Individuals' Estimates of the Risks of Death: Part II—New Evidence

Using new survey data, we test the hypothesis that individuals' perceptions of health and safety risks are unbiased. While we find that respondents' estimates of those risks are sensitive to the information they are given to anchor their responses, we find no evidence to support the widely held view that people tend to underestimate the frequency of relatively common risks. The slight tendency for respondents to overestimate the frequency of extremely unlikely events can plausibly be interpreted as truncation bias. Overall, the accuracy of our subjects' estimates varies in a manner that is fully consistent with simple conjectures about the health and safety information that is of greatest relevance to them in the conduct of their lives. The marked difference between the results of our survey and those of previous studies appears to be attributable to the practical implications of costly information and the common failure of investigators to account for the fact that rational individuals will choose to acquire less than full information about many uncertain events.     

Smoking Risks in Spain: Part III—Determinants of Smoking Behavior

Using original survey data from Spain, this paper assesses the determinants of smoking behavior. This study examines the effect on smoking of the most diverse set of risk measures ever considered: lung cancer, relative lung cancer risks, lung disease, heart disease, relative heart disease risks, lost life expectancy to smokers, and various risk measures for passive smoking. Smoking measures include cigarette smoking, the number of cigarettes smoked, and pipe and cigar smoking. Primary smoking risks have a more consistent negative effect on smoking than perceived passive smoking risks.     

Smoking Risks in Spain: Part II—Perceptions of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Externalities

Previous studies of smoking risk beliefs have focused almost exclusively on risks to the smoker. Using an original set of survey data from Spain, we examine the public's perceived risks from exposures to environmental tobacco smoke. The risk categories considered included lung cancer, heart disease, life expectancy loss, and low birth weight for children of smoking mothers. Risk beliefs were quite high, often dwarfing scientific estimates of the risk. The results are consistent with overestimation of risks from highly publicized, low probability events.     

Intentional Exposure Studies of Environmental Agents on Human Subjects: Assessing Benefits and Risks∗

In this article, I assess the benefits and risks of studies that intentionally expose research subjects to environmental agents. I describe these types of studies, identify their benefits and risks, compare them to other research methods that can be used to investigate the relationship between environmental exposures and disease, and discuss some issues related to research design and risk minimization. I argue that the benefits of intentional environmental exposure studies outweigh the risks when 1) the knowledge gained is likely to improve our understanding of the relationship between environmental exposure and disease, 2) this knowledge cannot be obtained by other methods, 3) the experiments are well designed, 4) the subjects will receive some benefits, such as medical evaluations, 5) risks are minimized, and 6) the risks to human subjects are less than those encountered in a typical Phase I drug study. Only in rare circumstances (i.e., when an intentional environmental exposure study is needed to implement an important environmental or public health intervention or regulation) may such studies expose research subjects to risks as high as those encountered in a typical Phase I drug trail.     

An Evaluation of Adjustments to the Grain Trade Policy and the Risks Involved in a Grain Embargo

The historical experience of industrialization in some countries hasdemonstrated that given certain conditions in relation to resources, suchas a low average area of cultivated land per capita, economic growth andstructural transformation will result in the decline of the comparativesuperiority of grain production. When this process advances to a criticallevel, the selection of a grain policy becomes a question of whether or notto support the continued growth of the national economy by increasi…     

Brain–Computer Interface Devices: Risks and Canadian Regulations

Implantable Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) devices are currently in clinical trials in the U.S., and their introduction into the Canada could follow in the next few years. This article provides an overview of the research, developments, design issues, and risks in BCIs and an analysis of the adequacy of the regulatory framework in place for the approval of medical devices in Canada, emphasizing device investigational testing. The article concludes that until better safeguards are in place, to best protect potential research subjects, BCIs should not be approved for investigational testing in Canada.     

Exercising Property Rights to Pollute: Do Cancer Risks and Politics Affect Plant Emission Reductions?

This paper examines whether firms' decisions about reductions in toxic emissions depend on the magnitude of dangers arising from their pollution and on who bears pollutant risks. Controlling for the quantity of air toxics released in 1988, this article finds that plants whose emissions generated higher numbers of expected cancer cases did reduce their emissions more between 1988 and 1991. The nature of the community bearing the pollution risk also affected firm decisions. The higher the voter turnout in the area, a proxy for residents' likelihood of collective action, the greater the reductions in a plant's release of air carcinogens.     

Declaration of the Aesthetics of Comedy

当前中国的美学研究是在传统的知识论哲学的基础上进行的,因而"什么是美?"就成了美学研究的根本问题。本文认为,应当从生存论哲学的立场出发去研究美学。这样一来,美学研究的根本问题就转换成"为什么人类需要美?"在人类发展的历史上,之所以会产生美的意识,并逐步形成一门相对独立的学科,是因为美学对人类的生存是有意义的。谁都不会否认,异化、紧张和冲突构成了当代人的生存状态,因而当代人的主导性的审美需要不再是加剧这一状态的悲剧美学,而是喜剧美学。喜剧美学的核心是通过喜剧性(轻松、俏皮、滑稽和幽默)消解异化、紧张和冲突得以形成的不切实际的理想,从而激发当代人的生命力和创造性,使他们从精神上逐步摆脱并超越这一生存状态。     

e of the role of Chinese cultu

ity;optimization;education广东省哲学社会科学规划课题(06A02);; 肇庆学院校重点研究课题     

An Analysis of the Meaning of Generics

我们知识中的绝大部分是由概称句表述的。建立概称句的形式语义对非单调推理以及人工智能中的知识表示等研究都有非常重要的意义。概称句意义分析是建立其形式语义的基础。目前关于概称句意义主要有两类研究:基于概率论的研究和基于可能世界语义学的研究。本文对概率论的研究进行了分析,指出其本质是外延的解释这一根本缺陷,在可能世界语义学研究所提出的正常性概念的基础上,进一步深化研究,强调对正常性概念的内涵分析,提出了概称句的典范形式,进而提出正常个体选择的三个原则,以及据此建立了正常个体的选择函数,避免了原来研究对正常性概念的外延性处理。本文建立了一个新的概称句形式语义的理论基础,提供了建立该语义的技术关键。     

The Formation and Main Breakthroughs of the Theory of a Socialist Market Economy-In Celebration of the Twentieth Anniversary of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Withoutacorrectreformtheorytherewouldbenosuccessfulreformpractice.ThebasicreasonforthetremendousachievementsinChina'sreformandopening-upsincetheThirdPlenarySessionoftheEleventhCentralCommitteeinDecember1978isthattheyhavebeencarriedoutundertheguidanceofDengXiaopingtheory.DengXiaopingtheoryincorporatesextensiveknowledgeandprofoundscholarshipandconstitutesascientificsystem.DengXiaoping'seconomictheoryisaveryimportantcomponentofthisscientificsystemandthesocialistpoliticaleconomicsincontempora…     

A New Theory of the Categories of Consciousness

Ⅰ.TheEssenceofConsciousnessistheFunctionoftheBrainThatUnifiestheSubjectandObjectTheprevalentviewinChinaontheessenceofconsciousnessisthatconsciousnessisthefunctionofthehumanbraintoreflectthematerialworldandthereflectionofthematerialworldbythehumanbrainbymeansofthisfunction.The1989editionoftheChinesedictionaryCihai(TheSeaofWords),oneofthemostimportantChinesedictionariesinChina,definesconsciousness(yishi)as"thefunctionofhighlyperfectedandhighlyorganizedspecialmatter-thehumanbrain,andtheref…     

Humanization of Law:Clarification of a Concept

"Humanization" has been a very popular term over recent years when legal affairs are involved. Terms like "humanization of law," "humanization of the legal system," "humanization of legislation," "humanized administration of justice" and "humanized enforcement of law" have been frequently used. Seen from the perspective of jurisprudential studies, humanization of law is a quality embodied in law in an all-round way in legislation, the administration of justice and law enforcement. It takes human rights as     

An Analysis of the Unemployment of University Graduates and Their Expectations of Employment

Different groups of people have differ-ent views on the difficulties university gradu-ates face in finding jobs. One mainstreamview holds that the graduates’ failure to getjobs is due mainly to their too high expecta-tions of employment, that theirs is a selec-tive unemployment: it is not difficult for themto get jobs, only difficult to get better jobs.People holding this view base their argumenton the gap between the income of workingemployees and the graduates’ expected pay.However, this a…     

Creating a New Form of Rule of Law Civilization:A Historical Narrative of the Communist Party of China

The modernization path of the Chinese rule of law reflects the glorious process of the Communist Party of China(CPC)’s continuous exploration of the rule of law development. It has created a new form of rule of law civilization for humanity, one that has not only profoundly changed China but is also deeply influencing the world historical process. Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people have achieved the innovation of legal mechanisms, text, and discourse in their century-long endeav...     

Evaluation of the United States NorthwestOrdinance of 1787

On13July1787,whilemostofthenotablefiguresfromtheAmericanConfederateCongresswereinPhiladelphiaattendingtheU.S.ConstitutionalConvention,asecondmeetingofCongresswasheldinNewYorkandtheNorthwestOrdinancewaspassedbyamajorityvote(therewasonedissentingvote).Thisordinance,whichestablishedtheprinciplesformanagementofthewesternterritory,hadaprofoundeffectontheopeningupofthewestandtheestablishmentoffuturestates.However,Americanhistoriansaredividedoverthequestionoftheordinance,andChinesehistoriansand…     

Reform of the System of Reeducation through Labor

Withthecompletionofthe'revisionofthepenallawandthecriminalprocedurelaw,reformofthesystemofreeducationthroughlabor,whichhasbeenfollowedwithgreatinterestinlegalcircles,isonceagainafocusofattention.Aseriousstudyofthehistoricaldevelopmentandcurrentconditionsinthesystemofreeducationthroughlabor,andaninvestigationoftheurgentproblemsthatneedtoberesolvedareofgreattheoreticalandpracticalsignificanceforthegradualperfectionofthelegalsystemandforpeaceandsecurityinChina.Ⅰ.HistoricalDevelopmentandCurrentC…     

A Collectionof Discourseson Philosophy of the Economy TheRise of Philosophy of the Economyin China

ＩｎＣｈｉｎａｉｎｃｒｅａｓｉｎｇａｔｔｅｎｔｉｏｎｈａｓｂｅｅｎ ｐａｉｄｉｎｒｅｃｅｎｔ ｙｅａｒｓｔｏｐｈｉｌｏｓｏｐｈｙｏｆｔｈｅｅｃｏｎｏｍｙｂｅｃａｕｓｅｏｆｔｈｅｎｅｃｅｓｓｉｔｙｆｅｌｔｄｕｒｉｎｇｔｈｅｏｎｇｏｉｎｇｓｏｃｉａｌｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔｆｏｒａｎｉｎ ｄｅｐｔｈｅｘｐｌｏｒａｔｉｏｎｏｆｓｕｃｈａｐｈｉｌｏｓｏｐｈｙ .Ｃｈｉｎａｉｓｃｕｒｒｅｎｔｌｙｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｉｎｇｔｈｅ ｐｒｏｆｏｕｎｄｅｓｔｓｏｃｉａｌｔｒａｎｓｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎｉｎｈｅｒｈｉｓｔｏｒｙ ,…     

The Sociology of Practice and the Analysis of the Practical Process of Market Transition

“市场转型理论”有四个特点:第一,所关心的主要是正式组织和制度等结构性特征。第二,对于结构性特征的关注,主要是通过大规模问卷调查的方式进行的。第三,基本的理论视角是自上而下的。第四,布达佩斯学派所研究的市场转型国家,主要是东欧,特别是中欧的匈牙利。在这些社会中,市场转型伴随着政体的断裂。本文以对中国市场转型的经验性研究为基础,提出一种“对市场转型实践过程的分析”的研究路径。这种研究路径强调面对市场转型的具体实践过程,通过对市场转型中的过程、机制、技术和逻辑的关注,来实现对市场转型的新的理解。这种路径在方法上更加重视深度的个案研究,并通过将“日常生活”看作是“上”“下”两种力量互动的舞台,来综合“自上而下”和“自下而上”两种互相对立的视角。     

The Three Concepts of Philosophy of the Economy

Ｉｎｒｅｃｅｎｔ ｙｅａｒｓｔｈｅｄｉｓｃｕｓｓｉｏｎｃｅｎｔｅｒｉｎｇｏｎ ｐｈｉｌｏｓｏｐｈｙｏｆｔｈｅｅｃｏｎｏｍｙｈａｓｃｏｎｔｉｎｕｅｄｕｎａｂａｔｅｄ ,ｂｕｔｌｉｔｔｌｅｇｒｏｕｎｄｈａｓｂｅｅｎｇａｉｎｅｄａｓａｒｅｓｕｌｔ.Ｔｈｅｂａｓｉｃｒｅａｓｏｎｆｏｒｔｈｉｓｉｓｔｈｅａｂｓｅｎｃｅｏｖｅｒｔｈｅ ｙｅａｒｓｏｆａｃｏｎｓｅｎｓｕｓｏｎｔｈｅｃｏｒｒｅｃｔｄｅｆｉｎｉｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅｔｅｒｍ“ｐｈｉｌｏｓｏｐｈｙｏｆｔｈｅｅｃｏｎｏｍｙ,”ｂｅｃａｕｓｅｆｅｗｈａｖｅｒｅａｌ…