Examining links between affective empathy,cognitive empathy,and peer relationships at the transition to school

The current study aimed to (i) examine associations across features of affective and cognitive empathy, and (ii) explore their independent role for children's peer relationships at the transition to school. Affective empathy was measured using both observations of children's facial affect during an empathy-eliciting event and dispositional affective empathy to peer distress via teacher report. Cognitive empathy was measured using an index of children's proclivity to engage in perspective taking when witnessing the distress of another. Children's theory of mind was also assessed given close links with cognitive empathy. Participants were 114 Australian children (M_age = 67 months, SD = 5 months) assessed across two sessions during their first year of formal schooling. Findings showed that features of children's affective and cognitive empathy were unrelated, but both showed independent associations with children's positive peer relationships (assessed via peer-reported social preference and teacher-rated peer social maturity). The current study provides support for the delineation between features of affective and cognitive empathy in early school-age children, and the importance of understanding both affective and cognitive empathy for children's peer relationships at the transition to school. These findings have implications how we understand both the nature of empathy in childhood and the role it plays in supporting children's positive peer relationships.     

Examining Reports and Policies on Cognitive Enhancement: Approaches,Rationale, and Recommendations

The phenomenon of cognitive enhancement is attracting attention in bioethics literature and beyond, in public policy. In response, three bodies—the British Medical Association (BMA); the Commission de l'éthique de la Science et de la technologie (CEST) du Québec; the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)—have produced reports and guidance on this topic. To gain insights into different public policy approaches, rationales, and recommendations on the topic, we analyzed these reports in depth. We found convergence on the definition (with the exception of the CEST) of cognitive enhancement. However, we noted a lack of critical reflection with respect to the underlying rationale for developing these reports, i.e., that cognitive enhancement practices are rampant and represent major social changes. As it currently stands, cognitive enhancement is constituted in a way that challenges the creation of coherent and effective policy recommendations. However, policy makers should not simply wait for definitional consensus and hope that on balance the benefits turn out to be greater than the risks. Some components of cognitive enhancement could be reduced down to clearly identified policy targets to be further examined. Then, if appropriate, policy should be created that is, amongst other criteria, beneficial to the majority of the population.     

Brief interviews: approaches, techniques, and effectiveness

A study of brief-contact interviews at a psychiatric hospital by social workers indicated that such interviews can reduce long client waiting lists and increase case loads without adding to cost. Their effectiveness requires skill and judgment by highly-trained and experienced workers.     

The effects of mass shootings on gun sales: Motivations,mechanisms, policies and regulations

Surges in firearm sales after mass shootings have been well documented in the United States. This study presents three main findings regarding the impact of mass shootings on firearm demand and the moderating roles played by political and regulatory climates. First, mass shootings led to an immediate but temporary increase in gun sales. This effect continued for approximately 3–6 months after the incidents and was larger for shootings with a greater number of fatalities. Second, the association between mass shootings and gun sales was significant only under Democratic presidents. The party affiliation of the state legislature and state-level gun control did not moderate this association. Third, the increased firearm sales after mass shootings did not result in a higher level of firearm ownership. It appeared most purchases were made by current gun owners stockpiling additional firearms, thus indicating the fear of stricter gun control as a likely motivation. This study offers the following policy implications: (a) the public debates concerning gun violence could have the unintended consequence of raising gun demand among current owners, (b) the message of tightening gun control could increase the total stock of firearms in circulation, and (c) the regulations to prevent future mass shootings may be better addressed by the state government as a state-level regulation does not trigger demand response among potential consumers.     

Conflicts of interest in academic research: policies, processes, and attitudes

Few studies have examined academic researchers' understandings or attitudes toward conflict of interest policies even though these understandings and attitudes represent a crucial component of both compliance and educational efforts. This study reports the results of a large-scale, cross-sectional survey of research faculty at the nine campuses of the University of California regarding their understandings of and attitudes toward campus conflict of interest policies. We gathered information on their general assessments of investigators with financial ties to industry sponsors and reactions to the process of implementing conflict of interest policies at their respective campuses. We surveyed 1,971 faculty members from the nine-campus University of California system and had 779 responses (39% response rate). The sampled faculty were in the ten departments with the most number of financial disclosures at each campus. We utilized the WebSurveyor software to create a secure, online, 21-item survey. Our study reveals faculty with complex, sometimes contradictory, feelings about academic-industry relationships and highlights perceived gaps in policy and process. Most respondents were concerned about unlimited financial relationships, but a sizable number also viewed campus policies as irrelevant. Some expressed considerable anger over the process of policy implementation, rejecting the policies on the basis of professional and individual self-determination and moral integrity. Our study suggests the need for renewed efforts to encourage awareness of the relevance of conflict of interest policies for all faculty, new efforts to increase understanding of the situational nature of conflicts of interest, and reexamination of the processes of policy implementation at the campus level.     

Reviewing the latest national policies and services for people with severe mental health disorders in government-funded institutions in Vietnam,and policy recommendations for service improvements

The aim of this paper is to provide the international community with a broad and updated picture of key policies and services for people with severe mental health disorders in Vietnam. In particular, the paper (1) reviews the most important national policies governing care for people with mental health disorders, (2) reviews the status of free-of-charge care provided to people with severe mental health disorders in a network of government-funded facilities across the nation and (3) discusses the future policy directions of Vietnam regarding people with mental health disorders.     

教育教学视域下的语言景观研究述评:理论、议题及启示

语言景观研究主要探究公共空间内的语言选择所表征的社会意义.随着其研究边界的扩大,近年来国外学者对语言景观的考察逐渐从社会语言学视角拓展至教育教学视角.相较之下,国内学者对语言景观的研究多集中在社会语言学领域,极少有学者将其纳入教育教学的视域下进行考察.国外理论研究表明,语言景观不仅可以作为第二语言习得过程中额外的输入资源,还在促进语言学习者语用能力和多语能力的发展、培养多模态技能、提高语言意识方面发挥着重要的作用.对文献的梳理发现,国外实证研究多围绕语言景观与英语语言教学、语言景观与社会语言意识、语言景观与职前教师培训等三个议题开展.受国外研究的启发,建议国内学者加强语言景观应用于我国外语教学的理论构建,探索语言景观在对外汉语教学中的应用,从实证层面探究语言景观与语言意识的关系,重视教育机构内部的语言景观研究,并在研究方法上有所创新.     

When practices, promises, profits, and policies outpace hard evidence: the post-menopausal hormone debate

Currently, there is widespread controversy regarding the risks and benefits of hormone therapy for women over 50. The history of hormone therapy provides an excellent example of how different constituencies with competing objectives can produce health practices and policies of questionable benefit. We examine this history from the perspectives of women who now live longer, expecting higher quality of life throughout their later years, healthcare providers who are influenced by the real and perceived needs of their patients as well as information provided by drug manufacturers, the pharmaceutical industry which seeks to identify and promote drugs that offer the most promise for both patients and shareholders, and medical researchers —including the National Institutes of Health and the Federal Drug Administration .     

Trade and innovation policies: Coexistence and spillovers

The debate over trade’s role in growth and inequality in recent years seems to center on the question of whether the gains from trade are worth the disruption from necessary adjustments. In particular static gains from trade for advanced economies are generally estimated to be small, while empirical evidence around growing employment and inequality challenges suggest trade’s role may be larger than previously thought, though still only one of many contributing factors. The focus on static gains though likely understates substantially the dynamic gains, as trade’s role in spurring faster economic growth, in both developed and developing countries through competitive and innovative forces. The dynamic, competition and innovation angle suggests a need for industrial policies to be revisited and examine how spillovers play out in the global economy. At the same time significant technological disruption is occurring through digital technology, big data, and machine learning/AI techniques that often require advanced capabilities and have significant competition implications. In recent COVID-19 pandemic policy responses governments have dramatically increased spending and liquidity to support stressed firms and households and encouraged many countries to consider strategic efforts to build certain domestic capabilities with the aim of reducing dependence on trade for emergency related goods and services. This paper provides insights on the specific role of innovation policies, and they differ from and are similar to traditional industrial policies, and what that might mean for future trade rules.     

The North-South divide: Sources of divergence,policies for convergence

Building on the labour-augmented K+S model framework, we analyse the Italian North-South divide by means of an agent-based model (ABM) endogenously reproducing the divergence between two artificial macro-regions. The latter are characterised by identical initial conditions in terms of productive and innovation structures, but different labour market organisations. We identify the role played by these different arrangements on the possible divergence across the two regions. We found that divergences in the labour market reverberate into asymmetric productive performance due to negative reinforcing feedback loop dynamics. We then compare alternative mitigation policies by showing that schemes increasing machine renewal and replacement investment are the most effective in fostering convergence.     

Public policies promoting the informal sector: Effects on incomes,employment and growth in Burkina Faso

Since the 1990s, Burkina Faso has intensified the implementation of supporting policies to enhance the access to capital and liquidity in the informal sector. This paper analyzes the effects of these public policies on incomes, employment and economic growth by taking into account the interactions between the informal sector, the formal sector and the agricultural sector. For that purpose, policy shocks are simulated through the Partnership for Economic Policy Network's static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model which is adapted to the structure of a 2008-based social accounting matrix developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute. Our results highlight mixed effects including a paradoxical contraction of the informal sector, the formal sector and economic growth as well as an improvement of the informal households and the farmers’ incomes.     

Human rights,cultural practices,and state policies: Implications for global social work practice and policy

Effective practice in a global world requires knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures. Most social workers around the world are committed to values and policies that enhance the well‐being of especially vulnerable populations and that protect their human rights. However, not all cultural practices or policies place the same value on human rights and the protection of vulnerable populations, a situation that may result in conflicts for social workers, who have an ethical obligation to advocate for human rights as well as to be sensitive to their clients' cultural contexts. Based on multidisciplinary research and contemporary examples of gender discrimination, forced marriages, child labor, and female genital mutilation, this article proposes resolutions to this conflict. It concludes by suggesting practices and policies that might help social workers to strike an effective balance between cultural diversity and the promotion of human rights. Key Practitioner Message: ● Social workers are best placed to understand individuals and communities within their various cultural contexts; ● Social work practice and policy should be sensitive to cultural practices that may undermine human rights and the well‐being of vulnerable populations; ● Guided by professional values and ethics, social workers can assume the roles of educator and advocate in enhancing the rights of individuals.     

跨国并购:最近一次浪潮的透视与反思

1990年代中期到2001年,全球掀起了一次新的跨国并购浪潮.本文分别从跨国并购的目标经济、主导行业、目标企业和主要动机等侧面分析了此次跨国并购浪潮的特点;从直接投资流动角度探讨了跨国并购式的FDI与一般FDI流动的关系,由此而就此次并购浪潮掀起的原因,进行了较客观的探讨.     

Examining Cost Fulfillment: Child Care Policy and Strategies

ABSTRACT

Most advanced industrialized countries have established social support to aid families in balancing productive and reproductive labor during child-bearing years. Secondary data analysis was used to examine patterns of public support for low-income working families. Key findings highlight four types of policy strategies (Conservative, Limited, Average, and Universal) suggesting differentiated social citizenship opportunities based on place of residence. This research highlights how a complex policy environment contributes to unintended consequences as the working poor are exposed to child care and employment instability. Future research should consider how the policy environment contributes to material well-being in families during the life course.     

Explaining political trust among African Americans: Examining demographic, media, and social capital and social networks effects

African Americans routinely have lower levels of political trust compared with whites. Explanations of their political trust remain rather unexamined. Using data taken from the 1996 National Black Election Study, this analysis examines three models to test how demographic characteristics, the media, and social capital and social networks influence political trust among African Americans. The results show modest support for the models. However, social location as measured by demographic characteristics is most important for explaining the political trust of African Americans.     

Maternity and family leave policies: a comparative analysis

This article compares maternity leave data from a 1981 Columbia study, a 1992 two county survey and a 1997 revisit to the same sample of Idaho employers. The data reflect a trend between 1981 and 1997 of shifting costs for specific benefits (pension, life and health insurance) from employer to employee. The findings also indicate that, regardless of the number of employees, all responding employers have health insurance that covers maternity and allow pregnant employees to work until delivery if able to do so. Additionally, the effects of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 are considered by comparing policies reported in 1992 and those reported in 1997 by Idaho employers with 50 or more employees. The conclusions point to substantial changes in some leave benefits since the FMLA took effect but echo again the dilemma faced in the United States, that we are still out of step with most industrial societies in that we have an unpaid leave policy.