うつ病の診断をcomputerにやらせる研究が進んでるらしい。 Stefan Scherer of the University of Southern California and Louis-Philippe Morency of Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, hope to change this. They are trying to develop a reliable way of diagnosing depression by using a computer to record and analyse aspects of a putative sufferer’s behaviour.
方法は二つあって一つ目が笑ってる時間と下を向く頻度を測定する方法。 It follows up on analyses of facial expressions and eye movements carried out by tracking cameras while the subject of a diagnosis is having a conversation. These used things like the length (or, rather, shortness) of people’s smiles and the frequency with which they looked at the ground in order to develop an algorithm that was 75% effective in diagnosing depression.
もう一つはうつ病患者は母音の感覚がつまるようでそれを使う方法。 The extra 10% of reliability has come from quantifying what was previously a qualitative observation, which is that depressed people tend to run their vowels together when they speak. Dr Scherer and Dr Morency programmed their software to record patterns of vowel-spacing (known as vowel-space ratios) and then tested the system on more than 250 people, some of whom had been diagnosed independently as depressed and some of whom had not.
最新号に日本の安保法制の話題が出てるね。 http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21657432-pacifist-nation-inches-closer-taking-responsibility-its-own-security-gloves One reason why Mr Abe has been having trouble selling the legislation is that he is reluctant to describe specific scenarios that might require “collective defence”. China would be enraged if he were even to hint that its behaviour might be a cause for Japanese concern. Mr Abe has given only one possible example: joining allies to end a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, through which flows much of the oil on which Japan depends.
Mr Abe may take heart from China’s relatively muted response so far. Though state media in China have issued their usual warnings about a revival of Japanese “militarism”, its government has moved in recent months to restore stability to an often turbulent relationship with Japan.
>>13 replacing benefits with a higher minimum wage =substitution of wage floors for tax credits となるべき(辞書によると)が、tax creditsと wage floorsが逆になっている、 という疑問です。
In 1971 Peter Diamond, an American economist, showed that even small “search costs”, such as the time it takes to walk down the street to see what is on offer at a rival shop, can seriously undermine competition on price. Industries in which it is much harder to compare offerings and switch providers can expect sky-high prices and profits. In the past, this problem was acute in the insurance market. Many consumers, on discovering their insurance was running out, would lazily renew with their existing provider. The hassle of comparing competing offers, and the need to maintain coverage without interruption, hindered competition. That allowed firms to hike prices for existing customers.
この段落は過去の話です。 次の段落で、Today, things are very different. と書いてあり、ネットと ネットの価格比較サイトが登場し、事態が一変した。 ところが、それによって自由競争の理想が実現したかに思えたのもつかのま、 現在では・・・というのが、この記事の一番伝えたいところ。
In Japan, where a sluggish economy has left men feeling more insecure, few can pluck up the nerve to ask women out. This has ensured a plunging birth-rate, a thriving sex-toy market and a booming “relationship replacement” industry, in which women are paid to serve drinks and listen attentively, like modern-day geishas. http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21657362-luv-u-l8r/
a thriving sex-toy market 具体的にはどんなおもちゃが流行っているのだろう? ラブドールとか?
a sluggish economy下での、modern-day geishas が活躍する“relationship replacement” industryとは、 キャバクラを念頭に置いているのであろうか?
wikiによれば、 The costs of searching are divided into external and internal costs (Smith et al. 1999). External costs include the monetary costs of acquiring the information, and the opportunity cost of the time taken up in searching. External costs are not under the 【consumer's】 control とあるので、探索コストを被るのは消費者ですね。
wikiによれば、search costは Rational consumers will continue to search for a better product or service until the marginal cost of searching exceeds the marginal benefit. 合理的な消費者は、探索の限界費用が限界利益を超えるまで、より良い製品ないしサービスを探し続けるだろう。 とあります。
If Greece manages to pass the necessary legislation, the deal agreed on July 13th will then go to several euro-area parliaments for approval, a set which probably includes Germany, Estonia, Finland, Netherlands, Slovakia and Austria (countries not known for their indulgent attitude to Greece's government). http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/07/economist-explains-10
then go to several euro-area parliaments for approval のところ変だと思いませんか? これだと、首相や大統領の判断で議会にかける国がある、と読めてしまう。 例えば、red lineを超えたシリアに対し、大統領権限で武力制裁ができるのに、事前承認を求めたオバマのように。
>>44 何のこと?と思ったけど、 “In the old days, we designed casinos like supermarkets”, explains Bill Hornbuckle, the perma-tanned president of MGM Resorts International, one of the biggest operators. と直前にあることから理解出来る。 スーパーマーケット、という比喩をここまで引っ張ってきているだけ。