Using the Residual White Noise Autoregressive Order Determination Criterion to Identify Unit Roots in Arima Models

We present a simplified form of a univariate identification approach for time series models based on the residual white noise autoregressive order determination criterion and linear estimation methods. We also show how the procedure can be used to identify the degree of differencing necessary to induce stationarity in data. The performance of this approach is also contrasted with Portmanteau tests for detection of white noise residuals and with Dickey-Fuller and Bayesian procedures for detection of unit roots. Simulated and economic data are used to demonstrate the capabilities of the modified approach.     

War is where the hearth is: gendered labor and the everyday reproduction of the geopolitical in the army reserves

The feminized imaginary of “home and hearth” has long been central to the notion of soldiering as masculinist protection. Soldiering and war are not only materialized by gendered imaginaries of home and hearth though, but through everyday labors enacted within the home. Focusing on in-depth qualitative research with women partners and spouses of British Army reservists, we examine how women’s everyday domestic and emotional labor enables reservists to serve, constituting “hearth and home” as a site through which war is made possible. As reservists – who are still overwhelmingly heterosexual men – become increasingly called upon by the state, one must consider how the changing nature of the Army’s procurement of soldiers is also changing demands on women’s labor. Feminist IPE scholars have shown broader trends in the outsourcing of labor to women and its privatization. Our research similarly underscores the significance of everyday gendered labor to the geopolitical. Moreover, we highlight the fragility of military power, given that women can withdraw their labor at any time. The article concludes that paying attention to women’s everyday labor in the home facilitates greater understanding of one of the key sites through which war is both materialized and challenged.     

Community,Ethnicity, and Class in a Changing Rural California Town*

Abstract This study investigates how community is constructed, maintained, and contested among diverse residents of a rural town in California's Central Valley. Drawing on observations, interviews, and archival material, I examine the way in which ethnicity and class play a significant role in recasting how community is organized and interpreted by Mexicans and long‐term white residents. In my field site, Mexicans have long been involved in (in)formal community‐making, yet long‐term white residents perceive a “loss of community” because social relations are no longer structured around an agrarian culture that at one time reinforced ties through volunteerism and interaction in local mainstream institutions. This article demonstrates the continual significance of place and interaction in defining community, but suggests that immigrants develop communities of need aimed at providing important social, emotional, and political support absent in mainstream society. Finally, this study also speaks of the competition for representation and respectability among rural residents developing a sense of belonging. “Community” is never simply the recognition of cultural similarity or social contiguity but a categorical identity that is premised on various forms of exclusion and constructions of otherness     

On-Line Process Control using Attributes with Misclassification Errors: An Economical Design for Short-Run Production

On-line process control consists of inspecting a single item for every m (integer and m ≥ 2) produced items. Based on the results of the inspection, it is decided whether the process is in-control (the fraction of conforming items is p ₁; State I) or out-of-control (the fraction of conforming items is p ₂ < p ₁; State II). If the inspected item is non conforming, it is determined that the process is out-of-control, and the production process is stopped for an adjustment; otherwise, production continues. As most designs of on-line process control assume a long-run production, this study can be viewed as an extension because it is concerned with short-run production and the decision regarding the process is subject to misclassification errors. The probabilistic model of the control system employs properties of an ergodic Markov chain to obtain the expression of the average cost of the system per unit produced, which can be minimised as a function of the sampling interval, m. The procedure is illustrated by a numerical example.     

Networks and Agricultural Development: The Case of Soybean Production and Consumption in Brazil

Diffusion theory and political economy are the two most common ways by which rural sociologists have explained the widespread use of agricultural innovations. In this paper, we argue, borrowing from science studies and using the empirical case of soybeans in Brazil, that the use of agricultural innovations is better understood as the result of the construction of networks of people and things. Thirty years ago soybean production in Brazil was insignificant. However, at that time a soybean network began to be formed. Initial actors were, among others, (1) soybean varieties produced in the United States, (2) wheat farmers located in the south of Brazil, and (3) soil in need of nitrogen, an expensive input for the new wheat varieties. State policies were no doubt important in consolidating that network. However, other persons, institutions and things were also necessary, including science and technology, the creation and/or expansion of farmers' organizations such as cooperatives, and the solution to the problem of photoperiod sensitivity in soybeans. We follow the soybean from its introduction in Brazil to its present status as an important crop. The overall context within which the soybean network began is also described. We conclude that the actor network approach is more congruent with the history of soybeans in Brazil than diffusion theory or political economy.     

Connecting Two Sides: A Qualitative Study on Social Innovation Ventures and Poor Communities in an Emerging Economy

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - The relationship between social innovation venture and poor communities has received little attention from studies in the...     

The Experience of Learning EFT in Spanish-speaking Countries: A Multi-National Replication Study

This study is a multi-national follow-up to the original (Sandberg and Knestel (2011) Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 37, 393–410) article on the process of learning Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT). A total of 102 clinicians from nine Spanish-speaking countries (Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and El Salvador) participated in the study. A comparison of results across the two studies revealed more similarities than differences. However, a few notable differences emerged from responses to qualitative questions, namely a heightened sense of appreciation for and resonance with the focus on core emotion in EFT and less frequent reports of difficulty learning and adapting to the model among Spanish-speaking therapists. These differences were consistent with common cultural values and forms of expression in Latin America and Spain. Results are discussed in terms of training, supervision, and future research as well.     

The Touchard distribution

We present a novel model, which is a two-parameter extension of the Poisson distribution. Its normalizing constant is related to the Touchard polynomials, hence the name of this model. It is a flexible distribution that can account for both under- or overdispersion and concentration of zeros that are frequently found in non-Poisson count data. In contrast to some other generalizations, the Hessian matrix for maximum likelihood estimation of the Touchard parameters has a simple form. We exemplify with three data sets, showing that our suggested model is a competitive candidate for fitting non-Poisson counts.