On Robust Analysis of a Normal Location Parameter

Pericchi and Smith considered a normal location parameter problem with double-exponential and Student t prior distributions. These two prior distributions both belong to the class of scale mixtures of normal distributions and are useful in providing a robust analysis of the normal location parameter problem. In this paper we extend the analysis to other scale mixtures of normal distributions, such as the exponential power and the symmetric stable distributions.     

On the strategic project management process in the UK upstream oil and gas sector

This paper reports on an investigation into strategic project management in the UK upstream oil and gas sector. The management process is represented by a set of elements which covers context, content and output and are balanced across financial, internal business, external environment, and learning and innovation perspectives. The paper uncovers elements that appear to explain successful project management and compares these with the elements to which managers pay greatest attention. There appears to be a mismatch between those elements which are associated with success and those receiving significant management attention.     

The Effect of Regional Inequalities on Migration: A Comparative Analysis of Israel and Japan

This article posits three main questions: – Is there a general “mechanism” through which disparities in regional development affect patterns of cross-district migration? – Which aspects of regional inequalities (climate, employment, housingavailability, etc.) have the most profound effect on rates and directionof inter-area migration? – Which planning policies and strategies are conducive to increasing the migration attractiveness of peripheral development regions? In an attempt to answer these questions, the 1985-1995 statistical data fortwo relatively small and densely populated countries – Israel and Japan – are used. A general model of the factors affecting cross-district migration is suggested, and analysis-of-variance is used to explain the factors influencing rate of cross-area migration in the two countries. Although these countries differ substantially in respect to population sizeand local development, they appear to exhibit considerable similarities ingeneral patterns of cross-district migration. Since the late 1980s, the attractiveness of core regions in both countries has tended to decline, while that of peripheral areas appeared to grow. It is argued that this resemblance of migration patterns is related to a similarbalance of employment and housing availability in different geographicareas.     

Managing the impacts of large public programs

This paper is the result of a research project which investigated the impact of the U.S. space program on the American economy. Based on their field studies of past space program impacts, the authors develop several conclusions regarding the overall management and strategic planning of large public programs. In this article, the author outlines a structured approach to strategic planning and evaluation which will aid public program managers to respond to the challenge of impact management.     

Rank-one multi-reference factor analysis

Statistics and Computing - Bayesian variable selection is an important method for discovering variables which are most useful for explaining the variation in a response. The widespread use of this...     

Assessing a changepoint in a sequence of repeated measurements with application to a low-energy emission therapy sleep study

We describe a test statistic for a changepoint in a sequence of repeated measurements. This statistic is non-parametric, and may be motivated from either frequentist or Bayesian considerations. We apply this procedure to data arising from a clinical sleep study of low-energy emission therapy.     

Immigrant Occupational Composition and the Earnings of Immigrants and Natives in Germany: Sorting or Devaluation?

In this article, the influence of immigrant occupational composition on the earnings of immigrants and natives in Germany is examined. Using data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel Study and the German Microcensus, several relevant concepts are tested. The notion of quality sorting states that the differences in wages that are associated with the immigrant share within occupations are due only to differences in qualification requirements. Cultural devaluation assumes a negative influence over and above that of quality sorting. The findings indicate that both processes are at work. Additional analyses reveal that the impact of immigrant occupational composition is largely restricted to white‐collar occupations, which underlines the importance of considering historical differences between occupation types in classic migration destinations such as Germany.     

Data aggregation for <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-median problems

In this paper, we use a pseudo-Boolean formulation of the p-median problem and using data aggregation, provide a compact representation of p-median problem instances. We provide computational results to demonstrate this compactification in benchmark instances. We then use our representation to explain why some p-median problem instances are more difficult to solve to optimality than other instances of the same size. We also derive a preprocessing rule based on our formulation, and describe equivalent p-median problem instances, which are identical sized instances which are guaranteed to have identical optimal solutions.     

Response to “Becoming Visible: The Case of Collette”

The clinician’s experiences of race outside of the treatment room contribute to the formation of a racialized self, which influences clinical work with all clients notwithstanding race. Multiracial individuals at times must balance their external physical presentation—and the corresponding race-related categories that others place on them—with their own internally constructed racial identifications. The mechanisms of identification and disidentification can provide safety for the multiracial individual. How can clinicians effectively acknowledge their own identifications and disidentifications as lenses for seeing the multiracial person’s racialized self and selves so as to more effectively work with the multiracial?