Children's Physiological Regulation and Sibling Conflict as Correlates of Children's Conscience Development

Children's conscience, including the ability to experience guilt and engage in rule‐compatible behavior, develops across early childhood. The current study investigated whether within‐family variation in children's baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and sibling conflict behavior were associated with individual differences in children's guilt and internalized conduct. Between‐family differences across sibling dyad gender compositions were also examined. A within‐family design that included 70 families with two siblings between the ages of 2 and 5 was utilized. Children's baseline RSA was measured while sitting quietly with their family. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires that assessed siblings’ conflict behavior, guilt, and internalized conduct. Older siblings had higher levels of guilt and internalized conduct than younger siblings. Results from actor‐partner interdependence models indicated that there were no direct effects of children's baseline RSA. The interaction effects approached significance (p's ≤ .08) suggesting that older siblings’ conflict moderated the association between older siblings’ baseline RSA and both older and younger siblings’ guilt. In contrast, older siblings’ conflict was positively associated with older and younger siblings’ internalized conduct. Guilt and internalized conduct also differed for older and younger siblings in different dyad gender compositions. The results underscore the need for greater clarity regarding the function that siblings serve in promoting children's moral development during early childhood.     

The failure of meta-analytic asymptotics for the seemingly efficient estimator of the common risk difference

We consider the case of a multicenter trial in which the center specific sample sizes are potentially small. Under homogeneity, the conventional procedure is to pool information using a weighted estimator where the weights used are inverse estimated center-specific variances. Whereas this procedure is efficient for conventional asymptotics (e. g. center-specific sample sizes become large, number of center fixed), it is commonly believed that the efficiency of this estimator holds true also for meta-analytic asymptotics (e.g. center-specific sample size bounded, potentially small, and number of centers large). In this contribution we demonstrate that this estimator fails to be efficient. In fact, it shows a persistent bias with increasing number of centers showing that it isnot meta-consistent. In addition, we show that the Cochran and Mantel-Haenszel weighted estimators are meta-consistent and, in more generality, provide conditions on the weights such that the associated weighted estimator is meta-consistent.     

Customer Perceptions of Agency Risk Communication

A government agency commissioned a baseline study of how its customers view the agency's risk information. The 70% response rate to a mail survey allows analysis by subgroups representing customers'primary interests. Although this agency traditionally has been responsible for ensuring plant and animal health at the farm gate (or where imported), responses emphasized emerging customer concerns about the environment and human health. Customers think many risk communication activities are important, but that the agency is not especially effective in conducting those activities. Customers are moderately satisfied with much of the risk information they receive, although many have little contact from or interaction with the agency. Customers identified other sources they use, which suggest potentially effective channels for this agency's risk messages. The study provides a baseline for measuring change in the agency's risk communication effectiveness. It also can be a model when other organizations plan their own risk communication evaluations.     

量刑建议规范化之法理分析

随着新刑诉法的实施,更加注重保障人权开始体现在我国刑事诉讼制度中。其中,为合理限制自由裁量权,科学确立基准刑实现刑罚个别化,我国刑事司法实践正在积极探索量刑工作的创新和改革,目前最为突出的成果是规范裁量权,将量刑建议纳入法庭审理程序。量刑建议的规范化之路是让在庭审环节控辩双方针对量刑建议问题展开充分辩论,合议庭在判决时对量刑建议采纳与否的说理,对个案的量刑进行全方位的考查,一方面有利于保障犯罪嫌疑人的诉讼权利,另一方面还有利于准确、及时惩罚犯罪,进一步推进我国量刑规范化改革向纵深处发展。     

Blinded sample size recalculation for clinical trials with normal data and baseline adjusted analysis

Baseline adjusted analyses are commonly encountered in practice, and regulatory guidelines endorse this practice. Sample size calculations for this kind of analyses require knowledge of the magnitude of nuisance parameters that are usually not given when the results of clinical trials are reported in the literature. It is therefore quite natural to start with a preliminary calculated sample size based on the sparse information available in the planning phase and to re‐estimate the value of the nuisance parameters (and with it the sample size) when a portion of the planned number of patients have completed the study. We investigate the characteristics of this internal pilot study design when an analysis of covariance with normally distributed outcome and one random covariate is applied. For this purpose we first assess the accuracy of four approximate sample size formulae within the fixed sample size design. Then the performance of the recalculation procedure with respect to its actual Type I error rate and power characteristics is examined. The results of simulation studies show that this approach has favorable properties with respect to the Type I error rate and power. Together with its simplicity, these features should make it attractive for practical application. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于历史排放参照的碳配额分配机制研究

将行业内企业按单位产品碳排放水平分为高排企业和低排企业两类,并将"共同但有区别的责任原则"引入行业内部,构建基于双寡头竞争市场的碳配额分配策略。通过建立基于分配策略的古诺模型,研究减排目标、分配策略和单位产品碳排放水平对企业的利润差、产量和碳排放的影响。研究结果表明,减排策略对单位产品碳排放水平具有较强的敏感性;当行业中的企业存在单位产品碳排放水平差异时,对低排企业宽松的碳配额分配策略具有更强的减排激励效用,利于企业主动实施低碳技术改造;阶段式递进减排机制对"共同但有区别责任原则"在行业内应用,企业低碳技术改造的激励效用以及减排政策的稳步推进有积极的作用;同时研究表明准确核实企业单位产品碳排放水平的重要性。     

Indeed: Cost of the NSERC Science Grant Peer Review System Exceeds the Cost of Giving Every Qualified Researcher a Baseline Grant

NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) offers Discovery Grants averaging Can$30,000 to about 70% of its applicants. If the total budget for these grants were evenly divided amongst the 10,000 people qualified to apply, the average grant size would be Can$41,000. The additional costs of writing and reviewing grant applications in our previous analysis only serve to accentuate the loss of funds that could otherwise be spent on the research itself. Baseline grants for the early stages of research, to all qualified researchers, would significantly enhance innovation of Canadian scientists.     

模糊厌恶下关系型借贷定价和最优贷款利率

考虑决策者是模糊厌恶的,利用实物期权方法,解析地给出了银行价值,企业价值和最优停贷水平。分析了模糊厌恶和基准波动率对最优贷款利率,最优停贷水平,企业价值和银行价值的影响。数值分析表明：模糊厌恶提高了贷款利率,降低了企业和银行价值。在基准波动率水平较小时,模糊厌恶推迟了停贷水平;在基准波动率较大时,模糊厌恶加速了停贷水平。此外,在模糊中性下,企业价值是基准波动率凸函数,银行价值是基准波动率凹函数。而在模糊厌恶下,企业价值和银行价值都随着基准波动率的增加而递减。本文从行为金融角度为中小企业"融资贵"提供了新的解释。     

Use of baseline measurements in the two-period crossover design

It is proposed that baseline measurements be obtained prior to each period in a two-period crossover design. These measurements are used in a preliminary test for determining the validity of a test for treatment comparison and also for testing the hypothesis of equal treatment effects. The null hypothesis in this preliminary test consists of the following three hypotheses: that there is no difference in disease conditions prior to the two periods, no difference in residual effects of the drugs, and no treatment × period interaction.. A numerical example is given and the efficiencies of several methods are computed.     

Residents,recreationists, ridge regression,and revenues:the five r's of florida's motor- tax

Ridge regression is applied to the question of how to revise Florida's motor-fuel tax to remedy the shortfall of its transportation revenues. Along the way a model of gasoline consumption by residents and tourists is presented, and the differences in consumption patterns between the two types of purchasers are reported.