Non-ignorable missing covariate data in survival analysis: a case-study of an International Breast Cancer Study Group trial

Summary.  Non-ignorable missing data, a serious problem in both clinical trials and observational studies, can lead to biased inferences. Quality-of-life measures have become increasingly popular in clinical trials. However, these measures are often incompletely observed, and investigators may suspect that missing quality-of-life data are likely to be non-ignorable. Although several recent references have addressed missing covariates in survival analysis, they all required the assumption that missingness is at random or that all covariates are discrete. We present a method for estimating the parameters in the Cox proportional hazards model when missing covariates may be non-ignorable and continuous or discrete. Our method is useful in reducing the bias and improving efficiency in the presence of missing data. The methodology clearly specifies assumptions about the missing data mechanism and, through sensitivity analysis, helps investigators to understand the potential effect of missing data on study results.     

Efficient designs based on orthogonal arrays of type I and type II for experiments using units ordered over time or space

For a wide variety of applications, experiments are based on units ordered over time or space. Models for these experiments generally may include one or more of: correlations, systematic trends, carryover effects and interference effects. Since the standard optimal block designs may not be efficient in these situations, orthogonal arrays of type I and type II, which were introduced in 1961 by C.R. Rao [Combinatorial arrangements analogous to orthogonal arrays, Sankhya A 23 (1961) 283–286], have been recently used to construct optimal and efficient designs for many of these experiments. Results in this area are unified and the salient features are outlined.     

职业地位取得的社会性别差异

本文从描述被调查夫妇之间职业流动的性别差异出发，分别勾画出他们的地位实现模型。首先验证了不论性别，教育地位都是决定职业地位实现的首要变量；但也正是在教育地位的实现和向上流动(再求学)中，伴随婚姻生育等生命事件的发生，无形的结构性制度因素(意识形态层面的性别制度、性别规范和性别文化)正如后现代主义试图解构的那样依然支配着性别角色的社会化和继续社会化，使扮演双重角色的妻子或无意识地或有意识地遭遇了丈夫不为之所累的两难困境，并最终阻碍了女性的教育地位、既而是职业地位的实现。本文最后提出了三点建议和几个尚待解决的问题。     

体育场馆融资模式选择框架研究

我国传统的体育场馆建设融资模式存在建设资金有限、赛后经营困难、管理效率低等问题，已不能适应体育场馆的建设需要，迫切需要引入新的融资模式。BOT(Built-Operation-Transfer)、PPP(Public-Private-Partnership)等融资模式在国外体育场馆融资中得到了广泛应用，对我国体育场馆融资模式的更新和多样化有积极的意义。从融资难度、风险分配等方面比较各种融资模式的特点，分析了体育场馆准公共产品特点对融资模式选择的影响，提出了基于场馆类型、场馆重要程度、融资和经营难度与期望目标四维的体育场馆融资模式选择框架模型。     

Secondary analysis of dangerousness among death sentenced capital murderers

The theory of incapacitation involves reducing an offender's ability or capacity to commit further crimes. Capital punishment accomplishes this goal. An executed murderer never murders again. However, we do not execute all murderers, only capital murderers. This policy produces several research questions. Do capital murderers present a special risk to society? Are capital murderers more likely to murder or commit other violent crimes again than other murderers or the average citizen? To answer these questions, many states require a prediction of future dangerousness of a newly convicted murderer. To what extent has the judgment of future dangerousness matched actuarial data of subsequent murders and serious crimes? Using a secondary analysis, this investigation attempted to assemble available data of postconviction dangerousness of death sentenced capital murderers to create a more comprehensive actuarial account of subsequent dangerousness and to present the data in a common format used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Across 14 studies identified with relevant data, there were 13 instances of subsequent murder and 462 serious crime or prison rule violations.     

“在人际关系中创造性转换的自我”何以可能？——评杜维明对儒家“哲学人类学”的“创造性阐释”

杜维明以哲学人类学的视角对儒学作出“创造性阐释”，把儒家哲学阐释为一种哲学的人类学。认为儒家的人性自我的实现除了需要内在主体在自我修养中不断深化外，还需要在外在人际关系的层层拓展与交互作用中进行创造性转换。但这种“创造性阐释”方法仅仅是观念的诠释，既不符合儒家思想的本意，也缺乏历史条件的支撑，更不可能在现代社会中实现创造性的转换。     

Kurtosis modelling by means of the J-transformation

Summary: The H–family of distributions or H–distributions, introduced by Tukey (1960; 1977), are generated by a single transformation of the standard normal distribution and allow for leptokurtosis represented by the parameter h. Alternatively, Haynes et al. (1997) generated leptokurtic distributions by applying the K–transformation to the normal distribution. In this study we propose a third transformation, the so–called J–transformation, and derive some properties of this transformation. Moreover, so-called elongation generating functions (EGFs) are introduced. By means of EGFs we are able to visualize the strength of tail elongation and to construct new transformations. Finally, we compare the three transformations towards their goodness–of–fit in the context of financial return data.     

How faith‐based social service organizations manage secular pressures associated with government funding

This article reports selected findings from a qualitative case study of two faith‐based social service organizations to address two questions: (1) How does government funding influence the religious characteristics of faith‐based social service organizations? (2) How do government‐funded, faith‐based social service organizations manage the tensions arising from both secular and religious contexts? The findings suggest that the adaptation of secular institutional practices is not as inevitable as some have feared. Rather, the two organizations studied showed convincingly that their faith traditions and values were alive and widely evident throughout their organizations. Three key strategies emerged as means for maintaining religiousness in the face of secular pressures: (1) Religious identities were perceived as given rather than chosen, and therefore were not negotiable; (2) religious values provided strong justification for seeking relationships with others who do not share their faith; (3) the religious worldview blurred religious and secular distinctions so that secular technologies and practices could comfortably be utilized.     

Unequal at the Starting Line: Creating Participatory Inequalities across Generations and among Groups

We investigate how inequalities in political participation are shaped across generations by considering the influence of family background--in particular, parents' education and political involvement--on political participation. We pursue this issue, first, for individuals, investigating the effects of parental characteristics on the participatory profile of their offspring. Then, we use what we have learned to understand how group differences in political participation--between women and men and among Latinos, African Americans, and Anglo Whites--are rooted in the legacy of class and political background and in experiences throughout the life cycle.