Some Results on Modeling Biological Sequences and Web Navigation with a Semi Markov Chain

In the article, the entrance probabilities and the probability distribution of the number of transitions to a state are studied to provide some answers to questions related to state occupancies for the semi Markov model. Biological sequences and Web navigation are two cases that initially seem to be different but to a certain extent they do have similarities. Two main aspects of word occurrences in biological sequences are: (a) where do they occur and (b) how many times do they occur. In Web navigation the similar questions are (a) when a node is visited and (b) how many times a node is visited. So, the theoretical results of this study are applied to model these two cases and derive distributions of word location or node occurrence and frequency of occurrences. Rewards/costs are included in the Web navigation model and analytic forms for the means, variances, and moments of total interval rewards/costs are provided.     

Associations between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs

This study focused on the relationship between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs, and in jobs with high and low external pressure to work overtime. Data were collected for 535 full-time employees of the Dutch Postal Service. In general, overtime was associated with negative work-home interference and negative home-work interference. Split-sample logistic regression analyses showed that employees reporting low rewards had elevated risks of burnout, negative work-home interference and slow recovery. In addition, the combination of overtime and low rewards was associated with negative home-work interference. A second analysis was conducted separately for employees who reported overtime in order to study the effects of external pressure to work overtime. In this subgroup, low rewards were associated with elevated risks of health complaints, emotional exhaustion and negative home-work interference. Moreover, employees who reported overtime and a high pressure to work overtime in combination with low rewards had elevated risks of poor recovery, cynicism, and negative work-home interference. The results suggest that even a limited number of hours of involuntary overtime is associated with adverse mental health, but only in low reward situations.     

Associations between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs

This study focused on the relationship between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs, and in jobs with high and low external pressure to work overtime. Data were collected for 535 full-time employees of the Dutch Postal Service. In general, overtime was associated with negative work-home interference and negative home-work interference. Split-sample logistic regression analyses showed that employees reporting low rewards had elevated risks of burnout, negative work-home interference and slow recovery. In addition, the combination of overtime and low rewards was associated with negative home-work interference. A second analysis was conducted separately for employees who reported overtime in order to study the effects of external pressure to work overtime. In this subgroup, low rewards were associated with elevated risks of health complaints, emotional exhaustion and negative home-work interference. Moreover, employees who reported overtime and a high pressure to work overtime in combination with low rewards had elevated risks of poor recovery, cynicism, and negative work-home interference. The results suggest that even a limited number of hours of involuntary overtime is associated with adverse mental health, but only in low reward situations.     

Non-monetary reinforcement effects on pro-environmental behavior

While non-monetary reinforcement is often discussed as a promising intervention technique, systematic research on its effectiveness for the promotion of pro-environmental behavior has been scarce. This lack of research is likely due to the difficulty of studying non-monetary reinforcement within existing study designs. Here, we examined the effects of non-monetary reinforcement using a recently developed and validated pro-environmental behavior task. In two preregistered studies (total N = 997), participants could repeatedly choose to exert actual effort in exchange for donations to an environmental organization. Their choices were either followed by potentially reinforcing stimuli (e.g., words of praise superimposed on positively valenced pictures) or not. When accompanied by cheerful animal pictures, these stimuli significantly promoted pro-environmental effort expenditure in Study 2, but not in Study 1. Longer-term effects and spillover to non-reinforced behavior were also examined, but not conclusively supported. These findings illustrate the potential of the presented experimental approach for studying the effectiveness of non-monetary reinforcement in societally relevant domains.     

Reward the lucky? An experimental investigation of the impact of agency and luck on bonuses

We examine the impact of agency and luck on bonuses in a two player, two stage controlled laboratory experiment. In the first stage, Player A makes an investment decision on behalf of Player B. In the second stage, Player B makes a dictator allocation for each possible outcome from the investment. We compare dictator giving (bonuses) across outcomes and with a control treatment in which the stage 1 outcomes are determined randomly. We do not find that luck is rewarded with higher bonuses. However, we do find a general tendency to respond to agency with reduced bonuses and, in particular, a significant tendency to reduce bonuses to agents who are unlucky. Additionally, we find that those who are more risk tolerant are less likely to give no bonus under agency but not in the control.     

A self-funding reward mechanism for tax compliance

We compare in a laboratory experiment two audit-based tax compliance mechanisms that collect fines from those found non-compliant. The mechanisms differ in the way fines are redistributed to individuals who were either not audited or audited and found to be compliant. The first, as is the case in most extant tax systems, does not discriminate between the un-audited and those found compliant. The second targets the redistribution in favor of those found compliant. We find that targeting increases compliance when paying taxes generates a social return. We do not find any increase in compliance in a control treatment where individuals audited and found compliant receive symbolic rewards. We conclude that existing tax mechanisms have room for improvement by rewarding those audited and found compliant.     

深入开展计划生育奖励与社会保障工作的思考

计划生育奖励与社会保障是计划生育工作的一个重要组成部分。目前这项工作开展中存在着性质定位不清、经费来源不畅、齐抓共管不到位等问题。据此提出当前低生育水平条件下 ,理清概念、分类指导、政策支持、建立专项基金等更好开展这项工作的对策建议。     

论纳什均衡在制度建构中的意义

在博弈论制度分析和制度经济学的视角下,制度建构是以国家权力机关和政府为主体,在“制度安排”层面上的“制度变迁”中具有目的方向的制度创制过程。博弈论制度分析为我们提供了在动态环境中分析转型期国家制度变迁和制度建构的重要方法。运用博弈论制度分析的方法剖析制度建构问题,我们会发现纳什均衡在制度建构中的重要地位和特殊意义,这将有助于我们明辨制度建构的宗旨。而制度建构的宗旨就是要通过嵌入有效的赏罚机制打破原有恶性的纳什均衡建立良性均衡,在制度意义上将矛盾和冲突控制在秩序范围之内,使国家政治经济社会生活有序运行。     

知荣明辱的他律机制——荣辱奖惩方式探究

要使社会主义荣辱观作为人们的行为准则就要在实效上下功夫，加强相关的荣辱奖惩制度建设，对“八荣”的言行予以奖励，对“八耻”的言行予以惩罚。荣辱奖惩是一项复杂的社会系统工程，本文简要介绍精神奖惩、物质奖惩、法律奖惩三种基本方式。     

C2C网络交易中维持阶段顾客信任前因研究

本文采用结构方程模型分析方法(SEM),对C2C网络交易中影响维持阶段顾客信任的前因进行了研究。本文运用问卷调查的方法,收集了107份有效问卷。研究的结果显示,卖家声誉、结构保障、忠诚顾客奖励对顾客信任有显著影响,以往的购物经历显著影响购买倾向,顾客信任显著影响购买倾向,而网站声誉对顾客信任和购买倾向的影响并不显著。