An extension of the standardized randomized response technique to a multi-stage setup

If nonresponse and/or untruthful answering mechanisms occur, analyzing only the available cases may substantially weaken the validity of sample results. The paper starts with a reference to strategies of empirical social researchers related to respondent cooperation in surveys embedding the statistical techniques of randomized response in this framework. Further, multi-stage randomized response techniques are incorporated into the standardized randomized response technique for estimating proportions. In addition to already existing questioning designs of this family of methods, this generalization includes also several (in particular: two-stage) techniques that have not been published before. The statistical properties of this generalized design are discussed for all probability sampling designs. Further, the efficiency of the model is presented as a function of privacy protection. Hence, it can be shown that not one multi-stage design of this family at the same level of privacy protection can theoretically be more efficient than its one-stage basic version.     

Die A-Moral der Wirtschaft und die Paradoxie ihrer Moralisierung

Following the argumentation of historico-genetic theory this contribution firstly aims to set out the societal conditions of the consitution of morality and analyse its structural limitations. In a further step it will be shown that the moralization of the economic system on the base of legally not binding CSR programs has to be considered as an innovative power strategy of the economic elites. Exemplarily this thesis will be explored on the basis of the CSR strategy of Austrian OMV AG. Why the political elites of the democratic systems in Austria and elsewhere easily can be manipulated by the logic of economy and nearly without critics accept neoliberal ideology of CSR—this question will be discussed at last.     

Zustandsorientierte Maschinenzuordnungs- und Instandhaltungsplanung

Previous research focuses on preventive maintenance strategies which minimize the costs of break downs and of maintenance activities. Deteriorating machine conditions with the consequence of rising scrap rates and declining productivity are mostly neglected. This paper investigates simultaneous optimization of production and maintenance planning by applying the condition-based maintenance strategy with parallel machines and overlapping capabilities. The presented model allows exploitation of machine wear considering optimal order assignments to machines which is illustrated by a numerical example.     

Learning strategic environments: an experimental study of strategy formation and transfer

I present an experiment on learning about a game in an initially unknown environment. Subjects play repeatedly simple 2 × 2 normal-form coordination games. I compare behavioral learning algorithms for different feedback information. Minimal feedback only informs about own payoffs, while additional feedback informs about own payoffs and the opponent’s choice. Results show that minimal feedback information leads to a myopic learning algorithm, while additional feedback induces non-myopic learning and increases the impulse with which players respond to payoff differences. Finally, there is evidence for a strategy transfer across games which differ only according to the relabel of actions, but not according to permutation in the payoff matrix.     

Demokratischer Smog? Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Zusammenhang zwischen Sozialschicht und Umweltbelastungen

For years the public and scientific debate about Environmental Justice was mostly confined to the U.S. Only recently, the question about the existence and strength of the “social gradient” of environmental pollution has entered the European debate. Earlier research simply records subjective perceptions of pollution and correlates them with indicators of social status. Objective measures of environmental quality are seldom used, and even then only in studies of small geographic areas. In contrast, the present study uses various objective measures of air pollution (nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone) and road traffic noise (day, night) and assigns them to the respondents of the Swiss Environmental Survey 2007 (N?=?3 369) using a geographic information system (GIS). The combination of objective GIS coded data with subjective measures allows for a new approach in Environmental Sociology that takes spatial context into account, which is often neglected in sociological studies. Using bivariate and multivariate statistical methods this objective data on pollution is related to indicators of social stratification such as income, education and nationality as well as the subjective perception of pollution. Subjective and objective measures of pollution are positively correlated with the interesting exception of ozone. Surprisingly, and contrary to the expectations, income is not significantly correlated with the pollutants considered and there is even a significant and positive correlation with education. In the multivariate analysis, however, a significant and negative correlation with income is observed, although this effect is fairly weak. Also, foreigners from Non-Western countries suffer from a higher burden of environmental pollution. However, in comparison to social and minority status differences in environmental impact between urban areas and the countryside are much more pronounced. We suppose that problems of environmental justice may be more accentuated in countries with a higher degree of segregation than in the Swiss population.