Agent-based computational economics (ACE) combines elements from economics and computer science. In this paper, we focus on the relation between the evolutionary technique that is used and the economic problem that is modeled. Current economic simulations often derive parameter settings for the genetic algorithm directly from the values of the economic model parameters. In this paper we show th...

A retrospective study was conducted on all patients injured in a motorcycle accident who were admitted to the authors' institution during a one-year period. The 71 patients evaluated averaged 26 years of age; 79% were men, 75% were not wearing a helmet, and 24% were legally intoxicated. Sixty-six percent required surgical intervention and 36% a second procedure. There were 167 fractures, with a...

This paper conducts a five-month follow-up survey of 608 Japanese adults who just started smoking cessation, and measures economic-psychological parameters such as the time preference rate and risk aversion coefficient using a conjoint analysis. We reach two main conclusions. First, cessation successes are more risk-averse than cessation failures, both at the starting and finishing points of th...

Catheter-related bloodstream infections are a serious problem. Many interventions reduce risk, and some have been evaluated in cost-effectiveness studies. We review the usefulness and quality of these economic studies. Evidence is incomplete, and data required to inform a coherent policy are missing. The cost-effectiveness studies are characterized by a lack of transparency, short time-horizons...