Robust estimation for linear regression with asymmetric errors

The authors propose a new class of robust estimators for the parameters of a regression model in which the distribution of the error terms belongs to a class of exponential families including the log‐gamma distribution. These estimates, which are a natural extension of the MM‐estimates for ordinary regression, may combine simultaneously high asymptotic efficiency and a high breakdown point. The authors prove the consistency and derive the asymptotic normal distribution of these estimates. A Monte Carlo study allows them to assess the efficiency and robustness of these estimates for finite samples.     

WHO CAN SPEAK TO RACE AND NATION?

This article examines the production and publication of the Parekh Report (2000) by drawing upon two related current debates – the decline of the public intellectual and the necessity for a public sociology. It argues that both of these debates have failed to engage with concrete examples of public intellectual labour, with the complexities of public communication sociologically and have been reticent as to which particular intellectual voices are able to enter the public sphere. The article argues that the intellectually orientated, multiculturally constituted Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain Commission which authored the report and the report's moment of publication both offer sites in which these critiques can be developed. The article foregrounds the question as to who is entitled to inaugurate, participate in and shape public debates on race, nation, and national identity and evidences the difficulties of attempting to do so in a ‘race volatile’, anti-intellectual and heavily mediated political milieu.     

Revisiting followership through a social identity perspective: The role of collective follower emotion and action

We review the concept of followership, with a specific focus on how followers actively influence leadership outcomes. We examine in particular research from four key areas: social identity perspectives on leadership, intergroup emotion theory, collective action, and reciprocal affect within leader–follower interactions. Our central proposition is that followers engage in actions, driven by both cognitive and affective-based processes, which affect leadership outcomes. Moreover, because leaders are part of the groups they lead and therefore embedded within the social context of a group, we propose that any action that affirms or threatens the salient group will trigger both cognitive and emotional responses from followers towards leaders. These include the extent to which a leader engages in actions that are perceived as (1) self-sacrificial, (2) procedurally fair, and (3) expressing emotions congruent with that of their group. We also propose that the extent to which followers translate their perceptions and emotions towards collective action towards their leaders will be moderated by individual-level group identification and group-level shared identity. To conclude, we highlight theoretical implications in light of these propositions and suggest areas for further research on followership.     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

Five reports cover the 2009 Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians Conference, the COUNTER and Usage Data webinar, the 2009 Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge, the 2009 North American Serials Interest Group Conference, and selected sessions of the 2009 annual conference of the American Library Association in Chicago, Illinois.     

针对影像处理的快速二维离散余弦转换算法(英文)

由于离散余弦转换在影像处理领域之重要性与日俱增,且消耗许多处理器运算时间,所以众多快速二维离散余弦转换算法不断被发表。该文提出一个应用于JPEG及MPEG图像处理的快速二维8×8离散余弦转换算法,该算法主要运用基本的累加及移位运算,快速评估8×8影像区块的复杂程度,可调整离散余弦转换参数的计算数量。该算法只需花费少量硬件成本,如比较器、加法器、移位器,便可有效降低离散余弦转换运算时间,且在模拟结果显示所提出的算法与传统及整数离散余弦转换相比,可达到较快的运算速度,且在量化系数较大的情况下,可得到更好效果。     

Neighbourhood watch

In 2003 Paul Garcia was awarded a Royal Statistical Society Campion Fellowship, with a grant of £5000, to carry out a study to try to determine the age profile of residents of new housing developments and explain how that profile changes over time. He describes why he wanted to do the work and how he set about organising the survey.