QALYs versus WTP.

Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and willingness to pay (WTP) are alternative measures of the value of reductions in health risk that are often used in evaluating environmental, health, and safety practices. Although both methods are based on individual preferences, the underlying assumptions differ. The different bases yield systematically different conclusions about the relative value of reducing health and mortality risks to individuals that differ in age, preexisting health conditions, income, and other factors. The choice of which method to use depends on judgments about what constraints should be placed on individual preferences and what factors should be considered in aggregating preferences across people.     

文学真实的范畴厘定和价值探微

在创作和欣赏实践中 ,“真实”是一个被广泛运用但又偏颇最多的文学价值尺度。“真实”的概念范畴 ,可以从三个角度厘定 :( 1)真实是创造的产物 ;( 2 )真实的创造建基于人类求真向善的合规律性与合目的性之上 ;( 3)真实以文学形象方式具体存在。与真实的主观色彩相反 ,真实的价值奥妙在于它在深层对创作规律的契合 ,以及对生活客体的尊重。因此 ,真实成为文学自然态度、人文精神和作家人格的体现 ,说到底 ,成为文学的胆识、气度和一种可贵的艺术品质     

改革开放二十年思想政治工作及其教育回眸

思想政治工作及其教育是我们党的传家宝。它不仅始终贯穿于我党及其领导下的 新民主主义革命、社会主义革命和建设的全过程,而且发挥了十分重要的作用。改革开放２０年 来,我们党的思想政治工作及其教育无论是在学科建设,还是在内容的完善和方法的创新等方面 都得到了前所未有的发展,取得了极其辉煌的成绩。     

论21世纪的文化价值观

哲学的宗旨在于为人之为人寻求一终极价值归属。把追求最高的幸福确立为“至善”体现了价值理性对人类命运的终极关怀。在新的世纪里,人类不能不站在新的起点上,反省过去,展望未来,用价值理性导引工具理性,使社会历史的发展更符合人性。为此,热爱和谐,珍惜生命,理应成为人类恪守的一个基本的价值原则。     

An environmental life cycle optimization model for the European pulp and paper industry

Will paper recycling reduce the environmental impact of the European pulp and paper sector? If so, is maximal paper recycling the best policy to optimize the life cycle of the pulp and paper sector? We explore these questions using an approach that combines materials accounting methods and optimization techniques. Environmental impact data are inputs for a linear programming network flow model to find optimal configurations for the sector. These configurations consist of a mix of different pulping technologies, a geographical distribution of pulp and paper production, and a level of recycling consistent with the lowest environmental impacts. We use the model to analyse scenarios with different recycling strategies. Recycling offers a reduction in environmental impact in regions with a high population and a large production of paper and board products. Regions with a large production of graphic products should focus on cleaner virgin pulp production with energy recovery. We conclude that relocation of paper production also offers a reduction in environmental impact. However, the severe effects on the economy make this policy less attractive than a combination of recycling, cleaner pulp production and energy recovery.     

Assessing Engineering Resilience for Systems with Multiple Performance Measures

Recently, efforts to model and assess a system's resilience to disruptions due to environmental and adversarial threats have increased substantially. Researchers have investigated resilience in many disciplines, including sociology, psychology, computer networks, and engineering systems, to name a few. When assessing engineering system resilience, the resilience assessment typically considers a single performance measure, a disruption, a loss of performance, the time required to recover, or a combination of these elements. We define and use a resilient engineered system definition that separates system resilience into platform and mission resilience. Most complex systems have multiple performance measures; this research proposes using multiple objective decision analysis to assess system resilience for systems with multiple performance measures using two distinct methods. The first method quantifies platform resilience and includes resilience and other “ilities” directly in the value hierarchy, while the second method quantifies mission resilience and uses the “ilities” in the calculation of the expected mission performance for every performance measure in the value hierarchy. We illustrate the mission resilience method using a transportation systems‐of‐systems network with varying levels of resilience due to the level of connectivity and autonomy of the vehicles and platform resilience by using a notional military example. Our analysis found that it is necessary to quantify performance in context with specific mission(s) and scenario(s) under specific threat(s) and then use modeling and simulation to help determine the resilience of a system for a given set of conditions. The example demonstrates how incorporating system mission resilience can improve performance for some performance measures while negatively affecting others.     

Spiritual development and meaningful work: a Habermasian critique

ABSTRACT

A dominant theme of the workplace spirituality discourse in HRD is its transformational nature which enables an organization to imbue work with purpose and meaning. Empirical studies have shown that providing meaningful work to employees enhances several indicators of organizational performance. However, this discourse ignores that such organizational interventions are shaped by capitalist power relations in which the organization is embedded. In this paper, I apply a critical theory perspective drawing from the work of Jurgen Habermas to show that workplace spirituality movement has emerged in response to the loss of meanings inherent in neoliberal capitalism. However, since this movement is operating on a logic of performativity and instrumental rationality, it represents an attempt to re-orient individual subjectivity and the spiritual realm of human experience to serve capitalism.     

The value of a statistical life: A comparison of two approaches

Using an original data set, this article presents the first effort to compare systematically the values of a statistical life obtained from the two main methodologies existing in the literature—the revealed-preference approach (wage-risk analysis) and the contingent-valuation approach—applied to the same sample of individuals. A survey was conducted in the Montreal area with a questionnaire containing two series of questions: one set of contingent-valuation questions and one set of questions pertaining to the information necessary for performing a wage-risk study. The results show that the values of a statistical life obtained from each method are different from each other.This research was supported by the Fonds F.C.A.R. of the Quebec government, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and by the Fondation Mercure of l'École des Hautes Études Commerciales. The authors want to thank the editor and an anonymous referee for their useful comments.     

佛山大学教师队伍建设的现状及其优化对策

认为当前佛山大学的发展巳从侧重于面的铺开转入重在提高质量上,对师资的要求大为提高,必须抓紧师资工作提出了要从学校的实际出发,把坚持方向,提高水平,克服断层,调动积极性,作为师资工作的重点。把实行培训与引进并举,重在培训提高;认真加强教师的思想政治教育;大力加强骨干教师和学科带头(人的培养、认真做好青年教师的工作;深化职称改革,实行评聘分开,在职务聘任工作中引进竞争机制等作为提高教师整体水平的师资工作对策。     

Effect of family structure on life satisfaction: australian evidence

How do family arrangements affect subjective well-being? We investigate this issue using data pooled from the IsssA and HILDA, both large, representative national samples of Australia (pooled n=38 447). Our regression analysis of cross-sectional and panel data examines how large are the differences in life satisfaction according to marital status and cohabitation. We find that women and men in formal marriages experience higher levels of life satisfaction than do people in other family arrangements. Moreover, both multiple tests in the cross-section, and tests controlling for prior happiness in the panel analysis, suggest that this is a causal relationship. Aggregating up the levels of life satisfaction generated by different marriage and cohabitation arrangements across a lifetime, suggests that a life-long marriage is the most satisfying. Early divorce followed by an enduring second marriage is little worse (because little time is spent outside the married state). But divorce without remarriage, or long lasting cohabitation without formal marriage, reduce the lifetime sum of subjective well-being by 4–12% for both women and men.