Extended Models for Quantal Response Data

There is much current interest in trying to improve the fit of the classical logit and probit models for quantal response data. This is done through transforming the dose scale and/or embedding a classical model in a richer parametric family. This paper provides an historical review of the development of this work, and attempts to make practical recommendations. Much of the work extends directly to the case of logistic regression.     

Co-commissioning of public services and outcomes in the UK: Bringing co-production into the strategic commissioning cycle

Commissioning as a planning, resource mobilization and prioritization activity needs to harness user and community co-production of public services and outcomes. Based on a public value model, we map how commissioners can go beyond traditional consultation and participation processes to achieve co-commissioning with citizens. Moreover, we discuss how public sector organizations can use their strategic commissioning process to support and embed citizen voice and action in their problem prevention, treatment and rehabilitation strategies to achieve the quality of life outcomes desired by both citizens and public service commissioners.     

Recovery outcomes of schizophrenia patients treated with paliperidone palmitate in a community setting: patient and provider perspectives on recovery

Objectives:

This study evaluated the effect of paliperidone palmitate long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic on recovery-oriented mental health outcomes from the perspective of healthcare providers and patients during the treatment of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders.

Methods:

Archival data for patients with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder receiving ≥6 months of paliperidone palmitate LAI were retrieved from the electronic medical records system at the Mental Health Center of Denver. Mental health recovery was assessed from both a provider’s (Recovery Markers Inventory [RMI]) and patient’s (Consumer Recovery Measure [CRM]) perspective. A three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) was utilized to determine changes in CRM and RMI scores by including independent variables in the models: intercept, months from treatment (slope), treatment time period (pretreatment and treatment), age, gender, primary diagnosis, substance abuse diagnosis, concurrent medications, and adherence to paliperidone palmitate LAI.

Results:

A total of 219 patients were identified and included in the study. Results of the final three-level HLMs indicated an overall increase in CRM scores (p?<?0.05), an overall increase (p?<?0.01), and an increased rate of change (p?<?0.05) in RMI scores during the paliperidone palmitate LAI treatment period vs the pre-treatment period.

Limitations:

This study contained a retrospective, non-comparative design, and did not adjust for multiplicity

Conclusions:

The current study demonstrates that changes in recovery-oriented mental health outcomes can be detected following the administration of a specific antipsychotic treatment in persons with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders. Furthermore, patients receiving paliperidone palmitate LAI can effectively improve recovery-oriented outcomes, thereby supporting the drug’s use as schizophrenia treatment from a recovery-oriented perspective.     

Accounting “Boot Camp”

This study examines the effectiveness of a program designed to set appropriate student expectations and motivate students to put forth the necessary effort to succeed in intermediate accounting and other upper-division accounting courses. At a mid-sized public university in the Western US many students enrolled in Intermediate Accounting I (their first upper-division course) struggle with the rigor and academic demands of this course, resulting in failure rates of 30–45%. In many cases, students new to upper-division courses appear to lack a commitment to, or awareness of, the effort needed for success in the accounting program. The faculty implemented an accounting “Boot Camp” to prepare new accounting majors for the expectations of the program. This paper details the implementation of the Boot Camp and reviews its effectiveness by comparing the performance of attendees with the performance of non-attendees. After controlling for other contributing factors, the evidence suggests that attendees outperform their non-attending peers in Intermediate Accounting I. This relatively low-cost intervention should be attractive to faculty concerned about the common problem of students failing and then retaking intermediate accounting.     

New development: Procurement and policy outcomes—a bridge too far?

This article furthers the discussion in the March 2015 (Vol. 35, No. 2) issue of Public Money &; Management on ‘Public procurement policy and practice— international lessons and debates’. In particular, it illustrates some of the major difficulties in achieving the required policy outcomes through the procurement processes. The numerous ‘failures’, particularly in the defence acquisitions area, are of ongoing concern both in terms of ‘blow-outs’ in costs and, more unfortunately, in achieving strategic defence capability and overall policy outcomes in required timeframes. Can current public sector reforms and observed better practice provide any encouragement for, discipline on, participants to achieve the required results or is it all just too difficult?     

Coalitional games with veto players: Consistency, monotonicity and Nash outcomes

Following Dagan et al. [Dagan, N., Volij, O., Serrano, R. (1997). A non-cooperative view on consistent bankruptcy rules, Games Econ. Behav. 18, 55–72], we construct an extensive form game for veto-balanced TU games in which a veto player is the proposer and the other players are responders. The set of Nash outcomes of this extensive form game is described, and compared to solutions of TU games such as the nucleolus, kernel and egalitarian core. We find necessary and sufficient conditions under which the nucleolus of the game is a Nash outcome.     

收入质量与农户宅基地退出意愿：一个“U”型关系——基于宁夏回族自治区的调研数据

目的 探究收入质量对农户宅基地退出意愿的影响,希望能找到二者的关系,并发现提高农户宅基地退出意愿的着力点,适度推动宅基地退出,从而达到土地节约集约利用的目的。方法 文章首先将农户的收入质量分为收入充足性、稳定性、结构性、成本性和知识性5个维度。其次,运用熵值法对收入质量各项指标进行赋权。再次,计算收入质量各个分维度的数值大小,进而通过求和得到每个农户的收入质量数值。最后,采用二元Logistic模型,实证研究了收入质量对农户宅基地退出意愿的影响。结果 （1）在经济发展较为落后的地区,农户宅基地退出意愿会随着收入质量的增长先下降后上升。（2）随着收入质量的增长,小规模农户宅基地退出意愿先于大规模农户迎来拐点。结论 收入质量与农户宅基地退出意愿两者之间是“Ｕ”型曲线关系,且收入质量对农户宅基地退出意愿的影响具有异质性。建议拓宽农户收入渠道,给予农户工作技能培训机会,持续推动农户增收,切实提升农户的收入质量,促进有意愿且有条件的人自愿、有偿退出宅基地。     

Earliness of internationalization and performance outcomes: Exploring the moderating effects of venture age and international commitment

This study examines the impact of early foreign market entry on new ventures’ performance outcomes. Venture age and international commitment are theorized as moderators to address the inconsistent findings of previous research surrounding the performance implications of early internationalization. Results from a sample of international new ventures in China found that the earliness of internationalization positively contributes to firm performance in terms of sales growth, but not innovation and profitability. The performance advantage of early internationalization becomes obsolete as young ventures become mature, especially among those with a low level of international commitment. This study highlights the importance of incorporating time-based dimensions of international venturing for a better understanding of the performance implications of early internationalization.     

浅析以用户为中心的地质成果社会化服务体系

随着社会对地质成果需求的不断扩大和延伸,地质成果的社会化问题越来越受到人们的广泛关注,我国地质成果社会化服务虽然已经开展并且服务范围在不断扩大,但也存在着成果表达方式单一,管理制度有缺陷、服务理念落后,信息化人才短缺等问题,从而影响和制约了地质成果社会化服务的开展,为解决地质成果社会化服务中存在的问题和障碍,应建立以用户为中心的地质成果社会化服务体系。包括树立以用户为中心的服务理念,针对目标用户群提供相应的服务,建立以用户为中心的地质成果社会化服务评价指标体系等。