Cultural Differences in Online Community Motivations: Exploring Korean Automobile Online Brand Communities (KAOBCs) and American Automobile Online Brand Communities (AAOBCs)

To gain a better understanding of online brand communities, this study has examined why people joined in online brand communities and whether there were some differences in the motivations of Internet users based on different cultures. Open-ended questions were asked to the community members from both South Korean Automobile Online Brand Communities (KAOBC) and American Automobile Online Brand Communities (AAOBC) in the first stage and then generated and utilized an online survey for the study. The study found that KAOBC members tended to have a stronger social network, business, and communication motivations than AAOBC members. As a primary motivation, information seeking is the strongest motivation for members of both KAOBC and AAOBC. They had a similar level of information motivation.     

基于个体差异的报童群体决策研究

通过实验研究群体决策和大五人格对报童订购的影响。研究表明大五人格中开放性维度能很好地预测个体和群体决策者的订购行为。在个体实验中，开放性越高的个体更不易产生锚定效应，其他四种人格特性与锚定偏差无显著关系；在群体实验中，群体的开放性得分均值、群体中高开放性成员所占的比例与锚定偏差呈负相关关系。通过比较两种实验结果，发现群体锚定倾向明显小于个体锚定倾向，而群体决策并没有优于个体决策。该研究结果对企业人员招聘、构建决策团队及降低决策偏差有一定参考价值。     

Local poverty reduction in Chile and Mexico: The role of food manufacturing growth

This paper analyzes the relationship between local poverty and food manufacturing growth in Chile and Mexico using propensity score matching, differences in differences and spatial econometrics methods. We focus on food manufacturing as a sector with a number of characteristics that make it potentially pro-poor, and whose incentives for spatial distribution may either strengthen or dampen its poverty reduction potential. The overall results indicate growth in food manufacturing employment contributes to local poverty reduction.     

基于高光谱曲线的马铃薯与其他主要作物光谱差异性分析

[目的]文章以马铃薯关键生长期——结薯期为测量时点,以马铃薯和玉米、大豆、水稻为研究对象,开展高光谱曲线特征差异性研究。[方法]为更好地描述马铃薯与其他作物的光谱差异,创建高光谱反射率差异性指数、高光谱一阶导数差异性指数、高光谱红边幅值差异性指数、高光谱曲率差异性指数及高光谱植被指数差异性指数。[结果](1)马铃薯与玉米、大豆、水稻3种作物光谱曲线具有明显差异,马铃薯与玉米的反射率值在480nm附近蓝色波段位置差异最显著,差异性指数值为67.866%,与大豆、水稻的最大差异性指数值分别为49.068%、57.559%,均位于550nm附近绿色波峰位置;(2)作物光谱曲线经一阶导数变换运算,马铃薯与其他作物间的光谱差异被显著放大,在近红外波段放大程度最显著;(3)马铃薯与玉米、大豆、水稻高光谱曲率差异性指数最大值均位于波长750nm附近,差异性指数值分别为78.365%、63.471%、80.882%;(4)常用植被指数中,比值植被指数、增强型植被指数可显著区分马铃薯与玉米、大豆、水稻。[结论]差异性分析结果为农作物空间分布遥感识别提供了技术支撑。     

Error analysis of finite difference and Markov chain approximations for option pricing

Mijatovi? and Pistorius proposed an efficient Markov chain approximation method for pricing European and barrier options in general one‐dimensional Markovian models. However, sharp convergence rates of this method for realistic financial payoffs, which are nonsmooth, are rarely available. In this paper, we solve this problem for general one‐dimensional diffusion models, which play a fundamental role in financial applications. For such models, the Markov chain approximation method is equivalent to the method of lines using the central difference. Our analysis is based on the spectral representation of the exact solution and the approximate solution. By establishing the convergence rate for the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions, we obtain sharp convergence rates for the transition density and the price of options with nonsmooth payoffs. In particular, we show that for call‐/put‐type payoffs, convergence is second order, while for digital‐type payoffs, convergence is generally only first order. Furthermore, we provide theoretical justification for two well‐known smoothing techniques that can restore second‐order convergence for digital‐type payoffs and explain oscillations observed in the convergence for options with nonsmooth payoffs. As an extension, we also establish sharp convergence rates for European options for a rich class of Markovian jump models constructed from diffusions via subordination. The theoretical estimates are confirmed using numerical examples.     

从迷信和禁忌谈中俄文化差异

迷信和禁忌是世界各民族共有的现象,中俄两个民族由于不同的历史发展、地理位置、风俗习惯、宗教信仰,从而产生了文化差异,形成了不同的文化规范,迷信和禁忌也各不相同.本文试对俄汉两个民族就几种具有代表性的迷信禁忌进行对比、分析,旨在为跨文化交际提供有益的参考.     

Fiscal Subsidy Policy on Home Appliances: Its Effects on Domestic Consumption and Exports in China

This paper evaluates the effects of the Home Appliances Going to the Countryside (HAGC) policy, a fiscal subsidy program implemented in China to boost private consumption of home appliances in rural areas from 2007 to 2012. Using the policy as a natural experiment and employing the difference‐in‐difference estimator, we find that the policy did not increase domestic sales of relevant goods as expected; instead, it actually reduced domestic sales and significantly promoted exports. These surprising results are robust across regressions of alternative datasets, more controls, and different regions. We further provide detailed information of undisclosed audit data for a county in Zhejiang province to shed light on the underlying mechanism of such unexpected results, suggesting loopholes in the HAGC and changes in export tax rebate rates.     

Toward an Integrated Model of Purchase Intention of Dietary Supplements in Sexually Oriented Advertising

This study was designed to examine antecedent factors that yielded a model of purchase intention of dietary supplements in sexually oriented advertising. Results suggested that sexual cognition, gender difference, individual attitude toward advertisements, and product involvement were yielded as key predictors toward people's purchase intention of dietary supplements. However, sexually oriented advertising did not considerably increase their purchase intention. A regression analysis also loaded sexual cognition and product involvement as two key determinants in the model of purchase intention of dietary supplements. Moreover, people with a more positive level of sexual cognition significantly resulted in their higher degree of purchase intention of dietary supplements.     

中国P2P网贷行业发展区域性差异的外部环境影响因素

基于"网贷之家"发布的2014年中国各地区网贷行业综合发展指数数据,测算了全国28个省(自治区、直辖市)的经济环境指数、信用环境指数、金融环境指数、法律环境指数和受教育水平,研究了它们对中国P2P网贷行业发展区域性差异的作用机理。回归结果显示:经济环境指数、金融环境指数和信用环境指数影响成交得分,受教育水平、法律环境指数和经济环境指数影响安全收益得分,经济环境指数和金融环境指数影响流动性得分,它们作为外部环境因素均间接影响了中国P2P网贷行业发展的区域性差异;经济环境指数、信用环境指数和金融环境指数是直接影响中国P2P网贷行业发展区域性差异的外部环境因素。     

Stock exchange mergers and market efficiency

The aim of this article is to examine the impact of stock exchange mergers on the degree of informational efficiency. For this purpose, we apply the generalized spectral shape test for the martingale difference hypothesis to the stock returns before and after the 31 domestic and cross-border mergers completed from 1997 to 2011. The test is conducted with moving subsample windows, allowing us to detect the periods of (in)efficiency, and thus to conduct a comparative analysis for pre-merger and post-merger periods. We find that higher levels of efficiency are less frequent than lower levels of efficiency after a stock exchange merger. We also find that the impact on the level of efficiency depends on a range of merger characteristics such as the level of development, size, geographical diversification and industrial diversification of stock exchange.