A “Swedish” actuarial balance for a notional defined contribution pension scheme with disability and minimum pension benefits

This article proposes a “Swedish” type actuarial balance sheet (ABS) for a notional defined contribution (NDC) scheme with disability and minimum pension benefits. The proposed ABS splits the pension system in two parts: the pure NDC part and the redistributive part, which includes the assets and liabilities originating from non‐contributory rights. The article contains a numerical example that sheds light on the real applicability of our proposal. The model has practical implications that could be of interest to policy‐makers, given that it integrates actuarial and social aspects of public pensions and discloses the real cost of redistribution through minimum pensions.     

Build–operate–transfer (BOT): an emerging entry mode for service offshoring

Build–operate–transfer (BOT) is a well-established solution used in the engineering and construction industries for building different types of infrastructure (e.g. railways, highways, power plants). In recent years, BOT has increasingly been adopted by companies in the service industry as a mode for entering foreign markets. BOT in service offshoring (SO) is characterised by a number of significant peculiarities (e.g. different numbers of involved parties, fee methods, lengths of the concession period), which may call into question the possibility of extending existing findings that relate to infrastructure projects. The aims of this work are as follows: to collect and systematise existing knowledge on engineering and construction BOT projects; to highlight – through an exploratory case study – how these results could be applied to BOT in SO; and to shed light on the factors affecting the choice between different entry modes (including BOT).     

Honesty and Dishonesty Don’t Move Together: Trait Content Information Influences Behavioral Synchrony

Emerging evidence revealed that honesty and trustworthiness are important drivers of the impression-formation process. Questions remain, however, regarding the role of these moral attributes in guiding real and concrete behaviors. Filling this gap, the present study investigated the influence of honesty on a nonverbal behavior that regulates social interactions: behavioral synchrony. Movements were recorded while participants interacted with a partner who was depicted as honest (versus dishonest) or as friendly (versus unfriendly). Results showed that synchrony was affected only by the honesty of the partner. Specifically, the more the interaction partner lacked honesty, the lower the perceived similarity between the self and the interaction partner, which in turn diminished the promptness to engage in behavioral synchrony. Our findings connected the literature on behavioral synchrony with that on the implication of morality for social perception, revealing the key role of the honesty facet of moral character in shaping nonverbal behaviors.     

Therapeutic Engagement of Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Youth engagement is increasingly recognized as a preferred approach and often necessary step in the treatment of emotional and behavioral disorders. The purpose of this study was to explore the degree and quality of youth engagement in the therapeutic process, compare engagement scores between youth accessing residential and day treatment, and explore the association between engagement and interpersonal difficulties in a sample of youth with an emotional and/or behavior disorder in residential and day treatment programs based in Southern Ontario. Cross-sectional surveys of standardized measures were administered to youth and a separate survey to their Prime Workers. Relevant constructs included client engagement (as rated by youth and Prime Workers), and youth-rated behavioral screen, interpersonal problems and family functioning. Both Prime Workers and youth rated youth as moderately high in their level of engagement in therapy. Furthermore, Prime Worker and youth ratings did not significantly differ statistically, suggesting that youth may have actually engaged at a moderate level. Interpersonal problems were shown to be negatively associated with youth engagement, and family functioning approached significance for only youth in residential treatment. Assessing youth engagement during the treatment process as an intervention technique may highlight areas where greater clinical efforts are needed. Future considerations include testing methods of sharing and discussing results of an engagement measure within the context of a one-on-one clinical encounter with youth.     

I disagree,therefore I am: how to test and strengthen cultural versatility

In the last few decades, a perspective on how to resolve wicked social problems has become increasingly prominent: the cultural theory pioneered by anthropologist Dame Mary Douglas. So far, the empirical evidence garnered in support of this approach has mostly been of a qualitative nature. Cultural theory has fared less well in survey-based, statistical tests. However, several features make it hard to test the theory with questionnaires. We overcome this research dilemma by showing how cultural theory can be tested with observational and experimental tests developed in cross-cultural psychology. We argue that this is possible due to the remarkable overlap between concepts and theories in cross-cultural psychology and Douglas' approach. We present five research designs that add up to a rigorous test of cultural theory. Finally, we sketch some contributions that cultural theory could make to the further development of cross-cultural psychology, as well as to efforts to resolve wicked problems, if it were thus confirmed.     

Kernel density estimation on the torus

Kernel density estimation for multivariate, circular data has been formulated only when the sample space is the sphere, but theory for the torus would also be useful. For data lying on a d-dimensional torus (d?1), we discuss kernel estimation of a density, its mixed partial derivatives, and their squared functionals. We introduce a specific class of product kernels whose order is suitably defined in such a way to obtain L₂-risk formulas whose structure can be compared to their Euclidean counterparts. Our kernels are based on circular densities; however, we also discuss smaller bias estimation involving negative kernels which are functions of circular densities. Practical rules for selecting the smoothing degree, based on cross-validation, bootstrap and plug-in ideas are derived. Moreover, we provide specific results on the use of kernels based on the von Mises density. Finally, real-data examples and simulation studies illustrate the findings.     

Semiparametric predictive mean matching

Predictive mean matching is an imputation method that combines parametric and nonparametric techniques. It imputes missing values by means of the Nearest Neighbor Donor with distance based on the expected values of the missing variables conditional on the observed covariates, instead of computing the distance directly on the values of the covariates. In ordinary predictive mean matching the expected values are computed through a linear regression model. In this paper a generalization of the original predictive mean matching is studied. Here the expected values used for computing the distance are estimated through an approach based on Gaussian mixture models. This approach includes as a special case the original predictive mean matching but allows one to deal also with nonlinear relationships among the variables. In order to assess its performance, an empirical evaluation based on simulations is carried out.     

Democracy and Trade Union Action: A Comparative Overview

ABSTRACT: In this paper the author covers the current Italian debate on union representativeness and democracy, i.e. relations between union leadership and the rank-and-file, focusing on democratic procedures adopted (or not) in the internal decision-making process of the labour organisations. Experiments in the area of union self-regulation (autoregolamentazione) are discussed in connection with the collective bargaining process and strike action, mainly in public and private essential services. The author critically compares these experiments with more innovative solutions adopted in Spain, France, U.K., U.S.A. and Japan. Special attention is given to the role played by secret ballots in increasing union responsiveness.     

Urbanization drivers differentially affect ground arthropod assemblages in the city of Turin (NW-Italy)

Urban Ecosystems - Urbanization is a complex process associated with environmental changes affecting many biotic and abiotic ecosystem components, which cause the alteration of biological...     

Have cash transfers succeeded in reaching the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean?

We present original estimates of the quality of targeting of conditional cash transfer (CCT) and non‐contributory pension (NCP) programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our contribution is novel because we use both national and international poverty lines; provide differentiated estimates for urban and rural areas; and compare the CCT and NCP programmes. We show that leakage to the non‐poor coexists with pervasive under‐coverage of all poor, including the extreme poor. On average, the CCTs cover only 50.5% of the extreme poor in households with children under 18 years of age. Similarly, the NCPs cover only 50.9% of the extreme poor in households with elderly members who do not receive a contributory pension. At the same time, 40.4% of CCT beneficiaries and 50.1% of NCP beneficiaries are not poor, highlighting the potential need for re‐targeting and re‐certification. In most countries, re‐targeting could produce a substantial double benefit in terms of poverty reduction and fiscal savings.