INTERNATIONAL LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES BY GENDER: UNIT ROOT OR STRUCTURAL BREAKS?

This paper examines the possibility of unit roots in the presence of endogenously determined multiple structural breaks in the total, female and male labour force participation rates (LFPR) for Australia, Canada and the USA. We extend the procedure of Gil‐Alana for a single structural break to the case of multiple structural breaks at endogenously determined dates using the principles suggested by Bai and Perron. We use the Robinson LM test to determine the fractional order of integration. We find that endogenously determined structural breaks render the total, female and male LFPR series stationary or at best mean‐reverting.     

All pain,no gain? Why adopting sales force automation tools is insufficient for performance improvement

The dawning of the 21^st century brought a wave of research into the phenomenon of sales force automation (SFA)—technology tools aimed at enabling sales organizations to better practice customer relationship management. While the academic literature has offered great insight into how an organization can increase the likelihood that its sales force will adopt a new technology system, a great majority of research stops there. This is unfortunate in that companies mistakenly infer that use of an SFA system is the major hurdle and that simply motivating SFA use will be the key to unlocking improved performance. However, this is often not the case; many organizations are able to get their sales force to use an SFA system but do not see improvements in performance. As such, after briefly providing an overview of the factors affecting SFA use, this research provides insight into why use alone may not contribute to long-term improvements in a firm's sales performance. Key empirical findings and theoretical arguments from the extant literature are considered and a list of best practices is offered here to help managers bridge the gap between SFA use and improved sales effectiveness and efficiency.     

Sales Force Automation Systems and Sales Force Productivity

Abstract

Salespeople are in a unique position of being in very close proximity to customers and thus have the ability to create and maintain long-term relationships with them. Sales force automation systems (SFA) have the ability to help or hinder this relationship building process. This article looks at SFA and its impact on sales force productivity. Much of the current research in the area of SFA seems to focus on efficiency issues within the firm, with particular attention being paid to technology implementation and reasons for high SFA failure rates. The authors review past literature and identify potential areas for future research by creating and presenting a research agenda. Many of the future research areas lie in the realm of effectiveness of SFA rather than the efficiency side of SFA. Although efficiency is still of great importance to SFA researchers and practitioners, the customer or relationship focus of SFA effectiveness is also needed.     

A Reply to the Commentaries on “Business Marketing: A Twenty Year Review”

ABSTRACT

In this article the authors respond to the commentaries by Professors Spekman, Wilson, and Woodside on their article, “Business Marketing: A Twenty Year Review” and share their thoughts on the future of business marketing. In responding to the commentaries, the authors concede that while their review has started the dialogue, much remains to be done. They conclude with a call for the establishment of a broad-based research task force to develop a research agenda and to coordinate research efforts that systematically address the key problems facing business marketing and research practices in business marketing.     

金融危机背景下的农民工社会保障问题研究

在当前全球金融危机的影响下,我国的外向型经济受到了一定程度影响,所以农民工这一特殊的群体受到了前所未有的关注。正是基于这样的背景,本文就农民工的社会保障问题进行了研究。首先分析农民工社会保障的现状,并深入分析了原因;最后,对进一步完善和推进农民工社会保障问题提出对策和建议。     

区域经济增长路径选择的再思考——以劳动力为视角

区域经济在国民经济体系中居于十分重要的战略地位，区域经济发展，是一个区域面临的重大经济问题和重大政治问题。如何选择适当的路径以保持区域经济的快速、健康和可持续发展，是我们面临的重大课题。本文从劳动力这一既平凡却又非常重要的基本生产要素的视角，提出根据不同区域的具体实际，从确保劳动力投入、提高劳动力素质、规范劳动力科学流动三个方面阐述区域经济增长的必由之路，提出人力资本已经成为区域经济发展的决定性因素。     

解蔽、促逼、座架、诗意的栖居——海德格尔技术本质论之应然意蕴

海德格尔技术本质论主要蕴涵着四个本质规定:"解蔽","挑战"的展现方式,超然的世界建构;"促逼",蛮横的"持存"劫掠,遮蔽的存在本性;"座架","促逼"着的"摆置"要求,羁绊着的现代技术;"诗意的栖居",逃脱"座架"的"思",冲腾"拯救力量"的"本真".其技术本质思想虽然有其局限性,但更多地为我们趋利避害地发展技术实践提供了有益的启示.     

文化建设——推动农村经济发展的新动力

随着大部分农村地区步入小康及农村基础设施的不断完善,改革开放以来推动农村经济发展的脱贫动力和基础设施投资动力正在逐步消失,作为全面建设小康社会重要组成部分的社会主义新农村建设必须为新农村经济建设寻找新的经济拉动力。这种新的动力就是作为社会主义文化建设重要组成部分的农村文化建设,加大农村经济建设的力度,要求我们充分运用农村文化建设为农村经济发展提供新的经济增长点、新的投资点、新的消费点来拉动农村经济发展。     

预备役卫生动员技术体系的构成与构建

预备役卫生动员技术体系是一个以信息技术为主体,是涵盖需求预测、机制分析、决策支持、系统仿真等技术的综合体系。本文通过对预备役卫生动员特点的分析,阐述现代战争及突发事件对预备役卫生动员的要求,据此确定预备役卫生动员技术体系的总体构成,分析动员的支撑技术体系,提出逐渐完善预备役卫生动员技术体系的对策。     

CRD四步法和六步法开挖超浅埋隧道的结构内力分析

针对某城市超浅埋地铁隧道采用CRD四步法和六步法穿越黏土层的适应性，运用摩尔一库仑准则和ANSYS软件进行弹塑性数值计算，分析采用四步法和六步法2种工法时的轴力、弯矩分布情况，并将计算结果进行对比分析。结果表明，采用CRD四步法时产生的轴力及弯矩较六步法大，且在隧道外侧轮廓线附近发展较为明显。为有效控制开挖超浅埋隧道产生的结构内力，保证结构稳定性，建议在实际施工过程中采用六步开挖法。