On the accuracy of the bootstrap approximation of the joint distribution of sample quantiles

It is proved that the accuracy of the bootstrap approximation of the joint distribution of sample quantiles lies between O(n^?1/4) and O(n^?1/4 a_n), where (log(n))1/2=O(a_n). As an application, we investigated confidence intervals based on the bootstrap.     

欧洲主权债务危机与欧元的前景

由美国次贷危机引发的全球性金融危机对欧洲大陆的冲击使欧洲长期积累的财政和债务问题逐步转变为主权债务危机。欧债危机的持续发酵主要是由欧元区内货币政策与财政政策脱节、高社会福利与低经济增长矛盾以及危机爆发后救助迟缓、乏力等因素导致的,同时它也是欧元区在建立之初就一直存在的严重的结构性缺陷所带来危害的集中体现。欧债危机对欧元区的稳定造成了极大冲击,给欧元未来的命运蒙上了一层阴影。欧元区未来的结局可能是促使欧债危机国家退出欧元区,而这对欧洲一体化进程则是沉重的打击。     

Expert Systems

Summary

Expert systems are computer programs which embody the expertise of a human expert in order to consult and advise on a specific problem. It is now becoming feasible to apply expert systems technology to problems in the human services. This article describes what expert systems technology is and how it may be applied in human service practice. Finally, some of the promises and pitfalls of this new technology are addressed.     

The green leaves of love: Japanese romantic heroines,authentic femininity,and dialect1

How is ‘authentic’ linguistic femininity in Japan manifested in popular texts? We analyze the dialogue of female characters in Wakaba, a 2005 Japanese drama set in two very different parts of ‘regional’ Japan – Miyazaki and Kobe. Through this analysis, we examine two contradictory discourses circulated through popular media. The first is that linguistic femininity is based in Standard Japanese – a surprisingly persistent ideology despite a current trend to examine cases in which language ideology and practice do not match. Other studies reflect another dominant discourse, that of the ‘authentic’ dialect speaker, who expresses local alignment by using dialect forms outside the bounds of ideologically modern linguistic forms. The tension between acting linguistically feminine and ‘authentically’ local raises some interesting questions for Japanese language and gender studies, including studies of gendered representations: are women who are speakers of regional dialects authentically ‘feminine’? Can they be? Do some dialects express femininity better than others?     

The Joint Distribution of the Sum and the Maximum of IID Exponential Random Variables

The authors establish the joint distribution of the sum X and the maximum Y of IID exponential random variables. They derive exact formuli describing the random vector (X, Y), including its joint PDF, CDF, and other characteristics; marginal and conditional distributions; moments and related parameters; and stochastic representations leading to further properties of infinite divisibility and self-decomposability. The authors also discuss parameter estimation and include an example from climatology that illustrates the modeling potential of this new bivariate model.     

Functional sliced inverse regression analysis

Most of the usual multivariate methods have been extended to the context of functional data analysis. Our contribution concerns the study of sliced inverse regression (SIR) when the response variable is real but the regressor is a function. In the first part, we show how the relevant properties of SIR remain essentially the same in the functional context under suitable conditions. Unfortunately, the estimation procedure used in the multivariate case cannot be directly transposed to the functional one. Then, we propose a solution that overcomes this difficulty and we show the consistency of the estimates of the parameters of the model.     

A class of weighted normal distributions and its variants useful for inequality constrained analysis

This article develops a class of the weighted normal distributions for which the probability density function has the form of a product of a normal density and a weight function. The class constitutes marginal distributions obtained from various kinds of doubly truncated bivariate normal distributions. This class of distributions strictly includes the normal, skew–normal and two-piece skew–normal and is useful for selection modelling and inequality constrained normal mean analysis. Some distributional properties and Bayesian perspectives of the class are given. Probabilistic representation of the distributions is also given. The representation is shown to be straightforward to specify distribution and to implement computation, with output readily adapted for required analysis. Necessary theories and illustrative examples are provided.     

论“与时俱进”的理论内涵

江泽民同志在"七一"讲话中指出:与时俱进是马克思主义的理论品质。这一科学论断既是对马克思主义科学性的新概括,更是对其理论创新的实质要求。它强调了坚持、运用和发展马克思主义一定要以变化着的社会实践为根本价值参照;一定要敢于和善于解放自己、否定自己;强调了理论创新的基本原则是求立性、升级性和单维指向性。     

Representing knowledge: instances of management information

Against the backdrop of discussions about the 'Information Society', the 'Informational Economy' and the role of IT in realizing organizational change we examine how representations of 'organizational knowledge' are constructed and used in work settings. We do this through the explication of ethnographic materials that detail the realization and use of Management Information (MI) in a major UK retail bank undergoing massive organizational change. We focus in particular on explicating how existing metric information was drawn upon to construct a representation of the work of the bank for those involved in managing that work. Systems designers have been increasingly interested in offering ways of conceptualizing the problem of 'knowledge' with a view to embedding these properties in systems. In the quest to develop representations of procedural knowledge to support work we argue that it is first necessary to understand how representations are actually created and used in work to support existing work practices.     

Private Action for Public Good?: The Public Role of Voluntary Sector Organizations

Voluntary sector organizations claim to be private institutions acting for the public good. However, if the concept of public is disengaged from the state and connected instead to citizenship, VSOs can be shown to have both private and public origins, as well as private and public impacts. As citizens, VSOs are public organizations serving the public good through their purported representation of the people and civic leadership. The legitimacy of their assumption of these public roles remains a continuing challenge.