Coordinating Service‐Sensitive Demand and Capacity by Adaptive Decision Making: An Application of Case‐Based Decision Theory*

The subject of this article is the simultaneous choice of product price and manufacturing capacity if demand is stochastic and service‐level sensitive. In this setting, capacity as well as price have an impact on demand because several aspects of service level depend on capacity. For example, delivery time will be reduced if capacity is increased given a constant demand rate. We illustrate the relationship between service level, capacity, and demand reaction by a stylized application problem from the after‐sales services industry. The reaction of customers to variations in service level and price is represented by a kinked price‐demand‐rate function. We first derive the optimal price‐capacity combination for the resulting decision problem under full information. Subsequently, we focus on a decision maker (DM) who lacks complete knowledge of the demand function. Hence the DM is unable to anticipate the service level and consequently cannot identify the optimal solution. However, the DM will acquire additional information during the sales process and use it in subsequent revisions of the price‐capacity decision. Thus, this decision making is adaptive and based on experience. In contrast to the literature, which assumes certain repetitive procedures somewhat ad hoc, we develop an adaptive decision process based on case‐based decision theory (CBDT) for the price‐capacity problem. Finally, we show that a CBDT DM in our setting eventually finds the optimal solution, if the DM sets the price based on absorption costs and adequately adjusts the capacity with respect to the observed demand.     

国际标准视野中的生态旅游 --兼议我国生态旅游发展问题

面对理论界对生态旅游的认识存在的分歧,面对在较多的旅游业界客观存在的对生态旅游实践采取断章取义,各取所需,挂"生态旅游"招牌,行破坏自然生态和文化生态之实的现象,人们,特别是旅游管理部门和生态旅游业界对生态旅游标准化的要求也就越紧迫.文章对国际生态旅游的概念、生态旅游标准的原则、生态旅游产品认证进行了介绍与阐述,同时提出了我国在发展生态旅游中存在的两个主要问题,明确指出我国应当借鉴国际标准,规范生态旅游管理,促进生态旅游的健康发展,并以此来引领中国旅游业走向可持续发展之路.     

虚拟财产的继承问题初探

以虚拟财产的继承为切入点,在分析虚拟财产的法律属性和国外相关举措的基础上,从虚拟财产继承的范围、继承的方式及对无人继承的虚拟财产的处理等方面对我国虚拟财产的继承提出立法建议。     

What is Negotiated in Negotiated Accountability? The Case of INGOs

This paper discusses the constructivist, negotiated perspective to INGO accountability. According to this perspective, INGO accountability is a process of mutual negotiations between different INGO stakeholders who hold different accountability demands. Acknowledging that this perspective provides a good starting point for a better understanding of INGO accountability, we comment on this conceptualization of INGO accountability. Through an analysis of accountability instruments and procedures, we examine closely how the demands of the INGO’s stakeholders are embedded in particular relationships of accountability which are sustained by particular accountability logics. From this analysis, we point out that, due to the differences that exist between these accountability logics, processes of negotiation are likely to be filled with complex tensions and trade-offs. Moreover, as some accountability logics are much clearer and more compelling than others, a constructivist perspective on INGO accountability does not automatically coincide with an understanding of INGO accountability in which primordial importance is given to the beneficiaries.     

Testing Family Stress and Family Investment Explanations for Conduct Problems Among African American Adolescents

The recent U.S. recession has resulted in higher rates of unemployment, underemployment, and child poverty, with African Americans disproportionately represented among the financially disadvantaged. Although past research has established the relationship between family financial hardship and various child adjustment problems, African Americans remain an understudied group. In the current study the authors used longitudinal data from the Family and Community Health Study (n = 422), an all African American sample, to investigate the impact of economic distress on adolescent conduct problems. They examined the extent to which this relationship can be explained by 2 frequently employed models: (a) the family stress model and (b) the family investment model. The authors extend past research by assessing the relative contributions of each model while controlling for the paths proposed by the other model. The results suggest that the family processes identified by the family stress model provide a more accurate explanation for why economic hardship is associated with increased conduct problems among African American adolescents.     

欲望化叙事与叙事文学指质的再解读

将欲望置于现实生活、人性解放及文学创作等3个层面进行批判与定位,可以揭示欲望化叙事与叙事文学的指质。欲望化叙事中的纵欲追求及夸大描写,只是个别作家文字中的狂欢,既非现实生活的写照,也不是真正的人性解放。它违背了文学颂扬道德伦理学之精微的本质,只能使人性返回动物性,以至毁灭人类。在今天,真正意义上的人性解放是将人类从物质化、齐一化、功能化、平均化中解放出来,而叙事文学应当担负起限制欲望、疏导欲望、升华欲望的责任。     

The Philippine Male Aging Survey

The aging male is fast becoming a global concern. The problem is predicted to become a major health issue that should be addressed immediately in order to prevent disability, morbidity, and, more importantly, mortality. As part of its commitment to increase awareness and create interest in the care of Filipino aging males, The Philippine Society for the Study of the Aging Male Foundation, Inc. (PhiSSAM), a multi-specialty society established in 2000, embarked on a survey among Filipino physicians to determine their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding male aging. Results showed that the majority of doctors (about 87%) thought that men may experience andropause. Most would diagnose patients based on symptoms alone, while only 20–30% used testosterone levels to make a diagnosis of andropause. Decreased libido and less strong erections were the symptoms very closely associated with low testosterone. Of those doctors responding, 89% agreed that andropause can affect the quality of a man's life as much as menopause can affect a female; only 38% had already prescribed/instituted treatment for andropause. Of the 62% non-prescribers, 58% said they were either very likely or fairly likely to institute treatment in the future if there were more clinical trials, more medical information, and more information on drugs. Major concerns on testosterone replacement therapy included prostate cancer, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and heart disease. The findings in this pilot survey indicate a need among the doctors in the Philippines for education about andropause and the available treatments.     

Aestheticisation of Politics: From Fascism to Radical Democracy

The “aestheticisation of politics”, a term coined by Walter Benjamin, refers to a critique of various modes of politics considered to be irrational in leftist, critical theory. The critique ties aestheticised politics to fascism and capitalism, thereby precluding the conceptual possibility of a radical democratic aesthetic politics. This paper challenges that position first by working through Wolfgang Welsch’s semantic clarification of the term “aesthetics”, then by deriving different senses of “aestheticised politics” from the range of meanings given by Welsch. A typology of aestheticised politics, from fascist to communist, depicts the conceptual possibility of a radical democratic political aesthetics.     

Social Environmental Variation, Plasticity Genes, and Aggression: Evidence for the Differential Susceptibility Hypothesis

Although G×E studies are typically based on the assumption that some individuals possess genetic variants that enhance their vulnerability to environmental adversity, the differential susceptibility perspective posits that these individuals are simply more susceptible to environmental influence than others. An important implication of this model is that those persons most vulnerable to adverse social environments are the same ones who reap the most benefit from environmental support. The present study tested several implications of this proposition. Using longitudinal data from a sample of several hundred African Americans, we found that relatively common variants of the dopamine receptor gene and the serotonin transporter gene interact with social environmental conditions to predict aggression in a manner consonant with differential susceptibility. When the social environment was adverse, individuals with these genetic variants manifested more aggression than other genotypes, whereas when the environment was supportive they demonstrated less aggression than other genotypes. Further, we found that these genetic variants interact with environmental conditions to foster various cognitive schemas and emotions in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility and that a latent construct formed by these schemas and emotions mediated the effect of gene by environment interaction on aggression.