Comment on 'facts and artifacts in the study of intra-uterine mortality: a reconsideration from pregnancy histories' by henri léridon(1)

Abstract Extract I have suggested that at a given birth order the probability of having a further pregnancy is greater when the last pregnancy had been spontaneously aborted than when it resulted in a birth.(2) Léridon,(3)in the course of a valuable paper on foetal wastage, presents data which, according to him, impugn my suggestion. I would like to question his claim.     

The corporate energy policy: A management planning perspective

The energy problems facing the world have been receiving increasing attention in the press and in business journals. This article examines the attitudes of 224 U.S. business executives toward the energy crisis and examines the role of a corporate energy policy in minimizing the economic impact of future energy price increases and/or shortages. A plan for a corporate energy policy is proposed.     

Reducing Refusal Rates for Telephone Interviews

In two experiments, refusal rates to telephone interviews werenot affected by substantial changes in the introductory remarksof the interviewer. A prior letter significantly lowered refusalrates in a third experiment. In all three, interviewer sex hadno effect.     

Priority Setting for the Distribution of Localized Hazard Protection

We address the problem of distributing safety-enhancing devices across a region, where each identical device provides for only local protection of the population. The devices protect nonidentical sectors of the population. The sectors of population are exposed to nonidentical intensities of hazard. A method for the screening and prioritizing of needs for the protective devices is described. An approach of risk-benefit-cost analysis under uncertainty is recommended as follows. Measures of hazard intensity and population exposure are identified. Exogenous parameters that influence assessments of risks, benefits, and costs are identified. Uncertainties of the exogenous parameters are propagated by interval analysis. Several tiers of the plausibility of need for protection are identified. The tiers are useful in setting priorities for the distribution of the safety devices. The method is demonstrated in an engineering application to roadway lighting, but has implications for disaster preparedness, anti-terrorism, transportation safety, and other arenas of public safety.     

Analytical network process for software selection in product development: A case study

Application of software for manufacturing processes is one of the resolutions many enterprises have resorted to in the 21st century. This has been a result of increased complexity of products, globalization, rapid changes in technology and so on. The idea was that application of software especially for product development would increase the competitive advantage of industry nevertheless the irony has been that most of the investment in software has not achieved the expected results. We carry out a case study to introduce a methodology, the analytical network process as a multiattribute strategic decision making approach to help in the selection of appropriate software to suit the product development process of a particular product.     

The Role of Shocks in Employee Turnover*

This paper reports the findings from a recent study of nurse leavers at eight large hospitals in the National Health Service (NHS) of England and Wales. The study develops and extends an influential theory of employee turnover by describing how for some leavers a single, jarring event or shock triggers the decision to quit. By elaborating on the nature of shocks for this sample of 352 nurse leavers, the paper allows for improved understanding of nursing turnover and thus offers an example of relevant management research. The analysis of shock illustrates how conventional research methodologies can lead to a distorted picture of turnover. This has wider implications, both for any organization wishing to manage turnover effectively and for future research. The paper adds to the limited body of empirical analysis on actual leavers, thereby contributing to an ongoing methodological debate concerning the use of proxy variables. By highlighting flaws in the dominant methodology used to study turnover, the paper offers an example of management research that is also rigorous, and thus ‘pragmatic’.     

基于持续竞争能力观的EVA改进

作为业绩衡量的指标,EVA的目的是为了起到更好的激励作用。但实际中却频频起到相反的效果--EVA的激励使经理人不断缩减经营规模。针对上述问题,本文在运用经济学理论对EVA这种业绩评价方式进行深入分析基础上,从持续竞争能力培养的角度提出了EVA的改进方法。     

角式调节阀两相流模拟与结构改进

基于2003—2015年我国26个省、自治区的面板数据,重点考察了四万亿投资刺激计划背景下,各地区的财政货币政策对粮食价格波动的冲击效应及其差异。研究发现：中国粮食价格上涨除了受到生产成本因素驱动以外,还主要受到宽松的货币政策所引致的地方流动性过剩的影响,地方财政货币政策对粮食价格波动的冲击效应在四万亿投资实施前后存在明显的差异;四万亿刺激计划实施后,各地区积极的财政政策和宽松的货币政策才是新一轮粮食价格波动的主因,粮食类农产品因为自身的敏感和脆弱性,受到了财政货币政策引致的流动性泛滥所带来的最直接伤害;应注重财政货币政策的多重目标分解、梳理及协调配合,处理好“稳增长、控物价、调结构、惠民生、防风险”之间复杂多变的关系,寻求一个有效的“平衡点”。