Optimal reinsurance and investment problem in a defaultable market

This article investigates the optimal reinsurance and investment problem involving a defaultable security. The insurer can purchase reinsurance and allocate his wealth among three financial securities: a money account, a stock, and a defaultable corporate bond. The objective of the insurer is to maximize the expected exponential utility of terminal wealth. Using techniques of stochastic control theory, we derive the corresponding Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation and decompose the original optimization problem into a predefault case and a postdefault case. Explicit expressions for optimal strategies and the corresponding value functions are derived, and the verification theorem is given. Finally, we present numerical examples to illustrate our results.     

Countertransference with adolescent clients of the same ethnicity

This article addresses countertransference in therapeutic relationships involving therapist and client from the same ethnicity. A case illustration of a Japanese adolescent and a Japanese therapist is used to develop the thesis that obvious similarities in race, or culture may lead to invalid assumptions about shared beliefs and values and subtle countertransference manifestations which have the potential to disrupt or prevent the development of a working relationship.in private practice.     

Fund-raising by hospital foundations

1986–87 data for eighty hospitals in Ontario and their foundations are used to assess the influence of various socioeconomic characteristics of the constituent populations and selected characteristics of the beneficiary hospitals on foundation revenue. Six factors appear to increase hospital foundation revenue: a higher percentage of the population that is elderly, a lower percentage of the population born outside Canada, a higher percentage of the population that has not moved within the past year, a larger hospital market share, teaching-status for the beneficiary hospital, and a higher level of foundation expenses.     

Performance Targets and Public Service Improvement

Theories of rational planning suggest that organizational performanceimproves if targets for future achievements are set. We testthis proposition using panel data for 147 English local educationauthorities between 1998 and 2003. The dependent variables inthe analysis are exam results for school pupils. We find that,controlling for other variables, the extent of performance improvementis influenced positively by the presence of a target. Thus,the results are consistent with the view that clear and quantifiedstrategic priorities lead to better organizational outcomes.     

Mixture models, latent variables and partitioned importance sampling

Gibbs sampling has had great success in the analysis of mixture models. In particular, the “latent variable” formulation of the mixture model greatly reduces computational complexity. However, one failing of this approach is the possible existence of almost-absorbing states, called trapping states, as it may require an enormous number of iterations to escape from these states. Here we examine an alternative approach to estimation in mixture models, one based on a Rao–Blackwellization argument applied to a latent-variable-based estimator. From this derivation we construct an alternative Monte Carlo sampling scheme that avoids trapping states.     

Selection of mission oriented technical programmes

This note describes the use of relevance trees in various forms for the development of a national scientific research plan.     

Local Union Leadership Orientation and Union Democracy*

Cette ktude pr6sente une alternative au concept du systPme de dew partis pour le maintient d' un ordre democratique dans les organizations dites volontaires. On a présupposé que, en l'absence de conflit institutionalisé les orientations de rôle de militants qui se dedient des rôles de leaders determinent le caractère politique de l'organization.
On a choisi les délégués Aune convention constitutionelle des United Auto Workers (Syndicat des Travailleurs de 1'Automobile). On a supposé que les facteurs qui conditionnent un ordre democratique sont (i) l'orientation des valeurs des delbgues, (ii) l'evaluation du syndicat comme organization d6mocratique par les délégukés (iii)la perception par les dhgués du comportement politique des membres et de l'attitude de ceux-ci envers le direction du syndicat. Les resultats suggerent qu' il y a chez ces degues un fort attachement aux valeurs democratiques. En plus, l'evaluation du syndicat par les delegubs et leur perception de l'attitude et du comportement des membres sont des influences determinantes qui renforcent leur attachement B un syst6me democratique de direction.