Ethnic inequality,cultural distance,and social integration: evidence from a native-settler conflict in the Philippines

A key debate in studies of native-migrant relations relates to the barriers to integration created by ethno-cultural differences and socio-economic disadvantage. How do changes in socio-economic inequality between ethnic groups affect interethnic ties in a divided society? I investigate this question by analysing the effect of ethnic inequality on the evolution of cross-ethnic marriages in a society fractured by conflict between natives and settlers. I find the effect is contingent on the ethnic group. Certain groups intermarry more in response to reductions in socio-economic disadvantage; others, however, remain indifferent. I suggest the difference relates to cultural distance. Specifically, I point to differences between groups in the power of the norms and sanctions regulating members’ social interactions outside of the group. These ‘closure’ norms interpose an ethno-cultural distance. I establish these findings with field interviews and census data on over six million marriages in Mindanao, an ethnically diverse region in the southern Philippines and location of an insurgency waged by rebels, drawn from the native Muslim Moro population, resentful of the influx of Christian settlers. I find Moro intermarriage unresponsive to socio-economic equalisation and suggest the strength of their ethno-cultural norms, derived from their ethno-religious identification, accounts for their distinctive response.     

On minimum Hellinger distance estimation

Efficiency and robustness are two fundamental concepts in parametric estimation problems. It was long thought that there was an inherent contradiction between the aims of achieving robustness and efficiency; that is, a robust estimator could not be efficient and vice versa. It is now known that the minimum Hellinger distance approached introduced by Beran [R. Beran, Annals of Statistics 1977;5:445–463] is one way of reconciling the conflicting concepts of efficiency and robustness. For parametric models, it has been shown that minimum Hellinger estimators achieve efficiency at the model density and simultaneously have excellent robustness properties. In this article, we examine the application of this approach in two semiparametric models. In particular, we consider a two‐component mixture model and a two‐sample semiparametric model. In each case, we investigate minimum Hellinger distance estimators of finite‐dimensional Euclidean parameters of particular interest and study their basic asymptotic properties. Small sample properties of the proposed estimators are examined using a Monte Carlo study. The results can be extended to semiparametric models of general form as well. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 37: 514–533; 2009 © 2009 Statistical Society of Canada     

On compounded geometric distributions and their applications

Here, we introduce two-parameter compounded geometric distributions with monotone failure rates. These distributions are derived by compounding geometric distribution and zero-truncated Poisson distribution. Some statistical and reliability properties of the distributions are investigated. Parameters of the proposed distributions are estimated by the maximum likelihood method as well as through the minimum distance method of estimation. Performance of the estimates by both the methods of estimation is compared based on Monte Carlo simulations. An illustration with Air Crash casualties demonstrates that the distributions can be considered as a suitable model under several real situations.     

A performance counterexample of Billor–Chatterjee–Hadi procedure and an improvement proposal for robust regression

The BCH procedure introduced by Billor, Chatterjee, and Hadi for fitting linear models was found to be inefficient for y-outliers in the presence of a high perturbation level. We propose to modify the first step of the BCH procedure, so that the robust distances are computed on the matrix Z = (y, X) of the basic subset. The performance of the present note procedure (PNP), as compared to the BCH procedure and the ordinary least-square (OLS) method, was studied by processing several datasets used in the literature for robust regression and by performing a Monte Carlo experiment. PNP performs better particularly with datasets having high perturbation.     

远程英语课外阅读训练中的教师反馈效果研究

通过实证研究的方法,探讨了课外阅读训练中教师的反馈对远程学生的英语阅读能力的影响。实验进行了两个学期,将77名学生分入实验组和对照组,对比有教师反馈和无教师反馈的阅读训练对学生的英语阅读能力的影响。研究发现,这两种方法对学生的阅读能力的影响有显著的差异,学生完全自主的训练方式不能产生正面的效果,而有教师反馈的课外阅读训练可以对远程学生的阅读能力产生更加积极的影响。     

中国物流业环境全要素生产率增长研究——基于MML生产率指数的实证分析

将能源消耗引入投入变量, 以碳排放为副产出, 运用基于松弛测度(SBM)的方向性距离函数, 构造共同边界—曼奎斯特—卢恩伯格(MML)生产率指数, 测度2003—2012年中国30个省份的物流业环境全要素生产率。研究表明:中国物流业的环境全要素生产率增长缓慢, 增长动力主要源于技术进步, 能源、劳动力、资本等生产要素的利用效率无明显改善, 物流业存在高能耗、高投入、增加值产出低、污染排放高的现象。中国东部、中部、西部地区存在明显的技术落差, 东部地区依靠技术进步处于潜在技术前沿, 西部地区形成了对东部地区的追赶效应, 但中部地区与技术前沿的落差逐渐拉大。认为, 大力提高生产要素的利用效率, 加快东部地区向中部、西部地区的技术转移与扩散, 应成为物流业发展的重点。     

对中美“直接请求”言语行为的跨文化分析

本文以“直接请求”言语行为为讨论对象,从社会距离和相对权势这两个角度来比较中美“直接请求”言语行为的异同之处,并以两国不同的文化价值观为出发点对这两者的异同处进行讨论解释。     

广东经济地理特征与区域一体化发展对策探究

改革开放三十年来,广东省作为改革开放的排头兵经济迅速发展,但区域间的发展差距也不断扩大。运用《2009年世界发展报告——重塑世界经济地理》一书中的政策分析框架,描述并分析广东省经济地理的基本特征,在此基础上对如何重塑广东的经济地理,实现区域发展一体化,提出政策建议。     

再造乌托邦－－谈《无风之树》的叙述人称特色

《无风之树》无论是对人性的挖掘与表现,还是对生命现象的体悟与思考,或就艺术表现技巧而言,都堪称精品.而其中叙事人称的设置尤其引人注目,小说采用了两种叙事人称的交替第一人称(我)与第三人称(他),从而形成了两种叙事形态."我"承担了十二个人物角色,"他"承担了一个人物角色,而十二个第一人称(我)与一个第三人称(他)又处处显示出"触目惊心"的对立.在中国当代小说中,类似李锐这样设置如此众多叙述者的文本是极为罕见的,李锐以自己这种个性化的书写方式使得《无风之树》在当代文坛上独树一帜.     

文学“终结论”与“距离说”——兼谈当前文学的危机

西方学者提出的文学“终结论”命题引入我国,引起关于当前文学危机的讨论。德里达把文学“终结”的原因归结为“距离”的消失,颇具启发意义。对“文学即距离”应如何理解?文学“终结论”与“距离说”之间究竟具有怎样的内在关联性?当前文学的危机究竟何在?文章对这些问题作了进一步思考探讨。