Long-term Growth Perspectives and Economic Convergence of CEE and SEE Countries

The paper first investigates the main drivers of economic growth and real convergence in CEE and SEE Countries. In the theoretical framework provided by the growth-accounting approach, both are shown to be driven by capital accumulation and total factor productivity changes, with the latter making however a major contribution. The nominal convergence path towards the Eurozone is then analysed. Despite considerable results obtained in the last decade, most EU new members are still found to face severe challenges in the process of converging towards Maastricht criteria. The need to reconcile exchange rate stability with inflation convergence is in particular seen to be at the heart of their de facto decision to delay the EMU entry date until a higher degree of real convergence will have been achieved.

The effect of corporate governance on sustainability disclosure

Drawing on stakeholder theory, this paper examines the relationship of board composition, leadership and structure on sustainability disclosure. We discuss that good corporate governance and sustainability disclosure can be seen as complementary mechanisms of legitimacy that companies may use to dialogue with stakeholders. Specifically we claim that, as disclosure policies emanate from the board of directors, sustainability disclosure may be a function of the board attributes: we investigate the relationship between different characteristics of the board and sustainability disclosures among US and European companies. Our results show that in order to explain the effect of board composition on sustainability disclosure we need to go beyond the narrow and traditional distinction between insider and independent directors, focusing on the specific characteristics of each director.     

Application of an Irt Polytomous Model for Measuring Health Related Quality of Life

Background: The Item Response Theory (IRT) has advantages for measuring Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) as opposed to the Classical Tests Theory (CTT). Objectives: To present the results of the application of a polytomous model based on IRT, specifically, the Rating Scale Model (RSM), to measure HRQOL with the EORTC QLQ-C30. Methods: 103 terminal cancer patients cared for by the home services of the Servicio Andaluz de Salud (Andalusian Health Service) (Andalusia, Spain) participated. These patients responded to the adapted Spanish version of the EORTC QLQ-C30. The application was carried out individually in the patients’ homes. Results: The results show that there is an adequate global fit between the data and the IRT model applied. The analysis of the items shows that for 31 of the 33 items there is a good fit. The items which measure the general perception of health and the perception of quality of life present a lack of fit. The study of the response categories of the items (by means of Category Probability Curves) indicates that all the alternatives work extremely well. Conclusions:The EORTC QLQ-C30 presents good metric qualities, under the RSM, ratifying the feasibility to measure HRQOL already shown in other studies carried out with CTT.     

Critical success factors in managing modular production design: Six company case studies in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore

Many researchers have explored the advantages of modular product design, its design methods and its effects on product performance. Modular design is, for example, required for product platform, mass customization and postponement in order to achieve greater product variety and differentiation. However, a few empirical studies explicitly examine how to coordinate modular product design in a managerial way. This paper addresses it by conducting multiple case studies with six companies which have successfully adopted modular product design for five years. Seven critical factors are explored in the management of modular product design. These are pre-defined product advantage, selectively used design rules, module definition, system integration, technological newness, internal communication, and supplier and customer involvement. While most of the literature studies the technical dimension of modular design within a firm, this study focuses on the managerial side across the supply chain. It gives new insights on how to manage modular product design and proposes future research opportunities.     

Hazards of neoliberalism: delayed electric power restoration after Hurricane Ike

This case study explores how neoliberal policies shape the impacts of a natural disaster. We investigate the reactions to major damages to the electric power system and the restoration of power in the wake of Hurricane Ike, which devastated the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area in September 2008. We argue that the neoliberal policy agenda insured a minimalist approach to the crisis and generated dissatisfaction among many residents. The short-term profitability imperative shifted reconstruction costs to consumers, and prevented efforts to upgrade the electric power infrastructure to prepare for future disasters. We illustrate the serious obstacles for disaster mitigation and recovery posed by neoliberal policies that privatize public goods and socialize private costs. Neoliberalism neither addresses the needs of a highly stratified public nor their long-term interests and safety.     

Affective and Cognitive Correlates of Gambling Behavior in University Students

The purpose of the following study was to explore certain affective and cognitive components and their relationships to gambling behavior in an undergraduate population. Specifically, the aim was to predict gambling severity using depression scores on the BDI-II, the dependency and self-criticism subscales on the DEQ, emotional awareness scores on the LEAS, cognitive flexibility scores from the STROOP, and a creativity subtests from the TTCT. Participants were 200 undergraduate students and 3.5–7.5% of individuals reported some level of problematic gambling behavior. Multiple regression analysis indicated that self-criticism and creative originality were significant predictors of gambling behavior, explaining 7.6% of the variance. Further analyses reveal a non-linear trend in the creative originality of those who gamble; only the at-risk gamblers were high in creativity whereas abstainers and problematic gamblers display similarly lower levels of creativity. Results are discussed in regards to Blaszczynski and Nower’s Addiction 97:487–499 (2002) subtypes of gambling vulnerability.     

Marshall–Olkin q-Weibull distribution and max–min processes

In this paper, we introduce a new probability model known as Marshall–Olkin q-Weibull distribution. Various properties of the distribution and hazard rate functions are considered. The distribution is applied to model a biostatistical data. The corresponding time series models are developed to illustrate its application in times series modeling. We also develop different types of autoregressive processes with minification structure and max–min structure which can be applied to a rich variety of contexts in real life. Sample path properties are examined and generalization to higher orders are also made. The model is applied to a time series data on daily discharge of Neyyar river in Kerala, India.     

Competing Identities? Race,Ethnicity and Panethnicity Among Dominicans in the United States

In this paper we explore the racial and ethnic self-identification of Dominican immigrants in the United States. This issue is central in understanding how immigrants experience the process of incorporation into American society. We argue that as Dominican immigrants incorporate to American life, they adopt a Hispanic or Latino identity. This identity serves both as a form of racial identification within the American racial stratification system and as a form of assertive panethnic identity. This identity, however, does not supersede national identification, which remains the anchoring identity.     

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.     

A sequential design for a clinical trial with a linear prognostic factor

We study a randomized adaptive design to assign one of the L$L$ treatments to patients who arrive sequentially by means of an urn model. At each stage n$n$, a reward is distributed between treatments. The treatment applied is rewarded according to its response, 0?_Yn?1$0?Y_n?1$, and 1-_Yn$1-Y_n$ is distributed among the other treatments according to their performance until stage n-1$n-1$. Patients can be classified in K+1$K+1$ levels and we assume that the effect of this level in the response to the treatments is linear. We study the asymptotic behavior of the design when the ordinary least square estimators are used as a measure of performance until stage n-1$n-1$.