Magali Valero

An examination of the information quality perceptions of Mexican internet users

Mexico was a relatively early adopter of the internet, and although broadband access has been limited in some parts of the country, the government has aggressively sought to provide internet access to users throughout the country. This study reports the results of a study of perceptions of information quality among Mexican users of the internet. Results are reported from a survey of internet users at two Mexican universities in which perceptions of 15 dimensions of information quality are assessed. The nine dimensions of believability, accuracy, objectivity, reputation, value-added, ease of understanding, representational consistency, concise representation, and access security have higher ratings for traditional text sources of information than for internet sources of information. In contrast, the dimensions of timeliness and accessibility have higher ratings for internet sources than for traditional text sources of information.

Nutritional Intake and Poverty in Mexico: 1984--2010

Using nutritional information of food items acquired by each household, we evaluate how Mexicos nutritional deficiency (calorie and protein) has changed over time. Our extensive dataset combines household surveys from 1984, 1989, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. We find per capita calorie intake has decreased over time for both urban and rural households. The pattern is similar to the case of India, where a decline in calorie intake between 1983 and 2005 has been documented. In both urban and rural areas, nutritional deficiency is increasing over time. Unlike the case of India, we find strong declines in calorie intake for the bottom expenditure quartile of the population. We find that increased prices of nutrients can only partly explain the calorie and protein intake drop.

Are MFT-B Results Biased Because of Students Who Do Not Take the Test?

The authors study the characteristics of students who take the Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B) versus those who do not. The authors find that students with higher cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) are more likely to take the test. Additionally, students are more likely to take the test if it is offered late in the semester. Further results indicate that students with higher GPAs tend to score better on the MFT-B, and thus the outcomes profile of a school based on MFT-B results may appear stronger than it actually is if taking the test is not a requirement of the business program.