Comparisons of the Educational Value of Distance Delivered versus Traditional Classroom Instruction in Introductory Agricultural Economics

As many universities are promoting distance courses, the comparative advantages and disadvantages over conventional classroom delivery are being debated. Student attitudes and test performance in an introductory microeconomics course are compared across the two different course delivery formats. Results show that students with average or below-average college aptitude test scores perform more poorly in the distance class.     

加强和改进思想政治工作适应煤炭工业改革发展的新形势新任务

现就如何做好新时期的思想政治工作和加强后备干部管理工作,讲三个问题,与大家一起讨论. 一、抓紧做好新形势下的思想政治工作,注重实践与创新 朱镕基总理在今年一季度的形势报告中指出,今年是搞好国有大中型企业的管理年.主持这次会议的中央政治局委员、书记处书记丁关根同志说,在加强思想政治工作方面,今年是思想政治工作年.6月28日江泽民同志在中央政治思想工作会议的讲话中明确指出:"加强和改进思想政治工作,是经济工作和其它一切工作的生命线,是团结全党和全国各族人民实现党和国家各项任务的中心环节,是我们党和社会主义国家的重要政治优势".     

Revisiting Error‐Autocorrelation Correction: Common Factor Restrictions and Granger Non‐Causality*

The paper questions the appropriateness of the practice known as ‘error‐autocorrelation correcting’ in linear regression, by showing that adopting an AR(1) error formulation is equivalent to assuming that the regressand does not Granger cause any of the regressors. This result is used to construct a new test for the common factor restrictions, as well as investigate – using Monte Carlo simulations – other potential sources of unreliability of inference resulting from this practice. The main conclusion is that when the Granger cause restriction is false, the ordinary least square and generalized least square estimators are biased and inconsistent, and using autocorrelation‐consistent standard errors does not improve the reliability of inference.     

两者都是最棒的

Jon Roll在他还是大学生的时候就已经打算将来要做建筑师。于是，他去了一家建筑公司做了一段时间的学徒，但是在那之后，他发现在建筑这一行想晋升很难，除非自己能接到很大的设计项目。所以Jon Roll准备运用他的创造力。     

Assessments of the Educational Value of Web-Based Instructional Tools for Introductory Agricultural Economics

A web site was designed and introduced to an introductory agricultural microeconomics course. The web site provided students with supplemental reviews, practice problems, self-tests, and a simulation exercise. A variety of quantitative assessments were conducted to determine whether the web site influenced student learning, perceptions, and motivation. Results indicate the web site provided small to modest educational benefits.     

Regeneration in a mass-tourism resort: The changing fortunes of Bugibba,Malta

International images emanating from Malta’s tourism authorities are of a tourism product typified by quality accommodation, attractive aesthetics, urban environment and design, and the proximity of cultural attractions.     

依法行政的重要性和紧迫性

针对目前依法行政中存在的问题,阐述什么是依法行政,为什么要依法行政和怎样才能真正做到依法行政.     

Seasonality and cultural influences on four Asian stock markets

We use daily returns to identify seasonality on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), The Stock Exchange, Bombay (SEB), the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) and The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). On all four, we find strong day-of-the-week effects. Month-of-the-year effects exist on the KLSE and the SES but not on the SET or the BSE. Strong Chinese New Year effects are evident on the SES and the KLSE. The Chinese New Year effect on the SET is among small capitalization stocks. On the KLSE, we also find Islamic New Year and Vesak effects, but no Aidilfitri effect. Only weak holiday effects concerning several Indian lunar holidays are evident on the BSE. In general we find that cultural holidays evidence a stronger effect than state holidays. These results confirm the importance of cultural influences in the pricing of stocks.M. W. L. Chan is Professor of Finance and Business Economics at McMaster University, Canada, Anya Khanthavit Associate Professor of Finance, Thammasat University, Thailand and Hugh Thomas Assistant Professor of Finance, McMaster University, Canada. The authors would like to thank the Association of Deans of Southeast Asian Graduate Schools of Management for the financial support that enabled this research to be undertaken and an anonymous referee for his many insightful and constructive suggestions. Please direct all correspondence to Hugh Thomas, School of Business, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M4, Canada, tel: (905) 522-6861 ext 23983 or email thomas@mcmaster.ca..