Reconciling interpersonal comparability and the intensity of preference for the utility sum rule

It is shown that the utility sum rule as a method of social choice can be used to generate increasing decisiveness by restricting the range of individual utilities that may be assigned. This procedure is open to a dual interpretation, with restrictions varying either through the use of the degree of comparability (which reflects interpersonal trade-offs) or through the newly introduced degree of ordinality (which reflects the intensity of preference between alternatives). The two procedures can be traded off against each other with greater interpersonal weights to the worse-off corresponding to greater aversion to satisfying higher levels of preference in individual orderings. This is analogous to a similar exercise in the measurement of income inequality, where aversion to inequality is equivalent to interpersonal weights in favour of the poor (or against the wealthy).     

The Aston Programme Contribution to Organizational Research: A Literature Review

This paper reviews the literature about the Aston Programme of organizational research, in particular, its studies of organizational structure. The intellectual commitments of the Aston Programme are explicated and contrasted with the then dominant traditions of organizational research. The methodology is explained, with its emphasis on quantitative variables, reliable scales and statistical methods. The way successive studies confirmed or challenged Weberian bureaucracy is discussed. The major structural scales and their short forms are described. The relationships among the structural variables and between them and the contextual variables of size, technology and public accountability are outlined. The generalizability of these relationships in organizational research across countries is considered. The paper offers a roughly chronological narrative in three phases: the original Aston study, the National study and then on to the many subsequent replication and extension studies and reviews of them. Some cognate organizational research studies are brought in that confirm the Aston Programme. The need to continue the Astonian Cartesian approach rather than the configurational approach is emphasized. In closing, the Aston legacy is briefly summated and a vision for a future Aston Programme is offered in an Epilogue.     

Fighting in the legal grey area: an analysis of the German Federal Court of Justice decision in case preimplantation genetic diagnosis

According to the German Embryo Protection Act, PGD has been banned in Germany since 1990; one reason is the legislature’s avoiding to insert a revision clause regarding medical advance into the law. The ruling of the German Federal Court of Justice of July 2010 shows the problems resulting out of this approach and declares PGD to be permitted in certain cases. The article discusses the necessity for, as well as the problems of, an interdisciplinary dialogue in the field of reproductive medicine.     

How first-generation students learn to navigate education systems: a case study of First Graduate

Students from underrepresented groups who seek to become the first in their family to attend college confront economically and racially stratified education systems. This article reports findings from an evaluation of First Graduate, an organization that offers college advising, mentoring, tutoring, and case management to first-generation students starting in seventh grade. We highlight three systems that youth say they encountered on their pathway to college: open enrollment, course taking, and college admissions. We describe how youth navigated these systems and the roles that adults played in support. Our conclusion discusses implications for how after-school programs can support first-generation students.     

The representation of alienable and inalienable rights: games in transition function form

We propose a new type of cooperative game—a game in transition function (TF) form—as a means of representing social decision-making procedures that is suitable for the analysis of rights. The TF form is a generalisation of the effectivity function (EF) form, and in particular it tells us (where the EF form does not) about the alienability of a right. We describe procedures for generating a (unique) EF game from a TF game, and for generating a (non-unique) TF game from an EF game. We make some specific proposals about the representation of rights as properties of TF games and comment on some implications about the relationship between rights and Pareto efficiency.     

Using Electronic Medical Records in Admission Decisions: A Cost Effectiveness Analysis

In recent years, the healthcare sector has invested heavily in medical information systems to improve decision making while reducing medical costs and integrating medical data from multiple sources. However, the overall contribution of this technology to the medical field remains controversial, especially in high‐stress environments such as the emergency department. This article evaluates the differential effects of accessing an electronic medical record (EMR) system on the decision to admit, based on diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which is one of the main reasons people go to the emergency department. The admission decision with or without accessing the EMR system is modeled as a decision tree and a Markovian process. A cost‐effectiveness analysis compares the added value of information (retrieved from the EMR system) against the cost of providing this information. This model is then tested on a simulation of patients presenting symptoms of AMI. The results show that use of the EMR led to greater cost‐effectiveness in cases of suspected AMI. The findings of this study may assist physicians by demonstrating a probable contribution of EMR to improved medical outcomes and may inform policy makers in the healthcare sector regarding the advisability of investing in such systems in an emergency department.     

构建网络伦理的基本原则

网络化社会是人们的另类生存空间 ,网络主体的生存方式因数字化而表现出虚拟性、自主性、“非人性”等特征 ,这决定了其道德运行方式、道德评价方式、道德的功能机制等都有着与现实社会中不同的特点 ,因此有必要以网络主体道德活动方式的特点为依据 ,来寻求新的伦理原则 ,作为构建网络伦理的理性基础。根据网络主体道德活动方式的特点可知 ,网络伦理的基本原则应当主要包括无害原则 ,自主原则 ,知情同意原则和公正原则     

第三部门的兴起及价值理性的回归

第三部门的兴起在全球方兴未艾 ,这种社团革命缘于西方国家福利制度的失灵和市场的失灵。第三部门的兴起不是传统社会中的民间组织的复兴 ,而是对以理性为基础的现代社会的政府及市场的失灵进行纠正 ,也是对现代社会工具理性过度膨胀所造成的种种社会问题的解决途径。就某种程度而言 ,第三部门的兴起缓解了现代社会工具理性和价值理性的紧张关系 ,使价值理性回归成为可能。因此 ,第三部门的研究对转型的中国具有重要的现实意义。     

"So Many Tiers, So Many Agendas, So Many Pots of Money": The Challenge of English Regionalization for Voluntary and Community Organizations

This paper looks at the challenges facing voluntary and community organizations (VCOs) within the new policy context of English “regionalism”, drawing primarily on an empirical study in one of the emerging Regions. Barriers to voluntary and community sector (VCS) engagement with the new regional governmental organizations and the new regional policy agenda are identified. The role of VCS “infrastructure” organizations in facilitating relationships with regional levels of government is also considered. The concepts of exchange, ownership, trust and legitimacy are then employed to analyse and explain the implications for English VCOs of working with a new tier of government at regional level. The paper concludes by reconsidering the nature of the relationship between VCOs and “government” in the light of the new policy context presented by English regionalism combined with central government interest in building the capacity and infrastructure of the voluntary sector.