Transformational change and the vacuum of performance measurement: How a story of success became a failure

Some local government organisations stand out in terms of their capability to adopt and use management accounting innovations and become a model for those struggling with issues such as performance measurement (PM). But what happens to the innovations if the organisation is forced into transformational change? This longitudinal case study is based on the theory that the use and impact of PM is influenced by (a) its contractibility and (b) how the performance management systems in place are configured and used. One conclusion is that transformational change can result in a vacuum of PM, even with a high degree of contractibility.     

Factors contributing to business actions in response to climate change in Korea

Climate change is a growing problem and has been highlighted as a global issue. Empirical evidence increasingly indicates its obvious potential risks to humans and society. As members of this society, business organizations face greatly diverse climate change-related risks that they must recognize and respond to. However, gaps exist between scientific evidence and the actions of business organizations. Few empirical studies have examined the business organizations’ actions taken in response to climate change in Korea. This paper addresses this critical gap in the climate change literature by examining business organizations’ behaviors and identifying the factors influencing their actions. We employ statistical models to compare corporate climate change actions, and we explain their variations using survey data. The results indicate that despite increasing concerns about climate change, businesses have implemented very limited precautionary mitigation and adaptation actions. In addition, the concerns of the businesses about future climate change impact, organizational capacity (leadership, staff capacity, existence of a relevant division or department), and business size are significant factors with respect to the implementation of climate change actions.     

Profiling high-frequency equity price movements in directional changes

Market prices are traditionally sampled in fixed time intervals to form time series. Directional change (DC) is an alternative approach to record price movements. Instead of sampling at fixed intervals, DC is data driven: price changes dictate when a price is recorded. DC provides us with a complementary way to extract information from data. It allows us to observe features that may not be recognized in time series. The argument is that time series and DC-based analysis complement each other. With data sampled at irregular time intervals in DC, however, some of the time series indicators cannot be used in DC-based analysis. For example, returns must be time adjusted and volatility must be amended accordingly. A major objective of this paper is to introduce indicators for profiling markets under DC. We analyse empirical high-frequency data on major equities traded on the UK stock market, and through DC profiling extract information complementary to features observed through time series profiling.     

创业市场信心与创业行为关系的动态解析 ——基于GEM与WBD的混合横截面数据的经验证据

本文以行为理论为基础,从动态视角出发,探讨完整经济周期下,创业者创业市场信心与创业行为间关系的变化趋势。同时,分析创业者所处国家的经济发展水平与结构以及自身社会经济地位在创业市场信心对创业行为正向作用变化趋势中的调节效应。本文根据2006-2015年全球创业观察(GEM)与世界银行数据库(WBD),构建混合截面数据来探索创业者创业市场信心的反应及其差异。研究发现：(1)在经济衰退期内,创业市场信心对创业行为的正向作用会显著减弱。在随后的经济扩张初期,创业市场信心对创业行为的正向作用会明显增强;(2)处于发展中国家以及高经济外向度国家的创业者,创业市场信心对创业行为的正向作用的减弱与增强均会更加剧烈。另外,补充研究发现：(3)仅在经济扩张初期,创业者社会经济地位能积极调节时间对创业市场信心与创业行为间关系的调节效果。本文揭示了创业市场信心与创业行为间关系的变化趋势及该变化产生的边界条件,在一定程度上丰富了创业心理驱动要素对创业行为影响的动态研究,并促进实践界关注经济衰退对创业市场信心的冲击而带来的创业活动萎靡的潜在风险。     

基于SOPARC和KDE的游客游憩行为研究——以武汉东湖绿道为例

以武汉东湖绿道湖中道为对象,采用游憩行为观察法(SOPARC)分析游客游憩行为特征和绿道使用影响因素,运用核密度估算法(KDE)研究游客的空间分布特征。研究结果表明：1)绿道的使用对象非常广泛,对不同年龄和性别的游客均具有较好的吸引力;2)绿道居民和游客出行陪伴状况及性别与社会关系密切相关,社会交往需求成为绿道游客游憩活动的重要影响因素;3)游客活动类型选择受年龄和活动强度的影响,青少年群体偏好活动水平较高的运动,年长的游客趋向于选择强度较低的活动;4)闲暇与否成为影响游客和居民出行的重要因素;5)游客空间分布特征表明,风光优美的自然景点、亲水平台、开阔广场、可达性高的驿站等是绿道的高使用密度空间。以此为基础,提出以游憩者行为特征与偏好为导向的城市公园规划管理对策与建议。     

珠江三角洲地区变水位滨河地区生态修复与景观营造——以佛山市东平河景观工程为例

城市滨水地区是城市生态资源、景观资源和市民活动的重点区域。以广东佛山东平河为例,首先对场地中水利建设对变水位下河滩、堤岸、植被的影响做了分析,并针对洪水、潮汐的不同影响程度采取了相应的分级设计模型构想。在实践中,根据不同水位情况,运用低洼高筑、水道疏浚、植被恢复等多种方式,通过工程、生态、景观的手段恢复了滨水自然生境,营造了活跃的公共空间,实现了水利堤岸改造、生态修复、景观营造的有机结合,让陆地和水域自然衔接、和谐共生。     

UNDERSTANDING MEMBER CHARACTERISTICS AND COOPERATIVE PRICE EFFECTS: THE CASE OF THE ARGENTINEAN DAIRY SECTOR

Since the 1990s, Argentinean dairy‐processing cooperatives have lost considerable amounts of members and market share. We analyse their current role by investigating the characteristics of farmers who continue delivering to them and price differentials between cooperatives and investor‐oriented firms (IOFs). A probit regression model applied to 917 farmers suggests that cooperative farmers are more disadvantaged than farmers delivering to IOFs in terms of education, farm size and productive technology. Moreover, t‐tests applied to data representing 70 per cent of national volume indicate that farmers delivering to cooperatives are between 11 per cent and 29 per cent smaller than those delivering to IOFs, depending on province. A hierarchical multilevel regression model applied to 9,720 transactions among farmers and processors shows that, after controlling for quantity and quality, cooperatives pay lower (3.5%) but more stable prices than IOFs. In a context of rapid structural change, we observe a market in which larger farmers deliver to IOFs and smaller farmers deliver to cooperatives and conclude that, at the expense of paying lower prices, cooperatives may act as buyers of last resort for otherwise disadvantaged farmers.     

浅析西安地铁项目工程变更管理

地铁项目工程在施工过程易受地形地貌以及水文等自然条件的制约,因此会经常出现工程变更的情况,会直接影响工程造价的变迁。基于这种情况,结合地铁三号线的相关做法和经验,分析地铁项目工程变更管理中存在的问题与相应的完善措施。希望对地铁项目工程的变更管理起到一些借鉴。     

山东省苹果种植面积的时空演变特征分析

[目的]利用1978~2015年山东省苹果种植相关数据,实证分析山东省苹果种植面积的时空演变规律及其内在影响因素。[方法]从省域、区域、地市层面分析山东省苹果种植面积的时空演变规律,并运用多元线性回归模型实证分析山东省苹果种植面积变动的具体影响因素。[结果]山东省苹果种植面积从1978年的18.330万hm~2增至2015年的29.968万hm~2,总体增加,并以1995年为拐点先增后减,呈"倒U"形分布。从区域层面看,胶东半岛苹果种植面积稳步增加,泰沂山区、鲁西鲁北平原苹果种植面积持续萎缩,直接导致山东省苹果种植面积的不断减少和苹果主产区向胶东半岛的迁移。从地市层面看,山东省17地市中仅有胶东半岛的烟台、威海两地市苹果种植面积有所增加,其余15地市苹果种植面积均有不同程度的减少。说明山东省苹果主产区呈东进西退、北进南退的变迁特征。[结论]山东省苹果种植面积变动是资源禀赋、种植成本、种植业内部比较效益、种植传统和种植惯性、非农就业机会、非农就业收入、国家政策、地区政策、技术进步等众多因素共同作用的结果。基础设施条件、种植传统和种植惯性、非农就业机会、非农就业收入、地区政策的影响更为显著。其中,种植传统与种植惯性、地区政策对山东省苹果种植面积产生显著正向影响;非农就业机会和非农就业收入产生显著负向影响;基础设施条件向耕地的倾斜也产生显著不利影响。而种植成本、种植比较效益、国家政策、技术进步等因素的影响并不显著。     

Australia's Carbon Tax: An Economic Evaluation

Australia's carbon tax has been in place since July 2012. Following the 2013 federal election and change of government, it is likely that the tax will be abolished. This paper evaluates Australia's carbon tax experience and draws lessons for policymakers in other jurisdictions who may be considering following the Australian example and implementing their own carbon taxes or cap and trade schemes. Overall, the policy was poorly thought through, badly implemented, and lacked majority public support before it began. Australia's carbon tax experience is an interesting case study in how not to go about implementing climate change policy.