消费者异质性环保偏好下的绿色产品定价模型

文章研究了低碳环境下,需求受消费者环保偏好和消费水平影响的绿色产品定价问题.针对消费者购买行为,把消费者划分为绿色消费者和普通消费者,假设消费者对产品的估价是异质的,并服从均匀分布,通过构造效用函数得到消费者的购买行为.分别讨论了市场中存在单一垄断制造商和两个垄断制造商时生产模式的选择,研究表明:单一垄断制造商时,制造商的生产模式的选择取决于绿色消费者的比例;两个垄断制造商时,绿色产品制造商作为主导者,控制着市场中绿色产品和普通产品的市场占有率.     

中国城乡发展差距水平及其波动效应的实证

城乡发展差距是中国社会转型下最突出的矛盾之一.文章从经济、社会、文化、政治、生态五大维度构建中国城乡发展差距综合评价指标体系,以中国31个省份为研究区域,运用主成分分析法实证评价了中国城乡发展差距的现实水平及其波动效应.研究表明,中国城乡差距水平由东向西呈递增趋势,1985年至今城乡差距水平表现为一种波动性扩大的效应,城乡差距水平与城镇化发展水平表现为一种相互影响的逆向关系.     

Predicting the recipients of social work support,and its impact on emotional and behavioural problems in early childhood

This paper examines the recipients of social work support in the Millennium Cohort Study. Using panel analysis and fixed effects models, it investigates the factors that lead to the receipt of any type of social work support for individuals with young children and the effects of this support on changes in the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in these children. We find that divorce or separation, and episodes of homelessness are two important factors that lead to the receipt of social work support. Mothers with male children are also more likely to receive social work support. However, we find no clear evidence that social work support has any effect on changes in children's emotional and behavioural problems over time. The implications of these findings for social work research and for practice and policy are discussed.     

‘Nothing about us without us’: the emerging disability movement and advocacy in China

The disability movement and disabled persons’ self-help organizations (DPOs) are emerging in China, some of which succeeded in promoting policy and social changes with special strategies. Based on an original survey and interview, this article explains the development and survival strategies of China’s DPOs, and especially interprets some successful cases of social advocacy and policy advocacy in the emerging disability movement. It is hoped that scholars will pay more attention to the advocacy and public engagement of the disability community in non-western settings in the future.     

The impact of age,BMI and sex hormone on aging males’ symptoms and the international index of erectile function scores

Objective: To analyze the impact of age, BMI and sex hormone on aging males’ symptoms (AMS) and the 5-item version of the international index of erectile function (IIEF-5) scores in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jiashan County. A total of 969 men, aged between 40 and 80 years old, were admitted. Physical examination and the sex hormones were measured, and AMS and IIEF-5 scores were assessed.

Results: The oneway ANOVA analysis indicated older age groups had higher AMS total-scores, somatic and sexual sub-scores, and lower IIEF5 scores (all p?r_pairwise) analyses showed the significant associations between AMS and age or sex hormone (cFT, Bio-T, SHBG, and LH) levels, and similar for IIEF5. However, when age was adjusted, the correlation coefficients (r_partial) weakened, and correlation significance disappeared, except LH (for AMS: r_partial?=?0.096, p?=?.009; for IIEF-5: r_partial?= ?0.140, p?=?.001). Multiple linear regressions confirmed the influence of increased age and LH on the AMS and IIEF5 scores.

Conclusion: CFT, Bio-T and SHBG failed to yield any additional predicting information when age was adjusted. To improve the male reproductive health, future research should pay more attention on aging-related comorbidities and how to improve general wellness.     

Bootstrap-calibrated empirical likelihood confidence intervals for the difference between two Gini indexes

Measuring the difference between two Gini indexes is important in comparing the inequality between two groups. This paper systematically provides confidence intervals for this difference. First, normal approximation- and bootstrap-based confidence intervals are provided for the difference. Second, empirical likelihood (EL)-based confidence intervals are proposed according to a ratio statistic that is proven to have a weighted Chi-squared distribution with one degree of freedom. Third, two calibration approaches are established to improve the undercoverage issue of the EL method; these two approaches are augmented EL and bootstrap-calibrated EL. Monte Carlo simulations show that bootstrap-calibrated EL generally outperforms other methods in constructing confidence intervals. In the simulations, these methods are compared with the permutation method to test the equality of two Gini indexes. Lastly, these methods are applied to real data.     

Combined asymmetric spatial weights matrix with application to housing prices

In this study, a combined asymmetric spatial weights matrix is proposed for capturing the unequal spatial dependence of housing prices, where the advantage of this matrix was demonstrated by a non-nested hypothesis test. To explore the heterogeneous spatial impacts of urban essential characteristics on housing prices over the eastern, central, and western regions of China, after the Lagrange multiplier and likelihood ratio tests, the spatial Durbin model using the proposed weights matrix was applied to each region. The estimation results showed that the direct impacts of college and new employment were significantly negative in the eastern region, but not significant in the central and western regions. By contrast, the direct impacts of hospitals and scenic spots were significantly positive in eastern China, but not significant in central and western China. In addition, the indirect impacts of the four variables were not significant in the three regions. These results suggest that in eastern China, the government may increase the requirements for using medical resources and close tourist attractions in a single city to cool down the skyrocketing housing prices in this area.     

Statistical analysis of dependent competing risks model in accelerated life testing under progressively hybrid censoring using copula function

This article considers statistical analysis of dependent competing risks model from Weibull distribution in accelerated life testing, in which copula function is used to examine the dependence structure between competing failure modes. We derive the maximum likelihood estimates, the approximate, and Bootstrap confidence intervals of the parameters. The effects of different dependence structures on the estimates of parameters are investigated. The simulation is given to compare the performance of the estimates when the competing failure modes are dependent with those when the failure modes are independent. Finally, one dataset was used for illustrative purpose in conclusion.     

Monitoring the coefficient of variation using a variable sample size and sampling interval control chart

This article proposes a CV chart by using the variable sample size and sampling interval (VSSI) feature to improve the performance of the basic CV chart, for detecting small and moderate shifts in the CV. The proposed VSSI CV chart is designed by allowing the sample size and the sampling interval to vary. The VSSI CV chart's statistical performance is measured by using the average time to signal (ATS) and expected average time to signal (EATS) criteria and is compared with that of existing CV charts. The Markov chain approach is employed in the design of the chart.