The social welfare reform during the progressive regimes of South Korea: Theoretical implications

This study assesses the social welfare reform during the progressive regimes of South Korea (hereafter Korea) led by President Kim Dae-Jung (1998-2003) and President Roh Moo-Hyun (2003-2008), and considers its theoretical implications. Analysis of the social welfare reform under the two progressive governments has indicated that the reform did not produce the anticipated results. Although the Korean economy has grown rapidly along with a considerable increase in the national income per capita in comparison with that in the past, the country's social welfare system still remains significantly underdeveloped in all respects, relative to that of all the other OECD countries with similar economic power, let alone the advanced welfare states in Western Europe. This study maintains that the key reason for the inertia or status quo despite the significant efforts of both the governments to expand social welfare is explained in the Korean growth-first doctrine, which inherently considers that distribution hinders growth and that social policy is secondary to economic policy, thus limiting the choices of the country's decision makers, as has been the case all along since the developmental period. Given that the growth-first doctrine inherently regarded the relationship between growth and welfare as mutually exclusive, it was perhaps natural that the influence of the doctrine upon the social welfare policy of both the progressive governments would not be so positive. This suggests that path dependence is active in the case of the Korean social welfare policy, thus substantiating the validity of path-dependence theory.     

Accuracy and bias in self-perception of performance: Narcissism matters in Korea as well

Debates regarding the nature of self-enhancement versus accurate self-assessment have been active among psychologists for decades. More recently, researchers have become interested in the panculturality of self-enhancement. Some researchers argue that self-enhancement is universal and present within all cultures. Others declare self-enhancement to be a Western tendency, with self-diminishment being the norm among East Asians. Importantly, the majority of such studies have not compared self-perceptions against objective external criteria, especially those with East Asians. Furthermore, the link between narcissism and self-enhancement has been largely overlooked within Korean samples. To address such gaps, we utilized scores on an objective test as a criterion to investigate the accuracy of Koreans’ self-assessments of performance, as well as how individual differences in narcissism are related to such assessments. A sample of Korean students (N = 146; 71 women) completed self-report measures of narcissism and self-esteem, and took a listening comprehension quiz. Estimated and actual scores were collected and used to compute self-enhancement scores. Results demonstrated that Koreans’ self-perceptions of performance on the quiz were quite accurate. As has been found in Western cultures, narcissism was related to self-enhancement.     

Korean Survivors of the Japanese “Comfort Women” System: Understanding the Lifelong Consequences of Early Life Trauma

Prior to and during World War II, thousands of girls and young women were abducted from Korea and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese government. Termed comfort women, these girls and young women suffered extreme sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and trauma. Research on this group is not well-developed and people know little of the impact of this early life trauma on the lives of these women who are now in later life. Using snowball sampling, 16 older adult survivors of the comfort women system participated in semistructured qualitative interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted to gain an understanding of the trauma that these women suffered and how it impacted their lives. Results revealed the depths of the abuse these women suffered, including repeated rapes, physical beatings, humiliation, forced surgery and sterilization, and social exclusion. These early traumatic experiences appeared to reverberate throughout their lives in their family relations, their inability to marry and to conceive children, and their emotional and physical well-being throughout the life course and into later life. The experiences of these survivors illustrate the lasting impact of early-life trauma and can guide interventions with current survivors of sexual abuse or trafficking.     

四川省农民沼气专业合作社的发展现状及对策

农民沼气专业合作社是近年来通过市场手段确保各种资源优化配置、实现农村沼气可持续运行和管护的服务模式。文章通过分析农民沼气专业合作社的现状,发现当前四川省农民沼气专业合作社具有发展速度缓慢、以政府主导为主、建设模式多元化等特点,同时存在一些问题,主要包括:政府职能定位不准确、公共服务缺失,内部制度建设和运行管理不规范,外部发展环境示范引领性不强、运行困难等。针对这些问题,文章提出以下推动四川省农民沼气专业合作社有序发展和有效运行的对策:完善政府的扶持政策,创新农民沼气专业合作社发展模式,加强农民沼气专业合作社的综合能力建设,促进市场化背景下农村沼气专业合作社的转型升级。     

The Effect of Chair Yoga on Biopsychosocial Changes in English- and Spanish-Speaking Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Lower-Extremity Osteoarthritis

Chair yoga (CY), a mind-body therapy, is a safe nonpharmacological approach for managing osteoarthritis (OA) in older adults who cannot participate in standing exercise. However, there is no linguistically tailored CY program for those with limited English proficiency (LEP). This 2-arm randomized controlled trial compared the effects of a linguistically tailored yoga program (English and Spanish versions) on the outcomes of pain, physical function, and psychosocial factors compared to the effects of a linguistically tailored Health Education Program (HEP; English and Spanish versions). Participants with lower-extremity OA, recruited from 2 community sites, completed the Spanish (n = 40) or English (n = 60) version of twice-weekly 45-min CY or HEP sessions for 8 weeks. Data were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 1- and 3-month follow-ups. English and Spanish CY groups (but neither HEP language group) showed significant decreases in pain interference. Measures of OA symptoms, balance, depression, and social activities were not significantly different between English and Spanish versions of CY and English and Spanish versions of HEP. It was concluded that the Spanish and English versions of CY and HEP were equivalent. Linguistically tailored CY could be implemented in aging-serving communities for persons with LEP.     

基于失效情景的应急设施选址评估指标体系与模型

突发事件具有巨大的破坏性、不确定性,应急设施有可能失效,本文研究基于失效情景的应急设施选址评估指标体系与评估模型。首先基于定义的失效情景研究应急设施选址评估指标。构建全局性、可靠性、时效性、均衡性、经济性评估指标。可靠性作为重要评估指标有助于提高应急设施对需求区域的物资保障程度,保证系统的稳定性,采用多重覆盖率刻画。然后,设计具有不同侧重评估目标的一般情景评估指标体系、设施失效情景评估指标体系以及多区域情景评估指标体系。最后,由于应急设施选址评估具有多影响因素特征,涉及输入和输出多个指标的测度,选取处理多输入\多输出问题具有优势的评估方法—数据包络法,对应急设施选址的合理性进行评估。实例验证评估指标体系的实用性和有效性。     

构建石油企业国际竞争力评价指标的探索

近年来,国际国内油价的持续走低对石油企业的生产经营产生了巨大的影响。当前,我国已经成为世界主要的石油生产国和进口国,同时也面临着前所未有的挑战。面对复杂的国际市场和严峻的竞争形势,必须对我国石油企业的国际竞争力进行科学、合理的测评,以便制定针对性的对策和建议。运用因子分析法,结合我国石油企业的特点,选择整体规模实力、获利盈利能力、资源开发生产能力、可持续发展能力、国际化水平等代表性指标,构建出我国石油企业国际竞争力评价指标体系。运用这一体系对我国石油企业的国际竞争力进行实证分析,结果表明：我国石油企业的国际运营能力、盈利能力相对薄弱,应大力实施“走出去战略”,积极整合企业实力与全球资源,不断提升其国际竞争力。     

中国风电固定上网电价政策的实物期权理论与实证分析

本文使用实物期权方法研究中国目前实施的风电固定上网电价政策。首先说明风电项目投资的实物期权原理,并建立风电固定上网电价政策实物期权模型。然后,从理论上证明了风电最优投资电价与上网电价波动率成正比(固定上网电价理论依据,即政府为了最大限度激励投资者,使得上网电价波动率等于0);最优投资电价与上网电价期望增长率成正比(固定上网电价调整理论依据)。最后,选取河北张北油篓沟元山子风电场工程项目进行实证分析,通过上网电价期望增长率调整的数值分析得到中国风电上网电价平均每年降低幅度应该为1%左右。本文为我国可再生能源电价调整提供参考。     

Statistical inference and visualization in scale-space for spatially dependent images

SiZer (SIgnificant ZERo crossing of the derivatives) is a graphical scale-space visualization tool that allows for statistical inferences. In this paper we develop a spatial SiZer for finding significant features and conducting goodness-of-fit tests for spatially dependent images. The spatial SiZer utilizes a family of kernel estimates of the image and provides not only exploratory data analysis but also statistical inference with spatial correlation taken into account. It is also capable of comparing the observed image with a specific null model being tested by adjusting the statistical inference using an assumed covariance structure. Pixel locations having statistically significant differences between the image and a given null model are highlighted by arrows. The spatial SiZer is compared with the existing independent SiZer via the analysis of simulated data with and without signal on both planar and spherical domains. We apply the spatial SiZer method to the decadal temperature change over some regions of the Earth.     

上市公司治理:理论与现实的距离——基于1250份上市公司“自查报告和整改计划”的分析

本文根据1250家上市公司所公布的"自查报告和整改计划",重点从大股东、董事会/监事会、经理层以及投资者法律保护等四个方面对"自查报告和整改计划"的调查问题进行全面归纳、整理、分解和剖析,通过统计分析和理论文献对比,综合反映出目前我国上市公司治理现状和问题.调查分析结果表明,虽然我国目前已基本上建立了一整套与上市公司治理相关的法律法规,上市公司在大股东、董事会、经理层和投资者保护等方面的行为得到了一定的规范约束.但是,我国上市公司治理仍然处在不断完善过程中,如何强化大股东的信托义务和法律责任,从根本上解决大股东侵占中小股东利益的问题、保证董事会制度的独立性和有效性、培育经理人市场,积极推进股权激励机制、落实投资者法律保护制度等成为今后完善我国上市公司治理的重要任务.