Towards a Design Science of Ethical Decision Support

Ethical decision making involves complex emotional, cognitive, social, and philosophical challenges. Even if someone wants to be ethical, he or she may not have clearly articulated what that means, or know how to go about making a decision consistent with his or her values. Information technology may be able to help. A decision support system could offer individuals and groups some guidance, assisting them in making a decision that reflects their underlying values. The first step towards a design science of ethical decision support is to develop a theoretical base on which first-generation systems can be built. This paper brings together work in cognitive, social and moral psychology, information systems, and philosophy relevant to ethical decision making. Attributes of a system that would support ethical decision making are described.     

A theory of trust based systems of intermediation

Recent studies have analysed the economic benefits of belongingto high-trust networks and the biological foundations of individualtrust, but much scepticism remains regarding the precise roleof trust in economic transactions, as well as gaps between microand macro concepts of trust. This paper links individual andinstitutional trust by modelling the costs associated with accessingmarket, law and trust-based intermediation systems, and identifiesthe conditions under which one of the three systems may be moreadvantageous for rational actors, and thus more likely to emerge.The discussion concentrates on examples drawn from developmentpolicy to illustrate how the three systems operate together,and how the failing of the trust system affects the legal andmarket systems.     

Drivers’ acceptance of automatic speed limiters: implications for policy and implementation

It has been suggested that speed limiters will have the most impact on vehicle speeds and hence road safety in general. Whilst it is technically feasible to develop a functional speed control system, it may be more difficult to design a system that drivers actually wish to use. It is essential that drivers’ acceptability towards speed limiters is gauged in order to establish the most effective way to implement the system. The research reported here used a variety of techniques to evaluate acceptability and concluded that although drivers perceive speed limiters to be effective in reducing accidents, there is a need to change perceptions about possible impacts on comfort and safety.     

On seeking first to understand

There are fundamental differences between seeking-to-solve and seeking-to-understand. We are strongly biased toward seeking-to-solve on a number of dimensions. As a result, we are increasingly at risk in a world that is becoming increasingly complex and fast paced. We therefore need to understand these biases so that we can defend ourselves -- we need to develop (moral) concepts and methods of inquiry that transcend our dominant and pervasive analytical presuppositions.     

基于面向对象思想的快递物流管理信息系统的分析与设计

基于面向对象思想,运用UML建模工具中的业务用例图和高层活动图对快递物流企业的业务流程进行分析。从系统需求和问题域两方面展开系统分析,同时对系统进行了总体功能设计和详细设计,并构建了系统的整体框架。     

Teachers’ versus parental choice and the tracking distribution of students: a natural experiment

This article studies the secondary school track choice and considers to what extent parents’ and teachers’ assessment of students diverge. We take advantage of a reform in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in 2006. The reform replaced parents’ choice about their children’s secondary school type by a binding teacher recommendation. Our data comprise class-level information on all public primary schools in the state. We find that teachers tend to recommend higher school types than parents. However, more precise analysis shows that this effect can be limited to districts with above average proportion of immigrants.     

中小企业服务体系的动力因素:政府抑或中介组织

中小企业服务体系作为市场经济的产物,市场服务组织在服务提供过程中发挥着基础性的作用;政府和非营利性中介组织作为对市场服务供给失灵的补充,根据各自的职能优势,在服务提供中形成分工互补的关系。政府作为制度供给的主体,针对不同分布形态下市场条件与组织环境的差异,在中小企业服务体系的建设过程中分别发挥主导、引导和规制的作用。     

基于软能力提升的经管类MIS教学模式研究

很多学校的MIS课程存在很多问题。针对这些问题,本文从软能力提升的视角,提出了经济管理类MIS的教学模式,深入分析了如何在课程设计中着重突出培养学生的软能力。     

Determining the optimal dimension of a work-in-process storage area

We study the problem of determining the optimal dimension of a work-in-process storage area in a two-line production system with delays and breakdowns. We propose a stochastic model and prove theoretical results that allow us to implement an exact algorithm for the solution of the model. We optimally solve a real instance and carry out a sensitivity analysis to evaluate if the optimal solution is stable when the initial data are perturbed.