Structural Pluralism and Life Expectancy in Less-Developed Countries: The Role of Women's Status

This study replicates a previous finding forthe U.S. counties that showed a strongassociation, net of controls between``structural pluralism' and lower mortality. ``Structural pluralism' refers to a community'scapacity for political competition, and is acore element of ``democracy.' Pluralism hasthis effect because it facilitates theacquisition of appropriate medical facilitiesand because it tends to optimize the biologicalfunctioning of the residents. Working from amajor component of pluralism, minorityparticipation, this hypothesis is tested byshowing that women's status in less developedcountries improves life expectancy net ofcontrols. A path analysis demonstrates thatthe structural dimensions work through healthorganization as an intervening variable, andthe future testing of biological optimizationis outlined. Location in Africa south of theSahara is a partially unexplained controlvariable that has a powerful negative impact. Interpreting women's status as a component ofpluralism explains why it predicts increasedlife expectancy for all citizens, not justwomen. It is a global dimension that affectsall the members of a community.     

国外女性人类学的发展过程

结构语言学催生了施特劳斯的结构人类学。随后，在女性主义和结构人类学的推动下，以妇女人类学为基础的女性人类学便作为一门新的分支学科产生和发展起来。它先后经历了结构主义和后结构主义这样两个发展阶段。从９０年代起，后结构主义所面临的一些理论难题又使后结构女性人类学开始进行新的反思，这预示着女性人类学将步入新的发展阶段。     

加入WTO对江苏农业的影响

加入世贸组织对江苏农业究竟有什么样的影响？为了回答这一问题，我们首先应当了解加入世贸组织要求中国农业做出什么样的让步。目前世贸组织关于农产品贸易的规则是其前身关贸总协定在最后一轮多边贸易谈判即乌挂圭回合上做出的，这些规则将在２００４年前后被新一轮多边贸易谈判达成的协议取代。由于这一原因，加上通常应有的过渡期，主要贸易伙伴在中国加入世贸组织的谈判中提出的条件多半以２００４年为界。因此，我们可以依据这些贸易伙伴提出的条件评价中国加入世贸组织以后农业在短期内可能受到的冲击到底有多大，对江苏农业的影响有…     

心理词汇结构表征与二语产出性词汇能力发展

母语心理词汇结构表征与二语心理词汇结构表征存在差异。母语心理词汇中词与词是以语义为联系的,而二语心理词汇中词与词的联系是语音起主要作用。学习者的二语产出性词汇能力到了某一阶段后出现"停滞现象",因此,为促进二语产出性词汇能力的发展,二语学习者有必要重组二语心理词汇结构并加深对单词的语义理解,不断地积累该词与其他词的语义联系。     

Optimal choice of sample fraction in univariate financial tail index estimation

This study introduces a technique to estimate the Pareto distribution of the stock exchange index by using the maximum-likelihood Hill estimator. Recursive procedures based on the goodness-of-fit statistics are used to determine the optimal threshold fraction of extreme values to be included in tail estimation. These procedures are applied to three indices in the Malaysian stock market which included the consideration of a drastic economic event such as the Asian financial crisis. The empirical results evidenced alternating varying behavior of heavy-tailed distributions in the regimes for both upper and lower tails.     

Approximate Confidence Limits for the Difference between Parameters of Two Pólya Distributions

The problem of calculating approximate confidence limits for the difference between success probability parameters of two Pólya distributions is solved for the first time. We suggest some new methods for determining these approximate confidence limits and consider their application to special cases: namely for the binomial and hypergeometric distributions. The various approximate confidence limits are evaluated and compared.     

Structural equation models for area health outcomes with model selection

Recent analyses seeking to explain variation in area health outcomes often consider the impact on them of latent measures (i.e. unobserved constructs) of population health risk. The latter are typically obtained by forms of multivariate analysis, with a small set of latent constructs derived from a collection of observed indicators, and a few recent area studies take such constructs to be spatially structured rather than independent over areas. A confirmatory approach is often applicable to the model linking indicators to constructs, based on substantive knowledge of relevant risks for particular diseases or outcomes. In this paper, population constructs relevant to a particular set of health outcomes are derived using an integrated model containing all the manifest variables, namely health outcome variables, as well as indicator variables underlying the latent constructs. A further feature of the approach is the use of variable selection techniques to select significant loadings and factors (especially in terms of effects of constructs on health outcomes), so ensuring parsimonious models are selected. A case study considers suicide mortality and self-harm contrasts in the East of England in relation to three latent constructs: deprivation, fragmentation and urbanicity.     

Reconsideration of the F-test of the analysis of variance: the semi-bayesian significance test

The usual F-test of the analysis of variance is reconsidered within the Bayesian framework, In terms of predictive distributions, This leads to the notion of semi-Bayesian significance test, so called because it consists in only probabilizing the space of nuisance parameters, thus bringing a general principle for “eliminating” nuisance parameters, or more exactly incorporating information about these parameters. The approach is shown to extend the F-tests, by allowing the testing of hypotheses of non-zero effects.     

On the distribution of some test statistics connected with the multivariate linear functional relationship model

An alternate representation of the densities of some test statistics for the structural coefficients of the multivariate linear functional relationship model is proposed in this article. These statistics are distributed as the ratio of a linear combination of chi-square variÂtes over the root of a product of chi-square variÂtes. A computable representation of their densities has already been derived by Provost (1984) with the help of the technique of the inverse Mellin transform. The connection of the alternate representation to the densities of products of independent beta type-2 and of independent F-random variables is also discussed.