Heteroscedastic Regression Models and Applications to Off-line Quality Control

We discuss in the present paper the analysis of heteroscedastic regression models and their applications to off-line quality control problems. It is well known that the method of pseudo-likelihood is usually preferred to full maximum likelihood since estimators of the parameters in the regression function obtained are more robust to misspecification of the variance function. Despite its popularity, however, existing theoretical results are difficult to apply and are of limited use in many applications. Using more recent results in estimating equations, we obtain an efficient algorithm for computing the pseudo-likelihood estimator with desirable convergence properties and also derive simple, explicit and easy to apply asymptotic results. These results are used to look in detail at variance minimization in off-line quality control, yielding techniques of inferences for the optimized design parameter. In application of some existing approaches to off-line quality control, such as the dual response methodology, rigorous statistical inference techniques are scarce and difficult to obtain. An example of off-line quality control is presented to discuss the practical aspects involved in the application of the results obtained and to address issues such as data transformation, model building and the optimization of design parameters. The analysis shows very encouraging results, and is seen to be able to unveil some important information not found in previous analyses.     

Error rates in classification consisting of discrete and continuous variables in the presence of covariates

We consider classifying an object based on mixed continuous and discrete variables between two populations. Mixed discrete and continuous covariates with identical means in both populations are amongst the variables. Under the location model with homogeneous location specific conditional dispersion matrices for both populations, the Bayes rule is given. Classification is implemented by a plug-in version of the Bayes rule with full covariate adjustment. An asymptotic expansion of the overall expected error of the procedure is derived. Our findings generalize several classical results.     

科技型中小企业发展的融资匹配研究

本文在对科技型中小企业发展的融资现状调研分析的基础上,对其各发展阶段的融资匹配进行了深入研究,勾勒出科技中小企业生命周期与银行贷款融资区域匹配图示和整体金融支持区域,以展示充分发挥金融支持科技产业发展的主导作用。     

农村合作经济的发展态势

农业生产的生物性、地域的分散性、规模的不均匀性与劳动成果的不确定性的存在 ,决定了农业的家庭经营 ,农村合作经济提高了农业经营的组织化程度。社会经济发展、结构变动及科学技术进步 ,又导致农村合作经济制度随之演进     

试论PPC英语课堂教学模式

以先进的语言理论和教育理论为依据,吸收了国外先进的教学法的精华,我们综合创造了ＰＰＣ中学英语教学模式。这一模式打破了以教师为中心,以语言知识教学为重点的教学传统,提倡教学以学生为中心,使学生掌握英语的基础知识和为交际初步运用英语的能力,使他们成为学习的主人     

A gender comparison of HIV and drug use across the rural-urban continuum

Despite the central role of women drug users in escalating AIDS statistics, there is still a limited number of studies that examine the roles of gender and drug use type in HIV seroprevalence. This lacuna in the research literature has led to significant gaps in researchers' understanding of how and to what extent women may differ in their drug-using and HIV risk behaviors compared to their better-studied male counterparts. This study, derived from a sample of 3,555 out-of-treatment drug users residing in three South Florida urban and rural communities, attempts to compare the drug usage and needle and sexual risk behaviors of male and female drug users that put them at risk for HIV infection. The overall seropositivity rate for women drug users was 26.5% compared to 19.5% for their male counterparts. Results of multivariate analyses indicate that females compared to males were 1.4 times more likely to be HIV seropositive. Risk behaviors associated with this elevated seropositivity include living arrangements, homeless status, drug use, sexual trading behaviors, and history of STDs. Furthermore, there was a strong linear relationship between drug use type and HIV seroprevalence among women drug users. Compared to those who were neither crack smokers nor injectors of illicit drugs, those who were crack smokers only were 2 times more likely to be HIV seropositive, while those who were both crack smokers and injectors were 5 times more likely to be HIV seropositive, and those who were injectors only were 6 times more likely to be HIV seropositive. These findings indicate that among women, drug abuse and its associated risk behaviors, increase the vulnerability of this population for HIV and thus render them an extremely important priority population on which to focus HIV prevention and public health efforts and programs.     

生活方式对我国轻度认知障碍老年人的影响

本文基于2002-2014年中国老年健康影响因素跟踪调查数据,借鉴《中国居民膳食指南》和世界卫生组织吸烟指数、自行构建饮酒强度指数、利用因子分析方法等综合构建生活方式指标,通过Cox比例风险模型考察生活方式对轻度认知障碍(MCI)老年人死亡风险的影响。结果发现:均衡饮食、经常参与家务个人活动和文化休闲活动有利于显著降低MCI老年人的死亡风险,吸烟强度与MCI老年人死亡风险显著相关,尤其轻度吸烟的MCI死亡风险最高。这提示我们面对规模庞大的MCI人群时,必须有针对性地影响他们的生活方式,从而有效降低MCI老年人的死亡风险以及改善其生命质量。     

An Auditor's Perspective of Executive Incentive Pay and Dividend Payouts in Family Firms

Journal of Family and Economic Issues - In family firms, where the family and the business domains are intertwined, conflicts from one domain can spill over to the other. Agency conflicts in the...     

Responding to children’s ‘emotion talk’: a conversation analysis of a therapeutic encounter between a social worker and two siblings using child-centred play therapy

ABSTRACT

Reflection of feelings is a hallmark strategy of non-directive child-centred play therapy that enhances children’s emotional awareness and equips them with emotionally expressive words. The case presented here describes the application of child-centred play therapy by a social worker with two young children (aged four and six) with sibling rivalry issues. One of the sessions was videotaped, which enabled the use of conversation analysis to dissect the language patterns used by both the clients and the social worker. This in-depth verbal analysis illuminated subtle nuances in the children’s interactions and behaviour while also providing the social worker with the opportunity to reflect on practice. This case discussion presents a snapshot of that session and allows readers to understand how such therapy occurs.     

Persistence and Change in the Rural Land System of Contemporary China*

当代中国农地制度经历了土地改革、合作化运动、人民公社化和家庭承包经营 等发展阶段。其存续和变迁可以用’黏性生成—黏性稀释?分析框架进行阐释：制 度环境与路径依赖是制度黏性的生成诱因，对农地制度的存续发挥了重要作用；非 正式制度的渗入是稀释制度黏性的关键变量，非正式制度与正式制度之间的互动贯 穿整个制度变迁过程，思想观念和意识形态的变化对正式制度的加强、消解或建构 具有重要影响。