Mental fatigue at work and pain perception

The object of this study was to determine whether mental fatigue connected with high and low stimulation at work can affect the subjects' perception of pain. Two groups of female visual display unit operators were studied: the first group performed tasks involving high levels of stimulation, while the second group performed tasks involving low levels of stimulation. The results show that mental fatigue due to a high level of stimulation causes an increase in pain ratings, while the mental fatigue due to low stimulation level causes a decrease in pain ratings.     

Staying power in sequential games

Staying power is the ability of a player to hold off choosing a strategy in a two-person game until the other player has selected his, after which the players are assumed to be able to move and countermove sequentially to ensure their best possible outcomes before the process cycles back to the initial outcome and then repeats itself (rational termination). These rules of sequential play induce a determinate, Paretosuperior outcome in all two-person, finite, sequential games in which the preferences of the players are strict.In 57 of the 78 distinct 2 × 2 ordinal games (73 percent), it makes no difference who the (second-moving) player with staying power is, but in the other 21 games the outcome is power-dependent. In all but one of these games, staying power benefits the player who possesses it.If no player has staying power, the outcomes that result from sequential play and rational termination are called terminal; they coincide with staying power outcomes if they are Pareto-superior. Normative implications of the analysis for rationally justifying cooperation in such games as Prisoners' Dilemma and Chicken, and implementing Pareto-superior outcomes generally, are also discussed.We are grateful to D. Marc Kilgour for very valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper, causing us to rethink and redefine staying power. The earlier version was presented at the Seventeenth North American Conference, Peace Science Society (International), University of Pennsylvania, November 9–11, 1981.     

Graph theory and computer aided facilities design

Four variations of an algorithm based upon graph theory are developed for solving the facilities design problem. The facilities design problem involves locating economic activities, each of which requires a given amount of space, on a floor within a building in such a manner to optimize an appropriate measure of effectiveness such as, for example, the total cost of materials handling. This problem has been called the location-allocation problem in some of the earlier management science literature. The algorithm uses strings to represent the graphs in order to be able to handle the computing more effectively. The algorithm is illustrated throughout the article by an example. Experience with both FORTRAN and PL/1 is reported. The topic is likely to be of interest to facilities designers, graph theoreticians and computer scientists.     

Bounds for Moments of the Maximum of Concomitants of Selected Order Statistics With Application

We present sharp bounds for moments of the maximum of concomitants of selected order statistics. The dependence between pair components is modeled by copulas. We use the bounds to compare some insurance premiums.     

Equilibrium as compatibility of plans

This paper uses a game-theoretic framework to formalize the Hayekian notion of equilibrium as the compatibility of plans. To do so, it imposes more structure on the conventional model of strategic games. For each player, it introduces goals, goal-oriented strategies, and the goals’ probabilities of success, from which players’ payoffs are derived. The differences between the compatibility of plans and Nash equilibrium are identified and discussed. Furthermore, it is shown that the notion of compatibility of plans, in general, differs from the notion of Pareto efficiency. Since the compatibility of plans across all players can rarely be achieved in reality, a measurement is introduced to determine various degrees of plan compatibility. Several possible extensions and applications of the model are discussed.

     

Rechtsextremismus von Jugendlichen

Compared to other topics, right wing extremism has been experiencing a decrease in attention from the general public. However, the extent of right wing extremism and its causes are still to be explored. Based on a self-administered survey of 4,300 juveniles in Bavaria, the extent of right wing attitudes among juveniles is determined. In addition, several explanatory concepts are assessed using path analysis. Next to anomy theory and social disintegration theory, the following concepts are tested: socio-economic status and relative deprivation, theory of transgression, theory of the authoritarian personality, and contact thesis. Among the concepts tested, the theory of the authoritarian personality reveals the most profound impact on right wing attitudes; the concept of social disintegration, too, yields considerable, though less pronounced, regressions weights. Based on these findings, consequences for the future development of explanatory concepts are discussed. In our perspective, right wing attitudes are considered to be a result of social change and social disintegration to which some juveniles react with archaic patterns of the self and of social relations: People considered different in terms of ethnicity or other socially relevant characteristics are downgraded while at the same time the own person is emphasized.     

Population and labour force projections for 27 European countries, 2002-052: impact of international migration on population ageing

Population and labour force projections are made for 27 selected European countries for 2002-052, focussing on the impact of international migration on population and labour force dynamics. Starting from single scenarios for fertility, mortality and economic activity, three sets of assumptions are explored regarding migration flows, taking into account probable policy developments in Europe following the enlargement of the EU. In addition to age structures, various support ratio indicators are analysed. The results indicate that plausible immigration cannot offset the negative effects of population and labour force ageing.     

Statistical models for disaggregation and reaggregation of natural gas consumption data

In this paper, we present a unified framework for natural gas consumption modeling and forecasting. This consists of models of GAM class and their nonlinear extension, tailored for easy estimation, aggregation and treatment of the delayed relationship between temperature and consumption. Since the consumption data for households and small commercial customers are routinely available in many countries only as long-term sum meter readings, their disaggregation and possibly reaggregation to different time intervals is necessary for a variety of purposes. We show some examples of specific models based on the presented framework and then we demonstrate their use in practice, especially for the disaggregation and reaggregation tasks.