Attitude strength moderates adverse effects to questionnaire design

ABSTRACT

The presentation and visual design of the “don’t know” category in rating scales on respondents’ behavior may have ambivalent effects. The hypothesis is that attitude strength toward the topic influences the respondents’ sensitivity to the graphical design of the scale. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire conducted among 307 German university students contained an experimental variation of the presentation of a “don’t know” category and its visual design. A multinomial logistic regression shows that presenting a “don’t know” category drives respondents toward extreme categories. The visual design of the “don’t know” category influences the distribution of responses, all the more that the respondents’ attitudes toward the item topic are weak.     

历史城区自行车绿道系统规划与设计的实证研究

为提升历史城区的绿道品质，优化非机动车出行环境，对自行车绿道系统的规划与设计方法进行了实证研究。根据自行车绿道系统的特性，按照空间形态特性将历史城区的自行车绿道系统分为单元、廊道及节点等3类要素，通过自组织映射图模型、最短路算法、旅行推销员算法及自行车路阻函数等，在地理信息系统上建立了基于赋权系数的自行车绿道系统规划方法，并应用所提出的方法对西安市主城区自行车绿道系统进行实证研究。研究结果表明，西安可以构建成包括22条骑行廊道、总长度142.6 km的自行车绿道网络，证明提出的方法能建立适用于历史城区出行特性的自行车绿道系统。     

双循环新发展格局下中国双向直接投资研究

构建以国内大循环为主体、国内国际双循环相互促进的新发展格局,是对未来中国经济发展路径做出的重大战略部署,作为连接国内国际双循环的纽带,双向直接投资的发展战略和路径面临重塑和调整。研究认为,应当以推动新时代科技创新和产业升级为目标,提高双向直接投资的质量,畅通供应链和产业链; 以“一带一路”倡议为依托,通过更高水平的双向投资带动中国与沿线国家贸易水平的提高; 建设高水平自贸区和自贸港,提高对外开放标准,更高质量吸引外资,提升参与国际大循环的技术含量和自主性; 在畅通要素流动领域,建立更加完善的现代化物流体系,建设更高标准的要素流通市场体系,降低制度性交易费用,提高生产率和对高质量外资的吸引能力。     

Mortality analysis of persons with disabilities in Argentina by age,sex and duration of benefit, 2015–16

This article describes the differential mortality of Argentina’s disability pension beneficiaries during the 2015–16 period, based on National Social Security Administration (Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social – ANSES) payment records. It compares data for those with an assessed disability with overall population data, as well as with available international data (from Canada, Chile, Mexico, and the United States of America). In addition to breaking down mortality rates for people with disabilities by age and sex, it also factors in duration of benefit, establishing an inverse correlation between benefit duration and mortality.     

Child protection social workers' constructions of children and childhood: An integrative review

Social workers' constructions of children and childhood are central to how professionals interact with children and support their needs. The aim of this integrative review was to provide a comprehensive portrayal of child protection social workers' constructions of children and childhood. We analysed and synthesized 35 empirical studies with samples of social workers in the child protection domain where issues regarding the child or the child's situation were the study focus. The findings show that children and youth are constructed as a generalized group viewed in light of their parents. We see a fragmented and context‐free child produced by causal shortcuts strongly informed by specific and, at times, simplified and biased psychological knowledge. Moreover, we identify constructions of the child in need of protection and thereby position children as objects for intervention, separating that from children as subjects in their own rights. Although the participatory child is visible in the data material, the actual practice of involving children seems arbitrary.     

Uncovered and disrespected. A qualitative study of Jordanian women’s experience of privacy in birth

BackgroundPrivacy is related to a person’s sense of self and the need to be respected and it is a key factor that contributes to women’s satisfaction with their birth experiences.AimTo examine the meaning of privacy for Jordanian women during labour and birth.MethodA qualitative interpretive design was used. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 27 Jordanian women. Of these women, 20 were living in Jordan while seven were living in Australia (with birthing experience in both Jordan and Australia). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.ResultsThe phrase ‘there is no privacy’ captured women’s experience of birth in Jordanian public hospitals and in some private hospital settings. Women in public hospitals in Jordan had to share a room during their labour with no screening. This experience meant that they were, “lying there for everyone to see”, “not even covered by a sheet” and with doctors and others coming in and out of their room. This experience contrasted with birth experienced in Australia.ConclusionsThis study explicates the meaning of privacy to Jordanian women and demonstrates the impact of the lack of privacy during labour and birth. Seeking a birth in a private hospital in Jordan was one of the strategies that women used to gain privacy, although this was not always achieved. Some strategies were identified to facilitate privacy, such as being covered by a sheet; however, even simple practices are difficult to change in a patriarchal, medically dominated maternity system.     

印度对中印跨境河流水关系的认知及战略选择

近年来,印度对中印在跨境河流水关系中的不平衡问题非常重视.其中,水文信息不对称以及收益不平衡是印度对水关系不平衡的两个主要认知.基于中印边境的互动历史,印度在对水关系的认知形成中往往会夸大中国的敌意与威胁.据此,印度试图通过建立制度框架、将中印水争议国际化以及竞争性开发跨境河流水资源的战略思维,平衡中国在雅鲁藏布江—布拉马普特拉河水关系中的优势地位.然而受水外交两面性特征和内政的掣肘,印度平衡战略的影响有限,而且更强化了其对雅鲁藏布江—布拉马普特拉河战略安全收益的重视,并使未来中印双方基于水资源共同利益进行合作的难度加大.     

Evaluating New Zealand’s restorative promise: the impact of legislative design on the practice of restorative justice

ABSTRACT

Restorative justice is regarded in modern criminal justice systems as one approach to address inadequacies in the conventional justice model. New Zealand has become a leader in implementing legislatively mandated restorative procedures. This reputation is due in part to a handful of supportive statutes: the Sentencing Act 2002, the Victims’ Rights Act 2002, the Parole Act 2002, the Corrections Act 2004 and subsequent amendments to those acts. In this article, I evaluate the practices bolstered by these acts and how effectively they operate, accounting for how legislative design may contribute to achievements and shortcomings in New Zealand's restorative justice programmes. I supplement the results by comparing New Zealand's efforts to those in Vermont, a U.S. state similarly well-regarded for its restorative policies. The evaluation of each jurisdiction's restorative justice programme is based on metrics for restorative success from Bazemore and Schiff (2005. Juvenile justice reform and restorative justice: building theory and policy from practice. Cullompton: Willan Publishing). I employ qualitative and quantitative data, surveying existing evaluations of restorative justice in New Zealand and Vermont, collecting longitudinal statistics, and conducting interviews with restorative justice practitioners. Overall, this analysis reveals that the design of restorative justice programmes requires negotiation; it is difficult to balance the dimensions of effective restorative justice with the needs of modern justice systems.     

西方国家意识形态扩张的现代性路径及应对方略

生态、潮流、反恐、普世等问题已异化为西方意识形态扩张的现代性路径；从全球化趋势的形成和发展、主流意识形态建设的弱化、新媒体发展和普及等方面着力分析西方意识形态扩张现代性路径的诸多原因，加强马克思主义意识形态宣传教育、提升马克思主义意识形态交往的主动权和影响力、促进社会发展和惠民建设等进行应对。