Approximate MLEs of the parameters of location-scale models under type II censoring

Log-location-scale distributions are widely used parametric models that have fundamental importance in both parametric and semiparametric frameworks. The likelihood equations based on a Type II censored sample from location-scale distributions do not provide explicit solutions for the para-meters. Statistical software is widely available and is based on iterative methods (such as, Newton Raphson Algorithm, EM algorithm etc.), which require starting values near the global maximum. There are also many situations that the specialized software does not handle. This paper provides a method for determining explicit estimators for the location and scale parameters by approximating the likelihood function, where the method does not require any starting values. The performance of the proposed approximate method for the Weibull distribution and Log-Logistic distributions is compared with those based on iterative methods through the use of simulation studies for a wide range of sample size and Type II censoring schemes. Here we also examine the probability coverages of the pivotal quantities based on asymptotic normality. In addition, two examples are given.     

Understanding the Role of Outsiders in Community-Based Development Interventions: A Framework with Findings from Iran

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This article analyzes various roles of development practitioners (called outsiders) in five different cases of...     

Feminization and Labor Vulnerability in Global Manufacturing Industries: Does Gendered Discourse Matter?

Two contested arguments persist in explaining the causes of feminization and labor vulnerability. Some scholars argue that global industries are dominated by female workers as a result of the search for cheap labor. On the other hand, some scholars claim that the primary cause of feminization and labor vulnerability is the gendered discourses of work. Drawing views from readymade garment (RMG) industries of Bangladesh, this paper argues that both economic choices of cheap labor and gendered discourses of work collaboratively contribute to feminizing the labor force. This feminization of the workforce enables the violation of labor rights and benefits capitalists.     

Island Char Resources Mobilization (ICRM): Changes of Livelihoods of Vulnerable People in Bangladesh

This paper presents a pen picture about the changes of livelihood patterns to the char people, mostly living under poverty in Bangladesh. The study was conducted on the three Northern Districts such as Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat and Pabna in Bangladesh, where the Char Resources Mobilization project was provided by an international non-government organization—Concern Worldwide Bangladesh. The study used mixed method approach where quantitative data were collected from 378 households (126 from each District) using structured interview schedule. A number of qualitative data collection methods such as focus group discussion, participant observation, community mapping, case study, and key informants interview guidelines were used to collect data about the conditions of the Char people in terms of understanding its connection with their livelihoods and socio-economic consequences. This study compares the changes with influential factors with a baseline survey conducted in 2007. Findings showed that there were a number of areas such as education, income, family assets and properties, annual household income, employment, savings, improving market chain, food intake and food security, presence of governmental and non-governmental organizations’ services and awareness about disaster and vulnerability and coping strategies were found positive. The study also observed some negative changes on assets base and livelihood options. The paper argues that the findings on these changes will help to formulate policy on poverty alleviation for the government and non-government authorities who implement the similar type of programmes.     

The Assessment of Quality of Life in Transitional Neighborhoods

Quality of life (QoL) is being considered as one of the fundamental concepts in contemporary era. It tries to assess the level of general welfare of the communities. Urban transitional neighborhoods possess specific situation and as a result present distinctive QoL. The major objective of this study is to identify and measure the QoL dimensions in urban transitional neighborhoods using both objective and subjective indices pertaining to Darvazeshemiran neighborhood of Tehran. In order to accomplish this and gather needed data, 244 questionnaires were distributed among Darvazeshemiran’s residents. This study suggests that there exists low level of QoL in the study area. That is 64.3 % of the residents were dissatisfied with the prevailing level of QoL. This in turn is associated with the transitional nature of this neighborhood. The residents were strongly dissatisfied with regard to the environmental qualification as opposed to accessibility status. Furthermore, this study identified five objective factors respectively regarding QoL. There exists low correlation between subjective and objective dimensions. That demands simultaneous consideration of both objective and subjective dimensions. It is argued that individual treatments of each could not accurately represent the QoL of residents.     

Migration pattern in Bangladesh: a covariate-dependent Markov model

Internal migration is one of the major components of rapid and unplanned growth of towns and cities especially in the developing countries. This paper describes the transition pattern of internal out migration in Bangladesh and some sociodemographic factors influencing such migration in the country using a covariate-dependent Markov model. Four types of migration behavior namely, rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to rural and urban to urban are under consideration of this paper. Defining two discrete states, urban and rural, each of such transition can be characterized by a stochastic process; hence we use a two-state Markov chain for this purpose. We find that age, sex, division and reason of migration are significantly associated with internal migration in Bangladesh. The major findings include that any type of migration, rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to rural and urban to urban, mostly take place at the ages of 15–30 as well as at the ages of 0–15; females have higher odds than males to make a migration; Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chittagong divisions have remarkably higher migration rate as compared to Barisal and Sylhet division; and the professional reason is the main reason for rural to urban migration.     

Does location influence executive compensation? Evidence from Canadian SMEs

We examine the impact of geographic location on the level and structure of executive compensation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Canada, using a panel data sample between 2008 and 2011. Our results show that SMEs pay a higher price for talent by paying a large proportion (71%) of compensation as guaranteed cash pay to their executives. We also report a strong influence of location on compensation structure. Specifically, rural firms pay 13% more incentive based equity pay to their executives compared to their size matched urban counterparts. However, there is no difference between the total compensation for managers of rural and urban firms after controlling for the cost of living index. In cross-sectional tests, we observe that total compensation is positively related to CEO/Chair duality and family ownership but is not related to management quality. In addition, we find that rural firms display a higher pay-performance sensitivity.     

Urban and peri-urban aquaculture as an immediate source of food fish: Perspectives of Dhaka City,Bangladesh

This paper describes the present status of aquaculture activities in Dhaka City and its surrounding areas including the system of fish marketing and distribution and environmental and socioeconomic issues. Dhaka City contains over 10 million people and is expanding day by day. Demand of fish in the last 10 years has increased as a result of increases in population and income levels. The annual per capita consumption of fish is reported to drop by 0.5 kg since 1985. The reason for this decline is increased prices and decreased supply of fish. Fish supply to the city comes from catch in the rivers-estuaries and floodlands of Dhaka district, neighboring districts, imports from other areas and aquaculture in surrounding areas of the city. Considerable quantities of fish are imported from India, Myanmar and Thailand. Seasonal patterns are common both in supply and consumption of fish. Along with traditional rural household aquaculture, in recent years, urban and peri-urban aquaculture has also been popular. Three broad types of aquaculture activities are found in and around Dhaka City; these are polyculture of carp in ponds, monoculture of catfishs in ponds, and pen and cage aquaculture in open waters. The carp includes both Indian major carp and Chinese carp and some minor carp. The catfish group includes mainly Thai pangas (Pangasius sutchi). Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is also widely popular among the farmers. The technology used for aquaculture is improved extensive to semi-intensive. Increasing demand for fish in the city markets has encouraged the expansion of peri-urban aquaculture with a corresponding increase in the proportion of farmed fish in the markets.     

Comparison of the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH,back propagation neural networks and support-vector machines in forecasting financial returns

The use of GARCH type models and computational-intelligence-based techniques for forecasting financial time series has been proved extremely successful in recent times. In this article, we apply the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH model instead of AR or ARMA models to compare with the standard BP and SVM in forecasting financial time series (daily stock market index returns and exchange rate returns). We do not apply the pure GARCH model as the finite mixture of the ARMA-GARCH model outperforms the pure GARCH model. These models are evaluated on five performance metrics or criteria. Our experiment shows that the SVM model outperforms both the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH and BP models in deviation performance criteria. In direction performance criteria, the finite mixture of ARMA-GARCH model performs better. The memory property of these forecasting techniques is also examined using the behavior of forecasted values vis-à-vis the original values. Only the SVM model shows long memory property in forecasting financial returns.