Incorporating quality into data envelopment analysis of nursing home performance: A case study

When using data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a benchmarking technique for nursing homes, it is essential to include measures of the quality of care. We survey applications where quality has been incorporated into DEA models and consider the concerns that arise when the results show that quality measures have been effectively ignored. Three modeling techniques are identified that address these concerns. Each of these techniques requires some input from management as to the proper emphasis to be placed on the quality aspect of performance. We report the results of a case study in which we apply these techniques to a DEA model of nursing home performance. We examine in depth not only the resulting efficiency scores, but also the benchmark sets and the weights given to the input and output measures. We find that two of the techniques are effective in insuring that DEA results discriminate between high and low quality performance.     

Tweeting democracy? Examining Twitter as an online public relations strategy for congressional campaigns’

Considering the integral relationship between public relations and democracy (Martinelli, 2011) coupled with the growing use of social media for democratic aims (Smith, 2011) the current study examines the effectiveness of Twitter as a public relations communications tool for congressional campaigns. Specifically, as a means of testing Twitter's effectiveness in informing and engaging voters, congressional candidate and political party Twitter use for all 435 U.S. House of Representatives races (N = 1284) are compared with 2010 election outcomes. Results indicate that candidates’ Twitter use significantly increased their odds of winning, controlling for incumbency and Party ID. Additionally, significant differences between incumbents’ and challengers’ Twitter use during the election cycle emerged, which has important implications for public relations practices aimed at achieving democratic outcomes.     

Principal Component Analysis of Fertility Changes: United States, 1950–1960

Abstract

Much of present theory and research concerning class and ethnicity overlooks or discounts the overlapping effects of these two social dimensions upon individual behavior and group structure. Gordon's ethclass is discussed as the most proximate attempt at a conceptual model which integrates the two. Hypotheses suggested by this scheme as it relates to multi-ethnic, highly stratified societies are discussed. It is suggested that the three variables of the ethclass—cultural behavior, primary group interaction, and group identification—be augmented by a status variable which will account for the effects of socially assigned ethnic and class identities.     

Visual Sequence Learning in Infancy: Domain-General and Domain-Specific Associations with Language

Research suggests that non-linguistic sequence learning abilities are an important contributor to language development (Conway, Bauernschmidt, Huang, & Pisoni, 2010). The current study investigated visual sequence learning as a possible predictor of vocabulary development in infants. Fifty-eight 8.5-month-old infants were presented with a three-location spatiotemporal sequence of multi-colored geometric shapes. Early language skills were assessed using the MacArthur-Bates CDI. Analyses of children's reaction times to the stimuli suggest that the extent to which infants demonstrated learning was significantly correlated with their vocabulary comprehension at the time of test and with their gestural comprehension abilities 5 months later. These findings suggest that visual sequence learning may have both domain-general and domain-specific associations with language learning.     

论我国民间组织设立制度之完善

民间组织设立是公民的结社自由得以实现和民间组织成长兴盛的关键.我国现行的双重许可登记制度给民间组织设立设置了过高的门槛,使得大量民间组织无法合法设立,"强政府--弱社会"的格局并未改善,制度完善势在必行.政府对结社自由的限制必须坚持最低限度、法律保留、利益平衡和标准客观等基本原则,在此基础上提出的单一许可登记制兼顾了公民、民间组织、社会和国家的不同需要,有利于实现保障结社自由和限制结社自由的相对平衡,并由此促进国家与社会之间良性互动关系的形成.     

A call for the development of “good research practices” (GRP) guidelines

It is proposed that the scientific community develop and implement “Good Research Practices”; (GRP) guidelines in order to improve the quality of research, reduce the incidence of scientific misconduct, and save large sums of monies from being wasted.     

Enhancing the Career Development of Individuals Who Have Criminal Records

Large numbers of individuals are involved in the criminal justice system. Upon release, most have difficulty finding employment and stabilizing economic resources, which contribute to recidivism. To date, the role of work in the lives of ex‐offenders has virtually been ignored in the vocational literature. The purpose of this article is to increase awareness of this group by highlighting vocational implications of having a criminal record; reviewing existing interventions demonstrated to be beneficial (e.g., teaching skills prior to release, restorative justice interventions); and providing suggestions to more readily include this group in future practice, research, and policy.     

(Re)Conceptualizating Race/Ethnic Relationships in US Schools: Toward a Multifaceted and Multilevel Framework

Since the Civil Rights Movements, the emphasis on confronting power, inequality, and racism in US schools has receded. So too has the movement to reverse racial/ethnic segregation and enhance student interactions. Instead, much popular and academic discourse focuses on standardized tests and achievement gaps, leaving the social aspects of schooling and race/ethnic interactions under-explored and largely ignored. Meanwhile, racial/ethnic tensions, hierarchies, inequalities, and the patterns, institutions, and systems that maintain them persist. During a period of growth in the percentages of Latina/o and Asian American/Pacific Islander students, this article argues for the importance of theorizing, researching, and reconceptualizing race/ethnic interactions in schools. Key to this process is adopting a multifaceted and multilevel approach. This involves moving beyond dichotomous thinking and instead adopting a framework that explores (1) the strengths of quantitative and qualitative research; (2) cross- and intra-racial/ethnic relations; (3) the significance of race/ethnicity, class, and gender; (4) a conflict-solidarity continuum of relationships; and (5) the salience of macro-, meso-, and micro-dynamics on school interactions. The adoption of this approach allows for a more complex, nuanced, and contemporary analysis of the phenomena occurring in today’s schools, thereby facilitating the possibility for change.