另类准则

缩小参照的范围一直是形式主义思想自命的任务,这种尝试是要通过将单个变量孤立出来,以科学实验的方式来规训艺术批评。一个更大的反对意见则关系到格林伯格对前现代艺术的处理,对此需要加以讨论,因为格林伯格的现代主义是在与老大师们的对立中界定自己的。假如这一对立变得不稳定了,那么现代主义也许需要重新加以界定,即由另类准则来加以界定。     

Statistical analysis of rank data from a visual matching of colored textures

Nowadays, sensory properties of materials are subject to growing attention both in an hedonic point of view and in an utilitarian one. Hence, the formulation of the foundations of an instrumental metrological approach that will allow for the characterization of visual similarities between textures belonging to the same type becomes a challenge of the research activities in the domain of perception. In this paper, our specific objective is to link an instrumental approach of metrology of the assessment of visual textures with a metrology approach based on a softcopy experiment performed by human judges. The experiment consisted in ranking of isochromatic colored textures according to the visual contrast. A fixed effects additive model is considered for the analysis of the rank data collected from the softcopy experiment. The model is fitted to the data using a least-squares criterion. The resulting data analysis gives rise to a sensory scale that shows a non-linear correlation and a monotonic functional relationship with the physical attribute on which the ranking experiment is based. Furthermore, the capacity of the judges to discriminate the textures according to the visual contrast varies according to the color ranges and the textures types.     

Comparison of nonparametric point estimators for interquantile differences in moderate sized samples

Non-parametric estimators for interquantile differences in moderate sized samples are identified, including a simple method based on sample quantiles, an extension of the Harrell and Davis (1982) method, an extension of the Kaigh and Lachenbruch (1982) approach, and methods based on Yang (1985). For those estimators compared via a simulation study (Harrell-Davis and sample quantile), using relative bias and relative efficiency as judgment criteria, the Harrell-Davis method is judged to be preferable for interquantile estimation with data sets of moderate size.     

Lag Specification in Rational Distributed Lag Structural Models

This article presents methods for the preliminary specification of distributed lags in structural models in the absence of sufficient a priori information. It is argued that an instrumental-variables procedure produces good results as long as the goodness of fit in the instrument equations is satisfactory. When this is not the case, simple OLS specification is preferable to more complex instrumental-variables methods, even though it may produce some spurious parameters. The procedures are illustrated with a simulated two-equation system and a model of annual supply and price of hogs.     

Grouping strategies and thresholding for high dimensional linear models

The estimation problem in a high regression model with structured sparsity is investigated. An algorithm using a two-step block thresholding procedure called GR-LOL is provided. Convergence rates are produced: they depend on simple coherence-type indices of the Gram matrix – easily checkable on the data – as well as sparsity assumptions of the model parameters measured by a combination of l₁ within-blocks with _lq$l_q$, q<1$q<1$ between-blocks norms. The simplicity of the coherence indicator suggests ways to optimize the rates of convergence when the group structure is not naturally given by the problem or is unknown. In such a case, an auto-driven procedure is provided to determine the regressor groups (number and contents). An intensive practical study compares our grouping methods with the standard LOL algorithm. We prove that the grouping rarely deteriorates the results but can improve them very significantly. GR-LOL is also compared with group-Lasso procedures and exhibits a very encouraging behavior. The results are quite impressive, especially when GR-LOL algorithm is combined with a grouping pre-processing.     

A Time-Series Study of the Formation and Predictive Performance of EEC Production Survey Expectations

Generalized method of moments (GMM) has been an important innovation in econometrics. Its usefulness has motivated a search for good inference procedures based on GMM. This article presents a novel method of bootstrapping for GMM based on resampling from the empirical likelihood distribution that imposes the moment restrictions. We show that this approach yields a large-sample improvement and is efficient, and give examples. We also discuss the development of GMM and other recent work on improved inference.     

Characterizations of egalitarian binary relations as transitive closures with a special reference to Lorenz dominance and to single-crossing conditions

This article considers, in the context of the fixed-population constant-sum comparison of income distributions, a number of intransitive binary relations smaller than Lorenz dominance. We determine their transitive closure, and we study how they relate to each other and to other relations that have appeared in the literature. Among other results, we provide alternative characterizations of Lorenz dominance.     

Marx,formal subsumption and the law

Recent work rethinking the place of the law in Marxian analysis of capitalist society provides us with a foundation for a renewed look at the labor process. Drawing on this literature, which emphasizes the materiality of institutions through which labor is exploited, and returning to Marx’s discussion of formal subsumption in Capital, I argue that the law was central for subordinating labor. I then present three case studies from industries in Victorian England to demonstrate the diverse ways in which law was implicated in formal subsumption. The case studies focus on the ways in which capitalists used master and servant law, the key law governing the workplace, to subordinate labor. I conclude by considering how these cases provoke us to consider the materiality of the law in labor relations more broadly, and such questions might be pursued in developing capitalist economies such as China.