柏拉图与亚里士多德生成论之比较

柏拉图在《蒂迈欧》和“未成文学说”中所讨论的生成理论与亚里士多德的生成论有很大的相关性，甚至可以说后者是在与前者的对话中形成的。无论是三本原的生成模式学说，火、气、水、土四元素相互生成学说，还是由四元素生成同质体的理论，甚至个别事物的生成理论，亚里士多德都从老师那里获取了理论资源。本文即从这几个方面进行对比论证，表明亚里士多德继承和发展了柏拉图的生成理论。本文还就柏拉图的“接受者”与亚里士多德的最初质料和终极质料的关系进行了进一步的澄清。     

论强纲领中的因果性模型问题

布鲁尔强纲领中所反对的目的论模型来源于巴恩斯提出的目的论模式，他们都拒绝将科学的发展看作真理进化过程，认为作为一种信念的科学知识应当纳入知识社会学的研究领域。布鲁尔进一步提出了与目的论模型相对立的因果性模型，并构建出科学知识社会学应当遵守的四条“强纲领”，力图促使知识社会学成为一门普遍性的学科。布鲁尔声称强纲领的因果性模型与目的论模型是两种相互排斥的形而上学立场，但实际上因果性模型与目的论模型并不完全排斥，甚至还有所交融；同时，他关于因果性模型的论证与辩护也存在诸多问题，是一种不彻底的“强纲领”。     

The role of leadership in shared value creation from the public’s perspective: A multi-continental study

Porter and Kramer’s concept of creating shared value (CSV) has been welcomed as an approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) among corporations that also provides a practical opportunity for dialogue in public relations, but it has been little examined from the general population’s (i.e., the public’s) perspective. Such scrutiny is important because its findings enable public relations to contribute to the debate and development of CSV from both the public’s and the organization’s viewpoints. Additionally, if public relations professionals understand how the public perceives CSV, they can give a strategic perspective to top management for maximizing moral capabilities of the business and formulate effective communication to promote CSV initiatives. This study investigates whether the public prefers corporations to practice CSV as opposed to intrinsic CSR as a separate pursuit from business interests. It also explores the role of leadership as an influential and ethical construct in implementing effective CSV as perceived by the public. The public’s preference for CSV over intrinsic CSR was revealed in a survey of 1784 participants in the United States (US), Germany, and China. Factor analysis results further suggested that effective CSV competencies of CEOs were construed as a unidimensional concept in the US, but German and Chinese participants viewed it as two-dimensional. The public perceived that leaders’ moral character played a more important, core role in effective CSV than did altruistic and behavioral attributes, across nations. Network analysis of the perceived effective CSV-characteristics provides further implications for CSV communication.     

To what extent is social security spending associated with enhanced firm-level performance? A case study of SMEs in Indonesia

Although the relationship between social protection and enterprise performance is much debated in the literature, evidence is particularly limited in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises in developing economies. Using census data from 2010 to 2014, this article examines how the provision of social security influenced business performance in Indonesia. The author finds that increased social security spending of 10 per cent is associated with a per-worker revenue gain of up to 2 per cent. Moreover, profits are not found to decrease with increased social protection coverage, suggesting that increasing worker benefits may be a worthwhile business investment.     

Evaluation capacity building in the nonformal education context: Challenges and strategies

Policymakers’ demand for increased accountability has compelled organizations to pay more attention to internal evaluation capacity building (ECB). The existing literature about ECB has focused on capacity building experiences and organizational research, with limited attention on challenges that internal evaluation specialists face in building organizational evaluative capacity. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a Delphi study with evaluation specialists in the United States’ Cooperative Extension Service and developed a consensus on the most pervasive ECB challenges as well as the most useful strategies for overcoming ECB challenges. Challenges identified in this study include limited time and resources, limited understanding of the value of evaluation, evaluation considered as an afterthought, and limited support and buy-in from administrators. Alternatively, strategies found in the study include a shift in an organizational culture where evaluation is appreciated, buy-in and support from administration, clarifying the importance of quality than quantity of evaluations, and a strategic approach to ECB. The challenges identified in this study have persisted for decades, meaning administrators must understand the persistence of these issues and make an earnest investment (financial and human resource) to make noticeable progress. The Delphi approach can be used more often to prioritize ECB efforts.     

航线网络中需求无约束估计的非参数选择模型

传统的航空客运需求无约束估计方法仅针对平行直达航班中的顾客需求“溢出”和“再 现”问题，未能考虑航空网络中直达和中转联程航班之间的网络替代效应． 基于顾客偏好排序列表定义了航空网络顾客类型集合，建立了考虑顾客策略行为的网络型非参数离散选择模型．考虑到网络环境下历史预售数据的不完备性，站在线上和线下交易平台的角度，分别建立了非截尾和截尾需求情况下的完备数据对数似然函数． 采用 EM 算法对顾客到达率和概率质量函数进行联合估计，并提出了网络环境下的顾客“初始需求”、“再现需求”和“溢出需求”无约束估计计算方法．通过数值模拟验证了所提方法的可行性和有效性，相较于现有方法能准确反映产品间网络替代效应对顾客选择行为影响，从而更加有效地避免对历史顾客“初始需求”的高估问题．     

Estimation of the additive hazards model with interval-censored data and missing covariates

The additive hazards model is one of the most commonly used regression models in the analysis of failure time data and many methods have been developed for its inference in various situations. However, no established estimation procedure exists when there are covariates with missing values and the observed responses are interval-censored; both types of complications arise in various settings including demographic, epidemiological, financial, medical and sociological studies. To address this deficiency, we propose several inverse probability weight-based and reweighting-based estimation procedures for the situation where covariate values are missing at random. The resulting estimators of regression model parameters are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. The numerical results that we report from a simulation study suggest that the proposed methods work well in practical situations. An application to a childhood cancer survival study is provided. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 48: 499–517; 2020 © 2020 Statistical Society of Canada     

Improving patients’ satisfaction in a mobile hospital using Lean Six Sigma – a design-thinking intervention

Abstract

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) that offers a unique integration of Lean and Six Sigma has been accepted globally across services sectors. Previous studies that examined the application of LSS in healthcare were steered in traditional hospital settings. Apparently, there are no studies that highlight the application of LSS in mobile hospitals, an emerging trend in the healthcare sector. The aim of this article is to explore the applicability of LSS in a mobile hospital. The authors present a case study of improving patients’ satisfaction in a mobile hospital, through reducing turnaround time. Design-thinking intervention to LSS helped resolve a real-time problem using Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify roadmap. This article contributes to the ‘healthcare quality” body of knowledge and is novel as it is the first of its kind of LSS application in a mobile hospital underpinning Design thinking. This study is unique as it demonstrates academia–industry collaboration in solving an organizational problem.     

Afghan families and health professionals’ access to health information during and after pregnancy

BackgroundHaving a baby in a new country can be challenging, especially if unable to communicate in a preferred language. The aim of this paper is to explore the provision of health information for Afghan women and men during pregnancy, childbirth and the first year after birth in Melbourne, Australia.MethodsCommunity engagement underpinned the study design. Qualitative study with bicultural researchers conducting semi-structured interviews. Interviews and focus groups were also conducted with health professionals.ResultsSixteen Afghan women and 14 Afghan men with a baby aged 4–12 months participated. Thirty four health professionals also participated. Verbal information provided by a health professional with an interpreter was the most common way in which information was exchanged, and was generally viewed favourably by Afghan women and men. Families had limited access to an interpreter during labour and some families reported difficulty accessing an interpreter fluent in their dialect. Availability of translated information was inconsistent and health professionals occasionally used pictures to support explanations. Women and men were unsure of the role of health professionals in providing information about issues other than pregnancy and infant wellbeing.ConclusionBoth individual and health system issues hinder and enable the availability and use of information. Consistent, understandable and ‘actionable’ information is required to meet the needs of diverse families. Health professionals need to be supported with adequate alternatives to written information and access to appropriate interpreters. Inconsistent provision of information is likely to contribute to low health literacy and poor maternal and child health outcomes.