An in-depth case study on the role of industrial design in a business-to-business company

In this paper, we investigate how managers perceive the roles of industrial design, based on their experiences with designers in two product development projects in a business-to-business environment. The study demonstrates that designers can make contributions that surpass the design of physical products, and that influence the effective implementation of product development processes. Our findings extend the limited literature on the role of industrial design in industrial markets, and are of value for managers looking to strengthen their product development processes.     

Job quality,industrial relations and the crisis in Europe

This paper reports results from recent Eurofound research on the impact of the crisis on industrial relations and working conditions in Europe, based on the output of Eurofound's European Working Conditions Observatory and European Industrial Relations Observatory and data from the European Working Conditions Survey. Overall, the crisis – even if it is sometimes difficult to separate the effect of the crisis from megatrends in working conditions and industrial relations – seems to have had an impact on both domains. With reference to industrial relations, the impact of the crisis has influenced actors, processes, and outcomes. Regarding working conditions, the results appear to be in line with the literature on the topic, which relates the crisis to an increase in job insecurity, a decrease in work intensity, in working hours, and in anti-social working time arrangements, and a general improvement in terms of health risks and related outcomes.     

Optimal minimax squared error risk estimation of the mean of a multivariate normal distribution

Minimax squared error risk estimators of the mean of a multivariate normal distribution are characterized which have smallest Bayes risk with respect to a spherically symmetric prior distribution for (i) squared error loss, and (ii) zero-one loss depending on whether or not estimates are consistent with the hypothesis that the mean is null. In (i), the optimal estimators are the usual Bayes estimators for prior distributions with special structure. In (ii), preliminary test estimators are optimal. The results are obtained by applying the theory of minimax-Bayes-compromise decision problems.     

Building revolutionary subjectivity: creative tensions in the Plataforma de Afectados por La Hipoteca

ABSTRACT

The paper assesses the Spanish housing activists Plataforma de Afectados por La Hipoteca (PAH, Platform for the Mortgage-Affected) as an example of left-wing convergence. From the perspective of the horizontal democratic practices and civil disobedience tactics they adopt, the paper acknowledges the anarchist, Marxist and reformist influences in PAH and reveals how the creative tension between activists of different persuasions has aided the movement’s relative success. In harnessing and transforming the revolutionary subjectivity of the movement of the squares in 2011, PAH has in turn led to a broader urban radical politics. This new revolutionary subjectivity captures PAH’s legacy and positioning within broader anti-austerity politics.     

The Structure of Social Cohesion: An Analysis of Its Levels and Dimensions in Mexico City1

This article aims to conceptualize and assess social cohesion in Mexico, taking into account their multilevel and multidimensional nature. To measure social cohesion levels and dimensions, we used the Social Welfare Survey (N = 2871) for the 16 municipalities in Mexico City. Then, we employed the distance method to construct a social cohesion index. In addition, we define social cohesion degrees (very high, high, medium, and low) to explore the relevance of each indicator. The findings suggest that the objective and subjective indicators at the meso‐level has the highest contribution, regardless of the territory or degrees of cohesion. This finding suggests that neighborhoods are well organized for solving everyday problems. Meanwhile, the willingness to help both friends and members of one’s network was not a priority, which can be explained by the suspicion toward other people and the prevalent economic conditions.     

A distance-based model for spatial prediction using radial basis functions

In the context of local interpolators, radial basis functions (RBFs) are known to reduce the computational time by using a subset of the data for prediction purposes. In this paper, we propose a new distance-based spatial RBFs method which allows modeling spatial continuous random variables. The trend is incorporated into a RBF according to a detrending procedure with mixed variables, among which we may have categorical variables. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed method, a simulation study is carried out for a variety of practical scenarios for five distinct RBFs, incorporating principal coordinates. Finally, the proposed method is illustrated with an application of prediction of calcium concentration measured at a depth of 0–20 cm in Brazil, selecting the smoothing parameter by cross-validation.     

Finding Love: Passion,Intimacy, and Commitment in the Relationships of Gay Men

This paper identifies the stages of gay male relationships through a qualitative analysis of the interviews of 12 gay men within the context of the Sternberg ( 1986 ) three component model of love. Four stages were identified: Confrontation with sexuality: Preparing for intimacy, Exploration of Sexuality: Engaging with passion, Experimentation with Relationships: Uniting intimacy and passion, and Formation of Committed Relationships: Integrating passion, intimacy, and commitment. Confrontation with Sexuality was a necessary first step before forming intimate relationships, as it provided a context for the second stage of Exploration of Sexuality, where passion could be explored. Once sexuality had been explored, Experimentation with Relationships was the next stage which involved uniting passion with intimacy, often including a period of experimenting with the types of relationships that are usually explored much earlier for heterosexuals. Finally, the fourth stage of Formation of Committed Relationships was identified which involved the integration of passion, intimacy, and commitment. The therapeutic implications of these results are elaborated by an analysis of these stages in clinical cases.     

Terrorism,Organized Crime,and Social Distress

Abstract

It is safer to believe evil ofeveryone until people are found out to be good, but that requires a great deal ofinvestigation nowadays.     

Application of an Irt Polytomous Model for Measuring Health Related Quality of Life

Background: The Item Response Theory (IRT) has advantages for measuring Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) as opposed to the Classical Tests Theory (CTT). Objectives: To present the results of the application of a polytomous model based on IRT, specifically, the Rating Scale Model (RSM), to measure HRQOL with the EORTC QLQ-C30. Methods: 103 terminal cancer patients cared for by the home services of the Servicio Andaluz de Salud (Andalusian Health Service) (Andalusia, Spain) participated. These patients responded to the adapted Spanish version of the EORTC QLQ-C30. The application was carried out individually in the patients’ homes. Results: The results show that there is an adequate global fit between the data and the IRT model applied. The analysis of the items shows that for 31 of the 33 items there is a good fit. The items which measure the general perception of health and the perception of quality of life present a lack of fit. The study of the response categories of the items (by means of Category Probability Curves) indicates that all the alternatives work extremely well. Conclusions:The EORTC QLQ-C30 presents good metric qualities, under the RSM, ratifying the feasibility to measure HRQOL already shown in other studies carried out with CTT.