Necessary conditions for admissibility of matrix linear estimators in a multivariate linear model

This article provides necessary conditions for the admissibility of matrix linear estimators of an estimable parameter matrix linear function under two kinds of quadratic matrix loss functions in a multivariate linear model following a family of matrix normal distributions, where the covariance matrix associated is completely unknown. Further it is demonstrated that if a more concrete condition supplied for one of the subdivided conditions is satisfied, then the special condition concerning the Stein problem is necessary for the admissibility of the kind of estimators under each of the loss functions.     

Two Types of Disagreement in Group Discussions of Japanese Undergraduates

In this study we investigated the nature of disagreement, which is a necessary component of a good discussion. We obtained 27 group discussion scenes by Japanese undergraduates that were evaluated by two ways: impression rating and ranking. As a result of factor analysis for the impression rating data, five factors were extracted: activeness, multidirection and unification of discussion, relationships of participants, development and sophistication of discussion, and sincerity of the participants, and each factor scores of each scene was simultaneously calculated. Each scene’s rank score was also calculated by relative comparisons. A significant positive correlation was found between the mean factor and the rank scores except for Factor 3 (relationships of participants). To consider the reason for the difference relating to Factor 3’s score, we scrutinized the discussion process of four scenes of the different patterns of the factor and rank scores. From the analysis of conversations, we suggested that this difference reflected ways of disagreement. By introducing a probative discourse tags for discussion (pDTD), we reasoned that the frequency of disagreement made Factor 3’s score negative and the absence of the second part of adjacency pairs made the rank score worse. The explicit speech and actions of blame such as emotional and aggressive expression, and neglect of treatment for the minor opinion made also the discussion unfair, but we think that these behaviors might erupt from the ground made by the accumulated implicit behaviors such as the absence of the second part. We finally concluded that the criticism type of disagreement increased the rank scores, and its censure type produced lower results, and the proper ways of disagreement in group discussions were discussed.     

Peter von Staden. Business-Government Relations in Prewar Japan

Business–Government Relations in Prewar Japan by Petervon Staden deals with the Japanese iron and steel industry fromthe late 1910s through the early 1930s. The period was the turbulentyears for the industry, finally leading to the formation ofJapan Steel Corporation in 1934. Japan Steel Corporation wasa huge production firm, by Japanese standard, whose market sharewas over 90 percent in pig iron and over 50 percent in finishedsteel of the Japanese market, so that it became virtually amonopoly firm. How and why was such a semimonopoly iron     

Japanese business culture: the government,mainstream enterprises and ‘mavericks’ in the steel industry

Some scholars have argued that Japanese business epitomizes organized capitalism, and no-one would deny that the government and trade associations were pivotal in the distinctive development of Japanese capitalism. But it is frequently emphasized that competition between firms was fierce. One interpretation is that Japanese firms co-operated in developing technologies, and also collaborated in pricing policy, output allocation and capital investment. This collaborative endeavour gives the impression of a business environment that was static and collusive. By contrast individual firms competed aggressively in the improvement of the product quality, in productivity and in marketing. Infrequently a few determined firms refused to follow government guidance and openly challenged it. Two examples, Kawasaki Steel in 1950 and Sumitomo Metal in 1965, require a wider perspective than business-government relationships. It is the triangular matrix of government, mainstream firms, and ‘mavericks’ that has to be considered. Mainstream firms have a close relationship with government and try to impede the aggressive behaviour of ‘mavericks’. Exploring these tripartite interactions is crucial to any understanding of Japanese industry.