Unit Roots,Level Shifts,and Trend Breaks in Per Capita Output: A Robust Evaluation

Determining whether per capita output can be characterized by a stochastic trend is complicated by the fact that infrequent breaks in trend can bias standard unit root tests towards nonrejection of the unit root hypothesis. The bulk of the existing literature has focused on the application of unit root tests allowing for structural breaks in the trend function under the trend stationary alternative but not under the unit root null. These tests, however, provide little information regarding the existence and number of trend breaks. Moreover, these tests suffer from serious power and size distortions due to the asymmetric treatment of breaks under the null and alternative hypotheses. This article estimates the number of breaks in trend employing procedures that are robust to the unit root/stationarity properties of the data. Our analysis of the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries thereby permits a robust classification of countries according to the “growth shift,” “level shift,” and “linear trend” hypotheses. In contrast to the extant literature, unit root tests conditional on the presence or absence of breaks do not provide evidence against the unit root hypothesis.     

Student views on campus sexual assault

Abstract

Objective: To report on college student opinions about the scope of college sexual misconduct (CSM), suggested university sanctions, and treatment of students found responsible of CSM.

Participants: In all, 23?US undergraduate students (14 females and 9 males) with a mean age of 20 years.

Methods: Students participated either in female, male, or mixed-sex focus groups that facilitated the discussion of factors related to CSM.

Results: Students provided in-depth feedback on the climate on US college campuses and factors related to CSM. They agreed upon CSM risk factors and context characteristics, but raised different male and female issues across sex groups. They further provided resolute suggestions for the solution of CSM, experienced treatment barriers, and limited victim reporting.

Conclusion: Student focus groups provide important information about the scope of CSM and offer valuable suggestions for the solution of the problem that may be crucial for the development of successful sexual assault interventions.     

Asymptotic properties of a human age distribution under a continuous net maternity function

A useful and intuitively appealing proposition in theoretical demography asserts that the age distribution of a closed human populationis asymptotically independent of this shapein thedistant past, and is therefore exclusively determined by the historyof fertility and mortalitythat has prevailed during a reasonably long period of time. The mathematical foundations of this ergodic principle arelaid out in this article and thedetailsof its proofareworked out afteremphasizing an intuitive understanding of the process through which an age distribution tends to "forget" its past. The tendency for an unchanging schedule of vital ratesto produce a fixed agestructure in a closed population, is presented as a corollary of the main proposition dealt with in this article.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder and occupational performance: building resilience and fostering occupational adaptation

Resilience and vulnerability refer to an individual's capacity to persevere in the face of adversity. Resiliency and vulnerability are distinctive personal characteristics influenced by environmental factors such as socio-cultural and institutional contexts. Resiliency and vulnerability are not absolute; they are psychosocial constructs of a phenomenological continuum. Hence, a resilient individual is not invincible to all life events but has the capacity to endure in most circumstances. Clients who sustain traumatic injuries or witness traumatic events have a greater vulnerability to stress disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Occupational therapy practitioners should be cognizant of a client's resilient and adaptive capacities when providing services to a client who has endured a traumatic event. This paper explores resilience theory and its application to occupational therapy practice.     

Puerto rican drug users’ experiences of physical and sexual abuse: Comparisons based on sexual identities

This study integrates the results of quantitative and qualitative methods to elucidate the association between sexual identity and physical and sexual abuse among Puerto Rican drug users. A structured questionnaire was administered to 800 subjects in New York and 399 in Puerto Rico. A total of 93 subjects (7.9%) self‐identified as homosexual or bisexual. Gay males were significantly more likely than heterosexual males to report first occurrence of physical abuse by a family member in childhood. Both gay and bisexual males were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report first experiencing unwanted sex in childhood and intimate partner physical abuse later in life. Lesbians were more likely than female heterosexuals to report unwanted sex in childhood. Qualitative data were collected through in‐depth life histories with 21 subjects and suggest that gay and lesbian subjects perceive antihomosexual prejudice on the part of family members as one cause of childhood physical and sexual abuse.     

Lessons from Nigeria for improved thinking and working politically in the extractives sector

Despite the wealth that comes from being the biggest oil producer in Africa, Nigeria has some of the worst development indicators in the world. From 2011 to mid‐2016, the DFID‐funded Facility for Oil Sector Transparency and Reform (FOSTER) programme's unique design aimed to reduce incentives for the capture of oil revenue by elites and international oil companies, restoring the potential of those revenues to accelerate economic and social development. This article asks what lessons FOSTER's successes and failures offer for improved “thinking and working politically” (TWP). It examines the outcomes from five “clusters” of interventions: three viewed by the FOSTER team as successes and two as failures. The article identifies factors for successful TWP‐based programming, including the need for local ownership rooted in staff with a combination of technical expertise, a deep knowledge of the local political context and excellent networking abilities. The research used a qualitative and inductive approach. Field research was undertaken with 44 semi‐structured qualitative interviews during one month of fieldwork in Abuja and Lagos. The research also included reviews of FOSTER's internal documentation and evaluation frameworks, as well as analysis of newspaper articles and grey literature on the oil sector in Nigeria. The project offers important lessons for politically informed programming about how interventions were implemented (process), what was actually done (content) and how the project responded to changes in context that created or blocked opportunities for reform (responsiveness). The article identifies factors for successful TWP‐based programming, including the need for local ownership rooted in staff with a combination of technical expertise, a deep knowledge of the local political context and excellent networking abilities. The findings have important implications for programme design. They demonstrate the value of built‐in flexibility that allows staff to choose and switch the partners they work with and the channels they work through. They also show that a key aspect of TWP‐based programming is implicit acceptance that some failure may be unavoidable, since this permits staff to balance risk against opportunities. Finally, a better understanding of FOSTER's failures reveals the challenges of a TWP‐based approach and the trade‐offs it demands.     

TRADE PROTECTION AND THE ROLE OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS IN U.S. FOOD AND TOBACCO INDUSTRIES

This article examines the determinants of both trade protection and campaign contributions for a sample of U.S. food and tobacco industries. Empirical findings indicate that while market structure variables are significant, campaign contributions are the key factor in explaining the inter-industry levels of trade barriers in those industries studied. Thus, regardless of industry characteristics, campaign contributions have a strong persuasive role, rather than the facilitative role that most previous studies suggest.     

Sources of Mathematics Self-Efficacy in High School Students

The relation of four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy information to high school students' math self-efficacy was explored. Results indicated that (a) of the hypothesized sources, prior performance was the most efficient predictor of self-efficacy; (b) global academic self-concept did not explain unique self-efficacy variation beyond prior performance; and (c) the effect of self-efficacy on the perceived utility of math to future life and work plans was mediated by students' math/science interests.     

Postdrinking sexual perceptions and behaviors toward another person: alcohol expectancy set and gender differences

Based on research showing that alcohol expectancy and gender both play a role in sexual perceptions, we factorially crossed the apparent drinking status of yoked pairs consisting of a participant and a target person (a confederate posing as co-participant). Alcohol expectancy interacted with gender in complex ways to influence sexual perceptions. We also found behavioral effects: Men showed more erotic material to both male and female targets than women did. Men perceived the target as more sexually aroused by erotic material than women did. Men also showed more erotic material to drinking targets than to non-drinking targets. Sexual perceptions and erotica showing behavior were correlated significantly and positively. These findings are discussed in terms of implications for postdrinking heterosexual encounters.