Equipment replacement policy: a survey

Over the past ten years there has been a considerable increase in application of theoretically correct measurement methods in determining the economic life of equipment. Approximately 89% of the firms surveyed have equipment replacement policies. The discounted rate of return method is the most widely used in determining the service life of equipment; the MAPI formula is not widely used. Difficulties in applying a replacement policy can be classified into three groups: operational, organizational, and economic. The problems mentioned most often are operational. In organizational difficulties there is usually a lack of coordination between staff and line managers. Economic problems are generally the limited funds available for equipment replacement. Formal educational programs are lacking for the development of equipment replacement managers. For the firms having replacement policies, individuals with engineering degrees are preferred over those in other disciplines for the management of the equipment replacement policy.     

Estimation of a non-invertible moving average process: The case of overdifferencing

The effect of differencing all of the variables in a properly specified regression equation is examined. Excessive use of the difference transformation induces a non-invertible moving average (MA) process in the disturbances of the transformed regression. Monte Carlo techniques are used to examine the effects of overdifferencing on the efficiency of regression parameter estimates, inferences based on these estimates, and tests for overdifferenccing based on the estimator of the MA parameter for the disturbances of the differences regression. Overall, the problem of overdifferencing is not serious if careful attention is paid to the properties of the disturbances of regression equations.     

Some brief notes on the “unfinished business” of qualitative inquiry

The paper argues that there are a variety of implicit issues in qualitative inquiry that need to be addressed if the area is to develop in some normal science sense. This unfinished business is concerned with a deeper investigation of basic terms that are now simply taken for granted, such as theme and pattern. It also includes the need to develop rules which will assist in making and justifying how qualitative interpretations are made from the implicit processes of inference. Specific suggestions are made for accomplishing these issues.     

Do norms of decision-making styles,organizational design and management affect performance of Japanese firms? an exploratory study of medium and large firms

The success and resilience of Japanese firms have led many scholars and practitioners to theorize and speculate about the impact of what they have termed the 'Japanese management style' upon performance. There have been few studies that have attempted to explore empirically the links between the way Japanese firms organize, manage and decide, and their performance. This paper investigates the association between norms of decision-making style, organizational design and management, and some measures of firm performance. The empirical pattern of norms was assessed on the basis of responses of a random sample (N = 349) of Japanese managers. The study demonstrates that while there appears to be no support for the proposition that certain norms universally affect performance, in some sectors the impacts of norms on decision-making style, organizational design and management may be significant. The study concludes with the implications for theory building of this empirical exploration.     

Mokken scale analysis for polychotomous items: theory,a computer program and an empirical application

This paper contains three subjects. First, an extension of Mokken's nonparametric item response models from dichotomous items to items with two or more ordered answer categories is proposed. Second, a computer program to analyze multicategory item scores is presented. This program is called MSP. The analyses by means of MSP are based on the multicategory extension of Mokken's theory. Finally, an application of MSP to empirical multicategory test data is presented in order to illuminate its possibilities.     

Robustness to the unavailability of data in block designs

We present general results for finding or boundingt _maxB , the maximum number of arbitrary whole blocks of observations which can be removed from a block design, and still leave all of the elementary treatment contrasts estimable. The block sizes may be larger than the number of treatments. The results are applied to BBDs, reinforced BIBDs and BBDs, BTIBDs, and a series of variance balanced incomplete block designs with two block sizes. Also given for most of these designs, are results fort _max, the maximum number of arbitrary, scattered observations that can become unavailable, and still leave all of the elementary treatment contrasts estimable.The work was undertaken while Dr. Whittinghill was visiting Ohio State University, and supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences Division, Colby College, Waterville, Maine.     

A comparison of approximately optimal stratification given proportional allocation with other methods of stratification and allocation

Summary In this article, we shall present an approximately optimal method for constructing stratum boundary points when the sample is allocated proportionally. The method is based on an equal partitioning of the cumulative off ^1/3, wheref is the distribution of the stratification variable. We show that in many practical situations this technique compares favourably with approximately optimal stratification and allocation methods previously suggested.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel stellen wir eine annähernd optimale Methode zur Festlegung von Stratabegrenzungspunkten dar, die für proportional angeordnete Samples gilt. Die Methode basiert auf einer gleichen Einteilung derf ^1/3-Kummulation, wobeif die Verteilung der Stratifikations-variablen darstellt. Wir zeigen, daß diese Technik in vielen praktischen Fällen gegenüber den bisher vorgeschlagenen Methoden zur optimalen Stratifikation und Zuordnung nicht schlecht abschneidet.

     

庆祝《经济社会体制比较》杂志创刊20周年座谈会纪要

2005年10月25日上午，《经济社会体制比较》（简称《比较》）杂志社在中央编译局举行活动庆祝《比较》杂志创刊20周年。出席座谈会的有中国经济体制改革研究会会长、前国家体改委副主任高尚全教授；中央编译局副局长俞可平教授、魏海生教授、张卫峰同志；中央编译局秘书长张海滨同志；《比较》杂志主编荣敬本教授、赵人伟教授；从杂志创刊以来一直给予大力支持的刘秉炎同志、詹汝琮同志、李洙泗同志；《比较》杂志编委、财政部财政科学研究所所长贾康研究员；《比较》杂志理事会副理事长兼秘书长、国资委监事会正局级监事张楠同志；《比较》杂志理事会副秘书长、广东省商业联合会会长助理成欣欣博士；理事单位代表：上海埃力生（集团）有限公司董事局主席吴国迪先生、中国智宝集团董事长杨志凌先生、中国集装箱控股集团公司董事长张炳华先生、中国水利水电第14工程局局长李跃平先生；中央编译局当代马克思主义研究所、世界社会主义研究所以及其他相关处室共计50余人参加了庆祝活动。本次活动共分两个阶段：第一阶段是座谈会发言；第二阶段是高尚全教授的主题演讲。高尚全教授的主题演讲我刊单独刊出。此文按发言先后顺序整理，刊载于此以飨读者。[编者按]     

Finding a lasting cure for U.S. health care

In "Making Competition in Health Care Work" (July-August 1994), Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg, Michael E. Porter, and Gregory B. Brown ask a question that has been absent from the national debate on health care reform: How can the United States achieve sustained cost reductions while at the same time maintaining quality of care? The authors argue that innovation driven by rigorous competition is the key to successful reform. A lasting cure for health care in the United States should include four basic elements: corrected incentives to spur productive competition, universal insurance to secure economic efficiency, relevant information to ensure meaningful choice, and innovation to guarantee dynamic improvement. In this issue's Perspectives section, eleven experts examine the current state of the health care system and offer their views on the shape that reform should take. Some excerpts: "On the road to innovation, let us not forget to develop the tools that allow physicians, payers, and patients to make better decisions." I. Steven Udvarhelyi; "Health care is not a product or service that can be standardized, packaged, marketed, or adequately judged by consumers according to quality and price." Arnold S. Relman; "Just as antitrust laws are the wise restraints that make competition free in other sectors of the economy, so the right kind of managed competition can work well in health care." Edward M. Kennedy "Biomedical research should be considered primarily an investment in the national economic well-being with additional humanitarian benefits." Elizabeth Marincola.