Discussion: Conditional growth charts

Discussion of Conditional growth charts [math.ST/0702634]Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009053606000000650 in the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Mind the neighbors : the impact of productivity and location on firm turnover

This paper examines the impact of firm productivity and local industrial structure on firm entry and exit in Morocco between 1985 and 2001. There is strong evidence of productivity exerting a market-cleansing role. Less productive firms are found to be more likely to exit - and locations with more productive firms attract higher rates of new firm entry. The effect of productivity operates not only in an absolute sense; a firm’s relative productivity or distance to the local sector frontier matters too. First, large productivity gaps are associated with higher rates of exit, while new firms are attracted to locations with small productivity gaps. Second, local competition increases the probability of exit, although it does not encourage entry. Third, there is evidence of scale or agglomeration effects that increase firm turnover. Fourth, measures of sector diversity are not associated with lower turnover. Fifth, the geographic level at which agglomeration and competition effects are defined matters differently for exit than entry. For exit, the provincial measures are strong, while those for communes are weaker. For entry, it is the local productivity at the commune level that is more significant. This implies that competitive pressures are less geographically constrained while the potential benefits of agglomeration and spill-overs are indeed more local.Microfinance,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Knowledge for Development,Labor Markets

Creative destruction and policy reforms : changing productivity effects of firm turnover in Moroccan manufacturing

How important is firm turnover to national productivity growth? The literature points to the contribution of creative destruction being strongest in more developed countries or where market institutions are strongest. This paper looks at the case of Morocco, spanning 16 years, during which reform initiatives aiming to strengthen market forces were introduced. The paper argues that it is important to take into account i) the timing of how decompositions are structured (capturing the effects of high growth among young firms as part of the benefit of increased entry) and ii) the additional indirect impacts of firm dynamics on agglomeration externalities and competition. The paper shows there are striking differences in the productivity paths of entering and exiting firms compared with incumbents, and that restricting the time horizon of productivity decompositions to the actual year of entry or exit underestimates the productivity effects of turnover. Although it has been hypothesized that conducting decompositions over longer horizons would increase the positive contribution of net turnover, this is not the case in Morocco as losses from exiting firms rise too. Nor has the net contribution of turnover increased with market reforms; if anything, the contribution has declined over time. But the allocation of resources has improved. Both technical and allocative efficiency have risen since the mid-1990s. The paper also shows that firm turnover affects productivity through additional channels. It is closely correlated with measures of agglomeration that are associated with higher rates of exit among unproductive firms, and turnover itself is positively associated with subsequent productivity growth of incumbents.Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Markets,Microfinance,E-Business

Overview: The Future of Animal Agriculture in North America

Livestock Production/Industries,

Pubic Hair Untamed: Viewership, Body Hair, and Primitivism in Modigliani\u27s Female Nudes

Pubic Hair Untamed looks at the series of female nudes painted by early twentieth-century avant-garde artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing primarily on Female Nude from 1916. Modigliani’s nudes are unique in that they depict women with pubic (and armpit) hair, which is a detail omitted almost entirely from women’s bodies throughout the canon of art history. Within the canon, pubic hair has been acceptable on the bodies of nude men but otherwise only seen on women’s bodies in erotic or pornographic art, or on the bodies of women of color. Therefore, in the context of Modigliani’s nudes, pubic hair on a woman’s body complicates notions of the male gaze and gender representation but also racial identity. Modigliani’s studies of “primitivist” art offer some clues as to why he chose to include this more realistic depiction of a woman’s body, as his studies are evident in the technical and stylistic choices of his nude paintings but raise questions about the eroticization of race and gender representation. Thompson’s research ultimately questions the power dynamics inherent between the viewer, the subject and the artist based on their varying identities and how each constructs the way in which women and their bodies are represented in art

Abortion and Mommy Memoirs: Vilar’s Impossible Motherhood:

This essay explores the genre of the mommy memoir for its abortion politics. Buildingon feminist critiques of the genre’s reliance on bio-essentialist ideas of motherhood, Iconsider both the potential and limitations within the genre for representing abortionexperiences. In this essay I analyze Irene Vilar’s Impossible Motherhood:Testimony of an Abortion Addict (2009) for its rhetorical appropriation of themommy memoir form in order to tell a story of reproductive excess

The Effect of Relaxation Procedures on Test Anxiety & Test Performance

The purposes of this study were (a) to determine if relaxation procedures, consisting of meditation and cognitive self-statements, were effective in improving test performance and in reducing test anxiety and (b) to investigate the relationship between test anxiety and test performance. Thirty-six students in an undergraduate psychology class were administered a self-report anxiety inventory, the Test Anxiety Scale-Revised (TASC-R). The students were then matched according to test anxiety level and randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group received 20 minutes of relaxation treatments immediately prior to the third, fourth, and fifth course content exams. The control group spent an equal amount of time before these three course content exams in unstructured review. Students in both groups were asked to respond to the TASC-R prior to taking the initial relaxation treatment and following the final relaxation treatment. Analysis of variance procedures were used to assess the effects of the relaxation procedures on anxiety and test performance. The results showed no significant difference between the treatment and control groups on either anxiety or test performance. Thus, no evidence is presented in this study to indicate that relaxation procedures do in fact improve test performance, or reduce test anxiety. Correlational procedures were used to assess the relationship between test anxiety and test performance. No meaningful significant relationships were demonstrated for either group or both groups combined

Building Baptism: Theology and Ritual in the Structure and Interior Decoration of the Neonian Baptistery of Ravenna

The Neonian Baptistery, also known as the Orthodox Baptistery, was built in Ravenna, Italy by Bishop Ursus in the late fourth-century. Christian theology revolving around baptism is built into the structure of the baptistery and is undeniably the driving force for the way the space was meant to be used and experienced by 4th century Byzantines. The connection between structure and decoration to ritual and theology are undoubtedly interdependent. Through the ritual and theology of baptism, one can see how the Neonian Baptistery becomes a physical manifestation of the divine liturgical rite as reflected in the mosaic program of the interior decoration as well as the physical structure of the building itself

Changes in Personality Traits and Identification in Adolescent Female State School Residents, as a Function of Length of Residence

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a significant exposure (six months) to a State School environment on selected personality traits and identity factors of adolescent girls. A second objective was to ascertain whether greater change takes place early in the period of residency (three months) or in a later stage. A third aim was to determine whether there is a significant difference in the degree of change between girls showing fewer pathological signs and healthier identity than those who show a greater number of such signs and a stronger delinquent identification