A Comparative Study of Interpersonal Function in Political Speeches—A Case Study of Inaugural Speeches by Theresa May and David Cameron

This paper, on the basis of the interpersonal function of systemic functional grammar, aims to analyze interpersonal meanings construction in the inaugural speeches of Theresa May and David Cameron in terms of personal pronoun, mood and modality. It is identified that similarities and differences are reflected in the construction of interpersonal meanings. In light of similarities, both of them take the advantage of first person as a way that conveys their wills and builds up their authorities, seek to shorten interpersonal distance with the use of modal verbs of median and low degree, and employ the indicative mood to express their views and win supporters. On the other hand, they show different tendencies towards the use of modal verbs of high degree of modality and choices of second person verbs with regard to their distinct inaugural backgrounds. A comparative study of different inaugural speeches from the perspective of systemic functional grammar will help to gain an in-depth understanding of the organization and informational purposes of political speeches

Sino-British negotiations and the search for a Post-War settlement, 1942-1949: treaties, Hong Kong, and Tibet

Despite the vast research by scholars on international history during the era of the Pacific War, comparatively little has been written about the bi-lateral relationship between the Chinese Nationalist government and the British government and their discussions during 1942-1949 over a post-war settlement in Asia. These were dominated by two underlying themes: the elimination of the British imperialist position in China and the establishment of an equal and reciprocal bilateral relationship. In particular, these discussions focused on three matters: treaties (the 1943 Sino-British treaty and the discarded Sino-British commercial treaty); the future of Hong Kong; and the political status of Tibet. Drawing on archival sources in Britain, the United States and China, the thesis demonstrates that negotiations over a post-war Sino- British settlement had an encouraging start in 1942-43 but by 1949 had failed to reach a satisfactory settlement. Not only did they fail to rebuild the two countries’ commercial relations on an equal and reciprocal basis (as in the aborted commercial treaty) but they also did not terminate the informal British empire in China (with regard to Hong Kong and Tibet). The reasons for the failure were complex, encompassing both internal and external factors, including the powerful influence of the United States

COPPER CHEMISTRY OF PYRIDYLALKYLBENZAMIDE LIGANDS: MODELING THE CUZ CENTER OF N2OR AND COORDINATION POLYMER CHEMISTRY

In nature, the reduction of N2O to N2 is the terminal step of the denitrification process, which is catalyzed by nitrous oxide reductase (N2OR). The catalytic CuZ center was found to be a novel μ4-sulfide bridged tetranuclear copper cluster. Much effort has been done to model the CuZ site to help us understand the structure and function relationship. Questions still remain about the catalytic mechanism, including the synthesis of accurate model complexes. In order to pursue the goal of modeling CuZ of N2OR, we have explored the copper chemistry of two new pyridylalkylamide ligands containing phenol groups appended to the amide, 2-hydroxyl-N-(2-pyridylmethyl) benzamide (HLPhOH) and 2-hydroxyl-N-(2-pyridylethyl) benzamide (HLPhOH′). Two copper(I) and three copper(II) complexes with HLPhOH and HLPhOH′ were synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Both [Cu(HLPhOH)2(CH3CN)]BF4 (1) and [Cu(HLPhOH′)2]BF4 (2) are mononuclear copper(I) complexes. [Cu(HLPhOH)2Cl2] (3) is a monocopper(II) complex with octahedral geometry. [Cu4(LPhO)4] (4) is a tetracopper(II) complex with a cubane-like Cu4O4 core structure. [Cu2(LPhO′)2(CH3OH)2] (5) is a binuclear copper(II) complex with a distorted square pyramidal geometry. A naked [Cu16S10]4- cluster was obtained by the reaction of [Cu4(LPhO)4] with (nBu4N)SH, which can partially model the structure of the CuZ center. Three copper(II) complexes with substituted pyridyl(bis-phenol)amide ligands: 6,6'-(2-methyl-2(pyridine-2-yl)propane-1,3diyl)bis(azanediyl)bis(methylene)bis-(2,4-dibromophenol) (H2LBr2-amine), 6,6'-(2-methyl-2(pyridine-2-yl)propane-1,3diyl)bis(azanediyl)bis(methylene)bis-(2-methoxyphenol) (H2LMeO-amine), and 2,2'-(2-methyl-2(pyridine-2-yl)propane-1,3diyl)bis(azanediyl)bis(methylene)bis-(4-nitrophenol) (H2LNO2-amine) were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic studies. [Cu(LBr2-amine)] (6) and [Cu(LNO2-amine)] (7) are mononuclear copper(II) complexes with square pyramidal geometry. [Cu(LMeO-amine)Na(CH3OH)2] (8) is a heterometallic binuclear complex. The CV features of complexes: [Cu(LtBu-amine)(CH3OH)], [Cu3(Lamine)2(CH3CN)2](ClO4)2, [Cu(LBr2-amine)] (6) and [Cu(LNO2-amine)] (7) are interpreted by Hammett analysis. Pyrazine-containing ligands N-(pyridine-2-yl)methyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (HLPz) and N-(pyridine-2-yl)ethyl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide (HLPz') led us to the synthesis and characterization of a series of 1D coordination polymers. [Cu(HLPz)Cl]n (9) is a 1D coordination polymer with Cu2Cl2 core bridged by two HLPz ligands. [Cu(LPz)(Py)2]+ (10) is a mononuclear copper complex with a square pyramidal geometry. [Cu2(LPz)2( 4,4′-bipy)(OTf)2] (11) is a binuclear copper complex bridged by a twisted 4,4′-bipy ligand. Both [Cu(LPz)(N3)]n (12) and [Cu (LPz′)(N3)]n (13) are 1D coordination polymers bridged by end-on and end-to-end bridging azides, respectively. When thioether-containing ligands 2-(methylsulfanyl)-N-[2-(pyridine-2-yl)methyl]acetamide (2-HLN2S) and 2-(methylsulfanyl)-N-[2-(pyridine-2-yl)ethyl]acetamide (2-HLN2S') are used in the synthesis of the copper complexes. [Cu(2-LN2S)(CH3OH)]n(OTf) (14) and [Cu(2-LN2S')(OTf)]n (15) are 1D coordination polymers connected by the carbonyl oxygen from the corresponding ligand. Cu(2-HLN2S')(CH3OH)Cl] (16) is a mononuclear copper complex with a distorted square pyramidal geometry

Funding Liquidity Shocks in a Quasi-Experiment: Evidence from the CDS Big Bang

A major change in trading conventions in April 2009, the so-called “CDS Big Bang,” induces upfront fees for trading North American CDSs. Exploiting this quasi-experiment, we provide evidence that upfront fees have a differential effect on CDS bid-ask spreads across CDS premiums. Furthermore, the funding effect is stronger for CDS contracts on smaller and riskier firms, contracts with longer maturities, and non-centrally-cleared contracts. The effect also becomes stronger after Deutsche Bank exits the CDS market. Finally, we find similar results using European CDSs. Our experimental setting offers new economic insights on the quantification and mechanism of the funding liquidity effect

Efficient Deep Reinforcement Learning via Adaptive Policy Transfer

Transfer Learning (TL) has shown great potential to accelerate Reinforcement Learning (RL) by leveraging prior knowledge from past learned policies of relevant tasks. Existing transfer approaches either explicitly computes the similarity between tasks or select appropriate source policies to provide guided explorations for the target task. However, how to directly optimize the target policy by alternatively utilizing knowledge from appropriate source policies without explicitly measuring the similarity is currently missing. In this paper, we propose a novel Policy Transfer Framework (PTF) to accelerate RL by taking advantage of this idea. Our framework learns when and which source policy is the best to reuse for the target policy and when to terminate it by modeling multi-policy transfer as the option learning problem. PTF can be easily combined with existing deep RL approaches. Experimental results show it significantly accelerates the learning process and surpasses state-of-the-art policy transfer methods in terms of learning efficiency and final performance in both discrete and continuous action spaces.Comment: Accepted by IJCAI'202

Estudo preliminar sobre a política nacional de informação científica e tecnológica da china: uma opinião pessoal

Aborda o histórico da política de informação em ciência e tecnologia na República Popular da China, nos últimos 30 anos, englobando três fases, a partir de 1956, com ênfase no atual sistema de informação científica e tecnológica. Relata a política de informação em ciência e tecnologia e enumera dados estatísticos nessa area relativos a 1985, abordando também as perspectivas e recomendações do governo chinês para esse importante setor, em consonância com a política gerai do país. Preliminary study on China national scientific and technical information policy: a personal view Abstract A fairly detailed view of the historical aspects of the policies on scientific and tecnological information over the past 30 years in the People's Republic of China. It encompasses three periods starting in 1956, but the emphasis is on the last one. It describes the present policies on science and technology, and presents statistics on the subject recommendations with regard to developments in the field, in accordance with the country's overall policies

Bis{2-hydr­oxy-N-[2-(2-pyrid­yl)eth­yl]benzamide}copper(I) tetra­fluoridoborate

The title complex, [Cu(C14H14N2O2)2]BF4, is a monomeric copper(I) species with linear two-coordinate geometry around the CuI atom. The asymmetric unit contains two half-cations that sit on crystallographic twofold rotation axes. The selected crystal was non-merohedrally twinned by a twofold rotation about an axis normal to the (100) family of planes. The ratio of the twin components refined to 0.4123 (6). Two 2-hydr­oxy-N-[2-(2-pyrid­yl)eth­yl]benzamide ligands coordinate to each CuI atom via the pyridyl N atom. Intra­molecular hydrogen bonding between the phenol OH groups and the amide O atoms imparts rigidity and planarity to the non-coordinating end of the ligand. The cationic complex is linked to the BF4 − anions via hydrogen bonding between the amide NH groups in the cations and BF4 − anions