Evaluating employee assistance programs. A review of methods, outcomes, and future directions

Renewed interest in assisting troubled employees has led to an upsurge in the development of employee assistance programs, coupled with demands for demonstrable effectiveness. This review examines the nature and scope of these programs, their administrative and methodological context, and the types and outcomes of evaluation studies conducted thus far. Proposals for improving future investigations through a number of different approaches and strategies are then made.     

On the limiting properties of social indicators

Characteristics of the population and economic measures that constitute traditional social indicators are compared with more recent “quality of life” measures to demonstrate that social indicators are always value statements at the policy level. The possibility of alternative perspectives is illustrated. It is suggested that an awareness of the assumptions implicit in any given indicator is as important as the data they provide.     

Managing Uncertainty through Profit Sharing Contracts from Medieval Italy to Silicon Valley

Organizational innovation is essential to economic development. But, the way successful societies have organized new ventures has been remarkably similar in both past and present. The commenda organizations of medieval Italy shared many characteristics with modern startups that are financed by venture capital. Profit share contracts; limited liability and periodic reevaluations are cases in point. Agency contracts in both types of ventures are designed to absorb the high uncertainty inherent to these enterprises through risk sharing. Uncertainty prohibits a unique ex ante ranking order of investment projects and prompts investors to look for hidden human capital. Equity finance is better equipped to even out unexpected losses and gains that are inherent to uncertainty than debt finance.     

Information and communications technologies, strategic asymmetry and national security

In the history of warfare, there are a number of examples of strategic uses of asymmetric technologies. Consistent with history and theory, individuals, organizations and nations have spotted opportunities to employ information and communications technologies to gain and exploit asymmetric advantages and to counter asymmetric weaknesses. This article discusses various asymmetries associated with institutions, nations and organizations that influence the ICT-national security nexus. Regulative, normative and cognitive institutions in a country provide various mechanisms that affect the nature of positive and negative asymmetries. Nations and organizations also differ in terms of their capability to assimilate ICT tools to gain positive asymmetries and deal with vulnerabilities of negative asymmetries. Integrative approaches that combine policy and technological measures at various levels are likely to make the world more secure.     

元康里人巎巎家世、仕履和作品

本文对有元一代书法大家康里人巎巎其家世、仕履、作品等项进行较为深入的考察;并指出,在元、明两代的书法传承中,巎巎居有非常重要的地位。作为西北人,他豪放的性格,使中原“传统”艺术之一端的书法产生新的内涵和特点,从而使之成为中国相关历史上的耀眼明星。乃为孛儿只吉氏朝士子的一员,他同样有着“广泛”的“交游”。而在与之往来的人中,既涵诗家马祖常、杨载,又涵文擘许有壬、黄溍、胡助、贡师泰。     

网络时代的适时财务监控与公司治理

网络技术应用的普及使传统财务监控的变革已成为公司治理和财务管理的热点话题,本文简要揭示新概念——适时财务监控与公司治理的关系,剖析了公司不同管理层次的适时财务监控的实时需求,从公司治理的基本需要对公司价值流再造、公司信息系统变革和适时财务监控机制重构等三个方面进行了初步研究,为网络适时财务监控在公司治理实务中的应用提供了一个基本框架。     

Forest Fire Risk Management and Public Participation in Changing Socioenvironmental Conditions: A Case Study in a Mediterranean Region

Under current conditions of accelerated socioenvironmental change in the Mediterranean forested landscapes, fire is one of the most critical and difficult risks to tackle within the region. This article summarizes the lessons learned from a project based on the participatory integration of qualitative local stakeholders' knowledge with expert GIS fire simulations carried out in the County of El Bages, Catalonia, Spain. First, in this article, a theoretical model--the forest fire circle--is presented in order to explain the reasons for the rise in the damage and frequency of forest fires in this Mediterranean area. Second, it describes the methodology developed and the stages followed during the project. Results show that: (1) the advocacy of old forest reactive management paradigm assumptions and practices based on uncontrolled forest succession can put vast wooded areas of the Mediterranean basin at critical risk; and (2) forest fire management approaches that ignore the crucial role of long-term prevention and local capacity building strategies have failed. In the final section, the content and the specific dimensions of the old reactive paradigm that has characterized forest fire risk management in Catalonia are discussed and contrasted with the possibly emerging preventative paradigm.     

Risk Modeling, Assessment, and Management of Lahar Flow Threat

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines is considered one of the most violent and destructive volcanic activities in the 20th century. Lahar is the Indonesian term for volcanic ash, and lahar flows resulting from the massive amount of volcanic materials deposited on the mountain's slope posed continued post-eruption threats to the surrounding areas, destroying lives, homes, agricultural products, and infrastructures. Risks of lahar flows were identified immediately after the eruption, with scientific data provided by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other research institutions. However, competing political, economic, and social agendas subordinated the importance of scientific information to policy making. Using systemic risk analysis and management, this article addresses the issues of multiple objectives and the effective integration of scientific techniques into the decision-making process. It provides a modeling framework for identifying, prioritizing, and evaluating policies for managing risk. The major considerations are: (1) applying a holistic approach to risk analysis through hierarchical holographic modeling, (2) applying statistical methods to gain insight into the problem of uncertainty in risk assessment, (3) using multiobjective trade-off analysis to address the issue of multiple decisionmakers and stakeholders in the decision-making process, (4) using the conditional expected value of extreme events to complement and supplement the expected value in quantifying risk, and (5) assessing the impacts of multistage decisions. Numerical examples based on ex post data are formulated to illustrate applications to various problems. The resulting framework from this study can serve as a general baseline model for assessing and managing risks of natural disasters, which the Philippines' lead agency-the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC)-and other related organizations can use for their decision-making processes.     

"五四"新文学运动前二十年文学理论批评文体的演进

文学理论批评文体是文学理论批评形式特征的总和。中国古代文论文体有其鲜明的特色 ,但也有明显的局限性。至近代 ,尤其是五四新文学运动前二十年 ,文学理论批评文体发生了巨大的变化。其变革的方向 ,总的来说是向现代文学理论批评文体演进。具体来看 ,体式向多样化、大容量发展 ;篇章结构趋向完整精致 ;语言文字趋向通俗浅显 ;对西方文体从模仿趋向融会贯通 ;文体的外在形式向规范化发展     

关于社会福利制度的深层次思考

效率和公平是社会福利的两大准则 ,整个人类历史可以说就是一个不断追求效率和公平的历史 ,而其中针对社会弱势群体进行的收入和服务保障更是一个超社会形态的课题 ,是一个关乎人类社会福利的重要问题。针对中国的实际情况 ,本文中所讨论的社会福利制度被限定在“剩余福利模式”上。在对中外社会福利制度的起源及其理论发展进行考察的基础上 ,作者指出 :社会福利的提供应是制度化的政府职责 ,它的实施不仅能有效地保护社会弱势群体 ,还有利于全社会秩序的稳定和经济增长目标的实现 ;在中国目前财政收入相对不足的情况下 ,政府应充分利用社会资源、调动社会力量、推进立法、加紧培育行业组织和非赢利社会组织 ,以达到完善社会福利制度、有效保护社会弱势群体之目的。