Education as a Positional Good: A Life Satisfaction Approach

In this paper we empirically investigate the direct effects of education on utility. Besides investment aspects of education, the focus is placed on its consumption component and on education positional concerns. We use data from the World Values Survey (WVS) and adopt a life satisfaction approach. First, we find that education shows a significant effect on life satisfaction independent of its effect on income, thus identifying a consumption component of education. Furthermore, given that the contribution of education to individual wellbeing might depend partly on relative position rather than absolute levels, we next study whether education can be considered as a positional good. To this end we analyse the relationship between education and life satisfaction for people in different income groups in which the reference levels of education may differ. Additionally, we control for occupational status since benefits from education could appear via occupational benefits. Our results indicate that the contribution of education to subjective wellbeing is stronger as less people attain a given level of education, thus suggesting that this contribution is partly due to positional concerns.     

Are invasive House Sparrows a nuisance for native avifauna when scarce?

Biological invasions are the second most important cause of species extinction. Aided by processes such as transportation and urbanization, exotic species can establish and spread to new locations, causing changes in the function and structure of ecosystems. The House Sparrow is a widespread and highly abundant landbird associated to human presence. Previous studies performed in urban landscapes have suggested that this species could be acting, in synergy with urbanization, as a potential threat to native urban avian assemblages. In this study we assessed the relationship between House Sparrow density and native bird species richness in a region where the sparrows are scarce and sparsely distributed. We surveyed bird assemblages in and around four small-sized human settlements, considering three conditions in relation to House Sparrow presence: urban invaded, urban non-invaded, and non-urban non-invaded. To assess the potential detrimental role of House Sparrows on native bird species richness, we measured, additionally to sparrow densities, 20 predictor variables that describe vegetation structure and complexity, as well as urban infrastructure and human activities across four seasons of 1 year. Our results show that maximum shrub height was positively related to bird species richness, built cover was negatively associated with it, and House Sparrow invaded sites were related to a significant decrease of bird species richness, with increasing richness loss when more sparrows were present. Thus, we here provide evidence that urban areas can act in synergy with the presence of House Sparrows (even in low densities) in the urban-related species richness decline pattern.

     

Labour market regulations and high quality employment in EU-15 countries

The elements that we usually include under the concept of “labour market institutions” exert a clear influence on the workings of the labour market. However, the assessment of labour market policies and institutions remains mostly focused on their impact on the quantity of jobs, while people’s well-being depends crucially on how good their jobs are. This paper is a modest attempt to contribute some evidence and insight to the debate on the effects that particular institutional configurations have on the generation of high-quality employment.     

The influence of nutritional factors on prostate cancer incidence and aggressiveness

There is an increasing evidence for a link between nutrition, lifestyle and prostate cancer (PCa) development and/or progression of disease. The objective of this study was to examine the association between dietary factors and PCa incidence and aggressiveness in a case-control study. After the analysis of the anatomic pathology, subjects were classified in patients with PCa (n?=?157) and controls (n?=?158). Clinical data including Gleason score, PSA values and biopsy results, were compiled. Frequencies of food consumption and sociodemographic data were also obtained. The results showed that physical activity was significantly higher in control (p?p?=?.041) and fish (p?=?.041) intakes. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in risk (p?=?.029) in cases with a higher fruits and vegetables intakes. A decreased risk of aggressive PCa was associated with fruits, vegetables, legumes and fish intakes. However, these relationships were not statistically significant when data were adjusted for covariates. In conclusion, this study found an inverse association between PCa risk and the intake of fruits and vegetables, fish and nuts. The results suggested that a diet with higher intakes of these foods as Mediterranean diet may lower the risk of PCa in the studied population. As dietary factors are modifiable, identifying food groups or dietary patterns that modulate the risk of PCa and its aggressiveness can offer effective and practical strategies for its primary prevention.     

Initial resource heterogeneity differences between family and non-family firms: Implications for resource acquisition and resource generation

A fundamental, but overlooked stream of resource-based theory (RBT) is the analysis of combinations of initial heterogeneous resource endowments with homogeneous resources that are acquired in the market. These combinations can generate heterogeneous, specific non-tradable resources, which are a potential source of superior competitive advantage and, hence, performance. In order to operationalize this idea empirically, we analyse the development of internationalization resources (considered a specific category of non-tradable resources) within family and non-family firms. Compared to non-family firms, we argue that family firms are able to combine a particular type of heterogeneous initial resource (i.e. familiness) with homogeneous tradable resources acquired in the market. This question is tested using a panel of family and non-family Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990 to 2010. As a result, this study contributes to the literature on RBT, extending previous theoretical and empirical research in this stream.     

A note on defining organisational systems for contingency theory in OM

Abstract

This paper aims to improve the applicability and relevance of contingency theory research in the field of Operations Management. Based on the results of previous studies, we have identified a systems-based single definition of organisation types that could describe the fit between organisational environment and organisational structure. This definition of organisation type, which we call an ‘organisational system’, regards the organisation as an integrated whole instead of as a sum of its parts and can help to better classify organisations in order to identify fits between organisation types and emerging practices in Operations Management.     

The impact of modular platforms on automobile manufacturing networks

This paper explores the impact on automobile manufacturing networks of adopting modular platforms to replace the standard platforms used to date. Analysis of European manufacturers’ production networks shows that the use of modular architecture improves coordination by increasing manufacturing mobility and thriftiness ability. The changes resulting from this new modular approach also allow manufacturing capacity to be reorganised and overcapacity to be partially eliminated. From the point of view of production systems, the adaptation of manufacturing processes and facilities to this new architecture should aim to increase flexibility by integrating production around a single platform, allowing for different dimensions and for a larger number of models to be produced in a single plant.     

Exploring the Complex Associations Among Social Determinants of Health in Andalusia After the 2008 Financial Crisis

Social Indicators Research - In this study, we disentangle the complex relationship between structural and intermediary social determinants of health in Andalusia (Spain) after the period of...     

Characterizations of exponentiality within the HNBUE class and related tests

A harmonic new better than used in expectation (HNBUE) variable is a random variable which is dominated by an exponential distribution in the convex stochastic order. We use a recently obtained condition on stochastic equality under convex domination to derive characterizations of the exponential distribution and bounds for HNBUE variables based on the mean values of the order statistics of the variable. We apply the results to generate discrepancy measures to test if a random variable is exponential against the alternative that is HNBUE, but not exponential.     

Limit laws for the cumulative number of ties for the maximum in a random sequence

Let {_Xn,n?1}$\{X_n,n?1\}$ be a sequence of independent identically distributed random variables, taking nonnegative integer values. An observation _Xn$X_n$ is a tie for the maximum if _Xn=max{_X1,…,_Xn-1}$X_n=\max \{X_1,\dots ,X_{n-1}\}$. In this paper, we obtain weak and strong laws of large numbers and central limit theorems for the cumulative number of ties for the maximum among the first n$n$ observations.