Social affinity among top managerial executives of large corporations in Korea

Korea is a society subject to quite diverse social forces. Modernization should encourage reform, but the yoke of tradition restrains this tendency. This paper examines the patterns of preferential treatment of executives, based on family, school, and regional ties, by the owners of large Jaebol corporations in Korea. We found that about 21% of the total number of executive positions in the large corporations were occupied by individuals who had some type of family tie with the owners of the corporations. Also, there is a strong tendency of corporation owners to employ the executives of the same regional origin of birth as their own, but the affinity based on school ties was not as strong as that of regional origin. The findings of this study seem to support the arguments of previous studies that claimed a trust factor as a main cause of social similarity and affinity between the owners and executives in corporations.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, August 17–22, 1987, Chicago, Illinois.     

Online bin packing of fragile objects with application in cellular networks

We study a specific bin packing problem which arises from the channel assignment problems in cellular networks. In cellular communications, frequency channels are some limited resource which may need to share by various users. However, in order to avoid signal interference among users, a user needs to specify to share the channel with at most how many other users, depending on the user’s application. Under this setting, the problem of minimizing the total channels used to support all users can be modeled as a specific bin packing problem as follows: Given a set of items, each with two attributes, weight and fragility. We need to pack the items into bins such that, for each bin, the sum of weight in the bin must be at most the smallest fragility of all the items packed into the bin. The goal is to minimize the total number of bins (i.e., the channels in the cellular network) used. We consider the on-line version of this problem, where items arrive one by one. The next item arrives only after the current item has been packed, and the decision cannot be changed. We show that the asymptotic competitive ratio is at least 2. We also consider the case where the ratio of maximum fragility and minimum fragility is bounded by a constant. In this case, we present a class of online algorithms with asymptotic competitive ratio at most of 1/4+3r/2, for any r>1. A preliminary version of this paper appeared in Proc. of Workshop on Internet and Network Economics (WINE’05, pp. 564–573). The research of W.-T.C. was supported in part by Hong Kong RGC grant HKU5172/03E. The research of F.Y.-L.C. was supported in part by Hong Kong RGC Grant HKU7142/03E. The research of D.Y. was supported by NSFC (10601048). The research of G.Z. was supported in part by NSFC (60573020).     

Constrained pairwise and center-star sequences alignment problems

This paper considers the minimax regret vertex 2-sink location problem in a dynamic path network with positive edge lengths and uniform edge capacity. Let \(P\) be an undirected path graph of \(n\) vertices, and the weight (initial supply) of every vertex is known as an interval. The problem is to find two vertices \(x\) and \(y\) as two sinks on the path such that all the weights can evacuate to \(x\) and \(y\) with minimum regret of evacuation time in case of an emergency for any possible weight distribution. We present an \(O(n^3\log n)\) time algorithm.     

Power,governance and distributional skew in global value chains: Exchange theoretic and exogenous factors

The relationship between power, governance and value creation/capture is a central concern in global value chain (GVC) research. In the context of calls to develop a more expansive view of power in GVCs, we argue for retaining a focus on bargaining power, but shifting the conceptualization of bargaining power from the dyad to the network. We advance two arguments. First, we elaborate an exchange theoretic model in which skew of value capture is a function of the degree of power asymmetry inherent in the ratio of buyers to suppliers. Second, we explain how this model can be expanded to consider the role of external factors, such as the institutional and normative contexts in which exchange occurs. Rather than see these factors as contending forms of power, we treat them as forces that can affect value skew by either attenuating the bargaining power of lead firms or by moderating the distributional effects of power asymmetries between exchange partners. We conclude that an exchange theoretic approach to bargaining power in GVCs provides a parsimonious framework for explaining how inter-firm governance shapes the distribution of value capture in global production.     

粤东闽语n尾韵文白异读及其与η尾韵和鼻化韵的关系

对粤东闽语n韵尾分析发现,n韵尾在山、臻二摄中一部分属于文读层,一部分属于白读层;在曾、梗二摄中全部属于白读层.从语音演变规律来看,粤东闽语n韵尾向η韵尾演变是历史发展的趋势,鼻化韵是n、η韵尾尚未完全合并前由两者弱化并脱落而来.     

早期拉丁教父的死亡观评析——以德尔图良、安布罗斯和奥古斯丁为例

早年的德尔图良在死亡观上,采取了实用主义的态度,他同情胆怯者,号召人们勇敢面对死亡;晚年的德尔图良成了一名孟他努主义者,因而在死亡问题上采取了偏激的态度,他开始诅咒胆怯者和极力赞扬殉道者。安布罗斯从肉体与灵魂的截然对立出发,认为死亡的本质就是善,因为死亡意味着灵魂离开肉体而获得自由,这种死亡观显然是柏拉图主义影响的结果。作为教会体制代言人的奥古斯丁,则从《圣经》的立场出发重新解读死亡,他认为死亡不是善而是恶,但是这种恶可以被转化为善用;他同情惧死行为,并谴责自杀性的殉道现象,认为这种现象不仅与《圣经》教导相悖逆,而且客观上会鼓动异端邪说,威胁教会统治。     

跨国法律中企业社会责任制度的演进

随着国际经贸往来日益频繁,在国际经济法领域出现了由跨国公司、非政府组织和政府间组织制定的"软法"--跨国法律.企业社会责任是其中一项重要的制度.该制度的不断完善在促进跨国法律发展的同时,也起到了规范企业的社会行为,促使其承担相应社会责任的积极作用.中国入世后,越来越多的中国企业将融人世界市场.为此,中国应建立与国际接轨的企业社会责任制度,增强政府对企业社会责任的宏观监管职能,并向外输出中国对于企业社会责任的法律意识和法律观念,使得在跨国法律的演进过程中,在企业社会责任领域能够存在中国声音,影响相关的国际立法.     

From War Refugees to Immigrants: The Case of the KMT Yunnanese Chinese in Northern Thailand1

The KMT (Kuomintang) Yunnanese Chinese in Northern Thailand have a complex migration history spread over different generations and places. It not only reflects political entanglements involving different power entities, but also illustrates the dynamic reaction of the people to the complications. The article focuses on the interactions between the political powers and the people. The process highlights that the Yunnanese are not mere objects controlled by external policies or conditions. After a few decades of hard life, they have been transforming themselves from refugee warriors to immigrants.     

Spatial variability of epibiotic assemblages on marina pontoons in Singapore

Berthing pontoons, one of the most ubiquitous structures in marinas, are known to provide recruitment substrate for a variety of marine biota but little has been reported on their capacity to support epibiotic organisms in tropical marinas, and even less is known about the factors that shape their distribution in such environments. We surveyed the epibiotic assemblages on the sides of pontoons in three Singapore marinas and examined the environmental conditions that influenced their distribution. A total of 94 taxa were recorded, with each marina hosting 43–65 taxa. Assemblages among marinas were highly distinct, and, key discriminants included components of biotic (alcyonarians, hexacorallians, bivalves, and annelids), as well as abiotic (sediment, bare area and shell fragments) origin. While the assemblage variation among marinas was influenced by local environmental conditions (e.g. water motion and sedimentation rate) and pontoon material, the variation in distribution within each marina was best explained by the distance of the pontoons from the marina’s entrance (epibiotic diversity and taxa richness were lower away from the marina entrance). Knowledge on the distribution of epibiotic assemblages on pontoons is essential to identify the factors that contribute to spatial variation and encourage the design and construction of ecologically-friendly marinas. Our findings suggest that improvements to pontoon design and layout would help to augment marina biodiversity, enhance the ecology of urbanised coasts, and mitigate development impacts.