Testing Parameter Constancy in Stationary Vector Autoregressive Models Against Continuous Change

In this article we derive a parameter constancy test of a stationary vector autoregressive model against the hypothesis that the parameters of the model change smoothly over time. A single structural break is contained in this alternative hypothesis as a special case. The test is a generalization of a single-equation test of a similar hypothesis proposed in the literature. An advantage here is that the asymptotic distribution theory is standard. The performance of the tests is compared to that of generalized Chow-tests and found satisfactory in terms of both size and power.     

An improved estimator to analyse missing data

Missing data due to nonresponse, though undesirable, is a reality of any survey. In this paper we consider a situation in which, at a given time, observations are missing for one of the several auxiliary characteristics; thus the ‘missing’ phenomenon occurs for the characteristics separately but not simultaneously. A new method, making use of all the available observations, is proposed. A simulation study based on three real populations was performed to test the proposed technique.     

Sample size determination for 2k-r experiments with a binomial response

This paper provides closed form expressions for the sample size for two-level factorial experiments when the response is the number of defectives. The sample sizes are obtained by approximating the two-sided test for no effect through tests for the mean of a normal distribution, and borrowing the classical sample size solution for that problem. The proposals are appraised relative to the exact sample sizes computed numerically, without appealing to any approximation to the binomial distribution, and the use of the sample size tables provided is illustrated through an example.     

El compromiso con el trabajo en la transición de la escuela al mundo laboral

Resumen

Este artículo presenta un estudio longitudinal del compromiso con el trabajo en relación con el status de empleo y el sexo de los individuos.

La muestra estuvo compuesta por 355 jóvenes que en el tiempo 1 estaban estudiando Formación Profesional l.°-2.° curso, y un año después (tiempo 2) fueron divididos en cuatro grupos: empleados, desempleados, «desempleados encubiertos» (en la escuela pero con una clara propensión a abandonarla para ir a trabajar) y estudiantes comprometidos.

Los resultados muestran que el compromiso con el trabajo incrementa significativamente del tiempo 1 al tiempo 2. Estos incrementos son más altos en las mujeres que en los varones. No se encontró un efecto predisposicional del compromiso con el trabajo sobre el status de empleo estudiado en el tiempo 2, no se encontraron cambios significativos del compromiso con el trabajo en función de las transiciones experimentadas por los jóvenes. Sin embargo, cuando se considera el sexo, los efectos de las transiciones son estadísticamente significativas. Estos resultados muestran la fuerte influencia del sexo en los cambios en compromiso con el trabajo durante las transiciones que tienen lugar después de terminar Formación Profesional 1, transiciones que pueden ser consideradas como un «período crítico» en la socialización laboral.     

The struggle for ‘our streets’: the digital and physical spatial politics of the Ferguson Movement

ABSTRACT

The Ferguson Movement of 2014 and 2015 reached national salience immediately following the murder of Michael Brown, after residents took to social media platforms to report from what many activists called ‘ground zero.’ Some popular and scholarly conversations have couched the movement largely through its online manifestations; this study, however, places the movement within the intersections of digital and physical space as well as the broader political context of St. Louis. Triangulating data from 21 unstructured interviews with local activists in St. Louis, Missouri with GIS and digital media analysis, we illustrate how activists in the Ferguson Movement organized within St. Louis’ physical space and challenged popular arguments about resistance in digital space. Consequently, we argue that social movements’ placeness remain important despite recent emphases on digital media.     

The Influence of Water Access in Subjective Well-Being: Some Evidence in Yucatan, Mexico

The literature on happiness or subjective well-being has explored the determinants of happiness without taking into consideration the role that water plays. In this paper we attempt to draw attention to water in subjective well-being studies. Approximately one hundred million people do not have access to water. A lack of clean water causes diseases such as diarrhea and cholera, responsible for around 5% of the total deaths in the world. Access to water should therefore be a necessary asset in life. In order to consider access to water, we estimate its influence on subjective well-being using data from rural Yucatan, Mexico. Residents in Yucatan suffer from low quality access to water and there are also imperfections in the management of the service, such as water cuts. We estimate the influence of water on subjective well-being, finding a positive and significant relationship. In a second stage of the research, we relate water access variables to subjective well-being, the health and the water domain of life, finding significant results. These results make it possible to formulate political measures concerning access to water and happiness maximization. We demonstrate that access to water is important for well-being in Yucatan and might be important in many other places; we therefore encourage future research to contemplate water satisfaction and water variables in their analysis.     

Critical Feminist Gerontology: In the Back Room of Research

The article takes a feminist approach to gerontology. It examines the stereotypes of ageism that derive from the relationship between culture and old age. It establishes the requirements for a type of research that reflects women's own experience of growing older, as well as the social construction of values related to women's old age. It focuses on the sociocultural features of this population, which faces old age with certain limitations, but also with unparalleled assets.     

Sexuality in Older Spanish Women: Voices and Reflections

Our research has been aimed at understanding the experience, practice, and sexual life in a group of Spanish women over 50 years of age. We studied a sample of 729 women between 50 and 80 years old. Our results provide qualitative and quantitative information and important insights about the sexual life of Spanish women and identify differences in the experience and reality of sexual life after the age of 70. The status of having or lacking a partner, and a personal interest in emotional relationships and sexual practices, are elements that determine the possibility of enjoying a satisfying postmenopausal sexuality.