The exponentiated power exponential regression model with different regression structures: application in nursing data

We define the exponentiated power exponential distribution and propose a regression model with different systematic structures based on the new distribution. We show that the new regression model can be applied to dispersion data since it represents a parametric family of models that includes as sub-models some widely-known regression models. It then can be used more effectively in the analysis of real data. We use maximum likelihood estimation and derive the appropriate matrices for assessing local influence on the parameter estimates under different perturbation schemes. Some global-influence measurements are also investigated and simulation studies are performed to evaluate the accuracy of the estimates. We provide an application of the regression model with four systematic structures to nursing activities score data in the Unit of the Medical Clinic of University of São Paulo (USP) Hospital.     

Domain expansion of the pivotal mechanism

We propose a mechanism for the provision of public goods called the extended pivotal mechanism, which works on wider environments than quasi-linear ones. This mechanism is shown to be a natural extension of the pivotal (Clarke) mechanism because the restriction of the mechanism to the quasi-linear domain coincides with the pivotal mechanism, and because it is the only mechanism satisfying strategy-proofness, an efficient condition (partial efficiency), and an equity condition (the welfare lower bound property), which characterize the pivotal mechanism.     

Japanese Clocks and the History of Punctuality in Modern Japan

Although punctuality is well attained in present Japan, many foreign engineers who arrived in Japan from the mid 19th century observed that Japanese were seemingly indifferent to the clock, which leads us to a question about the origin of punctuality in modern Japan. The present paper first explains the time system and clocks in the Edo period, and then follows the origin and the evolution of punctuality in various sectors of Japanese society. Introducing the historian Sakae Tsunoyama’s two-layer theory to explain the origin of punctuality in modern Japan, the paper explores a question about when punctuality was attained and society accelerated in postwar Japan.

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Japanese Abstract  時間規律は現代の日本社会ではよく確立されている。 しかし、19 世紀末に日本に到来した多くの外国人技術者にとっては日本人が時計には無関心であるように思えた。このことは、近代日本における時間規律の起源という歴史的問題に導かれる。本稿は、最初に江戸時代における時刻制度と和時計について説明し、続いて日本社会の各領域における時間規律の起源と発展について追いかける。近代日本における時間規律の起源に関する歴史家角山榮による 2 層理論を紹介した上で、戦後日本における時間規律の達成、社会の加速化について検討する。

     

Density estimation for samples satisfying a certain absolute regularity condition

Let {ξ_i} be an absolutely regular sequence of identically distributed random variables having common density function f(x). Let H_k(x,y) (k=1, 2,…) be a sequence of Borel-measurable functions and f_n(x)=n^?1(H_n(x,ξ₁)+…+H_n(x,ξ_n)) the empirical density function. In this paper, the asymptotic property of the probability P(sup_x|f_n(x)?f(x)|>ε) (n→∞) is studied.     

On estimation and diagnostics analysis in log-generalized gamma regression model for interval-censored data

The interval-censored survival data appear very frequently, where the event of interest is not observed exactly but it is only known to occur within some time interval. In this paper, we propose a location-scale regression model based on the log-generalized gamma distribution for modelling interval-censored data. We shall be concerned only with parametric forms. The proposed model for interval-censored data represents a parametric family of models that has, as special submodels, other regression models which are broadly used in lifetime data analysis. Assuming interval-censored data, we consider a frequentist analysis, a Jackknife estimator and a non-parametric bootstrap for the model parameters. We derive the appropriate matrices for assessing local influence on the parameter estimates under different perturbation schemes and present some techniques to perform global influence.     

Measuring Information Behavior: A Time Budget Survey in Japan

This paper discusses the results of a time budget survey which was conducted nationwide in Japan in 1995 on ‘information behavior’, that is, the amount of time people spent communicating and using information media ranging from conversations to computers. We propose a three-dimensional time budget survey as a method for measuring information behavior in actual life. The method classifies information behavior into 24 categories and measures them with respect to three factors, i.e. time, location and purpose of behavior. Our survey revealed that the total time spent on information behavior was about seven hours per day, of which about 45% was spent watching TV. The displacement effect of PC use on TV watching was estimated by a “time-shift matching” design. The results demonstrated that use of a PC does not significantly affect TV viewing, despite a large difference in TV viewing time between PC users and non-users.     

A lower bound for the bayes risk in the sequential case

A lower bound for the Bayes risk in the sequential case is given under the regularity conditions. A related result to the minimax risk is also discussed. Further. some examples are given for the exponential and Poisson distributions.     

Strategy-proofness versus efficiency on the Cobb-Douglas domain of exchange economies

We study the optimal design of an organization in which a team of fallible individuals with heterogeneous abilities collectively decides whether to accept or reject projects. Conventional wisdom tells us that the opinion of those individuals with better decision-making abilities should be given a “larger” weight in the decision. We formalize this intuition in a sequential evaluation process and provide specific ways to characterize the optimal decision weights, as well as demonstrate that the magnitude of the weights depends on the relative abilities of the decision-makers, as well as where the decision-makers are placed in the project evaluation sequence.     

Has Livability of Japan Gotten Better for 1956–1990?: a Dea Approach

This paper presents an approach for time-series livability assessment using DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), a mathematical programming technique for measuring the relative efficiency of DMUs (Decision Making Units) with multiple inputs and multiple outputs. Regarding each year as a separate DMU in DEA, and replacing the inputs and the outputs with negative and positive social indicators respectively, we evaluate Japan's livability for the period 1956–1990. Results of the analysis using eight social indicators identify 20 DEA livable years out of the 35 and find eight best-balanced years. It is concluded that DEA, which enables non-uniform, multi-dimensional and relative evaluation, can be a valuable analytic tool in quality-of-life research as well. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.