Homophobia as a Litmus Test of Russian Democracy

An analysis by Russia's leading researcher on sexuality of how attitudes toward homosexuality have changed over time, and what this may tell us about the state of politics and democratic values in contemporary Russia.     

Societal Risk Perception and Media Coverage

The study compares societal risk ratings by inhabitants of two countries which differ markedly in terms of geography, economics, politics, and ethnic background, but which are similar as regards media coverage. The two populations were represented by a sample of French students and a sample of Burkina Faso intellectuals. The overall Burkinabè mean ratings appeared much closer to the mean observed in France (and in the United States–roughly 40 out of 100) than the means reported for other countries like Norway or Hungary. The correlation between Burkinabè and French ratings was very high:.852. The findings argue in favor of a practically totally determinant effect of the media in risk perception.     

On directional Metropolis–Hastings algorithms

New Metropolis–Hastings algorithms using directional updates are introduced in this paper. Each iteration of a directional Metropolis–Hastings algorithm consists of three steps (i) generate a line by sampling an auxiliary variable, (ii) propose a new state along the line, and (iii) accept/reject according to the Metropolis–Hastings acceptance probability. We consider two classes of directional updates. The first uses a point in ⁿ as auxiliary variable, the second an auxiliary direction vector. The proposed algorithms generalize previous directional updating schemes since we allow the distribution of the auxiliary variable to depend on properties of the target at the current state. By letting the proposal distribution along the line depend on the density of the auxiliary variable, we identify proposal mechanisms that give unit acceptance rate. When we use direction vector as auxiliary variable, we get the advantageous effect of large moves in the Markov chain and hence the autocorrelation length of the samples is small. We apply the directional Metropolis–Hastings algorithms to a Gaussian example, a mixture of Gaussian densities, and a Bayesian model for seismic data.     

Identity Crisis and Postcommunist Psychology

This article examines the effect that the recent changes in Soviet Society have had on the self-identity of its members. The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and the precipitous decline of its economy deprived individuals of the familiar guideposts that served to define their identity. The void created in the self-consciousness of ex-Soviet citizens is now being filled by nationalist ideologies which emphasize ethnic exclusiveness and suppress the universalistic identity references typical of the modern era. The argument is made that the habitual self formed during the Soviet era offers a strong resistance to change and poses serious problems for Russian reformers.     

Lag Order and Critical Values of the Augmented Dickey–Fuller Test

Response surface analysis is used to obtain approximate finite-sample critical values for the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) test. Previous studies estimating the critical values for the test have generally ignored their possible dependence on the lag order. This study shows that the lag order, in addition to the sample size, can affect the finite-sample behavior of the test. The result points to the importance of correcting for the effect of lag order in applying the ADF test.     

神性与人性的对话——藏族和古希腊关于人类起源神话之比较

藏族和古希腊关于人类起源神话都反映了“神造人”的世界性母题,体现了早期先民们对自身起源之谜的大胆探索,充满了神奇瑰丽的想象和创造精神;另外,二者都揭示了劳动与人类产生之间的密切关系,透露出强烈的人本主义色彩。作为不同文化的产物,藏族人类起源神话带有最素朴的唯物色彩,但已有后期佛教思想明显改造的痕迹,其“善”与“恶”对立统一的二元论思想构成了藏族文化哲学思维的基础;古希腊人类起源神话带有强烈的抗争精神,其精髓是西方“渎神”精神、悲剧精神的具体体现和升华。