FDA: strong consistency of the kNN local linear estimation of the functional conditional density and mode

In this paper we present a new estimator of the conditional density and mode when the co-variables are of functional kind. This estimator is a combination of both, the k-Nearest Neighbours procedure and the functional local linear estimation. Then, for each statistical parameter (conditional density or mode), results concerning the strong consistency and rate of convergence of the estimators are presented. Finally, their performances, for finite sample sizes, are illustrated by using simulated data.     

Contesting Claims on Measuring Performance in the Public Sector Using Performance Audits: Evidence from the Literature

Based on desk study, this article adduces theoretical and empirical evidence to analyze the claims of advocates and critics of performance audit (PA). The paper establishes that the application of PA in some developed countries has led to improvement in aspects of public sector performance albeit sometimes short of the often highlighted effects of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The article further provides evidence to support the claim that despite its touted contribution to performance, PA could rather lead to anti-innovation, nit-picking, expectations gap, lapdog, headline hunting, unnecessary systems and hollow ritual. The paper questions the quality of reported PA systems in the literature and advocates a PA regime that strikes a delicate balance between compliance and performance.     

Restoring Hope for Syrian Refugees: Social Support Students Need to Excel at School

This qualitative, phenomenological case study was designed to elicit Syrian refugee students’ perceptions regarding the individuals who provide them with the social support needed for academic success. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 male Syrian eighth graders at a public middle school in Lebanon. House's social support framework guided this study and served as the theoretical lens through which data were collected and analysed. Findings from this study revealed teachers, supervisors, and administrators as expected major providers of the social supports that Syrian refugee students need to excel in their studies. However, when students do not find support where they might expect it to be, they adopt coping strategies such as independence, perseverance, self-efficacy, and peer-teaching. These findings are of primary importance to school administrators, humanitarian aid agencies, and policymakers. The article concludes with recommendations for practice and future research.     

Prior elicitation, variable selection and Bayesian computation for logistic regression models

Bayesian selection of variables is often difficult to carry out because of the challenge in specifying prior distributions for the regression parameters for all possible models, specifying a prior distribution on the model space and computations. We address these three issues for the logistic regression model. For the first, we propose an informative prior distribution for variable selection. Several theoretical and computational properties of the prior are derived and illustrated with several examples. For the second, we propose a method for specifying an informative prior on the model space, and for the third we propose novel methods for computing the marginal distribution of the data. The new computational algorithms only require Gibbs samples from the full model to facilitate the computation of the prior and posterior model probabilities for all possible models. Several properties of the algorithms are also derived. The prior specification for the first challenge focuses on the observables in that the elicitation is based on a prior prediction y ₀ for the response vector and a quantity a ₀ quantifying the uncertainty in y ₀. Then, y ₀ and a ₀ are used to specify a prior for the regression coefficients semi-automatically. Examples using real data are given to demonstrate the methodology.     

Bounds of moment generating functions of some life distributions

In this article we show that if a life has new better than used in expectation (NBUE) ageing property and if the mean life is finite then the moment generating function exists and is finite. In fact, the moment generating function is shown to be bounded above by that of the exponential distribution with the same mean. Analogous results are also proven for two much bigger families of life distribution, namely, the new better than renewal used in expectation (NBRUE) and the renewal new is better than used in expectation (RNBUE) and the renewal new better than renewal used in expectation (RNBRUE), provided that the life has finite two moments. Further, stronger results are also obtained for the smaller new better than used version of the above classes.     

Comparing the Explanatory and Predictive Power of Intention-Based Theories of Personal Monetary Donation to Charitable Organizations

The theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) have been found to have predictive capability in a wide range of personal behaviors. The aim of the study is twofold: firstly, to assess the applicability of the TRA, the TPB, and a newly developed revised version of the TPB in the context of individuals’ monetary donations to charitable organizations; and secondly, to compare the explanatory and predictive power of these three theoretical models. Data relating to intention to give monetary donation, attitudes toward helping others and toward charitable giving, social norms, moral responsibility, and perceived behavioral control were collected in the first phase of the study by means of a self-completion mail questionnaire distributed to 432 residents of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the second phase, 1 month later, telephone interviews were conducted with 221 of the first-phase respondents who had agreed to take part in a follow-up survey of their actual monetary-donating behavior. The findings show that the revised TPB is the best of the three models for predicting individuals’ intention to donate and their future monetary-donation behavior, mainly because moral responsibility is included in the theoretical framework. It thus offers superior explanatory and predictive power.     

Hofstede's cultural dimensions in the GCC countries: An empirical investigation

Managerial values are not the same across the world. Therefore, Multinational Corporations may be making costly decisions if they assume that corporate policies will receive the same attention, understanding or acceptance in their branches over the world. This paper applies Hofstede's four cultural dimensions to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It also compares Hofstede's results with regard to these four cultural dimensions with our findings. The results of this study show that countries change. They reemphasize the concept that ethnocentric management theories have been untenable. This implies the necessity that Multinational Corporations should study the culture of the country they plan to do business with before starting the negotiations process that precedes the operations in that country and also to monitor changes in the life style of these countries over time. When Multinational Corporations become aware of the international workforce management and the differences between different cultures, they will save themselves costly troubles, loss of qualified personnel as well as loosing international customers. Therefore, it is important for Multinational Corporations to utilize management theories available to them through research and experience.The program leading to this article was supported in part by a grant from KFUPM.