Discussion of “On simulation and properties of the stable law” by L. Devroye and L. James

We contribute to the discussion of the paper by Devroye and James, by reviewing some of the most meaningful results that relate the unilateral stable distribution with the asymptotic behavior of the so-called Ewens-Pitman sampling model. Our focus is then on how these results have been exploited in the context of Bayesian nonparametric inference for species sampling problems.     

Strategic requirements with indifference: single-peaked versus single-plateaued preferences

We concentrate on the problem of the provision of one pure public good whenever agents that form the society have either single-plateaued preferences or single-peaked preferences over the set of alternatives. We are interested in comparing the relationships between different nonmanipulability notions under these two domains. On the single-peaked domain, under strategy-proofness, non-bossiness is equivalent to convexity of the range. Thus, minmax rules are the only strategy-proof non-bossy rules. On the single-plateaued domain, only constant rules are non-bossy or Maskin monotonic; but strategy-proofness and weak non-bossiness are equivalent to weak Maskin monotonicity. Moreover, strategy-proofness and plateau-invariance guarantee convexity of the range. We thank Salvador Barberà, Matthew Jackson, Bettina Klaus, Jordi Massó, John Weymark, and two anonymous referees and the Associate Editor for helpful comments and suggestions. We also thank the participants in the 3rd Workshop on Social Decisions that took place in Málaga in November 2007. Dolors Berga acknowledges the financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science through Research Grants SEJ2004-03276 and SEJ2007-60671 and also by the Generalitat de Catalunya through Research Grant 2005SGR-213 and the Barcelona Economics Program (CREA). Bernardo Moreno gratefully acknowledges financial support from Junta de Andalucía through grant SEJ522 and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through grant SEC2005-04805.     

Cross-lagged relationships between workplace bullying,job satisfaction and engagement: Two longitudinal studies

Abstract

Workplace bullying has been defined as a stressor that has negative consequences. However, the direction of the bullying–well-being relationship has been largely based on cross-sectional findings, which does not permit conclusions in terms of causality. The purpose of this research was to investigate the cross-lagged relationships between bullying and job-related well-being. We hypothesized that Time 1 bullying predicted Time 2 job-related well-being over time (normal causation model). In addition, we compared alternative models (baseline or stability, reversed, and reciprocal models). Our hypothesis was examined in two longitudinal studies with full two-wave panel designs in Belgian employees. In Study 1 (N=312), the time lag was six months, and in Study 2 (N=369), the time lag was two years. Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses partially supported our hypothesis. Specifically, it was found that Time 1 bullying predicted Time 2 dedication in Study 1, and Time 2 job satisfaction in Study 2. There was no significant cross-lagged effect of job-related well-being on bullying at work. Overall, these findings suggest that bullying can be considered as a cause, rather than aconsequence of job-related well-being.     

Aging With Rising Risk: Have Older Households Experienced Faster-Growing Risk Exposure Than Younger Ones Since the 1990s?

Financial markets have been characterized by boom and bust cycles since the 1980s, while the responsibility for managing retirement wealth has increasingly shifted onto individual households at the same time. Policy makers and experts have expressed concern over rising risk exposure among older householders, who appear to be increasingly exposed to the growing financial risks just as they near retirement. We consider household data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances from 1989 to 2010 to analyze the correlation between age and risk exposure. We test whether older householders’ risk exposure has indeed grown over time, whether it has increased more than that of younger householders, whether changes in the demographic composition of older householders have contributed to older households’ rising risk exposure, and the degree to which increases in risk exposure can be traced to a growing concentration of household assets held in stocks and housing and to rising householder indebtedness. Our results indicate that risk exposure has grown more for older householders than for younger ones, that demographic changes among older householders have contributed to additional increases in older householders’ risk exposure, and that the growth of older householders’ risk exposure is driven more by rising risky asset concentration and less by greater indebtedness.     

Condom use self‐efficacy among U.S.‐ and foreign‐born Latinos in Texas

The objective of this study was to assess the influence of condom use self‐efficacy on the reported condom use of Latinos. We conducted a rapid needs assessment study among U.S. and foreign‐born Latinos living in Houston, TX, to identify behavioral and psychosocial factors that influence their risk for HIV. Bilingual Latino interviewers conducted confidential face‐to‐face interviews with individuals living in apartment complexes or residential areas primarily populated by Latinos. A total of 152 participants completed the survey. Regression results indicate that education and gender influenced condom use self‐efficacy, which in turn influenced condom use in the last sexual encounter and with the primary sexual partner. However, gender and relationship risk were stronger predictors of condom use. Study results indicate that there are differences in condom use self‐efficacy and sexual risk behaviors between Latino men and women that need further exploration.     

Cosmopolitism and Localism in the Brazilian Social Sciences

This article analyzes the main trends of sociology and political science in Brazil. It uses as empirical data the workgroups and the bibliographical reviews sponsored by the Associação Nacional de Pós‐Graduação e Pesquisa em Ciências Sociais (ANPOCS), a scientific association that organizes much of the debate in the Brazilian social sciences in the last 40 years. From these data, it is verified that sociology and political science in Brazil combine a universalist vocation, in relation to its themes and problems, with an almost exclusive focus on Brazilian society. It is also considered that the current coup d'État imposes new interpretative challenges to Brazilian social sciences, which can no longer consider stable or irreversible the process of democratization of society and its political institutions. Cet article analyse les grandes tendances de la sociologie et de la science politique au Brésil. Il se fonde sur des données empiriques venant de groupes de travail et de recensions bibliothécaires sponsorisés par l'Associação Nacional de Pós‐Graduação e Pesquisa em Ciências Sociais (ANPOCS), une association scientifique qui a organisé la plupart des débats dans les sciences sociales brésiliennes au cours des 40 dernières années. Il en découle que la sociologie et la science politique au Brésil combinent une vocation universelle, en relation avec ses thèmes et ses problèmes, et un focus presqu'exclusivement centré sur la société brésilienne. Il est aussi démontré que le coup d'État en court impose de nouveaux défis interprétatifs dans les sciences sociales brésiliennes, qui ne peuvent plus considérer le processus de démocratisation de la société et de ses institutions politiques comme étant stables ou irréversibles.     

Estimating maternal mortality differentials using census data: experience in Honduras

High levels of maternal mortality in developing countries are considered a major public health problem. Over the past decade several international conferences on health have stated the necessity to reduce maternal mortality in developing countries. This is a challenge not only in terms of achieving it but also from the point of view of monitoring it. I use national population censuses to measure maternal mortality and study mortality regional differentials in Honduras, which identified maternal mortality in its most recent census. I also use standard demographic methods to evaluate the census data quality, for both population and death counts, and to evaluate the completeness and coverage of household death data.     

Managing the permanent temporariness of prolonged migration: The role of local and transnational care circulation among Argentine temporary migrants in Australia

In the past two decades, Australia has shifted from being a settler nation that promoted state-supported permanent migration to one where the scale and relative importance of temporary migration schemes have grown significantly. In 2017, Australia was the second largest issuing country of temporary visa permits after the United States, with temporary migrants applying, on average, for 3.3 temporary visas and spending 6.4 years in this multi-step visa journey to achieve permanent residency . As part of a broader research project on the social implications of temporary migration programs, we examine how Argentine temporary migrants exchange care to navigate temporary visa restrictions and the permanent temporariness in which they live. Our central argument is that transnational and local expressions, practices, and processes of care are co-constituted in particularistic temporary migrant care configurations that facilitate prolonged migration projects and continuity of care over time, despite the precarity that permanent temporariness brings. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork among Argentine temporary migrants, we illustrate the dynamics in which economic, accommodation, personal, practical, emotional and moral care is exchanged. The findings reveal the central role that transnational economic and practical as well as local, including local virtual, proximity care has in the everyday lives of Argentine temporary migrants. Ironically, their fragile temporariness may be an incentive to develop local support networks or maintain strong transnational ties to survive living in limbo.