The politics of collective repair: examining object-relations in a postwork society

In this paper, we look at repair as an emergent focus of recent activism in affluent societies, where a number of groups are reclaiming practices of repair as a form of political and ecological action. Ranging from those that fight for legislative change to those groups who are trying to support ecological and social change through everyday life practices, repair is beginning to surface tensions in everyday life and as such poses opportunities for its transformation. We survey a few of the practices that make up this movement in its various articulations, to take stock of their current political import. While we suggest that these practices can be seen as an emergent lifestyle movement, they should not be seen as presenting a unified statement. Rather, we aim to show that they articulate a spectrum of political positions, particularly in relation to the three specific issues of property, pedagogy and sociality. These three dimensions are all facets of current internal discrepancies of repair practices and moreover express potential bifurcations as this movement evolves. Drawing on a diverse methodology that includes discourse analysis and participant observation, we suggest some of the ways in which this growing area of activity could play a significant role in resisting the commodification of the everyday and inventing postwork alternatives.     

Multivariate-multiple circular regression

We introduce a fully model-based approach of studying functional relationships between a multivariate circular-dependent variable and several circular covariates, enabling inference regarding all model parameters and related prediction. Two multiple circular regression models are presented for this approach. First, for an univariate circular-dependent variable, we propose the least circular mean-square error (LCMSE) estimation method, and asymptotic properties of the LCMSE estimators and inferential methods are developed and illustrated. Second, using a simulation study, we provide some practical suggestions for model selection between the two models. An illustrative example is given using a real data set from protein structure prediction problem. Finally, a straightforward extension to the case with a multivariate-dependent circular variable is provided.     

A robust test of exogeneity based on quantile regressions

In this paper, we propose a robust test of exogeneity. The test statistics is constructed from quantile regression estimators, which are robust to heavy tails of errors. We derive the asymptotic distribution of the test statistic under the null hypothesis of exogeneity at a given quantile. The finite sample properties of the test are investigated through Monte Carlo simulations that exhibit not only good size and power properties, but also good robustness to outliers.     

Ensemble prospectism

Incomplete preferences displaying ‘mildly sweetened’ structure are common, yet theoretically problematic. This paper examines the properties of the rankings induced by the set of all coherent completions of the mildly sweetened partial preference structure. Building on these properties, I propose an ensemble-based refinement of Hare’s (Analysis 70:237–247, 2010) prospectism criterion for rational choice when preferences are incomplete. Importantly, this ensemble-based refinement is immune to Peterson’s (Theory and Decision 78:451–456, 2015) weak money pump argument. Hence, ensemble prospectism ensures outcome rationality. Furthermore, by recognizing the structural isomorphism between mildly sweetened preference structures and Cover’s splitting rule in Blackwell’s Pick the Largest Number problem (Ann Math Stat 22:393–399, 1951), ensemble prospectism can be shown to yield better-than-even odds of selecting the ex-post higher utility option—despite the absence of all-things-considered preferences ex ante.     

Objective Bayesian hypothesis testing in regression models with first-order autoregressive residuals

This article considers the objective Bayesian testing in the normal regression models with first-order autoregressive residuals. We propose some solutions based on a Bayesian model selection procedure to this problem where no subjective input is considered. We construct the proper priors for testing the autocorrelation coefficient based on measures of divergence between competing models, which is called the divergence-based (DB) priors and then propose the objective Bayesian decision-theoretic rule, which is called the Bayesian reference criterion (BRC). Finally, we derive the intrinsic test statistic for testing the autocorrelation coefficient. The behavior of the Bayes factor-based DB priors is examined by comparing with the BRC in a simulation study and an example.     

<Emphasis Type="Bold">Women’s Progress for Men’s Gain? Gender-Specific Changes in the Return to Education as Measured by Family Standard of Living, 1990 to 2009–2011</Emphasis>

This study investigates gender-specific changes in the total financial return to education among persons of prime working ages (35–44 years) using U.S. Census data from 1990 and 2000, and the 2009–2011 American Community Survey. We define the total financial return to education as the family standard of living as measured by family income adjusted for family size. Our results indicate that women experienced significant progress in educational attainment and labor market outcomes over this time period. Ironically, married women’s progress in education and personal earnings has led to greater improvement in the family standard of living for married men than for women themselves. Gender-specific changes in assortative mating are mostly responsible for this paradoxical trend. Because the number of highly educated women exceeds the number of highly educated men in the marriage market, the likelihood of educational marrying up has substantially increased for men over time while women’s likelihood has decreased. Sensitivity analyses show that the greater improvement in the family standard of living for men than for women is not limited to prime working-age persons but is also evident in the general population. Consequently, women’s return to education through marriage declined while men’s financial gain through marriage increased considerably.     

Demographic Change and Fiscal Sustainability in Asia

Changes in the population age structure can have significant effects on fiscal sustainability since they can affect both government revenue and expenditure. In this paper, we project government revenue, expenditure, and fiscal balance in developing Asia up to 2050 using a simple stylized model and the National Transfer Accounts data set. Rapidly aging countries are likely to suffer a tangible deterioration of fiscal sustainability under their current tax and expenditure system. On the other hand, rapid economic growth can improve fiscal health in poorer, relatively young countries with still-growing working-age populations. Overall, our results indicate that Asia’s population aging will adversely affect its fiscal sustainability, pointing to a need for Asian countries to further examine the impact of demographic shifts on their fiscal health.     

Moments of scale mixtures of skew-normal distributions and their quadratic forms

We obtain the first four moments of scale mixtures of skew-normal distributions allowing for scale parameters. The first two moments of their quadratic forms are obtained using those moments. Previous studies derived the moments, but all relevant results do not allow for scale parameters. In particular, it is shown that the mean squared error becomes an unbiased estimator of σ² with skewed and heavy-tailed errors. Two measures of multivariate skewness are calculated.     

Is Food Insecurity Associated with Depressive Symptoms in South Korea?

Emerging studies have suggested a possible link between food hardship and depression; however, empirical knowledge is limited. In South Korea, more public discussion has been conducted regarding the prevalence and consequences of food insecurity on mental health. To begin to address the knowledge gap, we applied family stress theory and investigated the association of food insecurity with depression in South Korea. We employed observational data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study, the first data to draw on food insecurity information from a nationally representative sample in Korea. Our sample consisted of 744 non‐elderly household heads. The independent variable “food insecurity” was measured using a six‐item scale adapted from the United States Department of Agriculture Food Security Scale. The dependent variable “depression” was measured using 11 questions from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale adapted for Koreans. After controlling for income, material hardship, and other factors, our ordinary least squares regression findings show that food insecurity significantly predicts depression. Our findings are consistent whether food insecurity is measured on a continuum or in categorical groups. More research and empirical evidence should be shared to provide legitimate grounds for policy interventions that address and prevent food insecurity and mental health issues.