Econometric Analysis of Costing System Components in Rail Rate Regulation

In response to Congressional directive, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) has created a railroad costing system that includes as key components ratios designed to estimate variable costs associated with freight transportation. The estimated variability ratios are used to determine freight surcharges, jurisdictional threshold rates, and basic rail rates in administrative law and federal court proceedings. In this article we assess the quality and reliability of the estimated variability ratios and their components against standards from economic theory and statistical theory and practice. Our work includes reproduction of the naive ICC regressions, updated naive regressions for the latest data set, estimation based on more secure econometric foundations, and sensitivity analyses comparing alternative estimation procedures. Fundamental questions arise concerning the scientific and evidentiary standards that are required for econometric methodology in policy making and regulatory activities.     

The Art of Leading and Following – A Workplace Tango

This article describes my experiences of leading a commissioned child mental health service through a process of change in my role as manager. The article uses the metaphor of the Argentine tango to conceptualize my efforts to implement leadership in my work. I look at the influence of the music, the relationship between leadership and followership, and the idea of mutual presence to draw out aspects of my experience. In so doing, I relate theory to practice and bring together various theories of leadership in a creative synthesis. The article draws away from realist notions of management theory to ask how it is that we perform leadership. It suggests that we do so by the provision of an ‘intelligible formulation’ of chaotic events. This can be reached through the reflective understanding of the nature of the work. It can also be striven toward through creative acts of ‘discernment’ of the practices of the agency. These acts are fostered through the distribution of leadership that simultaneously dissolves yet persists. The need for mutual presence is highlighted and the role of leadership outside the immediate circle of authority is examined. The use of the Argentine tango as a metaphor draws together these various strands and provides a clear conceptual framework in this autoethnographic article.     

Coalition-Based Social Change Initiatives

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a model for establishing and maintaining social change coalitions. The model, based on the authors' study of a successful coalition-based social change initiative, highlights the potential contribution of a neutral, external support agency whose goal is to help a group of organizations collaborate in an effort to promote change in social policy in an area of shared concern. The external agency brings knowledge and experience in working with coalitions, needs to be trusted by all the coalition partners, and should be perceived as not competing for recognition or resources, and as having only the common goal in mind. The components of the model and the methodology employed to develop it are presented, followed by assessment of its generalizability to other settings. Experts, from different disciplines, countries and ethnic backgrounds, advised that this model has great potential for solving social problems in many different areas.     

Detecting change points and monitoring biomedical data

Bayesian and likelihood approaches to on-line detecting change points in time series are discussed and applied to analyze biomedical data. Using a linear dynamic model, the Bayesian analysis outputs the conditional posterior probability of a change at time t ? 1, given the data up to time t and the status of changes occurred before time t ? 1. The likelihood method is based on a change-point regression model and tests whether there is no change-point.     

《中国社会之变化》析论

《中国社会之变化》从革命的视角观察近代中国的变化,认为帝国主义的侵略逼出了中国的产业革命,而产业革命则引起了中国社会的根本之变。《中国社会之变化》的基本学术特色为求真与致用的结合和实事求是等,但也存在偏重阶级斗争的问题。     

社会形态理论的价值论理解

社会形态理论是唯物史观的重要内容 ,但这一理论长期以来一直遭到片面理解。作为思辨的历史哲学 ,社会形态理论被仅仅从实证科学的 (经验科学 )的角度去理解 ,这是不完全的。对此理论的正确理解应该是对其做经验科学和价值论的双重理解 ,看到社会形态理论中经验科学的性质和人类追求的理想目标的价值论性质这两种因素 ,这才是对该理论全面、正确的理解     

Age-Friendly Organisations: The Role of Organisational Culture and the Participation of Older Workers

Population ageing is a global phenomenon that has become prominent in international discourse over the past few decades. This discussion is often coupled with the economic implications of population ageing through reduced workforce participation of the older age group, increased government spending on health and pensions and reduced government income from taxes. A means of mitigating the economic costs of ageing is to lift the proportion of older individuals in the workforce and prolong working lives. This brings to the forefront an important point regarding the need for organisations to undertake changes so as to better enable the employment of older individuals and to cater for an ageing workforce. This article critically reflects on age-friendly organisational practices that can have an impact on the recruitment and retention of older individuals. It further contends that there is a need to develop a deeper understanding of factors that constitute an organisational culture geared towards the older demographic, in order for strategies and practices directed at older workers to be effective. Through this argument, the authors consolidate the literature on age-friendly organisational practices and propose a conceptual model of an age-friendly organisational culture, drawing from both functionalist and interpretivist paradigms.     

和成钱庄的现代化变革

和成钱庄作为一个旧式金融机构，1934年5月在重庆正式开业，为扩大业务范围，1937年5月决定改组银行，改组是其向现代化转型的标志，1938年1月正式改组，完成了向现代化金融机构的过渡。通过对抗战前夕和成钱庄创立与发展概况的梳理，分析其直到1938年才正式改组成银行的原因，分享和成钱庄现代化变革的特点，以期对现代金融业提供借鉴。     

社区变迁中“人的城市化” 建构与反思———以ＮＪ 市ＸＬ 农牧场Ｓ 新村为例

伴随国家城镇化迅猛发展,新型城市社区建设也在迅猛推进。在城市化变迁与发展过程中,拆迁安置“新市民”能否适应新的城市化社区发展环境,新型城市化社区如何建设,成为目前社会建设与管理工作中面临的挑战和难题。回顾社区变迁相关理论研究成果,以一个典型“二元社会”农牧场的城市化社区变迁为例,揭示拆迁安置社区在城镇化变迁过程中的嬗变价值。研究发现,“二元社会”农牧场变迁为“新市民”社区,不但给社区建设带来了新课题,同时也使“人的城市化”建设迫在眉睫。积极推进社会管理体制改革,切实加强社会建设,使“人的城市化”理念得以落实和彰显,是“新市民”社区建设的主题。     

Dialect contact and distinctiveness: The social meaning of language variation in an island community

In this paper, we analyse linguistic variables which are well‐established in British English, the vowels in the trap and bath lexical sets. We demonstrate that the social meanings of these variables are both historically substantiated and locally‐elaborated. Our data is taken from the speech of individuals living on the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands off the south‐west coast of England. Our initial analysis shows that trap and bath variants found on the islands are linked to contact with Standard English English, on the one hand, and the nearest neighbouring variety of Cornish English, on the other. The general distribution of variants is shown to reflect educational differences amongst our speakers. However, two case studies show speakers using forms atypical of their education type in order to position themselves in interactionally‐dynamic ways. This reveals how speakers exploit the multidimensional meanings of linguistic variants to reflect and construct local practices and alignments.