Work and Demand Making: Productionist and Consumptionist Politics in Latin America

How does the world of work in Latin America affect the way workers act to defend their interests? To what extent have “productionist” demands, those concerning jobs, work conditions, and wages, which are highly salient across the region, been “displaced” by consumptionist or political demands? While the literature has distinguished formal and informal work grosso modo, we explore individual traits of work, which cross-cut the formal-informal distinction. Analyzing survey data from four Latin American capital cities, we find, not surprisingly, that both work-based atomization and insecurity depress demand making in the work arena. But these traits of work also affect demand making on the state, albeit in somewhat different ways. Insecurity is associated with a shift from productionist to consumptionist and political demands, while atomization is associated with a more generalized demobilization across issues. These findings have implications for the representation of worker interests in light of current labor market restructuring and raise the question if labor can reclaim an important voice in that restructuring process.

Statistical models and computational tools for predicting complex traits and diseases

Predicting individual traits and diseases from genetic variants is critical to fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine. The genetic variants from genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including variants well below GWAS significance, can be aggregated into highly significant predictions across a wide range of complex traits and diseases. The recent arrival of large-sample public biobanks enables highly accurate polygenic predictions based on genetic variants across the whole genome. Various statistical methodologies and diverse computational tools have been introduced and developed to computed the polygenic risk score (PRS) more accurately. However, many researchers utilize PRS tools without a thorough understanding of the underlying model and how to specify the parameters for the best performance. It is advantageous to study the statistical models implemented in computational tools for PRS estimation and the formulas of parameters to be specified. Here, we review a variety of recent statistical methodologies and computational tools for PRS computation.

Polska klasyfikacja rodzajów i typów stylizacji językowej jako narzędzie opisu wybranych zagadnień stylistyki japońskiej

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest odniesienie polskiej klasyfikacji stylizacji językowej przeprowadzonej przez Dubisza (1996: 17-20) do pewnych ustaleń z zakresu badań nad stylistyką języka japońskiego. Wspomniany wyżej polski podział stylizacji językowych zastosowano w celu opisu stylistyki języka mówionego, który został utrwalony w tekście jako zapis rozmów oraz dialogów postaci literackich i komiksowych. Dwie spośród pięciu klas stylizacji wydzielonych przez Dubisza zostały wykorzystane w celu rozpatrzenia wyników badań nad stylistyką japońskich gatunków multimodalnych (Kinsui, Yamakido 2015). Japońskie stylizacje językowe rozważono pod kątem wpływu cech indywidualnych postaci na style językowe oraz multimodalnego charakteru komiksu i powieści ilustrowanej. Podjęcie tej próby umożliwiło wydzielenie pewnych innowacji w obrębie istniejącej polskiej klasyfikacji stylizacji językowej. Polish classification of the varieties and types of speech stylization as a tool for addressing selected areas of Japanese stylistics Summary: The aim of this study is to apply the classification of speech stylization proposed by Dubisz (1996: 17-20) to some findings reported on in studies on Japanese stylistics. The classification was utilized to describe the stylistics of spoken language, transcribed into text as a record of the utterances of fictional characters in Japanese literature and comic books. Two out of five classes of stylizations defined by Dubisz were used as reference points for reviewing the results of studies on the stylistics of Japanese multimodal genres (Kinsui, Yamakido 2015). Japanese speech stylizations were evaluated with regard to the impact of individual traits of characters on their speech styles and to the multimodal nature of genres such as comic book and illustrated book. This attempt has led to the proposal of some innovations in the Polish classification of speech stylizations.

​Labrador Retriever a Perfect Apartment Dog- A Review

Dogs are considered to be the most loyal companion of Mankind since ages. They are considered to be the decedents of wolfs. They hold their decent from antient extinct species of wolfs and recently available grey wolfs. Owing to its loyalty and affectionate nature they are the first domesticated animal in man’s world for 15000 years ago. Firstly, they were used by hunters during the time of hunting and were used as to gather the hunts, as in those days’ agriculture was not in practice. This long relationship between human and dogs made them quite loyal and adaptable to human needs. They can eat anything which a man can provide to them and happily accommodates with Human. There are large number of dogs breed which is available in various countries having their own individual traits. They vary in their shape, size, colours, behaviour and their sensory capabilities. Some of dogs are calm and some are aggressive in nature, due to which their utility changes, as they perform many roles for mankind, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship, therapy and aiding disabled people. This relationship with mankind has earned them a title “Man’s best friend”. There are many popular dog breeds in India such as 1) Beagles 2) German Shepherd 3) Great Dane, 4) Labrador Retriever, 5) Boxer, 6) Rottweiller, 7) Pug, 8) Golden Retriever, 9) Cocker Spaniel 10) Dachshund etc.

Firms and the Intergenerational Transmission of Labor Market Advantage

Recent research finds that pay inequality stems both from firm pay-setting and from workers’ individual characteristics. Yet, intergenerational mobility research remains focused on transmission of individual traits, and has failed to test how firms shape the inheritance of inequality. We study this question using three decades of Swedish population register data, and decompose the intergenerational earnings correlation into firm pay premiums and stable worker effects. One quarter of the intergenerational earnings correlation at midlife is explained by sorting between firms with unequal pay. Employer or industry inheritance account for a surprisingly small share of this firm-based earnings transmission. Instead, children from high-income backgrounds benefit from matching with high-paying firms irrespective of the sources of parents’ earnings advantage. Our analysis reveals how an imperfectly competitive labor market provides an opening for skill-based rewards in one generation to become class-based advantages in the next.

Linking individual and population patterns of rocky-shore mussels

Individual traits and population parameters can be used as proxies of processes taking place within a range of scales, thus improving the way we can evaluate species response to environmental variability. In intertidal rocky shores, patterns at the within-site scale, i.e., between centimeters to hundreds of meters, are important for understanding the population response into these highly variable environments. Here, we studied a rocky-shore mussel population at the within-site spatial scale (1) to test how intertidal height and orientation of the shore affect individual traits and population parameters, (2) to infer the link between individual and population level features, and (3) to explore the upscaling mechanisms driving population structure and processes. We analyzed the patterns of six population parameters: density, biomass, crowding, median individual size, recruitment and mortality rate, and four individual traits: growth rate, spawning phenology, size and condition index. Crowding was defined as the degree of overlapping of individuals within a given area, for which we created a “crowding index”. Mussels were studied along the intertidal height gradient in two rocky shores with contrasted orientation at one site over a full year. Our results showed a significant effect of intertidal height and shore orientation on most of individual traits and population parameters studied. In contrast, biomass contained in a full covered surface did not vary in space nor in time. This pattern likely results from relatively constant crowding and a trade-off between median individuals’ size and density. We hypothesize that growth, mortality and recruitment rates may all play roles in the stability of the crowding structure of mussel aggregations. Variation in spawning phenology between the two shores in the study site was also observed, suggesting different temporal dynamics of microclimate conditions. Interestingly, despite the different population size distribution between the two shores, our estimates indicate similar potential reproductive output. We hypothesize that the structure of the patches would tend to maintain or carry a maximum of biomass due to trade-offs between density and size while maintaining and maximizing the reproductive output. The patterns of spatial variability of individual traits and population parameters in our study site suggest that heterogeneous within-site conditions influence variation in individual performance and population processes. These results provide insights about the relationship between individual traits and how these relationships make patterns at the population level emerge. They provide baseline information necessary to improve models of metapopulation with spatially explicit processes.

Associations Between Interindividual Differences, Expectations and Placebo and Nocebo Effects in Itch

Introduction: Placebo and nocebo effects are positive and negative health outcomes that can be elicited by the psychosocial context. They can be mediated by expectations, and may emerge in somatic symptoms even when people are aware of these effects. Interindividual differences (e.g., in personality, affective states) could impact placebo and nocebo responding, but findings are inconsistent.Methods: The current work examined expectation as a mediator of the association between verbal placebo and nocebo suggestions (VSs) and histamine-induced itch across three experimental studies. Moreover, we examined whether interindividual differences (e.g., in optimism, neuroticism, behavioral activation system (BAS), body ignorance) modulated: (1) the direct association between VSs and itch (direct moderation), and (2) the indirect, expectation-mediated association between VSs and itch (moderated mediation). Positive VSs were compared to neutral instructions (Study 1; n = 92) or negative VSs (Studies 2+3; n = 203) in an open-label (i.e., explaining placebo and nocebo effects) or closed-label (concealed) context using PROCESS. First, mediation of VSs effects on itch by expectations was tested. Next, moderation by individual traits was explored using conditional process analyses.Results: The effects of VSs on itch were significantly mediated by expectation in Study 1 and in the open-label (but not closed-label) contexts of Studies 2 and 3. Ignorance of bodily signals marginally moderated the direct effects of VSs on itch when closed-label suggestions were given: at low levels of body ignorance, effects of positive and negative VSs were stronger. Moreover, moderated mediation was observed in the open-label groups of Studies 2 and 3: The expectation-mediated effects of VSs on itch were stronger when BAS drive was lower.Conclusion: Overall, the effects of VSs on itch were mediated by expectations in the open-label, but not the closed-label context. Moreover, the current work suggests that placebo and nocebo effects may be moderated by ignorance of bodily signals and the BAS. There was limited evidence that other interindividual differences modulated placebo and nocebo responding in itch.

In Defence of Ordinary Help: Estimating the effect of Early Help/Family Support Spending on Children in Need Rates in England using ALT-SR

Randomised controlled trials are often inappropriate for many forms of preventative children’s services; as such, observational studies using administrative data can be valuable for evidence-based policymaking. However, estimates of effectiveness can be confounded by differences in thresholds of intervention and national policies that exert pressure on local trends. This study adjusted for these factors using methods developed in clinical psychology to control for individual traits and developmental trajectories, Autoregressive Latent Trajectory Models with Structured Residuals, to analyse the relationship between local authority preventative spending and Children in Need (CIN) rates in England. Higher spending was associated with significant decreases in CIN rates between 2010/11 and 2014/15, but not from 2014/15 onwards. In the first half of the decade, 1% increases in expenditure were associated with between 0.07% and 0.157% decreases in CIN rates. Based on average local authority spending cuts, this translates to an additional 13,000 to 16,500 children and young people put or kept at risk of developmental or health impairments nationally for each year between 2011 and 2015. These findings highlight the potential of early help/family support policies and concerns around how their effectiveness has changed consequent to prolonged austerity and a deliberate policy focus on ‘what works’.