国际人类学与民族学联合会全球生物伦理学委员会

一、委员会成立之根由 随着现代技术的整体进步,生物工艺学的发展没有恰当、充分地考虑到人类、地球、动物和植物之间的相互影响和作用.我们认为,发展、制定、宣扬新的伦理理念是十分必要的,这种理念超越了人类与自然之间相互影响的经济联系.如果一个科学家不想让自己局限在一个纯粹的技术人员的作用上,他就不可避免地要对社会、文化和伦理道德的本质发出追问:科学(实际应用的或理论的)的各个方面事实上都牵涉如何为"研究者做为其中之一分子"的社会所用的问题.随着生物工艺学的发展,生物学家正在重复着物理学家在原子能方面的经历,民族学家则在重复着研究成果为殖民统治所用的经历.我们迫切需要发展一种新的伦理观,以不教条地面对人类和自然界其他成分之间的岌岌可危的平衡;我们很有必要对"善良与邪恶、正义与非正义、正确与错误、服从与违背、责任与自由" 这些概念的价值及使这些概念的运用获得正当性(甚至对于自然界而言也是如此)的基本原则进行积极的合乎逻辑的审视.     

Instrumental Variable Treatment of Nonclassical Measurement Error Models

While the literature on nonclassical measurement error traditionally relies on the availability of an auxiliary data set containing correctly measured observations, we establish that the availability of instruments enables the identification of a large class of nonclassical nonlinear errors‐in‐variables models with continuously distributed variables. Our main identifying assumption is that, conditional on the value of the true regressors, some “measure of location” of the distribution of the measurement error (e.g., its mean, mode, or median) is equal to zero. The proposed approach relies on the eigenvalue–eigenfunction decomposition of an integral operator associated with specific joint probability densities. The main identifying assumption is used to “index” the eigenfunctions so that the decomposition is unique. We propose a convenient sieve‐based estimator, derive its asymptotic properties, and investigate its finite‐sample behavior through Monte Carlo simulations.     

Performance of goodness-of-fit tests for the Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying covariates

There are few readily-implemented tests for goodness-of-fit for the Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying covariates. Through simulations, we assess the power of tests by Cox (J R Stat Soc B (Methodol) 34(2):187–220, 1972), Grambsch and Therneau (Biometrika 81(3):515–526, 1994), and Lin et al. (Biometrics 62:803–812, 2006). Results show that power is highly variable depending on the time to violation of proportional hazards, the magnitude of the change in hazard ratio, and the direction of the change. Because these characteristics are unknown outside of simulation studies, none of the tests examined is expected to have high power in real applications. While all of these tests are theoretically interesting, they appear to be of limited practical value.     

Wie beeinflussen Geschlecht und Bildungsherkunft den Übergang in individuelle und strukturierte Promotionsformen?

The recent expansion of structured doctoral programs in Germany aims on reducing social selectivity in access to doctoral studies. Therefore, this article firstly explores if gender and educational background differences differ on the transition to individual and structured doctorates. Secondly, it examines the underlying mechanisms that may account for these differences. Analyses are based on data from the DZHW graduate panel studies. Findings confirm that the effects of educational background on entering a structured doctoral program or grant program are lower than those found on transition to individual doctorates, where doctorates are pursued within a research assistant position or as an external doctoral candidate. Gender only influences the transition into a PhD within a research assistant position. Mediator analyses show that this gender difference can largely be explained by subject choices, student assistant jobs and parenthood. For educational background differences, performance differences also explain a big part of the effects. To what extend these mechanisms contribute to unequal entry chances, however, varies between different formal PhD contexts.     

Empowering refugees and asylum seekers in the Italian agriculture sector by linking social cooperative entrepreneurship and social work practices

The present study investigated the potential of social cooperative activities and social work practices in the Italian agriculture sector in promoting sustainable integration forms for refugees and asylum seekers. The study adopted a qualitative approach using case study as the main research method. As the results show, the complexity and diversity of needs of refugees and asylum seekers make collaboration between formal and informal actors increasingly necessary for generating a common knowledge and support networks. The article argues that integrated approaches to refugees’ socio‐economic integration are needed to free them from the need for assistance and thereby help them regain their autonomy. The case study presented gives insight into the potential of small‐step experiences towards sustainable development and, linked to this, the integration of refugees and asylum seekers based on self‐organisation and cooperation, considering the well‐being of all citizens in the broader context.     

Building Bridges into the Community: Social Capital in a Volunteering Project for Care Leavers

Volunteering to address poor life outcomes often experienced by care leavers is emphasised in UK policy. Although volunteering is credited with the ability to generate social capital, there is limited research on the impact of volunteering on the social capital of care leavers. This article re‐examines data from an evaluation of a volunteering project for care leavers. It explores in what ways young people's participation in the project constitutes social capital. The findings support the importance of regular face‐to‐face contact and co‐production for young people to become creators of their own social capital.     

Macht und Gegenmacht

The paper starts with a social discourse on innovation and organizational learning, which seems to be unrelated to the dimension of power. Following Bourdieu, the paper then develops a practice-theoretical perspective of organizational power and countervailing power. Power dynamics in organizational fields and symbolic orders are discussed and described as ??bureaucracy??, ??clan?? and ??market??. The paper finally concludes with an outlook on habitus (and field-) reflexive organizational consultancy.     

Estimation of Nonlinear Models with Measurement Error

This paper presents a solution to an important econometric problem, namely the root n consistent estimation of nonlinear models with measurement errors in the explanatory variables, when one repeated observation of each mismeasured regressor is available. While a root n consistent estimator has been derived for polynomial specifications (see Hausman, Ichimura, Newey, and Powell (1991)), such an estimator for general nonlinear specifications has so far not been available. Using the additional information provided by the repeated observation, the suggested estimator separates the measurement error from the “true” value of the regressors thanks to a useful property of the Fourier transform: The Fourier transform converts the integral equations that relate the distribution of the unobserved “true” variables to the observed variables measured with error into algebraic equations. The solution to these equations yields enough information to identify arbitrary moments of the “true,” unobserved variables. The value of these moments can then be used to construct any estimator that can be written in terms of moments, including traditional linear and nonlinear least squares estimators, or general extremum estimators. The proposed estimator is shown to admit a representation in terms of an influence function, thus establishing its root n consistency and asymptotic normality. Monte Carlo evidence and an application to Engel curve estimation illustrate the usefulness of this new approach.