Use of ranks in probability propoetional to size sampling

Use of ranks in unequal probability sampling is examined for sample selection, stratification as well as determining the strata boundaries. A few sampling schemes are proposed and investigated, For samples of size two, two sampling schemes and their 1PPS versions are discussed, An extension of these schemes to general sample sizes is outlined. Nonnegative unbiased variance estimators are proposed in each case, An empirical comparison is included.     

畸于人而侔于天——生命哲学视域下《庄子》中的“畸人”之德及其美学意义

《庄子》中的“畸人”,畸于人而同于天。畸人内德充实,生命力顽强,与神人、至人等理想人格形成互补关系。“畸人”之德,其一,以道为宗,师法自然;其二,超越形骸,忘怀生死;其三,具有以“畸”为用、以无用为大用的生存智慧,与物为春,与时俱化;其四,“独”,保持精神和人格的独立和自由。他们游方之外,以醒世者的姿态批判礼俗社会对生命和人性自由的框限,反对对人的同质化和标准化要求。庄子借“畸人”形象,一方面开创了对后世影响深远的“审丑”美学;另一方面展示了丰富的生命哲学意涵,期待人们能跳出成心和定见的思维惯性,对生命作平等观照,从而实现精神的超越和独立。     

Seroadaptive Strategies of Vancouver Gay and Bisexual Men in a Treatment as Prevention Environment

British Columbia’s treatment as prevention policy has provided free access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to all HIV-positive provincial residents since 1996. One outcome is an increase in HIV-positive gay and bisexual men (GBM) with suppressed viral loads. Previous cross-sectional analyses indicated that some Vancouver GBM now recognize condomless anal sex with men on HAART who report a suppressed viral load as a seroadaptive strategy. To test the hypothesis that this new strategy, termed viral load sorting (VLS), is recognized and used among by GBM in the Momentum Health Study, we analyzed longitudinal data for HIV-negative/unknown (n = 556) and HIV-positive (n = 218) serostatus participants. Analyses indicated that both groups reported VLS, and that serostatus and Treatment Optimism Scale scores were significant determinants in frequency and use. Results exemplify the medicalization of sex and Rogers’ Diffusion Of Preventative Innovations Model, and they have important implications for HIV research and GBM sexual decision-making.     

The Use of Telematics Devices to Improve Automobile Insurance Rates

Most automobile insurance databases contain a large number of policyholders with zero claims. This high frequency of zeros may reflect the fact that some insureds make little use of their vehicle, or that they do not wish to make a claim for small accidents in order to avoid an increase in their premium, but it might also be because of good driving. We analyze information on exposure to risk and driving habits using telematics data from a pay‐as‐you‐drive sample of insureds. We include distance traveled per year as part of an offset in a zero‐inflated Poisson model to predict the excess of zeros. We show the existence of a learning effect for large values of distance traveled, so that longer driving should result in higher premiums, but there should be a discount for drivers who accumulate longer distances over time due to the increased proportion of zero claims. We confirm that speed limit violations and driving in urban areas increase the expected number of accident claims. We discuss how telematics information can be used to design better insurance and to improve traffic safety.     

Strategy as engagement: What organization strategy can learn from military strategy

Strategy process and practice research has illuminated the internal dynamics of strategy work – at the cost of backgrounding processes and practices that relate to engagement with external actors. In this conceptual paper, we argue for an extension of this body of work by shifting the focus of research from internal practices and processes towards externally oriented practices of engagement. We do so by critically building on the military strategy literature and develop the concept of strategy as engagement. This concept suggests understanding the role of strategy as bridge between policy and tactics; the importance of grand strategy as the making of policy; and the need to focus attention on tactics as distributed collective action. Thus, we contribute to strategy process and practice research through 1) extending its repertoire to practices of engagement and 2) broadening its epistemic foundation through a critical reading of military strategy.     

Ghosted Images: Old Lesbians on Screen

Screen images of old lesbians combine modes of representing female gender, lesbian sexuality, and old age, all of which contain layers of otherness within a hetero-patriarchal and youth-centered society. Analyzing a range of films, from independent to mainstream cinema, this article explores how the ghosted lesbian paradigm intersects with narratives of aging as decline in representations of lesbian characters who are over the age of sixty. The spectral matters of illness, death, mourning, and widowhood inevitably culminate in an unhappy ending. Removed from a lesbian community context, intergenerational continuity vanishes and the old lesbian emerges as the cultural other.     

Is statistics too difficult?

By means of several historical examples, it is shown that it does not appear to be easy to build bridges between rigorous mathematics and reasonable data-analytic procedures for scientific measurements. After mentioning both some positive and some negative aspects of statistics, a formal framework for statistics is presented which contains the concept formation, derivation of results and interpretation of mathematical statistics as three essential steps. The difficulties especially of interpretation are shown for examples in several areas of statistics, such as asymptotics and robustness. Some problems of statistics in two subject-matter sciences are discussed, and a summary and outlook are given.     

胡适“自叙传”说与20世纪红学

传统史学意义上的“自传”观念是胡适、顾颉刚、俞平伯、周汝昌等考证派学者进行《红楼梦》考证的基本信念。这种实录观念忽略了历史研究者的主体性和历史性,不恰当地把小说情节反过来当成历史考证的证据。而周绍良等的“二书合成”说将导致红学的转向,使红学突破机械的现实主义价值模式,从而关注于作家对意象的营造、主体性的呈现。     

刑事附带民事诉讼中的精神损害赔偿问题研究

保护公民的精神权利不受侵害是我国法律的神圣职责,我国的民事法律对精神损害予以认可和支持,但在刑事附带民事诉讼中却不允许受害人提出精神损害赔偿请求。我国目前精神损害赔偿存在受害人权益无法保证与加害人责任过重之间的矛盾。在司法实践中确定精神损害赔偿金额,需要了解被害人在案件中具体受到伤害的程度和加害人的情况。建立精神损害赔偿制度,需要对现行的司法解释做出相关修改,给予被害人程序选择的权利,建立健全国家赔偿制度,为被害人提供更加可靠、更加人性的法律保障。     

当代西方城市的病症：论《星期六》中的疾病隐喻

当代英国小说家伊恩·麦克尤恩的《星期六》从一名神经外科医生的视角进行了大量的疾病书写,进而对21世纪的英国城市现状做出诊断。从桑塔格的疾病隐喻理论入手,将小说的疾病书写置于当代西方的城市语境中,探讨疾病所影射的社会文化问题。小说中的欣快症和阿兹海默症的隐喻反映了当代城市文化的缺陷,而被污名化的亨廷顿舞蹈症成了城市对部分人群“他者化”的同谋,反映了城市主流人群对他者的恐惧和偏见。文章洞察出麦克尤恩对城市救赎之路的思考：他认为共情是治愈城市痼疾的可能途径,城市人应从疾病隐喻中抽离,不仅是为了减轻自身的焦虑,更是为了能和不同群体产生对话的可能,从而构建和谐健康的城市。