Tests of association between survival time and a continuous covariate

Proportional hazards model(Cox, 1972) is reviewed for the case of grouped data with one continuously measured covariate. This leads to a logit-rank procedure for tied data which is reduced to the test proposed by O’Brien(1978) and studied by O’Quigley and Prentice(1991) in the absence of ties. The proposed test is then applied to a special ranking method in order to study non-monotonic associations.     

Modifications of the Empirical Likelihood Interval Estimation with Improved Coverage Probabilities

The empirical likelihood (EL) technique has been well addressed in both the theoretical and applied literature in the context of powerful nonparametric statistical methods for testing and interval estimations. A nonparametric version of Wilks theorem (Wilks, 1938 Wilks , S. S. ( 1938 ). The large-sample distribution of the likelihood ratio for testing composite hypotheses . Annals of Mathematical Statistics 9 : 60 – 62 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) can usually provide an asymptotic evaluation of the Type I error of EL ratio-type tests. In this article, we examine the performance of this asymptotic result when the EL is based on finite samples that are from various distributions. In the context of the Type I error control, we show that the classical EL procedure and the Student's t-test have asymptotically a similar structure. Thus, we conclude that modifications of t-type tests can be adopted to improve the EL ratio test. We propose the application of the Chen (1995 Chen , L. ( 1995 ). Testing the mean of skewed distributions . Journal of the American Statistical Association 90 : 767 – 772 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) t-test modification to the EL ratio test. We display that the Chen approach leads to a location change of observed data whereas the classical Bartlett method is known to be a scale correction of the data distribution. Finally, we modify the EL ratio test via both the Chen and Bartlett corrections. We support our argument with theoretical proofs as well as a Monte Carlo study. A real data example studies the proposed approach in practice.     

Regenerative Markov Chain Monte Carlo for Any Distribution

While Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are frequently used for difficult calculations in a wide range of scientific disciplines, they suffer from a serious limitation: their samples are not independent and identically distributed. Consequently, estimates of expectations are biased if the initial value of the chain is not drawn from the target distribution. Regenerative simulation provides an elegant solution to this problem. In this article, we propose a simple regenerative MCMC algorithm to generate variates for any distribution.     

产业智能化与农民工就业质量的影响机理及提升路径

基于当前数字技术快速发展这一现实背景,利用2017-2019年中国家庭金融调查数据,实证检验了产业智能化对农民工就业质量的影响,并从创业、创新和互联网使用三个维度探索就业质量提升路径。研究表明：产业智能化对农民工就业质量具有“替代效应”和“智能化效应”,其中“替代效应”占主导地位,致使产业智能化通过降低农民工的工作稳定性和社会保障水平,阻碍高质量就业;异质性分析发现,第一代和外地农民工、社会资本和技能水平较低的农民工、从事常规性特征工作的农民工、处于东部以及劳动力保护较弱地区的农民工,其就业质量受产业智能化的负向影响更明显。提出促进创业、培养创新意识和提升互联网使用技能可以推进农民工把握新就业形态,从而缓解产业智能化对农民工就业质量的抑制作用、助力高质量就业。     

Convergence of non-linear functionals of smoothed empirical processes and kernel density estimates

We consider regularizations by convolution of the empirical process and study the asymptotic behaviour of non-linear functionals of this process. Using a result for the same type of non-linear functionals of the Brownian bridge, shown in a previous paper [4], and a strong approximation theorem, we prove several results for the p-deviation in estimation of the derivatives of the density. We also study the asymptotic behaviour of the number of crossings of the smoothed empirical process defined by Yukich [17] and of a modified version of the Kullback deviation.     

Application and Reliability of Change-Point Analyses for Detecting a Defective Stage in Integrated Circuit Manufacturing

ABSTRACT

This article presents a reliable method for highlighting a defective stage within a manufacturing process when the existence of a failure is only known at the end of the process. It was developed in the context of integrated circuit manufacturing, where low costs and high yields are indispensable if the manufacturer is to be competitive. Change detection methods were used to point out the defective stage. Two methods were compared and the best chosen. Thanks to this approach, it was possible to solve some yield problems for which the engineers' investigations were far from the real cause of failure. However, there is a strong requirement to assess the reliability of the suspicions cast on the incriminated stage, otherwise engineers could be made to do useless work and time could be wasted looking into events that are not the true cause of failure. Two complementary tools were implemented for this reliability assessment and their efficiency is illustrated by several examples.     

On the almost sure convergence for sums of negatively superadditive dependent random vectors in Hilbert spaces and its application

Abstract

This paper develops almost sure convergence for sums of negatively superadditive dependent random vectors in Hilbert spaces, we obtain Chung type SLLN and the Jaite type SLLN for sequences of negatively superadditive dependent random vectors in Hilbert spaces. Rate of convergence is studied through considering almost sure convergence to 0 of tail series. As an application, the almost sure convergence of degenerate von Mises-statistics is investigated.     

Strains in Sustainability Debates: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western Science through the Lens of Extension Agents in a Pastoral Region

Those involved in sustainability debates on developmental pathways concur in the synergistic potential of integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and Western scientific approaches. Transhumant pastoralism is a livelihood strategy adapted to spatiotemporal environmental variability in many mountainous and arid regions worldwide. This form of livelihood is based on a mobile logic that is increasingly threatened by novel lifestyles promoted from a Western mind-set and by climate change. The aim of this article is to identify and characterize the different perspectives of environmental and social issues in a pastoral region and their association with labor collaboration among extension agents, framed in an institutional action. We tackled the inquiry about viewpoints with Q methodology and related it to regional problems, alternative solutions, and future development pathways for transhumant pastoralism and landscape management in northwest Patagonia. We identified six perspectives and characterized them with their topological position in the social network. Mediating positions registered the highest network centrality of labor collaborations among agents, whereas more dominant perspectives emphasizing TEK or scientific knowledge registered intermediate centrality. There was consensus on the need for sustainable developmental options, but the emphasis on combining knowledge still needs convergent solutions.     

‘It's not acceptable for the husband to stay at home': Taking a discourse analytical approach to capture the gendering of work

This article illustrates some of the ways in which the notion of (paid) work is actively being gendered, and how these gendering processes take place not only through organizational practices but also in discourses that circulate outside an organization in the private domain. Drawing on 15 in‐depth interviews with women who opted out of their own professional career in order to accompany their husbands on their overseas work assignment to Hong Kong, we demonstrate some of the benefits of using a discourse analytical approach to capturing and identifying the processes through which these women actively (although not necessarily consciously) gender the notion of work, thereby reinforcing the gender order and its male bias. We argue that identifying and making visible these gendered and gendering practices is an important component of, and a potential trigger for, change both in organizations as well as private contexts.     

高校开展咏唱爱国主义歌曲活动的意义和经验分析——以祖国七十大庆高校开展咏唱爱国主义歌曲活动为例

爱国主义歌曲作为对祖国抒发赞颂之情的歌曲,是“光荣颂”“欢乐颂”“祝福颂”的有机统一,是培育和践行社会主义核心价值观的重要载体。从精神价值而言,爱国主义歌曲具有社会公共性、历史恒久性、无比崇高性。高校开展咏唱爱国主义歌曲活动,能增进学生对祖国的自豪之情,提升其民族自信,激发其报国之志。高校开展咏唱爱国主义歌曲活动,即要精选优异的爱国主义歌曲音乐本体,又要注重发挥高校教师的带头作用,还要加强学校各级组织机构和辅导员队伍的引领作用。高校党政领导对这类歌咏活动要进一步提高认识站位、增强重视程度、加强条件支持。