Not Ethnic Enough: The Cultural Identity Imperative in International Adoptions from China to Canada

Based on a qualitative research of adoptions from China to Canada, this article analyses changing attitudes and approaches to racial and ethnic differences in adoptive kinship in the last few decades. I argue that culture celebration labour over children adopted from China is shaped by the contemporary Canadian culturalist ethos, the Orientalist imagination, and the Asian model minority stereotype. The cultural identity imperative, a core component of multicultural governmentality, perceives culture as an object, demands non‐white Canadian subjects with rooted belongings, and operates in ways that sanctions and incorporates, as it depoliticises and subordinates.     

论李自成起义失败的内因

明朝末年李自成领导农民起义,经过15年的艰苦奋斗,推翻了腐败的明王朝,建立了"大顺"农民政权,但是仅仅42天就丢了江山。其中原因值得探究。马克思主义认为,内因决定事物的性质和发展方向。深层次地挖掘李自成起义失败的内因,有助于我们深刻地认识这场农民起义,并以此加深对农民阶级的阶级特征与阶级属性的认识,从而丰富农民起义史的研究。     

人间炼狱中的渡人圣者——论《萨勒姆女巫》中悲剧英雄的蜕变历程

《萨勒姆女巫》是一部因个人过失在无序的世界中丧失身份进而在更高层次上实现道德升华、完成救赎的平民悲剧。米勒开拓性地塑造了一位平民悲剧英雄并表达了积极乐观的悲剧精神,激发了观众的共鸣和心灵净化之感。该剧专注于社会改造和道德净化,力图为陷于生存困境之人提供道德启谕。笔者在总结米勒独特悲剧观的基础上从荣格个体化理论的视角分析该剧主人公向悲剧英雄蜕变的心路历程,阐释该剧现代文化背景下具有普遍意义的道德关怀,挖掘其独特艺术魅力和深刻思想主旨。     

从哲学的视角审视管理的本质——对《再问管理学——“管理学在中国”质疑》的回应

从系统论的视角,从管理的起源、管理的基本要素(主体)、组织结构(主体秩序)和管理过程(主体活动)等方面探讨了管理的本质,并指出管理是以组织为载体而存在于世的生命体的意志过程,通过适应和积极面世的实践活动以界定和实现自身;从管理活动的界定、管理价值的内在性和秩序性、组织道德层次等方面论证了管理的目的论价值;从管理的方法论、原则和管理艺术等方面论证了怎样管理.从而说明了管理是“真”、“善”、“美”的和谐统一.     

Bayesian Variable Selection Under Collinearity

In this article, we highlight some interesting facts about Bayesian variable selection methods for linear regression models in settings where the design matrix exhibits strong collinearity. We first demonstrate via real data analysis and simulation studies that summaries of the posterior distribution based on marginal and joint distributions may give conflicting results for assessing the importance of strongly correlated covariates. The natural question is which one should be used in practice. The simulation studies suggest that posterior inclusion probabilities and Bayes factors that evaluate the importance of correlated covariates jointly are more appropriate, and some priors may be more adversely affected in such a setting. To obtain a better understanding behind the phenomenon, we study some toy examples with Zellner’s g-prior. The results show that strong collinearity may lead to a multimodal posterior distribution over models, in which joint summaries are more appropriate than marginal summaries. Thus, we recommend a routine examination of the correlation matrix and calculation of the joint inclusion probabilities for correlated covariates, in addition to marginal inclusion probabilities, for assessing the importance of covariates in Bayesian variable selection.     

A randomized Baumgartner statistic for multivariate two-sample testing hypothesis

In this paper, multivariate two-sample testing problems were examined based on the Jure?ková–Kalina's ranks of distances. The multivariate two-sample rank test based on the modified Baumgartner statistic for the two-sided alternative was proposed. The proposed statistic was a randomized statistic. Simulations were used to investigate the power of the suggested statistic for various population distributions.     

Measures of Association and Visualization of Log Odds Ratio Structure for a Two Way Contingency Table

The odds ratio (OR) is a measure of association used for analysing an I × J contingency table. The total number of ORs to check grows with I and J. Several statistical methods have been developed for summarising them. These methods begin from two different starting points, the I × J contingency table and the two‐way table composed by the ORs. In this paper we focus our attention on the relationship between these methods and point out that, for an exhaustive analysis of association through log ORs, it is necessary to consider all the outcomes of these methods. We also introduce some new methodological and graphical features. In order to illustrate previously used methodologies, we consider a data table of the cross‐classification of the colour of eyes and hair of 5387 children from Scotland. We point out how, through the log OR analysis, it is possible to extract useful information about the association between variables.     

Approximating moments of continuous functions of random variables using Bernstein polynomials

Bernstein polynomials have many interesting properties. In statistics, they were mainly used to estimate density functions and regression relationships. The main objective of this paper is to promote further use of Bernstein polynomials in statistics. This includes (1) providing a high-level approximation of the moments of a continuous function $g\left(X\right)$ of a random variable $X$, and (2) proving Jensen’s inequality concerning a convex function without requiring second differentiability of the function. The approximation in (1) is demonstrated to be quite superior to the delta method, which is used to approximate the variance of $g\left(X\right)$ with the added assumption of differentiability of the function. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the application of the proposed methodology in (1).     

Adult Adoptees as Partners and Parents: The Joint Task of Revisiting the Adoption History

Adoption is unanimously considered a lifelong process, but adulthood and parenthood are life cycle stages that up to now have been explored only marginally. The principal aim of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze whether and how parenthood might lead the adoptee and his/her partner to reinterpret the adoption history and, second, to verify whether the attitudes of the two partners concerning adoption are similar or complementary. Thirty-four couples consisting of one adopted and one non-adopted partner, now parents, were interviewed and a graphic instrument, the Double Moon Test, was administered. Results revealed that most couples showed a shared attitude in valorizing both the origin background and the adoptive family. However, in a number of cases a divergent position emerged, highlighting the crucial role of the non-adopted partner in encouraging the adoptee to revisit his/her adoption history. Overall, the practical relevance of the research findings is discussed and future direction of research are suggested.     

The Heart of the Matter: Exploring Intergenerational Themes in Children’s Literature

Exploring intergenerational themes in children’s literature, this article shares the perspective of one grandfather and the reactions of educators in response to stories of young and old. Four themes found within intergenerational children’s literature are identified: (a) perceptions of grandparents’ interests and personalities, (b) passing down of knowledge, (c) shared moments/adventures, and (d) perceptions of aging. Intended as a reference point for educators as they select books depicting intergenerational themes, a question asked is, What is at the heart of the matter when it comes to children’s literature depicting themes of young and old?