论任何观察都渗透了某些理论

汉森的“观察渗透理论”命题是一个全称命题,意即“任何观察都负载了某些理论”。这一观点曾受到新实验主义的质疑。近年来,我国学者也有不少人对汉森这一命题提出反对和批评。他们或是构筑新的论证,或是运用认知科学的新成果反对汉森的论点,或者直接表明汉森的论证有问题。本文针对这些反对意见的关键之点,逐一地进行了反驳,表明了现有的否定观察渗透理论的论证都是有问题的或是错误的。     

Observations: Unpaid product placement

Paid-for product placement was permitted for the first time on commercial TV in the UK by media regulator Ofcom in February 2011. At the time of writing, some 12 months later, estimates suggest there have been fewer than 20 paid placement deals, amounting to revenue less than 2% of the £150 million¹ that optimists estimated the industry to be worth. In this commentary we draw on confidential and informal interviews with industry insiders to set previous academic research in the field within the UK’s unique regulatory context, and we highlight problems inherent in the new industry. Foremost among these is the reluctance of the broadcasters and Ofcom to acknowledge that the free prop supply system that has provided branded scene props to UK productions, including the BBC, for some 30 years, has been and continues to be a de facto product placement industry. Given that, even in a mature paid-for placement market such as the US, industry insiders estimate that 80% of brands on TV are not paid for,² we argue that unpaid product placement, also known as free prop supply, is the elephant in the room in regulation and academic research. We make suggestions as to how the impasse in the UK TV product placement industry might be resolved, and we outline ways in which academic research might play a supporting role.     

Four Observations about the Federal Budget

Four observations on the current and future federal budget are presented and discussed. These are (1) resumption of healthy economic growth will not be enough to close the gap between expenditures and revenues, (2) closing the gap will require significant changes in expenditures and/or revenues, (3) the pace of closing the gap involves difficult trade-offs, and (4) there is no shortage of feasible proposals for putting fiscal policy on a sustainable path.     

Observations on Textile Sector Stocks in China

In the long run,China's textile indus- try is going to see a new round of growth.Further industrial restruc- turing will channel resources to pacesetting and competitive enterprises in all fields from chemical fiber to textile and apparel.In that way,the entire textile industry will gain more competitive edg- es.Therefore,some fields are still ideal     

Observations on Textile Sector Stocks in China

In the long run,China's textile industry is going to see a new round of growth.Further industrial restrueturing will channel resources to pacesetting and competitive enterprises in all fields from chemical fiber to textile and apparel.     

A Note On Utility Maximization Under Partial Observations1

Using ideas from stochastic filtering theory and a martingale representation result of Jacod, we discuss problems of utility maximization in “dynamically incomplete” financial markets under partial observations.     

Ancient Observations on Business Ethics: Middle East Meets West

Drawing on a small sample of writings from distinguished philosophers and poets living in the Middle East in the period from the eighth to the first century BCE, it is shown that a variety of business practices provided familiar examples of how people ought to act and live, morally speaking, to enjoy the best sort of life and to be the best sort of person. The writings reveal that we share a common heritage and humanity with people living 20 to 28 hundred years ago, and that some of the observations are as important and useful today as they were when they were originally made.     

Evidence on paid sick leave: Observations in times of crisis

A large number of governments in all regions of the world have recognised the need for paid sick leave although the benefit schedules vary widely. International data show that the incidence of paid sick leave is closely associated with overall economic developments. What are the patterns of paid sick leave and its incidence around the world, and how have these been affected by the recent economic crisis?     

Retailer Dominance and Quality Variation: Observations and a Theoretical Explanation

A number of consumer and business reports suggest that slightly lower quality (or feature) versions of products are being sold through dominant retailers, while higher quality versions continue to be sold through weaker retailers and, customers are uninformed about such subtle differences. We study two intriguing questions based on this phenomenon namely (1.) why are lower quality-lower priced versions sold primarily through dominant retailers and not the weaker retailers? (2.) Why do sometimes the weaker retailers not inform customers about these quality differences? Using a game theoretic model, we find that when quality is noncontractible an increase in retail dominance leads to a decrease in quality offered by the dominant retailer vis-à-vis the weaker retailer. However, we show that the weaker retailer does not have an incentive to advertise its higher quality if quality differences are not too high. This situation arises endogenously when the dominant retailer is not too powerful as compared to the weaker retailer or when retail differentiation is high. The motivation for this result is traced to the threat of increased competition in the event of such advertising.     

Latent Information in the Pattern of Missing Observations in Global Mail Surveys

Incomplete responses are quite common in global mail surveys. A review of empirical research published in the last decade revealed that this problem is pervasive, and missing responses to the extent of 15% of total responses are not unusual. Most researchers use simple methods like deletion or substitution to deal with this problem. However, these methods ignore the basic philosophical assumptions of the field and do not consider the information hidden in the pattern of the missing observations. The exploratory study reported here analyzed two existing data sets which had been previously collected with mail survey to study technology transfer issues. Both data sets had a significant amount of missing responses. Our study results reveal that the pattern of missing responses was not random in nature, and there was a significant association between socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and the number of missing responses.     

GATT第24条关于关税同盟和自由贸易区的实体外部标准解读

GATT/WTO多边贸易体制关于关税同盟和自由贸易区的纪律规定于GATT第24条。该条确立了自由贸易区、关税同盟和旨在建立关税同盟或自由贸易区的过渡性协议三种区域贸易安排的具体表现形式。根据WTO秘书处的研究报告,GATT第24条关于自由贸易区和关税同盟多边纪律,可以概括为三个条件:一是深度区域自由化的义务(内部标准);二是对区域外成员贸易保持中立的义务(外部标准);三是透明度义务。其中前两项为实体标准,第三项为程序性标准。纵观GATT第24条诸款,其第5款普遍被认为规定了自由贸易区和关税同盟的实体外部标准。实体外部标准所关注的是:虽然GATT的缔约方乃至WTO成员有权缔结自由贸易区和关税同盟,这种权利是有限度的,即,关税同盟和自由贸易区要对第三国的贸易保持中立,即不得以建立关税同盟和自由贸易区为名而使第三国的利益陷入不利。本文旨在系统而细致地研究GATT第24条规定的自由贸易区和关税同盟的实体外部标准。     

GATT第24条关于关税同盟和自由贸易区的实体内部标准研究

GATT/WTO多边贸易体制关于关税同盟和自由贸易区的纪律规定于GATT第24条。然而,在GATT缔约之日起,直至如今,GATT第24条一直是人们苦恼和迷惑之源。人们认为,由于充满"模糊"和"含糊其词的用语",该条的规定"极端宽松"、"异乎寻常地复杂"、"充满漏洞";有人甚至批评说该条是"荒谬的"和"自相矛盾的"。GATT第24条诸款中,引起争议最大的莫过于该条的第8款,该款规定了关税同盟和自由贸易区内部深度区域自由化的义务,本文称之为实体内部标准。本文首先探讨了GATT第24条关于区域贸易安排法律制度的逻辑框架和实体纪律。重点就"深度区域自由化的义务"(内部标准)尽可能全面地加以评释。     

Ethical Guidelines for Marketing Practice: A Reply to Gaski & Some Observations on the Role of Normative Marketing Ethics

Gaski (1999) is critical of marketing ethics and suggests that its ethical guidelines amount to no more than "obey the law" and "act in your self-interest". This reply questions Gaski's critique and clarifies possible misconceptions about the field that might otherwise result. It identifies the limitations and assumptions of Gaski's argument and shows that there are exceptions to his central proposition even when narrowly circumscribed. It is not disputed that there is merit to reminding managers of their obligations to obey the law and to act in their enlightened self-interest. However, although fulfilling these obligations is generally a necessary requirement for good conduct, it is not sufficient. There are situations where ethics demands more of marketing managers than "obey the law" and "act in your self-interest". In addition, managers may face situations where ethics, the law and self-interest are inconsistent. The article incorporates observations on the role of normative marketing ethics, including the requirement to develop ethical theory for marketing as well as ethical guidelines.