Perceived social standing among Asian immigrants in the US: Do reasons for immigration matter?

We investigate the association between a subjective measure of social status and the reasons for immigration among Asian immigrants in the US. We use data from the National Latino and Asian American Study to test several hypotheses about this association. Our analyses show the positive effect on perceived social standing of migrating for better education, the negative effect of migrating to seek employment, and the negative impact of refugee status. Migrating for family reunification can be associated with various circumstances, which lead to differing outcomes. The results suggest that the notion that immigrants arrive in the US with limited resources and few skills and move slowly up the socioeconomic ladder must be reassessed in light of the complex social context and factors such as ethnicity, gender, divergent immigration paths, and a range of associated circumstances.     

软实力新论:构成、功能和发展规律——兼论中美软实力的比较

近年来,学术界对软实力的研究产生了浓厚的兴趣,但理论研究明显不足.软实力究竟由什么构成,在国家成长进程中发挥什么样的功能,软实力自身发展有哪些不一样的规律,这些都需要进行深刻的理论思考.学术界从约瑟夫·奈的软实力概念出发,往往把文化、价值观念、制度等直接就视为国家的软实力,但实际上这些东西本身并不是软实力,而是软实力资源.只有当一个国家运用这些资源来达到某种目的时,它们才能转化为国家的软实力.这些资源的权重值、运用资源的能力以及人们对它们的态度等构成了衡量软实力性质、程度的重要参考值.不同的态度决定了软实力的功能性质.也正是这些因素决定了软实力自身发展的特殊规律.     

周代交聘中的“礼尚往来”原则

"礼尚往来"是周代交聘关系中的重要原则之一,是对等性原则在礼仪上的体现和运用,贯穿于交聘关系的全过程和各个环节,其具体表现主要有四:一曰报礼,即交聘过程中礼仪、仪节的相互回报;二曰报币,即交聘过程中礼品的相互往来回报;三曰报书,即交聘文书之相互回报;四曰报使,即交聘关系中的相互遣使。春秋时期的报使报聘制度与西周时期原生态的制度已经发生了一定程度的变化:时间的间隔由固定变为灵活;使命目的由礼仪性向务实性倾斜;诸侯与周王室的交聘关系日益与诸侯之间的交聘性质接近,"朝"、"聘"之别亦日渐徒有其名而无其实。但是,"礼尚往来"的基本原则却一以贯之而为汉唐及其后交聘制度所继承和运用。     

欧元十年:回顾、展望与借鉴

欧元诞生十年来在国际上的影响越来越大,逐步成长为仅次于美元的第二大国际货币。随着欧盟疆域扩大,欧元区也得到不断的扩张,欧元区不断增强的经济实力将进一步推动欧元国际化,给美元带来更大的竞争压力。本文回顾了十年来欧元在国际金融市场的进展,分析了欧元作为国际货币的发展前景,讨论了欧元与美元竞争格局,并研究了欧元及其国际化对中国的借鉴意义,随着中国两岸四地经济金融融合度提高,建议应当逐步实现货币的统一。     

创新乡村治理机制，推进新农村建设——南京“赵坝现象”的调查与思考

建设社会主义新农村关键在于构建一个能够有效整合农村各种发展资源的乡村治理机制。江苏省南京市赵坝在探索新农村建设过程中通过基层组织治理变革和创新,创立了农民议会、党支部、水产养殖专业合作社、农民俱乐部四位一体的治理机制,破解了新农村建设治理的结构困境与矛盾,激发了农民建设新农村的主体意识,实现了多元治理的组织架构,促进了新农村建设的蓬勃开展,为探索新农村的治理机制,推进新农村建设提供了诸多的经验和启示,     

1903:一枝独秀与众声喧哗——中国近代文学史上的关键性年份

在中国近代文学史上,1903年是一个关键性的年份.是年,新小说创作如火山喷发,高潮迭起,晚清最具影响力的新小说家几乎都在这一年亮相,竞相推出自己的拳头产品;白话文运动和国语运动蓬勃发展,白话报刊成为一种不可小觑的社会存在,白话文著述和白话文学作品蔚为大观;文坛与诗坛热闹非凡,革命派与改良派针锋相对,新派与旧派营垒分明.1903年的文学界,呈现出新小说创作一枝独秀,而报界、文坛和诗坛众声喧哗的热闹局面.1903年,中国文学在近代化的路途中继续阔步前行.     

Quasi-minimax estimation in the general linear regression model

This paper is mainly concerned with minimax estimation in the general linear regression model y=Xβ+ε$y=X\beta +\epsilon$ under ellipsoidal restrictions on the parameter space and quadratic loss function. We confine ourselves to estimators that are linear in the response vector y  . The minimax estimators of the regression coefficient β$\beta$ are derived under homogeneous condition and heterogeneous condition, respectively. Furthermore, these obtained estimators are the ridge-type estimators and mean dispersion error (MDE) superior to the best linear unbiased estimator b=(X^′W^-1X)^-1X^′W^-1y$b=(X^{\prime }{W}^{-1}X{)}^{-1}{X}^{\prime }{W}^{-1}y$ under some conditions.     

A re-evaluation of random-effects meta-analysis

Summary.  Meta-analysis in the presence of unexplained heterogeneity is frequently undertaken by using a random-effects model, in which the effects underlying different studies are assumed to be drawn from a normal distribution. Here we discuss the justification and interpretation of such models, by addressing in turn the aims of estimation, prediction and hypothesis testing. A particular issue that we consider is the distinction between inference on the mean of the random-effects distribution and inference on the whole distribution. We suggest that random-effects meta-analyses as currently conducted often fail to provide the key results, and we investigate the extent to which distribution-free, classical and Bayesian approaches can provide satisfactory methods. We conclude that the Bayesian approach has the advantage of naturally allowing for full uncertainty, especially for prediction. However, it is not without problems, including computational intensity and sensitivity to a priori judgements. We propose a simple prediction interval for classical meta-analysis and offer extensions to standard practice of Bayesian meta-analysis, making use of an example of studies of 'set shifting' ability in people with eating disorders.     

Automating and evaluating reversible jump MCMC proposal distributions

The reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler (Green in Biometrika 82:711–732, 1995) has become an invaluable device for Bayesian practitioners. However, the primary difficulty with the sampler lies with the efficient construction of transitions between competing models of possibly differing dimensionality and interpretation. We propose the use of a marginal density estimator to construct between-model proposal distributions. This provides both a step towards black-box simulation for reversible jump samplers, and a tool to examine the utility of common between-model mapping strategies. We compare the performance of our approach to well established alternatives in both time series and mixture model examples.