A functional connectivity approach for modeling cross-sectional dependence with an application to the estimation of hedonic housing prices in Paris

This paper proposes a functional connectivity approach, inspired by brain imaging literature, to model cross-sectional dependence. Using a varying parameter framework, the model allows correlation patterns to arise from complex economic or social relations rather than being simply functions of economic or geographic distances between locations. It nests the conventional spatial and factor model approaches as special cases. A Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method implements this approach. A small scale Monte Carlo study is conducted to evaluate the performance of this approach in finite samples, which outperforms both a spatial model and a factor model. We apply the functional connectivity approach to estimate a hedonic housing price model for Paris using housing transactions over the period 1990–2003. It allows us to get more information about complex spatial connections and appears more suitable to capture the cross-sectional dependence than the conventional methods.     

Psychometric testing of the Chinese version of ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tools Children's Home Version (ICAST-CH-C)

BackgroundChild maltreatment is a global problem and the true extent remains unknown. The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Child Abuse Screening Tool — Children's Home version (ICAST-CH) has provided accurate assessment of the scope and prevalence of child maltreatment. Yet measures of children's experiences of child maltreatment are limited in the Chinese population.ObjectivesThe study aimed to translate and validate a Chinese version of the ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool — Children's Home version (ICAST-CH) and to evaluate its reliability and validity among Taiwan adolescents.MethodsA three phase study was conducted. In phase 1, the ICAST was translated into Chinese using forward–backward translation procedures with the translation equivalence and content validity assessed. In phase 2, the data provided by a convenience sample of 98 adolescents was used to assess the internal consistency of the ICAST-CH Chinese version (ICAST-CH-C). In phase 3, the psychometric properties of the ICAST-CH-C were tested with a nationwide random sample of 5236 adolescents from 35 schools.ResultsThe translation equivalence and content validity index of the ICAST-CH-C was satisfactory. The inter-rater agreements were .90–.91 for comparability of language and .89–.94 for similarity of interpretability. Results indicated that the ICAST-CH-C had a high level of equivalence with the original English version and demonstrated a high internal consistency (.71–.89). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the presence of five factors supporting the conceptual dimension of the original instrument.ConclusionThis study provided initial psychometric properties of the ICAST-CH-C and supports it as a reliable, valid, and highly usable instrument to identify childhood victimization in adolescents. It provided health care professionals with a useful tool to assess the severity and prevalence of child maltreatment within Chinese communities.     

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the WHOQOL-BREF Using a Multitrait-Multimethod Approach

The WHOQOL-BREF is a commonly used questionnaire in quality of life research. Previous research has shown that the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental health) are highly related. Whether these high correlations reflected the true relations across the domains or the influence of common method effect; however, is still unknown. This study examines the convergent and discriminant validity of the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF by using the multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) approach to control the method effect. Two different samples, with a total of 186 and 201 adults, respectively, were used in the present study. Each participant filled out the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires using four different scaling methods (Likert-type scale, visual analogue scale, pie scale, and partner rating). The covariance matrix of the MTMM result was analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis modeling. Two models were applied, including the correlated traits-correlated uniqueness (CTCU) model and the uncorrelated traits-correlated uniqueness (UTCU) model. Results showed that the CTCU model fit the data better than did the UTCU model, suggesting that the variables tapping the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF have excellent convergent validity; the four domains have moderate correlations, indicating that the four domains are related but not identical.     

Strategic Motive for Introducing Internet Channels in a Supply Chain

Rapid advances of information technology in recent years have enabled both the manufacturers and the retailers to operate their own Internet channels. In this study, we investigate the interaction between the capabilities of introducing the Internet channels, the pricing strategies, and the channel structure. We classify consumers into two segments: grocery shoppers attach a higher utility from purchasing through the physical channel, whereas a priori Internet shoppers prefer purchasing online. We find that when the Internet shoppers are either highly profitable or fairly unimportant, the manufacturer prefers to facilitate the channel separation either through his own Internet channel or the retailer's. In the intermediate region, however, the manufacturer encroaches the grocery shoppers and steals the demand from the retailer's physical channel. With horizontal competition between retailers, a priori symmetric retailers may adopt different channel strategies as a stable market equilibrium. The manufacturer may willingly give up his Internet channel and leverage on the retailer competition. When the manufacturer sells through an online e‐tailer, Internet shoppers may be induced to purchase through the physical channel. This reverse encroachment strategy emerges because selling through the e‐tailer leads to a more severe double marginalization problem.     

The relationship among interactive justice,leader–member exchange,and workplace friendship

Workplace friendship is an important issue in business. Despite its predominance within the management field, there are several unaddressed issues. This study examines the relationship among interactive justice, leader–member exchange, and workplace friendship. Based on data collected from 309 full-time Taiwanese employees, results indicate that interactive justice is positively associated with workplace friendship. Leader–member exchange mediates such relationships. Therefore, as far as the manager is concerned, interactive justice is an effective factor for promoting workplace friendship and the mediating effect of leader–member exchange cannot be neglected.     

Emerging Social Work Field Education Trends in China

MSW field education in China has been adopting Western models. However, this adaptation cannot address all educational and professional training needs in China. This study used an exploratory qualitative study design and interviewed 54 MSW students regarding their field experiences at a university in Shanghai. Results revealed six key themes: field education curriculum design’s influence on student field experiences, faculty advisers’ influence on student field experiences, field agencies’ expectations toward MSW intern performance, field agencies’ capacity to host MSW interns, student perceptions of their professional competencies, and students’ coping strategies to manage challenges in field practicum. Competency-based social work field education is a potential solution to address the current social work field education challenges in China.     

Likelihood inference for correlated binary data without any information about the joint distributions

We propose a universal robust likelihood that is able to accommodate correlated binary data without any information about the underlying joint distributions. This likelihood function is asymptotically valid for the regression parameter for any underlying correlation configurations, including varying under- or over-dispersion situations, which undermines one of the regularity conditions ensuring the validity of crucial large sample theories. This robust likelihood procedure can be easily implemented by using any statistical software that provides naïve and sandwich covariance matrices for regression parameter estimates. Simulations and real data analyses are used to demonstrate the efficacy of this parametric robust method.