Using Quality of Life to Assess Performance in the Disability Services Sector

Measurement of performance is extremely important for not-for-profit agencies in terms of measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of agencies in achieving their goals. Performance indicators assist managers of agencies in strategic decision making and in fulfilling their accountability obligations for the best use of limited resources. This paper argues that not-for-profit agencies that serve people with intellectual disabilities can use quality of life as one measure of agency and/or program performance. This is demonstrated with reference to research conducted on the effect of different methods of employment on the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities. Effectiveness of agencies and/or programs can be assessed based on comparisons of quality of life outcomes under different methods of employment or by reference to absolute percentage of scale maximum scores and whether homeostasis is defeated.     

Threat Perception and Perspective Taking as Mediators Between Competitive Victimhood and Evaluations of Collective Action: The Gezi Park Protests

The 2013 Gezi Park protests in Turkey, which are one of the major social movements in the last decade, have sharpened the sociopolitical polarization in the country. The present study employed a moderated mediation model in which symbolic threat, realistic threat, and perspective taking were examined as mediators between competitive victimhood and opposing groups’ differential evaluations of the protests. Further, the pro‐Gezi versus the anti‐Gezi group membership was hypothesized to moderate the mediation effects. Proponents (N = 337) and opponents (N = 138) of the protests were asked to respond to the measures corresponding to the variables in the model. Results revealed that for protest supporters, competitive victimhood predicted evaluations of the protests through realistic threat, but not through symbolic threat; in contrast, for opponents, it predicted evaluations of the protests through symbolic but not realistic threat. Further, perspective taking turned out to be a weak mediator. The results are discussed in terms of the differential power relationships between the groups in the cultural and political domains.     

Measuring decision‐making competence in Chinese adults

In this study, we translated and localized the Adult Decision‐making Competence scale (A‐DMC) and tested its reliability and validity with large samples. Results show the Chinese A‐DMC has relatively good reliability (Cronbach's alpha above 0.6 and test–retest reliability coefficients ranging from 0.44 to 0.78 on all subscales), comparable with the original version. Regarding validity, results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis support the one‐factor model, indicating the A‐DMC has good internal consistency and construct validity. A‐DMC scores correlated positively with cognitive ability, constructive decision‐making styles, and good decision outcomes. Additionally, individuals with higher A‐DMC scores were found to perform better on the Cambridge gambling task and Iowa gambling task. These results confirm the validity of the Chinese version of the A‐DMC, which is suitable for measuring decision‐making competence in Chinese adults.     

Do salespeople matter in competitive tenders?

Abstract

Organizational buyers are increasingly employing competitive tenders with objective buying criteria to mitigate the influence of personal relationships with suppliers and reduce the overall cost of buying. This paper investigates the role of salespeople’s relationships with buyers (i.e., purchasing managers) and how they affect supplier selection in such contexts. Drawing on data from 428 tenders across different buying organizations, this study shows that the quality of the salesperson’s relationship with the buyer influences the buyer’s evaluation of the tender proposal, which, in turn, affects supplier selection. Thus, the results support an indirect effect of salesperson relationship on supplier selection even in a tender context. In addition, the results indicate that the effect of a salesperson’s relationship on buyer’s proposal evaluation is contingent on the comprehensibility of suppliers’ proposals and buyer’s product knowledge. These results have significant theoretical and managerial implications for both buyers and suppliers in business-to-business (B2B) tender contexts.     

提取诱发遗忘中的相关代价与效益问题：反应抑制能力与项目竞争强度的影响

采用提取练习范式,通过操作反应抑制能力和项目竞争强度两个变量,考察相关代价与效益问题（CCB）对大学生提取诱发遗忘（RIF）的影响。实验为2（反应抑制能力：高、低）×2（项目竞争强度：高、低）×3（项目类型：Rp+、Rp-、Nrp）三因素混合设计。结果发现,高反应抑制能力者在高项目竞争强度下产生了RIF,在低项目竞争强度下则未产生;低反应抑制能力者在高、低项目竞争强度下均未产生RIF。这些结果表明,对反应抑制能力正常的大学生而言,需要认知资源的抑制控制加工是RIF的产生机制,且这种抑制性RIF不受CCB的影响。     

人工语法学习模型述评

述评了近年来影响较大的四个人工语法学习模型——THIYOS分类器系统、竞争组块模型、范例模型和联系者模型。它们都认为,人工语法学习所获得的知识中,一部分以规则、组块、总体类似性以及激活模式等形式到达意识层面,另一部分则残存在力量模式中,确定什么内容适合到达意识层面;后者即为内隐知识。这四种模型各抒己见,各有特点,并都为内隐学习的机理提供了重要依据。     

Disposable Time and Disposable Income: Problem Casino Gambling Behavior in Older Adults

Increasing numbers of retirees spend their leisure time in the ever-growing number of gambling casinos in this country. For most older adults, casino gambling is a new form of excitement and entertainment. However, for some retirees, especially those vulnerable to depression from the changes and losses that can occur in aging, casino gambling can become disordered, problematic, and/or an addiction. Although prevalence studies have examined the incidence of problem gambling in other age groups, little attention has been directed to the impact of casino gambling on older adults. The authors discuss problem and pathological gambling in retired older adults, and provide clinical case examples of a growing number of older adults with problem gambling behaviors seen in an outpatient geriatric psychiatry clinic. Finally, they urge that an evaluation of gambling behaviors be a routine portion of geriatric clinical evaluations.     

The evil eye: Eye gaze and competitiveness in social decision making

We demonstrate that a person's eye gaze and his/her competitiveness are closely intertwined in social decision making. In an exploratory examination of this relationship, Study 1 uses field data from a high‐stakes TV game show to demonstrate that the frequency by which contestants gaze at their opponent's eyes predicts their defection in a variant on the prisoner's dilemma. Studies 2 and 3 use experiments to examine the underlying causality and demonstrate that the relationship between gazing and competitive behavior is bi‐directional. In Study 2, fixation on the eyes, compared to the face, increases competitive behavior toward the target in an ultimatum game. In Study 3, we manipulate the framing of a negotiation (cooperative vs. competitive) and use an eye tracker to measure fixation number and time spent fixating on the counterpart's eyes. We find that a competitive negotiation elicits more gazing, which in turn leads to more competitive behavior.     

Beating lady luck: Effects of competitive gambling on opponent likeability and targeted physical aggression

This study aimed to examine the effects of gambling motives and competitive gambling outcomes on opponent likeability and targeted physical aggression. We hypothesized that (a) losers would perceive their opponents to be less likeable and (b) would be physically more aggressive toward their opponents. Opponent likeability was proposed to mediate the lose–aggression relationship while social gambling motives were proposed to moderate the lose–aggression relationship. Specifically, we expected that losers of competitive gambling situations would engage in greater physical aggression only if they perceived their opponents to be less likeable. In addition, lower perceived opponent likeability would translate into greater targeted physical aggression only if the loser possessed low social motives for gambling. Ninety‐eight undergraduates who self‐identified mostly as recreational gamblers participated in a competitive gambling game. The Hot Sauce Paradigm was adapted as a measure of targeted physical aggression. Results obtained supported our hypotheses. Potential implications and limitations are discussed.     

Risk strategy under task complexity: a multivariate analysis of behaviour in a naturalistic setting

This study complements the existing literature on decision-making processes and outcomes in complex settings by exploring the impact of different types of complexity on risk strategies in a naturalistic setting. The study analyses a large sample of decisions made by individuals in UK offcourse betting markets, a fertile environment for observing both a variety of risk strategies and a range of task complexities. Specifically, the investigation focuses on the comparative impacts of complexity defined in terms, respectively, of alternatives and attributes. The results suggest that the risk strategy employed is affected by task complexity. Complexity does not affect the size of risk accepted but alternative- and attribute-based complexity together influence the propensity to accept greater degrees of risk. In addition, the effect of attribute-based complexity on risk taking appears to be modified by the use of risk-hedging strategies. The results are observed to corroborate some earlier work on decision process and outcome; where differences with earlier findings are identified, some possible explanations are offered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.