Using an Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma with Exit Option to Study Alliance Behavior: Results of a Tournament and Simulation

Nearly half of all strategic alliances fail (Park and Russo, 1996; Dyer et al., 2001), often because of opportunistic behavior by one party or the other. We use a tournament and simulation to study strategies in an iterated prisoner's dilemma game with exit option to shed light on how a firm should react to an opportunistic partner. Our results indicate that a firm should give an alliance partner a second chance following an opportunistic act but that subsequent behavior should be contingent on the value of the next best opportunity outside the alliance. Firms should be more forgiving if the potential benefits from the alliance exceed other opportunities. The strategies were also found to be robust across a wide range of game lengths. The implications of these results for alliance strategies are discussed. Steven E. Phelan received his PhD in economics from La Trobe University (Australia) in 1998. Following five years at the University of Texas at Dallas, he joined the faculty of the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2003. Dr. Phelan's research interests include competitive dynamics, organizational efficiency, acquisition and alliance performance, and entrepreneurial competence. His methods of choice to study these phenomena include agent-based modelling, experimental game theory, and event studies. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Phelan held executive positions in the telecommunications and airline industries and was a principal partner in Bridges Management Group, a consultancy specializing in strategic investment decisions. Richard J. Arend is a graduate of the University of British Columbia's doctoral program in Policy Analysis and Strategy. He is on the Management faculty of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, arriving most recently from the Management faculty of New York University's Stern School of Business. Dr. Arend's interests lie in the analysis of unusual modes of firm value creation and destruction, where he has published in several top journals. He is a professional engineer with work and consulting experience in aerospace and computing. Darryl A. Seale joined the faculty of UNLV in 1999, following three years at Kent State University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Prior to Alabama, he completed his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Business Administration at the University of Arizona, his M.B.A. from Penn State University, and spent over ten years in management and market planning positions in the health care industry. Professor Seale's research interests include strategic decision making, bargaining and negotiation, and behavioral game theory. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and has been published in top-tier journals including Management Science, OBHDP, Games and Economic Behavior, and Strategic Management Journal. His teaching interests include business policy/strategy, managerial decision making, and bargaining and negotiation.     

Dixmier traces as singular symmetric functionals and applications to measurable operators

We unify various constructions and contribute to the theory of singular symmetric functionals on Marcinkiewicz function/operator spaces. This affords a new approach to the non-normal Dixmier and Connes-Dixmier traces (introduced by Dixmier and adapted to non-commutative geometry by Connes) living on a general Marcinkiewicz space associated with an arbitrary semifinite von Neumann algebra. The corollaries to our approach, stated in terms of the operator ideal L^(1,∞) (which is a special example of an operator Marcinkiewicz space), are: (i) a new characterization of the set of all positive measurable operators from L^(1,∞), i.e. those on which an arbitrary Connes-Dixmier trace yields the same value. In the special case, when the operator ideal L^(1,∞) is considered on a type I infinite factor, a bounded operator x belongs to L^(1,∞) if and only if the sequence of singular numbers {s_n(x)}_n?1 (in the descending order and counting the multiplicities) satisfies . In this case, our characterization amounts to saying that a positive element x∈L^(1,∞) is measurable if and only if exists; (ii) the set of Dixmier traces and the set of Connes-Dixmier traces are norming sets (up to equivalence) for the space , where the space is the closure of all finite rank operators in L^(1,∞) in the norm ∥.∥_(1,∞).     

Photodissociation spectrum of CH3I+ prepared by multiphoton ionization

Two-photon resonant multiphoton ionization has been used to prepare rotationally cooled and selected CH₃I⁺ ions with controlled vibrational and electronic distributions. These ions are photodissociated by a second laser. The highly simplified photodissociation spectrum displays a clear dissociation threshold as well as bands hidden in earlier spectra. The data suggests corrections to previously determined vibrational constants.     

Onn th order equations having critical degreen − 2

Summary In this paper a fundamental set of solutions is determined for certain n^th order linear differential equations.     

Equilibrium Arrival Rates at a Partially-Obstructed Intersection

A lane of traffic approaches an intersection where a traffic signal mediates between two possibilities: continued travel on that lane, or a turn onto a one-way street. Movement stops temporarily whenever a vehicle arrives at the intersection during a period permitting the alternative that is not the driver's intention. A simple model is presented which mathematically verifies the intuition that this type of signal cannot allow traffic to move efficiently during the rush-hour.     

Metal-ammonia reduction: the ring reduction of aromatic carboxylic esters

Aryl benzoates are reduced to 1,4-dihydroaromatics with Na/NH₃ in the presence of water.     

FTIR study of the reaction of ethyl radicals with O2 and Cl2 in air at 295 K

Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the ethene yield from the reaction of C₂H₅ radicals with O₂ has been determined to be 1.50 ± 0.09%, 0.85 ± 0.11%, and <0.1% at total pressures of 25, 50, and 700 torr, respectively. Additionally, the rate constant of the reaction of C₂H₅ radicals with molecular chlorine was measured relative to that with molecular oxygen. (1) A ratio k₆/k₇ = 1.99 ± 0.14 was measured at 700 torr total pressure which, together with the literature value of k₇ = 4.4 × 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1s^?1, yields k₆ = (8.8 ± 0.6) × 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1s^?1. Quoted errors represent 2σ. These results are discussed with respect to previous kinetic and mechanistic studies of C₂H₅ radicals.