Children and well-being: A comparison of employed and non-employed women

While employment improves health, having children at home does not. Indeed, the most likely work-family conflict for women is having children at home. In this study the effect of children on well-being was predicted to differ for employed and non-employed women. In addition, only amongst the employed women was locus of control hypothcsized to moderate this relationship. In a sample of women with partners (n = 116), using multiple-regression analysis, the results indicated that the number of children living at home, rather than the presence of young children, was associated with increased happiness in women. Employment was not predictive of women's well-being. However, it moderated the effect of number of children on their levels of happiness. In addition, non-employed women showed a U-shaped relationship between number of children and psychological distress. Finally, contrary to prediction, locus of control did not moderate the relationship between number of children and women's well-being. The findings are discussed in terms of the role expansion hypothesis.     

Stories of (Social) Distress: Applied Narrative Analysis and Public Policy for the Homeless

Recent attention to the use of social science research in the formation of social policy highlights the role of narratives in the mediation of the relationships between research and practice, science and policy. This paper demonstrates the value of applied narrative analysis in revealing the function of narratives in this mediation. Public debate over a universal “right to shelter” for homeless persons in Washington D. C. is the central case study. The results illustrate the usefulness of applied narrative analysis in the study of social distress and in the forging of new links between research and policy.     

边缘的思考，主流的文学——论鬼子小说的价值

本文从"为人生"的视角论叙鬼子小说的苦难承载的文学价值形态和真诚的写作态度,作家用悲悯的情怀叙述古老民族蜕变向现代化社会转型时期人的痛苦,人的现代文明的精神焦虑"边缘"羡慕"中心"的现代性渴慕;以陌生化的语法和陌生化的"百越境界"景象来呈现他的文学价值观.     

基于RS与ANN的上市公司财务困境预测模型的实证研究

本文以中国上市公司作为研究对象,采用粗糙集理论(RS)客观选出预测模型指标体系,以因财务状况异常而被列为特别处理公司(ST公司)作为界定上市公司的财务困境标志,采用人工神经网络(ANN)寻找最佳的利用公开财务数据预测中国上市公司财务困境的模型。我们的研究结果表明,总资产报酬率等18个包括现金流量类指标的财务指标有较强的区分财务困境公司和财务健康公司的能力;行业类型和资产规模对于上市公司财务困境预测具有至关重要的作用;运用ANN建立的神经网络模型有较强和较稳定的预测能力。     

企业经营管理预警：主成分分析在logistic回归方法中的应用

logistic回归分析是度量企业信用风险的一种主流方法,它的假设比较符合经济现实和金融数据分布的特点。但是考虑到现阶段我国上市公司的信用数据具有的高维性和高相关性等特点对logistic分析产生的负面影响,本文在logistic分析中引入了能够有效降维和消除logistic方程共线性等问题的主成分分析,并对我国沪深两市上市公司的经营失败进行了实证研究,结果表明结合主成分分析法的logistic回归分析在模型解释和预测准确率等力面均优于简单的logistic分析。     

Test of the demands, supports-constraints framework in predicting psychological distress amongst Australian public sector employees

This paper describes the demands, supports-constraints framework originally articulated by Payne (1979) for predicting psychological distress, and reports the results of an empirical study involving 2452 white-collar, public sector employees in Australia. The study uses hierarchical regression to test for the interaction effects of the demands and constraints variables, having applied suitable controls for instance by including trait anxiety and removing curvilinear effects. The results reveal little evidence of an interactive effect but moderately strong main effects and modest support for the value of controlling for curvilinear effects. Trait anxiety is shown to have a strong effect on psychological distress and considerably reduces the size of the relationship between demands, supports-constraints and psychological distress when statistically controlled for. However, it still accounts for 18.7% of the variance when entered last in the regression and it is recommended that its effects be explored in all studies of stress that rely on self-report data.     

A Multicriteria Outranking Modeling Approach for Credit Rating

Rating models are widely used by credit institutions to obtain estimates for the probabilities of default for their clients (firms, organizations, individuals) and to assess the risk of credit portfolios. Several statistical and data mining methods are used to develop such models. In this article, the potential of an outranking multicriteria decision‐aiding approach is explored. An evolutionary algorithm is used to fit a credit rating model on the basis of the ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalité trichotomique method. The methodology is applied to a large sample of Greek firms. The results indicate that outranking models are well suited to credit rating, providing good classification results and useful insight on the relative importance of the evaluation criteria.     

Sociocultural Variations in Adolescent Girls' Expressions of Distress: What We Know and Need to Know

Social workers have a unique interest in understanding diversity in patterns of human adaptation to adverse circumstances. This paper draws social workers' attention to empirical research on sociocultural variations in adolescent girls' expressions of distress. Focusing on internalizing and externalizing modes of expression, the author summarizes current studies that investigate ethnic/race and socioeconomic influences on adolescent girls' behavioral and psychological symptoms of underlying distress. This review of existing literature points to the need for a more refined understanding of multiple and interacting influences on adolescent female patterns of expression and draws several implications for social work practice with this diverse population group.     

Self-reported distress, job dissatisfaction and the Type A behaviour pattern in a sample of full-time employed Australians

The Type A behaviour pattern (TABP), which relates to risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), has also been shown to relate to self-reported feelings of both psychological and physical distress, at least during those times when the TABP is activated by salient environmental circumstances. The importance of the occupational setting for those with the TABP has led to the speculation that such distress may arise, in part, from job dissatisfaction which comes about when the Type A individual is unable to exert sufficient control over the environment. Associations between the TABP and measures of job dissatisfaction have not, however, been widely reported. The present study examined associations between the TABP, job (dis)satisfaction and self-reported experiences of both psychological and physical distress in a sample of employed individuals, and found tentative evidence that the relationship between the TABP and distress was mediated in a modest way by self-perceived job (dis)satisfaction. The implications of this for the areas of work stress and occupational health are discussed.     

The four-dimensional symptom questionnaire (4DSQ): measuring distress and other mental health problems in a working population

In non-clinical (working) populations it is important to differentiate between general distress, on the one hand, and psychiatric symptoms—depression, anxiety and somatization—on the other hand. The Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ) is a new instrument that measures these four symptom dimensions (Terluin, ). This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the 4DSQ in a working population. A postal stress and health survey was sent to all employees of a Dutch telecom company, 51% of whom responded (N=3852). The mailing included the 4DSQ, a set of questionnaires concerning job stress (e.g. psychological demands), coping style (e.g. problem-focused coping, avoidant coping), and indicators of strain (e.g. emotional exhaustion, fatigue). Cronbach's α for the four sub-scales of the 4DSQ ranged from .79 to .90. Factor analysis showed four factors corresponding to the four scales of the 4DSQ: distress, depression, anxiety, and somatization. The validity of the 4DSQ was assessed using (partial) correlations with job stress, coping, and strain. As expected, the distress scale showed the strongest correlations with the indicators of strain, as well as with job stress and coping. In conclusion, the 4DSQ is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used in a working population to distinguish between stress-related symptoms and psychiatric illness.