An Approach to Constructing Nested Space-Filling Designs for Multi-Fidelity Computer Experiments

Multi-fidelity computer experiments are widely used in many engineering and scientific fields. Nested space-filling designs (NSFDs) are suitable for conducting such experiments. Two classes of NSFDs are currently available. One class is based on special orthogonal arrays of strength two and the other consists of nested Latin hypercube designs. Both of them assume all factors are continuous. We propose an approach to constructing new NSFDs based on powerful (t, s)-sequences. The method is simple, easy to implement, and quite general. For continuous factors, this approach produces NSFDs with better space-filling properties than existing ones. Unlike the previous methods, this method can also construct NSFDs for categorical and mixed factors. Some illustrative examples are given. Other applications of the constructed designs are briefly discussed.     

闻一多的《庄子》研究

从闻一多的学术经历来看 ,《庄子》实为其研究的重要内容。他不但在论文中、在教学活动中对《庄子》的文学性、哲学性给予独到而深刻的评价 ,而且从校释的角度对《庄子》中许多篇章进行了深入分析。因为对《庄子》的重视及热爱 ,他的文学创作也受到《庄子》较大影响。在特定的文化背景下 ,他对庄子的态度也有复杂的一面。闻一多的《庄子》研究具有丰富内涵 ,值得我们认真品味和探索。     

Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic: Confronting forced labour through public procurement and crisis

This paper evaluates ways in which labour issues in global value chains for medical gloves have been affected by, and addressed through, the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on production in Malaysia and supply to the United Kingdom's National Health Service and draws on a large-scale survey with workers and interviews with UK government officials, suppliers and buyers. Adopting a Global Value Chain (GVC) framework, the paper shows how forced labour endemic in the sector was exacerbated during the pandemic in the context of increased demand for gloves. Attempts at remediation are shown to operate through both a reconfigured value chain in which power shifted dramatically to the manufacturers and a context where public procurement became higher in profile than ever before. It is argued that the purchasing power of governments must be leveraged in ways that more meaningfully address labour issues, and that this must be part of value chain resilience.     

Global networks of money and information at the crossroads: Correspondent banking and SWIFT

This article explores how transaction information is a fundamental element enabling and fostering global flows of money. Financial systems, constructed around account-based money, require infrastructure, which is separated into two parts: messaging and settlement, performed via trusted agents. This separation has allowed the geographical expansion of banking, and to this day constitutes a key architecture of increasingly global networks of money. Focusing on the correspondent banking system and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, this article demonstrates the workings of this infrastructure in cross-border payments and in enacting economic sanctions. This sociotechnical infrastructure is a crucial yet overlooked area of global banking, which makes global economic and financial activity possible in the first place. Importantly, by analysing the organizational architecture of the global payments system and including the actors and agencies within it, we elucidate the (changing) relationships between data/information, geographies and power, contributing to the formation of a literature that conceptualizes financial infrastructure.     

ARE THE DISABLED LESS LOSS AVERSE? EVIDENCE FROM A NATURAL POLICY EXPERIMENT

Research findings show that disabled persons often develop physical and psychological mechanisms to compensate for disabilities. Coping mechanisms may not be limited to the psychophysiological domain and may extend to cognitive bias and loss aversion. In this study, we apply unique microdata from a natural policy experiment to assess the role of loss aversion in home purchase among nondisabled and disabled households. Results of survival analysis indicate that the physically disabled are substantially less loss averse in home purchase. Furthermore, loss aversion varies with other population characteristics and attenuates with degree of disability. Findings provide new evidence of diminished cognitive bias and more rational economic decision‐making among the physically disabled. (JEL D03, C9, R38)     

The benefits of prisoner participation in interdisciplinary learning

Abstract

This paper considers the provision of an inter-disciplinary workshop day held for Social Work, Police and Nursing students at a UK university. The focus of the day was to give the students an insight into the reality of being a mother in prison, and the impact that having a mother in prison has upon children. A key feature of the day was the involvement of a group of imprisoned mothers from an open prison, who shared their experiences and engaged with students in small groups. The workshop allowed the stereotypes that the prisoners and student professionals held in relation to one another to be challenged. The planning, aims, process and outcomes of the day are considered along with feedback from those taking part. Students reported increased awareness of the stigma faced by this often overlooked vulnerable group of service users, an increased recognition of the needs of children with mothers in prison and an appreciation of the power of interdisciplinary working to deliver a good service. The imprisoned mothers welcomed the chance to educate the students about the issues faced by themselves and their children, and they found the experience of participating to be positive and empowering.     

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Its Relevance for Adolescents

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, United Nations General Assembly, 1989) is a transformative document which has already improved the lives of millions of young people worldwide. Ratified into law by the majority of the countries of the world, it is the first human rights treaty focusing specifically on the rights of individuals under 18 years of age. The rights described in the treaty, however, are often seen as more important for younger children than for adolescents. This policy statement reviews the germane research on the period of adolescence and affirms that the protections and entitlements in the CRC are as important for adolescents as for younger children. Recommendations for policy and research are included.     

Genetic variants in ATP6 and ND3 mitochondrial genes are not associated with aggressive prostate cancer in Mexican–Mestizo men with overweight or obesity

Mitochondrial defects have been related to obesity and prostate cancer. We investigated if Mexican–Mestizo men presenting this type of cancer, exhibited somatic mutations of ATP6 and/or ND3.Body mass index (BMI) was determined; the degree of prostate cancer aggressiveness was demarcated by the Gleason score. DNA from tumor tissue and from blood leukocytes was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and ATP6 and ND3 were sequenced. We included 77 men: 20 had normal BMI, 38 were overweight and 19 had obesity; ages ranged from 52 to 83. After sequencing ATP6 and ND3, from DNA obtained from leukocytes and tumor tissue, we did not find any somatic mutations. All changes observed, in both genes, were polymorphisms. In ATP6 we identified, in six patients, two non-synonymous nucleotide changes and in ND3 we observed that twelve patients presented non-synonymous polymorphisms. To our knowledge, this constitutes the first report where the complete sequences of the ATP6 and ND3 have been analyzed in Mexican–Mestizo men with prostate cancer and diverse BMI. Our results differ with those reported in Caucasian populations, possibly due to ethnic differences.     

公民会议:协商民主的一种制度设计

公民会议是落实协商民主理念最基本的一种制度设计.在平等、公开、透明和尊重的原则下,依照严格的程序,公民会议为不同观点的沟通和辩论提供了一个对话性的公共论坛.通过公民会议的参与,普通公民不但会加深对公共政策的理解和认知,也会提升参与公共事务的愿望和能力,并有助于提高决策的合法性.作为一种有效的公民参与形式,公民会议对我国扩大公共参与、拓宽民意渠道和完善民主决策有着积极的借鉴意义.