加强高校以教研室为单位的基层党组织建设

面对高校教师基层党组织建设面临的新形势和建设中存在的问题,应该以改革的精神切实加强教师基层党组织建设。支部建在教研室有利于教师基层党组织发挥战斗堡垒作用,为高校的健康、快速发展提供强有力的保证。     

国际化背景下中医教育跨文化理解的障碍与策略

中医教育走向国际是中医教育发展的趋势和目标。由于中医、西医具有不同的理论体系、认知思维方式和价值观,中医教育走向国际必然面对一个重要命题：如何让外国人更准确地认知、理解、认同中医的医学、医术、医道,推动中医及其文化价值的国际传播,促进世界医学的发展。本文立足跨文化的视角,通过外国留学生的眼睛来问诊中医教育国际理解的困境与出路。     

Gluing Copulas

We present a new way of constructing n-copulas, by scaling and gluing finitely many n-copulas. Gluing for bivariate copulas produces a copula that coincides with the independence copula on some grid of horizontal and vertical sections. Examples illustrate how gluing can be applied to build complicated copulas from simple ones. Finally, we investigate the analytical as well as statistical properties of the copulas obtained by gluing, in particular, the behavior of Spearman's ρ and Kendall's τ.     

Optimal block designs for double cross experiments

ABSTRACT

This paper presents systematic methods of construction of optimal block designs for a double cross experiments for both even and odd values of “p” parental lines. The both even and odd values of designs are derived by using initial block of unreduced balanced incomplete block designs and initial block of row–column designs given by Bose et al. (1953 Bose, R.C., Shrikhande, S.S., Bhattacharya, K.N. (1953). On the construction of group divisible incomplete block design. Ann. Math. Stat. 24:167–195.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Gupta and Choi (1998 Gupta, S., Choi, K.C. (1998). Optimal row-column designs for complete diallel crosses. Commun. Stat. Theory Methods 27(11):2827–2835.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), respectively. In this attempt we have found some new universally optimal block designs for double cross experiments.     

Fast and Accurate Inference for the Smoothing Parameter in Semiparametric Models

A fast and accurate method of confidence interval construction for the smoothing parameter in penalised spline and partially linear models is proposed. The method is akin to a parametric percentile bootstrap where Monte Carlo simulation is replaced by saddlepoint approximation, and can therefore be viewed as an approximate bootstrap. It is applicable in a quite general setting, requiring only that the underlying estimator be the root of an estimating equation that is a quadratic form in normal random variables. This is the case under a variety of optimality criteria such as those commonly denoted by maximum likelihood (ML), restricted ML (REML), generalized cross validation (GCV) and Akaike's information criteria (AIC). Simulation studies reveal that under the ML and REML criteria, the method delivers a near‐exact performance with computational speeds that are an order of magnitude faster than existing exact methods, and two orders of magnitude faster than a classical bootstrap. Perhaps most importantly, the proposed method also offers a computationally feasible alternative when no known exact or asymptotic methods exist, e.g. GCV and AIC. An application is illustrated by applying the methodology to well‐known fossil data. Giving a range of plausible smoothed values in this instance can help answer questions about the statistical significance of apparent features in the data.     

Tuning Parameter Estimation in Penalized Least Squares Methodology

The efficiency of the penalized methods (Fan and Li, 2001 Fan , J. , Li , R. ( 2001 ). Variable selection via nonconcave penalized likelihood and its oracle properties . Journal of the American Statistical Association 96 : 1348 – 1360 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) depends strongly on a tuning parameter due to the fact that it controls the extent of penalization. Therefore, it is important to select it appropriately. In general, tuning parameters are chosen by data-driven approaches, such as the commonly used generalized cross validation. In this article, we propose an alternative method for the derivation of the tuning parameter selector in penalized least squares framework, which can lead to an ameliorated estimate. Simulation studies are presented to support theoretical findings and a comparison of the Type I and Type II error rates, considering the L ₁, the hard thresholding and the Smoothly Clipped Absolute Deviation penalty functions, is performed. The results are given in tables and discussion follows.     

Kinship Reconsidered: Research on a Neglected Topic

This article reviews the recent history of kinship research, noting the relative neglect of the topic in recent decades. The lack of scholarly and empirical work on kinship has been hampered by both the absence of survey and qualitative research on contemporary kinship practices. The author focuses on what is known and not known about how individual put into practice kinship in the standard, nuclear form of the family. There is surprising in attention to the ceremonial family and, little is know about how families draw boundaries and construct kinship on ritual occasions in the literature. The author concludes by suggesting research strategies for examining both how kinship is constructed and practiced in the United States and in other advanced economies.     

Decrypting cultural nuances: using drama techniques from the theatre of the oppressed to strengthen cross cultural communication in social work students

ABSTRACT

Despite widening participation in social work education in the UK, social work students from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds can find that they have less positive experiences on social work courses than their counterparts. This can happen when courses do not equip students to navigate the subtle rules of communication with service users that are premised on dominant UK values. As a consequence BME students can be assessed as having poor interpersonal skills and poor skills in engaging service users. However, the issue is often more one of cultural differences and high expectations of cultural integration than one of incompetence.

This paper reports on a drama workshop using techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed to foster awareness of the complexities of cross cultural communication that BME students may face. The workshop facilitates insight into the nuances of culturally informed values that differ from dominant UK values.

Drawing on student workshop evaluations, the authors highlight the positive use of techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed as a pro-active pedagogical approach to equipping BME students with insight and skill to circumnavigate cross cultural communication in practice and develop awareness of empowering strategies to combat negative paradigms about BME cultures.     

Indications for,and timing of,planned caesarean section: A systematic analysis of clinical guidelines

BackgroundThere has been a worldwide rise in planned caesarean sections over recent decades, with significant variations in practice between hospitals and countries. Guidelines are known to influence clinical decision-making and, potentially, unwarranted clinical variation. The aim of this study was to review guidelines for recommendations in relation to the timing and indications for planned caesarean section as well as recommendations around the process of decision-making.MethodA systematic search of national and international English-language guidelines published between 2008 and 2018 was undertaken. Guidelines were reviewed, assessed in terms of quality and extracted independently by two reviewers.FindingsIn total, 49 guidelines of varying quality were included. There was consistency between the guidelines in potential indications for caesarean section, although guidelines vary in terms of the level of detail. There was substantial variation in timing of birth, for example recommended timing of caesarean section for women with uncomplicated placenta praevia is between 36 and 39 weeks depending on the guideline. Only 11 guidelines provided detailed guidance on shared decision-making. In general, national-level guidelines from Australia, and overseas, received higher quality ratings than regional guidelines.ConclusionThe majority of guidelines, regardless of their quality, provide very limited information to guide shared decision-making or the timing of planned caesarean section, two of the most vital aspects of guidance. National guidelines were generally of better quality than regional ones, suggesting these should be used as a template where possible and emphasis placed on improving national guidelines and minimising intra-country, regional, variability of guidelines.