Risk Modeling, Assessment, and Management of Lahar Flow Threat

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines is considered one of the most violent and destructive volcanic activities in the 20th century. Lahar is the Indonesian term for volcanic ash, and lahar flows resulting from the massive amount of volcanic materials deposited on the mountain's slope posed continued post-eruption threats to the surrounding areas, destroying lives, homes, agricultural products, and infrastructures. Risks of lahar flows were identified immediately after the eruption, with scientific data provided by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other research institutions. However, competing political, economic, and social agendas subordinated the importance of scientific information to policy making. Using systemic risk analysis and management, this article addresses the issues of multiple objectives and the effective integration of scientific techniques into the decision-making process. It provides a modeling framework for identifying, prioritizing, and evaluating policies for managing risk. The major considerations are: (1) applying a holistic approach to risk analysis through hierarchical holographic modeling, (2) applying statistical methods to gain insight into the problem of uncertainty in risk assessment, (3) using multiobjective trade-off analysis to address the issue of multiple decisionmakers and stakeholders in the decision-making process, (4) using the conditional expected value of extreme events to complement and supplement the expected value in quantifying risk, and (5) assessing the impacts of multistage decisions. Numerical examples based on ex post data are formulated to illustrate applications to various problems. The resulting framework from this study can serve as a general baseline model for assessing and managing risks of natural disasters, which the Philippines' lead agency-the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC)-and other related organizations can use for their decision-making processes.     

由现收现付制向基金制转轨的经济学分析

文章讨论了有关养老保险体系转轨的几个基本的经济学问题。首先从宏观经济运行的角度出发探讨了以下两个问题 :为什么要从现收现付制向基金制转轨 ?对于现阶段的中国来说马上向基金制转轨是否是最优的选择 ?文章还阐释了基金制下的收益率的决定因素并对基金制与现收现付制的风险因素进行了比较 ,最后对养老保险体系的改革提出了几点建议     

One-dimensional optimal bounded-shape partitions for Schur convex sum objective functions

Consider the problem of partitioning n nonnegative numbers into p parts, where part i can be assigned n_i numbers with n_i lying in a given range. The goal is to maximize a Schur convex function F whose ith argument is the sum of numbers assigned to part i. The shape of a partition is the vector consisting of the sizes of its parts, further, a shape (without referring to a particular partition) is a vector of nonnegative integers (n₁,..., n_p) which sum to n. A partition is called size-consecutive if there is a ranking of the parts which is consistent with their sizes, and all elements in a higher-ranked part exceed all elements in the lower-ranked part. We demonstrate that one can restrict attention to size-consecutive partitions with shapes that are nonmajorized, we study these shapes, bound their numbers and develop algorithms to enumerate them. Our study extends the analysis of a previous paper by Hwang and Rothblum which discussed the above problem assuming the existence of a majorizing shape. This research is partially supported by ROC National Science grant NSC 92-2115-M-009-014.     

基于医疗质量的公立医院绩效体系构建研究

目的：运用德尔菲法构建一套科学、可操作的公立医院绩效评价体系。方法：采用文献法研究国内外绩效评价理论,结合问卷结果形成初始量表。通过德尔菲法对指标进行两轮筛选及优化。结果：初步形成由“社会效益”、“质量安全”、“运行效益与效率”为基本结构的指标体系,包括3个一级指标、13个二级指标和72个三级指标。结论：该指标体系重点关注医院公益性及内涵质量,对公立医院绩效评价具有一定参考意义。     

双向FDI与经济增长的实证研究

从双向FDI的角度分析OFDI和IFDI与经济增长的关系。选取双向FDI对经济增长的3个主要影响因素,分别对双向FDI与GDP、投资、净出口和产业结构的关系进行实证分析。研究发现:双向FDI对于GDP和投资都具有拉动作用;IFDI对投资的影响滞后4期才能产生,对净出口的增长起到正向促进作用;OFDI的扩大不利于净出口的增长;双向FDI与三次产业都存在较强的灰色关联度。据此,提出改善对内对外投资环境、发挥双向FDI对固定资产投资和净出口的促进作用、强化双向FDI对产业结构的调整作用等建议。     

论认知视角下诗歌建构中的象似性和隐喻性——以李商隐《夜雨寄北》为例

诗歌作为一种用言语表达的艺术形式,其语言文字只是表层现象。从认知视角来看,具有共同认知机制的象似性和隐喻性不可避免地存在诗歌之中,并影响着诗歌中文字、意象、概念等的构建。基于Peirce的象似性理论及Lakoff等人的概念隐喻理论,分析了认知视角下象似性和隐喻性在建构李商隐《夜雨寄北》一诗中的运作机制和功能。     

Investigating Possible Effects of Ethnicity and Age on Gambling as an Escape

Previous research has shown that there are a number of risk factors for disordered and problem gambling, including an individual’s ethnicity and age. Endorsing gambling as an escape has also been shown to contribute to and maintain disordered gambling. The present study examined potential interactions between ethnicity and age as they relate to disordered gambling, as well as if ethnicity and age would be predictors of endorsing gambling as an escape. Three hundred fifteen adults from the United States completed measures relating to gambling. Participants were grouped into ethnic categories of Caucasian and non-Caucasian, and age groups of 18–25, 26–35, 36–55, and 56 years old and above. Non-Caucasians reported more gambling problems than Caucasians. A significant interaction was found between ethnicity and age for 36–55 year olds. Overall, participants were more likely to gamble for positive than negative reinforcement. However, only gambling as an escape was a significant predictor of disordered gambling. Implications and limitations are discussed with the thought that these results are informative to practitioners treating disordered gambling.