A Theory of Rational Choice under Ignorance

This paper contributes to a theory of rational choice for decision-makers with incomplete preferences due to partial ignorance, whose beliefs are representable as sets of acceptable priors. We focus on the limiting case of `Complete Ignorance' which can be viewed as reduced form of the general case of partial ignorance. Rationality is conceptualized in terms of a `Principle of Preference-Basedness', according to which rational choice should be isomorphic to asserted preference. The main result characterizes axiomatically a new choice-rule called `Simultaneous Expected Utility Maximization'. It can be interpreted as agreement in a bargaining game (Kalai-Smorodinsky solution) whose players correspond to the (extremal) `acceptable priors' among which the decision maker has suspended judgment. An essential but non-standard feature of Simultaneous Expected Utility choices is their dependence on the entire choice set. This is justified by the conception of optimality as compromise rather than as superiority in pairwise comparisons.     

An empirical assessment of the operational performance through internal benchmarking: a case of a global logistics firm

This article solves an operational performance measurement problem of a global logistics firm through an internal benchmarking tool. The intended impact is to enable logistics firms to form a deeper understanding of their own internal processes and metrics. The methodology of this in-depth action research involves a sequential approach with a series of interviews, questionnaire-based surveys, operations data collated through observations and process mapping yielding real-world data. A series of statistical tests are conducted to analyse the collated data. Strategic priorities of the firm are integrated with the firm’s operational performance to ascertain the effective performance by considering both the tangible and intangible measures. The outcomes inform both practitioners and academics how the firm could improve its freight forwarding business’s profitability by ensuring that its operations meet the prioritised criteria. The ‘best practice’ derived from internal benchmarking forms an intermediate step towards external benchmarking. The outcomes facilitate investigating the current business strategy, the standard operating procedures and the scope of improving those.     

Using journal articles to measure the level of quantification in national sociologies

The methods used when samples of journal articles are treated as the basis for measuring levels of quantification in national sociologies are examined. The data come from every identified example in English. It is found that operational definitions of ‘quantitative’ vary, while ‘qualitative’ work is characterised simply by the absence of sophisticated quantification, which is sometimes taken to imply quantitative incompetence rather than methodological choice. The articles used as data on the state of a whole national sociology are usually drawn from elite general journals in which many sociologists have never published, and ignore the authors’ national backgrounds and publications elsewhere. It is concluded that there is a gap between concepts and operational definitions which it would be desirable to fill.     

论我国社会主义时期党和国家的民族纲领

我国社会主义时期党和国家的民族政策的总原则是民族平等、民族团结、民族共同繁荣;民族政策的根本立场、根本宗旨是民族平等、团结、自治、发展。新世纪新阶段党和国家民族工作的主题是各民族共同团结奋斗、共同繁荣发展。     

人群组织关系中的势位法则

片面地和局部地追求个人英雄主义的单极效应,已不是当今社会发展的方向和终极目标,更好地实现具有组织关系的人群最大效应策略将自觉或不自觉地成为了亘古不变的真理,因此人群整体效应的最优化势位法则的提出有其现实紧迫性和现实导向性。本文提出了以“势”作为描述人群组织关系的基本概念及对于不同人群组织关系中的势描述准则,并形成了人群组织关系的最优化势位法则。无论是大系统还是小系统的人群组织关系,这种势位法则都可用于实现该系统整体效应的全面提升。在信息和计算技术飞速发展的将来,这种势位法则对未来社会可能有着更加重要的影响和意义。     

宪法视域中的公共利益原则分析

公共利益原则是一项重要的宪法原则。公共利益原则的实施必须以宪法为基础,宪法以人民主权、权力制约等价值要素为公共利益的实现提供政治前提和法律依据。同时,还通过一整套设计完整的宪法制度对公共利益原则的异化进行矫正。     

国际法原则在《反分裂国家法》中的适用

2005年3月全国人民代表大会颁布的《反分裂国家法》,涉及国际法上的民族自决原则和禁止使用武力原则。原则上说,民族自决原则仅适用于殖民地或在外国统治下的领土范围,而不适用于国家内部的分离情形;禁止使用武力原则的适用范围是有一定限制的,其中一个关键限制条件是主权国家实体之间的“国际关系”。在台海问题中,理清相关问题,对正确处理两岸关系、发挥《反分裂国家法》应有的作用和制约力具有重要意义。     

内圣外王之道与儒家文论话语构建的原初向度

内圣外王之道是对儒家理想的表达,其旨在于内足以资修养而外足以经世。“以六艺为养”的儒家从内圣工夫看待“诗”、“礼”、“乐”、“言”,不仅从创作方面为文艺树立了高远的理想,更赋予文艺一种切关存在意义的根源性。从外王事功视野看待“诗”、“礼”、“乐”、“言”,则文艺被纳入制度文化论域当中,对其功能价值的判定也就自然以制度文化建设为准绳,其最终指向便是通过文艺整顿人心、和合天下,造就上下有序、协调和睦的理想社会秩序。不过,内圣与外王之间的存在论断裂也造成儒家文论的结构性冲突。     

新会计准则体系的变化与特点

2006年2月15日颁布的中国会计准则体系,标志着中国会计准则与国际会计准则的全面接轨。本文通过对新会计准则体系框架的总结,分析了新会计准则体系的变化,从而探讨了我国新会计准则体系的两大特点,即国际惯例与中国实际的充分协调和体系准则的科学性。     

大数据背景下产业链内部间隙弥补与企业运营效率提升

近年来,电子商务从产生到不断壮大,越来越多地受到相关信息技术和商业模式影响。大数据分析和数据挖掘技术逐渐运用于各行各业,电子商务及相关交易作为典型的经济活动,其相互交融与影响对产业经济发展具有重要意义。然而,渠道完备化的电子商务产业链整合由于部分机制的低效性,其内部存在基于要素与终端、数据融通、需求满足层面的诸多间隙,需要通过大数据等技术支撑及渠道、市场的有效对接实现产业链企业的整合。通过对这些作用机制及优化路径的研究发现：应通过价值提升维度实现大数据在产业链内部企业融通中的应用,提高其在目标群体识别和需求预测中的应用,同时提高大数据在企业布局推广中的应用,以有效提升企业运营效率。