On the effectiveness of cognitive feedback from an interface agent

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of task information (TI) provided by an interface agent during the idea evaluation and integration step of the problem formulation stage of the problem solving process. The effectiveness assessment was based on solving diagnostic decision problems in the domain of complex industrial machinery. Ten domain experts participated in this study. Decision support was provided by a case-based reasoning system. Findings suggest that TI provided by the interface agent had no effect on the decision maker's performance, nor on the associated cognitive effort. However, a verbal protocol analysis revealed that the ten subjects used the interface agent to verify their decision processes. The results and their implications are discussed with respect to current findings in the area of decision support systems.     

企业组织中人力资本道德风险因素分析

基于市场里的企业是“一个人力资本与非人力资本的特别合约”的观点,就人力资本的道德风险问题进行了研究。认为影响人力资本道德风险的因素主要有诚实履行合约后的正常收益、道德风险行为被发现的概率、贴现因子、道德风险行为的额外收益以及道德风险行为被发现后的次优收益。并且以预期收益为目标建立了数学模型,分析人力资本道德风险行为动机与影响因素之间的关系,提出了相关的激励、约束及协作策略。最后,讨论了随机因素的影响。     

角式调节阀两相流模拟与结构改进

基于2003—2015年我国26个省、自治区的面板数据,重点考察了四万亿投资刺激计划背景下,各地区的财政货币政策对粮食价格波动的冲击效应及其差异。研究发现：中国粮食价格上涨除了受到生产成本因素驱动以外,还主要受到宽松的货币政策所引致的地方流动性过剩的影响,地方财政货币政策对粮食价格波动的冲击效应在四万亿投资实施前后存在明显的差异;四万亿刺激计划实施后,各地区积极的财政政策和宽松的货币政策才是新一轮粮食价格波动的主因,粮食类农产品因为自身的敏感和脆弱性,受到了财政货币政策引致的流动性泛滥所带来的最直接伤害;应注重财政货币政策的多重目标分解、梳理及协调配合,处理好“稳增长、控物价、调结构、惠民生、防风险”之间复杂多变的关系,寻求一个有效的“平衡点”。     

台湾地区家庭教育政策法规制订实施特点及其对大陆的启示

台湾是目前世界上唯一通过正式颁布“家庭教育法”来推动家庭教育事业发展的地区。台湾地区家庭教育政策法规的制订实施对大陆地区具有重要的借鉴意义。台湾地区家庭教育政策法规的制订体系完整,并经过多次修订。台湾地区家庭教育政策法规有稳定的实施机构,有力的经费支持,整合的政府资源以及配套的活动课程。大陆地区应加快家庭教育法治化进程,成立家庭教育立法小组,立体化家庭教育服务网络,建立家庭教育经费保障机制,配套有地方特色的活动课程并重视培养家庭教育专业人才。     

哈萨克斯坦的宗教现状与宗教政策

独立后,哈萨克斯坦国的宗教状况和政教关系发生了诸多变化,宗教地位在民众社会生活中不断上升,传统宗教(伊斯兰教和东正教)与非传统宗教之间的竞争加大,伊斯兰极端主义对国家安全的破坏日益明显。《宗教活动与宗教团体法》(2011)的出台为规范宗教活动、遏制某些宗教的极端化奠定了基础。宗教政策经历了从宽松到趋紧的过程,族际和睦与宗教和谐政策的政教关系已初步形成,宗教状况的发展趋势将会受到多种因素的影响。     

Problem‐ and solution‐focused characteristics of parenting support, 3 years after implementation of the solution‐focused approach: A qualitative content analysis

In recent years, solution‐focused parenting support has been developed and implemented as a promising brief and strength‐based approach. Given the fundamental differences between solution‐focused and the historically more common problem‐focused parenting support and the complexity of transforming professional practice, an actual shift towards solution‐focused parenting support can be expected to be limited up to now. However, because research into the specific communication characteristics of professional parenting support is currently lacking, no conclusion can be drawn at present. Therefore, this study aims to explore the current problem‐ and solution‐focused characteristics of parenting support in the Dutch youth healthcare (YH). In total, 15 support sessions performed by 10 public health nurses were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. A detailed qualitative content analysis of professional communication was conducted to identify problem‐ and solution‐focused factual, expressive, relational and appealing aspects of parenting support. Problem‐focused characteristics dominated all sessions of parenting support. This study is the first to thoroughly analyse the problem‐focused and solution‐focused communication characteristics of professional parenting support using a qualitative content analysis. Parenting support practice in the Dutch YH did not shift substantially to a solution‐focused approach. More effort is required to stimulate and facilitate this professional transformation.     

Early Pregnancy Assessment Services in Australia: What psychosocial support is available? A qualitative study

ProblemWomen commonly experience emotional distress following miscarriage but do not receive the support they need from healthcare providers.BackgroundMiscarriage can result in psychological morbidity; however, appropriate support at the time of a miscarriage can lead to better psychological outcomes. Early Pregnancy Assessment Services (EPASs) are dedicated outpatient services considered the “gold standard” for miscarriage care. Little is known about the psychosocial support EPASs provide in Australia.AimsThe aim of this study was to explore the provision of psychosocial support in Australian EPASs.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 purposively sampled key-informants from 13 EPASs. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed.FindingsConsiderable variation was found in how EPASs functioned and their provision of psychosocial support. Many services were co-located with antenatal services, run by doctors with limited experience and most did not offer any psychosocial training to staff specific to EPAS. Referrals for additional support were generally not offered for first trimester miscarriages, and follow-up typically focused on physical management rather than emotional wellbeing. All EPAS staff demonstrated a strong commitment to providing best possible care to women within their own clinical setting and acknowledged the need for improved psychosocial support.ConclusionThis study provides the first exploration of Australian EPASs’ provision of psychosocial support. It has shown that while health care professionals working in EPASs are dedicated to providing the best possible care to women within their clinical setting, psychosocial support is very limited and could be improved.     

Building a partnership for social service delivery in Indonesia: state and faith‐based organisations

Contrary to the secularisation processes in modernisation theory, religions and faith‐based organisations (FBOs) are thriving in contemporary Indonesia. Strongly supported by community members, religious organisations have begun to extend their services beyond the traditional areas of education and health to operate in disaster relief and poverty alleviation programmes. These FBOs have been offering assistance to the disadvantaged whose needs have not been adequately met by the state. Social programmes run by the FBOs are an important safety net at the grass‐roots level in Indonesia; how to effectively coordinate and offer such services are important social policy issues. This paper will show that the Indonesian Government is keen to remain the key provider of social services and often perceives the services of FBOs as a threat. Some recent state policies to regulate the funding sources of Islamic organisations have posed a significant logistical challenge for their future operation. In addition, theological differences across various religious groups have made it difficult to form inclusive and extensive partnerships among the FBOs, who tend to compete with each another resulting in rivalry. These socio‐political contexts have limited the formation of effective partnerships for offering coordinated social services.     

Danish and Norwegian hospital social workers’ cross-institutional work amidst inter-sectoral restructuring of health and social welfare

Starting in the 2000s, Denmark and Norway have undergone extensive restructuring of their health-related social benefit programmes, including how they are governed. Several reforms have sought to enhance inter-sectoral collaboration. Aiming at ensuring patients’ faster return to work, policy-makers have instituted economic incentives to both individuals and the health and welfare organisations who handle them. Through an institutional logics approach, this paper explores how hospital social workers in these countries are experiencing these changes. The ‘social’ part of post-treatment care and rehabilitation receives more attention in the Norwegian institutional set-up than in the Danish, and whilst challenges are experienced in both countries, in group interviews Danish social workers in particular express concerns about the implications of the accelerated return-to-work focus. In both countries, they report increasing difficulties in ‘making their way through’ the state-municipal bureaucracy. However, by drawing on the formal health knowledge derived from medical settings and the symbolic capital it bestows on them, they often manage to negotiate the work-and-welfare services, thereby transforming the social context for the patients.     

Practical procedures to deal with common support problems in matching estimation

This paper assesses the performance of common estimators adjusting for differences in covariates, such as matching and regression, when faced with the so-called common support problems. It also shows how different procedures suggested in the literature affect the properties of such estimators. Based on an empirical Monte Carlo simulation design, a lack of common support is found to increase the root-mean-squared error of all investigated parametric and semiparametric estimators. Dropping observations that are off support usually improves their performance, although the magnitude of the improvement depends on the particular method used.