Representing the negotiation process with a rule-based formalism

The objective of this paper is to introduce a flexible approach to the structuring of negotiations. The process of negotiations with its intricacies is discussed, and drawbacks of quantitative methods are analyzed. The decomposition of the negotiation process into a certain hierarchical structure is presented. This structure is represented with and/or trees used for knowledge representation in artificial intelligence. The definitions of flexibility and reactions to the opponent's moves are introduced with the help of a rule-based formalism. The implications of these definitions for the analysis of the negotiation process are presented. The approach is illustrated with a set of hypothetical examples.     

Understanding and Representing Human Services Knowledge

Expert systems-computerized decision consultants-offer potential for human service professionals to share expertise and reduce variability in decision making. The development of such systems is particularly important in the field of child protection because of high staff turnover and complex decision making requirements. This paper presents a method for knowledge acquisition in building a prototype expert system in child welfare. Patterns of decision making are traced and translated into computer-based rules. Solutions to research problems in developing expert systems are presented. Continued refinement of research practice in this area can lead to the development of usable expert systems for the social services.     

中国共产党80年与代表先进文化

作为中国共产党指导思想的马克思主义,是先进文化的精华和典范,它最具有科学性、革命性、实践性.苏东剧变,不是马克思主义的失败,而是苏联社会主义模式的失败,恰恰是没有始终坚持马克思主义的结果.始终代表先进文化的前进方向是我们党80年的一条基本经验,其关键是要坚持马列主义的指导,并与实际相结合.目前尤其要处理好指导思想一元化与现存思想观念多元化的关系.     

Representing the Mental World in Children's Social Behavior: Playing Hide-and-Seek and Keeping a Secret

This study examined the relationship between children's developing theory of mind and their ability to engage in two social behaviors which have, as their cognitive underpinning, the representation that what one knows may not be accessible to others. Children of 3, 4, and 5 years, in a quasi‐naturalistic setting, played hide‐and‐seek and also were required to keep a secret about a surprise. The ability to play hide‐and‐seek was significantly related to children's ability to refrain from disclosing the secret, and there was a significant relationship between these behaviors and children's social cognition, as measured by theory of mind tasks. The relationship between these social behaviors and tasks measuring executive function was not significant once age was taken into account. With regard to the development of these social behaviors, few 3‐year‐olds, but most 4‐year‐olds, and almost all 5‐year‐olds could successfully play hide‐and‐seek and keep a secret. This study demonstrates the importance of the conceptual understanding of mental states in the young child's social world.     

Representing personal and common futures: Insights and new connections between the theory of social representations and the pragmatic sociology of engagements

To understand social issues and practices such as those related to climate change and technological change that are clearly future-oriented – collectively experienced events that are “not yet” – and co-constructed by different actors, we need nuanced conceptualizations of how people think about, negotiate and co-create futures that allow us to understand not only what people (can) think and do about future-related issues but also how that happens, what for and with which implications. However, so far, one of the key theoretical approaches that has conceptualised how people make meaning in situations of change and uncertainty – the socio-psychological social representations theory (SRT) – has not often engaged with the future or with different forms of temporality. By contrast, the French pragmatic sociology of engagements and critique (PS) has engaged with these notions, conceptualising them in relation to materiality and a plurality of moral orientations – two dimensions often seen as key to how collective futures are made and imagined. To offer a more nuanced and systematic conceptualization of how people represent the future and with what consequences, this paper will present, compare and synthesise SRT and PS, as a first step towards an interdisciplinary research agenda on social change and representations of the future.     

Group Work with Inner City Persons with AIDS

A model for serving inner city poor persons with AIDS through a medical facility is described. The mixed factors of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, race and modes of transmission are examined as influences on the group process. Objectives, pre-group planning, formation guidelines, and presenting problems of members are identified. Through case illustrations group issues are used to point out interventive strategies. Because of the shifting demographics of people with AIDS and their families, the group modality provides a vital educative and supportive vehicle to highly disadvantaged persons affected by the disease.     

有陕西特色的城乡协调发展的城市化研究

2004年陕西省人均GDP已经突破了1000美元,按照国际经验和我国目前发展的态势,这表明陕西省城市化的高潮正在到来。但是,近些年来,在我国城市化快速发展的背景下,城乡差距反而越来越大。因此,在我国城市化加速发展的新时期,城市化一定要与农村发展紧密结合,走城乡协调发展的城市化道路。对陕西省省情及其城市化特点充分了解的基础上,可以了解陕西城市化进程中存在的主要问题,并进而提出陕西省应走有陕西特色的城乡协调发展的城市化道路。     

仁政宽容与无为而治

政象无错综则会成苛政;法象无错综则会生乱法。处权而不用,清静而不动,宽大以兼容,慈厚以怀众,以民为功,以众为势,由此无为而治。当政者无为,国权政权俭约,人权民权易行。无为而治有助于厚养民生,富民乐民。政府缓和规制,可以克服横征暴敛,减轻农民负担,开放择业经营自由,使民富足。     

Wrestling with Legacy

Abstract

Those of us who are children of Holocaust refugees and survivors inherit a complex, multi-faceted legacy that manifests itself in various conscious and unconscious ways at different stages of our lives. In the following pages, I share my journey toward a better understanding and integration of my parents' Holocaust experiences, and of the losses they and their extended families suffered under Nazi rule. That understanding necessitated traveling to my father's place of birth, developing relationships with Germans currently residing there, and immersing myself in the details of the demise of the Jewish community of the small rural village of Roth, Germany.

Immersing myself in my father's Holocaust history was both daunting and healing. It provided me with an opportunity to wrestle with my legacy in a way that interrupted the cycle of intergenerational prejudice that I was passing on to my own children. It inspired me to create an educational exhibit that could teach the lessons of the Holocaust in a way that is personal and relevant to students, with the intent of helping visitors to understand their civic responsibility to actively protest against prejudice and social injustice.     

Patients with Keloids

ABSTRACT

A great deal has been written about the possible patho-genesis and treatment of keloids. However, the psychological effects these often disfiguring lesions have on affected individuals remains largely unexplored. During face-to-face and telephone interviews, patients were asked how keloids and keloid therapy may have affected their personal and social lives. This preliminary inquiry suggests that careful counseling may prove worthwhile for such patients.     

Home modification among families with older adults with disability in Korea

Abstract

This study explores psychosocial factors related to the use of home modification among older adults with disabilities and their caregivers in Korea. Using in-depth interviews, this study elaborates specific socio-cognitive factors leading to home modification from the multiple perspectives of care recipients, family caregivers and home care helpers. The study findings are theoretically organised into four domains: structural factors, care recipients’ service needs, socio-cognitive factors, and enabling resources. Practice and policy implications are discussed in the context of underdeveloped housing policies for ageing-in-place in Korea.