A wavelet-based time-varying autoregressive model for non-stationary and irregular time series

In this work we propose an autoregressive model with parameters varying in time applied to irregularly spaced non-stationary time series. We expand all the functional parameters in a wavelet basis and estimate the coefficients by least squares after truncation at a suitable resolution level. We also present some simulations in order to evaluate both the estimation method and the model behavior on finite samples. Applications to silicates and nitrites irregularly observed data are provided as well.     

Knowing Your Adversary: Israeli Structure of Political Opportunity and the Inception of the Palestinian Intifada

Social movement scholars have suggested that opportunity structures are not objective features of the world but must be constructed by social forces, including social movements. Here, we attempt to analyze how Palestinians living in the occupied territories constructed political opportunity during the run-up to the 1987 first Intifada. We analyze how the changing Israeli political opportunity structure affected Palestinians’ framing of the structural conditions they faced. In particular, we examine (1) how the consolidating Palestinian movement within the occupied territories built the capacity for a shared, collective framing of events, and (2) how the movement adapted a strategy based on its understanding of the opportunity presented by divisions in Israeli society concerning the occupation. Based on the analysis, we offer several insights into the Intifada's dynamics and trajectories.

A hybrid solution to collaborative decision-making in a decentralized supply-chain

This paper considers a decentralized supply chain, where multiple independent manufacturing facilities manage some capital-intensive equipments or resources shared among them. In particular, these manufacturing facilities operate somewhat in isolation to serve their own customers, but coordinate closely with each other to ensure the shared resources are effectively utilized. Such cross-facility capacity management problems are common in high-tech industries, they are typical examples of collaborative decision-making in supply chain integration, and are critical to create a competitive edge in a more interconnected business environment. In this paper, a hybrid algorithm that integrates Lagrangian relaxation and immunity-inspired coordination scheme, known as LR-ICI, is proposed and investigated by extensive numerical experiments, and is shown to be competitive compared to similar algorithms.     

So near and yet so far - socio-spatial factors affecting service accessibility

ABSTRACT

Conventionally, social service planners conduct statistical analyses on service data for future planning. However, the limitations are their neglect of the spatial characteristics of these social data and their effects. All human activities have social and spatial dimensions. Social service provision is no exception. In this study, the authors suggest a socio-spatial framework in term of understanding service accessibility. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 491 participants, users and non-users, were interviewed. The results show that both spatial and social capital factors affect service accessibility. The study can help better service planning in densely-populated Asian metropolis like Hong Kong.     

Quantile regression in heteroscedastic varying coefficient models

Varying coefficient models are flexible models to describe the dynamic structure in longitudinal data. Quantile regression, more than mean regression, gives partial information on the conditional distribution of the response given the covariates. In the literature, the focus has been so far mostly on homoscedastic quantile regression models, whereas there is an interest in looking into heteroscedastic modelling. This paper contributes to the area by modelling the heteroscedastic structure and estimating it from the data, together with estimating the quantile functions. The use of the proposed methods is illustrated on real-data applications. The finite-sample behaviour of the methods is investigated via a simulation study, which includes a comparison with an existing method.     

Denied Citizens of Turkey: Experiences of Discrimination Among LGBT Individuals in Employment,Housing and Health Care

The purpose of this article is to explore experiences of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) individuals in three domains of social policies: employment, housing and health care — domains in which LGBT individuals are not openly recognized as equal citizens and anti‐discrimination legislation is absent in Turkey. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of the data collected from 14 focus group interviews with 139 LGBT individuals conducted in ten provinces of Turkey in the first half of 2014, this article sheds light on diverse forms of discrimination facing LGBT individuals in employment, housing and health care in a largely under‐researched country. The article concludes that the contemporary understanding of Turkish citizenship and its practice are rooted in heterosexist universalism that does not recognize LGBTs as equal citizens, which, in turn, leads to systematic breaches of LGBTs' social rights in employment, housing and health care. The article shows that even strong and universalistic social policies fail to serve LGBTs on an equal footing with other citizens unless equal citizenship rights of LGBTs and anti‐discrimination principles are recognized and realized.     

Mothers' and Fathers' Emotion Socialization and Children's Emotion Regulation: A Within‐Family Model

In the current study, we examined whether mothers' and fathers' reactions to young children's positive and negative emotions were associated with children's negativity and emotion regulation. We utilized a within‐family design with 70 families (mother, father, and two siblings between the ages of 2 and 5 years). Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires about their emotion socialization as well as children's negativity and emotion regulation. Results indicated that mothers' and fathers' unsupportive reactions to children's positive emotions were associated with children's negativity. Fathers' unsupportive reactions to children's emotional displays were differentially associated with older and younger siblings' emotion regulation. Fathers' unsupportive responses to children's positive and negative emotions also contributed jointly to children's emotion regulation. The results suggest that exploring the within‐family correlates of children's emotion regulation and negativity is useful for understanding children's emotional development.     

Understanding Risk Information Seeking and Processing during an Infectious Disease Outbreak: The Case of Zika Virus

This study draws on the Planned Risk Information Seeking Model (PRISM) to assess Zika virus information seeking and systematic processing, paying particular attention to the relationship between perceived knowledge and knowledge insufficiency. Novel risks, such as Zika, provide an interesting context for examining whether information-seeking models, such as PRISM, are able to predict information seeking when available information is limited or scarce. A cross-sectional, online study of men and women of childbearing age (N = 494) residing in the state of Florida was conducted. Our results provide some support for the PRISM for predicting Zika information seeking intention, as well as systematic processing of information. We also found that individuals with high levels of perceived knowledge were more likely to report high level of knowledge insufficiency, illustrating that contextual factors may impact the fit of risk information seeking models.     

Couple Forgiveness and its Moderating Role in the Intergenerational Transmission of Veterans’ Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

This study examined the moderating effect couple forgiveness (as perceived by the wives/mothers) may have on the intergenerational transmission of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among families of combat veterans and former prisoners of war (ex‐POWs). The sample included 123 (79 ex‐POWs and 44 control combatants) Israeli father–mother–adult offspring triads. Self‐report measures were administered at 2008 to veterans, at 2010–2011 to wives, and at 2013–2014 to offspring. The findings indicated that ex‐POWs’ PTSS were positively related to their offspring's PTSS, while couple forgiveness buffered this effect, particularly, and detrimentally, when couple forgiveness was low. These findings imply that apprehending the quality of the forgiving atmosphere within the marital relationship may be important for understanding the apparatus of intergenerational transmissions of trauma.