Extending systems thinking in planning and evaluation using group concept mapping and system dynamics to tackle complex problems

Group concept mapping (GCM) has been successfully employed in program planning and evaluation for over 25 years. The broader set of systems thinking methodologies (of which GCM is one), have only recently found their way into the field. We present an overview of systems thinking emerging from a system dynamics (SD) perspective, and illustrate the potential synergy between GCM and SD. As with GCM, participatory processes are frequently employed when building SD models; however, it can be challenging to engage a large and diverse group of stakeholders in the iterative cycles of divergent thinking and consensus building required, while maintaining a broad perspective on the issue being studied. GCM provides a compelling resource for overcoming this challenge, by richly engaging a diverse set of stakeholders in broad exploration, structuring, and prioritization. SD provides an opportunity to extend GCM findings by embedding constructs in a testable hypothesis (SD model) describing how system structure and changes in constructs affect outcomes over time. SD can be used to simulate the hypothesized dynamics inherent in GCM concept maps. We illustrate the potential of the marriage of these methodologies in a case study of BECOMING, a federally-funded program aimed at strengthening the cross-sector system of care for youth with severe emotional disturbances.     

考虑异质性行为的灾后应急物资动态调度优化

在以人道主义为本的应急救援活动中，不可忽视被救灾民和施救决策者们异质性行为的影响。一方面，将各灾民因救援物资需求未被及时满足而呈现的差异化心理痛苦度量成经济损失，并纳入应急救援调度的社会成本这一决策目标中；另一方面，在灾后物资调度决策中，关注具有异质性偏好的各应急决策者所展现出的不同救援态度。结合面向联合机会约束规划的动态供需平衡限制，最终构建一个考虑灾民和决策者们异质性行为的多阶段灾后救援物资分配和应急路径优化模型。采用2008年汶川地震为案例背景，应用遗传算法对模型求解和参数分析，将仿真结果与不考虑异质性行为的传统救援调度方案进行比较，得出一些结论为构建高效的应急救援体系提供有益参考。     

Testing for Serial Independence: Beyond the Portmanteau Approach

Portmanteau tests are typically used to test serial independence even if, by construction, they are generally powerful only in presence of pairwise dependence between lagged variables. In this article, we present a simple statistic defining a new serial independence test, which is able to detect more general forms of dependence. In particular, differently from the Portmanteau tests, the resulting test is powerful also under a dependent process characterized by pairwise independence. A diagram, based on p-values from the proposed test, is introduced to investigate serial dependence. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposal is evaluated in a simulation study and with an application on financial data. Both show that the new test, used in synergy with the existing ones, helps in the identification of the true data-generating process. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

中国法治政府的演化博弈模型构建

演化博弈论在中国法治政府研究中具有很好的适用性,可以据此构建“复制动态”的中国法治政府的演化博弈模型,证明“内生演化”的法治能够从根本上解决政府“权力悖论”。中国法治政府建设需要围绕约束规范公权力的主题,确立互动平衡精神和采取渐进主义策略,以改进转型中国的法治秩序。     

桥塞坐封过程仿真模拟研究

桥塞作为井下封层技术的关键设备,由于它施工工序少、周期短、卡封位置准确而得到了广泛应用。针对设计的可钻式非金属桥塞坐封过程开展模拟研究,涉及弹塑性材料接触、超弹性材料接触和非金属材料动态断裂的非线性动力学问题,利用有限元法建立该桥塞全尺寸模型和所有部件之间的广义接触关系,通过有限元模拟动态坐封过程获得桥塞各部件运动变形特性、桥塞与套管之间的密封特性和动态坐封力等数据,该桥塞坐封完成时,坐封机构部件轴向位移110 mm,坐封力约45 kN。模拟坐封也为进一步优化该型桥塞的结构和评估坐封性能提供了理论依据,对该型桥塞的推广应用奠定了基础。     

Mixed-effects Models with Skewed Distributions for Time-varying Decay Rate in HIV Dynamics

After initiation of treatment, HIV viral load has multiphasic changes, which indicates that the viral decay rate is a time-varying process. Mixed-effects models with different time-varying decay rate functions have been proposed in literature. However, there are two unresolved critical issues: (i) it is not clear which model is more appropriate for practical use, and (ii) the model random errors are commonly assumed to follow a normal distribution, which may be unrealistic and can obscure important features of within- and among-subject variations. Because asymmetry of HIV viral load data is still noticeable even after transformation, it is important to use a more general distribution family that enables the unrealistic normal assumption to be relaxed. We developed skew-elliptical (SE) Bayesian mixed-effects models by considering the model random errors to have an SE distribution. We compared the performance among five SE models that have different time-varying decay rate functions. For each model, we also contrasted the performance under different model random error assumptions such as normal, Student-t, skew-normal, or skew-t distribution. Two AIDS clinical trial datasets were used to illustrate the proposed models and methods. The results indicate that the model with a time-varying viral decay rate that has two exponential components is preferred. Among the four distribution assumptions, the skew-t and skew-normal models provided better fitting to the data than normal or Student-t model, suggesting that it is important to assume a model with a skewed distribution in order to achieve reasonable results when the data exhibit skewness.     

Short-Term GDP Forecasting With a Mixed-Frequency Dynamic Factor Model With Stochastic Volatility

In this article, we develop a mixed frequency dynamic factor model in which the disturbances of both the latent common factor and of the idiosyncratic components have time-varying stochastic volatilities. We use the model to investigate business cycle dynamics in the euro area and present three sets of empirical results. First, we evaluate the impact of macroeconomic releases on point and density forecast accuracy and on the width of forecast intervals. Second, we show how our setup allows to make a probabilistic assessment of the contribution of releases to forecast revisions. Third, we examine point and density out of sample forecast accuracy. We find that introducing stochastic volatility in the model contributes to an improvement in both point and density forecast accuracy. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Robust Inference for Near-Unit Root Processes with Time-Varying Error Variances

The autoregressive Cauchy estimator uses the sign of the first lag as instrumental variable (IV); under independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) errors, the resulting IV t-type statistic is known to have a standard normal limiting distribution in the unit root case. With unconditional heteroskedasticity, the ordinary least squares (OLS) t statistic is affected in the unit root case; but the paper shows that, by using some nonlinear transformation behaving asymptotically like the sign as instrument, limiting normality of the IV t-type statistic is maintained when the series to be tested has no deterministic trends. Neither estimation of the so-called variance profile nor bootstrap procedures are required to this end. The Cauchy unit root test has power in the same 1/T neighborhoods as the usual unit root tests, also for a wide range of magnitudes for the initial value. It is furthermore shown to be competitive with other, bootstrap-based, robust tests. When the series exhibit a linear trend, however, the null distribution of the Cauchy test for a unit root becomes nonstandard, reminiscent of the Dickey-Fuller distribution. In this case, inference robust to nonstationary volatility is obtained via the wild bootstrap.     

大型航空制造企业技术改造项目管理新模式

技术改造及其项目管理是大型航空制造企业经营管理活动中的重要任务之一。企业通过技术 改造项目改进生产条件和生产工艺,增强军民用航空产品的研制能力。论文根据技改项目管 理的特点,运用系统动力学方法建立技改项目全生命周期动力学模型,对技改项目生命周期 的全过程进行动态仿真,为管理者提供信息和决策支持。最后,结合工作流技术的优点,建 立了基于工作流技术的技改项目管理协同平台原型     

考古学与未来:工业文明的忧虑

在从考古学角度对玛雅、复活节岛和良渚文明崩溃回顾的基础上,文章从"报酬递减"和"最省力"原理介绍了古代文明崩溃的机制,然后对现代工业文明的发展趋势表示了忧虑.文章认为,今天的地球只不过是一个放大了的玛雅低地和复活节岛.历史教训告诉我们,环境恶化总是文明崩溃的一个前提.面对当代工业文明所面临的人口激增、环境恶化和资源枯竭的严峻形势,我们应该提倡"知足最好"而非"越多越好",避免重蹈古代文明崩溃的覆辙.