Optimal sequential decision architectures and the robustness of hierarchies and polyarchies

This paper studies collective decision making in the context of a project selection model. We derive the optimal decision architecture in the presence of marginal decision costs, and investigate the circumstances under which the hierarchy and polyarchy emerge as optimal sequential architectures. Our analysis extends previous results on optimal organizational decision-making to a sequential setting, and further demonstrates the fragility of the hierarchy and polyarchy as optimal architectures.I would like to thank Ruth Ben-Yashar, Thorbjorn Knudsen, Shmuel Nitzan, Raaj Sah and Peter Norman Sorensen for comments on earlier versions of the paper. I have also benefited greatly from the advice and suggestions of two anonymous referees and the Coordinating Editor, Maurice Salles. The results in this paper were presented at the Economic Architecture Conference, 21–22 June 2003, at Odense, Denmark. I would like to thank the University of Southern Denmark and the Danish Social Science Research Council for their hospitality, and the participants at the Workshop for their constructive comments. Research support from the Singapore Management University is also gratefully acknowledged. The usual disclaimer applies here.     

Testing the Interaction Effects of Task Complexity in Computer Training Using the Social Cognitive Model

Using a Modified Social Cognitive Theory framework, this study examines the behavior modeling and lecture‐based training approaches to computer training. It extends the existing Social Cognitive Model for computer training by adding the task complexity construct to training method, prior performance, computer self‐efficacy, outcome expectations, and performance. A sample of 249 students from a large state university served as participants in a laboratory experiment that was conducted to determine the task complexity*training method and task complexity* self‐efficacy interaction effects on performance. Structural equation modeling with interaction effects was used to analyze the data. The results show that behavior modeling outperforms lecture‐based training in a measure of final performance when task complexity is high. Further, it is found that computer self‐efficacy has a greater positive effect on performance when task complexity is high than when task complexity is low. Prior performance is also found to be an important variable in the model.     

Parameter-driven state-space model for integer-valued time series with application

Time series of counts occur in many different contexts, the counts being usually of certain events or objects in specified time intervals. In this paper we introduce a model called parameter-driven state-space model to analyse integer-valued time series data. A key property of such model is that the distribution of the observed count data is independent, conditional on the latent process, although the observations are correlated marginally. Our simulation shows that the Monte Carlo Expectation Maximization (MCEM) algorithm and the particle method are useful for the parameter estimation of the proposed model. In the application to Malaysia dengue data, our model fits better when compared with several other models including that of Yang et al. (2015)     

Mental health issues: a comparison of lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual women

This study examines mental health issues among women of different sexual orientations. An anonymous survey was administered at 33 health care sites across the United States; the sample (N = 1304) included lesbians (n = 524), bisexual (n = 143) and heterosexual women (n = 637). Not only did sexual orientation influence the probability of experiencing emotional stress, but also whether a bisexual woman or lesbian had disclosed her sexual orientation (was "out") impacted the likelihood of having or having had mental health problems. Bisexual women and lesbians experienced more emotional stress as teenagers than did heterosexual women. Bisexual women were more than twice as likely to have had an eating disorder compared to lesbians. If a bisexual woman reported being out she was twice as likely to have had an eating disorder compared to a heterosexual woman. Lesbians who were not out and bisexual women who were out were 2-2.5 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation in the past 12 months. Lesbians and bisexual women who were not out were more likely to have had a suicide attempt compared to heterosexual women. Lesbians used psychotherapy for depression more commonly than did heterosexual or bisexual women. This is one of the few studies that compares lesbians, bisexual and heterosexual women. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Translating ‘Sustainability’ in Hawai'i: The Utility of Semiotic Transformation in the Transmission of Culture

This paper examines how businessmen and educators in Hawai'i have semiotically ‘translated’ sustainability to promote sustainability practices. Using data gathered from an educational institute that was co-founded by a corporation and a college, I analyse how the source discourse was, using Silverstein's term, ‘transformed’ so that the target discourse (or the signs used in the target discourse) invokes Hawaiian imageries rather than imageries of capitalism. Analyses reveal that changes to keywords of sustainability occur in a way that shifts possible local interpretations of them as cultural heritage, that is, as something ‘of Hawaiian’ and not ‘of white capitalists’. I argue that this translation effort assisted the concept's transmission by making ‘sustainability’ an inhabitable category of identity and by providing a model of a future in which locals can participate because it is now interpretable as having been modelled on the narrated past.     

‘Heteroglossic’ Discourses on Globalization: A View from the ‘East’

Abstract

In view of the broad scope of literature on globalization, this paper provides a synoptic reading of some of the globalization literatures, organized as ‘discourses’. The analysis of the discourses on globalization is confined to three overlapping discourses, namely, regional, ideological and economic discourses. Specific references and examples of local uptake of globalization will be drawn from Singapore and the wider Asia pacific region, as Beck (2002) has reminded us that we cannot even think about globalization or discuss it effectively without the reference to specific locations and places. Hence the subtitle of this paper, ‘A View from the East’, is deliberate to signal the often forgotten fact that Singapore, as well as the wider Asia Pacific region, is ‘part of the “global” sphere that the West has dispersed itself into’.     

Object relations couple therapy for a married Korean man with sexual dysfunction

This study uses James Donovan's object relations couple therapy to examine the triangle of focus (conflict style, couple characteristics, and family of origin) and triangle of conflict (anxiety, defence mechanisms, and hidden emotions) of a married Korean man with sexual dysfunction (reduced sexual desire, premature ejaculation, and erectile dysfunction). This qualitative study uses thematic analysis to identify, describe, and analyse a family therapy case study. The aim of this study is to examine the couple's interaction patterns and experiences of conflicts related to the husband's erectile dysfunction. The researchers induced patterns or topics by repeatedly reading and comparing the data. Then, they textualised and analysed the relevant data. To ensure the reliability and validity of the data analysis, the researchers conducted shared coding sessions to review and discuss the initial codes and the generated main themes and subthemes, triangulating the qualitative data. Findings show that a newlywed husband's sexual dysfunction is associated with his emotional resistance towards his wife's unilateral pursuit over their sexual relationship and the negative emotions triggered by their dysfunctional interactions. Further, couple characteristics, conflict style (dysfunctional interactions), and family-of-origin factors (transference and patrilocality) influenced their sexual relationship. Therefore, therapists who counsel Korean couples with sexual issues may pay attention to the sociocultural factors, interactional patterns, and psychological factors associated with unresolved issues with their families of origin.