Robust inference for generalized partially linear mixed models that account for censored responses and missing covariates – an application to Arctic data analysis

In this article, we propose a family of bounded influence robust estimates for the parametric and non-parametric components of a generalized partially linear mixed model that are subject to censored responses and missing covariates. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimates have been looked into. The estimates are obtained by using Monte Carlo expectation–maximization algorithm. An approximate method which reduces the computational time to a great extent is also proposed. A simulation study shows that performances of the two approaches are similar in terms of bias and mean square error. The analysis is illustrated through a study on the effect of environmental factors on the phytoplankton cell count.     

D-Optimal Designs for Covariate Models

The problem of finding D-optimal designs in the presence of a number of covariates has been considered in the one-way set-up. This is an extension of Dey and Mukerjee (2006 Dey , A. , Mukerjee , R. ( 2006 ). D-optimal designs for covariate models . Statistics 40 : 297 – 305 .[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in the sense that for fixed replication numbers of each treatment, an alternative upper bound to the determinant of the information matrix has been found through completely symmetric C-matrices for the regression coefficients; this upper bound includes the upper bound given in Dey and Mukerjee (2006 Dey , A. , Mukerjee , R. ( 2006 ). D-optimal designs for covariate models . Statistics 40 : 297 – 305 .[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) obtained through diagonal C-matrices. Because of the fact that a smaller class of C-matrices was used at the intermediate stage where the replication numbers were fixed, ultimately some optimal designs remained unidentified there. These designs have been identified here and thereby the conjecture made in Dey and Mukerjee (2006 Dey , A. , Mukerjee , R. ( 2006 ). D-optimal designs for covariate models . Statistics 40 : 297 – 305 .[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) has been settled.     

Charting the Course: An Overview of Domestic Violence in the South Asian Community in the United States

In the South Asian community in the United States, domestic violence is a prevalent problem of significant magnitude. Although the community stridently denies the existence of this horror, women have been systematically organizing antiviolenceagainst- women work for the last 15 yearsAt this time, it is a vibrant movement struggling with several complex issues that are perhaps less common in thedominant white community. As in the lives of immigrant women of color, much of the intricacies of domestic violencein the South Asian context emerge from the intersections of race, class, andsresidencystatus problems. Consequently, a slew of personal, institutional, and cultural barriers commingle to form roadblocks for battered South Asian women, who attempt to escape family violence. As the needs of battered South Asian first and second generation women enlarge and become more perceptible, the community-based organizations have to ready themselves for more complicated activities in the future.     

Colonial legacies,post-colonial (in)securities,and gender(ed) representations in South Asia's nuclear policies

Through a comparative study of India and Pakistan's national security discourses, this article explores the linkages between post-colonial India and Pakistan's nationalist/communalist identities, configurations of masculinities, and gendered representations underpinning their nuclear (in)securities. This paper contends that the colonial politics of place-making in the sub-continent has not only inscribed a process of ‘othering’ between these states but has also facilitated the rise of divergent visions of post-colonial nationalisms, which, at each of their phases and with particular configurations of masculinities, have used women's bodies to re-map India-Pakistan's borders and national (in)securities. This article particularly draws attention to a new form of gendered manipulation in South Asian politics in the late 1990s, whereby both states, embedded in colonial notions of religious/cultural masculinities, have relied on discourses of Hindu/Indian and Muslim/Pakistani women's violence and protection from the ‘other’ to pursue aggressive policies of nuclearization. It is at this conjectural moment of a Hinduicized and Islamicized nationalism (flamed by the contestations of a Hindu versus an Islamic masculinity) that one needs to provide a feminist re-interpretation of India-Pakistan's nationalist identities, gendered imaginaries, and their re-articulation of national (in)securities – that represents a religious/gendered ‘otherness’ in South Asia's nuclear policies.     

Methods of decomposing the difference between two rates with applications to race-sex inequality in earnings

"Four general methods of decomposing the difference between two rates into several components are provided. For data cross-classified by several factors, all four methods can be used treating the factors either hierarchically or symmetrically, and within each treatment, the methods are expected to give very similar results. Since the results may differ significantly depending on whether the factors are hierarchical or symmetrical and since there is no objective way of arranging the factors hierarchically, symmetrical treatment of the factors is recommended. The latter approach is used to study race-sex inequalities in mean annual earnings for year-round full-time workers in the United States based on the 1980 census data cross-classified by education, age, and occupation." (SUMMARY IN FRE)     

A general method of decomposing a difference between two rates into several components

In her work on the components of a difference between two rates, Kitagawa (1955) was successful in dividing the difference into the rate effect and the effect of the factor, for data classified by one factor. Her formulation for data classified by two factors, however, involves an interaction term which is difficult to interpret. Retherford and Cho (1973) devised a method that does not include any interaction terms. However, their method has other limitations, such as the dependence of the results on the order in which the effects of the factors are computed. In this paper, we provide a general method capable of handling any number of factors, which is developed along the lines suggested by Kitagawa and by Retherford and Cho but without the limitations of their methods.     

Scheduling material handling vehicles in a container terminal

Increasing global trade has created the need for efficient container ports. The goal of the port is to move containers as quickly as possible and at the least possible cost. Goods that are delayed at the port are inevitably tardy when delivered to the customer, and thus sanctioned by late charges. Two key activities in the port are (i) unloading of containers from truck and then storage in the export area, and (ii) removal of containers from import storage and then loading onto the trucks. Since containers are large and heavy, specialized material handling vehicles are required for transporting them within the terminal. The focus of this paper is on port terminals where straddle carriers are primarily used to move containers. Container terminals typically have well developed computer and communication networks. Through these networks a terminal scheduler will control and schedule the movement of the straddle carrier fleet in real time. The objective of the terminal scheduler is to minimize the empty travel of straddle carriers, while at the same time minimizing any delays in servicing customers. This paper presents a straddle scheduling procedure that can be used by a terminal scheduler to control the movement of straddle carriers. At its core, the procedure is driven by an assignment algorithm that dynamically matches straddle carriers and trucks, as each becomes available. The procedures were developed and tested in collaboration with the largest container terminal operator in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Using a simulation model of the real system, the superiority of the proposed procedure over two alternative scheduling strategies is illustrated.     

Datafying anti-poverty programmes: implications for data justice

ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to illuminate the significance of datafication for anti-poverty programmes, meaning social protection schemes designed specifically for poor people. The conversion of beneficiary populations into machine-readable data enables two core functions of social protection, those of recognising entitled beneficiaries and assigning entitlements connected to each anti-poverty scheme. Drawing on the incorporation of Aadhaar, India’s biometric population database, in the national agenda for social protection, we unpack a techno-rational perspective that crafts datafication as a means to enhance the effectiveness of anti-poverty schemes. Nevertheless, narratives collected in the field show multiple forms of data injustice on recipients, underpinned by Aadhaar’s functionality for a shift of the social protection agenda from in-kind subsidies to cash transfers. Based on such narratives the paper introduces a politically embedded view of data, framing datafication as a transformative force that contributes to reforming existing anti-poverty schemes.     

Presidential Direct Action and Policy Continuity: The Case of U.S. International Population Policy*

Objectives. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the modern practice of unilateral presidential policy making in the area of U.S. international population policy. The analysis focuses on the implications of this practice in a constitutional system intended to limit and constrain direct presidential action in policy making. Methods. The authors conduct their analysis using a variety of qualitative sources, including leading studies on the topics of presidential direct action and U.S. international population policy, and government documents. Conclusions. Policy development in this area has been marked by dramatic back‐and‐forth shifts due to the modern practice of presidents making many decisions without legislative involvement. Although not the only policy area in which this practice has become the norm, the case study of U.S. international population policy reveals the pitfalls of deviating from the constitutional design of a system of balanced and constrained powers.     

Urban Quality of Life: A Case Study of Guwahati

This paper studies quality of life (QOL) in urban environment. The term environment has been used in broader sense, which includes physical, social and economic environment. A framework has been proposed which posits that QOL comprises objective condition of living and satisfaction from such living condition constitutes QOL. Such objective condition refers to objective QOL and satisfaction refers to subjective QOL. Dimension of QOL has been found to be multi dimensional. It has been found that both objective and subjective condition is important dimension of QOL. But correlation between objective and subjective QOL has been found not to be high. At the same time it has been found that satisfaction from condition of traffic is the lowest among all satisfaction variables.