Methodological Approaches to Assessing Risk Perceptions Associated with Food-Related Hazards

The psychometric approach developed by Slovic and his co-workers has been effectively used to assess risk perceptions associated with different food-related hazards. However, further examination (using questionnaire data and partial correlation techniques) has indicated that technological hazards are highly differentiated from lifestyle hazards, in terms of both hazard control and knowledge about the hazard. Optimistic bias was also seen to vary between hazards. Further research has focused on a particular hazard, genetic engineering. Risk perceptions associated with genetic engineering are underpinned by ethical concern and questions relating to perceived need for the technology, as well as perceptions of risk or harm. However, increasing the specificity of hazard stimuli was found to alter the factor structure of underlying risk perceptions. The utility of preference mapping procedures in determining individual differences in trust in risk regulators is also discussed.     

Teaching Manual Signs to Adults With Mental Retardation Using Matching-to-Sample Procedures and Stimulus Equivalence

The objective of this study was to teach manual signs through an automated matching-to-sample procedure and to test for the emergence of new conditional relations and imitative behaviors. Seven adults with mild to severe mental retardation participated. Four were also hearing impaired. Relations between manual signs (set A) and pictures (set B) were initially taught, followed by the training of corresponding printed words (set C) and pictures (set B). Further presentations of conditional discriminations tested for the emergence of AC, followed by tests for the emergence of imitative signing behavior (D) in the presence of either pictures (B) or printed words (C). Each stimulus set was comprised of 9 elements. The stimuli were still pictures, printed words, and dynamic presentations of manual signs. A pretest was conducted to determine which signs the participants could make pre-experimentally. Teaching was arranged in a multiple baseline design across 3 groups of 3 words each. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether participants would emit manual signs in expressive signs tests as a result of observation (video modeling) during match-to-sample training in the absence of explicit training. Five of the 7 subjects passed tests of emergence and emitted at least 50% of the signs. Two were hearing impaired with signing experience, and 3 were not hearing impaired and had no signing experience. Thus, observation of video recorded manual signs in a matching-to-sample training procedure was effective at establishing some signs by adults with mental retardation.     

全球化时代的日本法学教育与发展

法学教育是各国高等教育体系中不可或缺的有机组成部分。日本法学教育与法律职业培训制度改革是日本司法制度改革的重要组成部分,其核心是改革现有的建立在大陆法系基础上的法学教育和法律职业培训制度,引进以美国法学院(law school)模式为标准的法科大学院制度。就日本近年推行的司法制度改革进行分析,重点探讨法学教育改革以及对我国法学教育改革的借鉴与启示。     

Quantifying the Distribution of Inhalation Exposure in Human Populations: 2. Distributions of Time Spent by Adults, Adolescents, and Children at Home, at Work, and at School

Using distributions of time spent at various ventilation levels, ranges of inhalation exposure in the population can be established. Distributions of exposure time were determined using results of a study by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) which focused on time spent by humans participating in various activities and the locations where the activities occurred. The daily at-home activities from the CARB study were assigned to one of three ventilation levels, generating aggregate time periods. Distinct age and gender populations were identified, and distributions for aggregate time were established for these populations at each of the ventilation levels. In addition to aggregate time spent at home, distributions for various ages and genders were established for aggregate time spent at school and work. By combining distributions of aggregate time with corresponding ventilation rates, the distribution of inhalation rates can be established for at home, at work, and at school exposures.     

Physical distribution: A suitable case for treatment

Physical distribution is a key, but neglected, function of business. Yet it is an area which offers tremendous opportunities for cost reduction, improved efficiency and better customer service. All these can contribute to increased profitability. Finding the means to achieve these improvements need not be a daunting task or one which requires sophisticated techniques. This article shows how ordinary solutions can be found and implemented by ordinary companies; how physical distribution should take its place as the important cost centre that it is; and the four major areas where cost savings can be most readily effected.     

高校学生生态型管理模式初探

按照传统的管理模式管理学生,已经在一定程度上抑制了学生活跃的个性和创造性的发展,损害了法律赋予学生的一些权利.构建高校学生生态型管理模式,是解决目前我国高校学生管理中存在问题的有益探索和尝试.     

“水利社会史”探源——兼论以水为中心的山西社会

学界通常将魏夫特的"治水社会"理论和日本学界的"水利共同体"理论作为中国水利社会史的学术源头.但事实上,水利社会史的学术源流至少可以追溯到19世纪末20世纪初的法国人文地理学,随后兴起的法国年鉴学派也受其影响颇深.这一传统持续影响到近年来由蓝克利、魏丕信等法国学者对中国山陕民间水利问题的研究.文章以山西为例,提出了水利社会史研究的内容和体系.     

LTCC小型化Balun设计

介绍了一种基于LTCC(低温共烧陶瓷)技术的小型化balun的设计。设计的Balun采用Marchand balun结构,使用LTCC技术实现多层结构、上下耦合的方式减小balun的体积并拓展带宽。该balun工作在1.7～2.2GHz,体积为2.8mm×3mm×1mm,并且平衡端口输出具有良好的幅值平衡和180°相位差。     

Bayesian inference and model comparison for asymmetric smooth transition heteroskedastic models

Inference, quantile forecasting and model comparison for an asymmetric double smooth transition heteroskedastic model is investigated. A Bayesian framework in employed and an adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme is designed. A mixture prior is proposed that alleviates the usual identifiability problem as the speed of transition parameter tends to zero, and an informative prior for this parameter is suggested, that allows for reliable inference and a proper posterior, despite the non-integrability of the likelihood function. A formal Bayesian posterior model comparison procedure is employed to compare the proposed model with its two limiting cases: the double threshold GARCH and symmetric ARX GARCH models. The proposed methods are illustrated using both simulated and international stock market return series. Some illustrations of the advantages of an adaptive sampling scheme for these models are also provided. Finally, Bayesian forecasting methods are employed in a Value-at-Risk study of the international return series. The results generally favour the proposed smooth transition model and highlight explosive and smooth nonlinear behaviour in financial markets.