Probabilistic Modeling—From Physics to Computing Science

It is important in computing science to estimate the number of data blocks needed to answer a query. Three different answers to this problem emerged respectively in 1975, 1977, and 1982. This article investigates the basic differences of the three models and observes that the same differences were shared a long time ago by the physicists who used different models for the behavior of elementary particles to obtain the Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics, the Bose-Einstein statistics, and the Fermi-Dirac statistics.     

Financial instruments used by Polish municipalities in response to the first wave of COVID-19

Public Organization Review - Studies on the influence of COVID-19 on municipalities are scarce, although it was precisely municipalities that stood in the first line of combat. It is important to...     

Building Local Democracy: The Role of Western Assistance in Poland

This article argues that foreign assistance, as an external force, has played an important role in shaping the local democracy-building process in Poland. The local context, which is omitted from the transition debate, is considered, and the influence that U.S. public donors exercised at the local scale is highlighted. The article claims that the delayed commitment on the part of these donors to local democracy and to the building of self-governing capacities and participatory practices has undermined the stability and effectiveness of the reforms in Poland. It is shown how this process took place through three different constructs: initial lack of direct assistance; the form under which this assistance was provided; and the donors' selectivity of recipients, both in terms of social groups and of geographic areas. It concludes by outlining areas where changes of assistance delivery should be made both by the donors and recipient communities.     

Student degree program and attitudes toward gays and lesbians in the military: is there a connection?

Individuals routinely experience discrimination based on sexual orientation. Since the implementation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 1994, over 13,000 military personnel have been discharged from the U.S. military on the basis of sexual orientation. As helping professionals, social workers will often provide services to returning gay and lesbian veterans. Therefore, social work programs must ensure that students develop positive attitudes toward and understanding of the needs presented by this population. Little is known about whether a specific degree program can be a predictor of student attitude toward gay and lesbian individuals in the military. Eighty-nine graduate students completed the Attitudes Toward Homosexuals in the Military (ATHM) scale, and scores were compared between two graduate degree programs: Social Work and Business Administration. A statistically significant relationship was found between degree program and ATHM scores. Implications for policy, practice and research related to gay and lesbian veterans are discussed.     

An agenda for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience

Young people who are currently or were previously in state care have consistently been found to have much higher rates of mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties than the general youth population. While a number of high-quality reviews highlight what research has been undertaken in relation to the mental health of young people with care experience and the gaps in our knowledge and understanding, there is, until now, no consensus, so far as we aware, as to where our collective research efforts should be directed with this important group. Through a series of UK wide workshops, we undertook a consultative process to identify an agreed research agenda between those with lived experience of being in care (n = 15), practitioners, policy makers and researchers (n = 59), for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience, including those who are neurodiverse/have a neurodevelopmental difficulty. This consensus statement identified 21 foci within four broad categories: how we conceptualize mental health; under-studied populations; under-studied topics; and underused methodologies. We hope that those who commission, fund and undertake research will engage in this discussion about the future agenda for research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience.     

The development of emotion regulation in adolescence: What do we know and where to go next?

Emotion regulation is critical for adolescent functioning. Theories on the subject have evolved rapidly in recent years and have led to a more contextualized and dynamic conceptualization of emotion regulation processes. In this paper, based on the distinction between emotion regulation strategies and abilities, we propose future directions for research on emotion regulation development in adolescence. We first present evidence that emotional, cognitive, and social changes that occur in adolescence are central in emotion regulation development. We then review empirical findings on emotion regulation development by tying them to their conceptual foundations. We discuss their limitations and argue that building better conceptual clarity is essential to study emotion regulation. Because current knowledge on recent concepts that emerged in adult-based models remains limited and contested in adolescence, we end this article by discussing new research perspectives to provide a better understanding of the topic. We stress the need for researchers in the field to adopt a more contextualized and person-oriented approach, to combine different time scales and methods, and examine the predictors of emotion regulation as well as its outcomes.     

Using Malmquist Indexes to measure changes in the productivity and efficiency of US accounting firms before and after the Sarbanes–Oxley Act

There have been many criticisms of the Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) Act passed in July of 2002 to correct business accountability and performance practices. The act has a major emphasis on accounting and its practices. This paper attempts a response to these criticisms by investigating changes in productive efficiency for 62 of the largest US public accounting firms between the periods (2000–2001) and (2003–2004)—the periods before and after enactment of SOX in July of 2002. DEA is used to calculate Malmquist indexes of productivity and efficiency changes. This index is used because it can distinguish between changes in technical efficiency, which limit the possibilities, and changes in the performance efficiencies for each firm. Contrary to many of the criticisms, results indicate that accounting firms have exhibited significant post SOX growth in productive efficiency which is better than pre-SOX performances.     

Family well-being concerns of grandparents in skipped generation families

This study examined the family well-being concerns of grandparents in skipped-generation families. Co-resident grandparents who are responsible for raising their grandchildren completed surveys, focus groups, or individual interviews. Service providers to skipped-generation families also participated in individual interviews to provide an additional perspective to grandparents' concerns. Results indicated 5 levels of concerns: intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational or institutional, policy, and societal. Concerns at different levels were interrelated and pointed to the need for multilevel interventions to help these families. Implications of the findings for future interventions with skipped-generation families are discussed.     

Moderators of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Alcohol Consumption in College Students

Abstract

Objective: Among college students, several studies have found a positive relationship between physical activity and alcohol use. The current study tested gender, Greek status, and ethnicity as potential moderators of the physical activity-alcohol use relationship. Participants: Participants were college freshmen (n = 310) endorsing alcohol/drug use. Methods: Students completed questionnaires assessing a number of health behaviors. Results: Results indicated that gender and Greek status were significant moderators of the relationship between physical activity and alcohol consumption. There was a positive relationship between physical activity and alcohol use for men and Greeks, but not for females and non-Greeks. Conclusions: These findings suggest that exercise does not serve as a protective factor for any of the subgroups of college students studied and is positively associated with drinking among college students who are men and/or involved with the Greek system.