LISTINGS

A Basic Work on Judaism in the USSR

The Jewish Religion in the Soviet Union, by Joshua Rothenberg. New York, Ktav (in association with Philip W. Lown Graduate Center for Contemporary Jewish Studies, Brandeis University). 1971. 242 pp.

A Volume of Moscow Sermons

Bameitzar Birchat Hazan. Hadranim Vederashot (From Confinement — Praise to the Provider. Teachings and Sermons), by Zalman Nathan Kiselgof. Jerusalem, Mossad Harav Kook. 1970. 320 pp.

The Mandelstam Memoir and the Russian‐Jewish Intelligentsia

Hope against hope, a memoir, Nadezhda Mandelstam. (Tr. from Russian by Max Hayward.) New York, Atheneum Publishers, and London, Harvill Press Ltd. 1970. xiii, 431 pp. Illus. Index. $10.00; £3.15.

A Yiddish Documentary Novel on Russian Camp Life

In Wieser Farfalenkeit (In White Hopelessness), by Jechiel Hofer. Tel‐Aviv, Hamenora Publishing House. 1969. 423 pp.

Sorsfordulo. Iratok Magyarorszag Felszabadulasanak Tortenetehez. 1944 September, 1945 Aprilis (The Turn of Fates. Documents on the History of Hungary's Liberation. September 1944‐April 1945), by Elek Karsai and Magda Solymar (eds). Introduction by Magda Solymar, notes and information by Elek Karsai. Budapest. 1970. Two volumes. 1, 144 pp.     

On ε-contaminated priors with quantile and piece-wise unimodality constraints

In this work we examine the e-contamination model of prior densities γ={π:π=(1-ε)π₀(θ)+εq: qεG}, where π₀(θ) is the base elicited prior, q is a contamination belonging to some suitable class G and ε reflects the amount of error in π₀(θ). Various classes with shape and/or quantile constraints are analysed, and a posterior robust analysis is carried out. It turns out that quantile restrictions alone do not produce asymptotical rational behaviour, so it is unavoidable to introduce shape constraints as well. The conclusions are in line with those of O'Hagan and Berger (1988). Illustrations related to testing hypothesis and likelihood sets are given.     

A robust nonparametric estimation of the autoregression function under an ergodic hypothesis

The authors propose a family of robust nonparametric estimators for regression or autoregression functions based on kernel methods. They show the strong uniform consistency of these estimators under a general ergodicity condition when the data are unbounded and range over suitably increasing sequences of compact sets. They give some implications of these results for stating the prediction in Markovian processes with finite order and show, through simulation, the efficiency of the predictors they propose.     

Feminist Global Political Economies of the Everyday: From Bananas to Bingo

Abstract

Feminist studies of political economy have long pointed to the multifaceted ways in which global transformations are constituted by deeply gendered economic practices at the everyday level. Nonetheless, the increased analytical focus on the everyday within the study of international political economy (IPE) frequently fails to connect with feminist theories and gendered approaches. In this introductory essay, we argue that any discussion of a ‘turn’ towards the everyday in IPE must acknowledge the role of feminist contributions that predate, and indeed make possible, this shift in IPE scholarship's analytical gaze towards the everyday. We map out what might be understood as feminist political economies of the everyday—highlighting the points of connection between feminist scholarship on the everyday, as well as the ways in which feminist scholars engage with the notion of an everyday political economy in quite distinct and diverse ways—a diversity that reflects the methodological and theoretical pluralism of feminist political economy scholarship as well as the ever broadening geographical scope of feminist research.     

The effect of aging on pacing strategies of cross-country skiers and the role of performance level

Background

The participation of master cross-country (XC) skiers in training and competition has increased during the last decades; however, little is known yet about whether these athletes differ from their younger counterparts in aspects of performance such as pacing. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the combined effect of age and performance (race time) on pacing in cross-country (XC) skiing. We analyzed all finishers (n?=?79,722) in ‘Vasaloppet’ from 2012 to 2017, the largest cross-country skiing race in the world, classified according to their race time into 10 groups: 3-4 h, 4-5 h, ..., 12-13 h.

Results

A trivial main effect of sex on total pace range was observed (p?<?0.001, η²?=?0.002), where women (44.1?±?10.2%) had larger total pace range than men (40.9?±?11.8%). A large main effect of performance group on total pace range was shown (p?<?0.001, η²?=?0.160), where the smallest total pace range was 21.8?±?1.9% (3-4 h group) and the largest 50.1?±?9.9% (10-11 h group). A trivial sex×performance group interaction on total pace range was found (p?<?0.001, η²?=?0.001) with the largest sex difference in pacing shown in 9-10 h group. A trivial and small main effect of age was found in women (p?<?0.001, η²?=?0.005) and men (p?<?0.001, η²?=?0.011), respectively, where the masters had smaller total pace range than their younger counterparts. A trivial age group×performance group interaction on total pace range was observed in both women (p?<?0.001, η²?=?0.008) and men (p?<?0.001, η²?=?0.006) with smaller differences among age groups in the faster performance groups.

Conclusions

In summary, master XC skiers adopted a relatively even pacing independently from their race time and the differences in pacing from the younger XC skiers were more pronounced in the slower masters. These findings suggest that exercise attenuates the decline of performance in master XC skiers as shown by the similar pacing strategies between fast master XC skiers and their younger counterparts.

     

The effects of listener training on the emergence of tact and mand signs by individuals with intellectual disabilities

The purpose of the current study was to assess whether individuals with intellectual disabilities would emit untrained speaker responses (i.e., signed tacts and mands) after being taught listener behaviors. Listener relations were trained via an automated matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure. Following mastery, the emergence of signed tacts, generalized tacts, and mands was tested. All participants met criterion in listener relations training and showed the emergence of almost all relations. Results suggest that teaching listener relations first, through MTS tasks, is a viable way to produce emergence of speaker relations.     

Testing for Unit Roots in Dynamic Panels in the Presence of a Deterministic Trend: Re-examining the Unit Root Hypothesis for Real Stock Prices and Dividends

In this paper, we suggest a similar unit root test statistic for dynamic panel data with fixed effects. The test is based on the LM, or score, principle and is derived under the assumption that the time dimension of the panel is fixed, which is typical in many panel data studies. It is shown that the limiting distribution of the test statistic is standard normal. The similarity of the test with respect to both the initial conditions of the panel and the fixed effects is achieved by allowing for a trend in the model using a parameterisation that has the same interpretation under both the null and alternative hypotheses. This parameterisation can be expected to increase the power of the test statistic. Simulation evidence suggests that the proposed test has empirical size that is very close to the nominal level and considerably more power than other panel unit root tests that assume that the time dimension of the panel is large. As an application of the test, we re-examine the stationarity of real stock prices and dividends using disaggregated panel data over a relatively short period of time. Our results suggest that while real stock prices contain a unit root, real dividends are trend stationary.     

Panel data unit roots tests: The role of serial correlation and the time dimension

We investigate the influence of residual serial correlation and of the time dimension on statistical inference for a unit root in dynamic longitudinal data, known as panel data in econometrics. To this end, we introduce two test statistics based on method of moments estimators. The first is based on the generalized method of moments estimators, while the second is based on the instrumental variables estimator. Analytical results for the Instrumental Variables (IV) based test in a simplified setting show that (i) large time dimension panel unit root tests will suffer from serious size distortions in finite samples, even for samples that would normally be considered large in practice, and (ii) negative serial correlation in the error terms of the panel reduces the power of the unit root tests, possibly up to a point where the test becomes biased. However, near the unit root the test is shown to have power against a wide range of alternatives. These findings are confirmed in a more general set-up through a series of Monte Carlo experiments.     

Increasing conflict in times of retrenchment? Attitudes towards healthcare provision in Europe between 1996 and 2002

Public opinion is considered a major obstacle to changing the status quo of welfare state policies. Yet some far‐reaching reforms and gradual changes of European welfare states prompt the reverse question: Have increased reform pressures and restructuring efforts led to changes in individual attitudes? In line with previous research, I found that the strong support for a public provision of healthcare remains unchanged. But what about the structure of attitudes? Testing core assumptions of the new politics theory and power resources theory, I looked at conflict lines within society and how they change in times of retrenchment. Analysing individual attitudes in 14 European countries between 1996 and 2002, I moved beyond static comparisons across countries to provide a dynamic account of trends over time. Observing stability, not change, I found no evidence that the relevance of old cleavages is in decline. Both old and new cleavages shape individual attitudes.