Contracting with Researchers

We study a setting in which one or two agents conduct research on behalf of a principal. The agents' success depends on effort and the choice of a research technology that is uncertain with respect to its quality. A single agent has no incentive to deviate from the principal's preferred technology choice. In the multiagent-setting researchers pursue individual rather than overall success which yields a preference for the most promising technology. We show that a mechanism that deters this bias towards mainstream research always entails an effciency loss if researchers are risk-averse. Our results suggest that there is too little diversity in delegated research

Incentives for Researchers

The thesis examines incentives for scientists from a game-theoretic perspective: Chapter 1: We study a model of delegated research. A researcher’s success depends on their effort and their choice of research technology which is uncertain with respect to its quality. Researchers pursue individual, rather than overall success, which yields a preference for the most promising technology. We show that a mechanism that deters this bias towards mainstream research always entails an efficiency loss if researchers are risk-averse. Our results suggest that there is too little diversity in delegated research. Chapter 2: We show that strategic delay can pose a problem in delegated R&D projects. In our model, a principal delegates a research project to an agent. Depending on the agent’s effort provision in two time periods, the research project can be completed either early, late or never. Our central assumption is that the agent is able to opportunistically withhold possible early completion from the principal (strategic delay). We derive the conditions under which strategic delay poses a problem. There are two options for the contract’s optimal adjustment that both fall short of the first-best solution. (1) The contract prevents strategic delay by separating between successful and unsuccessful agents after period 1, but thereby distorts the agent’s working incentives in both periods. (2) The principal strategically delays the start of the research project until the second period. We discuss several model extensions and possible institutional remedies to mitigate the problem. Chapter 3: What are the conditions under which fraudulent or erroneous research arises and survives in the scientific community? To answer this question, we build on the work of Lacetera and Zirulia (2011) and model the scientific approval process along the lines of an inspection game. A researcher publishes a possibly fraudulent or faulty result which comes under scrutiny from a (large) scientific readership. Scrutinizing scientific publications may constitute a public good for the scientific community,such that the volume of (unrevealed) faulty research can increase with the number of interested readers. In fact, an author might intentionally increase the level of fraud so as to attract more readers, thereby aggravating the free rider problem and reducing the likelihood of getting caught. Moreover, the model sheds light on the question of whether and when a greater diversity of opinions in the scientific community helps to weed out flawed research

A Regiment in Action

The work which follows is by no means a thorough or complete history of the Twenty First Infantry Regiment in World War II. To my knowledge no such history has yet been written. I have, however, a number of official accounts of some of our actions. These I have edited and put together with whatever other information available in order to have at least some form of published record. I am publishing this work in response to numerous requests from members and former members of the 21st Infantry as a chronicle of our days together in combat. Most of the description concerning the Hollandia Operation was submitted by Lieut. Colonel Roy W. Marcy. The sketches after Page 37 and Page 52 were drawn by Mr. Lawrence E. Hickman another former 21st Infantryman. Great thanks are due to Lieut. Colonel Judson MacIvor Smith for the material on Pages 3, 4, 5 and 6 which were taken from his book The Story of a Regiment -- a history of the 21st Infantry. Thanks are also due to Mr. Arthur Amos, Jr. for the cover, Miss Ruth Middleton for typing the manuscript and to Mr. T. L. Tuggle for supervising the multilith operations of reproduction. I would be glad to receive information from anyone who can furnish more complete data for inclusion in a future, more complete work. Also any corrections or suggested changes will be very welcome. William J. Verbeck, Colonel, Infantry, Commanding Officer of Troops, U.S.M.A., West Point, N.Y.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/1092/thumbnail.jp

LGBTQ+ Health-a Novel Course for Undergraduate Students.

The concept of providing focused, competency-based LGBTQ+ health education outside the setting of health professional programs, specifically for undergraduates, is quite uncharted. However, the issue at the core of our rationale is one shared by those with and without clinical exposure: how to best support the development of cultural competence in providers who are or will be caring for LGBTQ+ patients. Traditional health professional education programs have enacted a number of curricular initiatives in this regard, designed for advanced learners. By focusing specifically on the undifferentiated learner, we offer a new perspective on the timing of LGBTQ+ health-related education. Our course is not intended to supplant the critical learning and application that must occur in the clinic or hospital room. Rather, we present a framework for cultivating understanding of the healthcare issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community that may help a learner to acquire and apply skills subsequently with greater cultural competence

Electrometric Titration of Sulfurous Acid with Permanganate

The purpose of this work was to determine whether sulfurous acid in acid solution is completely oxidized to sulfuric acid by an excess of permanganate as stated in the literature. If so the excess of permanganate should be easily and accurately determinable electrometrically with potassium iodide thus giving a simple method for determining sulfur dioxide, sulfurous acid or sulfites. The results show that with a small or large excess of permanganate only about 90 per cent is oxidized to sulfuric acid, the remainder of the sulfurous acid probably forming dithionic acid

Benchmarking and Practical Evaluation of Machine and Statistical Learning Methods in Credit Scoring: A Method Selection Perspective

Predictive models are important tools used in all scientific fields. Machine learning (ML) algorithms and statistical models are widely used for decision-making because of their capability to tackle intricate and unique problems. In domains where data are high-dimensional and contain irrelevant and redundant features, ML algorithms are known to have superior performance over traditional (statistical) learning methods. However, researchers and analysts are often faced with a myriad of techniques to choose from, with no clear consensus on which will perform best for their specific task. Considering resource limitations, exhaustive exploration of all available methods is impractical and often fails to yield significant improvements, making it an unadvised approach.In this study, we propose an efficient methodology for benchmarking feature selection and machine-learning algorithms with a practical evaluation in the context of credit scoring. A survey of credit-scoring literature was conducted to identify prevalent and high-performing methods, and a subset of methods was selected based on computational efficiency, interpretability, and predictive performance. The search led to the methods of chi-square, oblique principal component analysis, and genetic algorithm for feature selection, penalized logistic regression, support vector machines, extreme gradient boosted decision trees, and random forest for classification. We then designed a simulation study to evaluate the performance of the selected methods using relevant metrics. These results guided the selection of the most practical and effective methods, which were subsequently tested in a real-world credit-scoring environment. The simulation results indicate that penalized logistic regression and extreme gradient boosting with genetic algorithm feature selection emerged as the best-performing methods for prediction and dimension reduction. Furthermore, the study examined the impact of data characteristics on prediction performance. This research contributes to the method selection and optimization in credit scoring and highlights avenues for further investigation in related research areas

Development of a variable-temperature ion mobility/ time-of-flight mass spectrometer for separation of electronic isomers

The construction of a liquid nitrogen-cooled ion mobility spectrometer coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry was implemented to demonstrate the ability to discriminate between electronic isomers. Ion mobility allows for the separation of ions based on differing cross-sections-to-charge ratio. This allows for the possible discrimination of species with same mass if the ions differ by cross-section. Time-offlight mass spectrometry was added to mass identify the separated peak for proper identification. A liquid nitrogen-cooled mobility cell was employed for a two-fold purpose. First, the low temperatures increase the peak resolution to aid in resolving the separated ions. This is necessary when isomers may have similar cross-sections. Second, low temperature shortens the mean free path and decreases the neutral buffer gas speeds allowing for more interactions between the ions and the drift gas. Kr2+ study was performed to verify instrument performance. The variable-temperature ion mobility spectrometer was utilized to separate the distonic and conventional ion forms of CH3OH, CH3F, and CH3NH2 and to discriminate between the keto and enol forms of the acetone radical cation. Density functional theory and ab initio calculations were employed to aid in proper identification of separating isomers. Monte Carlo integration tools were also developed to predict ion cross-section and resolution within a buffer gas

Analysis of Land Use, Land Cover Change in the Upland Forests of Oklahoma: A Comparison Between the 1950s and 2000s

To investigate human disturbance of Oklahoma forests, a 1950s survey of forest stands was reexamined using field inspection and GIS analysis. Historic data for 194 sites in 60 counties with acreages from 15 to 800 acres were surveyed within three forest types. Stands were analyzed for both disturbance level and disturbance type resulting in forest loss. Most stands (69%) suffered less than 50% disturbance. Higher disturbance was found in northwest and south central regions with lower disturbance in northeast and southeast regions. The leading cause of deforestation was agriculture, 64% of stands, located predominantly in areas with low timber value and widespread agriculture practices. Forest loss decreased where forest economic value was high. Post oak/black jack forest suffered greater disturbance than other forest types. Infrastructure, including extractive activities, had lower disturbance levels. Rural development associated primarily with agriculture. Proximity to urban areas did not result in higher disturbance levels.Environmental Sciences Progra