We consider weak preference orderings over a set An of n alternatives. An individual preference is of refinement ≤ n if it first partitions An into subsets of ‘tied’ alternatives, and then ranks these subsets within a linear ordering. When < n, preferences are coarse. It is shown that, if the refinement of preferences does not exceed , a super majority rule (within non-abstaining voters) with r...

This paper examines the concept of a combination rule for belief functions. It is shown that two fairly simple and apparently reasonable assumptions determine Dempster’s rule, giving a new justification for it.

— This paper shows why corruption is especially difficult to detect under China’s system of decentralized authoritarian rule, which I call a “rule of mandates.” Local officials must pursue high priority political targets but have immense discretion over which laws to implement. A relative standard for corruption consequently arises since non-implementation of laws may be mandate-serving or may ...

The variance-covariance method is employed at low doses and in radiation fields of low dose rates from an 241Am (4 nGy/s) and a 90Sr (300 nGy/s) source. The preliminary applications and results illustrate some of the potential of the method, and show that the dose average of lineal energy or energy imparted can be determined over a wide range of doses and dose rates. The dose averages obtained ...

OBJECTIVES To analyse the mechanisms responsible for carbapenem resistance in one Acinetobacter baumannii isolate recovered from a patient transferred to Germany from an Egyptian hospital. METHODS PCR and sequencing were used to search for β-lactamase and 16S RNA methylase genes. Multilocus sequence typing was used to determine the sequence type (ST) of the isolate. RESULTS Sequencing of th...