Deconvolution with supersmooth distributions

Nonparametric deconvolution problems require one to recover an unknown density when the data are contaminated with errors. Optimal global rates of convergence are found under the weighted L_p-loss (1 ≤ p ≤ ∞). It appears that the optimal rates of convergence are extremely low for supersmooth error distributions. To resolve this difficulty, we examine how high the noise level can be for deconvolution to be feasible, and for the deconvolution estimate to be as good as the ordinary density estimate. It is shown that if the noise level is not too high, nonparametric Gaussian deconvolution can still be practical. Several simulation studies are also presented.     

Effects of gall volume on survival and fecundity of gall-making aphidsAdelges japonicus (Homoptera: Adelgidae)

Summary The number of larvae reaching maturity within the gall ofAdelges japonicus was positively related to gall volume, and the relationship between the number of mature larvae and gall volume did not change with different densities of colonized larvae. The population changes in the bud galls ofA. japonicus were surveyed by collecting the galls, which did not suffer predation or parasitism within the galls, from young artificial plantations ofPicea jezoensis over two years. In the year when the density of colonized larvae was high, they suffered a 42% mortality within the galls, whereas mortality was nearly zero in the low density year. The numbers of larvae per gall were positively correlated with gall volume. The regression lines of the number of colonized larvae on gall volume did not differ significantly in the regression coefficients between the two years, whereas the intercept was significantly higher in the year when the density of colonized larvae was higher. However, different within-gall mortality nullified this difference, and the regression lines of the number of mature larvae on gall volume had no significant difference both in the regression coefficients and the intercepts. This suggests that the number of mature larvae per gall was limited by available resources within the gall which were positively related to gall volume. In 25% of the galls in which mature larvae inhabited, the space within the galls were completely filled by the larvae, indicating that space was one of the limiting resources. Gall volume also affected the number of adults that emerged from the gall and the potential number of their progeny.     

Children's gender- and age-based categorization in similarity and induction tasks

The present studies examined children's and adults' preferences for gender- or age-based categorization using similarity and inductive inference tasks. Four-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and adults looked at pictures of people and decided which of two was more like a target (similarity condition) or which shared a novel age- or gender-related property with the target (inference condition). Age or gender-based matches were possible. The results are consistent with previous findings that gender-based classification decreases with age. However, they also demonstrate that children use gender more for judging similarity than for making inferences about novel properties. Distinct patterns emerge from the two tasks: 6-year-olds and adults in both conditions categorize more by age than gender; 4-year-olds categorize by gender more than age in the similarity task, but by age more in the induction task. Only adults differentiated by property in the inference condition. These findings suggest that the salience of gender categories cannot entirely be attributed to their inductive potential. Gender has a salience beyond what would be predicted by its power for directing novel generalizations.     

Qualified privilege: A defense for the public relations function

Technology continues to challenge the public relations practitioner to find ways to inform key constituents. The new technology has given rise to the “new journalism” that includes a declining traditional media and exploding internet media filled with websites and bloggers. The question posed by this research asks: Does the public relations practitioner inherit the same protection offered by “qualified privilege” that is most often associated with the traditional “press” or “reporter?” The research lays a foundation with an examination of defamation and the defense of qualified privilege. The research concludes that if information gathered by the public relations practitioner meets the “intent” and “content” tests, the information qualifies as news. Passing the “news” test, the defense of “qualified privilege” also attaches to the public relations practitioner.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Barbara A. Fennell, A History of English: A Sociolinguistic Approach
Kevin McCafferty, Ethnicity and Language Change: English in (London)Derry, Northern Ireland
Pieter Muysken, Bilingual Speech: A Typology of Code-Mixing.
Ulrich Ammon (ed.), The Dominance of English as a Language of Science: Effects on Other Languages and Language Communities
Andrew Goatly, Critical Reading and Writing. An Introductory Coursebook
Ana Roca (ed.), Research on Spanish in the United States. Linguistic Issues and Challenges
Ishtla Singh, Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction     

Assimilation as multiracialism: The case of Singapore's Malays

The myths of meritocracy and multiracialism ‘explain’ between them both the ‘fairness’ of the Singapore system and the subordinate role of the non-Chinese minority races. They also purport to assure the minorities that they enjoy full status as members of the nation-building project and that their cultural and religious mores are embraced and protected within its framework. Using the Malay minority as its case study, and arguing from archival, oral, official government and secondary sources, this paper argues that the Singapore systems of meritocracy and multiracialism have not been concerned primarily with intercommunal tolerance since the 1970s, but are now programmes of assimilation of the racial minorities into a Chinese-dominated society.     

Household strategies in the face of resource scarcity in coastal Ghana: are they associated with development priorities?

In many developing regions, women and young girls spend several hours daily in the collection of natural resources. Still the link between these household resource strategies and stakeholder perceptions of development priorities remains unexplored. This project examines this association with survey data representative of the adult population from Ghana’s Coastal Region. Although natural resource scarcity and the sustainability of resource use represent key development challenges, there are others (e.g., energy, sanitation, employment, and educational opportunities). As such, even in the face of natural resource scarcity, individuals may place greater importance on other dimensions of development, especially if household resource strategies are perceived as relatively efficient. The analytical focus here is on water and the results suggest that gender roles shape household water collection strategies, while also shaping these strategies’ perceived opportunity costs. Specifically, Ghanian adults more often see drinking water provision as their primary development need when water sources are distant and/or when male household members collect water (particularly male heads). In the end, I argue that social science inquiry benefits by contextualizing social dynamics within environmental context, particularly within cultural settings in which human subsistence is intimately tied to the state of the natural environment.     

完善我国公司治理结构的路径探析

公司治理结构在当代的发展趋势之一是利益相关者共同参与公司治理。我国公司股权集中、内部人控制严重、外部监督机制失灵的治理现状,决定了完善我国公司治理结构的有效路径应是构建利益相关者共同参与的公司治理结构,即将非股东的其他利益相关者引入公司治理,直接参与公司的经营、控制与监督。     

当代印度南部婆罗门状况的个案分析——以奈保尔《印度:百万叛变的今天》为例

当代印度社会正发生着极大的变动,社会各阶层都在极力维护固有地位和宗教传统的稳定,并极力在这种变动中争取着自身社会利益的最大化。其中,南印度婆罗门种姓在逐步丧失传统的各项特权和优势地位的同时,也在努力适应、应对当代社会的新变化和新挑战。英国作家V.S.奈保尔的《印度:百万叛变的今天》一书提供了较为翔实、客观的口述史资料。以书中生活在孟买、班加罗尔、马德拉斯、加尔各达等南印度城市中的当代婆罗门阶层作为个案,可探究出其面对传统社会生活中的各个层面发生变动时的态度与应对及个体内在的深层原因,并在一定程度上考察社会变动与文化传统之间的互动关系。     

语言禁忌现象的社会语言学考察

语言禁忌是一种常见的社会语言现象,渗透到社会生活的方方面面。汉语语言文字的特点对语言禁忌的发展产生了独特的影响,中国的文学传统进一步强化了语言魔力在人们心目中的影响。语言禁忌反映了人们对语言符号功能的认识,大脑的联想机制强化了汉语中以谐音为主要联想基础的语言禁忌的形成。在跨文化交际过程中,语言禁忌的问题往往会成为影响交际顺利进行的一个重要因素。