Inequality and fiscal policies in Uruguay by race

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of fiscal policy by race, disaggregating to consider Uruguayans with primarily European, African and indigenous ancestry. We perform an incidence analysis, an estimation of the effect of fiscal policy on the poverty exit rate and an assessment of the impact on the average ethno-racial gaps. The findings support the idea that fiscal policy reduces (but does not eliminate) ethnic gaps. This result is led by health care and educational transfers, and to a lesser degree by direct transfers. We do not consider quality issues with public services, which may affect the estimated narrowing of gaps. Finally, we find that Afro-descendants and indigenous individuals do not capture the full potential of education transfers because of their high drop-out rate.     

Realistic Major Previews in the School‐to‐College Transition of Italian High School Students

Industrial/organizational researchers have reported that realistic job previews diminish prospective workers' expectations but promote the satisfaction and persistence of those who ultimately accept a job assignment. The authors applied this strategy to the context of school‐to‐college transition; 354 Italian high school students were provided with a 2‐hour lecture designed to simulate exposure to a college major of their choice. Students showed moderate pre‐post increases in subject matter knowledge but reported small decreases in interests and outcome expectations (but not self‐efficacy) related to the academic major to which they were exposed.     

Inflated beta distributions

This paper considers the issue of modeling fractional data observed on [0,1), (0,1] or [0,1]. Mixed continuous-discrete distributions are proposed. The beta distribution is used to describe the continuous component of the model since its density can have quite different shapes depending on the values of the two parameters that index the distribution. Properties of the proposed distributions are examined. Also, estimation based on maximum likelihood and conditional moments is discussed. Finally, practical applications that employ real data are presented.     

Multivariate geostatistical mapping of radioactive contamination in the Maddalena Archipelago (Sardinia, Italy): spatial special issue

To improve the quality of prediction of radioactive contamination, geostatistical methods, and in particular multivariate geostatistical models, are increasingly being used. These methods, however, are optimal only in the case in which the data may be assumed Gaussian and do not properly cope with data measurements that are discrete, nonnegative or show some degree of skewness. To deal with these situations, here we consider a hierarchical model in which non-Gaussian variables of different kind are handled simultaneously. We show that when observations are assumed to be conditionally distributed as Poisson and Gamma, variograms and cross-variograms have convenient simple forms, and estimation of the parameters of the model can be carried out by Monte Carlo EM. This work was inspired by radioactive contamination data from the Maddalena Archipelago (Sardinia, Italy).     

Robustness of Parameter Estimation Procedures in Multilevel Models When Random Effects are MEP Distributed

In this paper we examine maximum likelihood estimation procedures in multilevel models for two level nesting structures. Usually, for fixed effects and variance components estimation, level-one error terms and random effects are assumed to be normally distributed. Nevertheless, in some circumstances this assumption might not be realistic, especially as concerns random effects. Thus we assume for random effects the family of multivariate exponential power distributions (MEP); subsequently, by means of Monte Carlo simulation procedures, we study robustness of maximum likelihood estimators under normal assumption when, actually, random effects are MEP distributed.     

Adult Adoptees as Partners and Parents: The Joint Task of Revisiting the Adoption History

Adoption is unanimously considered a lifelong process, but adulthood and parenthood are life cycle stages that up to now have been explored only marginally. The principal aim of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze whether and how parenthood might lead the adoptee and his/her partner to reinterpret the adoption history and, second, to verify whether the attitudes of the two partners concerning adoption are similar or complementary. Thirty-four couples consisting of one adopted and one non-adopted partner, now parents, were interviewed and a graphic instrument, the Double Moon Test, was administered. Results revealed that most couples showed a shared attitude in valorizing both the origin background and the adoptive family. However, in a number of cases a divergent position emerged, highlighting the crucial role of the non-adopted partner in encouraging the adoptee to revisit his/her adoption history. Overall, the practical relevance of the research findings is discussed and future direction of research are suggested.     

The turnaround at Italtel

Italtel is Italy's leading manufacturer in the telecommunications industry. At the end of 1981, when the turnaround programme started, losses were about 200 billion lire, the corporate structure was overgrown and ineffective but the will and the know-how to steer toward profit and market leadership were there within the company. Break-even was accomplished in 1983 and confirmed in 1984. A new corporate structure as a group, a team of 2000 research and development specialists, up-to-date products, a new management team and a reduction of personnel by one-third in comparison to 1980, are among the main factors in the achievement. Today the company is meeting new challenges, to keep pace with technological innovation and worldwide competition: the alliance with the other three leading telecommunications manufacturers in the EEC (Cit Alcatel of France, Plessey of U.K., Siemens of Germany) is part of the corporate strategy.