What Is Said by Metaphor

‘What is said’ by an utterance, from a traditional truth-conditional view of language, is the uttered sentence’s conventionally encoded semantic meaning, and is distinguished from ‘what is implicated’, such as metaphor, which is understood as a type of speech in which a speaker says one thing but means another. Contextualists challenge this view of metaphor by offering three reasons to maintain that metaphor is classified within ‘what is said’: first, metaphor involves loose use; second, metaphor is assertoric; and, third, metaphor is at the level of the primary interpretation rather than the secondary one. However, Elizabeth Camp argues against these reasons. The aim of this paper is to examine her arguments and show that they are unsuccessful

A Barrier Option Utility Framework for Bank Interest Margin under Government Bailout

[[abstract]]The barrier options theory of corporate security valuation is applied to the contingent claims of a distressed bank under a bailout program of distressed loan purchases. In particular, the bank acts as if it has a single utility function that positively weights equity returns like, but negatively weights bankruptcy dislike. We show that an increase in the amount of distressed loan purchases decreases the loan amount at an increased margin when buying distressed loan amount is high. Bailout as such makes the bank less prone to loan risk taking, thereby contributing the stability of the banking system. A numerical exercise shows that the market-based estimates of the expected utility of bank equity returns which ignore the weights (a standard down-and-out call option) or the dislike (a standard call option) lead to significant overestimation.[[journaltype]]國外[[ispeerreviewed]]Y[[booktype]]電子版[[countrycodes]]CA

The effect of TQM strategy on learning satisfaction and loyalty of students-the mediation effect of teaching quality

[[abstract]]In 2015, there were 41 universities having less than 80% of the average freshmen registration rate in Taiwan. In 2016, it is estimated that the freshman population will be further reduced by 30,000. This indicates universities may have financial difficulty due to student population shrinkage crises. Conducting total quality management (TQM) and enhancing the education quality are the strategies being adopted by many schools to attract students. This research investigates whether TQM strategies, teaching quality, and school brand are conducive to student learning satisfaction and loyalty. The results showed: (1) TQM strategies and teaching quality have significant and positive influence on student learning satisfaction loyalty. (2) Among TQM strategies, student learning satisfaction and loyalty, teaching quality has an intermediary effect. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the recruitment strategy and sustainable management of higher education institutions.[[notice]]補正完

Use of Antihypertensive Agents and Association With Risk of Adverse Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease: Focus on Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers.

Background Our objective was to determine patterns of antihypertensive agent use by stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to evaluate the association between different classes of antihypertensive agents with nonrenal outcomes, especially in advanced CKD . Methods and Results We studied 3939 participants of the CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) study. Predictors were time-dependent angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker , β-blocker, and calcium channel blocker use (versus nonuse of agents in each class). Outcomes were adjudicated heart failure events or death. Adjusted Cox models were used to determine the association between predictors and outcomes. We also examined whether the associations differed based on the severity of CKD (early [stage 2-3 CKD ] versus advanced disease [stage 4-5 CKD ]). During median follow-up of 7.5 years, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor use plateaued during CKD stage 3 (75%) and declined to 37% by stage 5, while β-blocker, calcium channel blocker, and diuretic use increased steadily with advancing CKD . Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor use was associated with lower risk of heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.67-0.97) and death (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.67-0.90), regardless of severity of CKD . Calcium channel blocker use was not associated with risk of heart failure or death, regardless of the severity of CKD . β-Blocker use was associated with higher risk of heart failure (hazard ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-2.04) and death (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.43), especially during early CKD ( P<0.05 for interaction). Conclusions Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker use decreased, while use of other agents increased with advancing CKD . Use of agents besides angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers may be associated with suboptimal outcomes in patients with CKD