Threshold Estimation for Stochastic Processes with Small Noise

Consider a process satisfying a stochastic differential equation with unknown drift parameter, and suppose that discrete observations are given. It is known that a simple least squares estimator (LSE) can be consistent but numerically unstable in the sense of large standard deviations under finite samples when the noise process has jumps. We propose a filter to cut large shocks from data and construct the same LSE from data selected by the filter. The proposed estimator can be asymptotically equivalent to the usual LSE, whose asymptotic distribution strongly depends on the noise process. However, in numerical study, it looked asymptotically normal in an example where filter was chosen suitably, and the noise was a Lévy process. We will try to justify this phenomenon mathematically, under certain restricted assumptions.     

A formative evaluation of the recovery public works programme in Blantyre City,Malawi

Public works programmes (PWPs) are popular social protection instruments in the context of chronic poverty but very little has been published in the way of implementation and outcomes of these programmes. This paper presents a formative process and outcome evaluation of the recovery PWP in Blantyre City, Malawi. The evaluation used longitudinal household survey data of PWP beneficiaries, programme records and interview responses from programme staff and community leaders. Largely, the process evaluation findings showed an agreement between actual and planned activities. The outcome evaluation found indications that the PWP community assets offered some potential benefits to the communities, and that PWP wages allowed the beneficiaries to purchase some food. This however, did not translate into more meals per day, nor did the earnings prevent the decline in household assets as expected. Given a plausible PWP theory and high implementation fidelity, the PWP wage rate or number of days was either just enough to smooth participant income, or insufficient altogether, to enable achievement of more distal outcomes.     

Constructing a strategy map for banking institutions with key performance indicators of the balanced scorecard

This study presents a structural evaluation methodology to link key performance indicators (KPIs) into a strategy map of the balanced scorecard (BSC) for banking institutions. Corresponding with the four BSC perspectives (finance, customer, internal business process, and learning and growth), the most important evaluation indicators of banking performance are synthesized from the relevant literature and screened by a committee of experts. The Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method, a multiple criteria analysis tool, is then employed to determine the causal relationships between the KPIs, to identify the critical central and influential factors, and to establish a visualized strategy map with logical links to improve banking performance. An empirical application is provided as an example. According to the expert evaluations, the three most essential KPIs for banking performance are customer satisfaction, sales performance, and customer retention rate. The DEMATEL results demonstrate a clear road map to assist management in prioritizing the performance indicators and in focusing attention on the strategy-related activities of the crucial indicators. According to the constructed strategy map, management could better invest limited resources in the areas that need improvement most. Although these strategy maps of the BSC are not universal, the research results show that the presented approach is an objective and feasible way to construct strategy maps more justifiably. The proposed framework can be applicable to institutions in other industries as well.     

Problems and Solution for Criminal and Attached Civil Procedure on Juvenile Delinquency Cases According to

2012年修改的我国《刑事诉讼法》实施后,未成年人犯罪案件刑事附带民事诉讼中可能存在“合适成年人”无法作为民事诉讼法定代理人以维护有关未成年人民事权益、适用“当事人和解的公诉案件诉讼程序”时将被告人赔偿与否作为量刑情节而造成对被告人不公、适用“简易程序”时法官施压调解而干预阻碍被告人行使民事诉讼权利、审判人员能否兼备审理刑事案件与民事案件的专业素养等问题。为了在发挥刑事附带民事诉讼制度优点的同时一定程度上控制其缺陷所造成的不利影响,司法解释应规定在未成年人犯罪案件中,刑事附带民事诉讼制度不适用于刑事附带民事诉讼的民事部分标的金额较大的情形、被告人可能被判处较重刑罚的情形、刑事附带民事诉讼的刑事部分与民事部分审级不一致的情形、案件审理时间较长的情形。     

Vowel harmony redux: Correct sounds,English loan words,and the sociocultural life of a phonological structure in Korean1

This paper examines an ideology of standard pronunciation and spelling of English loan words in South Korea through the lens of Korean vowel harmony. I focus specifically on the alternation between an older Japanese‐style ‘a’[a] and a newer Korean‐style ‘?’[?] for the mapping of mid‐vowels from English to Korean. The opposition between ‘a’ and ‘?’ also figures into the dichotomy of vowel classes between ‘yang’ or ‘light’ vowels and ‘yin’ or ‘dark’ vowels in Korean vowel harmony. This opposition is pervasive in Korean's rich stock of denotationally iconic words (e.g. onomatopoeia), where ablaut between vowel classes produces semantic and pragmatic contrasts. I suggest that this latter structure of phonological opposition has an influence on speakers’ perceptions of vowel difference and associated values in English loan words, despite an overarching ideology of standard pronunciation that is based on assumptions about phonetic fidelity. ? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ? ??? ? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????. ??, ?? ???? ‘?’[a]? ‘?’[?]? ??(mapping)?? ?? ??? ??. ??? ?? ????? ‘?’? ?? ?? ??? ? ?????? ???? ???? ??(正音)?? ?????? ??. ?? ‘?’? ????? ???, ??? ???? ??? ????? ?(音)?? ???? ??. ???, ‘?’/‘?’? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??; ?, ??? ????? ????? ??? ??. ??, ????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??? ? ? ??. ????, ????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???. [Korean]     

浅析传统伦理思想在现代汉语教学研究中的应用--以对立词词序为例

汉语对立词词序不是任意安排的,对立词其构成分分线性排列规律和认知是与传统伦理、文化传统相一致的,即语言具有象似性。