Kernel Estimation of Rate Function for Recurrent Event Data

Abstract.  Recurrent event data are largely characterized by the rate function but smoothing techniques for estimating the rate function have never been rigorously developed or studied in statistical literature. This paper considers the moment and least squares methods for estimating the rate function from recurrent event data. With an independent censoring assumption on the recurrent event process, we study statistical properties of the proposed estimators and propose bootstrap procedures for the bandwidth selection and for the approximation of confidence intervals in the estimation of the occurrence rate function. It is identified that the moment method without resmoothing via a smaller bandwidth will produce a curve with nicks occurring at the censoring times, whereas there is no such problem with the least squares method. Furthermore, the asymptotic variance of the least squares estimator is shown to be smaller under regularity conditions. However, in the implementation of the bootstrap procedures, the moment method is computationally more efficient than the least squares method because the former approach uses condensed bootstrap data. The performance of the proposed procedures is studied through Monte Carlo simulations and an epidemiological example on intravenous drug users.     

蒙古族大德咱雅班智达事迹考述

清初,在祖国统一的大业中,各民族的爱国志士都曾为此做出了贡献,蒙古族高僧大德咱雅班智达.南喀嘉措便是在西藏地方归顺清朝中央,实现祖国统一过程中做出过重要贡献的人物之一。鉴于其在历史发展过程中的重要贡献,当时西藏上层以他为首世,建立了“咱雅班智达“转世系统,从此,它成为藏传佛教在蒙古族地区颇具影响的活佛世系之一。     

社会认知经典研究述评

社会认知是指个人对他人或自己的心理与行为的感知与判断的过程。从 1 93 0年代开始 ,社会心理学家就已经对此问题开展研究。 1 947年 ,J.S .Bruner在以往研究基础上 ,提出了社会知觉概念 ,并且进行了相关实验 ,开启了现当代社会认知研究的大门。 1 970年代后 ,社会认知研究开始广泛借鉴认知心理学的理论和方法 ,尤其受到信息加工理论的深刻影响 ,开展了大量的实证研究。文章在把握社会认知研究的历史脉络基础上 ,评述几个在社会认知研究发展史中占有重要地位的经典研究。     

What to do with “I Don't Know:” Elicitation in Ethnographic & Survey Interviews

When a researcher enters an interview, she has already construed it as being a standard type of communicative event. This article considers how a researcher's construal of a communicative event as either an ethnographic or survey interview shapes the production of information. Interview standards entail epistemological assumptions that directly inform the type of information sought and produced. I consider this process through a comparison of the elicitation techniques I employed in survey and ethnographic interviews conducted during research in Mexico. I draw on theory in linguistic anthropology on the nature of meaning in language, examining how dialogicality and interaction are essential to understanding the construal of communicative events.     

Comparative probability for conditional events: A new look through coherence

We study, from the standpoint of coherence, comparative probabilities on an arbitrary familyE of conditional events. Given a binary relation ·, coherence conditions on · are related to de Finetti's coherent betting system: we consider their connections to the usual properties of comparative probability and to the possibility of numerical representations of ·. In this context, the numerical reference frame is that of de Finetti's coherent subjective conditional probability, which is not introduced (as in Kolmogoroff's approach) through a ratio between probability measures.Another relevant feature of our approach is that the family & need not have any particular algebraic structure, so that the ordering can be initially given for a few conditional events of interest and then possibly extended by a step-by-step procedure, preserving coherence.     

对学习历史事件法的一种改进

依据组织学习理论,对学习历史事件法进行了改进。由于企业的经验知识不完全等同于隐性知识,学习历史事件法同样不能直接应用于隐性知识的转化,为此,提出了适合隐性知识转化的改进型学习历史事件法。改进充分考虑了隐性知识的特征,并专门对隐性知识和经验知识进行了区分。同时,改进的学习历史事件法充分考虑了企业应用的可操作性,保留了量表的形式。最后,将该方法应用于MIS项目开发中,对新改进的量表进行了定量解析。     

A Framework to Understand Extreme Space Weather Event Probability

An extreme space weather event has the potential to disrupt or damage infrastructure systems and technologies that many societies rely on for economic and social well‐being. Space weather events occur regularly, but extreme events are less frequent, with a small number of historical examples over the last 160 years. During the past decade, published works have (1) examined the physical characteristics of the extreme historical events and (2) discussed the probability or return rate of select extreme geomagnetic disturbances, including the 1859 Carrington event. Here we present initial findings on a unified framework approach to visualize space weather event probability, using a Bayesian model average, in the context of historical extreme events. We present disturbance storm time (Dst ) probability (a proxy for geomagnetic disturbance intensity) across multiple return periods and discuss parameters of interest to policymakers and planners in the context of past extreme space weather events. We discuss the current state of these analyses, their utility to policymakers and planners, the current limitations when compared to other hazards, and several gaps that need to be filled to enhance space weather risk assessments.     

It's Complicated: The 2014–2015 U.S. Measles Outbreak and Parents’ Vaccination Beliefs,Confidence, and Intentions

While it seems intuitive that highly visible vaccine‐preventable disease outbreaks should impact perceptions of disease risk and facilitate vaccination, few empirical studies exist to confirm or dispel these beliefs. This study investigates the impact of the 2014–2015 Disneyland measles outbreak on parents’ vaccination attitudes and future vaccination intentions. The analysis relies on a pair of public opinion surveys of American parents with at least one child under the age of six (N = 1,000 across each survey). Controlling for basic demographics, we found higher levels of reported confidence in the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations in our follow‐up data collection. However, this confidence was also accompanied by elevated levels of concern toward childhood vaccines among American parents. We then examined how different subgroups in the population scored on these measures before and after the outbreak. We found that parents with high levels of interest in the topic of vaccines and a child who is not fully upto date with the recommended vaccination schedule reported more supportive attitudes toward vaccines. However, future intentions to follow the recommended vaccination schedule were not positively impacted by the outbreak. Possible explanations for these results and implications for vaccination outreach are discussed.     

历史文献学视野下的重大历史事件

重大历史事件的提出源于国家文艺创作政策,是重大历史题材的内核。从历史文献学的视角来看,重大历史事件的文献形态表现为本源事件、衍生事件和文本事件。重大历史事件的衍生特征主要体现为本源事件的内容选择性、视角多样性、衍生多态性和历史叙事的结构层次性。重大历史事件具有文献能产性,其根本动力来源于历史主体的社会认可需要、纪念活动的客观物证需要和文艺创作的传奇叙事需要。