Optimal timing of investments in advanced manufacturing systems under competition

Large initial investment in advanced manufacturing systems (AMS) makes it imperative to develop economic justification methods. Once the new system has been properly justified, a critical issue facing the firm is the optimal timing of the installation in an industry. In this paper we use a game-theoretic model by which the optimal timing of the investments in AMSs is analysed. The existence of timing equilibria is demonstrated and simple decision rules of optimal strategy are provided. Economic interpretations of the decision rules are subsequently made clear. Finally, illustrative examples are used to demonstrate the correctness and usefulness of the analysis.     

Writing Experience: Does Ethnography Convey a Crisis of Representation,or an Ontological Break with the Everyday World?

L'auteur pose comme prémisse la «brisure ontologique», telle qu'imaginée par Alfred Schutz, qui sépare deux champs: le «monde des coassociés», dans lequel la réalité sociale est directement expérimentée en face à face avec le présent intense, et l'«univers des contemporanéités», dans lequel l'autre est représenté selon des «types». Il soutient que cette coupure constitue un véhicule incitant à présenter une méta‐exposition de revendications majeures problématisant l'autorité traditionnelle en ethnographie. À la lumière de cette brisure, les tentatives postmodernistes d'acquérir ou de conserver la compréhension ici et maintenant de la signification subjective, ou de la «voix» des ethnographies, ne forment que des impossibilités épistémologiques. L'auteur conclut que le privilège postmoderniste accordéà une «ethnographie naïve» insistant sur les processus «expérimentaux», «interprétatifs», «dialogiques» et «polyphoniques» ne peut remplir sa promesse sur le plan méthodologique, pas plus qu'il n'est adaptable à la brisure ontologique de Schutz sur le plan théorique. This paper is premised on the “ontological break” as coined by Alfred Schutz that disconnects two realms: the “world of consociates” where social reality is directly experienced face‐to‐face in the vivid present, and the “world of contemporaries” where the other is interpreted in terms of “types.” It is argued that this break is a suggestive vehicle for conducting a meta‐exposition of major claims which problematize the traditional authority of ethnography. In the light of the break, the postmodernist attempts to attain or retain the here‐and‐now understanding of subjective meaning, or “voice” in ethnographies are but epistemological impossibilities. It is concluded that the postmodernist privileging of a “naive ethnography” which emphasizes “experiential,”“interpretive,”“dialogical,” and “polyphonic” processes is neither able to deliver on its promise at the methodic level, nor amendable to Schutz's ontological break at the theoretical level.     

The effect of labour market polarization on university students’ job market‐related outcomes in the Republic of Korea: Implications for youth unemployment

This article aims to assess the effect of the labour market environment on university students’ labour market‐related behaviour in the Republic of Korea. Using data from the country's Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey for 2005–13, the author estimates the effect of macroeconomic variables on university students’ job market‐related outcomes. Results indicate that labour market polarization, as measured by the labour market polarization index developed by Chung and Jung (2016), has a significant effect on both the nominal and masked (through extension of university enrolment and university transfers) unemployment of university students. These findings imply that the labour market structure is a key element in understanding youth unemployment.     

我国民办高等教育需求市场信息状况分析

信息不完善是高等教育市场失灵的一个重要因素。我国民办高等教育的发展基本是以市场为主导,需求者对信息了解的准确性与全面性对民办高等教育的健康发展具有重要意义。本文以对全国四个省市10 513名高三学生的调查为基础,分析我国高中生对民办高等教育的信息了解状况,以期从信息的角度为民办高等教育的健康发展提出建设性意见。     

Conditional Score Approach to Errors‐in‐Variable Current Status Data Under the Proportional Odds Model

Abstract. The conditional score approach is proposed to the analysis of errors‐in‐variable current status data under the proportional odds model. Distinct from the conditional scores in other applications, the proposed conditional score involves a high‐dimensional nuisance parameter, causing challenges in both asymptotic theory and computation. We propose a composite algorithm combining the Newton–Raphson and self‐consistency algorithms for computation and develop an efficient conditional score, analogous to the efficient score from a typical semiparametric likelihood, for building an asymptotic linear expression and hence the asymptotic distribution of the conditional‐score estimator for the regression parameter. Our proposal is shown to perform well in simulation studies and is applied to a zebrafish basal cell carcinoma data involving measurement errors in gene expression levels.     

香港教师教育目标的连续性、变革与问题:1992-2017

选取香港1992年"教育统筹委员会"的第五号报告书、2000年的教育改革蓝图、2001年香港教育学院的"愿景,使命和主导价值"以及2017年香港教育大学的"愿景,使命和核心价值"等中的相关陈述进行分析,总体来看,在香港回归前后（1992-2002年）,这些陈述显示了教师教育的连续性和稳定性,而进入21世纪后,香港教师教育的价值取向则逐渐从对英语国家的文化依附转向全球化,显示出教育以及教师教育的政治无涉性。关于教师教育目标陈述的问题,从民族国家、历史/文化、本土三个维度进行分析,可以发现香港的教师教育目标整体上缺乏民族国家和社会重建导向;在文化方面,缺乏文化身份认同,看不到中国文化传统,目标陈述传递的是一种普遍性;本土视野缺失,目标设置去情景化,目标制定没有建立在香港教育系统的独特性上。香港教师教育整个目标陈述倾向于展示教师教育规划中的工具特点和技术理性。     

Building a short-term production planning system for flexible manufacturing systems: an integration viewpoint

From the viewpoint of integration, the production objective of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) should follow results of MRP/CRP. Thus, the planning goal of short-term production planning (STPP) is to satisfy quantity and due date requirements determined by MRP/CRP. The STPP of FMS should cover part type selection, production ratio, process selection, process ratio, resource allocation, machine grouping, routing mix and loading problems.

A STPP system is built to solve the STPP problem of an FMS having multiple machine types, each with multiple m.'ichinc units. This system adopts a variable-period flexible planning approach, using part mix and process selection flexibilities to solve STPP problems. It also provides flexibilities in its operations sequence and in the machine routing to the dynamic operation planning system.     

Structural changes in the 2003–2009 global hyperlink network

In this study, we examined the structure of the international hyperlink network as a global communication system at two different points in time (2003 and 2009). Research was carried out on the web‐based network linking country code top‐level domains (ccTLDs) that represent countries, using hyperlink connectivity by the means of network analysis. The results indicate that the 2009 international hyperlink network was completely interconnected. G7 countries and Spain were at the centre of the network. At the periphery were poorer countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In addition, several regional clusters based on geography, language and culture emerged. A comparison of the 2003 and 2009 results showed that the level of centralization and diversification among semi‐peripheral countries increased. We discuss the results from the perspective of world‐systems theory. We propose methodological procedures to overcome potential bias in international hyperlink data.