Migration as an Adaptation Strategy for Atoll Island States

Adopting a policy of migration can be one possible adaptation strategy against climate change. It has been forecasted that if the worst predictions regarding climate change and sea level rise become reality atolls around the world could become submerged in the future. This would render them uninhabitable and could lead to questions about whether Atoll Island States could still be considered as States. The international community has been avoiding any commitment to create a convention that would protect people displaced by climate change. In order to solve such potential problems, the authors will argue that a framework of bilateral agreements, initiatives, and national policies could constitute a viable solution for the various interested parties. The article will discuss the characteristics of Atoll Island States, touching on possible solutions for climate change displacement which have been discussed by the governments and civil society of the affected States.     

A (Semi)Parametric Functional Coefficient Logarithmic Autoregressive Conditional Duration Model

In this article, we propose a class of logarithmic autoregressive conditional duration (ACD)-type models that accommodates overdispersion, intermittent dynamics, multiple regimes, and asymmetries in financial durations. In particular, our functional coefficient logarithmic autoregressive conditional duration (FC-LACD) model relies on a smooth-transition autoregressive specification. The motivation lies on the fact that the latter yields a universal approximation if one lets the number of regimes grows without bound. After establishing sufficient conditions for strict stationarity, we address model identifiability as well as the asymptotic properties of the quasi-maximum likelihood (QML) estimator for the FC-LACD model with a fixed number of regimes. In addition, we also discuss how to consistently estimate a semiparametric variant of the FC-LACD model that takes the number of regimes to infinity. An empirical illustration indicates that our functional coefficient model is flexible enough to model IBM price durations.     

Flexible Working and Performance: A Systematic Review of the Evidence for a Business Case

Interest in the outcomes of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) dates from the mid‐1970s, when researchers attempted to assess the impact of flexitime on worker performance. This paper reviews the literature on the link between FWAs and performance‐related outcomes. Taken together, the evidence fails to demonstrate a business case for the use of FWAs. This paper attempts to explain the findings by analysing the theoretical and methodological perspectives adopted, as well as the measurements and designs used. In doing so, gaps in this vast and disparate literature are identified, and a research agenda is developed.     

High Commitment Management in the U.K.: Evidence from the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, and Employers' Manpower and Skills Practices Survey

Are the practices widely associated with thehigh commitment or involvement model, such as jobflexibility and minimal status differences, actuallyused in conjunction with each other? Or rather are they being used, as some commentators speculate, ina fragmented or ad hoc manner? The authors use LatentVariable Analysis to assess whether practices identifiedwith high commitment management do form a unity. They are simultaneously attempting to see ifsuch practices can be used as indicators for measuringan underlying high commitment orientation on the part ofmanagement. The analysis uses data from the 1990 UK Workplace Industrial Relations Survey andits sister survey, the Employers' Manpower and SkillsPractices Survey, on the use of a range of highcommitment practices across the whole economy. Theevidence suggests that there is an identifiable patternto the use of high commitment practices. Fourprogressive styles of high commitment management (HCM)were discovered. Though the use of it in its entirety is still relatively rare in the UK, theproportion of organizations with medium levels of highcommitment management is higher than is perhaps commonlyassumed. High degrees of high commitment management are not necessarily associated with nonunionworkplaces. The research also demonstrates that HCM doeshave some performance effects, though they are notunique to it since those organizations that adopt high commitment management in its entirety donot perform better on any performance criteria than allothers, but they do perform better than sometypes.     

Impaired Metacognitive Capacities in Individuals with Problem Gambling

Impaired insight into behavior may be one of the clinical characteristics of pathological gambling. In the present study, we tested whether the capacity to evaluate accurately the quality of one’s own decisions during a non-gambling task was impaired in problem gamblers. Twenty-five problem gamblers and 25 matched healthy participants performed an artificial grammar-learning paradigm, in which the quality of choice remains uncertain throughout the task. After each trial of this task, participants had to indicate how confident they were in the grammaticality judgements using a scale ranging from 1 (low confidence) to 7 (high confidence). Results showed that (i), problem gamblers’ performance on the grammaticality test was lower than controls’; (ii) there was a significant correlation between grammaticality judgments and confidence for control participants, which indicates metacognitive insight and the presence of conscious knowledge; (iii) this correlation was not significant in problem gamblers, which suggests a disconnection between performance and confidence in this group. These findings suggest that problem gamblers are impaired in their metacognitive abilities on a non-gambling task, which suggests that compulsive gambling is associated with poor insight as a general factor. Clinical interventions tailored to improve metacognition in gambling could be a fruitful avenue of research in order to prevent pathological gambling.     

What Does Parental Divorce or Marital Separation Mean for Adolescents? A Scoping Review of North American Literature

Parental divorce in North America and the resulting changes to the traditional family unit as seen in current academic literature are troubling. These changes are especially worrisome as they relate to adolescent life and development. This scoping review examines the past 11 years of North American English language literature concerning adolescents who have experienced parental divorce. Literature was taken from health-related databases using the search terms adolescent and divorce. The resulting articles were analyzed and pared down to 53 papers that adhered to predetermined criteria. Analysis revealed trends in how the studies are conducted as well as seven themes throughout the literature. The authors suggest future research directions based on the trends, themes, and found knowledge gaps in the recent literature.     

Approaching Adoption and Foster Care in Brazil

Adoption and foster care have recently undergone various changes in Brazil. Nonetheless, there is a lack of official research data on children who have been adopted or have been living in foster families or institutions. In this paper, after a brief account of the historical aspects of adoption and foster care in Brazil, we focus our discussion on two major points: (1) the difficulties in promoting a “new culture of adoption,” which would develop in “the child's best interest,” and (2) the meanings and prejudices related to late adoption that increase the number of children who remain for many years in institutions.     

定向运动员的认知方式与感受性的相关研究

运用丈献资料、心理实验测量和数理统计等研究方法,对肇庆学院55名不同水平组定向运动员的认知方式及6项心理感受性指标进行比较研究,研究表明：专项训练对定向运动员认知方式的场独立性和操作思维敏捷性的发展有良好的促进作用;学习迁移率与操作思维敏捷性呈非常显著负相关,即操作思维越敏捷,越能产生正迁移;认知方式与学习迁移率、不同水平呈显著正相关,即学习正迁移率越高、水平越高的定向运动员,其认知方式越趋向于场独立型;不同水平与操作思维敏捷性呈显著负相关,即水平越高的定向运动员,其操作思维越敏捷．     

Voter’s Perceptions on Candidate Choice for Director of Public Educational Institutions

Public Organization Review - This study aimed to verify whether the voters’ perceptions (trust, expertise, attractiveness, image and perceived quality) from the academic community influence...