Some Reflections on the Spatial Dimensions of Occupational Segregation

This paper considers the role that urban spatial structure may play in the process of occupational segregation, and argues that neoclassical economic models of urban employment and residential location decisions have not considered the relationship between gender-based labor market status and space. The paper provides a critical feminist perspective on how conventional urban models have been used to explain patterns of segregation, and suggests reasons for limitations in existing theoretical and empirical analysis. It also explores ways in which economists can draw on work in other disciplines to develop fuller and more useful models of the relationship between urban spatial structure and occupational segregation.     

The symmetric and asymmetric influences of destination attributes on overall visitor satisfaction

Visitors are impressed by specific destination attributes, which are sometimes the main motivating reasons for the travel selection or sometimes they are just one of the elements of a whole destination experience. This is because tourism and travel products are generally a combination of several different supplier offerings or they are a combination of the natural and artificial attributes of a destination that cannot be fully known before the experience of travel. Moreover, the importance and influence of these attributes on overall visitor satisfaction may differ considerably, depending on the market segments. In recent years, some studies have shown that the influences of destination attributes on overall visitor satisfaction are not symmetric in every case. For the purposes of this study, the symmetric and asymmetric influences of destination attributes are investigated for three major market segments of the Side-Manavgat area, Antalya, Turkey. The results show that the importance and influences of destination attributes may change according to the analysis technique employed and the market segment examined.     

Performance Contracting In Practice: Experience and lessons from the water sector in Ghana

This article provides some insights into how performance contracting works in practice in a developing country context, using the case of the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC). Performance contracting has been a useful instrument for restructuring the state-owned enterprises (SOE) sector in Ghana, and the GWSC has made some moderate improvements since its introduction. However, the article highlights some of the institutional constraints and capacity issues that reformers will have to pay attention to, including overstretched capacity of the monitoring agency, a weak information management system and inconsistent compliance to contract by government. The findings also highlight the difficulty of separating politics from operational/management issues, especially in politically sensitive public services, yet performance contracting relies on such separation to be effective. Also it shows how informal behaviour undermines the formality of performance contracting.     

The Effect of Culture on Management Style

Abstract

U.S. and Indonesian managers were surveyed to evaluate cross-cultural differences in managerial style. Four variables were compared and analyzed: autocratic and participative management, and individualism and collectivism. Indonesian managers endorsed a more autocratic style than U.S. managers and valued collectivism more than U.S. managers, while U.S. managers valued individualism more than the Indonesian managers. Additionally, a positive relationship was found between participative management style and individualism. There were no significant differences in the value both groups placed on participative management; both endorsed this concept positively. Results suggest that while there are differences between the preferred management styles of Indonesian and U.S. managers, both groups endorse similar management ideas. This paper concludes that culture affects the ideologies that managers are willing to endorse, and further study is needed to see if it similarly affects the management styles they actually exercise.     

中国富人慈善事业的现状与对策——基于社会交换理论的分析

由于受传统文化、激励机制不完善、相关法律法规滞后的影响,中国的富人慈善事业存在着捐赠量较小、捐赠领域不均衡、慈善载体公信力不足等问题,未充分发挥其在实现社会公平方面的作用。文章利用社会交换理论,分析了从事社会慈善事业给富人自身及其拥有的企业、基金会等带来的内在和外在的收益,并有针对性地对其进一步发展提出了建议。     

科技园区创业生态环境模型构建及应用研究

创业环境是决定创业倾向、影响创业成功率的重要因素之一。本文针对科技园区创业环境,结合生态系统理论,模拟自然生态系统,采用四维度框架构建科技园区创业生态环境模型。该模型定性地分析了各生态因子的影响作用,为科技园区管理机构管理园区发展提供合理有效的管理途径,以及选择培养对企业成长起重要影响作用的生态因子提供理论依据。     

一场影响深远的错误批判——试述对马寅初《新人口论》的批判

1953年的人口普查引起我国著名经济学家马寅初的高度重视,他通过实地调查,于1957年提出《新人口论》,分析了我国人口增长同生产力发展的矛盾,从而提出控制人口的主张。但由于极左思潮的影响,《新人口论》遭到批判。各种批判文章将马寅初的《新人口论》和马尔萨斯的人口论挂钩,指责马寅初的《新人口论》是新马尔萨斯主义。这场错误批判产生了严重的后果,它把许多人口学家错误地打成右派,使我国人口理论的研究停滞,使计划生育工作受到严重挫折。     

The theory of repurchase decision-making (TRD): Identifying the critical factors in the post-purchase decision-making process

A theory particularly designed to explain re-buying decision formation is lacking. This research developed and tested a theory of repurchase decision-making (TRD) that more comprehensively explains individuals’ post-purchase decision-making processes. Two studies were conducted in a full-service restaurant setting for the development of this theory. Specifically, important factors generating the repurchasing intention were identified through an exploratory qualitative approach in Study 1. In this qualitative approach, a new set of belief items and salient referents in a re-buying decision-making process were also identified. The proposed model merging the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) with identified factors and belief constructs from Study 1 were tested in the second study. Our results demonstrated that incremental amounts of total variance in the re-buying decision were explained by the TRD. Newly integrated constructs in combination with the original variables in the MGB were found to play a critical role in the re-buying decision-making process. The implications of this study are presented and discussed.     

Effect of diversification on firm performance: Application of the entropy measure

This study investigated the effects of diversification on firm performance in the restaurant industry. In prior studies, the theoretical rationales and empirical results appeared to contradict each other. These contradictory results may be due to factors such as industry-specific characteristics or a linear understanding of the relationship between diversification strategies and firm performance. Thus, this study suggested a non-linear hypothesis based on the costs and benefits of diversification strategies with businesses categorized based on their level of diversification. The results of this study showed that restaurant firms do not benefit from a low level of related diversification. This study also found that when restaurant firms are involved in both related and unrelated businesses, the optimal mixed ratio of diversification is approximately half and half. More detailed results, as well as academic and practical implications, are discussed in this paper.