Global economy of signs and selves: A view of work regimes in call centers in the Philippines

Reflecting on the global nature of third-party offshore call center and its implications on the agent, this piece is an account of the researcher's own experience, observations, and interactions as a call center worker. Using the theoretical frame Global economy of signs and selves, weaving ideas from Scott Lash and John Urry, Pierre Bourdieu and Erving Goffman, the study looks at some dimensions and conditions of global service work experienced by Filipino agents. With the relocation of accounts offshore, call centers in the Philippines have given rise to a growing section of society required by the imperatives of their work to “defy” time and space, synchronizing their cycles and routines according to the rhythms and cycles of a distant social dimension and the imperatives of globalized production. Although relocation has allowed firms to reduce costs and make use of cheaper labor, the distance traversed by this new call center platform comes with some hidden costs, borne by workers, who may themselves take these other forms of work they deliver for granted. Highlighting under-emphasized, undervalued and misrecognized aspects of call center work, the study attempts to link the global, the local and the personal, while emphasizing the social and symbolic work involved in call center production.     

Multilevel modelling of refusal and non-contact in household surveys: evidence from six UK Government surveys

Summary.  We analyse household unit non-response in six major UK Government surveys by using a multilevel multinomial modelling approach. The models are guided by current conceptual frameworks and theories of survey participation. One key feature of the analysis is the investigation of the extent to which effects of household characteristics are survey specific. The analysis is based on the 2001 UK Census Link Study, which is a unique source of data containing an unusually rich set of auxiliary variables. The study contains the response outcome of six surveys, linked to census data and interviewer observations for both respondents and non-respondents.     

Penalized likelihood-ratio test for finite mixture models with multinomial observations

Due to the irregularity of finite mixture models, the commonly used likelihood-ratio statistics often have complicated limiting distributions. We propose to add a particular type of penalty function to the log-likelihood function. The resulting penalized likelihood-ratio statistics have simple limiting distributions when applied to finite mixture models with multinomial observations. The method is especially effective in addressing the problems discussed by Chernoff and Lander (1995). The theory developed and simulations conducted show that the penalized likelihood method can give very good results, better than the well-known C(α) procedure, for example. The paper does not, however, fully explore the choice of penalty function and weight. The full potential of the new procedure is to be explored in the future.     

Simulated classical tests in multinomial probit models

This paper compares the application of different versions of the simulated counterparts of the Wald test, the score test, and the likelihood ratio test in one- and multiperiod multinomial probit models. Monte Carlo experiments show that the use of the simple form of the simulated likelihood ratio test delivers relatively robust results regarding the testing of several multinomial probit model specifications. In contrast, the inclusion of the Hessian matrix of the simulated loglikelihood function into the simulated score test and (in the multiperiod multinomial probit model) particularly the inclusion of the quasi-maximum likelihood theory into the simulated likelihood ratio test leads to substantial computational problems. The combined application of the quasi-maximum likelihood theory with the simulated Wald test or the simulated score test is not systematically superior to the application of the other versions of these two simulated classical tests either. Neither an increase in the number of observations nor in the number of random draws in the incorporated Geweke-Hajivassiliou-Keane simulator systematically lead to more precise conformities between the frequencies of type I errors and the basic significance levels. An increase in the number of observations only decreases the frequencies of type II errors, particularly regarding the simulated classical testing of multiperiod multinomial probit model specifications.     

《尚书·尧典》四仲中星观测年代考

利用岁差原理进行推算,是解决《尧典》四仲中星观测年代问题的有效途径。然而,中外学者由此推算的结果却差别很大。究其原因,在于人们对当时的观测条件认识不一。根据重新讨论和认定的观测条件,可以推得《尧典》四仲中星的观测年代在殷末周初。     

大学英语课堂中的学生口头互动现状探究

采用课堂观察和问卷方式,对大学生参与英语课堂的现状进行了调查分析.课堂观察显示,无论教学用语还是教学活动,教师都在尽可能鼓励和引导学生参与课堂口头互动.学生方面,虽然有7成承认听说是最想提高的技能,但对于老师的各种互动问题,只有少数同学主动参与,大部分学生处于被动局面.对教师的调查则显示,教师认可并创造互动课堂.但学生的参与却不尽如人意.因此,大学生不愿意参与课堂口头互动的状况仍没有得到改善.     

Four tests of fit for the beta-binomial distribution

Tests based on the Anderson–Darling statistic, a third moment statistic and the classical Pearson–Fisher X ² statistic, along with its third-order component, are considered. A small critical value and power study are given. Some examples illustrate important applications.     

SAR的海洋遥感探测技术综述

从研究SAR的海洋遥感探测重要性和基本特点出发,概述了SAR系统的海洋遥感探测技术所涉及的主要研究内容,针对海洋环境要素分布的随机性和时变性,研究了海面微波散射特性和SAR的海面成像机理,给出了研究结果;分析了SAR系统主要特点,提出研究包括系统的宽测绘带特性和雷达的弱信号获取、海面精确成像算法和时空相关性等方面;同时探讨了海洋目标检测的技术途径,以满足SAR系统海洋观测应用的需要.     

The asymptotic distribution of a pivotal quantity for a capture-recapture model

A pivotal quantity for a capture-recapture model is introduced and used to construct an asymptotic confidence region for (ε,N), where ε is the capture efficiency and N is the population size. The true confidence levels of certain regions are obtained by simulation. Certain confidence regions for (ε,N) are drawn to show the size of the regions and to show how confidence limits for N depend on ε.     

Multiplicative-interaction logit models for i×j×2 three-way tables

Multiplicative-interaction (M-I) logit models are proposed for three-way IxJx2 contingency tables where the third variable constitutes a binary response. Models are derived by assigning unknown scores to the categories and forming product interactions from them. Asymptotic results under special sampling constraints are derived for maximum likelihood estimates and the goodness-of-fit statistics. The class of models proposed in this paper are found to be useful when no obvious scores are available. An example is included.