The role of culture and personality traits in board game habits and attitudes: Cross-cultural comparison between Denmark,Germany, and USA

This study investigated whether variations in personality traits are related to board game usage patterns and attitudes, and whether such associations are expressed differently across countries that reflect different cultural orientations and values. A cross-sectional online survey was distributed among 486 Danes, Germans, and Americans, whose personalities were assessed through the NEO-FFI questionnaire. Participants also indicated their liking levels, attitudes, and playing frequency of board games. Results showed significant associations between personality traits and board game-related attitudes and habits. However, these associations were moderated by culture and primarily predicted responses among Danish participants, but not their American or German counterparts. These findings have important implications for the board-game industry, a multi-billion-dollar market worldwide. Furthermore, findings can shed light on how to better personalize and design board games according to personality traits and culture-specific preferences, which should have a significant impact on the user experience and ultimately increase sales.     

我国蛋鸡养殖环境全要素生产率测度及省域比较分析

［目的］蛋鸡养殖场规模化养殖与生态环境保护协调发展问题是蛋鸡养殖业可持续发展过程中面临的关键性问题，测度我国大、中、小3种规模下不同省份蛋鸡养殖场的环境全要素生产率，并从时间、地区两个维度对蛋鸡养殖场的环境全要素生产率进行比较。［方法］利用2004—2016年不同养殖规模蛋鸡养殖场的投入和产出数据，文章基于SBM函数的Malmquist Luengerber（ML）指数方法，对蛋鸡养殖场环境全要素生产率进行分解，将其分解为技术进步指数、效率改进指数。［结果］（1）蛋鸡养殖场环境全要素生产率整体呈现下降趋势，同时与蛋鸡养殖规模呈反比，蛋鸡养殖场规模越大，蛋鸡养殖环境生产率越小。（2）蛋鸡养殖场效率存在效率改善，但养殖技术进步率相对较低，尤其是对小规模养殖场而言，改善空间更明显； （3）蛋鸡养殖环境全要素生产率区域差异较为明显，整体来看，蛋鸡养殖主产区环境全要素生产率高于非主产区。［结论］加强蛋鸡产业科技创新水平以及公共服务设施的投入，提高养殖户的废弃物无害化处理能力，推行蛋鸡养殖的规模化和标准化发展，进一步改善养殖效率，以促进蛋鸡养殖规模化和生态环境保护协调发展。     

基础设施类型、产业特征与中国企业出口行为

在异质性企业理论框架下,引入教育供给因素,将其视为社会型基础设施与交通基础设施进行比较研究;通过合并基础设施数据与工业企业数据分析两类基础设施对企业出口的异质性影响。实证研究显示:不同类型基础设施对企业出口产生不同影响,其中地区教育供给对企业出口促进作用显著,交通基础设施对企业出口作用并不稳健;不同基础设施对沿海和内陆地区企业出口有差异化影响;在产业特征框架下,基础设施供给对密集使用某类基础设施的企业出口促进作用明显。地方政府应重视社会型基础设施的贸易促进作用,调整地区基础设施投资结构。     

Observation of other's preferential treatment as a constructive catalyst for improved repatronize intentions

Observing others receive preferential treatment has been found to provoke bystanders' negative reactions. However, seeing others treated better may also inspire bystanders to increase their repatronize intentions. Drawing upon theories of social comparison and goal-setting, this study investigates the condition when watching another's preferential treatment acts as a catalyst to enhance bystanders' repatronize intentions and the mechanism by which the constructive effect appears. The results indicate that when bystanders witness similar others' preferential treatment and believe that they can attain comparable treatment, their goal-setting motivation is more activated and consequently they are more committed to goal-relevant behavior (i.e., repatronize intentions).     

Comparing the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban expansion in Guangzhou and Shenzhen from 1975 to 2015: A case study of pioneer cities in China’s rapid urbanization

The distinct urbanization process of China has attracted worldwide attention because of its impressive speed, massive scale, and policy intervention. However, the interrelationship between urban expansion and government policies is still not well understood. The Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration of China is the first national pioneering urbanization area since the implementation of the policy “Reform and Opening-up” in the late 1970s. Here we compared the spatial and temporal patterns of urbanization in two leading cities of the Pearl River Delta (i.e., Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the provincial capital and the first Special Economic Zone of China, respectively) from 1975 to 2015, using Landsat data integrated with urban growth and landscape metrics analysis, and examined possible footprints of major economic and urbanization policies. Our results illustrated that urban land areas in both Guangzhou and Shenzhen have experienced magnificent annual growth rates at 8.1% and 11%, respectively between 1975 and 2015. On average, Shenzhen witnessed substantially higher urban growth rate than Guangzhou during the past four decades, particularly in the initial period (1978–1990) when the Reform and Opening-up policy was launched and Shenzhen was designated as the first Special Economic Zone in China in the late 1970s. However, the speed of urban expansion in Shenzhen became considerably lower than Guangzhou from 2005 to 2015, subject to physical conditions and a series of urban land use policies. Both cities showed a generally similar dynamics of urban growth forms with leapfrogging as the predominant type of urban growth at first and then edge-expansion while the contribution of infilling in Shenzhen was higher than that in Guangzhou, especially since 2005. The urbanization processes characterized by landscape and urban growth metrics revealed that a diffusion-coalescence-diffusion-coalescence process was identified for Guangzhou, while Shenzhen was generally consistent with the diffusion-coalescence urban growth hypothesis.     

Worktime control and work stress: the moderating effect of self-comparisons and social comparisons

Abstract

Perceived work-related stress has increased notably in recent years, reducing individuals’ well-being and increasing organizations’ and economies’ costs. This study focuses on worktime control as a key approach to reducing work stress, as the extant research on its effects reports inconsistent results. The study argues that comparisons play a major role in how work stress, conceptualized as effort-reward imbalance, occurs. Ordinary least squares is used to test hypotheses with a sample of 1721 employees from Germany to determine whether employees’ prior worktime control and employees’ referents’ worktime control affect the relationship between worktime control and work stress. Results show that (1) worktime control is negatively associated with the experience of work stress, (2) employees’ prior worktime control moderates the relationship between worktime control and work stress, and (3) there is no moderating effect of employees’ referents’ worktime control. The results are discussed in light of gift-exchange theory and related empirical findings.     

城市居民税负感及影响因素的实证研究

根据北京市居民税负感调查所得数据,通过对居民税负感及其影响因素之间的相关性实证研究,得出结论,税负感与收入、文化程度、年龄以及对税收的了解程度等因素呈显著正相关,与是否参加社保呈显著负相关。在被调查的居民中,超过一半的居民税负感较重或很重,其中,收入越高和对税收了解的越多税负感就越重,本科学历和中年人群税负感较重,未参加社保的居民税负感较重,参加社保的居民税负感较轻。税负感研究的结论显示,居民税负感不仅与税收负担的高低密切相关,而且与国家的财政支出方向密切相关,扩大财政的民生开支是降低居民税负感的重要途径。     

充分利用WTO教育服务贸易大力推进高等教育国际化

为了顺应中国加入WTO形势，充分利用WT0教育服务贸易，大力推进高等教育国际化，我们必须学习WT0教育服务贸易知识，分析入世后给我国高等教育带来的机遇和挑战，研究我国高等教育应对WT0的措施。     

建立“双体系”教育体系 突出“应用型”旅游管理人才培养特色

我国旅游高等教育体系存在一定的缺陷 ,主要是追随着传统的本科教育的教学体系 ,重理论教学体系的建立 ,轻实践教学体系的建立 ,人才培养模式与行业对人才的要求存在一定的差距。本文试图建立旅游高等教育的“双金字塔结构的教育体系” ,即理论教学体系和实践教学体系 ,突出旅游管理人才培养的适用性 ,并提出了相应的措施。     

The Euro Illusion in Consumers’ Price Estimation: An Italian–Irish Comparison in the Third Year of the Euro

The euro illusion is a transient phenomenon that consists of currency-related asymmetries in the intuitive judgment of product prices made by consumers. The results of a cross-country study in the third year after the introduction of the euro show a strong price estimation asymmetry in a country with an extreme exchange rate (Italy) and a weaker effect in a country in which the nominal values of the new and the old currency are much closer (Ireland). These results rule out proposed explanations of the euro illusion in price estimation that assume the sole influence of plausible anchors (reference prices stored in memory within the plausible price range), supporting instead accounts also endorsing the role of implausible anchors (reference prices outside the plausible price range). Beyond contributing to our theoretical understanding of the euro illusion, this research starts to unveil the interplay between structural factors (i.e., the currency exchange rate) and psychological mechanisms that produce long-lasting difficulties for consumers after a monetary changeover.