THE IMPACT OF TAX POLICY ON INVESTMENT BEHAVIOR IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, 1951-65

The purpose of this study was to estimate the impact of changes in Federal tax policy on investment behavior in the chemicals and allied products industry and to examine the possibility of a differential impact of changes in tax policy on investment behavior in manufacturing industries. The impact of changes in tax policy on investment behavior in the chemical and allied products industry was estimated and compared with the impact of tax policy on investment behavior in total manufacturing found in earlier studies. The model used to estimate the impact of changes in tax policy on investment behavior in the chemicals and allied products industry was the neo-classical model of capital accumulation as formulated initially by Dale Jorgenson. The conclusions reached were that changes in tax policy have had a measurable impact on investment behavior in the chemical and allied products industry which was greater as a percentage of gross investment than that found on total manufacturing in earlier studies.     

Prospects for the British hotel industry

There is currently a surplus of hotel accommodation in many towns and cities in the United Kingdom and in most countries of the world. Rationalization on a substantial scale is in progress and will inevitably continue as the pressures of the widespread economic recession force capacity and style more in line with the size and needs of the market. World economic recovery will, however, in due course bring speedier growth to tourism and higher occupancy to the British hotel industry as well as in other countries.

In this article the author outlines the situation and prospects in the hotel industry in Britain. He discusses the main economic and marketing problems facing the operators and in addition identifies the vital contribution required from the government in terms of the allocation of adequate ministerial resources, a co-ordinated national tourism policy and improved communications with the industry and the other parties involved.     

Chaos and Transformation Theories: A Theoretical Analysis with Implications for Organization Theory and Public Management

Chaos and transformation theories have emerged as new currencies in social sciences in general and in systems design and management, and in futuristic studies in particular. This article analyzes chaos and transformation theories in historical and contemporary perspectives, their contributions to social science in general, and organization theory and public management in particular. The notions of chaos and order, change and continuity, and uncertainty and certainty are analyzed along with the growing realization of complexity and non-linear dynamic features of modern organizations and the hard reality of a constant necessity to acquire new knowledge and learn to manage organizations with flexibility and innovation. Finally, the article addresses some of the limitations of chaos theory and outlines a number of implications for organization theory and public management in the age of globalization.     

农地非农化效率的空间差异及其对土地利用政策调整的启示

根据效率原则配置土地资源是实现土地资源可持续利用的重要手段。本文从比较优势的角度在理论上分析了土地资源空间效率配置与土地可持续利用的关系。通过计算省级区域建设用地和耕地产出效益,结果表明,我国的土地利用效益存在明显的区域梯度差距;在产出效益的基础上计算土地利用的比较优势,结果表明我国东部和西部地区在建设用地方面具有比较优势,而大部分中部地区则在农地利用方面具有比较优势。文章应用C-D生产函数测算了我国不同区域1989～2001年农地非农化对区域经济增长的贡献率,结果表明:东部地区农地非农化对经济增长的贡献率分别是中部地区的1.24倍,西部地区的1.39倍。文章据此对我国当前的土地利用政策进行了反思,认为当前耕地保护政策中的“耕地总量动态平衡”以及土地利用规划控制指标的分解方法没有考虑到区域的经济发展水平和自然资源禀赋,没有发挥土地利用的空间比较优势原则,并提出了基于空间效率差异的土地利用政策调整的思路。     

基于代理人过度自信的委托-代理关系模型研究

本文研究代理人过度自信条件下的委托-代理关系以及过度自信对委托-代理关系的作用机理.研究结果表明,当代理人的效益工资和委托人的监督成本都不为0时,代理人的最优努力水平将随着其过度自信程度的增大而提高,委托人的最优监督力度将随着代理人过度自信程度的增大而减弱;当代理人没有效益工资时,代理人的过度自信在委托-代理关系中不发挥作用.另外,代理人的最优努力水平和委托人的最优监督力度都将随着委托人监督成本的增大而降低,而且前者还将总是随着代理人固定报酬和效益工资的增加而提高,后者虽然也将随着代理人固定报酬的增加而提高,但并不总是随着代理人效益工资的增加而加强.     

Mortality Patterns of Hydro‐Geomorphologic Disasters

Social impacts caused by floods and landslides in Portugal in the period of 1865–2010 are gathered in the DISASTER database. This database contains 1,902 hydro‐geomorphologic cases that caused 1,248 fatalities (81% and 19% associated with floods and landslides, respectively). The use of the DISASTER database allowed for: (i) the analysis of the frequency and the temporal evolution of fatal floods and landslides; (ii) the analysis of the spatio‐temporal distribution of fatalities; (iii) the identification of the most deadly flood and landside types; (iv) the verification of gender tendencies in mortalities; and (v) the evaluation of individual and societal risk. The highest number of flood and landslide cases and related mortalities occurred in the period of 1935–1969. After this period, the number of flood and landslide mortalities decreased, although landslide fatalities remained higher than those registered in the period of 1865–1934. The occurrence of flood fatalities was widespread in the country, with an important cluster in the Lisbon region and in the Tagus valley, while fatalities caused by landslides mainly occurred in the north of the Tagus valley. Flash floods caused the majority of fatalities associated with floods, while falls and flows were responsible for the highest number of fatalities associated with landslides. Males were found to have the highest frequency of fatalities. In the case of floods, the majority of fatalities were found both outdoors and inside of buildings in rural areas while fatalities inside buildings were dominant in landslide cases, mostly in rural areas.     

Is there a distinctive MENA model of corporate governance?

This study explores the diversity of corporate governance practices in the MENA region, with particular emphasis on Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Interviews with senior managers find that the state, foreign investors and large family groups act as monitors of corporations in both countries, whereas the role of institutional investors and other shareholder activist groups is minimal. Ownership was more concentrated in Egypt than in Saudi Arabia, particularly in family firms. However, control is firmly in the hands of dominant shareholders even when ownership concentration is not high enough to merit such control and boards are dominated by majority shareholders. The high levels of concentrated ownership and control, and the low levels of disclosure and transparency, clearly differentiates the corporate governance system in the region from that in Anglo-American countries while the importance of state and family shareholders reflects characteristics of organisation and control found in many developing countries, predominantly those in Asia. However, it remains premature to speak of a unique MENA model of corporate governance.     

Planning and Scheduling in Supply Chains: An Overview of Issues in Practice

This paper gives an overview of the theory and practice of planning and scheduling in supply chains. It first gives an overview of the various planning and scheduling models that have been studied in the literature, including lot sizing models and machine scheduling models. It subsequently categorizes the various industrial sectors in which planning and scheduling in the supply chains are important; these industries include continuous manufacturing as well as discrete manufacturing. We then describe how planning and scheduling models can be used in the design and the development of decision support systems for planning and scheduling in supply chains and discuss in detail the implementation of such a system at the Carlsberg A/S beerbrewer in Denmark. We conclude with a discussion on the current trends in the design and the implementation of planning and scheduling systems in practice.     

Process and quality control issues in the automated manufacturing of discrete parts

The techniques of quality control have been developed over a number of decades, during which the technology of manufacturing was essentially static in terms of control and strategy. Advances within the past decade have led to substantial changes in the manufacturing environment. Changes in the extent, type, and breadth of application of automation call into question some of the basic assumptions of classical quality control. Changes in the mode of manufacturing, such as JIT and emphasis on smaller lot sizes, raise further questions as to the validity of classical quality control in the modern manufacturing environment. This paper addresses some of the questions raised by recent advances in manufacturing and identifies issues for research in quality and process control in the modern manufacturing.     

Public Response to the Tokai Nuclear Accident

This article discusses the influence of the September 30, 1999 nuclear accident in Tokai village (Japan) on the public's attitudes toward nuclear power in Japan. The data used in this report were taken from the results of two surveys conducted mainly to measure the attitudes of the Japanese public with regard to the use of nuclear power in Japan. The first survey was done before the accident in District 23 in Tokyo and also in Osaka and Nagoya. The second survey, which took place after the accident in District 23 in Tokyo and in Osaka and Nagoya, also included residents in a number of other cities of various sizes throughout Japan. The results of the two surveys showed that (1) acceptability of and trust in nuclear power operation had decreased, (2) perceived accident likelihood and public interest had significantly increased, and (3) there had been neither significant nor even a small change in the public's self-rated knowledge about nuclear power or their distrust of the government. The results also showed that the ratio of nuclear power generation opponents to total respondents had considerably increased (7% to 23%) whereas nuclear power generation supporters had moderately decreased (1% to 12%).     

中国国有企业改制与职工收入分配——光正公司和创大公司的案例研究

现有研究文献对中国国有企业收入分配机制和格局变化的讨论主要集中在宏观或结构的层次上 ,很少涉及到微观层面。本文利用山东省的两个企业的职工样本数据 ,对企业股份制改造前后企业内部的工资和收入分配的特点及其变化进行了经验分析 ,对收入差距的变化进行了测量 ,从而发现企业改制后职工的工资和收入的分配差距有非常明显的扩大 ,其中一个重要的因素是分红收入对收入差距所产生的扩大效应。另一个经验发现是改制后的企业更加强调职务变量对工资和收入的决定作用 ,这既表现在经营者从持大股中获取高额的分红收入 ,也表现在他们较高的职务工资和补贴上。我们还发现 ,两个企业的分配机制有所不同 ,一个企业更加注重人力资本中教育水平的作用 ,一个企业更加注重人力资本中工作经验的作用。这样一种分配机制的差异究竟会对企业效率和职工收入增长产生何种效应 ,仅仅根据两个企业案例的研究是无法做出检验的 ,因而需要作进一步的研究     

Work satisfaction, health, and stress: A study of Dutch nurses

A study was conducted to compare nurses' work satisfaction and feelings of health and stress in five different nursing departments: a cardiac care unit and a general surgical ward in a general hospital; and an admissions department, a short-stay department, and a long-stay department in a psychiatric hospital. One hundred nurses took part in the study: the instruments used were questionnaires and structured interviews. The main results showed that:

(1) nurses in the cardiac care unit had the most positive satisfaction scores

(2) nurses in the general surgical ward had the most positive scores on the health and stress variables

(3) feelings of dissatisfaction and stress were most prominent in the short-stay department and, to a lesser extent, in the long-stay department.

The findings are interpreted in terms of the different work situations and die implications for hospital management are discussed.

Dr J. A. Landeweerd graduated in industrial and organizational psychology in 1968 (PhD in 1978). He has worked at Eindhoven University of Technology (Department of Industrial Engineering) and now holds a position as senior lecturer at Limburg University (Department of Health Sciences), where he is project-leader for a number of research projects on the relationships between work and health.

Nicolle Boumans, MA, graduated in health sciences in 1985 (specialization: nursing science) and is now a research assistant. She is working on a PhD thesis concerned with the relationship between task characteristics of nurses and their reaction in terms of job satisfaction, health and stress.     

Influence of Environmental Factors and Prior Changes on the Organizational Adoption of Changes in Products and in Technological and Administrative Processes

This research studies how organizational adoption of three different types of change – change in products, in technological processes and in administrative processes – is influenced by environmental factors such as industry regulation and market concentration and by the prior adoption of different types of change. We tested our hypotheses in the service sector, examining a sample of bank holding companies in the USA for the period 1975–1995. We found that (1) environmental factors influence rates of change in products, in technological processes and in administrative processes differently; (2) changes in products are followed by changes in both technological and administrative processes; and (3) the three types of change exhibit momentum, as firms are more likely to implement changes similar to those they have recently undertaken. We discuss the implications of our findings for the theory and management of change in organizations.     

Challenges facing women leaders in Saudi Arabia

As a result of increasing enrolment of women in all levels of education and various fields of employment and aspects of public life in Saudi Arabia, the last 10 years witnessed a growing participation of women in senior management positions and in the decision-making process in public and private sectors. Recent developments indicate a clear strategic direction of policy makers and development plans in Saudi Arabia towards an even greater role for women in public life and into top leadership positions in public domains. In spite of the considerable role of women in Saudi society, evidence suggests that women in leadership positions are facing a different reality from their male counterparts due to organizational, personal and cultural challenges that impede their effectiveness as leaders. Through a survey of 160 women leaders, this article attempts to identify the challenges that women leaders face in government sectors in Saudi Arabia. Findings indicate that the main challenges are: structural challenges, lack of resources and lack of empowerment, while cultural and personal challenges ranked last, contrary to common perception. The study ultimately provides a set of recommendations with implications for leadership development in general, in order to address challenges that women leaders face and enhance their leadership role.     

Evaluation of Proactive and Reactive Strategies for Polio Eradication Activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Only Pakistan and Afghanistan reported any polio cases caused by serotype 1 wild polioviruses (WPV1s) in 2017. With the dwindling cases in both countries and pressure to finish eradication with the least possible resources, a danger exists of inappropriate prioritization of efforts between the two countries and insufficient investment in the two countries to finish the job. We used an existing differential‐equation‐based poliovirus transmission and oral poliovirus (OPV) evolution model to simulate a proactive strategy to stop transmission, and different hypothetical reactive strategies that adapt the quality of supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) in response to observed polio cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan. To account for the delay in perception and adaptation, we related the coverage of the SIAs in high‐risk, undervaccinated subpopulations to the perceived (i.e., smoothed) polio incidence. Continuation of the current frequency and quality of SIAs remains insufficient to eradicate WPV1 in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Proactive strategies that significantly improve and sustain SIA quality lead to WPV1 eradication and the prevention of circulating vaccine‐derived poliovirus (cVDPV) outbreaks. Reactive vaccination efforts that adapt moderately quickly and independently to changes in polio incidence in each country may succeed in WPV1 interruption after several cycles of outbreaks, or may interrupt WPV1 transmission in one country but subsequently import WPV1 from the other country or enable the emergence of cVDPV outbreaks. Reactive vaccination efforts that adapt independently and either more rapidly or more slowly to changes in polio incidence in each country may similarly fail to interrupt WPV1 transmission and result in oscillations of the incidence. Reactive strategies that divert resources to the country of highest priority may lead to alternating large outbreaks. Achieving WPV1 eradication and subsequent successful OPV cessation in Pakistan and Afghanistan requires proactive and sustained efforts to improve vaccination intensity in under‐vaccinated subpopulations while maintaining high population immunity elsewhere.     

Some Considerations on the Definition of Risk Based on Concepts of Systems Theory and Probability

The concept of risk has been applied in many modern science and technology fields. Despite its successes in many applicative fields, there is still not a well‐established vision and universally accepted definition of the principles and fundamental concepts of the risk assessment discipline. As emphasized recently, the risk fields suffer from a lack of clarity on their scientific bases that can define, in a unique theoretical framework, the general concepts in the different areas of application. The aim of this article is to make suggestions for another perspective of risk definition that could be applied and, in a certain sense, generalize some of the previously known definitions (at least in the fields of technical and scientific applications). By drawing on my experience of risk assessment in different applicative situations (particularly in the risk estimation for major industrial accidents, and in the health and ecological risk assessment for contaminated sites), I would like to revise some general and foundational concepts of risk analysis in as consistent a manner as possible from the axiomatic/deductive point of view. My proposal is based on the fundamental concepts of the systems theory and of the probability. In this way, I try to frame, in a single, broad, and general theoretical context some fundamental concepts and principles applicable in many different fields of risk assessment. I hope that this article will contribute to the revitalization and stimulation of useful discussions and new insights into the key issues and theoretical foundations of risk assessment disciplines.     

人力资本、制度与工资差别——对大城市二元劳动力市场的实证分析

本文利用上海市外劳及本地居民就业调查的有关数据,计量分析了外劳和本地居民构成的劳动力市场的基本结构,以阐明大城市二元劳动力市场的主要特征。本文的构成如下:首先,概要说明二元劳动力市场理论的基本思路,并在此基础上提出本文的理论假说和计量分析的框架;其次,简要说明本文使用的调查数据,定量描述劳动力市场的基本特征;再次,援用Mincer的工资函数理论,计量分析人力资本、户口制度等因素与工资的关系,旨在说明城市劳动力市场的二元性质,即外劳与本地居民的市场分割性和各阶层内部的竞争性;最后,总结实证分析的要点,指出近年出现的民工荒现象主要起因于劳动力市场的制度性分割,尤其是对农民工的就业和工资歧视。     

Governance and Organizational Eclecticism in the Public Arena: Introductory Perspectives

The Symposium is introduced here in terms of its antecedents and the eclecticism of governance and organizations in the public arena. The all-embracing nature of governance is complemented by organizational diversity and hybridity in constellational formations and networks. Key capacities, recognizing the significance of organizational ownership, regulation and performance, are essential in creating structures, developing policies, taking action and fostering legitimacy in governance. An overview of these matters sets the scene for the analyses in subsequent articles.     

论投资组合与金融优化 ———对理论研究和实践的分析与反思

经过50 多年的发展,投资组合选择的理论研究和实践已经取得了相当丰富的成果. 随 着全球经济一体化进程的加快和我国金融市场的发展与完善,我国金融机构对投资组合理论 的应用实践提出了具体要求. 按照投资组合选择理论的发展脉络,简述并分析了现代投资组合 选择的各种主要理论、模型与方法以及它们之间的内在关系,并对一些最新进展作了重点介 绍. 在此基础上,对投资组合选择(或广义意义下的金融优化) 的理论研究和在我国的应用实践 问题,提出了若干值得关注的发展方向与建议.     

A descriptive study of some organizational-behavior dimensions at work in the Dominican Republic: implications for management development and training

Based in identity theory and the depletion hypothesis in the work-life literature, this study investigated dimensions of the meaning of work and work stress among mid-level managers in the United States, Brazil, and Korea. Findings include a high salience of work as a central life concern but a primacy of family involvement in each country. The importance of religious involvement, leisure activities, and community involvement was rated low. Intrinsic and extrinsic orientations to working were related to increased levels of work stress, but in each country the dimensions of work stress were associated with meaning of work aspects in different combinations and affected different demographic groups in different ways. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings imply the need for a differentiated understanding of the meaning of work dimensions in international settings and the awareness that increased levels of work stress can results from higher levels of work centrality and intrinsic and economic work orientations.