The art of conversation: eliciting information from experts through multi-stage communication

We examine the strategic interaction between an informed expert and an uninformed decision maker, extending the analysis of Crawford and Sobel (Econometrica 50 (1982) 1431). We modify their model to allow for more extensive communication between the two parties and show that face-to-face communication between the expert and the uninformed decision maker followed by a written report from the expert leads to improved information transmission. In (almost) all cases, there exists an equilibrium in our modified model that ex ante Pareto dominates all of the equilibria identified by Crawford and Sobel. This remains true even if the expert's bias is so great that in their model no information would be disclosed.     

Pre‐sale information and hammer prices for Australian Indigenous art

Using sales data from 1987–2011 we investigate the role that pre‐sale price information plays in determining hammer prices for Australian Indigenous artworks. Importantly, we control for the degree of market concentration as this might influence buyers’ perceptions of fairness in relation to price estimates which are provided by auction houses. Auction houses therefore act as important intermediaries between art sellers and art buyers. The results suggest that pre‐sale estimates and market concentration have a differential impact on hammer prices, depending on the point in the conditional realised price distribution under examination.     

The art and neurobiology of connection: the leader's challenge

When we feel connected and safe, the cerebral cortex of our brain responds by becoming involved, which leads to peak performance. When we work in a culture of constant fear, the deeper levels of our brain are activated to respond to the fear and our cerebral cortex is disabled. ultures that are negative and focus on people's weaknesses create "learned helplessness" lead to high rates of depression among the workforce, and cannot achieve the results of optimistic workplaces. The profession loses far too many excellent nurses every year because of the inability of managers and leaders to seriously connect with the front line. What we do as leaders creates a physiological reaction and a basis for effective or ineffective work units.     

Aggregation over individuals to disguise identities but still preserve essential information

A dilemma often faced by public agencies is how to disseminate disaggregated information while protecting the confidentiality of individual reporting units. This paper suggests an aggregation procedure, based on minimization of Mahalanobis distances, that groups ‘like with like’ and satisfies confidentiality requirements while largely preserving the essential economic information in the reporting sample.     

Leaders in change : Solar energy owners and the implications for future adoption rates

Information on the characteristics of the initial wave of homeowners who installed solar energy systems is presented and then used to anticipate future solar market penetration patterns. Surveys of these adopters reveal high education and income levels; professional and executive occupations; economic, energy saving, and environmental concern as the principal purchase motivations; and high satisfaction levels. As a group, these individuals conform to the “early adopter” type identified in innovation diffusion research rather than the “innovator” type that would be expected at this early stage of commercialization. This characteristic, the influence of economic motivations, owners' high satisfaction levels, and the findings of other surveys indicate that widespread solar system adoption is probable if the initial high cost barrier can be reduced.     

对音乐艺术教育的思考

音乐艺术教育应引起全社会的高度重视。要把加强音乐艺术教育作为教育改革的一项重要内容,建立和完善学校音乐艺术教育法规以及相配套的一系列规章制度。要提高音乐教师素质,稳定教师队伍。教育科研部门要加强对音乐教材、教法的研究,加大教学实验的力度,推广应用科研新成果,使音乐教育不断适应教育改革和发展的需要。     

Democracy and economic outcomes: Evidence from the superstars of modern art

This paper analyses the impact of the political environment on the value of artistic outcomes as measured by the price of paintings produced over the period from 1820 to 2007. The analysis is based on a unique dataset encompassing a global sample of 273 superstars of modern art born between 1800 and 1945, auction results of their paintings, and data on the political environment in the respective production countries. Controlling for a variety of economic and hedonic variables, there is a statistically significant, positive link between the level of democracy and the value of artistic output. Moreover, we find that democracy has a significant positive impact both on the density of superstar painters and the collective artistic human capital in a country.     

Myths of information: the cultural impact of new information technologies

This paper discusses the beliefs that circulate in contemporary culture about new communication technologies. Considered together these beliefs express two mythological narratives about the meaning of the information revolution. (1) that new information technologies will empower individuals and transform both work and leisure; and (2) that such technologies can solve the problems of democracy in a post-industrial age. These myths are neither true nor false; rather they are the way that we make sense of our moment of history and a projection of the hopes we collectively project on to new technologies. In discussing these myths, this paper seeks to identify the signal cultural implications of new communication technologies.     

Discoveries of fakes: Their impact on the art market

This paper shows that before (after) fakes’ discoveries, artworks are less (more) likely to be sold through Sotheby’s or Christie’s. Prices only react negatively with a lag, suggesting that sellers try to postpone their sales as long as possible.     

高校艺术类学生干部培养管理浅析

高校艺术类学生干部的管理存在选拔制度不完善,不注重学生干部培养等问题。而且艺术类大学生与其他专业大学生相比,具有一定的共性,但是艺术类大学生又具有鲜明的个性特点。他们张扬个性,缺乏团队合作精神;多才多艺,文化基础薄弱;感性高于理性,易受社会上不良风气的影响等。高校学生干部队伍的建设是学生工作得以顺利开展的基础。只有针对艺术类学生干部的特点,有针对性地进行管理和培养,才能更加有利于非艺术类院校艺术类学生工作者开展工作,将学校教育管理工作做的更好。     

Addressing the information needs of technology managers: Making derived information usable

Technology managers are faced with identifying emerging technologies with the greatest economic potential. Text mining of technical information sources has great potential for structuring and analyzing the vast amounts of information that is available today. There are tools available capable of analyzing patents and publication databases for trends, identifying emerging activity, and monitoring competitors. However, a disconnect between managers' information needs and the analysts' information provides a significant challenge. Additionally, technology managers are not accustomed to processing derived knowledge obtained through text mining. Thus, analysts must present information to managers so that they can easily and accurately interpret it. This paper investigates an approach that presents derived information in the context of stated information needs by technology managers. Those information needs are assessed via survey, applied to a sample technology record set, and evaluated according to stated criteria.     

The art of benchmarking: Picasso prints and auction house performance

The influence of the auction house on the price of comparable art objects is an issue in the economics of arts literature. The standard approach has been to run hedonic price regressions including the auction house as a dummy variable. The approach in this paper is to apply benchmarking tools developed in the efficiency and productivity literature directly to the auction house as a unit. New performance indices are developed based on a DEA benchmarking technique to analyse auction houses. The new indices discriminate well between auction houses by allowing one to identify both contemporaneous and inter-temporal performances. Additional best performance results are obtained for specific attributes.     

小型团队领导者过程绩效测量量表研究

工作绩效可区分为最终绩效、周边绩效和过程绩效.工作绩效存在累积过程,最终绩效是由过程绩效和周边绩效累积而成的,对过程绩效的测量是工作绩效测评的一个重要方面.过程绩效是个体或团体在形成最终的工作成果之前所取得的、符合服务对象要求的阶段性工作成果.小型团队领导者的过程绩效是通过下属的阶段性成果间接体现出来的,需要特殊的测量工具.本研究探讨了小型团队领导者管理工作的特点,对其工作结构进行了分解,并构建了相应的测量量表,量表由任务管理和团队管理两个分量表组成.本研究采用Cronbachα系数法进行信度分析,采用相关系数法检验校标效度,采用肯证式因子分析检验量表的结构效度,检验结果表明小型团队领导者过程绩效量表具有良好的信效度.该量表可作为小型团队领导者工作绩效测评的工具,并可进一步应用于小型团队领导者的选拔、培养和绩效改进.     

质疑对国有企业领导人实行的任期制

深圳市最近规定,对国有企业领导人实行任期制,这一做法明显违背了中央精神,与改革的大方向是背道而驰的。当前进一步深化国有企业改革,应当是学习借鉴西方发达国家所有者管理现代化大型企业的成功经验,对国有企业领导人实行聘任制。     

Markets, bureaucracies and groups in the information society : An institutional appraisal of the impacts of information technology

The issue regarding the impact of information technology on organizations is here reconsidered by applying a new analytical framework. Information technology affects the cost of transactions which take place under alternative institutional arrangements, such as markets, bureaucracies and groups; technology can affect the efficiency of the organizations which apply it and the organizational behaviour of their members. Empirical data show how computerization changes organizational patterns according to efficiency considerations. An enlargement of the framework to take into account alternative mechanisms for organizational participation, such as exit, voice and loyalty, allows to examine the impacts of information technology on participation possibilities within organizations.