Asymmetries in Information Processing in a Decision Theory Framework

Research in psychology suggests that some individuals are more sensitive to positive than to negative information while others are more sensitive to negative rather than positive information. I take these cognitive positive–negative asymmetries in information processing to a Bayesian decision-theory model and explore its consequences in terms of decisions and payoffs. I show that in monotone decision problems economic agents with more positive-responsive information structures are always better off, ex ante, when they face problems where payoffs are relatively more sensitive to the action chosen when the state of nature is favorable.      

分支问题等价的一个充分条件

利用奇点理论的思想和方法研究了具有平凡解的分支问题．在t-等价群作用下，得到了具有平凡解的分支问题等价的充分条件．     

Economics of the firm and economic growth: a hybrid theoretical framework of analysis

Abstract

The main goal of this study is to achieve a critical discussion around the conceptualization of the firm and its role in the dynamic process of economic growth. By reviewing the theoretical matrix of the economics of the firm we go beyond the mainstream economics of the firm proposing a hybrid approach combining evolutionary and population ecology, which is likely to constitute a fruitful path for the conceptualization of the firm in the process of economic growth. Specifically, the analysis confronts the distinct theoretical perspectives around some imperative and controversial issues such as the nature of knowledge and learning and the cognitive capacities of economic agents within the firm. We argue that the economic understanding of growth and development of human societies will strongly benefit from a conceptualization of the firm capable of capturing the spirit of the Knightian firm. Overcoming the shortcomings of the mainstream growth models, which conceive firms as a black box, the proposed hybrid approach recalls the true nature of the firm as an organization. Issues related to the organizational arrangements that sustain the feasibility of productive activities and to the incentive contracts are also taken into account. Although acknowledging some recent important contributions within mainstream economic growth theory to adopt more realistic concepts of the firm, we believe that evolutionary and organizational population perspectives include crucial pointers in developing further research aimed at the construction of economic growth models based on a micro-economic perspective that is closer to the reality of firms.     

From pillar to post: Women and social work studies in the 21st century

Abstract

A decade or so after the acknowledgement and inclusion of women's issues in mainstream social work courses, we find the circumstances in which such education occurs have changed. The 'third wave' of feminism has revisited the feminist agenda of the 1960s and 1970s; there has been a paradigm shift in what tertiary education is perceived to offer; and global theories have been replaced by post modern interpretations. This article discusses the impact of these changes for social work education drawing on the authors' experiences with the 'Women and Social Work' elective subject in the Bachelor of Social Work Degree at the University of New South Wales, Australia. This elective was popular until the mid 1990s when it failed to attract students. The authors reflect on their experience of teaching the subject and their understanding of current feminism to identify a way forward in the attempt to rekindle student enthusiasm for feminist understandings and provide education which will further the emancipatory project of social work.     

Testing Covariance Stationarity

In this paper, we show that the widely used stationarity tests such as the Kwiatkowski Phillips, Schmidt, and Shin (KPSS) test have power close to size in the presence of time-varying unconditional variance. We propose a new test as a complement of the existing tests. Monte Carlo experiments show that the proposed test possesses the following characteristics: (i) in the presence of unit root or a structural change in the mean, the proposed test is as powerful as the KPSS and other tests; (ii) in the presence of a changing variance, the traditional tests perform badly whereas the proposed test has high power comparing to the existing tests; (iii) the proposed test has the same size as traditional stationarity tests under the null hypothesis of stationarity. An application to daily observations of return on U.S. Dollar/Euro exchange rate reveals the existence of instability in the unconditional variance when the entire sample is considered, but stability is found in subsamples.     

河北高等教育对区域经济发展的效应分析

随着经济发展区域化和高等教育地区化，高等教育与区域经济通过良性互动，谋求共同发展已成为必然。一个区域高等教育的实力与水平，很大程度上反应着该区域的经济实力和发展水平。河北高等教育对其区域经济发展的促进效用十分突出，但亟需改进完善的方面也不容轻视。     

从《林纾的翻译》看钱钟书的翻译思想

本文重点探讨了著名翻译学家钱钟书在其所著的《林纾的翻译》一文中所提出的“诱”、“讹”、“化”的翻译思想，以及其对于中西异质性语言文化之间的互解互译具有的理论上的实践意义。     

解决我国经济体制转型期就业问题的对策

当前,我国正处于经济体制转轨时期,就业与失业成为我国经济发展矛盾最突出问题,同时也是最不稳定的社会矛盾。如何解决经济体制转轨时期就业问题,对保持社会政治稳定,促进社会和谐发展具有重要意义。     

社会环境观在连续体文体分析中的应用——基于《高级英语》的案例分析

用韩礼德的社会环境观分析连续体文体《高级英语》，既可以加深对《高级英语》的认识，又能探索出一条区别于语言描写的连续体文体分析之路。分析过程表明：社会环境观的研究角度独特，研究结果见地深刻，且操作性强，但与语言描写法相比，其产生的结论较为宏观，故在日常的研究中，两种方法应结合起来使用，以相辅相成，互作补充。