Characterizations of Pareto-efficient, fair, and strategy-proof allocation rules in queueing problems

A set of agents with possibly different waiting costs have to receive the same service one after the other. Efficiency requires to maximize total welfare. Equity requires to at least treat equal agents equally. One must form a queue, set up monetary transfers to compensate agents having to wait, and not a priori arbitrarily exclude agents from positions. As one may not know agents’ waiting costs, they may have no incentive to reveal them. We identify the only rule satisfying Pareto-efficiency, a weak equity axiom as equal treatment of equals in welfare or symmetry, and strategy-proofness. It satisfies stronger axioms, as no-envy and anonymity. Further, its desirability extends to related problems. To obtain these results, we prove that even non-single-valued rules satisfy Pareto-efficiency of queues and strategy-proofness if and only if they select Pareto-efficient queues and set transfers in the spirit of Groves (1973). This holds in other problems, provided the domain of quasi-linear preferences is rich enough.queueing problems, efficiency, fairness, strategy-proofness

An Impossibility in Sequencing Problems

A set of agents with different waiting costs have to receive a service of different length of time from a single provider which can serve only one agent at a time. One needs to form a queue and set up monetary transfers to compensate the agents who have to wait. We prove that no rule satisfies efficiency of queues and coalitional strategy-proofness.mathematical economics;

Social Cognitive and Acculturation Predictors of the College Adjustment of Asian Americans

The purpose of the present study was to extend understanding of factors related to the college adjustment of Asian and Asian Americans. The study was based on the SCCT model of well-being and included an exploratory focus on culture-specific variables. Data were collected from 122 undergraduate college students who self-identified as Asian, Asian Americans, or Pacific Islander. The present findings are generally consistent with previous studies of the SCCT model of satisfaction, providing empirical support for the cross-cultural validity of the SCCT model with Asian American students. The predictive model accounted for a substantial percentage (41-44%) of variance in the college adjustment indicators, academic and social domain satisfaction. The present study extends the findings of previous studies by showing the differential utility of self-efficacy and social support in predicting domain satisfaction. Results from both quantitative and qualitative data highlighted the importance of social support in the college adjustment of Asian Americans. The present findings also suggest that cultural variables (acculturation and enculturation) relate to Asian Americans' college adjustment indirectly via self-efficacy, social support, and goal progress. Limitations of the study and implications for practice and future research are discussed

Consistency and the sequential equal contributions rule for airport problems

We consider the problem of sharing the cost of a public facility among agents who have different needs for it. We base two characterizations of the sequential equal contributions rule on smallest-cost consistency. Namely, (i) the rule is the only rule satisfying equal treatment of equals, independence of all but the smallest-cost, and smallest-cost consistency, and (ii) it is the only rule satisfying equal share lower bound, cost monotonicity, and smallest-cost consistency.mathematical economics;

Neurovascular Pharmacology of Prospective Antimigraine Drugs

Migraine is a paroxysmal neurovascular disorder, which affects a significant proportion of the population. Since dilatation of cranial blood vessels is likely to be responsible for the headache experienced in migraine, many experimental models for the study of migraine have focussed on this feature. The current review discusses a model that is based on the constriction of carotid arteriovenous anastomoses in anaesthetized pigs, which has during the last decades proven to be of great value in identifying potential antimigraine drugs acting via a vascular mechanism. Further, the use of human isolated blood vessels in migraine research is discussed. Thirdly, we describe an integrated neurovascular model, where dural vasodilatation in response to trigeminal perivascular nerve stimulation can be studied. Suc

Association Of Socio Demographic Characteristics With Condom Used At Last Sexual Intercourse Among Adults 15 To 49 Years Between Côte D’Ivoire And Senegal An Examination Of Measure Demographic Health Survey Data 2005

Background: HIV/AIDS is one of the world’s most serious health challenges. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region most heavily affected by HIV, with 69% of the people living with HIV in the world. Côte d\u27Ivoire has a high HIV prevalence rate and Senegal a low prevalence rate. The main research question is whether or not the HIV risk behavior of Ivorian differs from the HIV risk behavior of Senegalese in terms of selected categorical and continuous variables. In other words, if using condoms at last sexual intercourse differs between Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Measure Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) involving 9,686 Ivorian and 18,363 Senegalese from 2005 were used. The Pearson Chi-square test were performed to determine any significant relationship between the variables across the two countries with respect to socio-demographic and HIV risky behaviors status. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to test the significance of any association between the independent and the dependent variables (Condoms used at last sexual intercourse). Throughout all the analysis performed, a p-value of 0.05 and confidence interval of 95% were used to determine any statistical significance. Results: Logistic regression models showed that Côte d’Ivoire respondents had decrease odds of using condoms during their last sexual intercourse (OR=0.7; 95% CI 0.62 - 0.79) as compared to Senegal and the difference was statistically significant at p \u3c 0.05. In Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, wealth and education have been consistently found to be positively associated with condoms used at last sexual intercourse. Conclusion: HIV risk behaviors seem to be associated with condoms used and marital status. The results in our study suggest a possible relation with condoms used, HIV prevalence and polygamy in Senegal, so men use condoms less frequently with marital partners. More studies need to assess the role of polygamy in the transmission and/or acquisition of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. Key words: HIV/AIDS, Risky behaviors, Condoms used, Côte d’Ivoire, Senega

Maximizing Reliability in WDM Networks Through Lightpath Routing

We study the reliability maximization problem in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks with random link failures. Reliability in these networks is defined as the probability that the logical network is connected, and it is determined by the underlying lightpath routing, network topologies, and the link failure probability. By introducing the notion of lexicographical ordering for lightpath routings, we characterize precise optimization criteria for maximum reliability in the low failure probability regime. Based on the optimization criteria, we develop lightpath routing algorithms that maximize the reliability, and logical topology augmentation algorithms for further improving reliability. We also study the reliability maximization problem in the high failure probability regime.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CNS-0830961)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CNS-1017800)United States. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (Grant HDTRA1-07-1-0004)United States. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (Grant HDTRA-09-1-0050