Estimability and efficiency in nearly orthogonal 2[m1] x 3[m2] deletion designs

This article considers single replicate factorial experiments in incomplete blocks. A single replicate 2^m1 x 3^m2 deletion design in 3 incomplete blocks is obtained from a single replicate 3^m, where m = m_1 + m_2, preliminary design by deleting all runs (or treatment combinations) with the first m_1 factors at the level two. A systematic method for determining the unbiasedly estimable (u.e.) and not unbiasedly estimable (n.u.e.) factorial effects is provided. It is shown that for m_2 > 0 all factorial effects of the type F( α_1 · · · α_m_1 , α_(m_1 +1) · · · α_m), where α_i; = 0, l for i = 1, · · ·, m_1, α_i; = 0, 1, 2 for i = m_(1+1), · · ·, m, with (α_1 · · · α_m) != (0 · · · 0), and (α_m,+l · · · _m) != α(l · · · 1) for a= 1, 2, are u.e. and the remaining factorial effects are n.u.e. It is noted that (2^m_1 - 1) factorial effects of 2^m_1 factorial experiments and (3^m_2) factorial effects of 3^m, factorial experiments, which are embedded in 2^m_1 x 3^m, factorial experiments, are u. e. The 2 x 3m-l deletion designs were considered in the work of Voss (1986). Defining factorial effects of a 2^m_1 x 3^m, factorial experiment in a form different than in Voss (1986), we develop a simple representation of u.e. and n. u. e. factorial effects. In this representation, there are (2^(m_1 + 1) + 1) n. u. e. factorial effects of the type F( α_1 · · · α_m_1, α· · · α). This number is smaller than the corresponding number of n. u. e. factorial effects in the representation of Voss (1986). The relative efficiency expressions, and their bounds, in the estimation of factorial effects of 2^m_1 x 3^m_2 deletion designs are also given

Planning for Excellence: Insights from an International Review of Regulators’ Strategic Plans

What constitutes regulatory excellence? Answering this question is an indispensable first step for any public regulatory agency that is measuring, striving towards, and, ultimately, achieving excellence. One useful way to answer this question would be to draw on the broader literature on regulatory design, enforcement, and management. But, perhaps a more authentic way would be to look at how regulators themselves define excellence. However, we actually know remarkably little about how the regulatory officials who are immersed in the task of regulation conceive of their own success. In this Article, we investigate regulators’ definitions of regulatory excellence by drawing on a unique source of data that provides an important window on regulators’ own aspirations: their strategic plans. Strategic plans have been required or voluntarily undertaken for the past decade or longer by regulators around the globe. In these plans, regulators offer mission statements, strategic goals, and measurable and achievable outcomes, all of which indicate what regulators value and are striving to become. Occasionally, they even state explicitly where they have fallen short of “best-in-class” status and how they intend to improve. To date, a voluminous literature exists examining agency practices in strategic planning, but we are aware of no study that tries to glean from the substance of a sizeable number of plans how regulators themselves construe regulatory excellence. The main task of this Article is undertaking this effort. This Article draws on twenty plans from different regulators in nine countries. We found most generally that excellent regulators describe themselves (though not necessarily using exactly these words) as institutions that are more (1) efficient, (2) educative, (3) multiplicative, (4) proportional, (5) vital, (6) just, and (7) honest. In addition to these seven shared attribute categories, our reading of the plans also revealed five other “unusual” attributes that only one or two agencies mentioned. Beyond merely cataloguing the attributes identified by agencies, this Article also discusses commonalities (and differences) between plan structures, emphases, and framings. We found that the plans differed widely in features such as the specificity of their mission statements, the extent to which they emphasized actions over outcomes (or vice versa), and the extent to which commitments were organized along organizational fiefdoms or cut across bureaucratic lines. We urge future scholarship to explore alternative methods of text mining, and to study strategic plans over time within agencies, in order to track how agencies’ notions of regulatory excellence respond to changes in the regulatory context and the larger circumstances within which agencies operate. Looking longitudinally will also shed light on how agencies handle strategic goals that are either met or that prove to be unattainable

Co-morbidity burden in Parkinson’s disease : Comparison with controls and its influence on prognosis

Financial support This study was funded by Parkinson’s UK, the Scottish Chief Scientist Office, NHS Grampian endowments, the BMA Doris Hillier award, RS Macdonald Trust, the BUPA Foundation, and SPRING. The funders had no involvement in the study. Acknowledgements We acknowledge funding for the PINE study from Parkinson’s UK (G-0502, G-0914, G-1302), the Scottish Chief Scientist Office(CAF/12/05), the BMA Doris Hillier award, RS Macdonald Trust, the BUPA Foundation, NHS Grampian endowments and SPRING. We thank the patients and controls for their participation and the research staff who collected data and supported the study database.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprintPublisher PD

Vieillissement et coûts des soins de santé : y a-t-il un problème?

Cet article traite des perspectives futures des dépenses au titre des soins de santé, en essayant d’en dégager les pressions prévisibles sur le régime de prestation des soins de santé, particulièrement celles attribuables au vieillissement de la population du Canada. Il en ressort que le phénomène du vieillissement, exprimé en coûts globaux des soins de santé, ne sera pas nécessairement un problème majeur. Les hausses de coûts prévues pour les services de santé doivent être mises en relation avec l’évolution de la capacité de production de l’économie canadienne. L’article examine également les implications que cela suppose pour la planification des soins de santé.This paper discusses various projections of health-care expenditures in terms of foreseeable pressures on the health-care system due to the aging of the Canadian population. The conclusion is that the impact of aging on health-care costs will not necessarily be a major problem. Projected cost increases have to be related to the evolution of the nation's productive capacity. The article also examines some implications in terms of health-care planning.El presente artículo trata de las perspectivas futuras de los gastos relativos a los cuidados de la salud, intentando prever las presiones posibles sobre el régimen de prestación con respecto a los cuidados de la salud y sobre todo aquellas atribuidas al envejecimiento de la población de Canadá. Se puede decir que los costos globales de los cuidados de la salud ligados al fenómeno del envejecimiento no será necesariamente un problema major. Los aumentos de costos previstos para los servicios de atención a la salud deberan estar en relación con la evolución de la capacidad productiva de la economía canadiense. Este artículo examina igualmente las implicaciones que ello supone para la planificacíon de los cuidados de la salud