What's love got to do with it? Passion and inequality in white‐collar work

Emotion has become an increasingly important aspect of work in the 21st century. In this article, we take stock of the extant literature delineating the role of emotions, especially passion as a cultural schema, in white‐collar workplaces. Scholars have covered extensive ground on emotions at work, but the role of passion remains an underexplored yet significant area. Drawing from recent developments in research on white‐collar work, we argue that the passion schema has become a critical marker in the labor market for sorting individuals into occupations, hiring and promotion within organizations, and assigning value to people's labor. Emergent research suggests that because the expression and perception of passion remain ambiguously defined in the workplace and varies by context, it is pivotal in reproducing social inequalities. In this review, we focus on how privileging passion in the workplace and interpreting it as a measure of aptitude impacts social inequalities by race, gender, and social class. We close by setting an agenda for further research on this topic.     

Race and prevailing wage laws in the construction industry: Comment on Thieblot

Using the 1990 Census of Population, Thieblot (1999) argued that black employment and the strength of the prevailing wage laws are correlated and that repeal of these laws would lead to higher black employment in construction. Analysis of the 1970 Census of Population reveals that the relative abundance of black construction workers in the group of states that eventually would repeal their laws preceded those repeals and that this is mainly due to the characteristics of Southern labor markets. This and other research cast doubt on both the strength and the existence of such a correlation.     

Parameter Estimation of Autoregressive Models Using the Iteratively Robust Filtered Fast-τ Method

Utilizing time series modeling entails estimating the model parameters and dispersion. Classical estimators for autocorrelated observations are sensitive to presence of different types of outliers and lead to bias estimation and misinterpretation. It is important to present robust methods for parameters estimation which are not influenced by contaminations. In this article, an estimation method entitled Iteratively Robust Filtered Fast? τ(IRFFT) is proposed for general autoregressive models. In comparison to other commonly accepted methods, this method is more efficient and has lower sensitivity to contaminations due to having desirable robustness properties. This has been demonstrated by applying MSE, influence function, and breakdown point criteria.     

Bayesian parameter inference for stochastic SIR epidemic model with hyperbolic diffusion

This paper is concerned with the Bayesian estimation parameters of the stochastic SIR (Susceptible-Infective-Removed) epidemic model from the trajectory data. Specifically, the data from the count of both infectives and susceptibles is assumed to be available on some time grid as the epidemic progresses. The diffusion approximation of the appropriate jump process is then used to estimate missing data between every pair of observation times. If the time step of imputations is small enough, we derive the posterior distributions of the infection and recovery rates using the Milstein scheme. The paper also presents Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation that demonstrates that the method provides accurate estimates, as illustrated by the synthetic data from SIR epidemic model and the real data.     

A new generalization of the Weibull-geometric distribution with bathtub failure rate

In this paper, the researchers attempt to introduce a new generalization of the Weibull-geometric distribution. The failure rate function of the new model is found to be increasing, decreasing, upside-down bathtub, and bathtub-shaped. The researchers obtained the new model by compounding Weibull distribution and discrete generalized exponential distribution of a second type, which is a generalization of the geometric distribution. The new introduced model contains some previously known lifetime distributions as well as a new one. Some basic distributional properties and moments of the new model are discussed. Estimation of the parameters is illustrated and the model with two known real data sets is examined.     

South-South Cooperation and Export

We study the possibility of cartel formation among primary exporters who face an inelastic world demand for their exports. The phenomenon of immiserizing export growth appears as a non-cooperative equilibrium in a two-country export game. With infinite repetitions of the one shot game, we show that `different country size' will be detrimental to the sustenance of the collusive behavior needed for eliminating the possibility of immiserization.     

Domestic Violence Service Providers’ Needs and Perceptions of Technology: A Qualitative Study

There is growing recognition of the need to better understand the intersections between the work of domestic violence service providers and technology. Professionals who work with clients impacted by domestic violence are increasingly using technologies across different aspects of their work, including communicating with other professionals and seeking information and resources via the Internet. The current study used qualitative data from two sources—individual interviews and two focus groups—to learn about domestic violence service providers’ needs and perceptions related to technology use. The results provide insights about technologies used currently, expected benefits of future technological advances, barriers to using technology, and participants’ self-rated levels of comfort with technology.     

Monitoring and change-point estimation for spline-modeled non-linear profiles in phase II

In some applications of statistical quality control, quality of a process or a product is best characterized by a functional relationship between a response variable and one or more explanatory variables. This relationship is referred to as a profile. In certain cases, the quality of a process or a product is better described by a non-linear profile which does not follow a specific parametric model. In these circumstances, nonparametric approaches with greater flexibility in modeling the complicated profiles are adopted. In this research, the spline smoothing method is used to model a complicated non-linear profile and the Hotelling T² control chart based on the spline coefficients is used to monitor the process. After receiving an out-of-control signal, a maximum likelihood estimator is employed for change point estimation. The simulation studies, which include both global and local shifts, provide appropriate evaluation of the performance of the proposed estimation and monitoring procedure. The results indicate that the proposed method detects large global shifts while it is very sensitive in detecting local shifts.     

Psychic distance, psychic distance paradox and behavioral economics: Modeling MNC entry behavior in foreign markets

Assuming that MNCs face a much more complex environment that local enterprizes, the paper begins by discussing what economist Beckerman called psychic distance. After a historical discussion of this concept, I also discuss what O’Gardy and Lane called psychic distance paradox. Then, I argue that these two concepts have a great deal of relevance beyond their original intent of international trade-they are also relevant to FDI and all other formas of international production and exchange. Next, I argue, as I have done in several previous papers, that behavioral economics has a great deal of relevance to FDI and international productive activity; I also argue that behavioral economics can be utilized to describe the concepts of psychic distance and psychic distance paradox. Then, I develop a behavioral economics-based model that can explain the concepts of psychic distance and psychic distance paradox, and their relevance to the modes of entry of MNCs in international markets. In doing so, I argue that FDI and MNC behavior in general need not be explained outside of economics, since, in contrast to neo-classical economics, behavioral economics is capable of capturing the complexities of global markets.