Employment and absenteeism in working-age persons with multiple sclerosis

Aims: To better understand the impact of the clinical course of multiple sclerosis (MS) and disability on employment, absenteeism, and related factors.

Materials and methods: This study included respondents to the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Registry spring 2015 update survey who were US or Canadian residents, aged 18–65 years and reported having relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), secondary progressive MS (SPMS), or primary progressive MS (PPMS). The RRMS and SPMS participants were combined to form the relapsing-onset MS (RMS) group and compared with the PPMS group regarding employment status, absenteeism, and disability. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between employment-related outcomes and factors that may affect these relationships.

Results: Of the 8004 survey respondents, 5887 (73.6%) were 18–65 years of age. The PPMS group (n?=?344) had a higher proportion of males and older mean age at the time of the survey and at time of diagnosis than the RMS group (n?=?4829). Female sex, age, age at diagnosis, cognitive and hand function impairment, fatigue, higher disability levels, ≥3 comorbidities, and a diagnosis of PPMS were associated with not working. After adjustment for disability, the employed PPMS sub-group reported similar levels of absenteeism to the employed RMS sub-group.

Limitations: Limitations of the study include self-report of information and the possibility that participants may not fully represent the working-age MS population.

Conclusions: In MS, employment status and absenteeism are negatively affected by disability, cognitive impairment, and fatigue. These findings underscore the need for therapies that prevent disability progression and other symptoms that negatively affect productivity in persons with MS to enable them to persist in the workforce.     

Unraveling public support for casino gaming: The case of a casino referendum in Penghu

By integrating the social exchange theory (SET) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study unravels the factors associated with residents’ intention to support casino gaming development in Penghu in future referenda. Residents’ attitudes toward casino gaming development in their community were examined in the SET framework while their intention to support such development was investigated in the TPB framework. Despite that partisan difference did not have a significant interaction with TPB variables, past behavior exerted moderating effects determining residents’ intention to support casino gaming development through two TPB variables: subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Implications are provided.

Abbreviations: ATTU: attitude; DPP: Democratic Progress Party; ECOI: perceived economic impact; ENVI: perceived environmental impact; INT: intention to support casino gaming development in future referenda; KMT: Kuomingtang; PBC: perceived behavioral control; PPB: perceived personal benefit; SET: social exchange theory; SN: subjective norms; SOCI: perceived social impact; TPB: theory of planned behavior     

孔子人性论浅探

孔子虽然没有像孟子和苟子等人一样明确地提出人性论，但是却有许多直接和间接关于人性的论述。孔子的人性论从人情出发，对人性的弱点有着独到的观察，注重人性的经验论考察，充满人性关怀。孔子的人性论对当今社会治理仍有积极的借鉴意义。     

论民法中诉讼时效制度适用范围

在日常生活中,任何人都无法离开法律而生活,因为法律是与生活息息相关的。正如西方法律谚语所说:立法者不是创设法律,而是发现法律。生活离不开法律,法律来自于生活。生活里人们无时不刻地在为自己和他人创设权利与设置义务,从而生成各种民事法律关系。但是,权利与义务不会无休无止地存在,当一方信守承诺积极履行自己的义务时,另一方亦不能"躺在权利的床上酣眠"。不论是权利还是义务,都会有消亡的时刻,即一个时间限制,法律中叫做时效。为此,对中国公民哪些权利会受到时效的限制及该受多长时间的限制进行了论述。     

浅析工程测量学的发展

本文对工程测量学进行了定义,指出了该学科的地位及研究应用领域,阐述了工程测量学领域通用和专用仪器的发展。结合科研和开发实践,简单介绍了地面控制与施工测量工程内外业数据处理一体化自动化系统——科傻系统。最后展望了21世纪工程测量学若干发展方向。     

ALTERNATIVE WEIGHTING APPROACHES TO COMPUTING INDEXES OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

This paper compares the weighting schemes in the traditional, principal component and dynamic factor approaches to summarizing information from a number of component variables. To facilitate the comparison, we propose a framework to discuss the approaches with respect to their implied loadings in a latent variable model. We also propose a way to transform the dynamic factor index into an analogous index which is a weighted average of the components. The framework shows the strengths and weakness of the alternative weighting schemes and the sense in which the dynamic factor approach has the advantage of capturing both the significance and the variability of the components.     

基于组合赋权的青海省水资源承载力模糊物元分析

以青海省为研究区域,以其所辖的8个行政分区作为研究单元,利用基于组合赋权的模糊物元分析法,从用水总量、用水效率、水质3个维度建立青海省水资源承载力的"三条红线"评价指标体系。结果显示:青海省水资源还具有较大的开发潜力,水资源承载能力较强。但是青海省水资源开发利用条件和程度呈现出区域性差异,西宁市和海东市水资源承载力已近饱和状态,而其余地区水资源承载力相对较强,必须因地制宜采取相应的改善措施。     

The paradoxes of risk management in the banking sector

This paper uses empirical evidence to examine the operational dynamics and paradoxical nature of risk management systems in the banking sector. It demonstrates how a core paradox of market versus regulatory demands and an accompanying variety of performance, learning and belonging paradoxes underlie evident tensions in the interaction between front and back office staff in banks. Organisational responses to such paradoxes are found to range from passive to proactive, reflecting differing organisational, departmental and individual risk culture(s), and performance management systems. Nonetheless, a common feature of regulatory initiatives designed to secure a more structurally independent risk management function is that they have failed to rectify a critical imbalance of power - with the back office control functions continuing to be dominated by front office trading and investment functions. Ultimately, viewing the 'core' of risk management systems as a series of connected paradoxes rather than a set of assured, robust practices, requires a fundamental switch in emphasis away from a normative, standards-based approach to risk management to one which gives greater recognition to its behavioural dimensions.     

所有权性质、女性高管参与及企业R&D投入——来自科技型中小企业的经验证据

基于高层梯队理论，利用深圳证券交易所2008-2014年上市企业的数据，探讨了女性高管参与对企业R&D投入的影响，以及所有权性质的调节作用。研究结果显示：女性高管参与对企业R&D投入二者之间呈现出显著的负相关关系；民营企业的所有权性质将显著调节女性高管参与对R&D投入的抑制效应。     

从“官控”到“民动”——论政府推进城镇化进程中的公众参与

当下中国的城镇化是＂政府主导＂的城镇化,鲜有程序规制及公众参与,存在着权力裸奔的危险,城镇化推进成果难以获得正当性证成。因此,必须要完善程序机制,扩大公众参与,实现从＂官控＂到＂民动＂的推进模式转变。