The Fixed-Effects Zero-Inflated Poisson Model with an Application to Health Care Utilization

Response variables that are scored as counts and that present a large number of zeros often arise in quantitative health care analysis. We define a zero-in flated Poisson model with fixed-effects in both of its equations to identify respondent and health-related characteristics associated with health care demand. This is a new model that is proposed to model count measures of health care utilization and account for the panel structure of the data. Parameter estimation is achieved by conditional maximum likelihood. An application of the new model is implemented using micro level data from the 2004-2006 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and compared to existing panel data models for count data. Results show that separately controlling for whether outcomes are zero or positive in one of the two years does make a difference for counts with a larger number of zeros.Count Data;Zero-In ated Poisson Model;Fixed-effects;SHARE

Feedback mitjançant screencast. Percepció dels/de les alumnes i repercussió en el seu aprenentatge

L’avaluació i els comentaris que la complementen i/o suporten són un element de correcció i redirecció de l’aprenentatge dels estudiants. Els imputs que reben els ajuden a assimilar allò que ja han aprés i a comprendre com millorar tot allò que encara no han adquirit de forma adequada. La correcció manual tradicional sobre paper no admet grans arguments ni explicacions i acaba per resumir-se en l’assenyalament de les errades i, en algunes ocasions, dels encerts. L’espai físic i temporal són, sovint, els elements que posen barreres a explicacions més específiques i desenrotllades. L’ús del screencast (gravació audiovisual de la pantalla de l’ordinador i del so al seu voltant) permet enregistrar en pantalla la imatge del treball rebut pel professor, el moviment del ratolí sobre el text/les imatges i la veu del professor fent els comentaris necessaris sense limitacions d’espai ni temps. He aplicat d’aquesta pràctica docent per primera vegada el curs present. Amb el present estudi em propose conèixer quina percepció tenen els/les alumnes d’aquesta incorporació tecnològica a l’avaluació, com repercuteixen els comentaris en àudio al seu aprenentatge i si tenen cap suggeriment que ajude a acceptar, rebutjar i/o millorar el feedback i la valoració mitjançant screencast

Per l’accesso alla letteratura scientifica: i Consorzi, la CRUI, CARE

There have been many reasons in recent years for librarians and the scientific community to look for forms of cooperation which could guarantee large, easy and long-lasting access to information, the possibility of exercising some form of control on the market and have a positive influence on the scientific communication system, through the implementation of the use of new technologies. Beside the existing Consortia, others have emerged, originally born as user groups and later organized in formal structures. The Library Committee of CRUI has caught the importance of cooperation as a strategy to face change; it has reinforced it, signing with the new Consortia an “Agreement for access to electronic resources in favour of Italian universities” (November 2005) and, through the creation of CARE (coordinating group for access to electronic resources) has started an experiment of negotiation on a national basis, which can be considered a testing of the effective cohesion among universities as well as the effectiveness of the complex mechanism required by this question. More recently CRUI Committee has approved the “Guidelines for the constitution of an Italian academic library system” that can be read as an attempt to supply a common view, at least in universities, on scientific information. Many questions arise from this context: the evolution of Consortia, the future of CARE, whose activity should be more oriented to proposal rather than management, the role of the library Committee of CRUI and its articulations, the possible relationships and interplay among the different entities

"A Very Naughty Place!" The Attraction to the Frightening Other Reflected in Narratives about Assam

According to many Hindus, travelling to Assam, in North-East India, is dangerous. The Assamese woman might trap the male outsider, using her magic to transform him into a goat and turn him back into a man at night. Unable to leave, the man would become the sex-toy of his mistress. Fear is the emotion many Hindus once felt (and still feel) about remote Assam. Still, many set off on a pilgrimage to Assam's most famous temple - the Kāmākhyā temple in Guwahati. In many narratives, Assam, though frightening, is the source of occult knowledge for those who are prepared to cope with such awe-inspiring power. Through the analysis of several narratives about Assam, the paper advances a reflection on our notion of fear and shows how the latter is often tightly connected to attraction. The narratives are taken from several field visits by the author and her research focusing on the Kāmākhyā temple, as well as common stories from Hindu folklore. Together they explore a frightening picture of Assam. To make sense of these data, the paper evokes the notion of śakti and analyses the way Assamese women are depicted in the narratives under consideration

Avaluació recíproca. L’aportació de moodle a l'activitat docent

Un dels objectius de moltes assignatures és l'assoliment de criteris per part dels alumnes. Els estudiants els assoleixen, però no sempre en són conscients. Posar-los enfront dels treballs dels companys, i demanar-los que els valoren, els ajuda a utilitzar el criteri adquirit en cada assignatura. Per a facilitar-los la tasca, com a docent, els facilite els paràmetres al voltant dels quals fer girar la seua avaluació. Aquesta pràctica resulta útil en diferents aspectes, com avaluar la mesura de l'adquisició de criteris específics, de l'assentament dels coneixements, la reflexió dels estudiants sobre el propi aprenentatge i carències, i fins i tot perquè senten empatía amb els professors. Vaig aplicar l'avaluació recíproca el curs 2012-2013 i en vaig realitzar un primer estudi que m'ha permès incorporar algunes millores suggerides pels estudiants. En aquesta comunicació traduiré com s'han acceptat les evolucions en el present curs així com què és allò que els alumnes valoren més i/o menys d'aquesta pràctica docent. Igualment, parlaré de què està suposant l'ús de moodle per al desenvolupament de l'avaluació mútua. Finalment, explicaré les millores que els alumnes suggereixen i com em plantege incorporar-les d'ara endavant

Understanding the Southern Italian commons: polycentric governance on the mountains of Sila

In this article, I examine patterns of collective action in the South of Italy, a region where commons scholarship presents several challenges, mainly due to its feudal heritage. In analysing the history of Southern Italian commons, Elinor Ostrom's theories on polycentric governance are adopted. I propose a case study on the mountains of Sila, where collective action was institutionalised through a municipal organisation known as universitas casalium, consisting of the city of Cosenza and its hamlets. This institution collaborated with the royal government, creating a polycentric governance system where institutional functions contentiously intermingled, generating conflicting relations, but also unique governmental arrangements. Yet how did previous historical interpretations miss this point? Documentary evidence provides a clear answer: while the institutional recognition of the universitas casalium can be traced back as far as the twelfth century, a series of institutional reforms initiated in the mid-fifteenth century led to the progressive decline of the local institution and accordingly of the commons economy related to it. This loss of legitimacy derived from the emergence of feudal barons and later of landowners from the middle class, leading to the progressive dissolution of collective action in Sila as Italy moved towards Italian unification in 1861.L'obiettivo di questa ricerca è contribuire allo studio dei beni comuni nell'Italia meridionale attraverso l'indagine delle relazioni tra pratiche collettive e feudalesimo. Nell'analizzare la storia dei beni comuni nel Mezzogiorno e ponendo attenzione critica sulla governance di carattere policentrico sono state assunte le teorie di E Ostrom. Nello specifico, si propone un caso-studio condotto sull'altopiano Silano, dove i beni comuni furono istituzionalizzati attraverso la formazione dell'Universitas Casalium, organo (o organizzazione) municipale che raccoglieva la città di Cosenza e i suoi casali. L'esistenza di relazioni continue tra questo istituto e il governo reale portò alla nascita di un sistema policentrico di governance in cu diverse funzioni istituzionali si contaminavano in maniera controversa, generando conflitti, ma anche interessanti soluzioni. Considerata la produttività di tale sistema, suscita un certo stupore l'assenza da parte delle interpretazioni storiche precedenti di un approfondimento di questa situazione organizzativa. Le fonti documentarie analizzate in questa sede suppliscono a tale mancanza: se il riconoscimento istituzionale dell’universitas casalium può essere ricondotto al XII secolo, una serie di riforme istituzionali iniziate a partire dal XV secolo dalla corona reale determinarono un progressivo declino di questa istituzione e delle economie che da essa dipendevano. Questa perdita di legittimità corrispose all'emergere di una classe di baroni feudali e successivamente di possidenti notabili, determinando la fine dei commons in Sila, in corrispondenza all'unificazione nazionale del 1861

Dionigi Albera, Melissa Blanchard, eds, Pellegrini del nuovo millennio: Aspetti economici e politici delle mobilità religiose, Messina, Mesogea, 2015, pp. 295

Book review of Dionigi Albera, Melissa Blanchard, eds, Pellegrini del nuovo millennio. Aspetti economici e politici delle mobilità religiose, Messina, Mesogea, 2015, pp. 295.Recensione di Dionigi Albera, Melissa Blanchard, a cura di, Pellegrini del nuovo millennio. Aspetti economici e politici delle mobilità religiose, Messina, Mesogea, 2015, pp. 295