The new robust two-sample test for randomly right-censored data

Using a minimum p-value principle, a new two-sample test MIN3 is proposed in the paper. The cumulative distribution function of the MIN3 test statistic is studied and approximated by the Beta distribution of the third kind. Lower percentage points of the distribution of the new test statistic under the null hypothesis are computed. Also the test power for a lot of types of alternative hypotheses (with 0, 1 and 2 point(-s) of the intersection(-s) of survival functions) is studied and we found that the usage of the MIN3 test is a preferred strategy by the Wald and Savage decision-making criteria under risk and uncertainty. The results of application of the MIN3 test are shown for two examples from lifetime data analysis.     

Tests of additivity in mixed and fixed effect two-way ANOVA models with single sub-class numbers

In variety testing as well as in psychological assessment, the situation occurs that in a two-way ANOVA-type model with only one replication per cell, analysis is done under the assumption of no interaction between the two factors. Tests for this situation are known only for fixed factors and normally distributed outcomes. In the following we will present five additivity tests and apply them to fixed and mixed models and to quantitative as well as to Bernoulli distributed data. We consider their performance via simulation studies with respect to the type-I-risk and power. Furthermore, two new approaches will be presented, one being a modification of Tukey’s test and the other being a new experimental design to test for interactions.     

Measuring misalignment: The location of US multinationals’ economic activity versus the location of their profits

A major international effort—the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative—aims to reduce the extent of misalignment between the profits of multinational groups, and the location of their real economic activity. This article uses survey data on the international operations of US‐headquartered multinational groups to show major misalignments of profit. A small number of “profit‐haven” jurisdictions are seen to have captured a disproportionate share of total profits, resulting in serious disadvantages for most countries, regardless of income level.     

The lifestyles and changes in culture of Afghan Kyrgyz and Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan

This paper traces changes in the culture of the Kyrgyz ethnic group in the era after the break-up of the USSR. In order to describe correctly changes in their lives, a comparison was used from a wide range of areas where Kyrgyz live. As a basis, the way of life of Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan is used. Kyrgyz here represent the majority, but before the break-up they did not emphasize their ethnicity significantly. After the break up of the USSR and the formation of the national state, they began to look for new, or new-and-old, roots and to strengthen their nationalistic tendencies. Looking for new roots included the creation of historical constructs and emphasizing many specifics of lifestyles of ‘real Kyrgyz’. But Kyrgyz live in many other states as a minority – especially in China, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. These Kyrgyz, however, often designate different elements of their culture as a basis of their ethnic group compared to Kyrgyz from Kyrgyzstan. The paper first tries to identify important elements of Kyrgyz culture in the era of the break-up of the USSR based on statements of respondents from Kyrgyzstan and to find out if these elements are also important as an identification feature for Kyrgyz in other states. Field research has been conducted in China and Tajikistan, but in this work, results from Afghanistan in particular are presented. The paper also tries to give an answer as to the influence of the formation of the national state (Kyrgyzstan) on members of ethnic groups living in other states as a minority (Kyrgyz in Afghanistan) and how this changed their ethnic identity.     

Food Self-Provisioning in Czechia: Beyond Coping Strategy of the Poor: A Response to Alber and Kohler’s ‘Informal Food Production in the Enlarged European Union’ (2008)

Food systems are of increasing interest in both research and policy communities. Surveys of post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) show high rates of food self-provisioning. These practices have been explained in terms of being ‘coping strategies of the poor’. Alber and Kohler’s ‘Informal Food Production in the Enlarged European Union’ (2008) offers a prominent account of this argument, supported by quantitative data. However, evidence from our case study of food self-provisioning in one CEE state–Czechia–contradicts their findings. Newly commissioned survey data, as well as a fresh look at the data they were working from, demonstrate that rather than being motivated by poverty, these widespread practices serve as a hobby and as a way of accessing ‘healthy food’. With food self-provisioning becoming an increasingly prominent subject in advanced industrial countries, in terms of both health and environmental policy, we propose that much greater care is taken in researching and interpreting the reasons for differences in food systems. Our findings are that environmentally sustainable and healthy self-provisioning in Czechia is motivated by a range of reasons, and practised by a significant proportion of the population across all social groups. This conclusion questions linear narratives of progress that figure ‘western’ practices as advanced or complete or automatically desirable, and contributes in a modest way to a decentring of narratives of progress.     

Postcommunist Societies in Times of Transition: Perceptions of Change Among Adolescents in Central and Eastern Europe

This article examines adolescents' perceptions of the economic changes and the justice of the new "social contract" in Eastern/Central Europe. Focusing on three countries, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, it explores the social, political, and economic environments in which adolescents came of age in 1990. Surveys conducted among high school students in each country during 1995 tapped their perceptions of the economy, the local community, and their personal beliefs about the efficacy of individual initiative and hard work. Responses differed significantly based on age, gender, social class, value orientation, and country. Older adolescents and girls were more likely to observe that economic disparities were growing in their country and to be cynical about the value of hard work. Those with socialist values also discounted the value of recent changes. Adolescents in the Czech Republic were the least cynical about economic changes, whereas those in Bulgaria were the most cynical, with Hungarian youth the least optimistic about the future.     

By the Masses or for the Masses? The Transformation of Voluntary Action in the Czech Union for Nature Protection

After the fall of state-socialism, efforts were made to build democracy by creating civil society organizations (CSOs) and forming independent nonprofit sectors across Central and Eastern Europe. However, most of these efforts ignored the mass organizations, state-sponsored interest groups, and quasi-independent associations in existence for many years. To understand how the transition affected existing associations and the forms of volunteerism they promoted, this paper investigates changes in the Czech Union for Nature Protection (ČSOP), an organization that has endured since 1979. Here, it is found that rather than retaining its emphasis on classical modes of voluntary action and participant interaction, ČSOP favors professionally managed activities designed to attract financial support. The case suggests that some of the participatory practices and collectivist norms advanced by associations in socialist times are being weakened as these groups attempt to secure the resources necessary to survive.