An M/G/1 clearing queueing system with setup time and multiple vacations for an unreliable server

This paper studies an M/G/1 clearing queueing system with setup time and multiple vacations, in which all present customers in the system are served simultaneously and breakdowns may occur in busy or setup period. We investigate the stationary distribution of system size and the Laplace–Stieltjes transform of sojourn time. In addition, various performance measures are discussed, such as the mean system size at arbitrary time and the mean length of a vacation circle. Moreover, a cost analysis is carried out for this queueing system. Numerical results are presented to study the sensitivity of the system parameters on the expected cost function and system performances.     

国际组织与成员国法律责任多重归属问题研究

国际组织和成员国的法律责任归属问题一直以来都是国际法争论的话题。政府间国际组织作为一类国际法主体,应独立承担法律责任。但在实践中,成员国在执行国际组织决议的过程中往往滥用国际组织法律人格,其行为不仅是国际组织法律人格的体现,还代表了自己的意志,造成法律责任归属不明。以此种争议情形为研究对象,结合1999年的使用武力合法性案,2007年欧洲人权法院的拜拉米案和萨拉马提(Behrami/Saramati)案、阿尔吉达(Al-Jedda)案以及2014年海牙法院关于斯雷布雷尼察(Srebrenica)诉荷兰案的相关判决,借鉴国外学者近几年的相关研究,认为应当坚持国际组织和成员国法律责任的多重归属。围绕责任多重归属原则的确立过程,通过对2011年《国际组织责任条款草案》相关条文的分析,明确了行为归属与责任归属的关系:只有确定行为归属之后,才能确定责任归属;为了最终确定责任的多重归属,提出以有效控制为标准认定行为归属,并明确这种有效控制是对具体行为的事实控制。     

论成品油定价机制中的有限规制：基于合谋的视角

利用单期静态博弈分析法、有限期动态博弈分析法和无限期动态博弈分析法对成品油定价机制中寡头厂商的合谋行为进行了分析。研究发现：两家寡头厂商在合谋条件下的收益均高于双方各自独立定产条件下的收益，因此，双方存在进行价格合谋的利益激励。基于此，我国成品油价格形成机制的改革可以考虑采用有限规制等手段。     

网络环境下的图书馆文献典藏——从民初笔记野史《乌蒙秘闻》说起

由于网络数字技术的冲击,大量久藏深闺的文献资料流布天下,偶有引起认识或研究的混乱。《乌蒙秘闻》一书是许指严在民初"反满"思想的影响下,为生计考虑,以清初滇东北改土归流为背景创作的一篇传奇小说,本不足信。但网络上却较常见,有称"中外名著"的,有称"重要资料"的,还出现了专门的词条,这就对当前承担公共服务的图书馆等部门提出了新的要求和任务。     

On the survival time of a repairable duplex system sustained by a cold standby unit subjected to a priority rule

We analyze the survival time of a general duplex system sustained by a cold standby unit subjected to a priority rule. The analysis is based on advanced complex function theory (sectionally holomorphic functions). As an example, we consider Weibull–Gnedenko and Erlang distributions for failure and repair. Several graphs are displaying the survival function.     

Asymptotically optimal shrinkage estimates for non-normal data

Motivated by several practical issues, we consider the problem of estimating the mean of a p-variate population (not necessarily normal) with unknown finite covariance. A quadratic loss function is used. We give a number of estimators (for the mean) with their loss functions admitting expansions to the order of p ^?1/2 as p→∞. These estimators contain Stein's [Inadmissibility of the usual estimator for the mean of a multivariate normal population, in Proceedings of the Third Berkeley Symposium in Mathematical Statistics and Probability, Vol. 1, J. Neyman, ed., University of California Press, Berkeley, 1956, pp. 197–206] estimate as a particular case and also contain ‘multiple shrinkage’ estimates improving on Stein's estimate. Finally, we perform a simulation study to compare the different estimates.     

Negotiating Tensions between Methodology and Procedural Ethics

In this commentary, I consider what can go wrong in research when tensions arise between methodology and procedural ethics. I recount difficulties negotiating and implementing a participant recruitment strategy during my doctoral research project, which aimed to explore the experiences of people affected by dementia in the United Kingdom who were disengaged from services. To access this hard-to-reach population, I intended to adopt an informal recruitment strategy, snowball sampling from personal contacts and striking up conversations in public places. The procedural ethics committee were unhappy with this approach, deeming it potentially coercive. They suggested a more formal recruitment strategy enacted via emailing community organisations and churches. This approach entailed practical consequences that ultimately weakened the study sample, data and findings. This case raises questions about the negotiation of tensions between methodology and procedural ethics in gerontological research.     

Access to justice for Aboriginal People in the Northern Territory

This article discusses research in the Northern Territory on Aboriginal civil and family law needs. It is based on focus group discussions and interviews with legal services providers and other associated organisations. The article argues that key areas of legal need involve discrimination, housing, child protection, social security, credit/debt and consumer law problems. It further argues that welfare conditionality, particularly as embodied in the NT Intervention and subsequent Stronger Futures policies, has exacerbated the need for legal assistance and advocacy for Aboriginal people.     

反腐倡廉效率评估:方法选择与指标构建

对反腐倡廉建设开展效率评估,不仅有利于改进和提升反腐倡廉的效率,推进反腐倡廉建设科学化的进程,还能为反腐倡廉形势评估开辟一个独特的视角。文章在综述国内反腐倡廉建设评估研究的基础上,提出了反腐倡廉效率评估的必要性;并基于反腐倡廉建设目标与特点分析,论证了数据包络分析方法对反腐倡廉效率评估的适用性;参照学术界已有的成果,结合实践逻辑构建了反腐倡廉效率评估指标体系;阐述了数据包络分析的模型选择及运算过程。     

Cultural metaphors as means to contextualised understanding of child and childhood

The conceptualizations about children and childhoods enrich our understanding of adult–child interactions, educational practice, policy and child-welfare interventions. This study explored 42 cultural metaphors drawn from diverse socio-economic, geographical and linguistic settings to construct Indian childhoods. The paper reports an interpretative analysis of reconstructions leading to a typology of metaphors-in-use. The conceptual-analytical exercise helped unpack nuances and contextual meanings of metaphors. The paper argues for richness and subtlety in theorising childhoods, which is multilayered, situated and intertwined with contextual issues and tensions. The study offers methodological, pedagogical and conceptual insights and proposes possibilities for using cultural tools into inquiring childhoods.