对中国经济运行状况的分析

从经济的投资、消费和出口数据看,中国经济增速确实在下行。为了保持中国经济8%的增速,我们已付出了很高的代价;经过35年的高速增长,在各行各业产能基本过剩的情况下,中国经济增速正在下移。观察1950年代后日本、中国台湾和香港地区经济发展的过程,其经济高速增长后,也是一个台阶又一个台阶地下来。中国不能再靠高投资来推动经济增长。     

An economic model for the quality selection problem

The object of an economic model for the quality selection problem is to select the best parameter value for an input quality characteristic (X) so that the quality loss incurred on an output quality characteristic (Y) is minimized. The relation function between Y and X is assumed to be known throughout the article. In the work of Taguchi's experimentations, the selection of best parameter values is solved by two-step optimization when Y is adjustable. In the article, it is further extended to the case where Y is non-adjustable. An economic quality selection model with a general relation function is proposed based on a Taylor-series method for both adjustable and non-adjustable cases. A special case of a quality selection model with a quadratic relation function is also studied. A circuit example provided by Taguchi is presented to illustrate the use of this model.     

The politics of community arts: quilting the power and identity of women

This article attempts to articulate and re-validate the unique social contributions of marginalized and working women to their communities and to society-at-large, contributions which tend to be obscured if not forgotten, given the global dynamics of exclusion as they are at work in the capitalist society of Hong Kong. It looks at how a group of disenfranchised women workers renegotiate their identity, reclaim their dignity and regenerate social power through a community arts project ‘Quilting the Power and Identity’; that is, how through these creative but powerful actions, their transformation from a transient state of imposed victimhood into active agency could be made possible.     

高移职业教育层次是职业教育的必然选择

现代经济社会的发展对职业技能人才的规格提出了新的要求,要适应这一变化,必须高移职业教育层次。家庭经济支持能力的提高和丰富的高等教育资源为高移职业教育层次提供了可能性。     

Thriving Older African American Women: Aging After Jim Crow

ABSTRACT

This paper is based on the findings of small group discussions with self-defined successful African American women age 60+ in Charlotte, North Carolina. These women, who lived through the Jim Crow era and thrived in spite of the obstacles, continue to seek meaning in their lives through the roles they play in their families, churches, and communities. They feel strongly that there is a core of key values that continue to hold meaning and struggle to impart these values to those whose lives they touch. The key values identified include education, religion, work, and giving back to the community, and illustrate the integration of both traditional and nontraditional definitions of success. Mentoring is proposed as an important concept for understanding the lives of African American women in later life.     

欧洲债务危机的主要成因分析

肇始于希腊的欧洲债务危机到目前为止都没有停息的迹象,甚至还呈蔓延之势。欧洲债务危机爆发的直接原因是在金融危机的背景下,政府支出规模持续扩大,导致财政赤字居高不下,最终使得国债规模超过政府的偿还能力,出现明显的违约可能性。同时,国际竞争力不足,导致出口受阻,使得资金问题更加严重。从更深层次看,产业结构不合理,经济发展速度缓慢,过低的投资率和储蓄率及过高的储蓄投资转化率,都是导致欧债危机的重要原因。     

Policy Space: What,for What,and Where?

This article examines how developing countries can use, and enlarge, existing policy space, without opting out of international commitments. It argues that: (i) a meaningful context for policy space must extend beyond trade policy and include macroeconomic and exchange‐rate policies that will achieve developmental goals more effectively; (ii) policy space depends not only on international rules but also on the impact of international market conditions and policy decisions taken in other countries on the effectiveness of national policy instruments; and (iii) international integration affects policy space through several factors that pull in opposite directions; whether it increases or reduces policy space differs by country and type of integration.     

Examining Outpatient Health Care Utilization Among Adults with Severe or Profound Intellectual Disabilities Living in an Urban Setting

Abstract

The present study examined the health status and outpatient health care utilization among 52 adults with severe or profound intellectual disabilities (IDs) living with their families or in group homes in New York City. Bivariate and regression analyses among demographic variables, medical conditions, health care utilization, and type of living situation were conducted. Findings indicate that demographic factors andhealth statuses were similar regardless of living situation, except for ageand the presence of Down Syndrome, that is, younger people and people with Down Syndrome were more likely to live with family than in group homes. The results indicated that regardless of where they lived, individuals had high rates (70%) of overweight/obesity. The mean number of internal medicine, specialty medicine, nursing, and total clinic visits were significantly higher for those living in group homes compared to those living with their families. The findings and their implications are discussed with respect to social work policy and practice.     

The economic design of multivariate binomial EWMA VSSI control charts

Since multi-attribute control charts have received little attention compared with multivariate variable control charts, this research is concerned with developing a new methodology to employ the multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) charts for m-attribute binomial processes; the attributes being the number of nonconforming items. Moreover, since the variable sample size and sampling interval (VSSI) MEWMA charts detect small process mean shifts faster than the traditional MEWMA, an economic design of the VSSI MEWMA chart is proposed to obtain the optimum design parameters of the chart. The sample size, the sampling interval, and the warning/action limit coefficients are obtained using a genetic algorithm such that the expected total cost per hour is minimized. At the end, a sensitivity analysis has been carried out to investigate the effects of the cost and the model parameters on the solution of the economic design of the VSSI MEWMA chart.     

Vocational education,self‐employment and burnout among Australian workers

We examine the relationship between vocational education and occupational burnout among workers in different forms of employment. Although the self‐employed enjoy higher levels of job autonomy and work‐related satisfaction, we do not know whether they experience lower rates of occupational burnout, and whether vocational education plays a role in this relationship. This latter consideration is important, given that vocational qualifications often lead to self‐employment and prior research demonstrated that formal training may reduce burnout. However, formal education was previously measured in years of schooling, without considering the distinction between academically‐oriented and vocational courses. Therefore, using data from a 2001 national survey of working Australians, we first establish that the self‐employed are significantly less likely to experience burnout. We then demonstrate that some resilience to burnout can be attributed to the attainment of skilled vocational training, net of employment characteristics which are also very important.