The Burden of Risk: Who Dies Because of Cars?

This article argues that those interested in social policy should by definition be interested in issues of transport policy. It analyses data on road traffic fatalities and suggests, in the light of this evidence, that those who benefit least from the motor vehicle seem disproportionately likely, given their relative exposure to the risk, to die in road traffic accidents.     

农业企业外包决策影响因素分析及政策启示——以中国农业上市公司为例

外包有利于企业整合生产要素,增强核心力量,实现价值链增值。基于45家农业上市公司2016—2020年的数据,测度了 农业企业外包水平,并实证分析影响其外包决策的因素。结果表明：农业企业的外包水平在样本期整体呈下降趋势,且农业 细分行业的外包程度存在差异,畜牧业类企业的外包水平明显高于林业和渔业类企业。整体上看,外包具有政策延续性,本期 外包程度受到上一期外包水平的影响;市场规模越大,业务外包比例也更高;而交易费用显著抑制了农业企业外包决策。据 此,提出要选择适当的分工组织形式、建立信息流畅的交易平台和营造公平诚信的外包环境等政策建议,为农业企业业务外包 营造良好商业氛围,充分发挥农业外包在带动农业、农村经济发展中的作用。     

直播电商用户使用影响因素研究

作为数字经济的新兴业态,直播电商已成为助力经济社会发展的新动能。如何更好地捕捉公众需求、认知用户行为、提升发展质量、推动行业升级成为直播电商领域的重点研究内容。本文以技术接受与使用整合理论为基础框架,结合感知风险与路径依赖理论,建立直播电商用户使用影响因素模型,研究绩效期望、努力期望、社会影响、便利条件对用户行为意愿和使用行为的影响作用,以及感知风险、路径依赖与上述因素之间的相关关系,并对加快推进直播电商发展提出对策建议。     

A Population Approach to Analysis of Variance Models

Several authors have contributed to what can now be considered a rather complete theory for analysis of variance in cases with orthogonal factors. By using this theory on an assumed basic reference population, the orthogonality concept gives a natural definition of independence between factors in the population. By looking upon the treated units in designed experiments as a formal sample from a future population about which we want to make inference, a natural parametrization of expectations and variances connected to such experiments arises. This approach seems to throw light upon several controversial questions in the theory of mixed models. Also, it gives a framework for discussing the choice of conditioning in models     

Sample selection in radiocarbon dating

Archaeologists working on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i, use radiocarbon dating of samples of organic matter found trapped in fish-pond sediments to help them to learn about the chronology of the construction and use of the aquicultural systems created by the Polynesians. At one particular site, Loko Kuwili, 25 organic samples were obtained and funds were available to date an initial nine. However, on calibration to the calendar scale, the radiocarbon determinations provided date estimates that had very large variances. As a result, major issues of chronology remained unresolved and the archaeologists were faced with the prospect of another expensive programme of radiocarbon dating. This paper presents results of research that tackles the problems associated with selecting samples from those which are still available. Building on considerable recent research that utilizes Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to aid archaeologists in their radiocarbon calibration and interpretation, we adopt the standard Bayesian framework of risk functions, which allows us to assess the optimal samples to be sent for dating. Although rather computer intensive, our algorithms are simple to implement within the Bayesian radiocarbon framework that is already in place and produce results that are capable of direct interpretation by the archaeologists. By dating just three more samples from Loko Kuwili the expected variance on the date of greatest interest could be substantially reduced.     

De minimis and equity in risk

Indices and orderings are developed for evaluating alternative strategies in the management of risk. They reflect the goals of reducing individual and collective risks, of increasing equity, and of assigning priority to the reduction and to the equity of high risks. Individual risk is defined as the (random or non-random) level of exposure to a danger. In particular the role of a lower negligibility level is investigated. A class of indices is proposed which involves two parameters, a negligibility level and a parameter of inequality aversion, and several interpretations of the indices are discussed. We provide a set of eight axioms which are necessary and sufficient for this class of indices, and we present an approach to deal with partial information on the parameters.     

基于GRPLS 回归的 中国经济增长影响因素分析

构造一种新的方法———岭- 偏最小二乘回归方法(它既有效消除了因素变量之间的多 重共线性,又克服了传统方法的不足,且使模型更加稳健,具有更强的预测和分析能力) ;并运 用广义岭- 偏最小二乘回归方法分析了我国经济增长的影响因素,为我国制订持续、快速增长 的经济政策提供了有益的参考.     

The Determinants of Trust and Credibility in Environmental Risk Communication: An Empirical Study

This study examines a key component of environmental risk communication; trust and credibility. The study was conducted in two parts. In the first part, six hypotheses regarding the perceptions and determinants of trust and credibility were tested against survey data. The hypotheses were supported by the data. The most important hypothesis was that perceptions of trust and credibility are dependent on three factors: perceptions of knowledge and expertise; perceptions of openness and honesty; and perceptions of concern and care. In the second part, models were constructed with perceptions of trust and credibility as the dependent variable. The goal was to examine the data for findings with direct policy implications. One such finding was that defying a negative stereotype is key to improving perceptions of trust and credibility.     

On the Effect of Probability Distributions of Input Variables in Public Health Risk Assessment

A central part of probabilistic public health risk assessment is the selection of probability distributions for the uncertain input variables. In this paper, we apply the first-order reliability method (FORM)^(1–3) as a probabilistic tool to assess the effect of probability distributions of the input random variables on the probability that risk exceeds a threshold level (termed the probability of failure) and on the relevant probabilistic sensitivities. The analysis was applied to a case study given by Thompson et al. ⁽⁴⁾ on cancer risk caused by the ingestion of benzene contaminated soil. Normal, lognormal, and uniform distributions were used in the analysis. The results show that the selection of a probability distribution function for the uncertain variables in this case study had a moderate impact on the probability that values would fall above a given threshold risk when the threshold risk is at the 50th percentile of the original distribution given by Thompson et al. ⁽⁴⁾ The impact was much greater when the threshold risk level was at the 95th percentile. The impact on uncertainty sensitivity, however, showed a reversed trend, where the impact was more appreciable for the 50th percentile of the original distribution of risk given by Thompson et al. ⁴ than for the 95th percentile. Nevertheless, the choice of distribution shape did not alter the order of probabilistic sensitivity of the basic uncertain variables.     

The Big Five personality factors and team performance: implications for selecting successful product design teams

In the pursuit of faster product development, product design teams are a growing phenomenon in many organizations. In order to be successful, these teams must be composed of people who work well together. However, despite the benefit of selecting the optimal combination of team members, this topic has received little attention. Personality has been identified as a potentially helpful selection variable in the determination of optimal team composition. This study examines the relationships between the ‘Big Five’ personality factors (Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Openness to Experience) and objective team performance for three-member product design teams. In addition to this, the potential incremental contribution of personality to the variance in team performance over that accounted for by established selection measures such as general cognitive ability was investigated. In the short duration of the study, it became apparent that some teams were capable of success, and some were not. Successful teams were characterized by higher levels of general cognitive ability, higher extraversion, higher agreeableness, and lower neuroticism than their unsuccessful counterparts. In successful teams, the heterogeneity of conscientiousness was negatively related to increments in product performance. Implications for the selection of product design teams and future directions for research are discussed.