Distribution of sample mean when observations are correlated

It i s well known that even if the sample observations are correlated and not normal, the sample mean is normal in 1arge samples. But how large is large? This question i s investigated in this paper. In particular , the relation between the rate of convergence and the correlation property of the observations i s explored. It i s observed that the correlation, in general, retards the rate of convergence.     

A part of,yet apart from the team: Substantive membership and belonging of trans and nonbinary athletes

Increasingly, bills and policies prohibit the participation of trans women in competitive sport. The current sociopolitical moment begs the following question: how do interpersonal interactional moments function alongside formal policies and rules to shape trans athletes’ experiences of belonging in sport? Although formal institutional rules govern trans athletes’ ability to compete in sport, informal social sanctioning also denies these athletes equitable, or even de facto, membership in sport. I draw upon two case studies to explore trans athletes’ experiences of membership in elite “women's” sport. I apply Evelyn Nakano Glenn's work on citizenship to consider how trans athletes’ experiences of belonging are influenced by both formal rules imposed by organizations as well as informal social interactions with members of their sporting communities. Inclusion is not synonymous with membership. Trans athletes render visible the ways in which this system functions to contain the diversity of humanity's gender expression.     

An effective discrete dynamic convexized method for solving the winner determination problem

The winner determination problem (WDP) arises in combinatorial auctions. It is known to be NP-hard. In this paper, we propose a discrete dynamic convexized method for solving this problem. We first propose an adaptive penalty function to convert the WDP into an equivalent unconstrained integer programming problem. Based on the structure of the WDP, we construct an unconstrained auxiliary function, which is maximized iteratively using a local search and is updated whenever a better maximizer is found. By increasing the value of a parameter in the auxiliary function, the maximization of the auxiliary function can escape from previously converged local maximizers. To evaluate the performance of the dynamic convexized method, extensive experiments were carried out on realistic test sets from the literature. Computational results and comparisons show that the proposed algorithm improved the best known solutions on a number of benchmark instances.     

Normalité asymptotique d'estimateurs convergents du mode conditionnel

We state sufficient conditions for asymptotic normality of convergent estimates of the conditional mode, irrespective of data dependence, and give an application to α-mixing stationary processes.     

Role of Leaders as Agents of Negotiation for Counterbalancing Cultural Dissonance in the Middle East and North Africa Region

This study provides a unique perspective in the field of cross-cultural management by exploring the relationship between “cultural dissonance”—the gap between cultural values and actual practice—and effective leadership attributes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Incorporating cultural dissonance into implicit leadership theory, the study uses measurements of dissonance on nine cultural dimensions to identify particular leadership preferences in seven MENA countries. The overall findings suggest that societies prefer leaders who counterbalance cultural dissonance by allowing space for negotiations by members of society to reduce disparities between cultural values—“the way things should be”—and actual practices—“the way things are.” The greater the disparity between cultural values and practices, the greater the citizens' desire that leaders act as agents of change by creating space for negotiation.     

On the generalized process capability under simple and mixture models

Process capability (PC) indices measure the ability of a process of interest to meet the desired specifications under certain restrictions. There are a variety of capability indices available in literature for different interest variables such as weights, lengths, thickness, and the life time of items among many others. The goal of this article is to study the generalized capability indices from the Bayesian view point under different symmetric and asymmetric loss functions for the simple and mixture of generalized lifetime models. For our study purposes, we have covered a simple and two component mixture of Maxwell distribution as a special case of the generalized class of models. A comparative discussion of the PC with the mixture models under Laplace and inverse Rayleigh are also included. Bayesian point estimation of maintenance performance of the system is also part of the study (considering the Maxwell failure lifetime model and the repair time model). A real-life example is also included to illustrate the procedural details of the proposed method.     

序言

编者按:由埃及著名学者侯赛因·卡米勒·巴哈丁著,朱威烈、丁俊译的<十字路口>一书已由上海外语教育出版社于2005年4月出版,特选录其中的"序言"、"译后记"及部分章节,以飨读者.     

Urban Identity as a Global Phenomenon: Hybridity and Contextualization of Urban Identities in the Social Environment

Major sociospatial transformation processes are taking place, and so concepts such as tradition, distinctiveness, and identity have become fundamental but delicate factors in the context of the social environment. Consequently, identity has become not only a term, but rather a comprehensive theme and concept, in making new places and built environments. In this context of argument, this article elucidates the implication of identity at different scales. It emphasizes the importance and hybridity of urban identities and how they may become entities or even mechanisms to overcome globalization issues. This article looks at global examples to exemplify various manifestations of urban identities. This theoretical article aspires to promote debates that can benefit current research programs in the context of globalization, urban identity, and sociocultural diversity. Finally, the aim here for specifying different levels of urban identities is not necessarily toward categorizing them, but rather to identify their roles and propositions in various scales that are related to humans and their social environments.