We construct a new stochastic interest rate model with two stochastic factors, by introducing a stochastic long-run equilibrium level into the Vasicek interest rate model which follows another Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. With the interest rate under the Black–Scholes model being assumed to follow the newly proposed model, a closed-form representation of European option prices is successfully presented, when the analytical characteristic function of the underlying log-price under a forward measure is derived. To assess the model performance, a preliminary empirical study is conducted using S&P 500 index and its options, with the Vasicek model and an alternative two-factor Vasicek model taken as benchmarks.

This paper presents a dictionary-based study of French loanwords in contemporary English in order to investigate the location of primary stress in these loanwords. Four factors are found to be significant predictors of the position of primary stress: endings, word complexity, the segmental structure of the final syllable, and syllable count. Moreover, this study confirms previous observations on the tendency for American English to have more final stress in French loanwords than British English. Finally, the implications of our findings are discussed in light of a model that assumes that English phonology consists of distinct interacting subsystems.

The area of corporate disregard has a poor reputation for certainty of reasoning. To provide an alternative way of approaching the issue, we conducted an empirical study of the relationship between rationale and outcome within UK corporate disregard cases from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. We examine the evidence from three perspectives. First, we examine the broad range of instrumental rationales found in the case law by disregard rates in order to identify where issues might be arising with individual rationales. Secondly, as suggested in the wider empirical literature, we examine the rationale rates by jurisdiction in order to see whether there were problematic interpretation issues concentrated in particular parts of the court levels. Thirdly, we examine the rationale rates by substantive claim to see whether contextual aspects of the doctrine, as the court identified with family law in Prest, were influencing outcomes. By providing an empirical study on the rationales instrumental to corporate disregard outcomes we aim to introduce a broader evidential view of where concerns may lie, which can both aid critique of key judicial historical developments such as Adams and Prest and provide a broader evidence base that might aid future judicial reform of the area.

Chinese public hearings or consultations have been subject to numerous debates, doubts, and scepticism about the existence of Chinese deliberative democracy. More empirical evidence, however, is required about these debates before we can offer any meaningful account of the nature, characteristics, and direction of Chinese deliberation. In addition, although there have been many case studies on grassroots deliberative democracy, such studies are intellectually isolated from each other in the sense that they do not comprise a statistical unit. To overcome this deficiency, we developed a new research method for studying grassroots deliberation by collecting and validating the existing case studies, thereby making them a statistical unit. This paper aims to offer a big-picture perspective and the national statistical trend behind the uneven development of grassroots deliberative democracy. It develops an intellectual framework to assess whether grassroots deliberation is democratic. By collecting, validating, and coding 393 cases of Chinese grassroots deliberations, we have assessed Chinese grassroots deliberation, confirmed the cases’ democratic attributes, and provided a solid statistical result. Although there is strong evidence to support the claim that these grassroots deliberation experiments are democratic, there remain some variations, nuances, and shortcomings. The full picture is not simple, but instead provides a mixed perspective.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a global problem, which threatens marine ecosystems in addition to putting food security and regional stability at risk. It is often linked to major human rights violations and even organized crime. Legal measures, such as introducing monitoring and surveillance systems or denying services to vessels engaged in IUU fishing, are often implemented at national and international levels to combat such practices. Academics and economists have suggested that IUU fishing might be discouraged equally well by taking the profit out of it. Building on this premise, this article analyzes the extent to which the availability of liability insurance contributes to the problem of IUU fishing. To this end, an empirical study has been carried out, which supports the contention that vessels suspected of involvement in IUU fishing have no serious difficulty in obtaining liability insurance from the market and insurance sector, thereby inadvertently facilitating IUU fishing. The authors conclude that to deter IUU fishing, access to insurance for those involved in it should be restricted. Some success can be achieved if certain steps are taken to improve the risk assessment procedures of underwriters. However, it is advocated that the most effective approach would be the reform of European Union or domestic legislation and putting providers of liability insurance under a clear positive obligation to refuse cover to those involved in IUU fishing.

Providing a survey of empirical law and economics scholarship in China, this paper shows the binary categories of quantitative versus qualitative studies are inadequate. Instead, two paths for future research in empirical law and economics in China are identified, namely studies based upon individual cases and studies that apply social scientific tools to analyze data, such as statistical and experimental tools. This paper also emphasizes the unique value of empirical law and economics for Chinese scholars in the increasingly globalized academic world.

To better understand the impact of early versus late design decisions, a study was undertaken on the root causes of missed requirements in new product development and their impact on development cost through rework activities. The context is the industrial development of unmanned aerial vehicles. The aim is to understand the occurrence rate of missed requirements, their root causes, and their relative impact. A quantitative approach of counting requirements changes and using engineering documentation enabled traceability from observation back to root cause origin. The development process was partitioned into sequential program segments, to categorize activities to before and after concept and design freeze. We found that there was a significant difference in the rate of design defects arising before and after concept freeze; and found there was a significantly higher number of corrective activities required for design defects arising earlier before concept freeze. The revision rate of concept phase decisions was over 50%, and the rework multiplier if detected late was over 10X. In combination, design decisions made before design freeze accounted for 86% of the total expected program cost, and 34% was determined before concept freeze. These results quantify and support the anecdotal 80–20 impact rule for design decisions.

A mathematical model to price convertible bonds involving mixed fractional Brownian motion with jumps is presented. We obtain a general pricing formula using the risk neutral pricing principle and quasi-conditional expectation. The sensitivity of the price to changing various parameters is discussed. Theoretical prices from our jump mixed fractional Brownian motion model are compared with the prices predicted by traditional models. An empirical study shows that our new model is more acceptable.

Five schools of Chinese cultural traditions that implicitly influence current management thought in China are used to create a four-factor Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions (SCCT) model. A sample of 2658 people in businesses in Beijing was used to develop the dimensions that were then cross-validated in a nation-wide sample of 718 business employees. The four dimensions show plausible patterns of convergent and discriminant validity with generic domains of values represented by the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS). We suggest that the Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions provides a unique model of Chinese culture that complements other generic measures, thereby allowing a deep understanding of Chinese culture.

Court mediation is now playing a crucial role in the Chinese legal system. Based on two case studies in Yunnan Province, this paper examines how court mediation works in Southwest China. It finds that court mediation can expand the capacity of the court concerning case acceptance, and is capable of fixing multicentre disputes and complicated social problems. However, the paper also points out that when encountering some ill-suited cases, justice may be undermined and the judge’s role may be confused. Therefore, it is necessary to pass some law to exclude the ill-suited cases from the mediation track when promoting court mediation in Southwest China.

Objectives: To investigate doctors' and nurses' attitudes toward 14 potential prioritization criteria.

Methods: This study was performed by using the random paired scenario method. The respondents received a questionnaire with 12 pairs of scenarios, imaginary patient cases, each of which contained two to three different prioritization criteria (e.g., child, old patient, poor patient). Respondents were asked which one of each scenario pair they would choose if only one patient could be treated. The scenarios were randomly put into 30 different questionnaire sets. There was a random selection of 241 doctors and 151 nurses in Finland, with response rates of 60.3% and 50.3%, respectively.

Results: Doctors prioritized young patients, severe disease, expensive treatments and posteriorized (negatively prioritized) demented or institutionalized patients, and patients having a self-caused disease. Children were strongly prioritized, even over serious diseases. Expensive treatments appeared to be favored by doctors, and this result cannot be explained by severity of disease. Nurses' attitudes were similar to those of doctors.

Conclusions: Children were strongly prioritized. Elderly persons were posteriorized if they had dementia or were living in institutions. Patients having a self-caused disease are posteriorized, more often by nurses than by doctors.