Some novel results on pairwise quasi-asymptotical independence with applications to risk theory

In this article we obtain some novel results on pairwise quasi-asymptotically independent (pQAI) random variables. Concretely speaking, let X₁, …, X_n be n real-valued pQAI random variables, and W₁, …, W_n be another n non negative and arbitrarily dependent random variables, but independent of X₁, …, X_n. Under some mild conditions, we prove that W₁X₁, …, W_nX_n are still pQAI as well. Our result is in a general setting whether the primary random variables X₁, …, X_n are heavy-tailed or not. Finally, a special case of above result is applied to risk theory for investigating the finite-time ruin probability for a discrete-time risk model with a wide type of dependence structure.     

与能源消耗等指标发生偏离的GDP是否可信

本文选取了1995-2014年全国30个省市数据,综合使用了向量自回归模型、参数面板模型、非参数面板模型和面板门限模型对GDP增速与电力消费增速、第二产业增速、第三产业增速、财政收入增速、货物流转增速、能源消费增速和固定资产投资增速等物理性指标间的关系进行了建模.实证研究发现,GDP增速、电力消费增速、第三产业增速、能源消费增速之间存在作用机制,但是这种影响模式并非一成不变,在不同时间段内,其模式发生改变,同时,这一影响模式也随着人均GDP的变化而发生阶段性改变.在经济新常态下,不能因为经济转型中的GDP数据与物理指数之间发生偏离,而简单否定GDP的准确性.     

模糊变权组合预测方法研究

在不确定环境组合预测中,用模糊权重系数更能体现各单项预测方法的客观表现.文章提出一种新的权重系数为三角模糊数的组合预测方法.首先建立以组合预测精确度指数最小为准则的模糊加权组合预测模型,为了避免样本数据中极端值对模型的影响,对模型进行改进,提出带有0-1变量的模糊加权组合预测模型.进一步考虑到单项预测方法在不同时刻的表现有所差异,建立基于诱导有序模糊加权平均(IOFWA)算子的模糊变权组合预测模型,该模型不仅能克服极端值的影响,而且具有更高的预测精确度.并实证验证了该方法的适用性和灵活性.     

Correlates of Depressive Symptoms among Homebound and Semi-Homebound Older Adults

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to provide a national profile of homebound and semi-homebound older adults with depressive symptoms and to compare risk factors of depressive symptoms by homebound status. A sample of 1,885 homebound and semi-homebound older adults was selected from Round 1 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 43.9% in homebound older adults and 28.1% in semi-homebound older adults, representing over 830,000 and 1.4 million individuals in the population, respectively. Nearly two-thirds of homebound and over half of semi-homebound older adults with clinically significant depressive symptoms also had significant anxiety symptoms. Results from logistic regression showed that younger age, certain medical morbidities, severity of functional limitations, and pain were common risk factors for depressive symptoms among homebound and semi-homebound older adults. Some differences in the risk factor profile emerged between the homebound and the semi-homebound populations. Alleviating the burden of depression in the semi-homebound population may focus on early prevention that considers the diversity of this population. Home-based, integrated programs of health and mental health services that simultaneously address the medical, psychiatric, and neurologic comorbidities and disabilities of homebound older adults are needed to meet the complex needs of this population.     

The Aging Semantic Differential in Mandarin Chinese: Measuring Attitudes toward Older Adults in China

ABSTRACT

The Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) is the most widely used instrument to measure young people’s attitudes towards older adults. This study translated the ASD to Mandarin and examined its psychometric properties. The Mandarin-ASD contains three latent factors (Personality and Mental Health, Societal Participation, and Physical) that have high internal reliability and reasonable discriminate validity. Social work researchers, practitioners and allied professionals may utilize the ASD-Mandarin instrument to measure young people’s attitudes towards older adults in China. We issue a call for a universal-ASD that can be applied across different cultural contexts.     

Are the poor worse at dealing with ambiguity?

This paper studies the relationship between people’s ambiguity attitudes and income in the field using language as a natural source of ambiguity. It shows that the method of Baillon et al. (2017b) can be adapted for field studies, providing ambiguity measurement tasks that are more comprehensible for nonacademic subjects. Ambiguity attitudes were elicited in two groups of Chinese adolescents (poor rural and rich urban), among whom the income variation is big. In the rural group the poorer are both more ambiguity averse and more a-insensitive, whereas in the urban group the richer are more a-insensitivite. On average, the poor rural adolescents are worse at dealing with ambiguity than their urban counterparts. A-insensitivity, which measures people’s understanding of an ambiguous situation, is an important but sometimes neglected component of ambiguity attitude. Policies aiming to help people improve decisions may focus more on reducing a-insensitivity as this cognitive bias is more likely to be influenced by intervention than people’s intrinsic aversion towards ambiguity.     

欲望、资本与精神分裂——论系列电影《小时代》的时代隐喻

系列电影 《小时代》 继承了海派文学书写现代性体验的传统,然而却展现出消费时代一个消弭了历史与地理意义的闭合欲望空间.资本是 《小时代》 中个体生活样态内在的运行逻辑,也是外在的魅力源泉,并实现了对于个体精神的影响与规训.在资本追求感性快乐与引发物质差异的双重作用中,《小时代》 反映出主体精神分裂的时代症候,并由此成为关于分裂的寓言式呈现.     

中泰外商直接投资实证研究——以泰国金融结构金融效率为分析对象

在"一带一路"倡议的推动下,泰国作为东盟第三大经济体,以其优越的地理优势和战略地位吸引了不少中国投资者进入泰国投资,而其金融结构与金融效率对中国直接投资有着重大影响.文章通过对金融结构、金融效率及中国在泰国直接投资的分析发现,尽管泰国通货膨胀率、泰国工业生产指数对中国在泰国直接投资没有显著影响,但泰国居民消费指数、泰国商业银行存贷比率、泰国生产价格指数、泰国失业率对中国在泰国直接投资会产生负向影响,而中国与泰国之间的进出口额对中国在泰国直接投资可以产生正向影响.因此,鼓励中国投资者向泰国投资,加大两国贸易合作以及开展两国文化交流,是促进中国和泰国经济进一步发展的有效措施,也是实现互助互利,合作共赢的"一带一路"经济合作目标的有效方法.     

Review essay: on Mamdani’s mode of thought

This essay tracks the formation of a global intellectual, perhaps the only one, whose work moves across Africa, America and Asia. Mahmood Mamdani has been a central figure engaging in explaining the most controversial issues such as refugees, popular versus state nationalism, mass killings (Rowanda), settler versus native, colonial citizenship and its governed subject, September 11, the Dafur movement (and its self-indulgence), Imperial Human Rights, decolonizing university and knowledge production (the US as the first and never decololinzed), settler colonialism, etc. Fearless and thoroughly grounded, Mamdani’s mode of thought is to historicize the conditions of the existence of the problematics in question with a theorization emerging out of the analyses. As a whole, Mamdani’s political practices as educator and public intellectual and the body of brilliant work have been inspirational. The essay is written as an introduction to Decolonizing the World: A Mahmood Mamdani Reader, a collection of his selected work, to open the channel of interaction between Asia and Africa.     

“阿拉伯之春”中青年社交媒体参与及其启示

2011年发生的"阿拉伯之春"在世界掀起的政治风暴至今余威犹存。关于这场运动的发起原因和影响的讨论至今没有形成共识,但是不可否认的是,阿拉伯青年在这场运动中高度依赖社交媒体的联结和动员功能,改变了传统社会运动的组织形态和行动逻辑,成为这场运动的发起人、推动者和参与主力。当前,中国社会正处于急剧转型时期,矛盾错综复杂,各种由青年人参与的群体性事件频仍发生,严重地考验着党和政府的治理能力。因而,认真汲取"阿拉伯之春"的教训,积极拓展青年诉求表达的合理渠道,引导其有序参与,对于防范和消弭社交媒体时代的政治风险,实现国家善政良治无疑具有重要意义。