Throughout history, various images have been associated with the hwarang. Most authors consider the hwarang to have been an élite military unit composed of handsome young aristocrats of the Silla period, while others contend that the main task of the hwarang was of religious nature, i.e. the spreading of Buddhist beliefs. Then again, some would emphasize the supposed educational function of the hwarang institution, and finally there is speculation that the hwarang might have been a group of wandering homosexual performers. Even though some of these hwarang images seem to be absurd, or at least not justifiable based on the extant sources, all of them have managed to survive and determine our current manifold images of the hwarang. This article aims to closely examine the perception of the hwarang during the colonial period, based on the opinions of the most influential historians of colonial Korea, Sin Ch’ae-ho and Ch’oe Nam-sǒn. In order to fully comprehend their concept of the hwarang, we should begin by scrutinizing Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa, which provided the textual basis for Sin and Ch’oe’s work.
Providing adequate housing at affordable prices remains a challenge for all welfare states. As part of a pilot project for developing a common methodology for reference budgets in the European Union, reference rents and other housing costs (energy, taxes, maintenance) corresponding to adequate dwellings for four hypothetical households living in nine capital regions of the EU were estimated. In this paper, we discuss the approach that we have taken. Quality criteria for adequate housing were derived from EU indicators of housing deprivation, and the recent UK Housing Standards Review. We used data from the Study of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) of 2012. Unsurprisingly, the estimates of reference rents vary strongly across capitals, reflecting cross-national differences in the level of the average rent. By contrast, other housing costs, which mainly reflect energy costs, vary much less.
The paper studies polynomial approximation models with a new type of constraints that enable to get estimates with significant properties. Recently we enhanced a representation of polynomials based on three reference points. Here we propose a two-part cubic smoothing scheme that leverages this representation. The presence of these points in the model has several consequences. The most important one is the fact that by appropriate location of the reference points the resulting approximant of two successively assessed neighboring approximants will be smooth. We also show that the considered models provide estimates with appropriate statistical properties such as consistency and asymptotic normality.
Interpolating and approximating polynomials have been living separately more than two centuries. Our aim is to propose a general parametric regression model that incorporates both interpolation and approximation. The paper introduces first a new r-point transformation that yields a function with a simpler geometrical structure than the original function. It uses r≥2 reference points and decreases the polynomial degree by r−1. Then a general representation of polynomials is proposed based on r≥1 reference points. The two-part model, which is suited to piecewise approximation, consist of an ordinary least squares polynomial regression and a reparameterized one. The later is the central component where the key role is played by the reference points. It is constructed based on the proposed representation of polynomials that is derived using the r-point transformation Tr(x). The resulting polynomial passes through r reference points and the other points approximates. Appropriately chosen reference points ensure quasi smooth transition between the two components and decrease the dimension of the LS normal matrix. We show that the model provides estimates with such statistical properties as consistency and asymptotic normality.
This paper analyzes references to an untouchable caste, namely the ḍomba-, which appear in the Sanskrit chronicle of the Kashmiri kings, Rājataraṅgiṇī. Its author, Kalhaṇa, depicts the Ḍombas as itinerant people, living by music and dance and having a liking for rich adornments. Although he regards any association with them as ritually polluting, he records that in the year 936 AD a Ḍomba family was given an audience at the court of King Cakravarman, following which the ruler married one of the Ḍomba singers. In spite of this, the same king is also displayed as a supporter of the Brāḥmaṇas and Brāhmaṇas, as receivers of the king’s favor, even though there is a sharp condemnation of Kalhaṇa. Thus, it seems that the untouchable status of the lowest castes was not too strict in the Kashmir of the 10th century. This is confirmed by evidence that indicates that the Brāhmaṇical King Yaśaskara retained the functionaries who had previously served the Ḍombas. There is also evidence of one other ruler, Kṣemagupta, specifically seeking out Ḍomba company. Only at the end of the 11th century is there evidence of a certain degree of segregation, when King Harṣa was to reject the inclusion of Ḍomba women in his harem. The paper shows how the Rājataraṅgiṇī can be utilized as a valuable source of knowledge relating to the ethnography and social history of pre-Islamic Kashmir.
Kalibrátory a kontrolní materiály jsou členy společné rodiny referenčních materiálů a liší se pouze růzností zamýšlených účelů použití. Při jejich hodnocení proto musí být používáno stejných měřítek včetně hodnocení jejich komutability. Obvyklý přístup, hledající veškeré zdroje chyb a problémů v nekomutabilitě kontrolních materiálů, je alibistický, nepřijatelně zjednodušený a metrologicky nekompetentní. Výrobky IVD jsou nenahraditelným východiskem činnosti klinické laboratoře, avšak musí být přístupné kritickému hodnocení. Je to jeden z možných zdrojů jejich dalšího zlepšování., Both calibrators and control materials are members of reference materials family. They are only intended for different purposes. All characteristics of both kinds of materials including commutability should be assessed according to the same criteria. Usually seeking the problems of IVD dominantly in non-commutability of control materials is too simplified and shows insufficient knowledge of metrology in chemistry., Bedřich Friedecký, and Lit. 22