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The process of evaluating papers for journal publication is a measurement process, similar to the other measurement processes of qualitative material in the social sciences. A good qualitative measurement technique rarely has a reliability coefficient of more than about 0.50 i.e., a correlation of 0.50 of one measurement with another measurement by the same technique. The square root of the reliability of a measure is the upper limit of its validity. If it is assumed that journal editing as a measurement process is as good as good qualitative measurement can possibly be, given this experience in the social sciences it would estimate the validity of a judgment of article quality to be about 0.70. The two major journals in Sociology accept about 16 per cent of the papers submitted to them. If the quality of papers judged is approximately normal, then one can say that papers judged to be 1 standard deviation or more above the mean of papers submitted will be accepted. Assuming a correlation of 0.70 between the true quality of the paper and the judged quality, one can estimate the proportion of acceptances of papers of different quality.

This paper discusses the theories of and the relationships between the direct and indirect methods of standardizing death rates for males, females, and persons. The author notes that the standardization procedures have two objectives, to eliminate the disturbing influences of varying age and sex distributions, and to provide reliable indications of the overall comparative mortalities of different groups. The author also points out that the Registrar General's methods and publications have always fulfilled the objectives in a thorough and practical manner.

A conference paper pertaining to the application of sampling to agricultural statistics is presented. The author notes the use of Pre-Harvest Wheat Surveys conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture. Also discussed are issues surrounding the variables of sample size and standard deviation.

This paper presents the results of a mathematical analysis of the standard assumptions used in PERT calculations. The objectives of this analysis were four-fold: (1) to pull together the mathematical aspects of the PERT model, (2) to suggest relevant analytic techniques, (3) to obtain an indication of the magnitude and direction of errors introduced by the assumptions, and (4) to suggest possible modifications and improvements in the model. The first part of the paper analyzes those assumptions relevant to the individual activities. Three possible sources of error are considered here: (1) the beta distribution assumption, (2) the standard deviation assumption and the approximation formula for the mean, and (3) the imprecise time estimates. The second part of the paper deals with the PERT network as a whole and analyzes the calculations underlying the project mean, standard deviation, and probability statements. The concept of relative criticalness is explored for the PERT stochastic model. Techniques for network reduction are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inter-temporal quadratic programming model for selecting portfolios of risky assets is formulated. The model's application to capital budgeting is discussed in considerable detail. This is followed by briefer discussions of its application in other areas. The paper develops a new and more efficient way of using simulation to calculate the variance-covariance elements required as input to Markowitz-type models; this new procedure makes no further demands on the decision maker than do other simulation models that have been suggested. The paper also shows how such models can be made inter-temporal. Finally, the paper analyses the potentials for extending such models to include other theoretical considerations that have been proposed in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of errors in the sales forecast on inventory changes and production rates. This is done by computing the ratio of the standard deviation of inventory change or production rate to the standard deviation of sales rate. By use of this ratio the effects of the average forecast error, the variance of the forecast error, and the serial correlation of sales can be studied. Both analytical method and simulation procedures are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Someone has said that maternity is a matter of fact, while paternity is, at best, a matter of opinion. Concerning the field to which this issue of the Journal is devoted, however, there is little difference of opinion — Harry Markowitz is almost universally considered to be the father of portfolio analysis. The essence of the theory appeared in his 1952 article, although the full exposition was not available until several years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the relationship between stochastic dominance (SD) and mean-semivariance (ES) criteria. This paper contains two main results. First, there are good conceptual bases for anticipating greater consistency between ES and second SD (SSD) rules than between mean-variance (EV) and SSD rules. In particular, with one possible and relatively minor exception (identical mean and semivariance, the efficient set of portfolios derived from the ES rule with semivariance calculated around a fixed point is a subset of the SSD efficient set.

This paper considers the problem of estimating the moments of a statistical distribution from judgment estimates of various percentiles of the distribution and its mode. The results of this study indicate that 5 and 95 percentiles are superior to the 0 and 100 percentiles used in classical PERT; they lead to estimates that are robust to variations in the shape of the distribution, and also there is some experimental evidence which indicates that they can be estimated more accurately from one's "experience." It was also found experimentally that the single time estimate used in CPM gave a slightly biased estimate of the mean, whereas the three time estimates used in PERT gave unbiased estimates of the mean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certainly, the concept of skewness of returns and its role in the context of portfolio analysis has gained increasing attention in recent literature. Witness the studies by Alderfer and Bierman, Arditti, Jean, and Simonson. Each of these studies has treated skewness as the third moment of a series expansion—accordingly, skewness has been measured and interpreted as a logical extension of the traditional two-dimensional return-versus-standard deviation analysis of security evaluation. The purpose of this note is to illustrate that the measurement of skewness is more sample sensitive than similar measurements for the mean and standard deviation. In particular, skewness measures will be shown to be highly sensitive to both the size of the differencing interval and the initialization point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the behavior of an individual bank to changes in monetary policy from the central bank. The author posits that the demand for liquid assets depends on asset size, interest rates and deposit instability. The paper attempts to chart changes in a bank portfolio to changes in these variables. To do so, a first difference model is used to estimate changes in the demand for free reserves and several other liquid assets. One conclusion is that banks are aware of, and react to, changes in the relative interest rates.

In this article the authors apply an alternative treatment of risk to a model designed by economist W. F. Sharpe in order to study risk aversion in the stock market. They test the model with data from British trusts. The authors also use Sharpe's original model in order to compare the performances of similar investments in Great Britain and the United States. The findings indicate that the risk aversion hypothesis that was shown to be valid for U.S. mutual funds does not hold true for British trusts.

In a recent article in the June, 1974, issue of the "Review," S. C. Tsiang examines the rationale of the mean-variance or mean-standard deviation analysis. Accepting his findings might lead one to some definite conclusions regarding the importance and the economic significance of the mean-variance analysis. At first sight, it seems that Tsiang's paper presents the following encouraging results: It shows that the slope of the indifference curves is almost always less than 1; It maintains that the mean-variance rule can serve as a good approximation rule for a wide range of utility functions; It shows that the demand to include cash assets in the investment portfolio is not justifiable even where the existence of riskiess bonds is ruled out. It is the intention of this paper to show that even if Tsiang's assumptions for a good approximation are valid, one cannot apply the mean-variance analysis while ignoring all higher distribution's moments. Finally, it is shown that indifference curves which are defined in terms of the relevant parameters are in fact convex even in the case of lognormal distribution of returns.

This paper presents an in-depth computational comparison of the basic solution algorithms for solving transportation problems. The comparison is performed using "state of the art" computer codes for the dual simplex transportation method, the out-of-kilter method, and the primal simplex transportation method (often referred to as the Row-Column Sum Method or M O D I method). In addition, these codes are compared against a state of the art large scale LP code, O P H E L I E/LP. The study discloses that the most efficient solution procedure arises by coupling a primal transportation algorithm (embodying recently developed methods for accelerating the determination of basis trees and dual evaluators) with a version of the Row Minimum start rule and a "modified row first negative evaluator" rule. The resulting method has been found to be at least 100 times faster than OPHELIE, and 9 times faster than a streamlined version of the SHARE out-of-kilter code. The method's median solution time for solving 1000 X 1000 transportation problems on a CDC 6600 computer is 17 seconds with a range of 14 to 22 seconds. Some of the unique characteristics of this study are (1) all of the fundamental solution techniques are tested on the same machine and the same problems, (2) a broad spectrum of problem sizes are examined, varying from 10 X 10 to 1000 X 1000; (3) a broad profile of nondense problems are examined ranging from 100 percent to 1 percent dense; and (4) additional tests using the best of the codes have been made on three other machines (IBM 360/65, UNIVAC 1108, and CDC 6400), providing surprising insights into conclusions based on comparing times on different machines and compilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author comments on a research paper presented by economists Lawrence Fisher and James H. Lorie titled "Some Studies of Variability of Returns on Investments in Common Stocks." Their basic data can be stated in the form of a rectangular matrix of annual wealth ratios by company and by year. The author discusses some regularities shown in their tables involving the division of total variance between variance over time and other variance and the effects of cross section diversification brought about by building portfolios with different numbers of stocks. The large mass of data should permit adequate testing. Total variance in distributions of terminal wealth can be divided into variance over time (market variance) and other variance (cross-section variance). These variances are additive, however this additivity does not hold for standard deviations. The total standard deviation is not the sum of the cross-section and market standard deviations. There is no cross section variability in such portfolios as only one portfolio a year can be built consisting of equal amounts in every stock.

The lack of memory property of the exponential distribution plays an important part in the branch of applied probability. This property assumes the information regarding the probability distribution. In the present paper we give a characteristic property of the exponential distribution based on the means of the conditional distributions. Considering a random variable T with finite mean and such that P(T > O) > 0, and denoting by y a positive number such that P(T > y) > 0, we show that T has an exponential distribution if and only if the mean of the conditional distribution, given T > y, exceeds the mean of the unconditional distribution by the quantity y for all y. Also given in the paper is a similar characterization for the geometric distribution. Since the information concerning the expected values is easily accessible, we expect these properties to be useful in dealing with the practical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we obtain a series expansion for the expected fraction of damage to a circular target when it is assumed that a salvo of n rounds is delivered onto the target area with a noncircular normal or gaussian distribution and the damage function for each round can be represented by a noncircular exponential square fall-off law. The results arc easily extended to an elliptical-shaped target. The aim of the paper is to obtain explicit approximations for target damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers stochastic models of large battles. Such battle models are said to be stochastically detennined if the gross results-for example, the casualties to each side-show low variance in repeated plays in which only the random numbers are changed. Here, low variance means a standard deviation small compared to the initial number of weapons engaged. When stochastic determinism exists in a large battle model, only a few replications of the model are needed to get good estimates of the gross results. Stochastic determinism with respect to casualties is shown to be present when the correlations between losses of individual weapons are relatively small or few in number; that is, when the fate of a given weapon has strong influence on the fates of only a limited number of other weapons. Three stochastic models-the Lanchester Linear and Square Law models and a simple missile battle model-which can be studied analytically are shown to be stochastically determined. Features of battle models that would lead to violation of stochastic determinism are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the adjustments in current theory of inventory that were required in a specific case. The demand during lead time was found to be skewed to the extent that it could not be represented by a two-parameter distribution. This skewness was handled by an augmentation of the standard deviation of the lead time demand. The analysis involving runout costs was complicated by the fact that, when one ware-house was short, it was possible sometimes to induce a customer to accept the delay inherent in delivery from another warehouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article informs that sociologist L.J. Cronbach suggested in a recent paper that social perception could be fruitfully studied in terms of the "perceptual space" within which an individual distributes persons he perceives. The present study explores certain measures of the perceptual space with particular emphasis on their reliability and their relation to two external criteria, viz., sex and adjustment. Preliminary studies have shown that the means and standard deviations of his ratings of others are the most promising variables for the purpose of describing his perceptual space. The Mean may be interpreted as the Subject's (S's) conception of the average of personality characteristics in other people. The Standard Deviation may be regarded as indicating S's tendency to differentiate along a particular dimension. Eighty 5s took part in this investigation; of these, 40 were "maladjusted" and 40 were "adjusted." Each group consisted of 20 males and 20 females. The "maladjusted" group consisted of adults who had voluntarily sought professional help for their emotional problems from several outpatient centers, except for three of the 40 S's who came from an "open" ward of a VA Neuropsychiatric Hospital which contained individuals receiving maximum psychotherapeutic treatment.

This paper presents the results of a limited investigation which brings into focus the difficulties encountered in developing exact distribution free methods for stratified simple random sampling. It is shown that exact distribution-free confidence intervals for a population median can be obtained from a stratified sample under very special circumstances. The principal result concerns the order statistics of the combined separate strata samples, where proportional allocation is employed. It is proved that a pair of symmetric order statistics provides a confidence interval for the population median whose confidence coefficient is not less than the confidence coefficient obtained from the corresponding order statistics of a random sample of the same total size drawn from the entire population. Furthermore, it is shown by means of a numerical example that this result necessarily holds only when proportional allocation is employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the problem of price-fixing from the standpoint of an individual firm in a heterogeneous market. The elementary Amoroso-Robinson formula is generalized within a deterministic as well as a probabilistic set-up. In the probabilistic case it is shown that the price-solution depends on the standard deviation of demand as a function of the price parameters. From the models considered it is, in particular, deduced that the optimum price is at a lower level than the corresponding deterministic price if the standard deviation is constant, but at a higher level if the coefficient of variation is constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study with regards to the validity of Purdue Mechanical Adaptability Test. It says that the purpose of Form A of Purdue Mechanical Adaptability Test is to identify mechanically inclined men who are most likely to succeed in training programs or jobs that require mechanical abilities and interests. It states that the said test has no time limit, wherein the test scores were analyzed using standard deviation. Furthermore, it mentions that the test was conducted to six time-study men that were rated and ranked based on their correlated test scores. Moreover, it presents tables and graphs for with data that were based on the Purdue Mechanical Adaptability Test.

This article examines the effect of the threat of losses on duopoly bargaining. This paper is an extension of the recent work of Siegel and Fouraker in experimental oligopoly behavior. The only basic difference between this experiment and that of Fouraker and Siegel is in the parameters underlying the construction of the profit table. The new profit table is extended to allow a wider range of price bids. Thirty-six subjects were used in the experiment. The experiment was designed to replicate the incomplete information Fouraker-Siegel experiment. The results of the experiment showed that it is quite possible that some of the pairs who arrived at an equilibrium at the 0.5 competitive solution in the F-S experiments did so only because it was the lowest possible price. Next, a greater latitude of equilibrium ruling prices was found. Finally, the experiment supports the interpretation of end play behavior given by Fouraker and Siegel.

The article presents a list of tables used in the study that appeared in the 1943 issue of the journal "Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development". It includes several tables showing correlations, comparison as well as means and standard deviations of various subjects. Tables showing grades acquired from various tests conducted in the study were also presented.

The article discusses a method of weighting attitude scale items from subject responses. The most widely used technique for studying attitudes is the "rating scale" method. The scale usually consists of a group of statements which have been assigned differential weights. The subject indicates which statements he endorses and his final score may be the mean, median, or sum of weights for the endorsed statements. The purpose of this paper is to present a method of weighting attitude scale items from the responses of subjects. An attitude scale of 45 statements was constructed and administered to 586 students who were all freshmen at the University of South Carolina. Each statement was weighted according to a system based on the number of times it was endorsed by members of this group.

This paper presents a procedure for matching double sampling plans to given single sampling plans. The procedure assumes sampling from a normal distribution with known standard deviation and assumes that lot average is the property of interest. It is applicable, for example, to sampling of bulk material. Double sampling plans with the "best" average sample size are discussed. An example shows how to use the procedure to find approximately matching double and single sampling plaits for sampling from a binomial distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of an inquiry concerning the small sample relative efficiency of maximum likelihood and best unbiased estimators of reliability functions of one-unit systems. Three cases are considered: The Poisson, exponential, and normal (standard deviation known). Two kinds of relative efficiency functions are studied. The first kind consists of the common ratio of the Cramer-Rao lower bound of the variances of unbiased estimators, to the mean-square-error of the considered estimator. The second kind is a new type of a relative efficiency function, which is called 'the closeness relative efficiency function.' This function is defined as the ratio of the probabilities that the maximum likelihood and the beat unbiased estimators yield estimates in a prescribed neighborhood of the unknown reliability value. A substantial part of the study is devoted to the derivation of the required moments of the estimators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents derivations of expressions for the probability of killing a randomly located point target and for the expected coverage of an area target, of variable density. Particular emphasis is placed upon a general situation in which the phase distribution is not necessarily uniform. General distributions are employed to describe the phase, radial, and component behavior of the target and from these functions the distribution of a quadratic form is derived that provides the expected coverage or kill probability. The targeting conditions include a fixed lethal radius (kill-no-kill) when the center of gravity of the weapon impact points coincides with the center of the target density and a variable lethal radius when a weapon bias is present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generalized vertex median of a weighted graph may be found by complete enumeration or by some heuristic method. This paper investigates alternatives and proposes a method that seems to perform well in comparison with others found in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The duality theory of programming under uncertainty is developed for the special case of proportional penalties and normal probability distributions, and from this an approximately optimal sampling plan is determined by the solution to a separable nonlinear programming problem with linear constraints. The duality theory is interesting per se; in particular, it evidences clearly the specific roles of the means and standard deviations in determining the solution. The duality theory of programming under uncertainty has been available for some time, at least in principle, by application of the general theory. It is worthwhile, however, to examine specially structured problems in finer detail, and that is the purpose of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iterative method is obtained for computing the maximum-likelihood estimates of the mean and standard deviation of a normal distribution when each observation is specified only by an upper and lower bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owen (1904) has developed tolerance limits based on the sample mean, &χmacr;, and the sample standard deviation, s, which control percentages in each tail of the normal distribution. In this paper tolerance limits based on &χmacr; and the range R or the mean range &&R;macr;[sub g, τ], are developed. Tables of factors for the tolerance limits are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives procedures and tables for evaluating the operating characteristic curves and associated measures of dependent mixed acceptance sampling plans for the case of single specification limit and known standard deviation, assuming a normal distribution. Joint probabilities necessary for evaluating these measures are derived and methods to facilitate their computation are provided. A useful generalized dependent plan is also presented, using two attributes acceptance numbers rather than one. Tables of joint probabilities necessary for evaluation of mixed plans are presented for first sample sizes of 4, 5, 8, and 10, acceptance numbers of 0, 1, and 2 and various percentages defective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States Pharmacopeia gives specifications for fill weight variation of capsules, tablets, and sterile solids to which the federal government expects the pharmaceutical industry to adhere. This paper makes probability statements about the USP weight variation test that could form the basis for a criterion for both final product release and in-process control, as far as fill weight variation is concerned. Use is made of the fact that the coefficient of variation, the standard deviation divided by the mean, efficiently describes fill weight variation. The effect of unintentional overfill on control is considered. A certain final product weight variation specification is examined and mention is made of sampling methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the problem of estimating the mean and the standard deviation of the logistic distribution by using ordered observations in small samples. Linear unbiased estimators with minimum variance based on ordered observations are constructed both for the complete and the censored samples for sample sizes n = 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25. The censored sample case consists of the n - r[sub 1] - r[sub 2] observations, where r[sub 1] observations are missing in the beginning and r[sub 2] observations are missing at the end. The efficiencies of these estimators relative to the moment estimator and the Cramèr-Rao bound are evaluated and graphed. A table of variances and covariances of all order statistics for n = 10(5)25 is also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned primarily with the method of moments in dissecting a mixture of two normal distributions. In the general case, with two means, two standard deviations, and a proportionality factor to be estimated, the first five sample moments are required, and it becomes necessary to find a particular solution of a ninth degree polynomial equation that was originally derived by Karl Pearson [10]. A procedure which circumvents solution of the nonic equation and thereby considerably reduces the total computational effort otherwise required, is presented. Estimates obtained in the simpler special case in which the two standard deviations are assumed to be equal, are employed as first approximations in an iterative method for simultaneously solving the basic system of moment equations applicable in the more general case in which the two standard deviations are unequal. Conditional maximum likelihood and conditional minimum chi-square estimation subject to having the first four sample moments equated to corresponding population moments, are also considered. An illustrative example is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper has described a factor analysis of supervisory behavior ratings using a procedure of standardizing both by variable and by subject, in order to eliminate a component of correlation due to differences in subjective means and standard deviation. The results show that: 1. The procedure results in a large reduction in the relative size of the first principle component. 2. The procedure results in a systematic reduction in the correlations between the primary vectors of the oblique factor solution. 3. The procedure results in a more clearly defined simple structure resulting from the oblique rotation. It seems likely that these results are due primarily to the elimination of the component of a variance attributable to the differences between subjective means. It also seems likely that some of the difference between the two solutions has resulted by giving less weight to the extreme responding, nondiscriminating subjects. Both of these adjustments are judged to be desirable in helping the researcher understand the true organization of reports of individual perceptions of behavior and attitudes where the universe concerned is homogeneous with retudes where the universe concerned is homogeneous with respect to some valuative or other over-all response tendency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The standard deviation of a set of mortality or morbidity rates for areal units can be used to establish class intervals for mapping. Use of standard, rather than arbitrarily selected, mapping categories will reduce bias and error in map interpretation, The method of rate calculation employed will affect variation among rate values as well as the nature of the frequency distribution. Crude and age-adjusted rates are chosen to suit the purpose of the map, but once the choice has been made the technical characteristics of the method and its affect on variation and frequency of distribution should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on research methods used in a clinical dental trial which evaluated an unidentified tranquilizer that might be used in operative dentistry. Topics include the definition of relaxation for statistical research and statistical pairing for assessing the number of treatments and use of placebos. The formula for calculating the relative deviate as an alternative to the curve test is explained.

The article presents information about a study which test the hypothesis that highly creative Ss exhibit greater tolerance than less creative Ss for novelty, ambiguity, and incongruity. After taking the Remote Associates Test, hypothetically a measure of creativity, 31 female introductory psychology students were given low justification and 39 female introductory psychology students were given high justification for the task of filling the squares of graph paper with random numbers. Ss produced random numbers for 10 minutes and then rated the tasks on usefulness, enjoyment, and interestingness. Subjects were divided into high creative and low creative groups at the overall median Remote Associates Test score of 14. As a validity check, usefulness ratings of the random numbers task were subjected to analysis of variance. The effect for justification condition was significant, but creativity group and interaction effects were not. Since number of lines of random numbers produced did not differ significantly among groups and conditions, differences in the effect of the manipulation on the four groups could not have spuriously influenced the results.

In a recent paper in the June,1974, issue of the "Review," S. C. Tsiang severely criticizes the traditional portfolio analysis within the (E-S) framework. Tsiang propounds two major contentions: the (E-S) framework is appropriate only when F is large relative to S, and when the indifference curves in the (E-S) half-plane have slopes of 45° or less. The author has no quibble with the first of these conditions; it is relatively well-founded in the work of Kenneth Arrow, John Pratt, and Paul Samuelson and it is based on reliable principles of approximation. Tsiang, using the second contention, shows that the (E-S) framework cannot support James Tobin's theory of liquidity preference. This would, indeed, be a serious defect of the (E-S) analysis, if it were true. Fortunately, the second contention is quite false. In this comment, the author proposes a substitute contention that meets much of the spirit of Tsiang's inquiry. The problem with Tsiang's approach is that he doesn't maintain the constancy of the parameters &b.mu; and &b.sigma;

In this article the author comments on the paper by Robert R. Schutz on income inequality. According to the author the measure of inequality involves two types of descriptive devices. These devices include a table of chart by means of which the different parts of a distribution may be compared, and an over-all index for comparing different distributions as a whole. Schutz deals with both types. Schutz objects to the crudity and ambiguity of the Gini ratio. The comparisons of sensitivity are not very useful unless, on the basis of a clearly defined concept of inequality, one can specify precisely the changes in the income distribution which the index should reflect. The author suggests that the best measure of inequality may be the standard deviation of the logarithms of income, since these may be assumed to be normally, or at least symmetrically distributed, without excessive lack of realism. The one practical advantage that the relative mean deviation has over the other measures is that it is easier to compute.

The article discusses the implementation of the "marketing concept" in the United States. The author defines the marketing concept as a business management philosophy that is based on the acceptance in an organization of the need for customer orientation, profit orientation and a general recognition of the marketing's role of communicating the needs of the market. The study tests some basic assumptions surrounding the marketing concept, including a higher rate of acceptance of the concept in consumer goods corporations than in industrial corporations and also a higher rate of acceptance in large as opposed to medium and small sized corporations.

The analysis of efficient portfolio selection, by economist Harry Markowitz, which can be interpreted as solving the quadratic-programming problem of minimizing the variance of a normal variate subject to each prescribed mean value, easily can be generalized to the concave-programming problem of minimizing the "dispersion" of a stable Pareto-Levy variate subject to each prescribed mean value. The Pareto-Levy functions are interesting because they have the stable reproduction property. This of course includes the familiar property of the normal distribution as the special case where it can be interpreted as the standard or root-mean-square deviation. Let an investor begin with initial money wealth, W, which by conventional choice of units can be set equal to unity. One can allocate it among investments at constant returns-to-scale, so that each dollar invested in X brings the same return as any other dollar.

Recently, Lambert [4] studied the relationships between the price paid by the consumer and his perceptions of product variables for several product types. Using fictitious product brands priced at high, medium, or low levels, persons who chose the high-priced item perceived more quality variation within the product type and perceived more undesirable consequences from a bad choice than those who chose the low-priced item. Contrary to his original hypotheses, the high price group also tended to have more buying experience and to be more confident about their ability to judge quality. The study reported here examines similar phenomena in order to assess the generality of Lambert's findings. For each subject, measures were obtained for perceived price paid for actual purchases of several product types and other product perceptual variables such as risk and information usefulness. The relationships between perceived price and these variables were then examined by using multiple regression. This study differs from Lambert's in that he used artificial brands and choices, while this study uses the price the subject recalls she actually paid when making her normal brand choice for a product type. This is an unusual variable, and may express the amount a subject feels is justified for a product type when she cannot recall a price, although the subject would not necessarily always choose a brand with that price when confronted with alternatives at varying prices. Thus, if the same results Lambert found occur with perceived price for actual brands, confidence in the findings can be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting a sample for study entirely from one setting does not provide much of a base for generalization. In addition to the limited generalizability built into this study by the restricted sampling, one is struck by the repeated assertions that a hypothesis has been verified when the statistical test used failed to yield a significant difference between the relevant means. It is difficult to evaluate the appropriateness of the tests of significance used by the Olsem for the data they report without wore information than is given regarding the specific term used and without the presentation of means standard deviations, and sample sizes for all comparisons reported. The most appropriate and statistically permissible test would appear to have been the test for the difference between the means, using the standard error of the difference between the means as the error term. The use of percentages with such small samples is misleading since it lends to mask the actual number of physicians or social workers agreeing on any given item.

A study of a wide variety of Australian wools shows that their specific gravity varies about a mean of 1-3042, with a standard deviation between wools of 0-0028. This variability has a negligible effect on the accuracy of the air-flow method of measuring the diameter of wool samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which proposed a conceptual framework within which the alternative of reporting opportunity cost deviations in terms of their identified sources can be evaluated. Problem in identifying the deviation sources; Sources that may contribute to material price variance; Conclusions.