Showing papers by "Indian Institute of Management Calcutta published in 1999"

Environment and ethnicity in India, 1200-1991

Abstract: Drawing on a rich collection of sources, Sumit Guha's 1999 book reconstructs the history of the forest communities in western India to explore questions of tribal identity and the environment. In so doing, he demonstrates how the ideology of indigenous cultures, developed out of the notion of a pure and untouched ethnicity, is in fact rooted in nineteenth-century racial and colonial anthropology. As a challenge to this view, the author traces the processes by which the apparently immutable identities of South Asian populations took shape, and how these populations interacted politically, economically and socially with civilizations outside their immediate vicinity. While such theories have been discussed by scholars of South-East Asia and Africa, this study examines the South Asian case. Sumit Guha's penetrating and controversial critique will make a significant contribution to that literature.

On confidence intervals associated with the usual and adjusted likelihoods

Abstract: In the presence of nuisance parameters, we derive an explicit higher order asymptotic formula to compare the expected lengths of confidence intervals given by likelihood ratio statistics arising from the usual profile likelihood and various adjustments thereof. Highest posterior density regions, with approximate frequentist validity, are also included in the study.

The planning and development of New Bombay.

Abstract: Since independence (1947), foremost among the issues related to the growth of Bombay has been the decision to build New Bombay, a new city on the mainland across from Bombay island. In this paper, I examine first, the emergence of the idea of New Bombay and the interest groups who influenced the planning process. Secondly, I examine the actual achievements of the New Bombay project and the disjuncture between planning and reality. The New Bombay case shows clearly the way the political environment can influence the planning process. Confronted with the demands of different interest groups, the state in its urban planning opted for a solution which would accommodate all of them. In the process, many of the original objectives of building the new city have remained unfulfilled.

Ethics, community development and not‐for‐profit business: The case of New Dawn Enterprises

Abstract: Many non‐metropolitan areas in developed countries suffer from problems of underdevelopment. Because the activities of traditional business firms and government have not met local needs, many communities have created “community business corporations” which are explicitly dedicated to addressing the problems of community economic development. This article examines the nature of such alternative corporations and some of the ethical issues and challenges that they raise. It focuses especially on one “not‐for‐profit corporation” in Nova Scotia, New Dawn Enterprises, and the priest/businessman who has been the driving force behind it.

Tests for Homogeneity of Variances Using Robust Weighted Likelihood Estimates

Abstract: The classical normal-theory tests for testing the null hypothesis of common variance and the classical estimates of scale have long been known to be quite nonrobust to even mild deviations from normality assumptions for moderate sample sizes. Levene (1960) suggested a one-way ANOVA type statistic as a robust test. Brown and Forsythe (1974) considered a modified version of Levene's test by replacing the sample means with sample medians as estimates of population locations, and their test is computationally the simplest among the three tests recommended by Conover, Johnson, and Johnson (1981) in terms of robustness and power. In this paper a new robust and powerful test for homogeneity of variances is proposed based on a modification of Levene's test using the weighted likelihood estimates (Markatou, Basu, and Lindsay, 1996) of the population means. For two and three populations the proposed test using the Hellinger distance based weighted likelihood estimates is observed to achieve better empirical level and power than Brown-Forsythe's test in symmetric distributions having a thicker tail than the normal, and higher empirical power in skew distributions under the use of F distribution critical values.

Integrated Physical and Logical Layer Design of Multimedia ATM Networks

Abstract: This letter proposes an integrated approach to multimedia ATM network design. An optimization model that combines the physical layer design with the logical layer design is developed. A key feature of the model is that the objective to be maximized is a profit function. It includes more comprehensive cost functions for the physical and logical layers. A simple heuristic algorithm to solve the model is presented. It should be useful in practice for network designers and operators. Some numerical examples are given to illustrate the application of the model and the algorithm. key words: ATM, network design, optimization

Assignment models and reneging

Abstract: We consider a non-cooperative assignment model where we show that any subgame perfect equilibrium is stable, and that an appropriate refinement criterion leads to the p-optimal outcome. We then consider a model with reneging and derive some interesting properties of this game. We show that in this case ‘unraveling’ may occur. Furthermore, the resulting outcome can be either stable, or unstable.