An exploration of alcohol-related fire incidences

In this paper we examine an operational research project concerning the analysis of the characteristics of alcohol-related fire instances attended by a UK Fire and Rescue Service in the North West region of England and the development of a geographical information system for fire prevention support. The research project examined the circumstances of alcohol-related fires, their geographical distribution and the socio-economic characteristics of such fire incidences within the region studied, and also involved the design and implementation of a geographical information system for supporting prevention of such fires. Overall, it was found that cooking fires involving ‘harmful’ or ‘hazardous’ levels of alcohol consumption were most likely to be found amongst younger urban residents living in high levels of deprivation, students living in city centre locations and young families with high benefit need within the region studied.     

Effects of warm-heartedness and reward distribution on negotiation

Research is needed to identify the conditions and dynamics by which foreign managers and local employees can negotiate their differences integratively. In an experiment with 120 participants in South China, employees with foreign managers who communicated warm-heartedness, compared to indifference, indicated that they had cooperative goals, a quality relationship, were confident in future collaboration, and concluded that their manager was an effective leader. Employees with foreign managers who structured mutual rather than independent or comparative rewards found their manager’s ideas reasonable and integrated them into their decisions. Results, especially if they can be replicated in field settings, suggest how foreign managers can negotiate effectively and develop their relationships with Chinese employees.     

A Proof of Calibration via Blackwell's Approachability Theorem

Over the past few years many proofs of the existence of calibration have been discovered. Each of the following provides a different algorithm and proof of convergence: D. Foster and R. Vohra (1991, Technical Report, University of Chicago), (1998, Biometrika85, 379–390), S. Hart (1995, personal communication), D. Fudenberg and D. Levine (1999, Games Econ. Behavior29, 104–130), and S. Hart and A. Mas-Colell (1997, Technical Report, Hebrew University). Does the literature really need one more? Probably not. But the algorithm proposed here has two virtues. First, it only randomizes between two forecasts that are very close to each other (either p or p + ε). In other words, the randomization only hides the last digit of the forecast. Second, it follows directly from Blackwell's approachability theorem, which shortens the proof substantially. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C70, C73, C53.     

船载雷达光轴晃动对修正参数标定的影响

船载雷达标校望远镜光轴、标校电视光轴在天线不同状态下会产生不同程度的晃动,可达角分量级,在利用反向法标定雷达零位和轴系误差时,会给标定结果带来较大误差。针对此问题,提出了通过分别检测天线在正向、反向状态下标校望远镜光轴与标校电视光轴间不平行度以判定光轴是否存在晃动的方法,同时提出了利用大地测量成果精确解算光轴俯仰晃动量的方法,给出了解算模型,试验表明解算精度满足雷达标校要求。在此基础上给出了当光轴存在俯仰晃动时,俯仰零位、俯仰光电偏差、天线重力下垂误差等相关参数标定的改进数据处理模型。     

The role of property rights in determining the environmental quality-income relationship

This paper examines the role of property rights in shaping the relationship between environmental quality and income. It develops an analytical framework that integrates the effects of property rights evolution, natural resource attributes, agent characteristics, and production technology on the environment-income relationship. The substantive strength of this framework lies in its ability to rationalize a wide range of environment-income relationships. The model shows that the U-shaped environment-income relationship, which is consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, can arise only under specific model conditions. Thus the framework provides an additional explanation for non-universality of EKC. We provide evidence in support of our framework from case studies of various natural resources.