Quadratic estimators of covariance components in a multivariate mixed linear model

It is known that the Henderson Method III (Biometrics 9:226–252, 1953) is of special interest for the mixed linear models because the estimators of the variance components are unaffected by the parameters of the fixed factor (or factors). This article deals with generalizations and minor extensions of the results obtained for the univariate linear models. A MANOVA mixed model is presented in a convenient form and the covariance components estimators are given on finite dimensional linear spaces. The results use both the usual parametric representations and the coordinate-free approach of Kruskal (Ann Math Statist 39:70–75, 1968) and Eaton (Ann Math Statist 41:528–538, 1970). The normal equations are generalized and it is given a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of quadratic unbiased estimators for covariance components in the considered model.     

Wer das Stabilisieren vergisst: Warum eine schöne Abschlusspräsentation noch kein gutes Ende bedeutet

Many organizational change projects fail — despite a well thought out concept, professional project management and a binding implementation timetable. The reason why the expected success doesn’t materialize often lies with the missing maintenance. Once the project is officially completed and the client and project manager withdraw, the manner in which the organization will take up these changes is seldom systematically dealt with. Difficulties often arise when no discrete stabilizing measures are planned. We have derived four central action areas which will be clarified by way of practical examples. It will also be shown what is important to pay attention to in the stabilization phase so that a lasting success of the organizational change project can be ensured.     

Consumption and Saving Behavior of Older and Younger Baby Boomers in Korea

The 1998 Korean Survey of Family Income and Expenditures was used to examine the overall consumption and saving behavior of Korean baby boomers and compared the differences in consumption and saving behavior between older and younger boomers. The t -test results indicated that the younger boomers allocated a significantly higher percentage of their expenditures on food away from home, household appliances, transportation and communication than did the older boomers, whereas the older boomers spent higher amounts and allocated larger budget shares on their children's education than did the younger boomers. The results of Ordinary Least-Squares (OLS) regression analysis showed that, holding other factors constant, older boomers not only spent significantly more in the total consumption expenditures and education expenditures, but older boomers also saved significantly less than did younger boomers.     

Privatization of refuse removal and labor costs

We examine the labor-cost savings associated with privatization by comparing earnings and employment trends of public and private sector refuse workers. Findings suggest that high union earnings for workers in the public sector are a source of labor-cost savings in the refuse industry. Evidence on job changers does not indicate that earnings for this group of workers are a compensating differential. Metropolitan area employment findings suggest that municipalities are less likely to use union refuse workers in the public sector when a relatively small percentage of area residents belong to a union. The authors thank Jacqueline Agesa, Keith Bender, Maria Crawford, and Richard Perlman for valuable suggestions. Research assistance from Eric Blackburn is greatly appreciated.     

Local influence analysis in the growth curve model with Rao's simple covariance structure

In this paper we discuss the likelihood-based local influence in a growth curve model with Rao's simple covariance structure. Under an abstract perturbation, the Hessian matrix is provided in which the eigenvector corresponding to the maximum absolute eigenvalue is used to assess the influence of observations. Specifically, we employ covariance-weighted perturbation to demonstrate the use of the proposed approach. A practical example is analysed using the proposed local influence approach.     

Deposit Insurance,Institutions, and Bank Interest Rates

Many recent institutional reforms of the financial system have relied on the introduction of an explicit scheme of deposit insurance. This instrument aims at two main targets, contributing to systemic stability and protecting depositors. However, it may also affect the interest rate spread in the banking system, which can be viewed as an indicator of either inefficiency or market power in this financial segment. This paper provides an empirical investigation of the effect of deposit insurance and other institutional and economic variables on bank interest rates across countries. We find that deposit insurance increases the lending–deposit spread in banking. The main effect seems to arise not from the deposit side though, but from an increase in the lending rate. We interpret this result as evidence of the presence of moral hazard problems related to this instrument. We also find that higher quality of institutions is associated with lower spreads, thus contributing to eroding sources of market power in the banking sector.     

坩埚热导率对晶体生长温度场的影响

本文通过有限元数值方法计算了坩埚热导率对晶体生长温度场的影响,指出当坩埚热导率大于晶体材料的热导率时,生长区域的纵向温梯会有大幅度减小,反之,温梯变化较小。并且认为当坩埚侧面与环境的热交换系数很大时,坩埚热导率的影响作用变小。并指出坩埚热导率可以通过热处理及其他手段予以调节。     

光纤扭转对循环延迟线偏振控制系统特性影响的研究

借助模式耦合理论和矩阵光学的知识,对引入光纤扭转机构后的延迟线偏振控制系统的偏振转换特性进行了分析,推导出了描述该系统偏振特性的琼斯矩阵,得到了光纤扭转对系统偏振特性影响的理论模型。