USING AN UNCERTAINTY MODEL TO ASSESS SALES RESPONSE TO ADVERTISING*

Implications of a probabilistic “random walk” model of incremental sales response to advertising are developed for various timing patterns of advertising expenditures. Maximum likelihood procedures for assessing advertising effectiveness and for estimating a decay (forgetting) rate are developed and applied to artificial data of known configuration and are used to assess the impact over time of a brochure program on mail-order sales. Results are also compared to those from alternative models involving various lag patterns in advertising effects.     

The effect of stress on customer perception of the frontline employee: an experimental study

Review of Managerial Science - This article examines positive effects of customer stress drawn upon the theory of excitation transfer. Contrary to previous marketing and management literature, the...     

On estimating the distribution of data envelopment analysis efficiency scores: an application to nursing homes’ care planning process

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a deterministic econometric model for calculating efficiency by using data from an observed set of decision-making units (DMUs). We propose a method for calculating the distribution of efficiency scores. Our framework relies on estimating data from an unobserved set of DMUs. The model provides posterior predictive data for the unobserved DMUs to augment the frontier in the DEA that provides a posterior predictive distribution for the efficiency scores. We explore the method on a multiple-input and multiple-output DEA model. The data for the example are from a comprehensive examination of how nursing homes complete a standardized mandatory assessment of residents.     

Ridge estimation of restricted parameters in production techniques

The problem of determining ridge estimates of the regression parameters in a two-input production function model,constrained to be non-negative,has been formulated as an exercise in quadratic programming. Relevant Kuhn-Tucker conditions have been derived and a small simulation studv has been carried out.     

Efficient estimation in the Pareto distribution

The maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of the probability density function (pdf) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) are derived for the Pareto distribution. It has been shown that MLEs are more efficient than uniform minimum variance unbiased estimators of pdf and CDF.     

Ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward women who engage in premarital sex in Turkey

This study examined the relationship of ambivalent sexism, political conservatism, demographic variables (age, education, and gender), and prior sexual experience to Turkish men's and women's attitudes toward women who engage in premarital sex. Participants included 124 Turkish undergraduate students and 60 nonstudent Turkish adults. Benevolent but not hostile sexism uniquely predicted more negative views of women who engage in premarital sex once other variables were controlled. Regression analyses demonstrated that for both men and women, older, more politically conservative and less sexually experienced respondents and more educated men (but not women) respondents were more likely to disapprove of women who engage in premarital sex. Similarly, regression analysis revealed that men who were older, politically conservative, and less sexually experienced expressed stronger preferences for marrying a virgin. Both hostile and benevolent sexism predicted men's preference for marrying a virgin after all other variables were controlled.     

关于珠三角河网地带路桥衔接处沉降差问题的探析

对珠江三角河网地带存在严重的路桥衔接处路面沉降差问题的原因进行了分析，指出目前设计规范存 在的不足，提出了解决该问题的建议，并介绍处理该问题的工程实践方法．     

The Problem of Gender Identification in Conditions of Social Instability

Data from the Soviet period is compared with small-scale recent survey research in Chechnya. The author discusses legacy problems of female employment and empowerment in a society emphasizing patriarchal and Muslim values. She argues that outward appearances of religiosity, such as headscarves, do not necessarily equal inner faith. Distortions of gender identifications and social relationships are viewed as magnified in conditions of warfare and social upheaval.