Improved Transferability of Data‐Driven Damage Models Through Sample Selection Bias Correction

Damage models for natural hazards are used for decision making on reducing and transferring risk. The damage estimates from these models depend on many variables and their complex sometimes nonlinear relationships with the damage. In recent years, data‐driven modeling techniques have been used to capture those relationships. The available data to build such models are often limited. Therefore, in practice it is usually necessary to transfer models to a different context. In this article, we show that this implies the samples used to build the model are often not fully representative for the situation where they need to be applied on, which leads to a “sample selection bias.” In this article, we enhance data‐driven damage models by applying methods, not previously applied to damage modeling, to correct for this bias before the machine learning (ML) models are trained. We demonstrate this with case studies on flooding in Europe, and typhoon wind damage in the Philippines. Two sample selection bias correction methods from the ML literature are applied and one of these methods is also adjusted to our problem. These three methods are combined with stochastic generation of synthetic damage data. We demonstrate that for both case studies, the sample selection bias correction techniques reduce model errors, especially for the mean bias error this reduction can be larger than 30%. The novel combination with stochastic data generation seems to enhance these techniques. This shows that sample selection bias correction methods are beneficial for damage model transfer.     

论"通知—删除"规则的性质——以平台自治为视角

"通知—删除"规则的法律条文并没有赋予平台自治的空间,但是平台自治的需求已经"凸显".免责条款理论表面上能保障平台自治,但是并不符合我国的实际.归责条款理论是我国的通说,其扼杀了平台自治的空间,司法实践对此虽有调和,但是难以济事.我国的"通知—删除"规则系特定的历史背景下的产物,其在性质上仅仅是行为标准.在侵权行为的认定上,违反"通知—删除"规则的情形并非侵权的充分条件.事实上,这一行为标准的违反在侵权法上的意义仅仅作为主观过错的证据,电商平台可以反证其不具有过错.司法实践中亦有区别对待"通知—删除"规则的违反和侵权之认定的做法.明晰此点方可保障平台自治,同时亦实现电商平台对用户监管之目的.     

论普里什文哲理散文中的生态文学思想与猎人情结

普里什文哲理散文中所具有的预言式生态思想与环保理念备受当代“生态文学”理论家的青睐。但他热衷描写狩猎场景的猎人情结却又遭到新世纪中“生态伦理”理论的诟病。其实从文本的本体性观念来理解，普里什文的诗性自然情怀、生态观念与他的猎人情结并非只有冲突的一面，他所表达出的是人对大自然万物之本能与道义之间的尺度衡量，而这种衡量也可反观当代人与自然万物之间的关系的现状，实际上表达出一种更为深刻的天人关系的批判性。     

A new generalized Weibull distribution in income economic inequality curves

Researchers have been developing various extensions and modified forms of the Weibull distribution to enhance its capability for modeling and fitting different data sets. In this note, we investigate the potential usefulness of the new modification to the standard Weibull distribution called odd Weibull distribution in income economic inequality studies. Some mathematical and statistical properties of this model are proposed. We obtain explicit expressions for the first incomplete moment, quantile function, Lorenz and Zenga curves and related inequality indices. In addition to the well-known stochastic order based on Lorenz curve, the stochastic order based on Zenga curve is considered. Since the new generalized Weibull distribution seems to be suitable to model wealth, financial, actuarial and especially income distributions, these findings are fundamental in the understanding of how parameter values are related to inequality. Also, the estimation of parameters by maximum likelihood and moment methods is discussed. Finally, this distribution has been fitted to United States and Austrian income data sets and has been found to fit remarkably well in compare with the other widely used income models.     

The context of employment discrimination: interpreting the findings of a field experiment

Although field experiments have documented the contemporary relevance of discrimination in employment, theories developed to explain the dynamics of differential treatment cannot account for differences across organizational and institutional contexts. In this article, I address this shortcoming by presenting the main empirical findings from a multi‐method research project, in which a field experiment of ethnic discrimination in the Norwegian labour market was complemented with forty‐two in‐depth interviews with employers who were observed in the first stage of the study. While the experimental data support earlier findings in documenting that ethnic discrimination indeed takes place, the qualitative material suggests that theorizing in the field experiment literature have been too concerned with individual and intra‐psychic explanations. Discriminatory outcomes in employment processes seems to be more dependent on contextual factors such as the number of applications received, whether requirements are specified, and the degree to which recruitment procedures are formalized. I argue that different contexts of employment provide different opportunity structures for discrimination, a finding with important theoretical and methodological implications.     

曾国藩京宦生涯的乡土情结

曾国藩在传统文化和家庭氛围影响下形成了浓厚的乡土情结,贯穿曾国藩一生的乡土情结为其事业和交友产生了深刻的影响。在京为官时期对同乡以及家乡的特别关注,折射出曾国藩浓浓的乡土情结。曾国藩在乡土情结的影响下创建了湘军,为其幕府的建立储备了人才,在乡土情结的感召下与同乡建立了深厚友谊,成就了一生的事业。     

The disembedded digital economy: Social protection for new economy employment in China

This research focuses upon employment in the new economy, exploring labour protection and social protection in the digital age in China. Through an empirical survey conducted in three Chinese cities, social insurance and the labour rights of employees in the digital economic sector, such as gig employment, e-commerce, and various other forms of online employment, have been examined in-depth. This study reveals new regulatory loopholes in the digital labour market, which have substantially eroded the basis of social policy arrangements in China, “softening” participation in social insurance branches and compliance with labour regulations remarkably. Drawing upon the theoretical concepts of Polanyi on embeddedness and disembeddedness, we argue that the digital employment sector in China has been increasingly disembedded from social institutions and social control. The new configuration in the digital field of social policy requires novel conceptual models and institutional settings to cope with increasing social risks in virtual spaces.