The Playful Advantage: How Playfulness Enhances Coping with Stress

Research on playfulness has long focused on children, while the study of its expression in adulthood has only recently been undertaken. This cross-sectional study investigated the interrelationship between playfulness in young adults, perceived stress, and styles of coping with 898 students from three universities. Findings revealed that playful individuals reported lower levels of perceived stress than their less playful counterparts, and more frequently utilized adaptive, stressor-focused coping strategies and were less likely to employ negative, avoidant, and escape-oriented strategies. The results suggested that playfulness serves a strong adaptive function with university students, providing them with specific cognitive resources from which they can manifest effective coping behaviors in the face of stressful situations. Speculation as to the role of playfulness in fostering resilience is encouraged, and further empirical research on the therapeutic benefits of playfulness should be undertaken from a causal perspective.     

Monotonicity in asset returns: New tests with applications to the term structure,the CAPM,and portfolio sorts

Many theories in finance imply monotonic patterns in expected returns and other financial variables. The liquidity preference hypothesis predicts higher expected returns for bonds with longer times to maturity; the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) implies higher expected returns for stocks with higher betas; and standard asset pricing models imply that the pricing kernel is declining in market returns. The full set of implications of monotonicity is generally not exploited in empirical work, however. This paper proposes new and simple ways to test for monotonicity in financial variables and compares the proposed tests with extant alternatives such as t-tests, Bonferroni bounds, and multivariate inequality tests through empirical applications and simulations.     

论析大体积混凝土的施工温度与裂缝控制

在现代工程中,大体积混凝土的施工技术既复杂又具有严格要求,在整个过程中对施工温度控制具有非常重要的意义。施工中应严格防止混凝土因水泥水化热引起的温度差而产生温度应力裂缝,施工中的裂缝将影响到结构的稳定,在通过实际的住宅项目跟踪观察及通过查阅相关的混凝土施工著作后,对混凝土施工温度,裂缝控制和相关措施进行研究论述。     

“I don’t Care that People don’t Like What I Do” – Business Codes Viewed as Invisible or Visible Restrictions

Research about codes of corporate ethics has hitherto taken a hypothetical, correct meaning of codes for granted. The article problematises the dichotomous categories intrinsic and subjective meanings of codes. I address the question if professionals in finance accept codes of business. The particular mentality of stockbrokers and traders constructs the way they judge restrictions such as company codes of ethics. While neglecting dimensions of ethics beyond known rules, brokers and traders distrust good ethics as a possible end in itself. Many professionals in the financial market perceive efforts to integrate ethical reasoning in work as only means for maximising business opportunities.     

荣地水电站增机扩容工程压力钢管的结构设计

荣地水电站增机扩容工程原发电引水系统主要为总长为2663 m的隧洞，由于隧洞竖井至原钢衬段前的钢筋混凝土衬砌施工质量较差，达不到结构安全运行的要求，因此需对原发电引水系统进行加固处理，经方案比选后，采用竖井段进行埋管回填混凝土加固+下平洞内铺设明钢管的方式进行加固处理，并相应对钢管进行结构设计。     

20Kt/a煅烧焦回转窑耐高温下料溜管技术改造的研究

介绍在大港油田20Kt/a煅烧焦厂煅烧回转窑高温下料溜管的投产使用中,针对出现的焊口开裂、高温下管体变形等一系列问题,通过焊接应力分析、高温温差应力、溜管整体结构受力分析等方法和原理,从整体结构和焊接方法两方面进行技术改造,探讨出符合大港油田20Kt/a煅烧焦60米回转窑使用要求的耐高温下料溜管制作安装方法。     

Are microfinance markets monopolistic?

Do microfinance institutions (MFIs) operate in a monopoly, monopolistic competition environment or are their revenues derived under perfect competition markets? We employ the Panzar–Rosse revenue test on a global panel data to assess the competitive environment in which MFIs of five selected countries operate: Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Peru and Philippines, over the period 2005–2009. We estimate the static and the dynamic revenue tests, with analyses of the interest rate and the return on assets. We control for microfinance-specific variables such as capital-assets-ratio, loans-assets and the size of the MFI. The analyses also account for the endogeneity problem by employing the fixed-effects two-stage least squares and the fixed-effects system generalized method of moments. Our results suggest that MFIs in Peru and India operate in a monopolistic environment. We also find weak evidence that the microfinance industry in Ecuador, Indonesia and Philippines may operate under perfect competition.     

Perceived organizational support and coworker support as antecedents of foreign workers’ voice and psychological stress

This study investigates the effects of perceived organizational support (POS) and coworker support on the voice behavior and psychological stress of foreign workers in Macau hospitality industry. Drawing upon social exchange theory, we propose that POS and coworker support exert differential impacts on foreign workers’ promotive and prohibitive voice. We further hypothesize the negative relationships between these two types of support and psychological stress. Our hypotheses were tested by a two-wave longitudinal survey data collected from 141 foreign workers employed in four Macau hotels. The results showed that, although POS and coworker support were positively related to promotive voice, the effect of POS was comparatively stronger. Only POS had a significant and positive effect on prohibitive voice. In addition, coworker support but not POS reduced foreign workers’ psychological stress. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.     

Convergence and divergence of role stress experience of locally hired Japanese and non-Japanese host country staff: a qualitative study

This qualitative study examines the role stress (comprising of role ambiguity and role conflict) experienced by locally hired Japanese (LJ) and non-Japanese (NJ) staff in a sample of Japanese companies in Australia. Expatriates were also interviewed to gather information regarding the impact of cross-cultural understanding on role ambiguity and role conflict in their work relationships with LJ and NJ staff. Both LJ staff and NJ local staff experienced two types of role ambiguity, resulting from insufficient English competence and information shortage. NJ staff experienced two additional types of role ambiguity due to their lack of cultural understanding about Japan. LJ staff experienced two types of role conflict which were not experienced by NJ local staff. These were caused by their cultural understanding about Australia, and their Japanese cultural heritage and understanding of the society and organisational processes. This study shows that cultural understanding of one's host country and parent country could reduce role ambiguity. In addition, it was found that cultural understanding of one's host country and parent country results in role conflict. These findings suggest that cultural understanding could have positive and negative consequences on role stress. Theoretical and practical implications in the management of white-collar staff in overseas Japanese companies are discussed.     

压力测试及其在金融机构风险管理中的运用

本文研究和评价了目前被国际大型金融机构积极采用的风险管理工具:压力测试。作者通过将压力测试与VaR作比较等方法详细阐述了压力测试的特征、使用方法和缺陷,并且进一步分析指出压力测试在金融机构风险管理中的作用及其最新发展状况和趋势,最后着重分析了压力测试在我国运用和发展的前景并提出建议。