Accounting for Negative,Zero and Positive Willingness to Pay for Landscape Change in a National Park

In contingent valuation, despite the fact that many externalities manifest themselves as costs to some and benefits to others, most studies restrict willingness to pay to being non‐negative. In this paper, we investigate the impact of allowing for negative, zero and positive preferences for prospective changes in woodland cover in two UK national parks, the Lake District and the Trossachs. An extended spike model is used to accomplish this. The policy implications of not allowing for negative values in terms of aggregate benefits are also investigated, by comparing the extended spike model with a simple spike making use of only zero and positive bids, and a model which considers positive bids only. We find that ignoring negative values over‐states the aggregate benefits of a woodland planting project by up to 44%.     

The private provision of public environment: Consumer preferences for organic production systems

This paper analyses individual preferences regarding environmental and health improvement technologies in organic food production systems. The impure public model is applied to explore the implications of organic food preferences for environmental market provision. Empirical results from a survey reveal that consumers are willing to pay for both health gains and environmental friendly technologies in organic milk production, although the valuation of the health aspects is higher. Prior information about organic production systems and shopping convenience are key variables in interpersonal comparisons of willingness to pay. The perceived overall value of organic production systems was higher among individuals with stronger environmental preferences than among those who prioritise health concerns. The conclusions of this study may have implications for the analysis of efficiency in the organic produce market.     

Joint estimation using revealed and stated preference data: An application using a national forest

We combine contingent behaviour with travel cost data to estimate the change in the recreational use value of a National Forest due to quality and price changes. Instead of the usual improvement scenario, a hypothetical deterioration in the conditions of the forest due to a fire is considered. A dataset containing five observations for each respondent enabled the estimation of three models for which the number of scenarios differed. The results show that visitors are sensitive to price and quality changes and that in the forest fire scenario the intended number of trips would be reduced and that respondents would experience a welfare loss. Signs of inconsistency between preferences expressed by revealed and intended behaviour were found. This research also provides some indications that strategic bias affects answers to price changes.     

Effects of ownership change on organizational settings and strategies in a Taiwanese hotel chain

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of ownership change on a local-chain hotel in Taiwan: how the new chief executive officer (CEO) planned a blue ocean strategy and how he led all employees to achieve pre-established goals. This study applied qualitative research methodology whereby the data were collected by participant observations in the study field and subsequent in-depth interviews with an application of the QSR NVivo software program. This study implies that, in the assimilation stage of the change, (1) the CEO should use democracy instead of dictatorship; (2) sub-cultures, factions and conflict could be prevented by organizational socialization and equal opportunity treatment; and (3) blue ocean strategies enable a shift of organizational image and identity. This qualitative study supplements the existing literature by showing that organizational politics might be affected by organizational change and how the concept of blue ocean strategy might be implemented in the course of organizational change.     

Progressing road safety through deep change and transformational leadership

In an earlier paper in this journal, we argued that current road safety programs and thinking are constructed within a paradigm that tends to accept existing cultural arrangements. The current paper is a sequel to the earlier one, and outlines significant policy themes emerging from a research project on a holistic approach to road safety. Two overarching themes include the importance of leadership for policy change and implementation, and addressing the more transformative aspects of intervening in a system. A distinction can be drawn between “deep” sustainable change, which usually requires fundamental redesign of the systems involved, and “shallow” adaptive change. Examples of deep change discussed include the much wider application of mobility management, a strong shift to active travel and public transport, and a reconsideration of how time is structured in society, as with the adoption of “Slow Cities” principles. Transformational leadership can draw on a variety of “knowledge cultures”, which can all share in collective decision-making and possible actions for the future. We discuss especially leadership at the worldview, organisational, and community levels. Vision Zero approaches are valuable, but need to be integrated with a common vision for a sustainable transport system developed in conjunction with energy, transport, health, environment, and education agencies. In addition, Vision Zero approaches can be assisted by greater attention to and questioning of embedded cultural practices and behaviour.     

Antecedents of Budget Participation: Leadership Style,Information Asymmetry,and Evaluative Use of Budget

This study explores the causes or antecedents of budget participation to understand more fully the role of participation in the workplace. The study focuses on the reasons why superiors encourage the budget participation of their subordinates and draws upon several theoretical perspectives including leadership theory, agency theory and organizational justice. To examine the issues, a survey was administered to managers and supervisors in several companies. Results of path analysis suggest that superiors encourage subordinate participation when the superior's leadership style is considerate. This implies that budget participation may mediate the relation between leadership style and work outcomes. Results also suggest that superiors encourage participation when budget goals are used in the performance evaluation of subordinates, in which case, the study argues, the superiors encourage participation because of concerns about organizational justice. This finding implies that budget participation may mediate the relation between the evaluative use of budget and those work outcomes that prior research has linked to organizational justice. The proposed relation between information asymmetry and budget participation is not supported.     

论知识型员工的流动与留用

知识型员工是现代组织的重要生产要素,是各类组织争相聘用的对象。如何留住高素质人才是人力资源管理的新课题。本文阐述了知识型员工的流动特点和影响其流动的因素,提出了建立在组织与个人彼此适应基础上的知识人才的留用方式。     

不确定性、财务状态与财务行为

本文认为不确定性是主观和客观的不同状态,风险是主观认识偏离客观状态的结果。财务的功能就在于如何正确分析、识别财务状态,相机选择财务行为,使财务行为与财务状态保持动态协调一致,以保持财务政策的时间一致性。     

THE TERM STRUCTURE OF INTEREST RATES AS A GAUSSIAN RANDOM FIELD

A simple model of the term structure of interest rates is introduced in which the family of instantaneous forward rates evolves as a continuous Gaussian random field. A necessary and sufficient condition for the associated family of discounted zero-coupon bond prices to be martingales is given, permitting the consistent pricing of interest rate contingent claims. Examples of the pricing of interest-rate caps and the situation when the Gaussian random field may be viewed as a deterministic time change of the standard Brownian sheet are discussed.     

未定权益分析方法与中国宏观金融风险的测度分析

本文利用未定权益分析方法(CCA),在汇集、处理与整合编制多方数据的基础上,通过建立国民经济机构部门层面的风险财务报表,测度了2000—2008年我国的宏观金融风险,并直观展示和分析了该期间国民经济各机构部门风险敞口的动态演变情况。本文在我国特殊的数据背景下,基于我国金融市场发展的现状,探索了测度和监控我国系统性金融风险的具体理论与方法。