有信息冲击、无信息冲击与波动率非对称性

本文将金融市场的冲击(innovations)分成有信息冲击和无信息冲击,构建了一种新的非对称GARCH类模型,区间均值GARCH模型(sectional mean GARCH,SM-GARCH).在中国股票市场的实证分析中发现:SM-GARCH模型能够更好地捕捉波动率特征和预测波动率;条件均值预测误差用于描述新到来的冲击对条件方差的影响,所提供的信息是有限的,在无信息冲击的情况下可以忽略它在波动率预测中的作用.     

Motivation for ISO 14000 certification: development of a predictive model

Environmental issues have become critical concerns of businesses in recent years. The Singapore Environment Ministry is urging organizations to consider adopting the ISO 14000 Environmental Management Standards. The main purpose of this study was to investigate and identify a number of variables which would be able to predict the motivation of organizations in adopting the ISO 14000 Standards. Through extensive literature search eight possible predictive variables/factors (cost savings, top management concern, employee welfare, meeting environmental regulations, meeting customer expectations, concern over trade barriers, following head office environmental practices, and gaining competitive advantages) were identified. In total, 300 pre-tested survey questionnaires were mailed out to companies from the Electronic and Chemical industries in Singapore. A response rate of about 20% was obtained. The survey instrument was tested for reliability and validity. Using stepwise discriminant analysis, a predictive discriminant function was developed. Only four out of the originally identified eight variables were included in the model. Possible benefits of such a model for Singapore and other industrializing countries are highlighted.     

Relational stability and alliance performance in supply chain

Drawing on the theories of social exchange and goal interdependence, this paper examines the antecedents of relational stability in supply chain alliances and if the stability affects alliance performance in supply chain in the context of manufacturing firms. The results show that both relational commitment and trust of supplier have positive effects on relational stability in supply chain alliance, which in turn positively affects the alliance performance. These results have important implications for researchers investigating the effectiveness of supply chain alliances as well as practitioners seeking to improve alliance performance in supply chain.     

Mothers’ Marital Status and Type of Delivery Medical Care in Guatemala

The use of modern medical care for child delivery in rural Guatemala is low relative to other Latin American countries. In the previous literature, factors such as a woman’s age, education, ethnicity, religious affiliation and income are found to be important determinants of the type of delivery medical care she receives. This study hypothesizes that a woman’s marital status influences her decision as well. Using a binomial logit framework, the study finds that unmarried women are more likely to see a modern medical provider in delivery than married women, even after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and husbands’ characteristics. Therefore, unmarried women seem to make more informed decisions in terms of their attitudes in childbearing and maternal health relative to their married counterparts. As a result, both economic as well as social developments seem necessary to induce changes in the high incidence of maternal mortality and morbidity in Guatemala.     

Same-sex domestic partnerships and lower-risk behaviors for STDs, including HIV infection

To determine the association between domestic partnership status and risk behaviors for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, we analyzed data from a population-based interviewer-administered telephone survey of 2,881 gay men in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago conducted in November 1996 to February 1998. Men in domestic partnerships had a statistically significantly lower prevalence of multiple partnerships, "one-night stands," and unprotected anal intercourse with a non-primary partner than either men with steady partners not identified as domestic partners or men without a steady partner. These findings were independent of age. Men in domestic partnerships had decreased risk behaviors for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, suggesting but not proving, that conferring legal status to same-sex unions might decrease sexual risk behavior.     

Comparing American college and noncollege young adults on e-cigarette use patterns including polysubstance use and reasons for using e-cigarettes

Abstract

Objective: Existing literature on young adults’ e-cigarette and polysubstance use focused on college students. This study examined the differences between college and noncollege groups on prevalence and patterns of e-cigarette and other substance use using data from a national survey. Participants: Adults aged 18–24 from the 2013–2014 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (n?=?6,608). Methods: Independent sample t-tests and Chi-square tests were conducted to examine group differences. Results: Noncollege young adults had higher prevalence of cigarette, e-cigarette, and marijuana use; college students had higher prevalence of alcohol use. Among current e-cigarette users, college students had higher prevalence of polysubstance use of alcohol and marijuana. College students used e-cigarettes for socializing purposes more. Conclusions: Differences in prevalence and patterns of e-cigarette and other substance use between college and noncollege groups exist. Future interventions should target the social context of college life and reach out to noncollege young adults in workplaces.     

Poverty affects access to regular source of primary care among the general population in Hong Kong

A territory‐wide two‐stage stratified random sample of 2,282 community‐dwelling Hong Kong adults were surveyed between 2014 and 2015 to investigate the association between poverty and regular source of primary care utilization. Poverty was operationalized by income‐poverty and deprivation. About 94% of our sample reported having regular source of primary care (Western and/or Chinese medical practitioner) and about 69% among them were in private sector. Multivariable logistic regression showed that people who were income‐poor and deprived were less likely to have regular source of primary care (income‐poor: OR = 0.523, p = .027; deprived: OR = 0.488, p = .007) and visit private primary care doctors (income‐poor: OR = 0.445, deprived: OR = 0.222, both p < .0001). Those who had chronic diseases were more likely to have regular source of primary care (multimorbid: OR = 10.709, p < .0001), but less likely to access care in the private sector (one chronic disease: OR = 0.690, p = .019; multimorbid: OR = 0.374, p < .0001) than those without. Further, being older and less skilled were significantly associated with less likelihood of visiting a private doctor. Path analysis showed that the number of chronic diseases had significant indirect effect on having regular source of primary care with being income‐poor and deprived as the mediators (β = ?.0183, p = .0016). Therefore, despite a public health‐care system that aims to deny no one from adequate health care for lack of means, regular source of primary care in Hong Kong is found to be pro‐rich. Future policies should tackle the problem of health‐care inequalities to meet the needs of the underprivileged.     

New Evidence of the Postmaterialist Shift: The Experience of Hong Kong

This article makes use of survey data collected in 1992 and 2007 to examine the question of whether or not Postmaterialism is gradually becoming manifest in Hong Kong and to explore the applicability of Postmaterialist theory to this affluent Chinese society. Our findings basically support the hypotheses of the theory that the continued socioeconomic development of Hong Kong is giving rise to a populace that is increasingly inclined towards Postmaterialism. Younger people are more Postmaterialist than their seniors. In addition, Postmaterialists are more likely than Materialists to support the ‘new politics’ and democracy. Nevertheless, Hong Kong is far from being a Postmaterialist society. Multivariate regression analysis also revealed that the Materialist/Postmaterialist orientation is neither related to age nor to formative security.