a significant interaction was found between self‐esteem and social acceptance in predicting loneliness. The present study highlights the importance of investigating the joint effects of inter‐individual experiences and intra‐individual characteristics in examining loneliness. Suggestions to elaborate the child‐by‐environment model in loneliness research are discussed, and clinical implications are outlined.     

Introduction: prendre au serieux la culture dans les relations internationales

Culture and international relations are related in all circumstances. On the one hand, if one refers to the discipline of International Relations, culture is an important parameter that influences knowledge production and paradigmatic elaboration. The discipline of IR is therefore culturally situated. On the other hand, when one is dealing with the phenomenon of international relations, it appears as if all social relations, international relations are orientated by the ways of thinking, beliefs and representations of its actors. At the same time, international relations create opportunities for cultural invention in order to regulate the interaction among actors.     

Poverty, income distribution and CGE micro-simulation modeling: Does the functional form of distribution matter?

This paper explores income distribution modeling approaches for poverty analysis in a CGE micro-simulation context. Income distribution functional forms such as the lognormal, Pareto, beta distribution and empirical methods are currently used in CGE models in parallel with the estimation of FGT poverty indices. The particular methods or functional forms used in this context are not always clearly defined and justified. In this paper, we investigate and provide better criteria for selecting a functional distribution for poverty analysis. To achieve this, we apply parametric estimation to seven functional forms and compare the results to a purely “empirical” method. The results showed that no single form is more appropriate in all instances or for all household subgroups. The choice of a modeling approach should be motivated by a search for best fit and should be based on appropriate statistical tests. Selecting inappropriate distributional forms can lead to biased results in terms of poverty analysis. Introducing functional forms in the empirical approach can also provide greater confidence in the results obtained.

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An erratum to this article can be found at     

Photography and the imagined body

Family websites represent one of the more interesting areas of research into cultural change and reproduction. They also compellingly demonstrate the complex role of technology in both cultural processes. As the latest example of the long‐established practice of family photography, these hybrid multimedia products have followed the path of the analogue photograph, framed and displayed in the home, kept in wallets or presented as series of pictures in photo albums, with a marked move to the digital world and a much less noticed shift to the sophisticated multimedia context of the Web. This article examines how this fairly recent shift from private photography to the semi‐public space of the Internet, which is unfolding in dialogue with technology, has reinforced, expanded or radically changed the nature of family communications and the very significant social and cultural functions this highly codified practice has fulfilled from the onset. From an exploratory research study into online family websites, I discuss examples, which illustrate the similarities and changes taking place, the possible cultural‐propagandistic and emancipatory effects, and the wealth of cultural information that can be decoded. I further discuss the methodological aspects and implications of decoding these new and very vivid exponents of culture.     

Measuring warmth and competence at inter-group,interpersonal and individual levels / Medición de la cordialidad y la competencia en los niveles intergrupal,interindividual e individual

Abstract

Warmth and competence are universal dimensions of social perception that articulate the perception of other individuals and social groups. However, there are no scales that have systematically been used in psychosocial research. The purpose of this study is to construct two scales, one on warmth and another on competence, which could be used at the inter-group, interpersonal and individual levels. To accomplish this, we performed two studies. In Study I (N = 578 students and N = 540 general population), we tested the scales at the intergroup level (immigrant groups and Spaniards), the interpersonal level (people close to the participants) and the individual level (the participants themselves). In Study 2 (N = 184 students), the two scales were tested at an interpersonal level by evaluating 16 public figures. The results of both studies show that both the warmth scale (kind, pleasant, friendly, warm) and the competence scale (competent, effective, skilled, intelligent) achieved a high degree of reliability when reflecting the perception of groups, individuals and oneself.     

Operationalizing public value in higher education: the use of narratives as an alternative for performance indicators

Journal of Management and Governance - More than 25 years after Moore’s first introduction of the public value concept in 1995, the concept is now widely used, but its...     

In Search of the Sources of Psychologically Controlling Parenting: The Role of Parental Separation Anxiety and Parental Maladaptive Perfectionism

This study investigated the role of two dimensions of parental separation anxiety—Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR)—and parental maladaptive perfectionism in the prediction of psychologically controlling parenting. In a sample of middle adolescents and their parents (N=677), it was found that parents' AAD scores and maladaptive perfectionism were positively related to psychological control, whereas parents' CSBR scores were negatively related to psychological control. Further, psychological control served as an intervening variable in the links between parent characteristics and adolescent well‐being. These findings suggest that two qualitatively different types of psychological control may exist: one originating from parents' separation anxiety and another originating from parents' maladaptive perfectionist standards.     

Bullying and Victimization Among School-age Children: Stability and Links to Proactive and Reactive Aggression

The main aim of the study relates to the links between bullying and victimization on the one hand and reactive and proactive aggression on the other. In addition, we also investigated stability and incidence of bullying and victimization. At age 7, 236 children were rated on bullying and victimization using peer reports. At age 8, 242 children were rated again. Two hundred and fifteen children (114 girls and 101 boys) were present at both time points. Reactive and proactive aggression was assessed by teachers. The results showed that bullies and bully/victims were both reactively and proactively aggressive, while victims were only reactively aggressive. A moderate degree of stability of bullying and victimization was found, with bullying being more stable than victimization. Boys were more often bullies than girls and more stable than girls in victimization. Stable victims and stable bully/victims were more reactively aggressive than their unstable counterparts. The relevance of the outcomes to preventing future maladjustment and suggestions for further research are discussed.