Local influence diagnostics for incomplete overdispersed longitudinal counts

We develop local influence diagnostics to detect influential subjects when generalized linear mixed models are fitted to incomplete longitudinal overdispersed count data. The focus is on the influence stemming from the dropout model specification. In particular, the effect of small perturbations around an MAR specification are examined. The method is applied to data from a longitudinal clinical trial in epileptic patients. The effect on models allowing for overdispersion is contrasted with that on models that do not.     

Some maximum-indifference estimators for the slope of a univariate linear model

As known, the least-squares estimator of the slope of a univariate linear model sets to zero the covariance between the regression residuals and the values of the explanatory variable. To prevent the estimation process from being influenced by outliers, which can be theoretically modelled by a heavy-tailed distribution for the error term, one can substitute covariance with some robust measures of association, for example Kendall's tau in the popular Theil–Sen estimator. In a scarcely known Italian paper, Cifarelli [(1978), ‘La Stima del Coefficiente di Regressione Mediante l'Indice di Cograduazione di Gini’, Rivista di matematica per le scienze economiche e sociali, 1, 7–38. A translation into English is available at http://arxiv.org/abs/1411.4809 and will appear in Decisions in Economics and Finance] shows that a gain of efficiency can be obtained by using Gini's cograduation index instead of Kendall's tau. This paper introduces a new estimator, derived from another association measure recently proposed. Such a measure is strongly related to Gini's cograduation index, as they are both built to vanish in the general framework of indifference. The newly proposed estimator is shown to be unbiased and asymptotically normally distributed. Moreover, all considered estimators are compared via their asymptotic relative efficiency and a small simulation study. Finally, some indications about the performance of the considered estimators in the presence of contaminated normal data are provided.     

Ordering competition: the interactional accomplishment of the sale of art and antiques at auction

Auctions provide an institutional solution to a social problem; they enable the legitimate pricing and exchange of goods where those goods are of uncertain value. In turn, auctions raise a number of social and organizational issues that are resolved within the interaction that arise in sales by auction. In this paper, we examine sales of fine art, antiques and objets d'art and explore the ways in which auctioneers mediate competition between buyers and establish a value for goods. In particular, we explore how bids are elicited, co-ordinated and revealed so as to rapidly escalate the price of goods in a transparent manner that enables the legitimate valuation and exchange of goods. In directing attention towards the significance of the social interaction, including talk, visual and material conduct, the paper contributes to the growing corpus of ethnographic studies of markets. It suggests that to understand the operation of markets and their outcomes, and to unpack issues of agency, trust and practice, we need to place the 'interaction order' at the heart of analytic agenda.     

听力显性教学"聚焦输入、强化互动"的有效性研究

以在读非英语专业本科生和硕士生为研究对象,进行大学英语听力显性教学“聚焦输入、强化互动”的有效性研究。实验数据和问卷调查结果表明:“聚焦输入、强化互动”的显性教学效果明显,多维隐性效应得到学习者充分肯定。该研究对听力教学的启示是:进行听力显性教学策略研究,听力显性教学与学习者隐性学习结合都很有必要。     

母语在外语教学中的对比功能

文章从语言的共同点出发,分析了母语与英语在语音、语法和词汇方面的特点,通过对两种语言之间三要素的对比分析,探索了母语的对比功能在外语教学中的作用,为英语教学提供可操作策略。     

Does the Euro–Mediterranean Partnership contribute to regional integration?

The paper investigates whether Southern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern markets under the Euro–Mediterranean Partnership (Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Malta, and Turkey) have become more financially integrated with the European stock market over time. The findings suggest that the Turkish equity market is moderately integrated with the European market, while the other economies exhibit weak financial integration with Europe, supporting the idea that the partnership appears to have no effect on enhancing inter-market linkages for these economies. Therefore, these markets would be good destinations for international investors seeking attractive investment opportunities to diversify their equity portfolios. Structural changes in the cross-market integration do exist, which may be considered as a guide for international equity portfolio diversification over different subperiods. In addition, there is evidence of an increasing trend in conditional correlations for Egypt and Turkey, to varying degrees, over time, notably during the post global financial crisis of 2007–2008, thus revealing herding behavior during this period. Overall, investors should be wary of the variation of equity market integration over time before engaging in an investment at the level of portfolio management and diversification. Policymakers must be aware of the remoteness of the current achievements of the Euro–Mediterranean Partnership from the targets set in terms of financial development and economic growth.     

越南濒危民族语言的现状及应对濒危语言的政策

由于交际环境变小、与其它人口多的民族杂居等原因,越南的尔都、布依、仡佬、阿连和马良等少数民族的语言正在出现逐渐消亡的危机。要保留和发展这些濒危语言,笔者认为这些民族必须得到良好的普通话(即国家通用语言)教育,以便创造与各民族进行平等交际的环境。同时,要多种形式地组织这些民族的传统文化活动,为他们使用母语进行交际创造环境。     

被扭曲的公司社会责任——兼评《公司法》第5条第1款的规定

文章从对跨国公司生产守则运动推行的实际效果的观察引入,实证分析了当公司社会责任以话语的形式占据了声音的空间时,跨国公司、供应商、工人等相关利益团体是基于何种理由,以及是如何与之互动和博弈的.进而在这一基础上反思修订后的<公司法>第5条第1款对于公司社会责任的原则性规定,并讨论了对这一现实所应持的立场.     

A new estimator of Kullback–Leibler information and its application in goodness of fit tests*

We propose here a general statistic for the goodness of fit test of statistical distributions. The proposed statistic is constructed based on an estimate of Kullback–Leibler information. The proposed test is consistent and the limiting distribution of the test statistic is derived. Then, the established results are used to introduce goodness of fit tests for the normal, exponential, Laplace and Weibull distributions. A simulation study is carried out for examining the power of the proposed test and to compare it with those of some existing procedures. Finally, some illustrative examples are presented and analysed, and concluding comments are made.