Materialism in Pedagogy Students in Chile

Many studies have used Richins and Dawson’s (J Consum Res 19: 303–316, 1992) Material Values Scale (MVS), applying it to different types of populations that exhibit a particular psychometric behavior, and showing little stability in their factorial structure. In the present study, 1,070 pedagogy students from the northern, central and southern regions of Chile answered the MVS. This sample was randomly divided in two. Using the first sub-sample (N = 539), an exploratory factorial analysis was carried out, from which a structure of nine items was grouped into two factors called “Social Success” and “Personal Happiness”, which presented adequate reliability. Later, with the second sub-sample (N = 531), the factorial structure indicated above was put to the test through a confirmatory factorial analysis. The data from the model show that the scale contains 8 items in total, grouped into two dimensions. The factorial loads are significant at the level of 1 %, which indicates that the 2-factor structure can be confirmed. Finally—using the proposed structure—the presence of the students’ material values was evaluated.     

From Urban to Rural: Lessons for Microfinance from Argentina

The recent success of microfinance for the urban self‐employed contrasts with decades of failure on the part of public development banks for small farmers. This article describes the ways in which rural microfinance organisations have tried to adapt the lessons of urban microfinance to manage the risks and control the costs of the supply of financial services in rural areas. It then asks whether the lessons of urban microfinance are likely to apply in the poorest rural areas of Argentina. The article concludes that microfinance is unlikely to improve access to small loans and small deposits for many of the rural poor in Argentina; distances are too great, farmers too specialised, and wages too high. Improved access depends not on targeting loans by government decree but on strengthening institutions that support financial markets.     

Testing Cross-National Conflict Shifting theory: An analysis of Chiquita Brands’ transnational crisis in Colombia

This study uses the Cross-National Conflict Shifting theory to analyze Chiquita Brands’ transnational crisis originated in Colombia with consequences in the United States. The research includes a content analysis and a case study conducted by U.S. and Colombian scholars. This research contributes to the global public relations’ body of knowledge by supporting 9 out of the 10 CNCS theoretical propositions, and further supporting the theory with 3 research questions and 8 hypotheses (2 partially supported, 6 supported).     

Use of Nondeliberative Practice in Groups for Older Adults with Substance Use and Mental Health Disorder: Group in an Art Gallery

ABSTRACT

This article presents an application of Norma Lang’s nondeliberative theory in groupwork with clients of Community Outreach Programs in Addictions (COPA), a Toronto community-based organization that assists adults age 55 and older who struggle with addictions and mental health. The article illustrates how we challenged concepts of group work which are predominantly discussion-based problem solving or premeditated by hosting a group in a major art gallery with clients considered difficult to serve. What was done is juxtaposed with what might have been done with greater knowledge of nondeliberative theory.     

Objective Bayes Factors for Gaussian Directed Acyclic Graphical Models

Abstract. We propose an objective Bayesian method for the comparison of all Gaussian directed acyclic graphical models defined on a given set of variables. The method, which is based on the notion of fractional Bayes factor (BF), requires a single default (typically improper) prior on the space of unconstrained covariance matrices, together with a prior sample size hyper‐parameter, which can be set to its minimal value. We show that our approach produces genuine BFs. The implied prior on the concentration matrix of any complete graph is a data‐dependent Wishart distribution, and this in turn guarantees that Markov equivalent graphs are scored with the same marginal likelihood. We specialize our results to the smaller class of Gaussian decomposable undirected graphical models and show that in this case they coincide with those recently obtained using limiting versions of hyper‐inverse Wishart distributions as priors on the graph‐constrained covariance matrices.     

Risk: For Whom? Representations of Mining Activity by Different Social Actors in the Molango Manganese District of Hidalgo,Mexico

Previous studies have shown high levels of manganese exposure and neurocognitive damage in the population living in the mining zone in Molango, Mexico. One of the objectives of the Intersectoral Group on Environmental Management for the mining district has been to provide public participation in the risk management plan. To achieve this, it is important to know how the different social actors represent the mining activity. The objectives of this study were to characterize the social representations of the mining activity by different social actors. A qualitative design was used based on in‐depth interviews of residents, public officials, and a mining company representative. The analysis was conducted according to themes for each group of actors. Essentially, distinct social representations of the different mining activities were identified. Residents viewed mining activities as synonymous with contamination and, therefore, as having affected all areas of their environment, health, and daily life. These activities were seen as a collective risk. The public officials and the mining company held that there was no evidence of harm and saw mining activities as a generator of regional development. Harm to health and the environment were seen as a stance taken by the communities in order to obtain economic benefits from the company. These images of the “other” are shaped by social, political, and cultural factors. They make it difficult for the actors to reach cooperative agreements and thereby affect progress on the risk management plan. Decisionmakers need to take these differences into account when promoting social participation.     

CENTRAL BANK REPUTATION AND THE MONETIZATION OF DEFICITS: THE 1981 ITALIAN MONETARY REFORM

In 1981 the Bank of Italy was freed from the obligation to purchase the unsold public debt at the Treasury auctions. Since then, the Bank of Italy has reduced debt monetization. The paper seeks to explain this policy shift by analyzing a game between the monetary and fiscal authorities. The fiscal authority is imperfectly informed about the central bank preferences. An equilibrium exists in which the central bank does not monetize, so as to establish a reputation of being independent. Monetization raises fiscal deficits and may raise public debt relative to a non-accommodative policy.