Telling the other what one knows? Strategic lying in a modified acquiring-a-company experiment with two-sided private information

Theory and Decision - Lying for a strategic advantage is to be expected in commercial interactions. But would this be more or less obvious when lying could come from either party and question...     

Exploring the relation between maternal mind‐mindedness and children’s symbolic play: A longitudinal study from 6 to 18 months

Relations between mothers’ mind‐mindedness (appropriate attunement to their infants’ internal states) at 6 and 12 months and infants’ early symbolic play during infant–mother pretense at 12 and 18 months were investigated in a sample of 43 mothers and infants. Mothers’ appropriate mind‐related comments were associated with average level, length, complexity, and maturity level of symbolic play. Specific sub‐categories of appropriate mind‐related comments were identified as independent predictors of children's symbolic play. Appropriate comments about desires and cognitions at 6 months were associated with average level and length of episodes, as well as with maturity level of symbolic play at 12 months. Longitudinal stability in the appropriateness and content of mothers’ mind‐related comments was also investigated. The results are discussed in terms of the proposal that attunement to specific types of internal state should vary as a function of infant age in order to index mind‐mindedness.     

So Far,so Similar? Labour Market Feminization in Italy and Chile

Social Indicators Research - The article aims to analyse gender segregation in the labour market while comparing two national contexts in Europe and Latin America. Specifically, it will consider...     

基于次梯度投影的泛投资组合选择策略

在线投资组合选择(online portfolio selection)问题是当前量化投资领域一个重要的研究问题.近些年来,可投资标的的爆炸式增长急需能够有效计算的投资组合选择策略,而现有高绩效算法大多具有指数级或多项式级的时间复杂度,不利于在实际中应用.由此,本文提出了一种基于次梯度投影的泛投资组合选择策略SGP.将次梯度投影的思想应用到资产组合构建的过程中,得到策略的再平衡规则.理论上,本文分析了次梯度投影算法的竞争性能,证明了该策略是一个泛投资组合选择策略;并发现该算法具有线性时间复杂度.实证上,验证了SGP策略在美国与中国市场的表现.结果表明,SGP策略能够实现和最新的泛投资组合选择策略相当的收益率,而算法运行时间短于现有策略.参数敏感性分析表明SGP策略对参数选择不敏感;交易成本敏感性分析表明SGP策略能够承受合理的交易成本.     

高师院校不同学制毕业生就业竞争力比较研究

毕业生就业竞争力是衡量人才培养质量的一个重要指标,加强对不同学制毕业生就业竞争力研究,有利于提升办学质量。对不同学制毕业生的就业竞争力分析可从初次就业率、就业现状满意度、毕业半年后的月收入、工作与专业相关度、职业吻合度和半年内的离职率等方面进行比较。利用非参数检验法对某高师院校毕业生就业状况调查报告中的有关数据对比分析,发现五年制专科毕业生的就业竞争力与三年制专科毕业生无显著性差别。结果表明:五年制专科毕业生具有明确的专业定位、专业技能较强等优势,可适当扩大五年制专科招生规模。     

Is Household Wealth Sustainable? An Examination of Asset Poverty Reentry After an Exit

This paper analyzed the influence of financial behaviors on the duration out of asset poverty while controlling for households’ life cycle and demographic characteristics. We found evidence for the existence of structural barriers to asset acquisition. Asset accumulation at or above levels equal to nine-months worth of income at the income-poverty level was important for improving a household’s odds of permanently escaping asset poverty, but a linear relationship between asset accumulation and the likelihood of returning to asset poverty did not emerge. Moreover, minimizing debt and diversifying the asset portfolio to include more productive assets were positively related to maintaining assets; but households should also consider the risks associated with portfolio allocations.     

Assessing physical activity in inpatient rehabilitation—sensor-based validation of the PAIR

Increased physical activity is positively associated with better health in community-dwelling older persons. It is unclear whether physical activity also influences success of inpatient rehabilitation. For the assessment of physical activity in inpatient rehabilitation the Physical Activity in Inpatient Rehabilitation Assessment (PAIR), a short questionnaire based on five questions, was developed and preliminary validated. In this study, the PAIR was validated against a sensor-based physical activity measurement. Seventy functionally impaired and cognitively mostly intact patients of a German geriatric inpatient rehabilitation clinic who had undergone hip surgery (n?=?62 women, median age?=?83 years) participated. Physical activity was measured using the PAIR and a sensor-based activity monitor (Physilog ®; BioAGM, CH). Assessments were conducted at admission (T1) and 2 weeks later (T2) during the rehabilitation process. To assess concurrent and predictive validity, Spearman correlations and linear regression models were calculated using sensor-based walking activity and uptime activity (walking and standing time) as dependent variables. Criterion-related concurrent validity using physical activity sensors was weak to moderate. Correlations were slightly higher at T2 (r?=?0.45-0.53) than at T1 (r?=?0.44-0.46). The objectively measured variance of physical activity, explained by the PAIR, ranged from 25 to 43 %. PAIR activity scores and sensor-based walking or total activity increased in a dose-dependent manner, confirming the scoring system of the PAIR. The application time was usually less than 2 min. The validity of the PAIR is weak to moderate when compared to a sensor-based activity monitor and comparable to existing physical activity assessments for community-dwelling older adults.     

An ergonomics approach to citrus harvest mechanization

Due to the increase of production costs in manual harvesting, strategies must be developed in order to overcome these effects, such as the attempts in implementing agricultural machines in harvest activities, whether being totally or partially mechanized. This study brings a qualitative and quantitative comparison on the impacts in work conditions and productivity in Brazilian orchards caused by the use of semi-mechanized harvesting systems, such as multiplatforms. The results come from the application of Ergonomic Work Analysis method, which focuses in the activity, quantifying and analyzing times and frequencies of the harvesting cycle, as well as the amount of movements. To achieve this, footage, interviews and a stopwatch were used in the observation 12 pickers' work cycles, six for each method of harvesting. The data interpretation pointed to improvement in working conditions with a reduction in the amount of movements performed by the picker, and increase of up to 60% in productivity with the use of semi-mechanized harvesting. Thus, the found results indicate the viability of this harvesting method. However, other variables must be observed in future studies in order to complete the guidelines for a healthy progress in the area of citrus harvesting in Brazil.     

… Do as the Romans do. A model of conformity with the endogenous formation of preferences

This note is an answer to a previous model on conformity in public goods contributions developed by Carpenter (2004), where a population evolution is allowed according to the standard replicator dynamic (Taylor and Jonker, 1978, Maynard Smith, 1982). To confirm his theoretical prediction, Carpenter developed an experiment showing that free riding actually grows faster when agents have the information necessary to conform. The model and the experiment are, however, inherently different, for the time scales of the model are not able to capture the short run convergence of behavior in the experimental laboratory.We here present a model of conformity which offers the same laboratory results as Carpenter without resorting to evolutionary models, and also gives agents the chance to adopt different strategies implying various levels of cooperation.