Affordances for practice

This paper argues that Gibson's concept of affordance inserts a powerful conceptual lens for the study of sociomateriality as enacted in contemporary organizational practices. Our objective in this paper is to develop a comprehensive view of affordances that builds upon the existing conceptualizations in the psychology, human–computer interaction, sociology and information systems literatures and extend them in three important ways. First, we show that taking an integrative interpretation of affordance as dispositional and relational, rather than the standard unidimensional interpretation, provides a theoretical articulation of how the material and the social influence each other. Second, we propose to broaden the focus from the affordances of technology to the affordances for practice provided jointly by technology and organizing. This means considering social affordances alongside technological affordances. Finally, we argue that the best way to integrate the study of social and technological affordances is not to stretch Gibson's original concept to include the social but rather to complement it with a sociological concept that fits it neatly: Bourdieu's idea of habitus. Our claim is that the concepts of affordance and habitus complement and complete each other. Affordance offers a useful way of thinking about how practice is patterned by the social and physical construction of technology and the material environment and habitus offers a useful way of thinking about how practice is patterned by social and symbolic structures. We describe how affordances and habitus may be used together to provide a theoretical apparatus to study practice as a sociomaterial entanglement, thus adding to the methodological toolkit of scholars embracing a sociomaterial perspectives.     

关于我国构建邮政储蓄银行若干问题的思考

2006年6月,经国务院同意,银监会正式批准筹建中国邮政储蓄银行。这标志着备受各界关注的邮政储蓄银行组建工作开始进入具体实施阶段。在分析我国组建邮政储蓄银行的现实条件和难点、障碍的基础上,重点对中国邮政储蓄银行的具体制度安排进行了探讨。     

论中小企业技术创新

我国中小企业技术创新活动具有多样性和广泛性,它们的技术创新在许多行业占据了主导地位,研究中小企业的技术创新问题对经济发展和社会进步具有重要意义。文章围绕中小企业的技术创新概念、企业与技术创新的关系、内外部环境分析进行讨论,提出新形势下中小企业技术创新的对策。     

Really changing the course: the limitations of environmental management systems for innovation

The paper broadens the scope of environmental management system (EMS) research by describing how EMSs can contribute to inertia in present production systems. In conjunction with other factors this inertia can inhibit dramatic shifts toward more sustainable technologies and systems. Our approach builds upon technological lock‐in theory, which focuses on market coordination and technological interdependencies as generators of inertia in technological systems. Building on this framework, we call attention to previously under appreciated non‐market social forces and institutional structures that can further reinforce lock‐in. We argue that the co‐evolutionary mechanisms that generate increasing returns for physical technologies may also be applied to social technologies, such as management systems. The paper describes the emergence of ‘EMS lock‐in’ as a path dependent evolution occurring within the context of the larger quality management paradigm. While EMS may initially produce improvements in environmental performance, EMS may also constrain organizational focus to the exploitation of present production systems, rather than exploring for superior innovations that are discontinuous. The paper questions the enthusiastic private and public sector support for EMS implementation and instead recommends an ambidextrous management approach that integrates foresight and broader stakeholder collaboration. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

提高新建本科院校社会竞争力的策略——错位竞争

通过探讨新建本科院校在目标定位、师资力量、课程开设、专业设置等方面的实际问题,着力分析其社会竞争力处于弱势的根本原因,借用经济学上错位竞争的理念,在目标定位上形成错位定位,在专业设置、课程开设上形成错位转移,走"政、校、企"结合的道路等策略,不断提高其社会竞争力。     

Bribery and inspection technology

The e-government movement advocates increased use of technology to improve government efficiency and reduce corruption by reducing the discretionary power of government officials. This paper studies the relationship between improvements in inspection technology within a Principal-Supervisor-Agent model, where the supervisor is an inspector who is hired by the principal to investigate the agent’s potentially illegal actions. We show that when technology increases the marginal or total productivity of the supervisor’s effort, improvements in inspection technology encourage some types of bribery. Although such technological improvements induce an equilibrium with bribery, compliance and social welfare can still rise. However, when technology and supervisory effort are sufficiently substitutable, improvements in technology may reduce compliance when bribery occurs in equilibrium even when those same technological improvements would have raised compliance in the absence of bribery. We also characterize the relationship between the principal’s socially optimal technology and the anti-corruption policy available to the principal and find that the socially optimal inspection technology may be a substitute for or a complement to the anti-corruption policy. Finally, we show that for any set of policies that optimally induces a no-bribe equilibrium, there exists another set of policies that induces an equilibrium with bribery that is pareto superior to it.     

The effects of fuel prices and vehicle sales on fuel‐saving technology adoption in passenger vehicles

Although economic theory suggests that both sales and fuel costs affect technology adoption by vehicle manufacturers, there is very little empirical evidence on either effect. We document a strong connection between a vehicle's sales and its energy efficiency. Using a demographics‐driven demand shifter to isolate demand‐side changes in sales, we find that a one standard deviation increase in sales raises efficiency by 0.2%, compared with a mean improvement rate of 1.4% per year between 1997 and 2013. Higher fuel prices also increase technology adoption directly by increasing willingness to pay for fuel cost savings. The results have two implications: manufacturers will continue to focus technological improvements on top selling vehicles; and fuel taxes will have larger effects on technology adoption than fuel economy standards and feebates.     

对组建人本观念的管理探索思考

随着经济科技的发展、人们的消费观念和习惯逐步改变、,现代企业管理在社会文化层面上的观念也逐渐转变为人本,人本主义即人本,是现代企业管理的精华和主题,"坚持人本,树立全面、协调、可持续的发展观,促进经济社会和人的全面发展"的科学发展观,是企业走上可持续发展道路的重要因素。     

基于公平的中低收入居民住房保障体系研究

住房问题是关系到国计民生的大问题,为低收入者提供住房是住房保障制度重要内容,也是构建和谐社会的必然要求。我国已经初步建立起了以经济适用房制度、廉租房制度、住房公积金为主要内容的住房保障制度。从财政和金融政策两大层面,分析了我国住房保障制度的财政金融支持问题,提出了解决住房保障资金问题的路径选择,主要包括:完善政府住房保障投入;设立专业性的住房银行;发展并完善商业性抵押贷款业务等。     

审计技术创新生态网络演进及其价值发现研究

审计技术创新是审计事业高质量发展的技术基础,探索新时代审计技术创新的范式具有重要的理论价值和实践意义。基于审计专利数据,运用社会网络分析方法,构建了审计技术创新生态网络,揭示了审计技术创新生态网络的演化过程,探究了网络位置对创新主体创新绩效的影响。研究表明：审计技术创新生态网络演化呈现出清晰的逻辑模式;创新网络中心度对创新主体的创新绩效有显著积极效应。进一步研究发现,创新生态网络对低生态势生态位创新主体的积极影响大于高生态势生态位创新主体,低生态势生态位创新主体通过融入审计技术创新网络更容易提升创新绩效。     

Management of technology: New frameworks

New approaches are being sought to improve management of technology (MOT) in the practical setting, and to give it more structure for academic purposes. This article suggests one possible avenue for improvement, namely the creation of a core theory of technology to serve as a mother science for MOT.The article proposes a number of frameworks that could contribute to such a core theory. It outlines a framework for analyzing individual artefacts, presents a system of classification of artefacts, suggests a standard framework of technological trends, searches for a chart of technological limits and explores a profile of social preferences with respect to technology.The practical application of each framework is briefly discussed.     

Taxation, Incentives and Disincentives, and Human Motivation

A bstract . In the national tax debate, many ignore the effect of taxes on human motivation. High—and rising—marginal tax rates must be depressing, hampering and frustrating. They do not spur people on to better performance nor do they reward socially necessary or desirable economic behavior. What they encourage is distortion of resource allocation , legal avoidance and illegal evasion , as well as decline in human and capital resources. At both ends of the income scale they approach confiscation. Land apart from its improvements is taxed lightly when it should be the revenue source of choice taxed the most heavily, while the heaviest exactions discourage labor, enterprise and all human effort as well as savings. Equity and fairness along with the social consequences argue for large cuts in high tax rates at the top and at the bottom of the income scale.     

Technology: Measuring the socioeconomic impact of manufacturing automation

In this report the potential savings of computer-directed manufacturing systems are hypothesized. It is contended that computer-directed automation of manufacturing is a continuation of the ongoing technological progress that the United States has been experiencing. Technological progress has significantly contributed to the growth of the GNP, permitting a high rate of return on investment. It is our contention that the development of computer-based automation will yield benefits greater than those produced by conventional technological progress. However, this present paper examines cost savings rather than contribution to growth. The reduction in the production costs of the discrete manufacturing sector made possible by computer-based automation is hypothesized by assuming the existence of an automated factory, although such a factory is in reality perhaps several decades away. Many assumptions are made about costs, their components and relationships. Case studies, literature references, opinions of consultants, and other informed but conjectural judgments provide the basis for the hypothesis.The impacts of computer-directed manufacturing automation upon environment, employment, general price level, urban/rural mix, and international trade are also conjectured. A number of definitions and distinctions are made with respect to automation, productivity, technology, and related points.     

务实的电子政务发展策略

由于政府是信息资源的最大拥有者和应用者，使电子政务成为国民经济和社会信息化的中心环节。电子政务的实现将有力地促进国民经济和社会信息化的进程。在电子政务的发展进程中，政府管理理念的突破进化才是我们亟待解决的当务之急。务实的电子政务发展策略从战略层、运作层及技术层阐明了实施电子政务既要从战略的高度加快步伐，又要从实际出发，使电子政务得到科学、高效、实效的发展，真正发挥我国信息化建设的先导作用与示范作用。     

技术标准发展战略实施措施研究

标准化是国民经济和社会发展的重要技术基础,文章对技术标准和技术标准发展战略进行了理论分析,指出目前技术标准发展战略在实施过程中存在的问题,并对如何有效实施技术标准发展战略进行了探索研究。     

技术标准发展战略实施措施研究

标准化是国民经济和社会发展的重要技术基础,文章对技术标准和技术标准发展战略进行了理论分析,指出目前技术标准发展战略在实施过程中存在的问题,并对如何有效实施技术标准发展战略进行了探索研究。     

社会资本、知识创造与企业技术创新绩效的关系模型研究

企业的技术创新需要借助内部与外部的知识,而社会资本是企业获取知识的主要来源之一。本文在分析企业的社会资本、吸收能力、知识创造和技术创新绩效四者之间关系的基础上,提出了6项关系假设,并基于此构建了社会资本与企业技术创新绩效关系的理论模型,指出企业需要通过增加社会资本的积累来促进企业吸收和创造知识的能力,进一步提高企业的技术创新绩效。     

废旧厂房可持续设计中改造与保留的平衡性价值分析

通过对废旧厂房可持续设计实施必要性的研究,运用了废旧厂房改造设计的相关概念,分析了废旧厂房可持续设计的文化属性、科技属性、自然属性、社会属性,得出了废旧厂房可持续设计今后的发展态势以及发展方式。     

要素禀赋、适宜技术与珠三角产业结构调整

根据国内外产业结构和技术结构升级规律,珠三角进行产业结构调整时必须遵循自身要素禀赋结构,在经济剩余和储蓄不断增强的条件下,促进储蓄向投资转化,深化珠三角的物质资本和人力资本,提高全要素生产率。