美国制裁国际卡特尔的赦免制度介评

美国反垄断部门出台的赦免制度在制裁国际卡特尔方面发挥着极为重要的作用,该制度规定参加卡特尔的公司中第一个向政府揭发该卡特尔的公司可免除刑事责任。赦免制度有效实施的基础包括三个方面,即管辖地的反垄断法必须对参与卡特尔的公司制定严厉的惩罚措施、卡特尔成员面临着被反垄断部门查处的巨大风险、赦免制度具有透明度和可预见性。美国的赦免制度已相当成熟和完善,实践也证明这一制度具有极大的应用价值,这对于我国制定反垄断法、有效制裁国际卡特尔具有重要的借鉴意义。     

Heterogeneous treatment effects on Children's cognitive/non-cognitive skills: A reevaluation of an influential early childhood intervention

The 1962–67 High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, a well-known experimental early childhood intervention study that provided quality preschool education to disadvantaged children, has been shown to have had positive impacts on early child development and on a variety of adulthood outcomes. However, most previous analyses have only examined average treatment effects across all program participants without exploring possible effect heterogeneity by children's background characteristics. We investigated this question by first using the 1964–65 Current Population Survey data in combination with the Perry data to construct a scale of child socioeconomic status based on the estimated propensity for inclusion in the Perry program, then analyzing effect heterogeneity within the Perry sample by strata of our socioeconomic scale. We found that the treatment effects of enrollment in the Perry preschool on cognitive and non-cognitive skills were much larger and more persistent among the most disadvantaged children than among others in the Perry program. Furthermore, among the most disadvantaged children, the treatment (i.e., preschool enrollment) affects later outcomes through a reinforcement mechanism of skill development (i.e., early cognitive gain leads to a non-cognitive gain, which in turn leads to later cognitive gain) and a sequential improvement of cognitive skills over time. These findings have important implications for the evaluation of policy interventions in early child development using experimental data.     

EVALUATING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT (PREA): A “LESSONS LEARNED” APPROACH

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was designed to address sexual violence in prison. While previous has focused on sexual violence occurring in correctional facilities, there has been a dearth of studies that document the expertise, experience, or reflections of program following the cimplementation of PREA- within a correctional system. The current study utilizes a “lessons learned” approach to discuss the impact of the PREA Demonstration Project on a state prison system that includes 19 correctional institutions. Results indicate the benefits of merging the philosophical orientation of key stakeholders, establishing benchmarks, and the need for partnerships with prosecutors. A comparison of the perceptions of correctional administrators, inmates, and front-line correctional officers regarding PREA is included. Also featured are the “lessons learned” from the implementation of PREA into four prison sites, along with the concept of building trust and the impact of lockdowns due to staff shortages.     

An E-learning outreach program for public schools: Findings and lessons learned based on a pilot program in Makati City and Cabuyao City,Laguna, Philippines

The E-Learning Outreach Program (ELOP) is a multisectoral, collaborative, and commitment-driven action research that focuses on providing relevant and useful computer and Internet literacy short courses for public elementary students. This study presents the critical action plans of setting up a pilot e-Learning station in Hen. Pio del Pilar Elementary School in Makati City and in Pulo Elementary School in Cabuyao City, Laguna, Philippines. The school’s computer laboratory was converted to an E-Learning station with additional devices and technical support from De La Salle University (DLSU). The study aims to account for a process-based heuristic approach in laying down the different phases of the program, specifically to: (1) coordinate and orient parents, pupils, teachers and school administrators, (2) set-up an e-Learning environment (3) design and write course modules (4) assess learning skills and experience of pupils, and (5) evaluate the program based on research team’s observation and results of the focus group discussion (FGD) with teachers and student-participants. In Pulo Elementary School, a pretest and posttests were conducted with results showing that the program has improved participants’ e-Learning knowledge and skills except for advance skills in hardware utilization. The participants also showed a strong positive attitude towards the ELOP.     

A Generalization of Wendell's Tolerance Approach to Sensitivity Analysis in Linear Programming

A criticism of linear programming has been that the data which are available in practice are too inexact and unreliable for linear programming to properly work. Managers are therefore concerned with how much actual values may differ from the estimates that were used in the model before the results become irrelevant. Sensitivity analysis emerged to help deal with the uncertainties inherent in the linear programming model. However, the ranges calculated are generally valid only when a single coefficient is varied. An extension of sensitivity analysis, the 100 Percent Rule, allows the simultaneous variation of more than one element in a vector, but does not permit the independent variation of the elements. A tolerance approach to sensitivity analysis enables the consideration of simultaneous and independent change of more than one coefficient. However, the ranges developed are unnecessarily restricted and may be reduced in width to zero when primal or dual degeneracy exists. This paper presents an extension of the tolerance approach which reduces the limitations of both the traditional and tolerance approaches to sensitivity analysis.     

A Comment on Second-Order Polynomial Regression Models

In a recent article, Chatterjee and Greenwood [1] addressed the problem of multicollinearity in polynomial regression models. They noted that there is a high correlation between X and X²; therefore, a second-order polynomial model suffers the consequences of collinearity. Chatterjee and Greenwood [1] suggested a method they believe will overcome the problem. The contention of the present comment is that the suggested method accomplishes nothing and, indeed, has the potential to lead the unwary researcher to the wrong inference and misinterpretation of his results.     

Sensitivity Analysis in Linear Programming Models with Common Inputs

The importance of sensitivity analysis information in linear programming has been stressed in the management science literature for some time. Indeed, Gal [3] has devoted an entire text to just this issue. Linear programs with common inputs (cost coefficients or right-hand-side values) present a problem in that classical sensitivity analysis does not allow for the simultaneous changes required to determine the sensitivity of these models to common inputs. We first survey the approaches previously developed for simultaneous-change sensitivity analysis and cast them in the framework of the special common input case. These general techniques are compared to a simple aggregate variable technique that has not received attention in the literature.     

A VARIANCE-REDUCTION STRATEGY FOR RSM SIMULATION STUDIES

The application of optimization techniques in digital simulation experiments is frequently complicated by the presence of large experimental error variances. Two of the more widely accepted design strategies for the resolution of this problem include the assignment of common pseudorandom number streams and the assignment of antithetic pseudorandom number streams to the experimental points. When considered separately, however, each of these variance-reduction procedures has rather restrictive limitations. This paper examines the simultaneous use of these two techniques as a variance-reduction strategy in response surface methodology (RSM) analysis of simulation models. A simulation of an inventory system is used to illustrate the application and benefits of this assignment procedure, as well as the basic components of an RSM analysis.     

DEGENERACY AND THE (MIS)INTERPRETATION OF SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS IN LINEAR PROGRAMMING

Under conditions of degeneracy, sensitivity analysis information such as cost and right-hand-side ranges, which are produced by standard linear programming procedures used in commercial codes, can be misleading. From a managerial perspective, the interpretation of such information can be erroneous. In this paper we present these problems, explain their occurence with elementary examples, and discuss procedures for their resolution.