Identifiability and Comparison of Estimation Methods on Weibull Mixture Models

In this article, the finite mixture model of Weibull distributions is studied, the identifiability of the model with m components is proven, and the parameter estimators for the case of two components resulted by several algorithms are compared. The parameter estimators are obtained with maximum likelihood performing calculations with different algorithms: expectation-maximization (EM), Fisher scoring, backfitting, optimization of k-nearest neighbor approach, and random walk algorithm using Monte Carlo simulation. The Akaike information criterion and the log-likelihood value are used to compare models. In general, the proposed random walk algorithm shows better performance in mean square error and bias. Finally, the results are applied to electronic component lifetime data.     

Characterizations of the β- and the Degree Network Power Measure

A symmetric network consists of a set of positions and a set of bilateral links between these positions. For every symmetric network we define a cooperative transferable utility game that measures the “power” of each coalition of positions in the network. Applying the Shapley value to this game yields a network power measure, the β-measure, which reflects the power of the individual positions in the network. Applying this power distribution method iteratively yields a limit distribution, which turns out to be proportional to the well-known degree measure. We compare the β-measure and degree measure by providing characterizations, which differ only in the normalization that is used.      

The career resilience of senior women managers: A cross-cultural perspective

This article examines how cultural contexts influence the demonstration of resilient behaviors of women senior managers in large organizations. We compare the experiences of Malaysian and Australian women overcoming key challenges and obstacles in their career journeys by engaging in the resilience strategies of network leveraging, learning, and adaptability. Our findings reveal the unique, complex, and contextual nature of career resilience, and show how resilience can be demonstrated, often differently, across culture and context. Our study adds to the existing body of literature in the areas of careers, gender in the workplace, and resilience, by highlighting how senior women sustain and navigate their career paths within the constraints of their socio-cultural contexts. Practical and scholarly implications are discussed.     

The role of mutuals and community-based insurance in social health protection systems: International experience on delegated functions

The institutional architecture for the provision of social health protection varies across countries, as do the actors and organizations involved. In some countries, mutual benefit societies and community-based health insurance organizations (CBHI) play a role in this area. In the 1990s, these were promoted particularly as a means of extending social security coverage, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In the current context, the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, as well as renewed political will to realize universal coverage, has led to a questioning of the role of mutuals/CBHI. However, the literature on the roles they play in national social security systems remains limited. For this scoping review, 49 documents were analysed, covering 18 countries worldwide, focused on the delegation of functions to mutuals/CBHI in national social health protection systems. The results reveal the dynamics of the delegation of functions within social protection systems over time and their implementation processes. These provide areas for reflection that can inform policy processes.     

Economic Reintegration of Ethiopian Women Returned from the Middle East

Current migration studies and policy reviews neglect the vital link between migration experiences of labour migrants and their return and reintegration process. The objective of this study is to highlight the phenomenon and bring the matter to policy makers’ attention. This study uses in‐depth interviews and a series of focus group discussions to explore the relationship between migration experiences and economic reintegration of unskilled Ethiopian women who are return migrants from Middle Eastern countries. Economic reintegration, which in its basic form is about securing a livelihood, is a challenge for most returnees. The reason relates to the migration settings, preparedness and reintegration assistance in the home county. Reintegration assistance for involuntary returnees is beneficial only for those who manage to obtain some savings out of their migration. The findings imply the need for policy improvements regarding the working conditions of female domestic workers in the host countries and reintegration programmes in the home countries.     

Exploring MSW students’ and social workers’ orientation toward the evidence-based practice process

The aim of this exploratory study was to assess whether practicing social workers currently enrolled in Master Social Work (MSW) programs (hereafter referred to as MSW students) were more oriented to the evidence-based practice (EBP) process and more engaged in it than practicing social workers who are not currently enrolled in MSW programs (hereafter referred to as social workers) in the Netherlands. Data were collected from MSW students (n = 32) and from social workers (n = 341) using the EBP Process Assessment Scale. MSW students reported a stronger orientation toward the EBP process, more positive attitudes toward EBP, more familiarity with EBP and more intentions to engage in EBP than social workers did, however, they were less positive about the feasibility of implementing EBP in practice. These preliminary results suggest that there are grounds for optimism about MSW students’ acceptance of and engagement in the EBP process. Implications for social work education are discussed.     

The Human Right to Food as Political Imaginary

The overwhelmingly normative nature of the study of Economic, Social, and Cultural (ESC) human rights enables ESC rights to function in their default settings as taken for granted norms and principles, originating in international agreements. This paper, instead, probes the social and historical “thingness” of ESC human rights themselves. It analyses the emergence of the Human Right to Food (HRF), and proposes a sociological model, political imaginary, as an explanatory tool to identify the historical socio‐discursive conditions of the emergence of the HRF. It uses this model to understand FoodFirst Internal Action Network (FIAN)'s contributions to the development of the HRF.