A majorization comparison of apportionment methods in proportional representation

From the inception of the proportional representation movement it has been an issue whether larger parties are favored at the expense of smaller parties in one apportionment of seats as compared to another apportionment. A number of methods have been proposed and are used in countries with a proportional representation system. These apportionment methods exhibit a regularity of order, as discussed in the present paper, that captures the preferential treatment of larger versus smaller parties. This order, namely majorization, permits the comparison of seat allocations in two apportionments. For divisor methods, we show that one method is majorized by another method if and only if their signpost ratios are increasing. This criterion is satisfied for the divisor methods with power-mean rounding, and for the divisor methods with stationary rounding. Majorization places the five traditional apportionment methods in the order as they are known to favor larger parties over smaller parties: Adams, Dean, Hill, Webster, and Jefferson. Received: 5 August 2000/Accepted: 24 October 2001     

上证30指数股市盈率实证分析

通过对2000年上证30指数股市盈率水平及其影响因素进行实证分析,可以发现,其中股息支付率、每股收益增长率、行业平均市盈率对股票P/E值起主要的解释作用,而股本规模因素,解释力却有限,除每股收益增长率外,各变量的相关性与理论分析基本一致.     

Worlds come apart: Systems theory versus critical theory. Drama in the history of sociology in the twentieth century

This article places an episode in the history of sociological theory into intellectual history in the twentieth century. The perspective is chronological as well as contextual. The themes are two theoretical approaches, both embedded in both American and German history, Parsonian Systems Theory and “Frankfurt School” Critical Theory. The chronology shown spanned mainly from the 1940s to the 1960s. The context of the two theories is a period that is crucial in twentieth century history. The protagonists of the two approaches were, in the 1940s, Americans and Germans exiled in the United States. In the 1950s, both approaches were affected by McCarthyism in different ways. The 1960s, however, were the culmination. The dynamics of the two approaches led into a schism which came into the open on the occasion of the 1964 German Sociology Conference in Heidelberg celebrating Max Weber. The article shows the stages in the evolution of the schism, emulating three acts in a drama. The final split was over whether Weber or Marx should be the classic whose oeuvre was to influence sociological thinking today. My aim is to exemplify how these two authoritative approaches in sociological theory, far from escaping the vagaries and vicissitudes of their times, were embedded in twentieth-century history.     

Partial strikes under the railway labor act: The need for a doctrine of unprotected concerted activity

In light of use by airline unions of partial-strike tactics, such as concerted refusals to bid for overtime work and so-called ” CHAOS” tactics involving unannounced refusals to fly after passengers have been ticketed and are ready to board, the authors examine whether the Railway Labor Act (RLA) should be interpreted to permit employers to discipline employees for engaging in such tactics, or whether these are a protected form of economic pressure. Although in many respects bargaining duties and economic weapons under the RLA are read consonant with precedents under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) (which governs all industries other than rail and air transport), there are a few decisions suggesting that during the period when self-help may be resorted to, employees can engage in partial strike activities as long as they violate no court order but are subject to permanent replacement in limited circumstances. These decisions, the authors submit, fail to take account of Supreme Court decsions since the 1930s that some economic pressures by unions, such as slowdowns and sitins, may not violate the labor laws but nor are they protected by those laws so as to immunize partial strikers from employer discipline. These decisions are not based on unique features of the NLRA. Rather, they give recognition to the background assumptions of Congress that employers may act to protect their property interests as long as they do not run afoul of NLRA or RLA protections and that employees who engage in partial-strike activities are subject to employer discipline even where not strictly necessary to maintain operations. Moreover, these tactics skew the bargaining process by giving employees an essentially risk-free gambit to pressure their economic position through planned disruption of carrier operations. Professor Estreicher is also labor and employment counsel to O’Melveny & Myers, LLP. The views expressed herein are the authors’ and should not be attributed to any organization. Hannah Breshin and Tom Jerman of O’Melveny & Myers, assisted the authors with this article. We also thank Professor Herbert Northrup for his helpful comments.     

对西部地区土地整理若干问题的思考

我国西部地区地域辽阔,地质地貌复杂,人少地多,土地利用相对粗放,是我国未开发利用土地的主要分布区,同时也是气候干旱多灾、水土流失严重、自然条件较差、生态环境脆弱的地区.随着国家西部大开发战略的实施,各项建设事业对土地的需求将会十分旺盛.如何根据西部地区特殊的自然、经济和社会条件来讨论西部土地资源的利用形式、利用方式以及生态环境保护,是西部大开发中首先应该思考的问题.     

论耕地资源的保护

耕地是土地的精华,是事关我们这个人口大国现在和子孙后代粮食安全最重要的因素之一.因此,保护耕地资源是当前最艰巨而又迫切的任务.     

腔内电光调制激光系统的混沌模拟

采用数值模拟的方法讨论了带反馈的腔內电光调制激光系统功率输出的分叉和混沌行为,得到了输出功率随控制参数变化的分叉图,和一些定量结果。     

对开拓中医药成人高等教育潜在市场的思考

我国的成人高等教育 ,在实现从计划经济到市场经济转变后 ,出现了前所未有的竞争场面。作为行业性很强的中医药成人高等教育 ,要想生存和进一步发展 ,必须在积极参加市场竞争的同时 ,根据自身的优势和特点 ,从社会发展的高度 ,大力开拓潜在市场 ,努力寻找中医药成人高等教育的发展空间     

近代中国农业现代化滞后原因初探

在近现代经济结构的现代化转型过程中 ,农业较之工业显得缓慢和滞后。这其中固然有中国固有的农业基础薄弱、战争破坏以及世界经济危机等多种因素的影响 ,但本文力求抛开这些表面上的因素 ,试从政府决策、市场结构、农业传统文化这三方面对近代中国农业现代化滞后原因加以探求。     

积极财政政策与扩大高等教育供给

长期以来 ,我国高等教育存在的最突出、最根本的问题是投入问题。无论是宏观背景从计划体制到市场化改革 ,还是从控制规模的精英教育到连续扩招的大众化推进 ,包括高校收费制度改革 ,我国高等教育投入和经费困扰的基本状况没有重大改变 ,这种现象长期化存在本身 ,表明高等教育的投入严重不足问题 ,不应仅仅归结为“财政压力”和认识问题。客观上 ,这种机制障碍 ,已经成为一种制度性约束。作者在我国已经连续五年实施积极财政政策的背景下 ,从改善和扩大供给的角度 ,探讨在根本解决高等教育投入不足的公共财政体制性改革之前 ,运用作为非正式制度变迁手段的财政政策 ,面对加入WTO后的高等教育国际竞争挑战 ,利用国债资金 ,调整支出结构 ,阶段性、分层次、集中加大对高等教育的公共财政投入 ,全方位改善高等教育的长期供给 ,拉动消费需求 ,促进经济增长