Information and Beliefs in a Repeated Normal-Form Game

We study beliefs and choices in a repeated normal-form game. In addition to a baseline treatment with common knowledge of the game structure and feedback about choices in the previous period, we run treatments (i) without feedback about previous play, (ii) with no information about the opponent’s payoffs and (iii) with random matching. Using Stahl and Wilson’s (1995) model of limited strategic reasoning, we classify behavior with regard to its strategic sophistication and consider its development over time. We use belief statements to check for the consistency of subjects’ actions with the stated beliefs as well as for the accuracy of their beliefs (relative to the opponent’s true choice). In the baseline treatment we observe more sophisticated play as well as more accurate beliefs and more best responses to beliefs over time. We isolate feedback as the main driving force of learning to play strategically and to form beliefs that accurately predict the behavior of the opponent.beliefs, experiments, strategic uncertainty, learning

The Nordic Market: Signs of Stress?

The supply shock that hit the Nordic electricity market in 2002-2003 put the market to a severe test. A sharp reduction in inflow to hydro reservoirs during the normally wet months of late autumn pushed electricity prices to unprecedented levels. We take this event as the starting point for analysing some potential weaknesses of the Nordic market. We conclude that fears regarding supply security and adequacy are likely to be unfounded. Nevertheless, as inherited over-capacity is eroded, and new market-based environmental regulation takes effect, tighter market conditions are to be expected. It is then crucial that retail markets are fully developed so as to allow consumers to adequately protect themselves from occurrences of price spikes.

Regulation and Wage Bargaining

In many regulated industries labour uions are strong and there is clear empirical evidence of labour rent-sharing. We study optimal regulation in a model in which wages are determined endogenously by wage bargaining at the firm level. Compared to the case in which wages do not depend on the regime under which the firm is regulated, allowing for endogenously determined wages has ambiguous effects on the regulatory contract.WAGES ; BARGAINING ; REGULATION

Comparison of Lightning Activity and Radar-Retrieved Microphysical Properties in EULINOX Storms

A combined analysis of microphysical thunderstorm properties derived by C-band polarimetric Doppler radar measurements and lightning observations from two ground-based systems are presented. Three types of storms, a multicell, a supercell, and a squall line, that were observed during the European Lightning Nitrogen Oxides project (EULINOX) are investigated. Correlations are sought between the mass of rain, graupel, hail, and snow derived form radar observations at different height levels and the electrical activity, represented either by cloud-to-ground or intracloud flashes. These relationships are explained by connecting the radar-derived properties with the non-inductive charging process. For the multicell and the supercell storm, the lightning activity can be linearly correlated to both the hydrometeor total mass and class specific mass in the upper part of the storm. It is shown that the fractions of graupel and hail above the −20 °C-level in these storms positively correlate with the intracloud flash activity in the supercell, and negatively for the cloud-to-ground lightning frequency in the multicell. No such relation can be established for the squall line, indicating that the convective organization plays a crucial role in the lightning development. The analysis of the masses in the different storms shows that lightning activity cannot be parameterized by total mass alone, other parameters have to be identified. The results provide important information for all lightning studies that rely on bulk properties of thunderstorms, e.g., the parameterization of lightning in mesoscale models or the nowcasting of lightning by radar

A fast parallel algorithm for special linear systems of equations using processor arrays with reconfigurable bus systems

A parallel algorithm using Processor Arrays with Reconfigurable Bus Systems has been designed to solve dense Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD) systems of equations Ax = b. The key content of this report is the parallelisation of the algorithm by Delosme & Ipson [8]. In order to design a parallel algorithm for PARBS, many procedures involved in [8] are handled in a slightly different way. The parallel time and processor’s complexity of each step of the algorithm is calculated. The parallel time complexity is O(n) using 2n × 2n × 5n number of Processing Elements

A constant time parallel algorithm for the triangularization of a sparse matrix using CD-PARBS

An algorithm for the triangularization of a matrix whose graph is a directed acyclic graph, popularly known as dag, is presented. One of the algorithms for obtaining this special form has been given by Sargent and Westerberg. Their approach is practically good but sequential in nature and cannot be parallelised easily. In this work we present a parallel algorithm which is based on the observation that, if we find the transitive closure matrix of a directed acyclic graph, count the number of entries in each row, sort them in the ascending order of their values and rank them accordingly, we get a lower triangular matrix. We show that all these operations can be done using 3-d CD- PARBS(Complete Directed PARBS) in constant time. The same approach can be used for the block cases, producing the same relabelling as produced by Tarjan’s algorithm, in constant time. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first approach to solve such problems using directed PARBS

An efficient parallel algorithm for the all pairs shortest path problem using processor arrays with reconfigurable bus systems

The all pairs shortest path problem is a class of the algebraic path problem. Many parallel algorithms for the solution of this problem appear in the literature. One of the efficient parallel algorithms on W-RAM model is given by Kucera [17]. Though efficient, algorithms written for the W-RAM model of parallel computation are too idealistic to be implemented on the current hardware. In this report we present an efficient parallel algorithm for the solution of this problem using a relatively new model of parallel computing, Processor Arrays with Reconfigurable Bus Systems. The parallel time complexity of this algorithm is O(log2 n) and processors complexity is n2 × n × n

Experience with daptomycin daily dosing in ICU patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy

Purpose: For critically ill patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), daptomycin dosing recommendations are scarce. We, therefore, retrospectively assessed routinely measured daptomycin plasma concentrations, daptomycin dose administered and microbiological data in 11 critically ill patients with Gram-positive infections that had received daptomycin once daily. Methods: The retrospective analysis included critically ill patients treated at the intensive care unit (ICU) who had daptomycin plasma concentrations measured. Results: Daptomycin dose ranged from 3 to 8mg/kg/q24h in patients undergoing CRRT (n=7) and 6 to 10mg/kg/q24h in patients without CRRT (n=4). Peak and trough concentrations showed a high intra- and inter-patient variability in both groups, independent of the dosage per kg body weight. No drug accumulation was detected in CRRT patients with once-daily daptomycin dosing. Causative pathogens were Enterococcus faecium (n=6), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (n=2), Staphylococcus aureus (n=2) and unknown in one patient. Microbiological eradication was successful in 8 of 11 patients. Two of three patients with unsuccessful microbiological eradication and fatal outcome had an Enterococcus faecium infection. Conclusion: In critically ill patients undergoing CRRT, daptomycin exposure with once-daily dosing was similar to ICU patients with normal renal function, but lower compared to healthy volunteers. Our data suggest that daptomycin once-daily dosing is appropriate in patients undergoing CRR

Implementation of a parallel algorithm for the symmetric positive definite systems of equations on the CRAY-T3E

A parallel algorithm for the solution of dense Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD) systems of equations Ax = b has been designed for the implementation on the CRAY T3E. One of the numerically stable methods for the solution of this system is proposed by Delosme & Ipsen [3]. In order to implement this algorithm on the CRAY T3E, we require to handle the procedures involved in a slightly different way. These implementation issues are discussed in detail. The actual timings for different communication schemes, on different sets of data values and varying number of processors have been tested and reported