Using Weight Functions in Spatial Point Pattern Analysis with Application to Plant Ecology Data

This paper presents procedures for percentile estimation in the three-parameter inverse Gaussian (IG3) and the two-parameter inverse Gaussian (IG2) distributions. All procedures require first the estimation of distribution parameters and second the computation of the desired quantile at the estimated parameters. Parameter estimation is accomplished by maximum likelihood (ML) or a mixed moments (MXM) method. A Newton-Rahpson (NR) procedure is used for inverting the CDF. Simulation and asymptotic results are given for the resulting estimators. Two sets of real data are used to illustrate the procedures.     

Alternative estimator for the parameters of a mixture of two binomial distributions

The method of moments has been widely used as a simple alternative to the maximum likelihood method, mainly because of its efficiency and simplicity in obtaining parameter estimators of a mixture of two binomial distributions. In this paper, an alternative estimate is proposed which is as competitive as of the method of moments when comparing the mean squared error and computational effort.     

Personality and Life Events as Predictors of Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction: Do Life Events Mediate the Link Between Personality and Life Satisfaction?

This study examined the association among personality traits, life events and life satisfaction, and the underlying pathways from personality traits to life satisfaction. A total of 1,961 adolescents were recruited from 21 secondary schools in Hong Kong. The adolescent version of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-A), the Chinese Adolescent Life Events Checklist (CALEC) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) were employed to assess their personality, life events and life satisfaction, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed there was an additional value of the indigenously derived scales of CPAI-A, including the Family Orientation, Harmony and Ren-Qing scales, in predicting life satisfaction beyond the universal personality traits. Results also indicated that there was a partial mediation effect of negative life events on personality traits in the prediction of life satisfaction.     

How Lesbian and Heterosexual Women View Relationships,Sex, and Virginity: Explorations With a Singapore Sample

Thirty-eight lesbian and 38 heterosexual women in Singapore (ages 21 to 35) discussed relationships, sex, and virginity in focus groups. Views were mostly similar between the two groups, although there were differences. All participants defined relationships as romantic involvement. However, while heterosexual participants equated commitment with monogamy, lesbian participants distinguished them. All participants differentiated between having sex (for thrill and fun) and making love (for expressing love), although there were differences in the purposes of making love. Primacy of penetration was found in defining virginity loss, but for many participants, virginity was important only insofar as it indicated sexual permissiveness.     

A matching prior for extreme quantile estimation of the generalized Pareto distribution

Extreme quantile estimation plays an important role in risk management and environmental statistics among other applications. A popular method is the peaks-over-threshold (POT) model that approximate the distribution of excesses over a high threshold through generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Motivated by a practical financial risk management problem, we look for an appropriate prior choice for Bayesian estimation of the GPD parameters that results in better quantile estimation. Specifically, we propose a noninformative matching prior for the parameters of a GPD so that a specific quantile of the Bayesian predictive distribution matches the true quantile in the sense of Datta et al. (2000).     

International labor migration and social security: Analysis of the transition path

This paper numerically simulates a two-country overlapping-generations model to study international labor migration when the two countries are characterized by different social-security systems. The present analysis extends previous work beyond steady-state considerations. The most striking result is that in all cases considered, dynamically efficient and inefficient economies in autarkic steady-state, migration leads to temporary welfare losses in both countries. In all cases, the transition path is characterized by temporary dynamic inefficiency in one country.All correspondence to Doris Geide-Stevenson. We would like to thank an anonymous referee for very helpful comments. We are responsible for any remaining errors. Responsible editor: Christoph M. Schmidt.     

Is there early take-off phenomenon in diffusion of IP-based telecommunications services?

Traditionally, the diffusion of telecommunications services has been considerably affected by the presence of critical mass and network externalities, and thus has shown the so-called “late take-off” phenomenon. However, as telecommunications networks evolve from circuit switching to packet switching, especially IP networks, and thus enabling diverse new services, it seems these traditional telecommunications diffusion patterns are changing. By comparing the diffusion of IP-based services with those of circuit-based services and durable goods, we have found the late take-off phenomenon is not involved in the diffusion of newly introduced IP-based services. Moreover, we concluded that the diffusion of IP-based services is much faster than that of durable goods, thus showing an “early take-off” phenomenon. Based on this empirical result, we suggest that telcos (telecommunications companies) and (ISPs) Internet service providers should pay as much attention to the growth stage as the introduction stage in their development, in order for their IP-based services to be successful in the market.     

Experience-weighted Attraction Learning in Normal Form Games

In ‘experience-weighted attraction’ (EWA) learning, strategies have attractions that reflect initial predispositions, are updated based on payoff experience, and determine choice probabilities according to some rule (e.g., logit). A key feature is a parameter δ that weights the strength of hypothetical reinforcement of strategies that were not chosen according to the payoff they would have yielded, relative to reinforcement of chosen strategies according to received payoffs. The other key features are two discount rates, φ and ρ, which separately discount previous attractions, and an experience weight. EWA includes reinforcement learning and weighted fictitious play (belief learning) as special cases, and hybridizes their key elements. When δ= 0 and ρ= 0, cumulative choice reinforcement results. When δ= 1 and ρ=φ, levels of reinforcement of strategies are exactly the same as expected payoffs given weighted fictitious play beliefs. Using three sets of experimental data, parameter estimates of the model were calibrated on part of the data and used to predict a holdout sample. Estimates of δ are generally around .50, φ around .8 − 1, and ρ varies from 0 to φ. Reinforcement and belief-learning special cases are generally rejected in favor of EWA, though belief models do better in some constant-sum games. EWA is able to combine the best features of previous approaches, allowing attractions to begin and grow flexibly as choice reinforcement does, but reinforcing unchosen strategies substantially as belief-based models implicitly do.     

Child’s gender,parental monetary investments and care of elderly parents in China

Review of Economics of the Household - This study analyzes whether parental monetary investments in children stimulate support from sons and daughters. Using data from the China Health and...