The Transformation of Psychology in a Post-Apartheid South Africa: An Overview

Certain issues that are being debated in psychology in a post-apartheid South Africa are discussed, namely the development of professional organizations, indigenous healing and psychology, the psychometric movement, and forms of methodological inquiry. It is argued that South African psychology is striving to become more appropriate to the majority of its peoples, whether it be on the professional or research fronts. There is a desire to develop indigenous epistemologies and not to become excessively reliant on Euro-American epistemological traditions. Psychology is struggling to make mental health resources available to all South Africans.     

Physiologically Based Liver Modeling and Risk Assessment

Because of the inherent complexity of biological systems, there is often a choice between a number of apparently equally applicable physiologically based models to describe uptake and metabolism processes in toxicology or risk assessment. These models may fit the particular data sets of interest equally well, but may give quite different parameter estimates or predictions under different (extrapolated) conditions. Such competing models can be discriminated by a number of methods, including potential refutation by means of strategic experiments, and their ability to suitably incorporate all relevant physiological processes. For illustration, three currently used models for steady-state hepatic elimination--the venous equilibration model, the parallel tube model, and the distributed sinusoidal perfusion model--are reviewed and compared with particular reference to their application in the area of risk assessment. The ability of each of the models to describe and incorporate such physiological processes as protein binding, precursor-metabolite relations and hepatic zones of elimination, capillary recruitment, capillary heterogeneity, and intrahepatic shunting is discussed. Differences between the models in hepatic parameter estimation, extrapolation to different conditions, and interspecies scaling are discussed, and criteria for choosing one model over the others are presented. In this case, the distributed model provides the most general framework for describing physiological processes taking place in the liver, and has so far not been experimentally refuted, as have the other two models. These simpler models may, however, provide useful bounds on parameter estimates and on extrapolations and risk assessments.     

缓解我国就业压力的重要途径--再谈农村工业化

工业化包括农村工业化,片面的工业化和单向的农村———城市人口流动模式都不能解决农村剩余劳动力就业问题。为充分就业找到新途径,关键在于对传统农业的改造和加速农村工业化发展。     

知识产权保护与科技成果转化的冲突及其协调

知识产权保护与科技成果转化的冲突,是指对知识产权个人垄断权益的保护与其以实现社会整体利益为目标的科技成果转化之间的冲突,其本质是人为的社会体制与科技发展内在的客观规律之间的冲突;提高科技研发人员自身素质、强化企业技术创新能力、加强政策法律导向和市场调节作用等,是消除该类冲突的主要途径和措施.     

政治文化跳跃与政府角色转换

封闭之后的改革开放,为我们带来了工业文明与信息文明,导致中国政治文化系统中传统社会、工业社会、信息社会等文化因子同时并存并相互作用。在政治文化领域存在的是跳跃性的政治思想研究、复杂矛盾的政治心理。变迁的行政文化和转换的传媒角色。这种过渡型的政治文化状况造成政府角色转换时左右为难,一方面要求政府提升对外在政治文化的回应与引导能力,另一方面要求我们以补课、回溯与紧扣现实这三种态度塑造出新的政治文化,顺利实现政府角色转换。     

普通高校科研的几点看法

分析了目前普通高校科研工作科技成果转化资金投入不足 ,缺乏健全科技成果转化体制、科技成果成熟性差等问题 ,提出以政府主导 ,加大投入、加强校企联合、建立风险基金、建立科技产业园区等几个重要解决渠道 ,及利用普通高校科研成果转化的扩散效应拉动相关产业发展 ,提高产业发展水平从而对地方与国民经济发展起到积极的促进作用     

向城市社区居委会跨越性转变——“城中村”转型发展系列研究之二

“城中村”是我国农村城市化进程中出现的一种特殊现象。积极妥善解决“城中村”问题 ,加快“城中村”转型发展 ,使其真正融入城市 ,是城市化发展的迫切需要 ,也是这些村自身经济和社会发展的迫切需要。“城中村”的转型发展 ,关键在于管理体制的转变。传统的路子是从村委会转为居委会 ,但在全国推进城市社区建设的今天 ,不必要也不应该再走这个弯路 ,而应该直接向城市社区居委会跨越性转变。这种转变是必要的 ,也是可能的。要积极探索和采取切实有效的对策和措施 ,促进“城中村”跨越性转变     

Bayesian analysis of directed graphs data with applications to social networks

Summary.  A fully Bayesian analysis of directed graphs, with particular emphasis on applica- tions in social networks, is explored. The model is capable of incorporating the effects of covariates, within and between block ties and multiple responses. Inference is straightforward by using software that is based on Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Examples are provided which highlight the variety of data sets that can be entertained and the ease with which they can be analysed.     

New imperfect rankings models for ranked set sampling

Ranked set sampling is a sampling approach that leads to improved statistical inference in situations where the units to be sampled can be ranked relative to each other prior to formal measurement. This ranking may be done either by subjective judgment or according to an auxiliary variable, and it need not be completely accurate. In fact, results in the literature have shown that no matter how poor the quality of the ranking, procedures based on ranked set sampling tend to be at least as efficient as procedures based on simple random sampling. However, efforts to quantify the gains in efficiency for ranked set sampling procedures have been hampered by a shortage of available models for imperfect rankings. In this paper, we introduce a new class of models for imperfect rankings, and we provide a rigorous proof that essentially any reasonable model for imperfect rankings is a limit of models in this class. We then describe a specific, easily applied method for selecting an appropriate imperfect rankings model from the class.     

D-efficient window experimental designs

In the paper we present a new method of calculating sampling intervals, so-called windows, allowing an experimenter some flexibility in timing the sample collection, while a minimum required design efficiency for parameter estimation is assured. The method is based on the Equivalence Theorem for D-optimality what makes the length of each window related to the parameter sensitivities. An example of calculating the windows in a pharmacokinetic study is presented. Some other methods of calculating efficient sampling windows are briefly discussed.