scholarly journals Preface to the MME Special Focus Issue in Memory of Emeritus Professor Frank F. Aplan: Between Theory and Practice

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Emeritus Professor

Imputing missings in official statistics for general tasks – our vote for distributional accuracy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Maria Thurow ◽  
Florian Dumpert ◽  
Burim Ramosaj ◽  
Markus Pauly
Keyword(s):  
Missing Values ◽  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
Imputation Accuracy ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Distance Measures ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
Gross Income

In statistical survey analysis, (partial) non-responders are integral elements during data acquisition. Treating missing values during data preparation and data analysis is therefore a non-trivial underpinning. Focusing on the German Structure of Earnings data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (DESTATIS), we investigate various imputation methods regarding their imputation accuracy and its impact on parameter estimates in the analysis phase after imputation. Since imputation accuracy measures are not uniquely determined in theory and practice, we study different measures for assessing imputation accuracy: Beyond the most common measures, the normalized-root mean squared error (NRMSE) and the proportion of false classification (PFC), we put a special focus on (distribution) distance measures for assessing imputation accuracy. The aim is to deliver guidelines for correctly assessing distributional accuracy after imputation and the potential effect on parameter estimates such as the mean gross income. Our empirical findings indicate a discrepancy between the NRMSE resp. PFC and distance measures. While the latter measure distributional similarities, NRMSE and PFC focus on data reproducibility. We realize that a low NRMSE or PFC is in general not accompanied by lower distributional discrepancies. However, distributional based measures correspond with more accurate parameter estimates such as mean gross income under the (multiple) imputation scheme.

scholarly journals PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE OF THE CENTRAL BANKS ON THE EXAMPLE OF BULGARIA, CROATIA, HUNGARY AND ROMANIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miloš Stanić ◽  
Stefan Andonović
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Bank ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Bank

The central bank represents institution that creates and implements monetary policy and has great impact on proper functioning of state and citizens and their welfare. Bearing in mind their role in society, it is of outmost importance to properly regulate their status and functions, especially in the field of ensuring their independence. As a matter of fact, over the last few decades, theory and practice have come to such opinion that is necessary to do so. Accordingly, the main subject of this paper is the analysis of the legal framework that enables the personal independence of central banks. Independence has several aspects. By using a comparative legal and normative method, on the example of four European countries from the region, which were members of the former communist bloc and are now members of the European Union, authors tried to find out certain legal solutions within these countries regarding personal independence of national bank management structures. Specifically, legal solutions are being explored in Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. Personal independence concerns issues related to the appointment of top central bank officials, and the duration of their mandate, as well as the conditions for their dismissal. The aim is to determine their common characteristics and at the same time the authors give some appropriate critical considerations. These countries were chosen because, in the historical and social sense, they went through what Serbia is going through in the process of joining the European Union. Also, it is assumed that they have met certain standards by joining the EU. It has to be noted that the goals guaranteed and proclaimed by legal norms do not always have to be achieved in practice. A special focus in the paper is made on the issue of personal independence of central banks in relation to the centers of political power. As a result of the analysis, the authors were free to address the fact that an appropriate legal framework is the first and necessary step towards achieving the proclaimed goals of independence. At the same time, however, one must be aware that this is the first step towards achieving real central bank independence. Also, we will add that the entire process of building personal independence takes time and it certainly cannot be obtained by a legal norm. This is where the social justification of the scientific study of this topic is reflected, because it encourages the development of awareness of the importance of this topic, as well as the development of critical thinking about it.

scholarly journals An Interview with Oskar Negt (2004)

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. 203-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Pohl ◽  
Klaus-Peter Hufer
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sociological Imagination ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Emeritus Professor ◽  
Alexander Kluge ◽  
Anglophone World ◽  
Theorie Und Praxis ◽  
The University ◽  
Considerable Discussion

Oskar Negt is an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Hannover and a prolific writer, best known in the Anglophone world for two books written with the film maker and novelist Alexander Kluge: Public Sphere and Experience: Toward an Analysis of the Bourgeois and Proletarian Public Sphere, published in Germany in 1972 and in the United States in 1993 (then reissued by Verso Books in 2016), and History & Obstinacy, which appeared in Germany in 2008 and in an English translation from Zone Books in 2014. In addition to his sociological and theoretical reflections, however, Negt is also a well-known worker educator, whose first major publication in 1971 was Soziologische Phantasie und exemplarisches Lernen: Zur Theorie und Praxis der Arbeiterbildung [Sociological Imagination and Exemplary Learning: On the Theory and Practice of Workers’ Education], which has never been translated into English. Soziologische Phantasie und exemplarisches Lernen was an influential, widely read text that provoked considerable discussion in European workers’ education circles, some of which can be followed in the 1978 anthology edited by Adolf Brock, Hans Dieter Müller, and Oskar Negt entitled Arbeiterbildung: Soziolgische Phantasie und Exemplarisches Lernen in Theorie, Kritik und Praxis [Workers' Education: Sociological Imagination and Exemplary Learning in Theory, Critique and Practice].

Industrial Hubs and Economic Development

2020 ◽  
pp. 14-39
Author(s):  
Arkebe Oqubay
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Industrial Policy ◽  
Structural Transformation ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Economic Agglomeration ◽  
Catch Up

Industrial hubs are at the centre of economic development. However, the literature on industrial hubs is fragmented and characterized by diverse conceptual and methodological approaches. This chapter provides a synopsis of the literature on the theory and practice of industrial hubs and economic development drawn from various intellectual traditions. The chapter also reviews key themes drawn from structuralist development economics, with a special focus on industrial policy, structural transformation, and catch-up. The first section of this chapter provides an outline of the key approaches and issues. The second section discusses historical perspectives on industrial hubs and economic agglomeration starting from the early days of the first industrial revolution. The third section examines issues rooted in structural transformation and economic catch-up, and the connection between cluster dynamics and industrial policy framework. The fourth section maps empirical perspectives behind uneven global practices and outcomes, and on how industrial hubs can synergize industrialization and technological catch-up. The fifth section presents empirical synthesis and concluding notes.

Theorie und Praxis des Risikostrukturausgleichs / Risk Adjustment in Theory and Practice

2007 ◽  
Vol 227 (5-6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Göpffarth
Keyword(s):  
Risk Adjustment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Risk Selection ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Adjustment Procedure ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Informative Signals ◽  
Theorie Und Praxis ◽  
Adjustment Scheme

SummaryThis article reviews the basic theoretical model of risk adjustment (Glazer/McGuire 2000) with a special focus on a coherent presentation of the main results. With adverse selection a regulator pursuing efficiency and solidarity objectives will need a risk adjustment scheme acting on a signal to accomplish both aims. With an imperfect signal this result will not hold. The regulator can react by trying to find more informative signals or by changing the calculation of the risk adjustment scheme (optimal risk adjustment). The model is then extended to derive results on the associated incentives regarding economic efficiency, manipulation of signals and innovation. The incentives will hold with perfect signals but may be violated in the imperfect signal setting. Optimal risk adjustment will most likely have a negative effect on these incentives. The results are contrasted with the empirical literature on the risk adjustment procedure in Germany which is centred on risk selection, the choice of risk adjustors and incentive effects. The paper concludes with an outlook on the ongoing reform of the German risk adjustment procedure.

scholarly journals The “middle archive” exploring the practical and theoretical implications of a new concept in Sweden

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann-Sofie Klareld
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Archival Theory ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Digital Repository ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Recent Developments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study how the concept “middle archive” is related to the Swedish archival theory and practice, by exploring its background and its practical and theoretical implications. The overarching aim is to increase the understanding of the interrelations between the archival theory and practice, with a special focus on changes occurring in the digital environment in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a qualitative study of texts produced between 2010 and 2013, which were read and analyzed iteratively. The research design and analysis is inspired by Dryden (2014) who recommends taking the context into account. The three types of digital repository developed by Millar (2010) are used as a comparison to further extend the understanding of the concept of the “middle archive”. Findings – The findings indicate that the “middle archive” was introduced as a solution to practical problems of managing digital records, and that there is a need to further discuss how the term relates to existing theoretical, legal and administrative contexts. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to contemporary Sweden. The researcher did not follow the discussions and drafts which contributed to the development of the final definitions of the “middle archive”. Originality/value – The study contributes to the research and development of archival concepts, with a special focus on recent developments in Sweden. The paper highlights some of the challenges relating to archives and records in the context of e- government development.

scholarly journals Zooming in on Life Politics: Identity and Reflexivity in a University for the Third Age

2021 ◽  
pp. 104515952110245
Author(s):  
Hany Hachem
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Older Learners ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Late Modern ◽  
Life Politics

A late modern rationale for the education of older people has not yet been sufficiently explored. In this action research, I explore Giddens’s life politics as a framework for a late modern rationale for older adult education. Eleven older learners were recruited voluntarily to an online study group conducted via Zoom at a University for the Third Age. Over six sessions, learners attended mini lectures, completed self-reflexive assignments, and engaged in lively classroom discussions. I report and evaluate the study group, with special focus on outcomes such as personal growth and self- and social questioning. I conclude that life politics is a viable framework for the education of older people and state implications for theory and practice.

scholarly journals Approaches to evaluation of changes in capital structure in industrial branches

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Landa ◽  
Dana Martinovičová
Keyword(s):  
Capital Structure ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Cost Of Capital ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Selection Of

Capital structure is described as a relation between equity and debts while the mutual consequences among items of company’s assets and resources employed as well as the cost of capital are also taken into account. Both, the theory and practice, at evaluation of approaches to capital structure are focu­sed on creation and optimization of capital structure. Relatively less frequent approach is the analy­sis of a state and of changes in capital structure on the level of whole business branch. But on this basis, it is possible to investigate some “average” approaches to selection of financial resources. At ca­pi­tal structure optimization (the proportion between equity and debts), a wide range of criteria plays a substantial role, e.g. cost of capital, risk, expected profitability, liquidity, dividend policy. These criteria have joint effect. This way, a logic question which criteria are preferred more and which criteria are preferred less appears. The article deals with the analysis of capital structure of three branches of manufacturing industry (the branch of production of plastics, the branch of production of electric equipments, the branch of production of textile) in the years 2007–2009 with the special focus on development of financial structure, capital structure and on cost of capital.

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