Transparency and Resource Allocation of Grassroots Nonprofits in China

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Organizational transparency has become a prominent concern for the nonprofit sector as it expands globally. Transparency...     

真伪之辩——基于新近材料的“海德格尔事件”核心问题研究

新近出版的《海德格尔兄弟通信集》为“海德格尔事件”研究的突破性进展提供了非常重要的文本资料，为澄清诸多疑难问题提供了一个关键契机。受此推动，本文将对“海德格尔事件”的核心问题展开追问:海德格尔在校长任职动机问题上的自我辩护是谎言还是事实?胡戈·奥特在其研究中批评海德格尔的辩护乃是撒谎，这一判断以种种变式影响着今天的《黑皮笔记》研究;但依据更多材料和更严谨的分析，可以看出奥特这一具有重大影响力的研究工作存在严重漏洞，扭曲了事实，而多年来一直被质疑的海德格尔自我辩护反倒符合事实。这一发现不仅揭示出了重新全面解读“海德格尔事件”的必要性，而且推动着我们去沉思相关论战一再爆发的深层原因，这将有助于我们走上真正的疑难澄清之路。     

A quadratic time exact algorithm for continuous connected 2-facility location problem in trees

This paper studies the continuous connected 2-facility location problem (CC2FLP) in trees. Let \(T = (V, E, c, d, \ell , \mu )\) be an undirected rooted tree, where each node \(v \in V\) has a weight \(d(v) \ge 0\) denoting the demand amount of v as well as a weight \(\ell (v) \ge 0\) denoting the cost of opening a facility at v, and each edge \(e \in E\) has a weight \(c(e) \ge 0\) denoting the cost on e and is associated with a function \(\mu (e,t) \ge 0\) denoting the cost of opening a facility at a point x(e, t) on e where t is a continuous variable on e. Given a subset \(\mathcal {D} \subseteq V\) of clients, and a subset \(\mathcal {F} \subseteq \mathcal {P}(T)\) of continuum points admitting facilities where \(\mathcal {P}(T)\) is the set of all the points on edges of T, when two facilities are installed at a pair of continuum points \(x_1\) and \(x_2\) in \(\mathcal {F}\), the total cost involved in CC2FLP includes three parts: the cost of opening two facilities at \(x_1\) and \(x_2\), K times the cost of connecting \(x_1\) and \(x_2\), and the cost of all the clients in \(\mathcal {D}\) connecting to some facility. The objective is to open two facilities at a pair of continuum points in \(\mathcal {F}\) to minimize the total cost, for a given input parameter \(K \ge 1\). This paper focuses on the case of \(\mathcal {D} = V\) and \(\mathcal {F} = \mathcal {P}(T)\). We first study the discrete version of CC2FLP, named the discrete connected 2-facility location problem (DC2FLP), where two facilities are restricted to the nodes of T, and devise a quadratic time edge-splitting algorithm for DC2FLP. Furthermore, we prove that CC2FLP is almost equivalent to DC2FLP in trees, and develop a quadratic time exact algorithm based on the edge-splitting algorithm. Finally, we adapt our algorithms to the general case of \(\mathcal {D} \subseteq V\) and \(\mathcal {F} \subseteq \mathcal {P}(T)\).     

Entrenchment in publicly traded family firms: Evidence from the S&P 500

Family involvement in corporate governance through ownership, management, and board membership presents a unique dilemma for understanding the strategic impetus and costs of entrenchment decisions. The presence of shared family ties and the family-centered goals of firm principals call to question the applicability of extant agency arguments regarding the nature and antecedents of managerial entrenchment. Exploring this, we develop and test a model of family firm-specific determinants (i.e., family ownership and family's involvement in management and governance) of entrenchment in publicly traded firms by drawing upon principal-principal agency theory. Findings of the empirical analysis of family owned S&P 500 firms suggest family firms are motivated to entrench managers when doing so supports the pursuit of family-centric goals. However, the extent to which entrenchment supports such goals varies at different levels of family ownership.     

Environmental Justice in the Context of Scientifi Uncertainty: On the Safety of Genetically Modifi Organisms

应对风险特别是科学不确定性所导致的风险，实现和维护环境正义是当今时代的 一个前沿核心议题。转基因生物安全为代表的科学不确定性背景下的环境正义，需要 建立在相应的科学研究基础之上，但在本质上乃是一种社会构建。对转基因生物技术 及其产品等现代科技的研发、应用和推广等活动，应当维护其市场自由，与此同时， 为了公共安全以及社会弱势群体的最大利益，还应当对相关科技活动进行必要的政府 干预和法律规制。     

Closure property of consistently varying random variables based on precise large deviation principles

Let X = {X₁, X₂, …} be a sequence of independent but not necessarily identically distributed random variables, and let η be a counting random variable independent of X. Consider randomly stopped sum S_η = ∑^η_{k = 1}X_k and random maximum S_(η) ? max?{S₀, …, S_η}. Assuming that each X_k belongs to the class of consistently varying distributions, on the basis of the well-known precise large deviation principles, we prove that the distributions of S_η and S_(η) belong to the same class under some mild conditions. Our approach is new and the obtained results are further studies of Kizinevi?, Sprindys, and ?iaulys (2016) and Andrulyt?, Manstavi?ius, and ?iaulys (2017).     

Subsampling-extrapolation bandwidth selection in bivariate kernel density estimation

This paper focuses on bivariate kernel density estimation that bridges the gap between univariate and multivariate applications. We propose a subsampling-extrapolation bandwidth matrix selector that improves the reliability of the conventional cross-validation method. The proposed procedure combines a U-statistic expression of the mean integrated squared error and asymptotic theory, and can be used in both cases of diagonal bandwidth matrix and unconstrained bandwidth matrix. In the subsampling stage, one takes advantage of the reduced variability of estimating the bandwidth matrix at a smaller subsample size m (m < n); in the extrapolation stage, a simple linear extrapolation is used to remove the incurred bias. Simulation studies reveal that the proposed method reduces the variability of the cross-validation method by about 50% and achieves an expected integrated squared error that is up to 30% smaller than that of the benchmark cross-validation. It shows comparable or improved performance compared to other competitors across six distributions in terms of the expected integrated squared error. We prove that the components of the selected bivariate bandwidth matrix have an asymptotic multivariate normal distribution, and also present the relative rate of convergence of the proposed bandwidth selector.     

Measuring and Achieving Equity in Multiperiod Emergency Material Allocation

Emergency material allocation is an important part of postdisaster emergency logistics that is significant for improving rescue effectiveness and reducing disaster losses. However, the traditional single‐period allocation model often causes local surpluses or shortages and high cost, and prevents the system from achieving an equitable or optimal multiperiod allocation. To achieve equitable allocation of emergency materials in the case of serious shortages relative to the demand by victims, this article introduces a multiperiod model for allocation of emergency materials to multiple affected locations (using an exponential utility function to reflect the disutility loss due to material shortfalls), and illustrates the relationship between equity of allocations and the cost of emergency response. Finally, numerical examples are presented to demonstrate both the feasibility and the usefulness of the proposed model for achieving multiperiod equitable allocation of emergency material among multiple disaster locations. The results indicate that the introduction of a nonlinear utility function to reflect the disutility of large shortfalls can make the material allocation fairer, and minimize large losses due to shortfalls. We found that achieving equity has a significant but not unreasonable impact on emergency costs. We also illustrate that using differing utility functions for different types of materials adds an important dimension of flexibility.