Discussing Global Issues Through Contemporary Art

Contemporary global issues can be examined through the lens of modern photographic art. In an effort to prepare global-ready graduates, this article explores the pressing problems of environmental degradation, urbanization, and homelessness through the work of three contemporary artists. Illustrative works, suggested approaches, and curriculum resources are provided.     

Influence of Female Genital Cutting on Sexual Experience in Southern Ethiopia

Female genital cutting (FGC) is a persistent social norm in the Liben district of southern Ethiopia. This study explores whether the sexual experiences of married men and women differ by women's FGC status. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 women with different types of FGC (or no FGC) and 21 husbands. Compared to others, women with more severe FGC reported traumatic sexual experiences and decreased sexual desire. Nonetheless, participants largely endorsed FGC for daughters, revealing pressure to maintain the practice. Opportunities for change exist, as women and men recognized the sexual pleasure and healthy birth experiences of uncut women.     

Riemann manifold Langevin methods on stochastic volatility estimation

In this article, we perform Bayesian estimation of stochastic volatility models with heavy tail distributions using Metropolis adjusted Langevin (MALA) and Riemman manifold Langevin (MMALA) methods. We provide analytical expressions for the application of these methods, assess the performance of these methodologies in simulated data, and illustrate their use on two financial time series datasets.     

The effect of different data structures,sample sizes on model fit measures

In this study, our aim was to investigate the changes of different data structures and different sample sizes on the structural equation modeling and the influence of these factors on the model fit measures. Examining the created structural equation modeling under different data structures and sample sizes, the evaluation of model fit measures were performed with a simulation study. As a result of the simulation study, optimization and negative variance estimation problems have been encountered depending on the sample size and changing correlations. It was observed that these problems disappeared either by increasing the sample size or the correlations between the variables in factor. For upcoming studies, the choice of RMSEA and IFI model fit measures can be suggested in all sample sizes and the correlation values for data sets are ensured the multivariate normal distribution assumption.     

Optimal and lead-in adaptive allocation for binary outcomes: A comparison of Bayesian methods

We compare posterior and predictive estimators and probabilities in response-adaptive randomization designs for two- and three-group clinical trials with binary outcomes. Adaptation based upon posterior estimates are discussed, as are two predictive probability algorithms: one using the traditional definition, the other using a skeptical distribution. Optimal and natural lead-in designs are covered. Simulation studies show that efficacy comparisons lead to more adaptation than center comparisons, though at some power loss, skeptically predictive efficacy comparisons and natural lead-in approaches lead to less adaptation but offer reduced allocation variability. Though nuanced, these results help clarify the power-adaptation trade-off in adaptive randomization.     

Bayesian expectile regression with asymmetric normal distribution

In this paper, we adopt the Bayesian approach to expectile regression employing a likelihood function that is based on an asymmetric normal distribution. We demonstrate that improper uniform priors for the unknown model parameters yield a proper joint posterior. Three simulated data sets were generated to evaluate the proposed method which show that Bayesian expectile regression performs well and has different characteristics comparing with Bayesian quantile regression. We also apply this approach into two real data analysis.     

Who needs Cantonese,who speaks? Whispers across mountains,delta, and waterfronts

This essay digs into the ‘dirtiness’ of cultural studies to prioritize praxis, or as the way my mountain folks collect summer lotus: putting our feet in the muddy water, and finding ways to get the stems underneath the smooth leaves. Using Cantoneseness as a case to locate such ‘dirtiness’, I draw on personal/familial histories as well as research projects to tell how conjunctures of Cantoneseness are politically and unevenly lived. This complex journey travels roughly from my childhood in the Yuebei mountains of northern Guangdong through my teenage and early adult years in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) to my current location as a temporary resident in the East Pacific port of Vancouver. I selectively emphasize and speak on three different locations: first, the rural inland Cantonese location of Yuebei mountains – the borderland and hinterland experiences of my family and myself living what the mountains would offer and how these have changed; second, the industrial superior Cantonese location of PRD in Shenzhen and Guangzhou – my personal experiences and identities as a migrant youth, combined with a case study including interviews with migrant peasant-workers and their children; and third, the western transnational Cantonese location of East Pacific waterfronts in Vancouver and Richmond – my personal engagement with social activism as an ethnicized, international student, combined with a narrative study including interviews with social activists with different Cantoneseness and migration routes. While this mix of whispers speaks in its own way towards using cultural studies with more seriously (global) space-sensitive and (social justice) praxis-sensitive approaches, the primary focus is more modestly on my autobiographical accounts and research efforts as a specific case: to show some strategic locations of ‘Cantonescape’ on the one hand, and to invite wider conversations around cultural-spatial politics on the other.     

论植甄隐情为古诗背景的接受——木斋学说的情爱革命

木斋关于五言诗研究,以古诗十九首为曹植甄后爱情结果的立论最受到争议。个中原因除了传统文化对政治的依附造成在文学作品解读与评断上以国家政治为显而男女之情为隐的情形之外,历来文学史对古诗十九首纯诗化的美学接受亦是对此种学说的挑战。木斋学说不仅是在思考方式、研究方法上的革命,更是一种对于社会、政治、人性精神上价值观的思想革命。     

麦尔维尔创作中的通俗小说手法

随着后现代文艺思潮的盛行,严肃小说和通俗小说界限的消失,对麦尔维尔的研究也不再囿于传统的束缚.从麦尔维尔作品中采用的通俗小说手法入手,尤其是对其在具体作品中采用的讽刺冒险、哥特、城市暴露和言情等通俗小说模式逐一论述.麦尔维尔在创作中吸纳诸多的通俗手法,不只是为了取悦读者,更多的是为了实现自己的创作理念、形成自己独特的创作风格,从而在更深、更高的层次上实现与读者的心灵沟通.     

大学生危机教育刍议

大学生危机教育,是一个由对"非典"的反思提出的崭新课题,目的在于引导学生直面自然和社会的危机,提高应对能力。作者阐述了大学生危机教育的内容,即危机意识教育、应对危机的知识与技能教育、心理健康教育、法律与纪律教育、社会责任感教育和民族精神教育,并提出了实施的基本途径。