Predictors of Treatment Outcome Among Asian Pathological Gamblers (PGs): Clinical,Behavioural, Demographic,and Treatment Process Factors

Research on predictors of treatment outcome among pathological gamblers (PGs) is inconclusive and dominated by studies from Western countries. Using a prospective longitudinal design, the current study examined demographic, clinical, behavioural and treatment programme predictors of gambling frequency at 3, 6 and 12-months, among PGs treated at an addiction clinic in Singapore. Measures included the Hospital anxiety and depression scale, gambling symptom assessment scale (GSAS), personal well-being index (PWI), treatment perception questionnaire and gambling readiness to change scale. Treatment response in relation to changes in symptom severity, personal wellbeing and abstinence were also assessed. Abstinence rates were 38.6, 46.0 and 44.4 % at 3, 6 and 12-months respectively. Significant reductions in gambling frequency, GSAS, and improvement in PWI were reported between baseline and subsequent outcome assessments, with the greatest change occurring in the initial three months. No demographic, clinical, behavioural or treatment programme variable consistently predicted outcome at all three assessments, though treatment satisfaction was the most frequent significant predictor. However, being unemployed, having larger than average debts, poor treatment satisfaction and attending fewer sessions at the later stages of treatment were associated with significantly poorer outcomes, up to 1-year after initiating treatment. These findings show promise for the effectiveness of a CBT-based treatment approach for the treatment of predominantly Chinese PGs. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Taken together, the findings suggest early treatment satisfaction is paramount in improving short-term outcomes, with baseline gambling behaviour and treatment intensity playing a more significant role in the longer term.     

建筑符号学与城市文化遗产的诠释——以重庆城市历史遗产展示为例

城市历史遗产作为城市特定时代历史与精神文化的载体,在对其进行展示与诠释的过程中必然面临与人的互动关系。本文从符号学的角度探索对作为城市符号实体的历史遗产的诠释过程与解读过程的差异,在认知主体对城市历史遗产符号的"再创造"的理解能力的基础上,将符号学的"共识性"与"模糊性"引入城市历史遗产展示与诠释的研究中。并以重庆渝中区城市历史遗产展示研究为例,探索该理念在城市历史遗产诠释研究中的可行性。     

China’s Demographic Future Under the New Two-Child Policy

China implemented the two-child policy in 2016, however, potential impacts of this new policy on its population reality have not been adequately understood. Using population census data and 1% population sampling data during the period of 1982–2015, this study develops a fertility simulation model to explore the effects of the two-child policy on women’s total fertility rate, and employs Cohort Component Method in population projections to examine China’s demographic future with different fertility regimes. The fertility simulation results reveal that the two-child policy will make significantly positive effects on China’s total fertility rate through increasing second births, leading to a sharp but temporary increase in the first 5 years after the implementation of the new policy. In addition, population projections using simulated total fertility rates show that the Chinese population would reach its peak value around the middle 2020s and be faced with the reduction of labor force supply and rapid aging process, featured with remarkable increases in both size and share of the elderly population. The findings suggest that the two-child policy would undoubtedly affect China’s fertility rates and demographic future; however, the effects are mild and temporary.

     

“沧浪之水”今何在?——文化生态系统视域下的文化生成、传播与实证研究

文化生态系统是特定文化生成、发展和传播的基础.文化内在的“生成性”特征决定了文化生成、发展和传播的基本规律.文化是特定“时间-历史”情境中的主体不断建构的结果,建构形成的“文化”又在新的“时间-历史”情境中得到继承、诠释和传播.纵观以“沧浪之水”为载体、以“有道则出、无道则隐”为核心的“沧浪文化”生成、发展和传播全过程, “沧浪文化”从文化的原始生长点出发,早期为扩展扩散,后期为迁移扩散;经由地理表征“升华”到经典文化中,又从经典文化“落实”到地理表征上的双向互动的生成和反身建构过程.就现实意义而言,不同地域的同类文化之间并非互相排斥而是互相联系、互相支持的关系,绝大多数地理性的“文化正宗”之争可以就此打住.     

Exploration and Firm Performance: The Moderating Impact of Competitive Strategy

In this study we examine the moderating effect of competitive strategy (including differentiation and cost‐leadership strategies) on the relationship between exploration and firm performance. We find that the moderating effect of differentiation strategy is positive while that of cost‐leadership strategy is negative. And, these moderating effects are stronger in a highly competitive context. This study offers an explanation for previous mixed findings on the linkage of exploration to firm performance and enriches the discipline's knowledge regarding the performance implications of exploration. Moreover, we respond directly to the appeal in research on competitive strategy to clarify the role played by competitive strategy in profiting from exploration.     

An adaptive-to-model test for partially parametric single-index models

Residual marked empirical process-based tests are commonly used in regression models. However, they suffer from data sparseness in high-dimensional space when there are many covariates. This paper has three purposes. First, we suggest a partial dimension reduction adaptive-to-model testing procedure that can be omnibus against general global alternative models although it fully use the dimension reduction structure under the null hypothesis. This feature is because that the procedure can automatically adapt to the null and alternative models, and thus greatly overcomes the dimensionality problem. Second, to achieve the above goal, we propose a ridge-type eigenvalue ratio estimate to automatically determine the number of linear combinations of the covariates under the null and alternative hypotheses. Third, a Monte-Carlo approximation to the sampling null distribution is suggested. Unlike existing bootstrap approximation methods, this gives an approximation as close to the sampling null distribution as possible by fully utilising the dimension reduction model structure under the null model. Simulation studies and real data analysis are then conducted to illustrate the performance of the new test and compare it with existing tests.     

交通基础设施对区域经济增长的空间溢出效应研究

文章利用探索性空间数据分析方法,发现2000-2014年我国区域经济发展存在显著的空间集群趋势以及正向空间自相关.利用2000年、2007年和2014年31个省份的数据,实证检验交通基础设施对区域经济增长的空间溢出效应.研究表明:资本、劳动力仍是区域经济增长的首要驱动要素,人力资本、政府支出、贸易开放度和交通基础设施发挥积极的协同作用.交通基础设施对区域经济增长的直接效应在总效应中仍占绝对优势,而传统研究未考虑空间溢出效应则将高估交通基础设施对经济增长的直接效应.     

从模因论的视角看文学翻译策略的选择

模因在同一文化中往往是通过模仿,尤其是语言进行传播.从模因论角度看,语言本身就是一种模因.语言经过模拟的手段得以丰富,而模因是人类与生俱来的能力.可以把文学翻译看作是异国文化的模因通过语言向本国传播的过程,文化模因的传播过程对文学翻译策略的选择产生影响.文学翻译中的归化策略是文化模因传播初期的必要阶段,异化翻译是文化模因传播发展的要求,而杂合翻译则是模因复制和传播的趋势.     

对自然界人工化价值的哲学审视

在生产方式推动的自然界人工化程度不断提高的过程中,整个自然界系统却越发无序,表现为人与自然关系的失衡。自然界的人工化改造虽是人类生存与发展的必然需求,但是,对于整个自然界而言,并非人工化程度越高越好。因此。为了重建人与自然的和谐,有必要从哲学角度重新审视自然界的人工化价值。     

劳动关系的支点:一种产权契约

企业的生产过程就是建立和维系劳动关系的过程,而劳动关系的建立和运行过程本身又是产权交易契约的签订和运行过程。从本质上来讲,早期的劳动关系可以概括为劳动力产权与物力资本产权的交易契约,而现代劳动关系则是人力资本产权与物力资本产权的交易契约。劳动关系的产权契约本质上是生产力发展和社会分工的必然结果,具有内在的经济合理性。