How do policy levers shape the quality of a national health system?

Poor quality of care may have a detrimental effect on access and take-up and can become a serious barrier to the universality of health services. This consideration is of particular interest in view of the fact that health systems in many countries must address a growing public-sector deficit and respond to increasing pressures due to COVID-19 and aging population, among other factors. In line with a rapidly emerging literature, we focus on patient satisfaction as a proxy for quality of health care. Drawing on rich longitudinal and cross-sectional data for Spain and multilevel estimation techniques, we show that in addition to individual level differences, policy levers (such as public health spending and the patient-doctor ratio, in particular) exert a considerable influence on the quality of a health care system. Our results suggest that policymakers seeking to enhance the quality of care should be cautious when compromising the level of health resources, and in particular, health personnel, as a response to economic downturns in a sector that traditionally had insufficient human resources in many countries, which have become even more evident in the light of the current health crisis. Additionally, we provide evidence that the increasing reliance on the private health sector may be indicative of inefficiencies in the public system and/or the existence of features of private insurance which are deemed important by patients.     

Deaf and disabled? (Un)Employment of deaf people in Belgium: a comparison of eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century cohorts

In this article, the employment characteristics of pre-industrial and industrial cohorts of deaf men and women are compared with each other, as well as with a cohort of non-disabled siblings. The aim is to determine the extent to which the employment patterns of deaf persons lined up with those of non-disabled people and to see how nineteenth-century industrialization processes influenced their employment opportunities. This article challenges the widely held assumption that the nineteenth century constituted a definitive break by arguing that the professional lives of deaf people were not necessarily better before industrialization. Moreover, I demonstrate that the development of deaf schools in the course of the nineteenth century opened a new range of career opportunities for deaf individuals.     

舟山灯塔历史概述

灯塔一般位于海岸、港口或河道，用以指引船只的航行方向。灯塔大都类似塔的形状，透过塔顶的透镜系统，将光芒射向海面或河面照明。舟山地处我国大陆海岸线中部，长江口南侧，杭州湾外缘东海洋面上，自古有“江浙之门户，四明之藩篱”之称，历史上就为中国重要的海上贸易通道。为保障海上航行安全，舟山很早就设立导航设施，到清晚期，随着航线的日益繁忙以及导航技术的发展，舟山设立了众多的近代灯塔，这些灯塔大多保留完整，其数量之多，密度之高，在全国首屈一指。     

Response strategy to environment context factors using a lean and agile approach: Implications for firm performance

Based on the environment-strategy performance perspective and dynamic capabilities framework, we develop a theoretical model and hypotheses specifying how supply chain collaboration as a response to environment context factors – competitive intensity, supply uncertainty, technological turbulence and market turbulence, using a lean and agile strategy may influence firm performance. We test the model using partial least square structural equation modelling on data collected from a field survey with responses from 152 manufacturing firms representing a variety of industries. Empirical findings generally support the relationship between collaboration and firm performance using a lean and agile strategy. Also, for firms in industries that face environments characterised by high supply uncertainty and competitive intensity with, technological turbulence, the study finds evidence of a direct relationship between these environmental factors and supply chain collaboration. The findings provide an initial strategic response framework for appropriately aligning a lean and agile supply chain strategy through collaboration with environment context factors to achieve firm performance improvements.     

Formal governance,interfirm coordination,and performance in partnerships: An empirical investigation of a mediation model

This study investigates the extent to which formal governance mechanisms such as contracts and equity ownership affect interfirm coordination and partnership performance. We analysed data from a survey of 301 Korean firms to show that interfirm coordination partially mediates the relationship between contract completeness, defined as the extent to which a contract specifies task operations and contingencies, and partnership performance. Furthermore, we find that more complete contracts can attenuate the negative effects of equity ownership on coordination, and that this effect is particularly strong when partner tasks are interdependent and relational norms are weak.     

论历史演义的虚构性

明清时期对历史演义的性质存在着争议,有些评论家认为历史演义是正史的通俗版,因而极力反对在历史演义中进行虚构。但大量的创作实践证明,为了增强作品的可读性,历史演义不可能句句依傍正史,必然在细节描写、心理刻画、语言描写、环境烘托等方面进行虚构,从而使历史演义成为虚实结合的历史小说。     

英美TEFL的历史及其特征

本文简述了英美两国把英语作为外语教学(TEFL)的历史,并就英美两国的一些语言学家对于TEFL的贡献作了较详尽的描述。本文还谈及英美两国TEFL的历史特征,其中最重要的是语言学理论的研究在TEFL中的应用。     

汽轮机凝汽器技术状态的故障诊断

介绍了对电站发动机组凝汽器进行状态监测和故障诊断的技术诊断自动化系统的研究和实现，实践证明，开发的系统对改善凝汽器性能、提高电站整体性能具有重要意义。     

从契丹诗歌的演进看契丹人的汉化进程

契丹诗歌留存不多,但其中蕴涵的文化信息却十分丰富。契丹诗歌的演进过程,就是契丹民族汉化进程的形象展现。通过对这个过程的分析研究,揭示出契丹民族的习俗由“无礼顽器”到文质彬彬;思维模式由简单平直到二元对立;情感由简单粗放到委婉细腻;思想意识由原始状态到汉民族多种哲学相互融合。     

缩小城乡差距统筹城乡发展问题研究

笔者系统总结了我国城乡差距、城乡关系失调的具体表现,并进一步分析了城乡发展差距过大对国民经济和社会发展的影响以及统筹城乡发展的现实意义,继而从改革城乡分治的管理体制,加快城镇化进程,推动城乡联动的工业化路线等方面提出了统筹城乡发展的对策建议。