Distributions of certain variables in samples from two-parameter exponential distribution

Cumulative distribution function of the variable Y=(U+c)/(Z/2ν)) is given. Here U and Z are independent random variables, U has the exponential distribution (1.1) with θ=0, σ=1, Z has the distribution χ² (2ν) and c is a real quantity. The variable Y with U and Z given by (2.2) and (2.3) is used for inference about the parametric functions ?=θ?kσ of a two-parameter exponential distribution (1.1) with k or ? known. Special cases of ? or k are: the parameter θ, the Pth quantile Xp, the mean θ+σ and the value of the cumulative distribution function or of the reliability function at given point a. Also one-sided tolerance limits for a two-parameter exponential distribution can be derived from the distribution of the variable Y. The results are also applied to the Pareto distribution.     

Impact of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Emissions Reductions on Firms’ Finance in an Emerging Economy: The Case of the Czech Republic

This paper investigates the relationship between economic and environmental performance with focus on firms in an emerging economy, the Czech Republic, and their CO₂ emission reductions. We discuss whether the hypotheses tested for local pollutants that firms emit and firms’ finances are relevant for CO₂ emissions. We test the hypotheses on a sample of Czech firms included in the first phase of European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). We observe that introduction of EU ETS did not encourage significant investments in CO₂ emissions reduction. Importantly, the results show that the firms that did invest in CO₂ reductions experienced a negative impact on their finance. We argue that this is explained by the drop in the price of allowances on the carbon market in 2006 which resulted in firms receiving less revenue from saved allowances than they had expected.     

Do social workers avoid the dilemmas of work with clients?

This article is devoted to Lipsky's suggestion that the purpose of street-level policies is to establish and justify patterns of behaviour that enable street-level bureaucrats to avoid the dilemmas provoked by uncertain working conditions. Based on a review of relevant literature as well as on case studies in the culture of social work service organisations by the authors, the article suggests that two kinds of street-level policies are described by the research. The first one is consistent with the aforementioned idea by Lipsky and follows the wish of social service workers to avoid the dilemmas of their work with clients without trying to change those uncertain conditions that provoke these dilemmas. The actors of the second kind of street-level policy try to negotiate with relevant partners and to change uncertain working conditions that are at the roots of their dilemmas. Both kinds of street-level policy are described by means of empirical examples and their substantive features are summarised.     

Leave arrangements and childcare services in Central Europe: Policies and practices before and after the transition

The paper provides a comparative analysis of childcare and leave policies in four Central European countries. The first part considers developments in policy since the 1960s, including the first extended leave scheme introduced in Hungary in 1967 and the changes that have taken place since the end of the communist regimes. Although the transition process during the 1990s had many similarities, the emergence of national, cultural and religious identities contributed to some diversification of policies. After certain divergent trends, the Czech Republic and Hungary converged again towards the end of the 1990s, as both countries returned to a pro-natalist approach. Slovakia has retained a balance between pro-natalist and pro-traditional approaches. Poland had less generous policies before 1989: the subsequent political resurgence of Catholicism has accentuated the specificity of that country's policies. The second part discusses major issues arising in the post-1990 period: population policy and fertility; women's employment and the gap between rights and practices in the division of household work; and the specific situation in the Czech Republic. El articulo aporta un análisis comparativo de las políticas del cuidado infantil y permiso laboral (baja por maternidad/paternidad) en los cuatro países centroeuropeos. La primera parte considera el desarrollo de la política desde los 1960s, incluida la primera esquema de permiso prolongado introducido en Hungría en 1967 y los cambios desde el fin de los gobiernos comunistas. Aunque había muchas semejanzas, la aparición de identidades nacionales, culturales y religiosas contribuyó a una diversificación en la política. Después de ciertas tendencias divergentes, la República Checa y Hungría convergieron hacia el fin de los 90s, como ambos países volvieron al planteamiento pro-natalidad. Eslovaquia ha guardado un equilibrio entre enfoques pro-natalidad y pro-tradicional. Polonia tenía políticas menos generosos antes de 1989: el posterior resurgimiento del catolicismo ha subrayado la especificidad de las políticas del país. La segunda parte discute cuestiones que surgieron después de 1990: la política de población y la fertilidad, el empleo de mujeres y la distancia entre derechos y practicas en la división de tareas domesticas, y la situación especifica en la República Checa.     

Family system of help and aid against the background of social transformation

This paper sums up the results of empirical research into the intergenerational solidarity in Czech families which should help to answer the question whether the family or the kinship system can discharge their self-supportive potential adequately under the pressures of the transformation processes during the 1990s. It also describes the macro-social framework, i.e. the socio-political, economic and demographic context that influences the quantitative and qualitative aspects of kinship assistance. Overall, the paper provides a general picture of informal support systems as the basis for the specific recommendation for practical social work.     

Current Developments in Social Care Services for Older Adults in the Czech Republic: Trends Towards Deinstitutionalization and Marketization

ABSTRACT

Deinstitutionalization and marketization of eldercare has been delayed by 20 years in the Czech Republic compared to Western Europe, and it takes place in a completely different context, characterized by the legacy of communism, a growing older population, and less generous public subsidies. This study is the first in the Czech Republic to examine how deinstitutionalization and marketization effect implementation of these principles on the availability and quality of eldercare services at regional and municipal levels. A mixed-method approach was used, combining several data sources (policy documents, administrative data, statistics, expert panel, and secondary use of qualitative data). The findings suggest that the support for and availability of home-based care has declined, despite the ever-increasing number of older adults and policy preference for deinstitutionalization. Furthermore, home-based services have failed to adjust to growing care needs of older adults (e.g., inflexible schedules, limited provision of time-demanding care, inadequate staff composition). This situation occasioned an unintended outcome: the emergence of nonregistered, semilegal, for-profit nursing homes offering low-quality care and poor working conditions, and subject to no quality control. The health and even lives of older adults are at risk if they choose such services. Research is needed to study older adult decision making and offer them tools to identify and avoid questionable services.     

Ellsberg paradox: Ambiguity and complexity aversions compared

We present a simple model where preferences with complexity aversion, rather than ambiguity aversion, resolve the Ellsberg paradox. We test our theory using laboratory experiments where subjects choose among lotteries that “range” from a simple risky lottery, through risky but more complex lotteries, to one similar to Ellsberg’s ambiguity urn. Our model ranks lotteries according to their complexity and makes different—at times contrasting—predictions than most models of ambiguity in response to manipulations of prizes. The results support that complexity aversion preferences play an important and separate role from beliefs with ambiguity aversion in explaining behavior under uncertainty.     

Estimation of the Intensity Parameter of the Germ‐Grain Quermass‐Interaction Model when the Number of Germs is not Observed

The Quermass‐interaction model allows to generalize the classical germ‐grain Boolean model in adding a morphological interaction between the grains. It enables to model random structures with specific morphologies, which are unlikely to be generated from a Boolean model. The Quermass‐interaction model depends in particular on an intensity parameter, which is impossible to estimate from classical likelihood or pseudo‐likelihood approaches because the number of points is not observable from a germ‐grain set. In this paper, we present a procedure based on the Takacs–Fiksel method, which is able to estimate all parameters of the Quermass‐interaction model, including the intensity. An intensive simulation study is conducted to assess the efficiency of the procedure and to provide practical recommendations. It also illustrates that the estimation of the intensity parameter is crucial in order to identify the model. The Quermass‐interaction model is finally fitted by our method to P. Diggle's heather data set.