Intercultural education through a bilingual children’s rights project: reflections on its possibilities and challenges with young learners

Despite the growing importance of intercultural education, literature is still lacking in related research with young learners. This study reports on a yearlong university–school collaborative research project that aimed to promote students’ intercultural competence and critical bi-literacy skills through their exploration of the issue of children’s rights. Grounded in the critical perspectives of intercultural pedagogy and dynamic bi-/multilingualism, the two collaborating Grade 3 teachers engaged their students in critical inquiry of children’s rights in both English and French. Through a range of hybrid translanguage literacy practices and experiential learning activities, students came to understand what children’s rights are and appreciate the importance of solidarity, equity, and compassion. Apart from highlighting some activities developed during this project and the impact of the activities on student participants, the study also attempts to critically reflect on some of the challenges in conducting intercultural education with young learners, in particular their emergent but conflicted understanding of other cultures. Further, the study speaks to the issue of how such an important education can be practiced in a non-reductionist and non-simplistic manner yet still be accessible to young learners.     

A test for multivariate structure

We present a test for detecting 'multivariate structure' in data sets. This procedure consists of transforming the data to remove the correlations, then discretizing the data and, finally, studying the cell counts in the resulting contingency table. A formal test can be performed using the usual chi-squared test statistic. We give the limiting distribution of the chi-squared statistic and also present simulation results to examine the accuracy of this limiting distribution in finite samples. Several examples show that our procedure can detect a variety of different types of structure. Our examples include data with clustering, digitized speech data, and residuals from a fitted time series model. The chi-squared statistic can also be used as a test for multivariate normality.     

A Bayesian approach for improved pavement performance prediction

We present a method for predicting future pavement distresses such as longitudinal cracking. These predicted distress values are used to plan road repairs. Large inherent variability in measured cracking and an extremely small number of observations are the nature of the pavement cracking data, which calls for a parametric Bayesian approach. We model theoretical pavement distress with a sigmoidal equation with coefficients based on prior engineering knowledge. We show that a Bayesian formulation akin to Kalman filtering gives sensible predictions and provides defendable uncertainty statements for predictions. The method is demonstrated on data collected by the Texas Transportation Institute at several sites in Texas. The predictions behave in a reasonable and statistically valid manner.     

Inference on high-dimensional implicit dynamic models using a guided intermediate resampling filter

Statistics and Computing - We propose a method for inference on moderately high-dimensional, nonlinear, non-Gaussian, partially observed Markov process models for which the transition density is...     

城市公交线网优化方法的研究与应用

城市公共交通线网优化是城市交通规划的主要组成部分之一.它是解决目前城市居民普遍面临的＂乘车难＂的有效措施,具有非常重要的现实意义.该文根据城市公交线路的功能,将公交线路划分为公交主干层、公交次干层和公交支线层3个层次,并建立了3个层次的公交网络设计优化模型,提出了基于蚁群算法的＂分层建模,优化成网＂规划方法.在一个包括9个交通小区,35个节点的路网中,应用上述方法,对公交线路网络进行了设计.实证表明＂分层建模,优化成网＂设计方法增加了公交线路的覆盖范围,提高了站点的覆盖率,减少了乘客的平均换乘次数.     

试论低碳生活方式的实现路径

低碳生活是随着工业经济的发展,气候变暖,生态环境恶化和全球气候灾害问题日益凸显而提出来的。低碳生活是低碳经济发展的必然产物也是人自身发展和身心和谐的内在要求。文章在分析低碳生活方式特点的基础上,从社会制度政策环境,低碳消费文化氛围,科技伦理的导向作用和主体生态道德内化等主客观两方面来探求实现低碳生活方式的路径,目的是为了使简约、本真、健康的绿色生活方式极大的普及,实现人与人、人与自然的和谐发展。     

On the cores of games arising from integer edge covering functions of graphs

In this paper, we study cooperative games arising from integer edge covering problems on graphs. We introduce two games, a rigid k-edge covering game and its relaxed game, as generalizations of a rigid edge covering game and its relaxed game studied by Liu and Fang (2007). Then we give a characterization of the cores of both games, find relationships between them, and give necessary and sufficient conditions for the balancedness of a rigid k-edge covering game and its relaxed game.     

中国西部地区承接产业转移力度的空间计量研究

以重庆市为例,采用中国2002-2010年省际面板数据对中国西部地区承接产业转移力度的影响因素进行了空间计量研究。结果表明:成本因素中税收竞争是影响产业转移的关键;投资环境因素中相对经济发展水平、市场化水平对承接力度有显著的抑制作用,相对技术差距有促进作用,相对开放度、工业产业集聚程度和基础设施水平的影响则不显著,其中,相对技术差距的影响最大;市场潜力因素中相对工业成本费用利润率对于产业转移力度有消极的阻碍作用,相对总资产贡献率和产品销售率的影响则有限。鉴于此,提出重庆市提升产业转移力度的政策建议。