Occupational mobility and cognitive ability: A commentary on Betthäuser,Bourne and Bukodi

This commentary critiques Betthäuser, Bourne and Bukodi's (2020) paper which finds that cognitive ability does not substantially mediate class of origin effects on educational and occupational outcomes. From these results, they conclude that cognitive ability is only of minor importance for social stratification, reasserting their view of the primacy of class origins for social stratification. The central issue surrounding cognitive ability in social stratification is its effects on socioeconomic attainments vis-à-vis socioeconomic origins, not the extent that cognitive ability mediates classorigin effects. Their analytical strategy of estimating the extent that cognitive ability mediates class origineffects is misleading because: it ignores the only moderate associations of socioeconomic origins with educational and occupational outcomes; the stronger direct effects of cognitive ability; the associations of parents’ ability with their own socioeconomic attainments; and the genetic transmission of cognitive ability and other traits relevant to social stratification from parents to their children.     

Ageing Population: Identifying the Determinants of Ageing in the Least Developed Countries

Population Research and Policy Review - The issue of population ageing is no longer exclusively centred on developed countries. Empirical studies have proven that the rise in the proportion of the...     

Tempered Mittag-Leffler Lévy processes

In this article, we introduce tempered Mittag-Leffler Lévy processes (TMLLP). TMLLP is represented as tempered stable subordinator delayed by a gamma process. Its probability density function and Lévy density are obtained in terms of infinite series and Mittag-Leffler function, respectively. Asymptotic forms of the tails and moments are given. A step-by-step procedure of the parameters estimation and simulation of sample paths is given. We also provide main results available for Mittag-Leffler Lévy processes (MLLP) and some extensions which are not available in a collective way in a single article. Our results generalize and complement the results available on Mittag-Leffler distribution and MLLP in several directions. Further, the asymptotic forms of the moments of the first-exit times of the TMLLP are also discussed.     

Communication in Statistics-Theory and methods improved GQL estimation method for the generalised BINMA(1) model

In a recent research, the quasi-likelihood estimation methodology was developed to estimate the regression effects in the Generalized BINMA(1) (GBINMA(1)) process. The method provides consistent parameter estimates but, in the intermediate computations, moment estimating equations were used to estimate the serial- and cross-correlation parameters. This procedure may not result optimal parameter estimates, in particular, for the regression effects. This paper provides an alternative simpler GBINMA(1) process based on multivariate thinning properties where the main effects are estimated via a robust generalized quasi-likelihood (GQL) estimation approach. The two techniques are compared through some simulation experiments. A real-life data application is studied.     

A new aging concept derived from the increasing convex ordering

In this paper, a comparison between the life distribution of a new unit with that of a used unit in the increasing convex order is made leading to a new class of life distributions which we call “new better than used in convex ordering of second order”. This class includes as subclasses the NBU and the NBUC and is a subclass of the NBUCA class. Preservation properties under convolution, random maxima, mixing and formation of coherent structures are established. Stochastic comparisons of the excess lifetime when the inter-arrival times belong to the NBUC(2) class are developed. Some applications of Poisson shock models and a test of exponentiality against NBUC(2) alternative are presented.     

Viral video ‘blood chocolate’ activism,millennial anti-trafficking,and the neoliberal resurgence of shaming

Viral videos offer contemporary activists a nimble, provocative tool with which to disseminate humanitarian messages. This article historicizes anti-trafficking video media that imagine a new potential with which to alter behavioral norms around cocoa and chocolate. The article engages theories and approaches to historical and contemporary modalities of naming and shaming, spanning three centuries to the present day. Videos are examined for style, format, and content, with the view to describing a ‘blood chocolate’ visual and textual metonymy. Recurring themes include transnational power, corporate responsibility, and the horrific scale of exploitation. But viral videos also appear deeply influenced by neoliberal economics that celebrate lawful enterprise and promote consumer-driven solutions to exploitative child labor.