Measuring and Achieving Equity in Multiperiod Emergency Material Allocation

Emergency material allocation is an important part of postdisaster emergency logistics that is significant for improving rescue effectiveness and reducing disaster losses. However, the traditional single‐period allocation model often causes local surpluses or shortages and high cost, and prevents the system from achieving an equitable or optimal multiperiod allocation. To achieve equitable allocation of emergency materials in the case of serious shortages relative to the demand by victims, this article introduces a multiperiod model for allocation of emergency materials to multiple affected locations (using an exponential utility function to reflect the disutility loss due to material shortfalls), and illustrates the relationship between equity of allocations and the cost of emergency response. Finally, numerical examples are presented to demonstrate both the feasibility and the usefulness of the proposed model for achieving multiperiod equitable allocation of emergency material among multiple disaster locations. The results indicate that the introduction of a nonlinear utility function to reflect the disutility of large shortfalls can make the material allocation fairer, and minimize large losses due to shortfalls. We found that achieving equity has a significant but not unreasonable impact on emergency costs. We also illustrate that using differing utility functions for different types of materials adds an important dimension of flexibility.     

Properties of the weighted log‐rank test in the design of confirmatory studies with delayed effects

Proportional hazards are a common assumption when designing confirmatory clinical trials in oncology. This assumption not only affects the analysis part but also the sample size calculation. The presence of delayed effects causes a change in the hazard ratio while the trial is ongoing since at the beginning we do not observe any difference between treatment arms, and after some unknown time point, the differences between treatment arms will start to appear. Hence, the proportional hazards assumption no longer holds, and both sample size calculation and analysis methods to be used should be reconsidered. The weighted log‐rank test allows a weighting for early, middle, and late differences through the Fleming and Harrington class of weights and is proven to be more efficient when the proportional hazards assumption does not hold. The Fleming and Harrington class of weights, along with the estimated delay, can be incorporated into the sample size calculation in order to maintain the desired power once the treatment arm differences start to appear. In this article, we explore the impact of delayed effects in group sequential and adaptive group sequential designs and make an empirical evaluation in terms of power and type‐I error rate of the of the weighted log‐rank test in a simulated scenario with fixed values of the Fleming and Harrington class of weights. We also give some practical recommendations regarding which methodology should be used in the presence of delayed effects depending on certain characteristics of the trial.     

Robust Designs in Generalized Linear Models: A Quantile Dispersion Graphs Approach

This article studies design selection for generalized linear models (GLMs) using the quantile dispersion graphs (QDGs) approach in the presence of misspecification in the link and/or linear predictor. The uncertainty in the linear predictor is represented by a unknown function and estimated using kriging. For addressing misspecified link functions, a generalized family of link functions is used. Numerical examples are shown to illustrate the proposed methodology.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
M Hollander and D Wolfe, Nonparametric Statistical Methods
T Leonard and J.S.J Hsu, Bayesian Methods     

英汉广告常用辞格及其功能

广告修辞新奇巧妙 ,独出心裁 ,凝聚了广告作者的丰富而非凡的想像力 ;广告语篇中恰当而巧妙地运用修辞格不但使广告语言生动活泼 ,言简意赅 ,或节奏感强 ,很有力量 ,而且深刻地描绘或强调广告商品或服务的特征、特性与功能 ,有助于创造其美好形象 ,促进广告走向成功。     

WTO与政府经济管理

加入WTO不仅使政府的经济管理理念、方式、程序等产生全新的变革,而且引发了政府经济管理的重新定位,更进一步强化了政府的服务职能。重新建构政府经济管理体制,转变政府职能,以应对WTO的挑战,从而实现政府经济管理的创新,增强政府经济管理能力。     

谈汉语诗词中的叠词英译

叠词是汉语的一种修辞格,能带来特殊的语言表达效果。叠词形式多样、功能不一,在传达情感、强调意义和创造意境等方面颇具功效,其使用可促进语言形式和内容达到艺术统一。在结构工整严谨、对字词精炼传神、美学效果要求较高的汉语古诗词中,叠词起着不可忽视的作用。聚焦汉语古诗词中叠词的常见类型、特殊功能,关注其英译的策略原则是必要的。     

论我国现行宪法的功能定位

按照宪政的要求,宪法应具有对人权的保障功能、对国家权力的控制功能、对民主政治的促进功能、对法治的推进功能、对经济发展的导向功能。我国1982年《宪法》虽是新中国成立以来最好的一部宪法,但它在功能定位上存在一些不合理之处。经过4次修正,其功能定位朝着合理性方向发展,有些功能的定位得到了改进,但有些功能的定位还需进一步完善。