What Helped Nonprofits Weather the Great Recession?

This study examined the effectiveness of several financial strategies for nonprofit organizations in fighting the Great Recession. Using data from human services and community improvement organizations in the state of New Jersey, we tested hypotheses about the relationships between three measures of financial sustainability and various fundraising efforts and financial indicators. We found that (1) except for strong external funding relationships, funding efforts were generally not effective in enhancing financial sustainability during the crisis; (2) higher operating margin and equity ratio improved an organization's ability to generate revenue and maintain expense levels, but higher debt ratio and administrative cost ratio were generally harmful; and (3) revenue diversification might aggravate fiscal stress and cause more expense cuts in a severe crisis. These findings improve our understanding of the mechanics of nonprofit management during times of harsh fiscal conditions and suggest useful ways for nonprofit organizations to navigate future financial crises.     

Characteristics of atmospheric PM2.5 in stands and non-forest cover sites across urban-rural areas in Beijing,China

Urban Ecosystems - Monitoring air pollution at a city scale is essential for controlling urban air pollution in cities, especially megacities, in China. In this paper, data for 1 city center site...     

The reproductive health indices and sex hormone levels in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the age-related recession trajectory of reproductive health indices in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jiashan County, Zhejiang in 2012. Healthy men between 40 and 80 years of age were considered eligible for the study. Physical examination and the sex hormones were measured. The subjects were assessed based on the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) for Erectile Dysfunction (ED), and Aging Males’ Symptoms (AMS) scale for Symptomatic Late-Onset Hypogonadism (SLOH).

Results: TG showed a decrease at age 60 years. Testis volume and TT did not show significant difference among the four age groups; cFT began to decrease at age 50 years and Bio-T decreased faster at age 50 years. SHBG and LH increased faster at age 50 and 70 years, respectively. IIEF5 score decrease faster at age 60 years. AMS scores increased faster at age 70 years. With the increase in age, the symptoms of ED and SLOH became severer.

Conclusion: Different indices on reproductive health of men showed turning points at different ages. At first, androgenic sex hormones decreased faster, and then erectile dysfunction got severer, and the last overall male syndromes declined.     

Culturally responsive teaching in China: instructional strategy and teachers’ attitudes

The aim of this study was to investigate the manner in which teachers facilitate the pedagogical process within a culturally diverse student population. The study focused on two primary schools in China; one located in a more fully developed city in eastern China (Case A), while the other was in a less developed city in rural western China (Case B). This allowed the researchers to compare and analyse the different instructional practices by means of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The findings indicate that: the teachers in Case A demonstrated overall affirmative attitudes towards ethnic minority cultures, as well as towards the students belonging to those cultures. However, the teachers also chose not to mention the specific ethnic identities and cultural differences of the students during the course of their instruction in order to ensure equal treatment for everyone. This leads to a kind of ‘cultural blindness’ in the classroom. In Case B, opinions regarding minority cultures were more varied. Compared with the teachers in Case A, more teachers in Case B found minority cultures to be inferior to the dominant Han culture. Some teachers also, counter intuitively, were of the opinion that the minority cultures were even superior. At the instructional level, school leadership developed courses on local culture and ethnicity for the teaching staff. This was done for a variety of reasons. The strongest evidence to support culturally responsive teaching in Case A does not stem from teaching and learning demands but from the necessity to pursue characteristics that make them distinctive from other schools at the same time, Case B’s practice of culturally responsive teaching was strongly supported by the government and UNICEF. Teachers in both schools indicated that they had integrated their knowledge of ethnic minority groups into the subject matter when it was necessary.     

The classing gaze and its gendering effects: (dis)‐respectability,emotional (in)‐competency,and the counselling experiences of domestically violent Taiwanese men

Research on domestically violent men typically takes an oppositional logic of gender. While the significance of class in researching domestically violent men is identified, class and gender are often treated as separate entities that do not complicate each other. Drawing upon group observations and in‐depth interviews, this paper identifies how intersections of class and gender manifest in the counselling experiences of domestically violent Taiwanese men. From a Bourdieusian feminist analysis, the authors analyse (1) how class distinctions serve to (re)produce gendered hierarchy; (2) how contradictory experiences of gender reveal a relational understanding of class; and (3) how the gendered nature of domestically violent men is inscribed with a meaning of (working) class specificity for maintaining middle‐class ‘purity’. In analysing men's multiple and conflicting experiences, this paper contributes to research on domestically violent men by showing how class and gender are actively constructed and not produced in a monolithic/invariant way.     

The effect of product-harm crisis situations on firms’ spokesperson strategies: Evidence from China's emerging market economy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence product-harm crisis situations have on, a firm's spokesperson strategies in China's emerging market economy. Through the content analysis of, 127 product-harm crises, crisis type is found to be a predictor of spokesperson strategies. Compared, with Chinese brands, foreign brands are less likely to employ top-executive spokesperson strategies, during product-harm crises. Crisis severity was found to have no impact on the adoption of, spokesperson strategies.     

指数-威布尔分布参数贝叶斯估计的混合Gibbs算法

文章利用混合Gibbs算法分别在分组数据和定数截尾场合给出了指数-威布尔分布参数的贝叶斯估计,并进行了Monte-Carlo模拟.结果表明:在两种不完全数据场合,用混合Gibbs算法求指数-威布尔分布参数的贝叶斯估计,结果令人满意,该算法可行、稳定且精度高.     

经济景气指标与实际GDP增长率的混频预测

文章通过构建月度景气指标与季度实际GDP增长率之间的混频动态向量自回归模型,并采用期望最大值算法和卡尔曼滤波来实现混频数据和缺失数据的估计和迭代预测.大量月度景气指标的MFVAR模型的伪实时数据的多步滚动迭代样本外预测结果表明:虽然不同类别的月度景气变量在不同预测期的预测结果存在一定的差异,但实时预报、短期预测,以及组合预测结果均表明混频动态向量自回归预测模型对我国季度实际GDP增长率的实时预报和短期预测具有精确性、有效性与适用性.     

基于强化区间线性规划的工程项目模糊多目标均衡优化

文章考虑工程项目实施过程中的不确定因素,建立工期、成本、质量模糊均衡优化(FTCQP)模型;运用分解定理、强化区间线性规划(EILP)方法,求出各目标的最优值区间;进一步引入模糊偏好关系,运用模糊折衷规划法,得到FTCQP模型的最优模糊折衷解.最后通过案例分析验证了方法的合理性、有效性和可操作性.     

融资融券制度与市场定价效率——基于卖空摩擦的视角

我国融资融券制度不同于国外成熟市场的一个重要特征是存在较大的卖空摩擦,但这一卖空摩擦对市场定价效率的影响及其作用机制尚未被研究揭示.本文运用双重差分固定效应模型、处理效应模型和倾向性匹配双重差分模型,研究了融资融券制度中的卖空摩擦对市场定价效率的影响及其内在机制.实证结果表明,融资融券制度中的卖空摩擦抑制了市场参与者对公司特质信息的充分挖掘,促使其过度利用市场或行业信息进行交易,从而延缓了公司特质信息融入股价,加速了市场或行业信息融入股价,最终加剧了股价同涨同跌现象,不利于市场定价效率的提高.本文研究结论为监管部门合理扩大融资融券标的范围、降低交易成本和交易门槛,营造高效的市场环境提供了依据和思路.