State Formation and the Politics of Regime Survival: Zimbabwe in Theoretical Perspective

This article analyses state formation in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. The main question posed is this: Why has state power eroded so dramatically? To answer this question, the development of the state is analysed in the light of general theories of state formation. In spite of a situation which according to prevailing theories was conducive for the formation of a strong state, Zimbabwe entered a downward spiral, where state power gradually eroded. To explain this, it is necessary to move beyond these theories, and analyse the changing nature of the ruling regime's constituencies. While security threats and sources of revenue are important, their impact on processes of state formation is mediated by the inter‐relationship between ruling regimes and their constituencies, which is shaped by society's class structure.     

Revisiting regional traditions: An emerging sociology of the great plains

Meliorism, empiricism, ethnography, locality, and reform characterized Midwestern American Sociology at the turn of the twentieth century. Almost a century later, the mini-regional Great Plains Sociological Association, through its refereed publication, The Great Plains Sociologist (TGPS), maintains a variant of this tradition. We examine the first decade (1988-1997) of published articles (N=52) in TGPS with a focus on authorship, affiliations, editorship, and components of the earliest Chicago sociology and its diffusion to the University of North Dakota and the region through the work of John Morris Gillette. The results show that TGPS is uniquely a publication representing empirical studies, of homespun social issues, involving local samples, by sociologists and criminologists affiliated with a range of colleges and universities in and around the Dakotas and that a sociology of the Great Plains is emerging. Implications for the journal, state and mini-regional associations, and the discipline are discussed. Morten G. Ender research areas are social psychology, military sociology, and undergraduate education. Shihluang Huang research areas are drug laws/policies, systems analysis, corrections, and community corrections. Both authors served on the faculty at the University of North Dakota where this project was completed.     

Finite Sample Comparison of Parametric, Semiparametric, and Wavelet Estimators of Fractional Integration

In this paper we compare through Monte Carlo simulations the finite sample properties of estimators of the fractional differencing parameter, d. This involves frequency domain, time domain, and wavelet based approaches, and we consider both parametric and semiparametric estimation methods. The estimators are briefly introduced and compared, and the criteria adopted for measuring finite sample performance are bias and root mean squared error. Most importantly, the simulations reveal that (1) the frequency domain maximum likelihood procedure is superior to the time domain parametric methods, (2) all the estimators are fairly robust to conditionally heteroscedastic errors, (3) the local polynomial Whittle and bias-reduced log-periodogram regression estimators are shown to be more robust to short-run dynamics than other semiparametric (frequency domain and wavelet) estimators and in some cases even outperform the time domain parametric methods, and (4) without sufficient trimming of scales the wavelet-based estimators are heavily biased.     

Inference and Missing Data: Asymptotic Results

In Rubin (1976) the missing at random (MAR) and missing completely at random (MCAR) conditions are discussed. It is concluded that the MAR condition allows one to ignore the missing data mechanism when doing likelihood or Bayesian inference but also that the stronger MCAR condition is in some sense the weakest generally sufficient condition allowing (conditional) frequentist inference while ignoring the missing data mechanism. In this paper it is shown that (a slightly strengthened version of) the MAR condition is sufficient to yield ordinary large sample results for estimators and test statistics and thus may be used for (asymptotic) frequentist inference.     

Effectiveness of a school-based backpack health promotion program: Backpack Intelligence

A prominent school health issue in the United States is the use of backpacks, however, there is a paucity of literature on the effectiveness of backpack safety programs. The purpose of this paper is to describe a school-based backpack health promotion program: Backpack Intelligence, report on its effectiveness, and suggest avenues for future research. Three-hundred-seventy-two 6th and 7th grade students participated in the program which was integrated into their physical education curriculum. Of those students, 242 completed post-education surveys to assess its effectiveness. Pre-education, 44% reported that their backpack was uncomfortable to carry, and 61% reported two or more warning signs that their backpack was too heavy. Only 57% wore their backpack properly and less than half organized the contents in their backpack correctly. Post-education, 63% reported the program worthwhile. Forty-two percent changed the way they used their backpack, and 93% felt knowledgeable about backpack safety, a 24% increase. Both grade and gender differences were found. Areas identified in the literature as fruitful for future research were suggested. Until we have definitive research on the link between backpack use and injury, interventions may be imperfect, but as a society we are compelled to safeguard the health of our children.     

On linear aggregation of infinitely many finitely additive probability measures

Theory and Decision - We discuss Herzberg’s (Theory Decis 78(2):319–337, 2015) treatment of linear aggregation for profiles of infinitely many finitely additive probabilities and...     

Immigration and the low-cost housing crisis: The Los Angeles area's experience

Arrivals of new immigrants and the secondary migration of other immigrants to the Los Angeles area are estimated to be as many as 180,000 each year in the 1980s. The Southern California Association of Governments found three-quarters of the immigrants were low-income minorities who are more likely to live in overcrowded enclaves and pay disproportionately high rents. Other data suggest that immigrants—many of them undocumented and Hispanic—are both victims of and contributors to the housing crisis.Although aggravated by immigration, Los Angeles' low-cost housing ills stem from broader national, social and economic trends: gentrification and other commercial conversion of low-cost housing, stagnating federal housing aid, and diminished tax and loan incentives. Skyrocketing costs have dropped the rate of home ownership well below the national average, forcing more people to rent. Condominium conversions, costly safety regulations, rent controls and successful no-growth movements also have contributed to Los Angeles' housing crisis.