The NBA, Exit Discrimination, and Career Earnings

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it complements the many wage discrimination studies by examining exit discrimination in the NBA using a decade's worth of data (the 1980's). White players have a 36% lower risk of being cut than black players, ceteris paribus, translating into an expected career length of 7.5 seasons for an apparently similar player who is white, and 5.5 seasons for the same player who is black. Second, the career earnings effect of exit discrimination in the 1980's is larger ($808,000) than the career earnings effect of wage discrimination ($329,000). Third, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that customer racial discrimination is the reason for the observed exit discrimination.discrimination; labor economics; career earnings; basketball; survival analysis

Cost-effectiveness analysis of interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease in Vietnam

Background Vietnam is in the process of an epidemiological transition, with cardiovascular disease (CVD) now ranked as the leading cause of death. The burden of CVD will continue to rise unless effective interventions for addressing its underlying risk factors are put in place. Objectives To assess the costs, health effects and cost-effectiveness of a set of personal and non-personal prevention strategies to reduce CVD in Vietnam, including mass media campaigns for reducing consumption of salt and tobacco, drugs for lowering blood pressure or cholesterol, and combined pharmacotherapy for people at varying levels of absolute risk of a cardiovascular event. Methods WHO-CHOICE methods and analytical models were employed, using local data to estimate the costs, effects and cost-effectiveness of 12 population and individual interventions implemented singly or in combination. Costs were measured in Vietnamese Dong for the year 2007 (discounted at a rate of 3% per year), while health effects were expressed in age-weighted and discounted disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted. Results A health education programme to reduce salt intake (VND 1 945 002 or US$118 per DALY averted) and individual treatment of systolic blood pressure above 160 mmHg (VND 1 281 596 or US$78 per DALY averted) were found to be the most cost-effective measures for population- and individual-based approaches, respectively. Where budget is very limited, a mass media education programme on salt intake and a combination mass media programme addressing salt intake, cholesterol and tobacco should be selected first. If more resources become available, greatest population health gains can be achieved via individual treatment of systolic blood pressure and the absolute risk approach to CVD prevention. Conclusions Contextualization of WHO-CHOICE using local data provides health decision-makers with more sound economic evidence for policy debates on prioritizing health interventions to reduce cardiovascular diseases in Vietnam. When used, cost-effectiveness analysis could increase efficiency in allocating scare resource

The Neural Representation Benchmark and its Evaluation on Brain and Machine

A key requirement for the development of effective learning representations is their evaluation and comparison to representations we know to be effective. In natural sensory domains, the community has viewed the brain as a source of inspiration and as an implicit benchmark for success. However, it has not been possible to directly test representational learning algorithms directly against the representations contained in neural systems. Here, we propose a new benchmark for visual representations on which we have directly tested the neural representation in multiple visual cortical areas in macaque (utilizing data from [Majaj et al., 2012]), and on which any computer vision algorithm that produces a feature space can be tested. The benchmark measures the effectiveness of the neural or machine representation by computing the classification loss on the ordered eigendecomposition of a kernel matrix [Montavon et al., 2011]. In our analysis we find that the neural representation in visual area IT is superior to visual area V4. In our analysis of representational learning algorithms, we find that three-layer models approach the representational performance of V4 and the algorithm in [Le et al., 2012] surpasses the performance of V4. Impressively, we find that a recent supervised algorithm [Krizhevsky et al., 2012] achieves performance comparable to that of IT for an intermediate level of image variation difficulty, and surpasses IT at a higher difficulty level. We believe this result represents a major milestone: it is the first learning algorithm we have found that exceeds our current estimate of IT representation performance. We hope that this benchmark will assist the community in matching the representational performance of visual cortex and will serve as an initial rallying point for further correspondence between representations derived in brains and machines.Comment: The v1 version contained incorrectly computed kernel analysis curves and KA-AUC values for V4, IT, and the HT-L3 models. They have been corrected in this versio

Mobile Television: Challenges of Advanced Service Design

In this paper, we propose an integrative framework based on dynamic models of the evolution of industries. The main arguments are illustrated using the case of mobile TV. One main assertion is that the value network of mobile data services is much more complex than that of previous generations of mobile services, in particular voice and messaging. The new environment requires a significantly higher degree of coordination and integration between more participants in the value net and a consistent constellation of technology, policy and firm strategy. Unless such compatible arrangements are in place, mobile TV will not take off. The paper develops these themes theoretically and illustrates them with a detailed case study of mobile TV in South Korea as well as comments on the situation in Europe and the U.S. The private and public sectors in South Korea were capable of producing conditions in which mobile TV could flourish. Even so, significant challenges remain to create a financially sustainable mobile TV industry. In contrast, in Europe and the U.S. major obstacles to the development of mobile TV continue to exist. Unless these obstacles, including problems with spectrum policy, are addressed, mobile TV may not be able to develop its full market potential

Quasi-optical Measurement for Low Loss Material Characterization in Submillimeter Wave Range

An accurate knowledge of dielectric constant of materials is required in many sub-millimeter wave applications. Free-space measurement of materials has always been one of the first choices due to their non-destructive nature and relatively simple sample preparation. However, free-space measurement systems at sub-millimeter frequency range suffer from two main problems: high loss because of divergent beam pattern and diffraction when the beam waist of the radiated beam is relatively large compared to the size of the sample under tests. In order to mitigate these issues, we set up a quasi-optical system using off-axis parabolic mirrors, which enhance the dynamic range and accuracy of the system. Mirrors are preferred over lenses because of their very low absorption loss. Signals from 75 GHz to 750 GHz are generated by using a vector network analyzer and a frequency extender system in six bands. Our setup consists of a pair of horn antennas operates as feed for two off-axis parabolic mirrors. Once a collimated beam is generated, we measure its characteristics using Gaussian beam mode analysis. The sample under test is then inserted midway between the two mirrors where the beam is collimated. We have measured electric permittivity of material like high-density polyethylene and polypropylene and our results highly agree with already published papers. In the future, we would like to measure some less well-known materials to see if they are suitable for sub-millimeter electronics applications

Annular heat transfer with simultaneously developing velocity and temperature profiles

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1969 H28Master of Scienc

Accuracy of Limited Field Cone Beam Computed Tomography in the Detection of Buccal Cortical Plate Perforations Due to Periapical Lesions

Pre-surgical planning for endodontic microsurgery is facilitated by the use of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The purpose of this study was to determine whether limited field CBCT accurately predicts buccal cortical plate perforations due to endodontic lesions. Thirty-five roots that underwent microsurgical root end resection were included in this study. Prior to the surgery, 90 voxel CBCTs were taken with a Carestream 9300. The scans were analyzed by an endodontic resident and oral radiologist to determine the presence of a perforation in the buccal plate. These findings were compared to the clinical appearance of the bone. There was a significant relationship between a judgment of perforation made on the basis of CBCT and actual perforation as observed clinically. The CBCT prediction was accurate 83% of the time. A predicted perforation was validated in 88% of the instances and a predicted non-perforation was validated in 75% of the instances

The NBA, Exit Discrimination, and Career Earnings

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it complements the many wage discrimination studies by examining exit discrimination in the NBA using a decade's worth of data (the 1980's). White players have a 36% lower risk of being cut than black players, ceteris paribus, translating into an expected career length of 7.5 seasons for an apparently similar player who is white, and 5.5 seasons for the same player who is black. Second, the career earnings effect of exit discrimination in the 1980's is larger ($808,000) than the career earnings effect of wage discrimination ($329,000). Third, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that customer racial discrimination is the reason for the observed exit discrimination

The NBA, Exit Discrimination, and Career Earnings

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it complements the many wage discrimination studies by examining exit discrimination in the NBA using a decade's worth of data (the 1980's). White players have a 36% lower risk of being cut than black players, ceteris paribus, translating into an expected career length of 7.5 seasons for an apparently similar player who is white, and 5.5 seasons for the same player who is black. Second, the career earnings effect of exit discrimination in the 1980's is larger ($808,000) than the career earnings effect of wage discrimination ($329,000). Third, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that customer racial discrimination is the reason for the observed exit discrimination