4,659 research outputs found
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Supervisory Efficiency and Collusion in a Multiple-Agent Hierarchy
We analyze a principal-supervisor-two-agent hierarchy with inefficient supervision. The su-pervisor may collects a wrong signal on each agentâs unobservable effort level. When reportingto the principal, the supervisor can collude with one or both agents to manipulate the signalin exchange for a bribe. In contract design, we identify a new trade-off between the loss fromsupervisor-agent collusion and the risk from inefficient supervision: Although allowing collu-sion makes shirking more attractive to the agents, it brings in a benefit because it can âcorrectâan incorrect negative signal when the agent has exerted effort. Such collusive supervision savesrisk premiums that the principal has to pay for incentive provision. We characterize the princi-palâs optimal contract choice among no-supervision, collusion-proof, and collusive-supervisioncontracts. We show that the collusive-supervision contract dominates when the supervisory ef-ficiency is at an intermediate level
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Willingness to Pay for Brand Reputation: Lessons from the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Scandal
In this study, we use the announcement of the Volkswagen emissions scandalon September 18, 2015, as an exogenous shock to measure consumersâ willing-ness to pay (WTP) for brand reputation. Only Volkswagen diesel cars producedin2009-2015were announced as emissions violators. Using eBay car auction data,we estimate the impacts of the scandal on the prices of Volkswagen emissionsnon-violatingcars. Our difference-in-differences estimates show that final bid prices decreased by 14% and 9% in diesel and gasoline car markets, respectively, whichpurely reflected a decline in consumersâ WTP for Volkswagenâs brand reputation.Additionally, the difference in price-drops between the violating and non-violating diesel cars is statistically insignificant. This may be due to the fact that consumers rationally adjust their WTP by expecting compensation which will almost surely be provided by Volkswagen for violating models
Survey of grid resource monitoring and prediction strategies.
This literature focuses on grid resource monitoring and prediction, representative monitoring and prediction systems are analyzed and evaluated, then monitoring and prediction strategies for grid resources are summarized and discussed, recommendations are also given for building monitoring sensors and prediction models. During problem definition, one-step-ahead prediction is extended to multi-step-ahead prediction, which is then modeled with computational intelligence algorithms such as neural network and support vector regression. Numerical simulations are performed on benchmark data sets, while comparative results on accuracy and efficiency indicate that support vector regression models achieve superior performance. Our efforts can be utilized as direction for building online monitoring and prediction system for grid resources
Competition Between Sports Leagues: Theory and Evidence on Rival League Formation in North America
We analyze the formation of rival leagues and deterrence by incumbent leagues in professional team sports, which is one of the least studied forms of competition in sports. We first survey the economic history of professional sport leagues in North America and develop stylized facts about rival league formation. We then develop a game-theoretical model to explain some of these interesting stylized facts, showing that if the bargaining power of the incumbent league is sufficiently smallâi.e., less than a certain cutoffâthe incumbent should choose expansion to deter the rival league formation; otherwise, it is optimal for the incumbent league to allow a rival league formation and then merge with it, conditional on rival league success. We further show that the incumbent league may pay players relatively high salaries as an alternative way to deter formation by a rival league
Effects of nano-void density, size, and spatial population on thermal conductivity: a case study of GaN crystal
The thermal conductivity of a crystal is sensitive to the presence of
surfaces and nanoscale defects. While this opens tremendous opportunities to
tailor thermal conductivity, a true "phonon engineering" of nanocrystals for a
specific electronic or thermoelectric application can only be achieved when the
dependence of thermal conductivity on the defect density, size, and spatial
population is understood and quantified. Unfortunately, experimental studies of
effects of nanoscale defects are quite challenging. While molecular dynamics
simulations are effective in calculating thermal conductivity, the defect
density range that can be explored with feasible computing resources is
unrealistically high. As a result, previous work has not generated a fully
detailed understanding of the dependence of thermal conductivity on nanoscale
defects. Using GaN as an example, we have combined physically-motivated
analytical model and highly-converged large scale molecular dynamics
simulations to study effects of defects on thermal conductivity. An analytical
expression for thermal conductivity as a function of void density, size, and
population has been derived and corroborated with the model, simulations, and
experiments
Effects of Cutoff Functions of Tersoff Potentials on Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Thermal Transport
Past molecular dynamics studies of thermal transport have predominantly used
Stillinger-Weber potentials. As materials continuously shrink, their properties
increasingly depend on defect and surface effects. Unfortunately,
Stillinger-Weber potentials are best used for diamond-cubic-like bulk crystals.
They cannot represent the energies of many metastable phases, nor can they
accurately predict the energetics of defective and surface regions. To study
nanostructured materials, where these regions can dominate thermal transport,
the accuracy of Tersoff potentials in representing these structures is more
desirable. Based upon an analysis of thermal transport in a GaN system, we
demonstrate that the cutoff function of the existing Tersoff potentials may
lead to problems in determining the thermal conductivity. To remedy this issue,
improved cutoff schemes are proposed and evaluated
PLC and configuration software based supervisory and control system for oil tanks area
Author name used in this publication: K. W. E. ChengVersion of RecordPublishe
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