Biased,not blind: An experimental test of self‐serving biases in service users’ evaluations of performance information

Based on literature about motivated reasoning, this article proposes that choosing a public service provider from among competing options may bias service users in a positive direction when evaluating the performance of their chosen provider. Users are expected to defend their choice through processes of goal reprioritization, meaning that they will alter the weight they assign to given pieces of information depending on the (in)convenience of that information. This article uses nine experimental studies to test this expectation on students who had recently chosen to study at one university instead of competing universities. As expected, findings show signs of biases in students’ evaluations, but the biases are small and not consistently significant. Thus, prior research may have been too pessimistic regarding the general potential of performance information in the public sector.     

O.D. at the U.N.: facilitating global change

Expanding our OD horizons to the global level means not only carrying abroad what we know, but also being sensitive to diverse clients who may operate from cultural assumptions very different from our own. Both formal and informal change is possible at international gatherings if practitioners follow a few key guidelines. Seven such observations are discussed by the author, who includes a discussion of “expert” and “process” consultation methods. The article concludes that OD skills are needed in the international arena, but are often unappreciated or unknown. Hence, OD professionals must be educators in addition to their interpersonal practice of superior communication skills.

OD is only beginning to stretch its full imaginative power and practice to the international arena, as is reflected in my experiences at a conference of 122 countries held at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria. The conference was the first convening of nations to discuss the topic of old age in light of the policy and organizational implications of global demographic change.     

艰辛与梦想留美华人学者状况扫描

据2002年美国人口普查局统计,美国华人有270万.在美国,几乎每一所大学都有华人教师,据1998年统计,在美国各大学人文及社会科学的华人教授已达4000多人,其中不少人成就显著.自改革开放20多年以来,大陆留学美国人数不断增多.目前大约有6万中国学生在美国学习,大部分攻读硕士以上学位,覆盖各学科专业,华人留学生向来以基础扎实、勤奋刻苦著称,被许多高等院校、研究所看中,从事教育科研自然是情理之中.     

美国国防部“密涅瓦”计划述评

为弥补军方在某些政策相关领域基础性科研的不足,以及重塑军方与社会科学界的关系,美国国防部于2008年推出"密涅瓦"计划。该计划由国防部资助地方院校对一些美国军方关注的领域,如反恐、宗教、某些重点国家及地区的军事潜力或社会发展等进行基础性的研究和培训。该计划实施以来取得了不少进展,也在美国国内重新引发了一场关于国家安全、军方偏好与学术自主性之间关系的讨论。"密涅瓦"计划尽管存在一些问题,但它在项目选择、发挥军地比较优势,以及促进安全研究共同体的建设等方面有许多经验值得借鉴。     

Financing the health care of the aged.

The Medicare and Medicaid programs, which were enacted through the 1965 amendments to the Social Security Act, placed the federal government in the central role of assuring access of the aged and the poor to needed medical care. In this article the trends in the sources of financing medical care services for the aged are examined. The distinction in terms of insurance coverage between acute care services and long-term care services is highlighted. The effect of the programs in terms of reducing the aged's direct financial cost of medical care, increasing their access to medical services, and improving their health status is explored. The unanticipated increase in the cost of these programs has led to a change in emphasis in public policy, from assuring access to mainstream medical care to containing the cost of providing care. The direction of new federal policies is analyzed, and it is concluded that no longer will it follow the private sector's specifications of the conditions and arrangements under which health services are provided to program beneficiaries.     

The threat to the U.S.

The Vietnam War had a major impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The war helped to split the struggle for social justice at the very time that it was achieving its greatest successes. The factionalism over whether or not to support the war decimated the crusade for human equality.     

美国中亚战略面面观

中亚地区"颜色革命"的尘埃尚未落定,要求美国撤军的呼声又起,美国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德今年两度前往中亚,引起了国际社会的普遍关注,中亚地区在相当长的一段时期内难以平静下来;美国的霸权已经进入中亚,在可预见的未来不仅不会轻易退出,反而将成为该地区一个十分重要的角色,这是由美国的中亚战略所决定的.     

U.S. Military Interventions and the Risk of Civil Conflict

The historical record of the majority of inter- and intra-state conflicts indicates frequent third-party interventions in these conflicts. In the decades following World War II, the United States has been one of the most frequent interveners in third world internal wars. This study focuses on the repercussions of U.S. military interventions on the intensity of civil conflict and political violence in the targeted nations. A comprehensive empirical analysis suggests that in addition to low per capita income, large populations, high religious fractionalization, and weak governance, the direct and indirect involvement of the U.S. military may also lead to increased civil strife and political violence in the targeted nations. U.S. military involvement increases the probability of political instability and unrest and hence could be one of the many conditions that favor insurgency.