'International relations theory in flux in view of China's "Peaceful Rise"'

This paper will first explore some essential theoretical backgrounds, which contribute to the understanding of the theory of hegemonic stability (a core strand of IPE theory) with a view to examine some empirical challenges of US hegemonic power after the Second World War. Secondly, it will go on to look at the notion of neo-liberalist regional development in East Asia to understand in what ways China’s entitlement creed has been increasingly instrumental in modifying the region institutional context. Third, it attempts to apply the constructivist approach in trying to locate the culturally embedded soft power entitlement of which China has been trying to capitalize on

The Flipped Classroom: An Effective Model of Active Learning

A a result of the development of humanistic psychology in the 1960s, there has been a growing recognition that affective factors can significantly impact the outcomes of education (Lu, 2001). Affective factors in language learning, particularly in second language acquisition, have been reckoned as non-cognitive factors and along with cognitive factors, have sparked substantial attention among academics. Affective variables that may influence foreign language acquisition include a variety of emotions and feelings arising in foreign language classroom such as anxiety, fear, embarrassment, or sense of inferiority. Among them, second language anxiety has long been a popular topic in foreign language instruction research

ISOKINETIC SPECIFIC 'TENSION OF QUADRICEPS IN SPRINTERS, DISTANCE RUNNERS AND NORMAL YOUNG ADULTS

The purpose of this study was to determine whether isokinetic specific tension differences existed between athletes of different sports. Nine sprinters, eight distance runners and nineteen young adults were recruited as subjects in this study. A Cybex dynamometer was employed to measure the isokinetic peak torque of knee extension at 60°/sec, 120°/sec, 180°/sec, 240°/sec and 300°/sec. The cross sectional area of quadriceps was measured using the anthropometic equation of Housh et al. (1995). There was no significant difference between isokinetic specific tension of quadriceps in sprinters, distance runners and normal young adults

Randomized Observation Periods for the Compound Poisson Risk Model: Dividends

In the framework of the classical compound Poisson process in collective risk theory, we study a modification of the horizontal dividend barrier strategy by introducing random observation times at which dividends can be paid and ruin can be observed. This model contains both the continuous-time and the discrete-time risk model as a limit and represents a certain type of bridge between them which still enables the explicit calculation of moments of total discounted dividend payments until ruin. Numerical illustrations for several sets of parameters are given and the effect of random observation times on the performance of the dividend strategy is studie

Analysis of some risk models involving dependence

The seminal paper by Gerber and Shiu (1998) gave a huge boost to the study of risk theory by not only unifying but also generalizing the treatment and the analysis of various risk-related quantities in one single mathematical function - the Gerber-Shiu expected discounted penalty function, or Gerber-Shiu function in short. The Gerber-Shiu function is known to possess many nice properties, at least in the case of the classical compound Poisson risk model. For example, upon the introduction of a dividend barrier strategy, it was shown by Lin et al. (2003) and Gerber et al. (2006) that the Gerber-Shiu function with a barrier can be expressed in terms of the Gerber-Shiu function without a barrier and the expected value of discounted dividend payments. This result is the so-called dividends-penalty identity, and it holds true when the surplus process belongs to a class of Markov processes which are skip-free upwards. However, one stringent assumption of the model considered by the above authors is that all the interclaim times and the claim sizes are independent, which is in general not true in reality. In this thesis, we propose to analyze the Gerber-Shiu functions under various dependent structures. The main focus of the thesis is the risk model where claims follow a Markovian arrival process (MAP) (see, e.g., Latouche and Ramaswami (1999) and Neuts (1979, 1989)) in which the interclaim times and the claim sizes form a chain of dependent variables. The first part of the thesis puts emphasis on certain dividend strategies. In Chapter 2, it is shown that a matrix form of the dividends-penalty identity holds true in a MAP risk model perturbed by diffusion with the use of integro-differential equations and their solutions. Chapter 3 considers the dual MAP risk model which is a reflection of the ordinary MAP model. A threshold dividend strategy is applied to the model and various risk-related quantities are studied. Our methodology is based on an existing connection between the MAP risk model and a fluid queue (see, e.g., Asmussen et al. (2002), Badescu et al. (2005), Ramaswami (2006) and references therein). The use of fluid flow techniques to analyze risk processes opens the door for further research as to what types of risk model with dependency structure can be studied via probabilistic arguments. In Chapter 4, we propose to analyze the Gerber-Shiu function and some discounted joint densities in a risk model where each pair of the interclaim time and the resulting claim size is assumed to follow a bivariate phase-type distribution, with the pairs assumed to be independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). To this end, a novel fluid flow process is constructed to ease the analysis. In the classical Gerber-Shiu function introduced by Gerber and Shiu (1998), the random variables incorporated into the analysis include the time of ruin, the surplus prior to ruin and the deficit at ruin. The later part of this thesis focuses on generalizing the classical Gerber-Shiu function by incorporating more random variables into the so-called penalty function. These include the surplus level immediately after the second last claim before ruin, the minimum surplus level before ruin and the maximum surplus level before ruin. In Chapter 5, the focus will be on the study of the generalized Gerber-Shiu function involving the first two new random variables in the context of a semi-Markovian risk model (see, e.g., Albrecher and Boxma (2005) and Janssen and Reinhard (1985)). It is shown that the generalized Gerber-Shiu function satisfies a matrix defective renewal equation, and some discounted joint densities involving the new variables are derived. Chapter 6 revisits the MAP risk model in which the generalized Gerber-Shiu function involving the maximum surplus before ruin is examined. In this case, the Gerber-Shiu function no longer satisfies a defective renewal equation. Instead, the generalized Gerber-Shiu function can be expressed in terms of the classical Gerber-Shiu function and the Laplace transform of a first passage time that are both readily obtainable. In a MAP risk model, the interclaim time distribution must be phase-type distributed. This leads us to propose a generalization of the MAP risk model by allowing for the interclaim time to have an arbitrary distribution. This is the subject matter of Chapter 7. Chapter 8 is concerned with the generalized Sparre Andersen risk model with surplus-dependent premium rate, and some ordering properties of certain ruin-related quantities are studied. Chapter 9 ends the thesis by some concluding remarks and directions for future research

Examining the effects of ABRACADABRA, a web-based literacy program for primary school students in rural China

This study investigated the effects of A Balanced Reading Approach for Children Always Designed to Achieve Best Results for All (ABRACADABRA [ABRA]), a web-based literacy program developed by the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) at Concordia University, on primary school children in rural China. After adjusting for initial pre-test difference, experimental students scored significantly higher on all three key reading outcomes. The study provides evidence that ABRA is effective where English is used as a first or second language, and is also effective in a context where English is used as a foreign language (EFL)

UNDERSTANDING THE DETERMINANTS OF BLOCKCHAIN ADOPTION IN SUPPLY CHAINS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN CHINA

This study adopts affordance approach to understand how supply chain managers interpret the possible benefits that can be performed within blockchain-enabled supply chain applications. With a focus on governance efficiency improvement, the impacts of traceability and transparency affordance on uncertainty reduction were examined from the perspective of transaction cost theory in supply chain industry. Partial least squares – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data collected from 364 experienced supply chain managers in China. The results revealed that traceability affordance exerted significant impacts on environmental and trading partner uncertainty rather than transparency affordance, which in turn affected the adoption intention. This study contributes to the extant literature by embedding transaction cost in blockchain affordances. The findings are useful in guiding practitioners to improve blockchain system design for reducing uncertainties in supply chain environment, leading to a higher adoption rate of blockchain technology