Trends in educational assortative marriage in China from 1970 to 2000

This research examines trends in educational assortative marriage in China among first marriages from 1970 to 2000 using data from the 2000 China Population Census and the 2001 Chinese Demographic Reproductive Health Survey. The results reveal decreasing educational homogamy rates from 1970 to 1980. However, the estimated odds of educational homogamy increase substantially between 1980 and 1995 and then grow at a slower pace in the late 1990s. Further, in urban areas, increasing rates of resemblance between spouses occur a decade earlier and at a higher level, compared to rural areas. Overall, the results indicate that senior high school graduates and college graduates in the late 1990s are less likely to marry those with less education than those in the 1970s in modern China.China, educational homogamy, log-linear model

Chinese agricultural water resource utilisation in the 21st century

With increasing industrialisation and urbanisation, more and more of China’s scarce water resources are being transferred from low-value agricultural use to high-value industrial and domestic uses. The challenge now facing decision makers is how to resolve the conflict between increasing food demand and decreasing water supply without undermining the growth of cities and the industrial sector. Along with water shortages, water use inefficiencies are apparent. An analysis of some causes of these inefficiencies is provided. They include attenuated property rights, artificially low water prices, lack of user participation in irrigation district management, fragmented government management, and lack of a compensating mechanism between upstream and downstream users. It is concluded, against the background of a transitional economy, that the lack of economic incentives in the allocation of water is the principal reason why shortage and waste coexist in Chinese irrigated agriculture. Owing to failures in both markets and governments, it is argued that water resources should be allocated through a quasi-market

An Application of Malliavin Calculus to Hedging Exotic Barrier Options

The thesis uses Malliavin’s Stochastic Calculus of Variations to identify the hedging strategies for Barrier style derived securities. The thesis gives an elementary treatment of this calculus which should be accessible to the non-specialist. The thesis deals also with extensions of the calculus to the composition of a Generalized Function and a Stochastic Variable which makes it applicable to the discontinuous payoffs encountered with Barrier Structures. The thesis makes a mathematical contribution by providing an elementary calculus for the composition of a Generalized function with a Stochastic Variable in the presence of a conditional expectation

Laser Polishing of Silica Rods

Lasers have been widely used in surface modification. In this research a CO2 continuous wave laser has been used to polish the slot surface of the silica rods. The strong absorption of the lO.6 um C02 radiation by the silica surface promotes the softening of a very thin layer of material that flows under the action of surface tension. As a result, a mirror smooth glassy surface has been formed which decreases the surface roughness without any substantial change in the surface geometries. The effect of laser to surface inclination angle on the requisite power requirement was assessed experimentally and theoretically. With laser beam scanning controlled by a computer aided design (CAD) database without specific tooling or human intervention, reliability and reproducibility of this process have been greatly improved compared to conventional fire polishing. The potential use of laser polishing as a post-processing step for freeform-fabricated parts is very promising.Mechanical Engineerin