Advances in estimation by the item sum technique using auxiliary information in complex surveys

To collect sensitive data, survey statisticians have designed many strategies to reduce nonresponse rates and social desirability response bias. In recent years, the item count technique has gained considerable popularity and credibility as an alternative mode of indirect questioning survey, and several variants of this technique have been proposed as new needs and challenges arise. The item sum technique (IST), which was introduced by Chaudhuri and Christofides (Indirect questioning in sample surveys, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2013) and Trappmann et al. (J Surv Stat Methodol 2:58–77, 2014), is one such variant, used to estimate the mean of a sensitive quantitative variable. In this approach, sampled units are asked to respond to a two-list of items containing a sensitive question related to the study variable and various innocuous, nonsensitive, questions. To the best of our knowledge, very few theoretical and applied papers have addressed the IST. In this article, therefore, we present certain methodological advances as a contribution to appraising the use of the IST in real-world surveys. In particular, we employ a generic sampling design to examine the problem of how to improve the estimates of the sensitive mean when auxiliary information on the population under study is available and is used at the design and estimation stages. A Horvitz–Thompson-type estimator and a calibration-type estimator are proposed and their efficiency is evaluated by means of an extensive simulation study. Using simulation experiments, we show that estimates obtained by the IST are nearly equivalent to those obtained using “true data” and that in general they outperform the estimates provided by a competitive randomized response method. Moreover, variance estimation may be considered satisfactory. These results open up new perspectives for academics, researchers and survey practitioners and could justify the use of the IST as a valid alternative to traditional direct questioning survey modes.     

Single cycle policies for the one-warehouse N-retailer inventory/distribution system

We address a multi-echelon inventory system with one-warehouse and N  -retailers. The demand at each retailer is assumed to be known and satisfied by the warehouse. Shortages are not allowed and lead times are negligible. Costs at each facility consist of a fixed charge per order and a holding cost. The goal is to determine single-cycle policies which minimize the average cost per unit time, that is, the sum of the average holding and setup costs per unit time at the retailers and at the warehouse. We propose a O(NlogN)$\mathrm{O}(N\log N)$ heuristic procedure to compute efficient single-cycle policies. This heuristic is compared with other approaches proposed by Schwarz, Graves and Schwarz and Muckstadt and Roundy. We carry out a computational study to test the effectiveness of the heuristic and to compare the performance of the different procedures. From the computational results, it is shown that the new heuristic provides, on average, better single-cycle policies than those given by the Muckstadt and Roundy method.     

Measuring Youth Living Conditions in Europe: A Multidimensional Cross-Country Approach

Social Indicators Research - Argentina and Brazil report the highest incidence of the fear of crime across Latin America. Although the spread of crime and victimization may explain these trends...     

Childhood disadvantages and the timing of the onset of natural menopause in Latin America and the Caribbean

The aim of this study is to investigate the association of early life factors with the timing of the onset of natural menopause in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. We use Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the risk of the onset of menopause. Our results suggest that socioeconomic disadvantages, as expressed by difficulties attending school due to economic hardships or parents never living together, increase the risk of the onset of natural menopause among Puerto Rican women. Among Costa Rican women, early life nutrition, estimated using anthropometric measures, is related to the timing of the onset of natural menopause.     

Evaluation and Management of Urban Liveability: A Goal Programming Based Composite Indicator

Social Indicators Research - This paper proposes a composite indicator intended to assess the degree of liveability provided by urban areas. This synthetic index makes two essential contributions...     

Physical and psychosocial indicators among office workers from public sector with and without musculoskeletal symptoms

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) are the result of the combination of different risk factors. They are very common among computer workers, mainly when neck and upper limbs are considered. Forty-two office workers from a public university participated in this study. They were divided into two groups: Symptomatic Subjects (SS, n=20) and Asymptomatic Subjects (AS, n=22), according to the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). Psychosocial indicators were assessed using the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Workplaces were evaluated according to the Ergonomic Workplace Analysis (EWA), proposed by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. The NMQ showed higher weekly prevalence of complaints on neck, shoulders and wrist/hands (p=0.00) among SS. The annual prevalence of symptoms on wrist/hands was also higher among SS (p=0.02). The JCQ did not show any difference between groups (p>0.05). Higher proportion of servers with 'high level' of engagement, dedication and absorption, according to UWES, was identified among SS (p<0.01). EWA showed worse scores for 'Work Site', 'Job Content' and 'Repetitiveness of the Work' among SS (p<0.05). Servers are exposed to physical and psychosocial risk factors that can contribute to the development of WRMD. Work conditions need to be change in order to improve musculoskeletal health.     

Detecting level shifts in ARMA-GARCH (1,1) Models

The purpose of this article is to present a new method to detect level shifts in the context of conditional heteroscedastic models. First, we define precisely what type of outlier we are referring to, a concept that has been scarcely touched in the field of GARCH (1,1) models, and then we go on to present our methodology based on the nature of the Lagrange multiplier tests. The validity and efficiency of the proposed procedure are demonstrated through different simulation experiments. To conclude, we present a practical application of the method to the time series of returns of US short-term interest rates.     

Cognitive Deficits in Executive Functions and Decision-Making Impairments Cluster Gambling Disorder Sub-types

To identify Gambling Disorder (GD) subtypes, in a population of men seeking treatment for GD, according to specific executive function domains (i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibition and working memory as well as decision making) which are usually impaired in addictive behaviors. A total of 145 males ranging from 18 to 65 years diagnosed with GD were included in this study. All participants completed: (a) a set of questionnaires to assess psychopathological symptoms, personality and impulsivity traits, and (b) a battery of neuropsychological measures to test different executive functioning domains. Two clusters were identified based on the individual performance on the neuropsychological assessment. Cluster 1 [n = 106; labeled as Low Impaired Executive Function (LIEF)] was composed by patients with poor results in the neuropsychological assessment; cluster 2 patients [n = 46; labeled as High Impaired Executive Function (HIEF)] presented significantly higher deficits on the assessed domains and performed worse than the ones of LIEF cluster. Regarding the characterization of these two clusters, patients in cluster 2 were significantly older, unemployed and registered higher mean age of GD onset than patients in cluster 1. Additionally, patients in cluster 2 also obtained higher psychopathological symptoms, impulsivity (in both positive and negative urgency as well as sensation seeking) and some specific personality traits (higher harm avoidance as well as lower self-directedness and cooperativeness) than patients in cluster 1. The results of this study describe two different GD subtypes based on different cognitive domains (i.e., executive function performance). These two GD subtypes display different impulsivity and personality traits as well as clinical symptoms. The results provide new insight into the etiology and characterization of GD and have the potential to help improving current treatments.     

A herstory of public relations: Teresa Dorn,from Scott Cutlip to Burson-Marsteller Europe (1974–1995)

ABSTRACT

This research concentrates on Teresa Dorn’s contributions to the history/herstory of public relations through the analysis of her first 20 years in the profession, 15 of which were devoted to making Burson-Marsteller a prominent multinational company in Spain and Europe. The study explores the process of how Burson-Marsteller became one of the top consultancies in a country with a newly established democracy through the report of a life history. This methodology leads to a better understanding of when, why, and how the first international consultancy was settled in Spain and succeeded under the guidance of an American female practitioner.