‘Guaranteed lowest prices: do they facilitate collusion?’: Revisited

We examine the effect of guaranteed lowest price clauses (G.L.P.). First, we correct the proof of Logan and Lutter’s main result that it is the unique equilibrium outcome for firms adopting G.L.P. to charge collusive prices in a simultaneous pricing game, if one uses the trembling-hand perfect equilibrium as the solution concept. Second, we extend their argument to a sequential pricing game in which one firm chooses its price before the other, given that both firms adopt G.L.P. We show that collusive prices is the unique equilibrium outcome in this game even without resorting to any stringent refinement like the trembling-hand perfect equilibrium

Meaning of Wearing Faux Fur

The purpose of this study is to Understand meanings of consuming faux fur from the perspective of consumer culture theory

Fishbone-Associated Actinomycosis of the Anterior Cervical Space: A Diagnostic Dilemma

We report the imaging and pathologic findings of fishbone-associated actinomycosis of the anterior cervical space in a 57-year-old man, misdiagnosed preoperatively as a malignancy originating from thyroglossal duct cyst. CT revealed an enhancing mass containing a small abscess pocket and two sharp linear calcifications within it, which infiltrated into the strap muscle. Pathologic examination demonstrated two fishbones within the actinomycotic abscess. Fishbone-associated actinomycosis should be considered when a cervical mass contains sharp linear calcifications

Strategic delegation and second mover advantage in duopoly

We consider a duopoly in which each firm has one owner and one manager playing a multi-stage delegation game. The decision of each firm consists of two stages. In the first stage, the owner offers his manager a contract based on profits and sales. In the second stage, the manager chooses its output or price. Several possible sequential games will be analysed, depending on the sequence of the strategic variables. In the first scenario in which firm 1 makes a contract decision and a producing decision sequentially, and firm 2 follows in the same fashion, we show that any delegation equilibrium in which both owners commit their managers to profit-maximising behaviour disappears. In the second scenario in which the firms first enter into the contract stage and then Stackelberg competition follows in the second stage, sales-based delegation occurs. If firms compete in quantities, second mover advantage appears if firms make simultaneous delegation contracts, while first mover advantage is recovered if they make sequential contracts. If firms compete in prices, the results are reversed

Study of the Top-quark Pair Production in Association with a Bottom-quark Pair from Fast Simulations at the LHC

A large number of top quarks will be produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for Run II period. This will allow us to measure the rare processes from the top sector in great details. We present the study of the top-quark pair production in association with a bottom-quark pair (ttbb) from fast simulations for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment. The differential distributions of ttbb are compared with the top-quark pair production with two additional jets (ttjj) and with the production in association with the Higgs (ttH), where the Higgs decays to a bottom-quark pair. The significances of ttbb process in the dileptonic and semileptonic decay mode are calculated with the data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10 fb-1, which is foreseen to be collected in the early Run II period. This study will be an important input in searching for new physics beyond the standard model as well as in searching for ttH process where the Yukawa coupling with the top quark can be directly measured.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

DRAMATIC RECONSTRUCTION AND THEMATIC OSTINATO VARIANTS IN THE HOLY SONNETS OF JOHN DONNE BY BENJAMIN BRITTEN

In 1945 , Benjamin Britten selected the Holy Sonnets by John Donne, a Jacobean poet, (early Baroque period in music history), and he rearranged them into a complete song cycle with his own dramatic structure and musical development. The original edition of sonnets consists of nineteen sonnets, but Britten only selected nine from it to interweave them in one logical and dramatic structure describing both Donne's spiritual and physical struggle against mortal destiny, that is, death. Whereas many other song cycles usually set their contemporary poetries, there is almost four hundred years' time-gap between the original Holy Sonnets of John Donne and Britten's new arrangement.</p

Trends in Scale and Structure of Korea's Health Expenditure over Last Three Decades (1980-2009): Financing, Functions and Providers

This paper introduces statistics related to the size and composition of Korea's total health expenditure. The figures produced were tailored to the OECD's system of health accounts. Korea's total health expenditure in 2009 was estimated at 73.7 trillion won (US$57.7 billion). The annual per capita health expenditure was equivalent to US$ PPP 1,879. Korea's total health expenditure as a share of gross domestic product was 6.9% in 2009, far below the OECD average of 9.5%. Korea's public financing share of total health expenditure increased rapidly from less than 50% before 2000 to 58.2% in 2009. However, despite this growth, Korea's share remained the fourth lowest among OECD countries that had an average public share of 71.5%. Inpatient, outpatient, and pharmaceutical care accounted for 32.1%, 33.0%, and 23.7% of current health expenditure in 2009, respectively. A total of 41.1% of current health expenditure went to hospitals, 28.1% to providers of ambulatory healthcare (15.9% on doctor's clinics), and 17.9% to pharmacies. More investment in the translation of national health account data into policy-relevant information is suggested for future progress