20世纪文学理论:中国与西方

20世纪西方的文学理论,名目繁多,都先后输入中国,从世纪初即如此。中叶以后,文论的西潮更汹涌流入两岸三地,众多中华的文学研究者崇洋趋新,以西方的马首是瞻。20世纪西方文论内容丰富,有助于文学析评,却也有艰深或欠通达的不足。中华学者从这些文论中有所得益,却也有不分青红皂白照单全收而贻笑大方的。至于西方汉学家研究中国文论虽见成果,但难免有偏差;一般学术界、文化界对中国文论则只作极有限的"接受",甚至完全忽视。20世纪的文学理论,中国多入而几乎没有出,出现严重的文化赤字。本文作者建议中华学者从比较文学的角度,对中国古代文论重新诠释,并斟酌应用于实际批评,然后考虑向西方输出。作者认为可以《文心雕龙》为基础,建构一个中西合璧的文论体系,让雕龙成为飞龙。     

Redefining generativity: Through life course and pragmatist lenses

Scholars in diverse disciplines have studied and used the concept of generativity, originally introduced in psychology as a midlife development task. However, a review of this multidisciplinary literature in generativity revealed several issues—the lack of a cohesive conceptual definition, incompatibility between a conceptual definition and measurements, and varying applications of the model, necessitating a new direction for further conceptual development. Interdisciplinary theoretical insight and empirical evidence collectively suggest that generativity as a targeted midlife task may no longer be sufficient for explaining a life course pattern of generative concerns, commitment, and actions. Given the current trend of population aging, it is especially important to understand better the phenomenon of generativity during the later stages of the life course. The current article offers a new definition for generativity applicable to people across the life course and develops an expanded generativity model, which considers social context and bears practical implications for well‐being. Major implications for future research consist of eliminating the implicit age bias in the conception of generativity and as informed by the pragmatist philosophical perspective, linking generativity to diverse personal experiences and growth rather than mortality.     

Does The Legalization of Undocumented Immigrants in the US Encourage Unauthorized Immigration from Mexico? An Empirical Analysis of the Moral Hazard of Legalization

Does the prospect of a legalization programme in the US increase unauthorized immigration from Mexico? The logic of the moral hazard of legalization suggests that providing lawful status to undocumented immigrants has the unintended effect of incentivizing further unauthorized immigration. However, we argue and show that concerns about the moral hazard of legalization may be overstated. We conceptualize our argument using two distinct temporal dimensions: a concurrent dimension and a prospective one. Our analysis of the 2007 Mexican Migration Field Research Program (MMFRP) survey provides evidence supporting our arguments. The data show that knowledge regarding a prospective legalization programme in the US does not increase the intent to migrate among prospective migrants. Our results hold when accounting for a range of potential confounding factors, across several multivariate model specifications, and also when analysing comparable respondents who are matched using propensity score matching (PSM) techniques.     

“I Wish to be Self-Reliant”: Aspiration for Self-Reliance,Need and Life Satisfaction,and Exit Dilemma of Welfare Recipients in Hong Kong

This qualitative study explores the welfare recipients’ experiences of and attitudes toward the welfare benefit system in Hong Kong. A sample of 19 welfare recipients from six main recipient groups was interviewed, some twice. This study finds that the recipients have strong aspirations to exit the welfare benefit system. The welfare application process is painful; they are strongly stigmatized; they do not have sufficient resources to meet many of their expected needs; and, after all, they have strong ethos for self-reliance. However, they remain in the benefit system. This study looks into this paradox and the challenges facing the welfare benefit system in Hong Kong in terms of providing ontological security on the one hand and promoting self-reliance on the other.     

Estimation of the failure rate-a survey of nonparametric methods Part I: Non-Bayesian Methods

In this paper several nonparametric, non-Bayesian methods for estimating the failure rate function on which no monotonicity conditions have been imposed are surveyed. The survey attempts to consolidate and synthesize literature from several diverse areas of application, and endeavors to be as up-to-date as is feasible.     

Use of Quality-Adjusted Life Year Weights with Dose-Response Models for Public Health Decisions: A Case Study of the Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption

Risks associated with toxicants in food are often controlled by exposure reduction. When exposure recommendations are developed for foods with both harmful and beneficial qualities, however, they must balance the associated risks and benefits to maximize public health. Although quantitative methods are commonly used to evaluate health risks, such methods have not been generally applied to evaluating the health benefits associated with environmental exposures. A quantitative method for risk-benefit analysis is presented that allows for consideration of diverse health endpoints that differ in their impact (i.e., duration and severity) using dose-response modeling weighted by quality-adjusted life years saved. To demonstrate the usefulness of this method, the risks and benefits of fish consumption are evaluated using a single health risk and health benefit endpoint. Benefits are defined as the decrease in myocardial infarction mortality resulting from fish consumption, and risks are defined as the increase in neurodevelopmental delay (i.e., talking) resulting from prenatal methylmercury exposure. Fish consumption rates are based on information from Washington State. Using the proposed framework, the net health impact of eating fish is estimated in either a whole population or a population consisting of women of childbearing age and their children. It is demonstrated that across a range of fish methylmercury concentrations (0-1 ppm) and intake levels (0-25 g/day), individuals would have to weight the neurodevelopmental effects 6 times more (in the whole population) or 250 times less (among women of child-bearing age and their children) than the myocardial infarction benefits in order to be ambivalent about whether or not to consume fish. These methods can be generalized to evaluate the merits of other public health and risk management programs that involve trade-offs between risks and benefits.     

Linear Models in a general parametric form

The linear model Y - N(Xb, σ²∑) with a restriction R'b = M'u + c is considered, where X, R, M, ∑ and c are known. Explicit formulae are obtained for the best linear unbiased estimator of K'b, for the F-test of the hypothesis K'b = W'v + a, and for the simultaneous confidence intervals of the parameters K′_i b' s, where K = [K₁,K₂,…K_s], w, and a are known, none of the matrices X, ∑, R, M, K, and W is required to have full ranks, and the design X can be one - or multi-way,complete or incomplete, balanced or not balanced, connected or disconnected.     

Social Bookmarking–Repository–Networking: Possibilities for Support of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Social bookmarking, repositories, networking, and other Web 2.0 technologies have the capacity to engage enormous numbers of ordinary people in networking, sharing, and working with digital resources. The Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong has been pioneering new educational applications. Through grants from the University we have developed a social bookmarking and repository system based on Web 2.0 ideas. RISAL—Repository of Interactive Social Assets for Learning has an unrealized potential to support teaching and learning at the University level. It is designed to facilitate and encourage sharing and collaboration of teachers and students with similar interests or learning foci across levels and programs. This form of learning support builds on and encourages the Web 2.0 culture of social networking and contribution of the individual to the community. In addition, the system is designed to incorporate compliance with Hong Kong's Copyright Ordinance (Creative Commons). The authors discuss the RISAL and describe its features and benefits that this system can offer to teaching and learning.     

Smoothing Spline Estimation for Partially Linear Single-index Models

In this article, the partially linear single-index models are discussed based on smoothing spline and average derivative estimation method. This proposed technique consists of two stages: one is to estimate the vector parameter in the linear part using the smoothing cubic spline method, simultaneously, obtaining the estimator of unknown single-index function; the other is to estimate the single-index coefficients in the single-index part by the using average derivative estimator procedure. Some simulated and real examples are presented to illustrate the performance of this method.