VALIDATION OF EXPERT SYSTEMS- WITH APPLICATIONS TO AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING EXPERT SYSTEMS*

This paper proposes a set of definitions for the concepts “validation” and “assessment” applied to expert systems (ESs). It develops a framework for this validation and demonstrates the framework on existing accounting and auditing ESs to elicit some of the research issues involved in ES validation. Validation is critical to the design and implementation of decision-making ESs. In a setting where objectivity is sought and variance is avoided, validation ascertains what a system knows, knows incorrectly, or does not know. Validation ascertains the system's level of expertise and investigates the theoretical basis on which the system is based. It evaluates the reliability of decisions made by the system. The validation framework developed in this paper is research methods. It is designed to reflect the unique aspects of ESs (in contrast to other types of computer programs) and can be used by ES developers as a basis from which to perform validation and by researchers as a framework to elicit research issues in validation.     

CATEGORY WIDTH COGNITIVE STYLE AS A FACTOR IN ACCOUNTANTS' PERCEPTIONS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION

This paper reports the findings of a laboratory experiment designed to investigate the relationship of category width (CW) cognitive style with accountants' perceptions of accounting information. Subjects drawn from large accounting firms in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, Australia, were classified into broad, medium, and narrow categories following the test devised by Pettigrew [19]. Subjects were requested to state their level of confidence in decisions they had made after receiving (1) conventional accounting information or (2) conventional accounting information and human resources accounting (HRA) information using a one-group pretest-posttest design. The results indicated a significant relationship between CW cognitive style and the accountants' confidence in their decisions. Furthermore, CW cognitive style moderated the accounting-information/decision-making relationship.     

生态思维方式的当代建构

生态思维的实现表达了对自然的关切与热爱，这一思维方式的形成必然具有特定的建构方式。应该从生态思维方式的兴起、生态思维方式的基点，生态思维方式的原则来阐释生态思维方式的当代建构。     

素质教育与中华文明

素质教育是着眼于提高全体国民综合素质的教育。素质教育具有全面性、全体性、重能力性、贯通性等特点。实施素质教育既是教育改革的需要,也是经济、社会发展的客观要求。加强人文素质教育,离不开中华民族优秀传统文明成果的学习,而通过人文素质教育,能够使这些宝贵的资源在人才培养中发扬光大,并且与社会主义的现代文明完美地结合在一起。     

Chapter 2: The Business Case for the Integration of Employee Assistance,Work-Life and Wellness Services

SUMMARY

Employee assistance programs (EAP), work-life programs and wellness programs are three commonly provided kinds of interventions that have the goals of reducing healthcare costs, improving employee performance and fostering a healthier workplace culture. The integration of these kinds of programs is a recent trend that has the potential to offer additional synergistic benefits. New studies have linked comprehensive delivery services that support human capital needs with bottom-line financial success of the company. This evidence can be used to make the business case for offering EAP, work-life and wellness services in an integrated capacity. However, while promising, the scientific evidence thus far in this area has methodological limitations and there are critical aspects that require further study.     

Research Subject Advocate: A New Protector of Research Participants

In 2001, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) directed the 78 General Clinical Research Centers (GCRC) to develop a Research Subject Advocate (RSA) position. The RSA would report directly to the Principal Investigator (PI) of each GCRC and assure compliance of studies conducted on the GCRC with federal regulations and policies. Seven RSAs agreed to be interviewed about their new role. Website documents, electronic correspondence, and presentations at the first annual national meeting of RSAs were scrutinized using discursive analysis to shed light on this new organizational form and its potential for increased protection of human research participants. The RSA role actualizes the ethical principles of respect for persons, justice, and beneficence that are the foundation of the protection of research participants. The results also reveal the regulatory, institutional, collegial, and personal resources and barriers that assist the RSA in the successful implementation of the RSA role. In addition, issues important to the RSAs are described.     

论苏洵的“人情”观及苏、王关系

苏洵<辨奸论>的真伪问题,一直是学界争议的话题.此前的研究,多从版本和史实考订的角度切入,取得了很大进展,但尚难说得以圆满解决.本文试以考察苏洵的"人情"观为重点,观照决定苏、王关系的深刻思想分歧,有些疑难似更容易理解.     

Family and school capital explaining regional variation in math and reading achievement

We know that inequality varies by region and also begins early in life. Bivariate data suggest that 5–14-year-old children in the 1994 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) score differently in reading and mathematics achievement depending on their region, with children in the South and West scoring lower. We combine literatures on regional bases of inequality and family and school capital to generate hypotheses explaining these differences. Analyses of covariance provide supportive evidence. For both outcomes among boys, the variation is explained by additive models including family and child social and human capital, although selected aspects of school capital are also influential; these models also explain math achievement among girls. A model including both additive and interactive effects explains regional differences in reading achievement for girls. We interpret these findings in terms of their implications for studying inequality in child achievement as well as for emphasizing the importance of regional inequality, particularly beyond the South versus non-South distinction.     

Generic charisma - Conceptualization and measurement

In these times, when fame is available to almost anyone, it is worth being able to measure the extent and dimensions of a person's charisma. Most of the research on charisma to date is restricted to the area of leadership. In this article, however, charisma is generalized to take in all human beings and is conceptualized as a multi-dimensional cognitive-affective phenomenon. The article presents a pilot study aimed at providing an adequate operational definition of the construct as well as an initial tool for its measurement. A following literature review shows how authors have developed the concept of charisma and its initial operational dimensions for empirical research. A questionnaire is developed in three stages. The factor analyses applied in stages two and three point towards a six-factor solution (i.e. six dimensions of charisma). Further analysis reveals that the developed instrument is reliable and viable as well as applicable for future theoretical and practical work.     

学术研究视野中的报刊开发利用——以《申报》的学术资源开发为中心

中国近现代报刊蕴含着丰富的学术资源,它对社会科学各领域研究极具史料文献价值。近年来,报刊研究已在社科研究中占有很重要的分量,且呈现出日益上升的势头。因此,必须重视报刊资源的开发利用,采取行之有效的方法,使之产生应有的效益。