The PCSE Estimator is Good -- Just Not as Good as You Think

This paper investigates the properties of the Panel-Corrected Standard Error (PCSE) estimator. The PCSE estimator is commonly used when working with time-series, crosssectional (TSCS) data. In an influential paper, Beck and Katz (1995) (henceforth BK) demonstrated that FGLS produces coefficient standard errors that are severely underestimated. They report Monte Carlo experiments in which the PCSE estimator produces accurate standard error estimates at no, or little, loss in efficiency compared to FGLS. Our study further investigates the properties of the PCSE estimator. We first reproduce the main experimental results of BK using their Monte Carlo framework. We then show that the PCSE estimator does not perform as well when tested in data environments that better resemble “practical research situations.” When (i) the explanatory variable(s) are characterized by substantial persistence, (ii) there is serial correlation in the errors, and (iii) the time span of the data series is relatively short, coverage rates for the PCSE estimator frequently fall between 80 and 90 percent. Further, we find many “practical research situations” where the PCSE estimator compares poorly with FGLS on efficiency grounds.Panel data estimation; Monte Carlo analysis; FGLS; Parks; PCSE; finite sample

How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?

This analysis uses ACNielsen Homescan data on 1999 household food purchases from all types of retail outlets to estimate an annual retail price per pound and per serving for 69 forms of fruits and 85 forms of vegetables. Among the forms we priced, more than half were estimated to cost 25 cents or less per serving. Consumers can meet the recommendation of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Estimating Standard Errors For The Parks Model: Can Jackknifing Help?

Non-spherical errors, namely heteroscedasticity, serial correlation and cross-sectional correlation are commonly present within panel data sets. These can cause significant problems for econometric analyses. The FGLS(Parks) estimator has been demonstrated to produce considerable efficiency gains in these settings. However, it suffers from underestimation of coefficient standard errors, oftentimes severe. Potentially, jackknifing the FGLS(Parks) estimator could allow one to maintain the efficiency advantages of FGLS(Parks) while producing more reliable estimates of coefficient standard errors. Accordingly, this study investigates the performance of the jackknife estimator of FGLS(Parks) using Monte Carlo experimentation. We find that jackknifing can -- in narrowly defined situations -- substantially improve the estimation of coefficient standard errors. However, its overall performance is not sufficient to make it a viable alternative to other panel data estimators.Panel Data estimation; Parks model; cross-sectional correlation; jackknife; Monte Carlo

Domestic Capacities for Building Post-Conflict Peace

The existing democratization and peacebuilding literature often neglects the important role the domestic realm plays in post-conflict peacebuilding. To explain why some post-conflict peacebuilding operations have a greater likelihood of success than others, some scholars have examined the impact of factors such as international coordination, external donor interest, democratic sequencing, and hostility levels. This analysis focuses on domestic capacities for building peace in the aftermath of civil conflict in order to systematically explore the relationship between the domestic sphere and peacebuilding success. Using Sambanis and Doyle’s (2006) peacebuilding triangle model, new local capacities indexes will be created and tested

Life and Writings of Mary Hayden Green Pike (1824-1908)

Although sketches of the life of Mary Hayden Green Pike appear in Appletons1 Cyclopaedia of American Biography and in the Dictionary of American Biography, an extended study of her life and works has not been written. Whatever the cause of her obscurity, her popularity as a novelist of the feminine fifties, her enthusiasm for the abolitionist cause, and her value as a propagandist seem to merit more than literary oblivion. Mary Hayden Green Pike, a pre-Civil War novelist of Calais, Maine, was one of the more popular writers to follow in the wake of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Deeply concerned with the moral issue of the slavery question, she visited the South, where she made close observation of the slavery system. Confirmed in her anti-slavery views by this visit, she was further encouraged by her husband, Frederick A. Pike (1817-1886), a Congressman, by his friends Hamlin and Blaine, and by her brother-in-law, James Shepherd Pike, Washington correspondent and associate editor of the New York Tribune 1850-1860, and United States Minister to the Netherlands 1861-1866. Mrs. Pike\u27s three novels were written in the sentimental and melodramatic style of the women writers of the 1850\u27 Her first novel, Ida May, a Story of Things Actual and possible published in 1854 under the pseudonym of Mary Langdon, was extremely popular, and probably helped to strengthen the deep impression made by Uncle Tom1s Cabin, first published serially in the„National Era 1851-1852. Ida May’ s popularity was due chiefly to its theme, and Mrs. Pike, like Mrs. Stowe, did not write another novel to equal her first in selling value. Her second novel, Caste, A Story of Republican Equality, by Sydney A. Story, Jr., dealt with the problems of racial discrimination, particularly that of miscegenation, and was not so popular as her first. Agnes, Mrs. Pike’s third and last novel, a romance set in the American Revolutionary period, was least popular of the three works, perhaps because the subject matter was less timely. After Agnes Mrs. Pike gave up writing and continued her activities in charitable organizations and in the Baptist church, of which she was an enthusiastic member. She also did still life and landscape painting. In her own day and even later Mrs. Pike was confused with the writer of a song entitled Ida May, with contemporary Pike women authors, among them her sister-in-law and her niece, and with an English novelist, Emily Jolly, who also wrote a Caste. Mrs. Pike should be considered in the light of the times in which she wrote. Her style is that of other popular feminine novelists of the mid-nineteenth century. As a strong supporter of the anti-slavery cause, she deserves mention in American literary history

Settled debate or second wave? : clinical social workers\u27 roles in treatment with youth who take ADHD drugs

The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain a deeper understanding of social workers\u27 roles in treating children who take attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs. The study used semi-structured in-person and telephone interviews with twelve licensed clinical social workers to gather qualitative data about their experiences with children and families of children diagnosed with ADHD and their reflections on their roles in treatment, in particular those regarding medication prescribed to mitigate the child\u27s ADHD symptoms. The findings suggested that social workers experienced difficulty teasing out ADHD from issues known to commonly co-occur as well as from a history of trauma. In cases where a child with a history of trauma had already been diagnosed with ADHD, social workers struggled with ambivalence when treating certain symptoms as ADHD rather than as trauma. Social workers\u27 roles in treatment were found to be varied and complex and beyond the scope of the current literature. The clinical setting was a prominent theme in this study, with all participants identifying some way in which it affected their roles in assessment and diagnosis, medication, and other treatment approaches. Social workers in community-based agency settings generally defined their roles quite differently from those in private practice. The data also highlighted the disparate ways that racism and dynamics of oppression manifest within the broader query. A framework of four intersecting themes is offered to guide clinical practice and social work policy with children with ADHD symptoms

The Sexual Image of Women in Television: The Effect on Young Women in America

The purpose of this study was to look at the portrayal of the sexual image of women on television from 1970 through 2000 by rating the main female character on an appearance and communication score, which was done by the two experimenters. We hypothesized that the stereotypical appearance and communication score would increase from 1970 to 2000. However, the trend analysis showed that the appearance score decreased, implying that the stereotypical appearance of women has lessened through the years. The communication score increased from 1980 to 2000, implying a more stereotypical portrayal of women. If future, more thorough research finds the same communication trend, then this could potentially imply that adolescent women’s self-esteem is negatively affected by the media

A Composite Genome Approach to Identify Phylogenetically Informative Data from Next-Generation Sequencing

We have developed a novel method to rapidly obtain homologous genomic data for phylogenetics directly from next-generation sequencing reads without the use of a reference genome. This software, called SISRS, avoids the time consuming steps of de novo whole genome assembly, genome-genome alignment, and annotation. For simulations SISRS is able to identify large numbers of loci containing variable sites with phylogenetic signal. For genomic data from apes, SISRS identified thousands of variable sites, from which we produced an accurate phylogeny. Finally, we used SISRS to identify phylogenetic markers that we used to estimate the phylogeny of placental mammals. We recovered phylogenies from multiple datasets that were consistent with previous conflicting estimates of the relationships among mammals. SISRS is open source and freely available at https://github.com/rachelss/SISRS.Comment: 12 pages plus36 figures, 1 supplementary table, 3 supplementary figure

Decision Making Towards Maternal Health Services in Central Java, Indonesia

Background: Indonesia has always been struggling with maternal health issue even after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programs were done. Prior research findings identified many factors which influenced maternal health status in developing countries such Indonesia and even though various efforts had been made, the impact of the transformation of maternal health behavior was minimal.Purpose: This study aimed to seek an understanding of the factors influencing decisions towards maternal health services.Methods: A case study with a single case embedded design was employed. Interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held to collect data from 3 health workers and 40 maternal women in a sub-district in Central Java, Indonesia.Results: Interviews with the village midwives as the main health providers in the Getasan sub-district concluded that there were several factors influencing the women\u27s decisions towards maternal services. The factors were options to have services with other health workers outside the area, and shaman services as alternative care and family influencing maternal health behaviors. The analysis of the FGDs also supported the village midwives\u27 statements that in spite of their awareness towards the available maternal health services, the existence of shamans and traditional beliefs strongly affected their decision.Conclusion: The findings in this study showed that cultural issues prevented the maximum maternal health status in Getasan sub-district. This study recommends Puskesmas (Primary Health Care) as the first level of health institutions in Indonesia to support the village midwives\u27 roles within their target area