Increasing Interdependence of Multivariate Distributions

Orderings of interdependence among random variables are useful in many economic contexts, for example, in assessing ex post inequality under uncertainty; in comparing multidimensional inequality; in valuing portfolios of assets or insurance policies; and in assessing systemic risk. We explore five orderings of interdependence for multivariate distributions: greater weak association, the supermodular ordering, the convex-modular ordering, the dispersion ordering, and the concordance ordering. For two dimensions, all five orderings are equivalent, whereas for an arbitrary number of dimensions n > 2, the five orderings are strictly ranked. For the special case of binary random variables, we establish some equivalences among the orderings.dependence ordering; stochastic orders; supermodularity; weak association; concordance JEL Classification Numbers: D63, D81, G11, G22

Single-Peaked Preferences over Multidimensional Binary Alternatives

Single-peaked preferences are important throughout social choice theory. In this article, we consider single-peaked preferences over multidimensional binary alternative spaces—that is, alternative spaces of the form {0, 1}n for some integer n ≥ 2. We show that preferences that are single-peaked with respect to a normalized separable base order are nonseparable except in the most trivial cases. We establish that two distinct base orders can induce the same single-peaked preference order if any only if they differ by a transposition of their two central elements. We then use this result to enumerate single-peaked binary preference orders over a separable base order

Partial Separability and Partial Additivity for Orderings of Binary Alternatives

In Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), a good way to find the best alternative is to construct a value function that represents a Decision Maker’s (DM) preferences. For multidimensional alternatives, an additive value function is easiest to work with because it assesses the alternatives in a simple and transparent manner. A DM’s preferences over consequences on a subset of the set of criteria may or may not depend on consequences on the rest of the criteria. Preferences that are free from all such interdependence are said to be separable. The existence of an additive value function implies separability and, when consequences form a continuum in each dimension and preference is continuous, the converse is also true. But we concentrate on orderings of binary alternatives (only two possible consequences on each criterion), for which the converse is known to be false unless there are four or fewer criteria. On binary alternatives, the probability of a separable order arising at random decreases rapidly as the number of criteria increases. However, there are different degrees of non-separability; many combinations of separable and non-separable subsets of criteria are possible. Here, we introduce notions of partial separability and partial additivity, which could be appropriate if criteria can be grouped into two or more natural classes. We establish that partial additivity implies partial separability, but that the converse is true only when the number of criteria is less than or equal to three. We also show that, when the number of criteria is more than three, partial separability with respect to a singleton set of criteria implies partial additivity with respect to this same subset

Segmenting initial fans of a new team: A taxonomy of sport early adopters.

Marketers are interested in the first buyers of new products, given their important role in driving wider community adoption. This is especially the case for new entertainment products, like new or relocated sports teams who must quickly build fan connections and loyalty, given the importance of crowds and social networks in adding value to the entertainment experience. Fans choose to connect with sports teams for numerous reasons; however, fan development in the context of a new team has rarely been examined. This paper examines the diversity and similarity among inaugural fans of an expansion team. A large sample (n=1724) was classified into five segments revealing how each varies in their brand associations, satisfaction, identification and involvement. By analysing key dimensions (relationship identifiers) that characterise how consumers connect with a new team, the authors provide new insights about the nature of consumers in the context of a new sports team. Furthermore, the five segments were found to be distinct cohorts, with sufficient variation between them to warrant variant marketing approaches to achieve the outcome of committed, long-term fans

Using a systemic skills model to build an effective 21st century workforce: factors that impact the ability to navigate complex systems

The growth of technology and the proliferation of information made modern complex systems more fragile and vulnerable. As a result, competitive advantage is no longer achieved exclusively through strategic planning but by developing an influential cadre of technical people who can efficiently manage and navigate modern complex systems. The dissertation aims to provide educators, practitioners, and organizations with a model that helps to measure individuals’ systems thinking skills, complex problem solving, personality traits, and the impacting demographic factors such as managerial and work experience, current occupation type, organizational ownership structure, and education level. The intent is to study how these skills, traits, and demographic factors can impact an individual’s abilities in working effectively with modern complex systems. These skills and traits also enable individuals to display distinctive patterns of thoughts in developing solutions that address complex technical problems. The dissertation further provides strategies for the management and enhancement of technical individuals based on assessing their performance. The model consists of three established instruments: Systems Thinking Skills, Perceived Complex Problem-Solving (PCPS), and Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator. These instruments are applied at the individual level to identify strengths and weak areas of improving an organization. In particular, PCPS is a researcher-developed instrument that captures the complex problem-solving perception of individuals. The different samples of the population for the dissertation come from students and practitioners

Economic games: An introduction and guide for research

Prosocial behaviors constitute vital ingredients for all types of social interactions and relationships as well as for society at large. Corresponding to this significance, the study of prosocial behaviors has received considerable attention across scientific disciplines. A striking feature of this research is that most disciplines rely on economic games to measure actual prosocial behavior in controlled experimental settings. However, empirical research often fails to fully exploit the richness of this class of paradigms. The current work aims to overcome this issue by providing a theory-driven overview of and introduction to the variety of economic games for researchers in psychology and beyond. Specifically, we introduce prominent theories of games (Game Theory and Interdependence Theory) and show how the concepts from these theories can be integrated in a unifying theoretical framework considering games as providing specific situational affordances for behavior. Additionally, we describe several games in detail, including their structural features, the affordances they involve, the social motives that may guide behavior, the flexibility they entail to manipulate specific situational aspects and, thus, affordances, and typical research findings. We conclude that tailored selection and combination of games and game variants allows to obtain a unique understanding of the underlying psychological processes involved in prosocial behavior. As a practical tool for researchers, we also provide standardized game instructions and guidelines for the implementation of games in future research. Ultimately, the review can foster optimal use of economic games in future work and thereby set the stage for high-class, replicable, and innovative research on human prosociality

Predicting Home Health Care Services Using A Novel Feature Selection Method

In the hospital management and medical areas, the experience of the patients is seen as having a dominant reputation. Online patient reviews are acknowledged as a crucial factor in assessing the effectiveness and quality of healthcare services. Many people find the traditional method of assessing service excellence to be cumbersome. However, the data assessment and evaluation processes are now more informal and time-efficient thanks to machine learning classifiers and opinion mining tools. Patient satisfaction and hospital patient service quality currently play a significant role in the health care industry. This is achieved by foreseeing the various hidden patterns and pinpointing the essential elements that contribute to patient fulfilment. This work provides the novel feature selection method for identifying the key feature in Home Health Care Services using patient satisfaction data. Several components are examined to evaluate the superiority of different health care services based on diverse metrics. Various machine learning algorithms are applied to guess the significant aspects affecting patient healthcare satisfaction. As recognized, the patient experience is an indispensable for assessing the quality in healthcare services

Energy Regulation, Roll Call Votes and Regional Resources: Evidence from Russia

This paper investigates the relative impact of regional energy production on the legislative choices of Russian Duma deputies on energy regulation between 1994 and 2003. We apply Poole’s optimal classification method of roll call votes using an ordered probit model to explain energy law reform in the first decade of Russia’s democratic transition. Our goal is to analyze the relative importance of home energy on deputies’ behavior, controlling for other factors such as party affiliation, electoral mandate, committee membership and socio-demographic parameters. We observe that energy resource factors have a considerable effect on deputies’ voting behavior. On the other hand, we concurrently find that regional economic preferences are constrained by the public policy priorities of the federal center that continue to set the tone in energy law reform in post-Soviet Russia.Energy Regulation, Energy Roll Law Reform, Energy Resources, Roll Call Votes, Legislative Politics, State Duma, Russia