Risk Independence and Multiattributed Utility Functions

The concepts of conditional risk aversion, the conditional risk premium, and risk independence pertaining to multiattributed utility functions are defined. The latter notion is then generalized to what is called utility independence. A number of theorems useful for simplifying the assessment of multiattributed utility functions given certain risk independence and utility independence assumptions are stated.U. S. Army Research Office (Durham) under Contract No. DAHCO4-70-C-0058

A Study of the Factors Involved in the Development and Establishment of Merit Rating Programs in Public School Systems

With the increasing shortage of teachers and pressures for more competent teachers, the question of more pay to attract trained personnel appears greatest upon the horizon. The mere mention of better pay seems to attract the attention of persons who offer panaceas for the teacher shortage problem. The best known plans are loosely catalogued under the general heading of merit rating

Unravelling the Mysteries of the Leo Ring: An Absorption Line Study of an Unusual Gas Cloud

Since the 1980's discovery of the large (2x10^9 Msun) intergalactic cloud known as the Leo Ring, this object has been the center of a lively debate about its origin. Determining the origin of this object is still important as we develop a deeper understanding of the accretion and feedback processes that shape galaxy evolution. We present HST/COS observations of three sightlines near the Ring, two of which penetrate the high column density neutral hydrogen gas visible in 21 cm observations of the object. These observations provide the first direct measurement of the metallicity of the gas in the Ring, an important clue to its origins. Our best estimate of the metallicity of the ring is ~10% Zsun, higher than expected for primordial gas but lower than expected from an interaction. We discuss possible modifications to the interaction and primordial gas scenarios that would be consistent with this metallicity measurement.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted Ap

Optical and X-ray Properties of the Swift BAT-detected AGN

The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst satellite has detected a largely unbiased towards absorption sample of local ($\approx 0.03$) AGN, based solely on their 14--195 keV flux. In the first 9 months of the survey, 153 AGN sources were detected. The X-ray properties in the 0.3--10 keV band have been compiled and presented based on analyses with XMM-Newton, Chandra, Suzaku, and the Swift XRT (Winter et al. 2009). Additionally, we have compiled a sub-sample of sources with medium resolution optical ground-based spectra from the SDSS or our own observations at KPNO. In this sample of 60 sources, we have classified the sources using standard emission line diagnostic plots, obtained masses for the broad line sources through measurement of the broad H$\beta$ emission line, and measured the [OIII] 5007\AA luminosity of this sample. Based on continuum fits to the intrinsic absorption features, we have obtained clues about the stellar populations of the host galaxies. We now present the highlights of our X-ray and optical studies of this unique sample of local AGNs, including a comparison of the 2--10 keV and 14--195 keV X-ray luminosities with the [OIII] 5007\AA luminosity and the implications of our results towards measurements of bolometric luminosities.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in proceedings for 'X-ray Astronomy 2009', Bologna 09/2009, AIP Conference Series, Eds. A. Comastri, M. Cappi, L. Angelin

Distributional effects of WTO agricultural reforms in rich and poor countries

Rich countries'agricultural trade policies are the battleground on which the future of the WTO's troubled Doha Round will be determined. Subject to widespread criticism, they nonetheless appear to be almost immune to serious reform, and one of their most common defenses is that they protect poor farmers. The authors'findings reject this claim. The analysis uses detailed data on farm incomes to show that major commodity programs are highly regressive in the United States, and that theonly serious losses under trade reform are among large, wealthy farmers in a few heavily protected subsectors. In contrast, analysis using household data from 15 developing countries indicates that reforming rich countries'agricultural trade policies would lift large numbers of developing country farm households out of poverty. In the majority of cases these gains are not outweighed by the poverty-increasing effects of higher food prices among other households. Agricultural reforms that appear feasible, even under an ambitious Doha Round, achieve only a fraction of the benefits for developing countries that full liberalization promises, but protect U.S. large farms from most of the rigors of adjustment. Finally, the analysis indicates that maximal trade-led poverty reductions occur when developing countries participate more fully in agricultural trade liberalization.Rural Poverty Reduction,Economic Theory&Research,Population Policies,Achieving Shared Growth

Circulating Tumor Cell Analysis: Technical and Statistical Considerations for Application to the Clinic

Solid cancers are a leading cause of death worldwide, primarily due to the failure of effective clinical detection and treatment of metastatic disease in distant sites. There is growing evidence that the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood of cancer patients may be an important indicator of the potential for metastatic disease and poor prognosis. Technological advances have now facilitated the enumeration and characterization of CTCs using methods such as PCR, flow cytometry, image-based immunologic approaches, immunomagnetic techniques, and microchip technology. However, the rare nature of these cells requires that very sensitive and robust detection/enumeration methods be developed and validated in order to implement CTC analysis for widespread use in the clinic. This review will focus on the important technical and statistical considerations that must be taken into account when designing and implementing CTC assays, as well as the subsequent interpretation of these results for the purposes of clinical decision making

The Effect of Removing Accidents Repeaters From the Road

In newspaper editorials, public commentaries and the like, licensing authorities are often advised to solve the "accident problem" by taking the "nut behind the wheel" off the road. This paper uses six-year driver records of some 8, 000 California drivers to estimate the reduction in accidents that would in fact occur if accident repeaters were removed from the road