Communication About Micropollutants in Drinking Water: Effects of the Presentation and Psychological Processes

This study investigates how people change their risk perception, trust, and behavior as a consequence of being informed about the occurrence of micropollutants in drinking water. Micropollutants are substances present in extremely low concentrations that might be dangerous in higher concentrations. Data were gathered in the city of Zurich, Switzerland in 2013 using a questionnaire in which the information on micropollutants was presented differently to 12 experimental groups. Data of the key constructs were gathered before and after this information, so that causal effects could be quantified by regression analyses. Affective reactions to the information turned out to be the critical mediator of changes in risk perception (operationalized as the perceived change of quality due to pollution), which is an important determinant of changes in behavior and trust. Also, direct effects of affective reactions on behavior and trust were observed. Trust before appraising risks reduces negative affective reactions; however, it also reduces perceived quality (i.e., increases risk perception) and trust after risks are appraised. The different forms of information mainly influenced the participants’ affective reactions, but they also influenced perceived quality. The presentation with the least negative effects was a comparison of the intake of the substance by water with intake by food. The experimental design with repeated measurement that considers trust as a determinant and consequence of risk perception uncovered positive and negative effects of trust before appraising risks on changes of risk perception and trust due to appraising risks.     

Tests for a Multiple-Sample Problem in High Dimensions

In this article, we consider the problem of testing the hypothesis on mean vectors in multiple-sample problem when the number of observations is smaller than the number of variables. First we propose an independence rule test (IRT) to deal with high-dimensional effects. The asymptotic distributions of IRT under the null hypothesis as well as under the alternative are established when both the dimension and the sample size go to infinity. Next, using the derived asymptotic power of IRT, we propose an adaptive independence rule test (AIRT) that is particularly designed for testing against sparse alternatives. Our AIRT is novel in that it can effectively pick out a few relevant features and reduce the effect of noise accumulation. Real data analysis and Monte Carlo simulations are used to illustrate our proposed methods.     

ON TESTING AGAINST RESTRICTED ALTERNATIVES FOR THE VARIANCES OF GAUSSIAN MODELS

Let π₁,…,π_p be p independent normal populations with means μ₁…, μ_p and variances σ²₁,…, σ²_p respectively. Let X(n_i) be a simple random sample of size n_i from π_i, i = 1,…,p. Given the simple random samples X(n₁),…, X(n_p) from π₁,…,π_p respectively, a test has been proposed for testing the homogeneity of variances H₀: σ²₁=…σ²_p, against the restricted alternative, H₁: σ²₁≥…≥σ²_p, with at least one strict inequality. Some properties of the test are discussed and critical values are tabulated.     

对经济理性假说的批判与思考

经济理性假说是隐含制度规范意义的行为假设。由此带来了新古典经济学危机。经济理性假说有其优点与缺陷,通过对Simon有限理性学说、经济学和社会学的研究、Albin对新古典经济学根本改向作出了预言。     

情感因素的开发与英语专业蒙生英语教学

在英语教学过程中情感因素起着非常重要的作用。影响外语教学的情感因素,特别是成年学生受情感因素的影响更强。在英语专业蒙生英语教学中,教师应该充分利用情感因素,激发学生的兴趣和加强学生的学习动机,创造和谐的课堂气氛,减少焦虑,进一步加强蒙生英语教学工作。     

An interaction orientation approach to SME-Intermediaries relationships

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaging in foreign operations have drawn significant research attention in recent years. One of the aspects linked to such operations is SMEs’ expansion to foreign markets, often relying on local intermediaries. These intermediaries provide the firms with valuable resources such as market knowledge and recognition and reduce foreign operations’ costs. Hence, they are often considered as strategic partners. The current study aims to expand the existing knowledge regarding the relationships between business to business SMEs and their intermediaries by exploring interaction orientation as an organizational cultural aspect and its linkage to the trust-conflicts balance. Based on a survey of 165 international venture managers, complemented by in-depth interviews with 16 senior export managers, we found that by incorporating interaction-orientation constructs into the relationship management, SMEs can enhance affective trust while mitigating conflicts. We also reveal that the impact of emotional and task conflicts on SMEs’ performance is mediated through calculative trust, indicating the benefits of balancing between relational and formal governance.     

Testing for Serial Correlation in Fixed-Effects Panel Data Models

In this article, we propose various tests for serial correlation in fixed-effects panel data regression models with a small number of time periods. First, a simplified version of the test suggested by Wooldridge (2002) and Drukker (2003) is considered. The second test is based on the Lagrange Multiplier (LM) statistic suggested by Baltagi and Li (1995), and the third test is a modification of the classical Durbin–Watson statistic. Under the null hypothesis of no serial correlation, all tests possess a standard normal limiting distribution as N tends to infinity and T is fixed. Analyzing the local power of the tests, we find that the LM statistic has superior power properties. Furthermore, a generalization to test for autocorrelation up to some given lag order and a test statistic that is robust against time dependent heteroskedasticity are proposed.     

Attenuating focalism in affective forecasts of the commuting experience: Implications for economic decisions and policy making

Focalism is a cognitive bias that overweights the contribution of certain attributes to the consumption experience. This paper proposes that focalism afflicts choice of transport mode for commuting. A field study and two experiments provide evidence that commuting by bus is estimated to be less enjoyable than it is experienced to be and that driving to work is estimated to be more enjoyable than it is experienced to be. To the extent that commuting behavior is informed by subjective expected utility, commuters will inflict unanticipated costs on themselves and on society. Transport mode choice has external and dynamic consequences. Focalism in this domain implies welfare distortions that are worthy of policymakers’ attention. This paper develops a novel debiasing technique, Affective Averaging, that reveals and attenuates focalism in affective forecasts of commuting.     

让步连词“即使”的语法化

“即使”是一个让步连词，表假设是它的语境意义。“即使”明代初步语法化为连词，在现代汉语中基本完成语法化的过程。它由假设让步连词“即”＋使役动词“使”演变而来，大致经历了三个语法化的步骤。“即使”语法化的动因主要有句法结构、语义的变化及语用表达的影响。“即使”的语法化不是一蹴而就的，经历了语法化不断提高的过程。     

互动假说支撑下的计算机媒介交流语言学习

简介了Long的互动假说理论,从认知语言学和社会心理语言学角度就其三大要点——语言输入、对话式互动(意义协商)及语言输出——进行了全面解析,并提出了课堂讲授模式和互动假说的冲突——有限且不真实的语言输入、互动机会、语言输出及形式关注。通过对比课堂面对面交流模式和计算机媒介交流模式,引出了后者在语言输入、对话式互动(意义协商)及语言输出等方面和互动假说的高度契合,并得出如下结论:互动假说支撑下的计算机媒介交流语言学习有利于意义的解码和协商,有利于形式的关注和内化,从而有利于二语习得的发展和强化。