Finding environmentally important industry clusters: Multiway cut approach using nonnegative matrix factorization

This paper proposes an optimal combinatorial method for finding groups of industries with relatively large CO₂ emissions through industrial relations. Using an economic input–output table, we estimated a non-symmetric matrix describing how much CO₂ is emitted in producing the commodity of industry i, which was purchased to produce commodity of industry j, to meet the final demand for a specific commodity. A symmetric strength of relations matrix describing the CO₂ emissions associated with the industrial relations was further estimated using the non-symmetric matrix. The strength of relations matrix can be viewed as a representation of the supply-chain network of the final commodity. In this study, we estimated the strength of relations matrix associated with the final demand for automobiles and applied the multiway cut approach using nonnegative matrix factorization to the matrix in order to find environmentally important industry clusters in the Japanese automobile supply chain. According to our empirical results, the optimal number of industry clusters is 19, and 4 industry clusters are playing a key role in CO₂ emission reduction.     

东汉末年的荆州与诸葛亮、王肃

东汉末年的荆州,兴起了具有与此前儒教不同特点的新儒教－荆州学。它的形成不仅缘于宋忠、綦毋闿等刘表集团的内部成员,同时也包括了司马徽、庞德公等在野的名士。在这样广泛的交友关系中成立的荆州学到底具有怎样的特征。又是为何诞生于荆州？修习了荆州学的诸葛亮在刘备处仕官,最终在蜀汉建国过程中起到了重大作用。荆州学又在诸葛亮的思想里占据了怎样的地位？此外,在经学上师承宋忠的王肃对汉代经学的集大成者郑玄进行了全面的否定和批判。荆州学是经过了怎样的演变才出现了王肃反郑的现象？     

Source decomposition of changes in income inequality: the integral-based approach and its approximation by the chained Shapley-value approach

This paper proposes source decomposition of the change in income inequality between two time points using the integral-based approach (IBA) and the (chained) Shapley-value approach as its approximation. In comparison to static Shapley-value decompositions and traditional decompositions for the square of the coefficient of variation and the Gini index, the new dynamic Shapley-value approach is intuitively appealing as a decomposition procedure for changes in inequality. It is expected to yield relatively small differences among various inequality measures, essentially maintaining consistency with income source classification. Path dependency, a possible drawback of the new decompositions, is not expected to be a particular problem in the usual cases. The properties are illustrated for application to the increase in US family income inequality during 1979–1996. In this empirical study, the new decompositions showed a tendency that was clearly different from those of the existing decompositions, indicating that the proposed procedures shed new light on analysis of the causes of inequality changes. An extension to incorporate other factors such as family structure is also successful without loss of the desirable properties.     

ON PREDICTING COMPUTATIONAL TIME OF A BRANCH AND BOUND ALGORITHM FOR THE ASSIGNMENT OF FACILITIES

Experience with branch and bound algorithms indicates that computational time is a function of not only the size of the problem, but also the nature of the input data. This paper formulates statistically-based variables which describe certain characteristics of the input data and experimentally evaluates their ability to predict computational time for one branch and bound algorithm, the relative location of facilities or “plant layout” problem. Results suggest that the described experimental procedure may be useful for an a priori assessment of the computational difficulty of specific branch and bound problems.     

李大钊早期思想中的日本因素——以茅原华山为例

李大钊早期著作充满着复杂性和神秘性。长期以来,有很多学者提出了各种各样的解释来试图阐明他早期思想的特色及来源。笔者经过考察发现,对李大钊的早期思想产生最大最直接影响的是日本评论家茅原华山的一系列著作。更具体地说,以《青春》为代表的李大钊著作所表现出的时间观、历史观、文明观,是直接受了茅原华山的《悲壮精神》、《人类生活史》及其主办的《第三帝国》杂志的影响。李大钊早期著作所具有的茫漠及难解,也只是所依据的茅原华山著作的茫漠性及难解性的反映。李大钊的早期思想与茅原华山的奇异交错,给我们分析中国1910年代思想史提供了一个有利的暗示,即1910年代的中国知识分子卷入到同时代的世界思潮中,并与世界思潮紧紧结合在一起。     

Japan's financing system for health care of the elderly

The multiplicity of Japan's health insurance system fails to achieve equality among the different insurance groups of the sharing of the financial burden. This "horizontal" inequality is effectively offset by a unique redistribution mechanism established in 1982. However, there is no reserve fund so that savings can be accumulated for the greater financial need in the future. This will inevitably lead to a heavier financial burden for the future working generation or more utilization of the personal assets of the elderly. How to achieve "vertical" or intergenerational equality in financing the cost of health care for the elderly is the biggest social policy challenge for Japan.     

Decomposition of gini and multivariate gini indices

A new type of decomposition by population subgroup is proposed for the Gini inequality index. The decomposition satisfies the completely identical distribution (CID) condition, whereby the between-group inequality is null if and only if the distribution within each subgroup is identical to all the others. Thus, this decomposition contrasts strikingly with the subgroup decomposition of the generalized entropy measures, which satisfy the condition that the between-group inequality is null if the mean within each subgroup equals those of all the others. The new decomposition can be generalized to the distance-Gini index and the volume-Gini index, two multivariate Gini indices introduced by Koshevoy and Mosler, with some modification of the index definition and a somewhat loosened CID condition in the latter case. The source decomposition is also generalized to these multi-dimensional indices. Interaction terms appear among sources of different attributes in the decomposition for the modified volume–Gini index.

Moral or civic ties? Deservingness and engagement among undocumented Latinas in non-profit organisations

As alternatives to mainstream institutions, local non-profit organisations (NPOs) are important sites for immigrant civic engagement; yet, there is little research on how immigrants negotiate the benefits of NPOs. We use ethnographic fieldwork and multiple in-depth interviews with 39 NPO staff and Latina immigrants in San Francisco, California. We offer new insights about how undocumented, low-income, Latina mothers – a group constrained by multiple barriers – negotiate direct assistance and civic engagement in NPOs. Although NPOs provide both direct services and civic engagement opportunities, we find that moral judgments within the broader anti-immigrant and anti-welfare climate impact how Latinas feel the need to ‘give back’ or ‘ration’ services in NPOs. Additionally, the expectation that direct services are an entrée for civic engagement has consequences for how Latinas negotiate deservingness and work to preserve their self-worth. For some, these expectations depress further engagement or drive intergroup divisions.     

“Understanding” as Support for Emerging Adults Whose Parents Have Chronic Health Conditions: A Life-Span Communication Perspective

To better understand the “chronic burden of care” in the United States, we focused on an underrepresented demographic of youth caregivers in families, emerging adults (EAs). EAs are a newly recognized population of youth, 18–25 years of age, who are developmentally between adolescence and young adulthood. Guided by the life span communication perspective, we interviewed 98 EAs (30 males and 68 females, M age = 19.09, SD = 1.72) about their experiences providing support to a parent with a chronic health condition. Many EAs in this study said they provided “understanding” and our interpretive thematic analyses uncovered two broad meanings of the word: it is a form of support that EAs both have and communicate. When EAs have understanding, they have knowledge about the health condition and how it affects their parent. They also have acceptance to some degree that the health condition is a fixture of their lives and that their parents are imperfect and fallible people. They communicate the understanding they have through reciprocating support, sacrificing, being obedient, avoiding sensitive topics, and projecting emotional strength. We discuss the findings and their implications for emerging adult development as well as parent-child relational development parallel to difficult long-term health issues in families.