She Asked for It: Hardcore Porn, Sexism, and Rape Myth Acceptance

The present study examined pornography viewing, rape myth acceptance, and sexist attitudes. Data came from 392 male and 903 female participants. Multigroup SEM indicated neither pornography viewing, nor hardcore pornography viewing, were related to rape myth acceptance when controlling for sexist attitudes among men. Wald tests indicated hostile sexism to be a significantly stronger predictor of all rape myths examined compared to pornography viewing or hardcore pornography viewing in men and women. Latent variable interaction analyses suggested hardcore pornography viewing as a significant exacerbating factor for the relationship between hostile sexism and “she asked for it” rape myths across genders.

The absorptive capacity process: an exposition and update

PurposeThis study investigates the development of absorptive capacity. Using an integrated cognitive learning perspective, this study provides empirical evidence about the conceptual absorptive capacity model through examining the full process step by step. Two groups of moderating variables were studied—namely, social integration and appropriability—to examine their impact on the process.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a longitudinal study from a community service program (Kuliah Kerja Nyata) at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, by using surveys at the beginning and the end of the project. Of 492 teams from 2,444 students participated in the study. Each individual within a team had at least one project assigned to him/her during the project. The absorptive capacity process was examined through six consecutive models and analysed using hierarchical linear modelling. The moderating variables were tested using the Moderated Regression Analysis and Wald tests.FindingsThe study confirms the full cycle of absorptive capacity as an independent, dynamic and complex process; it involves acquiring, assimilating, transforming and exploiting sequencing variables from the individual level to the team level and vice versa using feed-forward and feedback mechanisms adopted from the 4I framework of organisational learning. However, the roles of the moderating variables are still inconclusive due to some possible factors, which were also reflected by the U-phenomenon.Originality/valueThis study provides vital support to the learning theory as well as to the organisation learning concept. This study also reveals empirical evidence about the unsupported moderating variables behave during a project cycle, such as what they function, how they evolve and what we should do about the moderating factors during a project. The findings of this study provide practical suggestions and highlight areas for future research.

Financial support by older adults to family members: a configurational perspective

Most research on financial inter vivos transfers from older parents to their family members is focused on the giver–receiver dyad, usually between an older parent and an adult child. This study aimed to investigate older adults' financial support beyond this level of intergenerational dyads using an egocentric network perspective (i.e., the configurational approach). Data were from a sample of 2,991 older adults (aged 65 and older) from the Vivre/Leben/Vivere study, a large survey addressing family life and health conditions of older people in Switzerland. We used Wald tests and regression analyses to identify how financial transfers are related to family network properties in later life. Findings showed that older parents' propensity to provide financial support is associated with the density of practical help exchanges within the family (mainly for men) and with the position (mainly for women) and the role they play within their family configuration.

Asymmetric effects of oil price changes on the Nigerian exchange rate

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of crude oil prices on the Nigerian exchange rate with emphasis on discriminating between the effects of positive and negative changes in oil price on exchange rate. Design/methodology/approach The authors used monthly time series data from 1996:1 to 2019:6 and adopted two oil price measures, namely, Brent crude and West Texas Intermediary prices. For analysis, the authors used stepwise least squares to estimate a non-linear ARDL (NARDL) model and Wald tests to determine cointegration and the presence of asymmetric effects. Findings The findings showed that positive and negative Brent crude price changes significantly affect exchange rates differently in nominal terms, both in the long-run and short-run. However, the differences were purely in terms of effect size because the exchange rate decreased for both negative and positive oil price changes. Originality/value Whilst empirical research on asymmetries in the effect of oil price on exchange rate abounds, little evidence exists in Nigeria’s case. Although some studies previously tested for asymmetric oil price effects on the Nigerian currency, the approach used did not estimate long and short-run effects or test of long-run and short-run asymmetries. This paper fills this methodological gap using monthly using the NARDL approach. The NARDL approach provided the advantage of estimating effects for the long-run and short-run and testing for asymmetries in both time spans.

Type I error control for cluster randomized trials under varying small sample structures

Background Linear mixed models (LMM) are a common approach to analyzing data from cluster randomized trials (CRTs). Inference on parameters can be performed via Wald tests or likelihood ratio tests (LRT), but both approaches may give incorrect Type I error rates in common finite sample settings. The impact of different combinations of cluster size, number of clusters, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and analysis approach on Type I error rates has not been well studied. Reviews of published CRTs find that small sample sizes are not uncommon, so the performance of different inferential approaches in these settings can guide data analysts to the best choices. Methods Using a random-intercept LMM stucture, we use simulations to study Type I error rates with the LRT and Wald test with different degrees of freedom (DF) choices across different combinations of cluster size, number of clusters, and ICC. Results Our simulations show that the LRT can be anti-conservative when the ICC is large and the number of clusters is small, with the effect most pronouced when the cluster size is relatively large. Wald tests with the between-within DF method or the Satterthwaite DF approximation maintain Type I error control at the stated level, though they are conservative when the number of clusters, the cluster size, and the ICC are small. Conclusions Depending on the structure of the CRT, analysts should choose a hypothesis testing approach that will maintain the appropriate Type I error rate for their data. Wald tests with the Satterthwaite DF approximation work well in many circumstances, but in other cases the LRT may have Type I error rates closer to the nominal level.

Improved Appropriateness of Advanced Diagnostic Imaging After Implementation of Clinical Decision Support Mechanism

The Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) mandates clinical decision support mechanism (CDSM) consultation for all advanced imaging. There are a growing number of studies examining the association of CDSM use with imaging appropriateness, but a paucity of multicenter data. This observational study evaluates the association between changes in advanced imaging appropriateness scores with increasing provider exposure to CDSM. Each provider’s first 200 consecutive anonymized requisitions for advanced imaging (CT, MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine) using a single CDSM (CareSelect, Change Healthcare) between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019 were collected from 288 US institutions. Changes in imaging requisition proportions among four appropriateness categories (“usually appropriate” [green], “may be appropriate” [yellow], “usually not appropriate” [red], and unmapped [gray]) were evaluated in relation to the chronological order of the requisition for each provider and total provider exposure to CDSM using logistic regression fits and Wald tests. The number of providers and requisitions included was 244,158 and 7,345,437, respectively. For 10,123 providers with ≥ 200 requisitions (2,024,600 total requisitions), the fraction of green, yellow, and red requisitions among the last 10 requisitions changed by +3.0% (95% confidence interval +2.6% to +3.4%), −0.8% (95% CI −0.5% to −1.1%), and −3.0% (95% CI 3.3% to −2.7%) in comparison with the first 10, respectively. Providers with > 190 requisitions had 8.5% (95% CI 6.3% to 10.7%) more green requisitions, 2.3% (0.7% to 3.9%) fewer yellow requisitions, and 0.5% (95% CI −1.0% to 2.0%) fewer red (not statistically significant) requisitions relative to providers with ≤ 10 requisitions. Increasing provider exposure to CDSM is associated with improved appropriateness scores for advanced imaging requisitions.

Is the lack of smartphone data skewing wealth indices in low-income settings?

Background Smartphones have rapidly become an important marker of wealth in low- and middle-income countries, but international household surveys do not regularly gather data on smartphone ownership and these data are rarely used to calculate wealth indices. Methods We developed a cross-sectional survey module delivered to 3028 households in rural northwest Burkina Faso to measure the effects of this absence. Wealth indices were calculated using both principal components analysis (PCA) and polychoric PCA for a base model using only ownership of any cell phone, and a full model using data on smartphone ownership, the number of cell phones, and the purchase of mobile data. Four outcomes (household expenditure, education level, and prevalence of frailty and diabetes) were used to evaluate changes in the composition of wealth index quintiles using ordinary least squares and logistic regressions and Wald tests. Results Households that own smartphones have higher monthly expenditures and own a greater quantity and quality of household assets. Expenditure and education levels are significantly higher at the fifth (richest) socioeconomic status (SES) quintile of full model wealth indices as compared to base models. Similarly, diabetes prevalence is significantly higher at the fifth SES quintile using PCA wealth index full models, but this is not observed for frailty prevalence, which is more prevalent among lower SES households. These effects are not present when using polychoric PCA, suggesting that this method provides additional robustness to missing asset data to measure underlying latent SES by proxy. Conclusions The lack of smartphone data can skew PCA-based wealth index performance in a low-income context for the top of the socioeconomic spectrum. While some PCA variants may be robust to the omission of smartphone ownership, eliciting smartphone ownership data in household surveys is likely to substantially improve the validity and utility of wealth estimates.

An Empirical Test of the Export-Led Model in the Member Countries of the Andean Community (Comunidad Andina de Naciones – CAN)

This paper seeks to empirically test the applicability of the export-led model to the economies of the countries belonging to the Andean Community (Comunidad Andina de Naciones – CAN) by verifying the export-led growth (ELG) hypothesis, which indicates that gross domestic product (GDP) behavior is based on export (EXP) dynamics. This hypothesis was tested for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The methodology used was the application of Johansen cointegration and Block Exogeneity Wald tests to identify Granger causality between variables of the natural logarithms of EXP and GDP. The results obtained show that the causal effect of exports on GDP can only be rejected for the Bolivian economy. Lastly, the main conclusion of this study is that the economic policies of the CAN member countries should not assume that the export sectors are the foundations of their respective economies. Therefore, the CAN governments should not introduce economic policies that prioritize the expansion of the export sector.

WTI OIL SHOCKS IN EASTERN EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS: A VAR APPROACH

The 2020 Russia-Saudi Oil Price War was an economic war triggered in March 2020 by Saudi Arabia in response to Russia’s refusal to reduce oil production to keep oil prices at a moderate level. In view of these events, this study aims to analyze oil shocks (WTI) in the eastern European stock markets, namely the stock indices of Hungary (BUX), Croatia (CROBE), Russia (MOEX), Czech Republic (PRAGUE), Slovakia (SAX 16), Slovenia (SBI TOP), Bulgaria (SOFIX), from September 2019 to January 2021. The results show mostly structural breakdowns in March 2020, while the VAR Granger Causality/Block Exogeneity Wald Tests model shows two-way shocks between oil (WTI) and the stock markets analyzed. These findings show that the hypothesis of portfolio diversification may be called into question. As a final discussion, we consider that investors should avoid investments in stock markets, at least as long as this pandemic last, and rebalance their portfolios into assets considered “safe haven” for the purpose of mitigating risk and improving the efficiency of their portfolios.