An exchange heuristic for resource constrained scheduling with consideration given to opportunities for parallel processing

This paper describes a heuristic which produces efficient makespans for resource-constrained scheduling problems with parallel processing capabilities. This heuristic was initially developed for the scheduling of army battalion training exercises. The original heuristic has also been successfully applied to solve problems in project scheduling with limited resources, generalized job shop scheduling, and resource-constrained scheduling. The exchange heuristic requires an initial feasible solution upon which it improves the makespan by efficiently and systematically shuffling activities while maintaining feasibility. The method has recently been modified twice, termed the intelligent version and naive version, respectively, such that its ability to reduce the initial makespan is enhanced. In this study     

ON THE NATURE OF RECIPROCAL MOTIVES

Data from 692 subjects in 11 experimental treatments provide a systematic exploration of the existence and nature of reciprocal behavior in two-person games. The experimental design discriminates between motivations of reciprocity and (nonreciprocal) other-regarding preferences. The existence of positive reciprocity is found to be dependent on the level of social distance but not the level of monetary payoff. The larger context in which a decision is made is found to have a significant effect on negative reciprocity. These findings on payoff levels, social distance, decision context, and reciprocity have implications for both theoretical modeling and experimental design. (JEL C70 , C91 , D63 , D64 )     

Conjugacy as a Distinctive Feature of the Dirichlet Process

Abstract.  Recently the class of normalized random measures with independent increments, which contains the Dirichlet process as a particular case, has been introduced. Here a new technique for deriving moments of these random probability measures is proposed. It is shown that, a priori , most of the appealing properties featured by the Dirichlet process are preserved. When passing to posterior computations, we obtain a characterization of the Dirichlet process as the only conjugate member of the whole class of normalized random measures with independent increments.     

WHEN ARE WOMEN MORE GENEROUS THAN MEN?

Previous research on gender differences in behavior has led to seemingly contradictory findings about generosity. From data generated by 290 subject pairs, we find that women are more sensitive than men to the costs of generous actions when deciding whether to be generous. The factors that affect the level of generosity observed in our experiments are reciprocal motivation, the level of money payoffs, and the level of social distance in the experimental protocol. The relatively greater sensitivity of women to the costs of generous behavior can explain most of the apparent inconsistencies in previously reported findings. (JEL C70 , C91 , D63 , D64 )     

EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF TWO NORTHWEST MINIMUM WAGE INITIATIVES

This article exploits a natural experiment initiated by Oregon and Washington voter referendums to show that the minimum wage is a blunt instrument that differentially affects low-wage workers within and across industries. Specifically, employment growth specifications indicate that the minimum wage generates consistently negative employment effects for eating and drinking workers where the minimum is shown to be relatively binding, but not for hotel and lodging workers where the minimum is less binding. Regressions using job-specific want-ad data from Portland and Seattle newspapers also indicate a reduction in hiring solicitation relating to the extent that the minimum wage binds. ( JEL J31, J38)     

Labour Force Activity of Women in Canada: A Comparative Analysis of Aboriginal and Non‐Aboriginal Women*

En s'appuyant sur les données du Fichier de mierodonnées à grande diffusion (FMGD) de 1996 sur les individus, cet article examine L'activité sur le marché du travail des femmes au Canada en mettant L'accent sur les effets du statut familial et de la structure du ménage pour déterminer si ces facteurs ont des réponses élastiques similaires chez les femmes autochtones et non autochtones. Nous avons trouvé que cette activité varie largement en fonction du statut d'autochtone. En général, les Indiens de plein droit avaient moms de chances de trouver un emploi que les autres autochtones ou les non‐autochtones. Alors que le niveau d'instruction, la présence d'enfants mineurs et la monoparentalité semblaient associés à une probabilité plus basse d'emploi, des différences significatives en fonction du statut d'autochtone ont été décelées. Les répercussions sur Pemploi du niveau d'instruction se sont révélées plus fortes chez les Indiens de plein droit. Using data from the 1996 Public Use Microdata File (PUMF) on individuals, this paper examines labour force activity of women in Canada, focussing on the effects of familial status and household structure to determine whether these factors have similar elasticities among Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal women. We found that labour force activity varied greatly by Aboriginal Status. In general, Registered Indians were less likely to be employed but more likely to be unemployed than Other Aboriginals and non‐Aboriginals. While lower educational attainment, presence of minor children and lone parenthood were found to be associated with a lower likelihood of being employed, significant differences by Aboriginal Status were found. The effect of educational attainment on employment was found to be higher among Registered Indians.     

Opposition to multiculturalism among Québécois and English-Canadians*

Ceci est le compte rendu d'une analyse de données déjà recueillies résultant d'une étude nationale sur la qualité de la vie (Quality of life study, 1977) qui compare les attitudes des Canadiens anglais et des Québécois face au multiculturalisme. Nous avons mis à l'épreuve 5 prédictions basées sur l'hypothèse de la classe ethnique; 4 se sont avérées sans fondement. La question du revenu par exemple, avail les mêmes types de rapports avec les attitudes multiculturelles chez les groupes des deux langues; et ces rapports n'étaient pas moins marqués parmi les Québécois, tel que prédit par l'hypothèse de la classe ethnique. Cependant l'attitude des Québécois a été plus négative envers les cultures minoritaires et la valeur de la contribution qu'apportent les immigrants à la société canadienne. Ils ont étéégalement plus enclins à l'idée de limiter l'immigration en général, et en particulier l'immigration des pays de langue anglaise et de l'Italie. D'autre part, les résultats ont démontré une plus grande opposition parmi les Canadiens anglophones aux immigrants venant de l'Inde, du Pakistan, et des Antilles. Nous terminons avec quelques observations sur les orientations différentielles face au multiculturalisme dans les deux communautés. We report on a secondary analysis of national survey data (Quality of Life Study, 1977) comparing the multicultural attitudes of English-Canadians (N = 1593) and Québécois (N = 674). We tested five predictions based on the ethnic-class hypothesis and found no support for four of them. For example, income had similar types of relationships with multicultural attitudes in each language group; these relationships were not less marked among the Québécois, as predicted by the ethnic-class hypothesis. The Québécois were, however, more negative toward minority cultures and the value of immigrants' contributions to Canadian society. They were also more disposed to limit immigration in general, and more specifically, immigration from English-speaking nations and Italy. Set against these results were the findings of greater opposition among English-speaking Canadians to immigrants from India, Pakistan and the West Indies. We conclude with some observations on the alternative orientations to multiculturalism in the two communities.     

AN ANALYSIS OF INFORMATIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON THE LENDING DECISIONS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Lenders are assumed to use formal credit scoring schemes in order to evaluate borrower credit worthiness. Variables used in these schemes may be measured with error resulting in credit scores which include the effects of biased parameter estimates, and in lending decisions that appear to be discriminatory although lenders are not prejudiced. Regulations which restrict the information used in credit scoring schemes may produce undesirable credit supply results. Theoretical models are supplemented with illustrative empirical analysis of mortgage lending in which use of information on property location is prohibited. The empirical results indicate that the quantitative impact of such regulations is modest.