Another twist on the equality of OLS and GLS

We give a neccessary and sufficient condition for the equality of theOLS andGLS estimator of a subset of the regression coefficients in a linear model.     

THE EXPERIMENTS OF REDUCED WORKING HOURS IN FINLAND

This paper examines experiments of shorter working hours in Finnish municipalities between 1996 and 1998 in terms of the effects of the experiments on work–family interaction and which of the ways of reducing working time had the most positive effect. We analyse the experiment in respect of the Finnish working time regime, and in addition, from the perspective of community time. The analysis combines questionnaire and interview data. The results indicated that the experiment had a positive effect on work–family interaction. Six-hour shifts, in comparison to other forms of working time reductions, had the strongest impact on the decrease in conflict arising from work and affecting family. The interviews demonstrated various effects of the working time experiment on family, including the negative effects caused by unsocial working hours and the loss of time autonomy at work among the highly educated. Furthermore, reduced working hours in a culture based on the principle of full-time work caused some negative effects, such as feelings of guilt. The impact of the experiment on community time depended on the way the experiment was implemented.     

Trampling tolerance of understorey vegetation in different hemiboreal urban forest site types in Finland

The effects of trampling on the understorey vegetation were studied in boreal urban forests of different fertility in the greater Helsinki area, Finland. The three studied forest types in decreasing order of fertility were: 1) herb-rich heath forest, 2) mesic heath forest, and 3) sub-xeric heath forest. We inventoried the cover percentages of understorey vegetation in 40 herb-rich, 75 mesic and 40 sub-xeric biotopes located in 51 urban forests varying in size (0.6–502 ha). Cover percentages were compared to those of untrampled reference areas. In our study, trampling tolerance increased with increasing fertility of the forest type. Wear of understorey vegetation correlated positively with the number of residents (i.e. recreational pressure) around the forest patch. In general, understorey vegetation cover in all three forest types was lower than in the same forest types in untrampled reference areas. Ground layer cover in urban forests was less than half of that in reference areas. Mosses, lichens, and dwarf shrubs, especially Vaccinium vitis-idaea, proved to be sensitive to trampling and consequently decreased in cover. The cover of tree saplings, mainly Sorbus aucuparia, and some resilient herbs increased.     

Stability theorems for maxima of dependent sequences

Three stability theorems due to Gnedenko (1943), Barndorff-Nielsen (1963), and Tomkins (1986) are extended to the sample maxima of identically distributed ?-mixing and m-dependent sequences.     

entropy and internal inormation of printed urdu

This paper presents a systematic study for the entropy and coding of the printed Urdu language. Comparison with the study of printed Arabic and printed English is also given. We also find the alphabet entropy of the Urdu language using Bayesian estimator given by Gill and Joane (1979) and compare it with the entropy calculated through using the usual maximum likelihood estimator.     

Strengthening family planning management]

Prior to 1984, enforcement of family planning policies in an undisclosed PLA military settlement in China's Jinan Military Region was totally inadequate. After notification from the central government, this military settlement immediately began enforcing family planning policies, resulting in sudden and full compliance with the central government's family planning policies. The system of scientific management of promoting and enforcing family planning, established by local administrators, is described. Management by objectives, clearly defined individual tasks and responsibilities, an full cooperation and support on the part of the authorities are some of the factors responsible for the effectiveness and success of the family planning efforts in this military settlement. A number of potential problem areas are identified scientific management techniques in dealing with uncooperative parties are emphasized.     

Several problems concerning population investment]

Population investment is a major topic in the studies of population and economic relations. In this particular area, numerous theoretical and practical problems are still in need of solution. Concerning the problem of population concept, there are three different approaches: (1) to determine the definition of population investment from the relationship between the population growth and the capital from national income used for investment, including investment in the newly increased population and investment in the entire population; (2) to explain population investment from the economic viewpoint that people are producers; and (3) to explain population investment from the expense needed to change a simple labor force to a skillful labor force. The expenses include educational costs, maintanance spending, wages needed to compensate workers in labor, costs for workers to master and learn modern scientific techniques to be used for production, and the costs of keeping a young labor force in the next generation.     

Forecasting political decisions and their impact on business

The economic and technical background against which business enterprises operate is largely determined by political decisions. These decisions influence the market, constrain freedom of action, and create new investment openings. It is therefore important for business organizations to attempt to evaluate possible political changes in their strategic planning in order to test the realism of their economic and/or technical planning.