Mail survey abroad with an alternative web survey

The large decline in cooperation in surveys experienced in the first decade of the twenty first century has placed representative surveys in a veritable quagmire, although numerous researchers have shown that the decline in the total nonresponse has been much higher in administered surveys (face-to-face and telephone) than in self-administered (mail and web surveys). The move from the “traditional” mail survey to the internet survey has brought important changes, but, at the same time, new challenges have arisen related to the lower coverage and the reduced visibility, the need for certain skills to fill out a questionnaire, changes in response rates, etc. This is a self-administered survey that informs the addressees by mail that they have been selected to participate in a research survey to which they can respond either by using the paper questionnaire (in the letter there is a prepaid envelope), by means of a web questionnaire (accessing a link and using a password), or by telephone (the respondent provided a contact time telephone number via a prepaid envelope or by calling an answering machine). The respondents themselves, therefore, choose the mode of response. An analysis of the responses achieved by each modality shows that the majority of the questionnaires were received by ordinary mail (83.6 %), 359 by internet (14.4 %), and 51 were answered by telephone (2.0 %).     

我国铁路开行高速行邮专列技术及经济可行性探讨

首先对国内外行包运输产品进行综述,分析了我国开行高速行邮专列的可能性,并对其技术及经济可行性进行了探讨分析,最后得出我国开行高速行邮专列是可行的结论。     

OPC通讯在扁平件分拣机中的应用

提出一种利用OPC服务器在扁平件分拣机中进行通讯应用的方案,介绍了这种通讯方式的基本原理以及如何在扁平件分拣机中进行应用,详细论述了如何实现S7-300系列PLC与上位机的OPC通讯,并讨论了这种通讯方式在工业控制领域的广泛应用前景。     

Privatisation of the Royal Mail: Third Time Lucky?

The Conservatives privatised most of the UK's state‐owned industries during the 1980s and 1990s, but the Royal Mail remained under public ownership. It was privatised through a public flotation in early October 2013 when around 70 per cent of the company's shares were sold by the government. This paper looks at the reasons why the enterprise was not sold earlier. It especially focuses on the failed attempt to privatise it in 1993/4, although other occasions when privatisation was contemplated are mentioned. The discussion draws on government papers that are closed to the public under the 30‐year rule but to which the author had access as the UK government's Official Historian of Privatisation. The study demonstrates that in the past a combination of lukewarm support for privatisation at the prime ministerial level, concerns about the political consequences (including a possible revolt in Parliament), and trade union opposition proved decisive in preventing privatisation of the Royal Mail.     

Fundraising communications: the role of experience in perceptions of media risk

This paper examines fundraising communications for charities in respect to their use of media. The questions posed were the extent to which knowledge and experience affect the perceptions of risk in media decision-making, and to what extent direct marketing reduces risk owing to its measurability. Based on a mail survey, direct mail was perceived as less risky than advertising. However, less risk was generally perceived when using familiar media. Managerially, the implications are that fundraisers may be lulled into a false sense of security by their familiarity with the media that they are using. The research emphasises the importance of perceptions in risk-taking and the need continually to re-evaluate positions on media choice. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications     

外商投资和贸易自由化的碳排放效应分析

本文选取我国30个省2000～2008年的面板数据,考察了外商直接投资以及外贸进出口量对我国碳排放的影响.研究结果表明,对全国大部分省市自治区而言,当期的外商直接投资和出口贸易对碳环境影响呈恶化作用,而滞后项的碳排放效应呈现清洁作用;当期的进口贸易对低碳经济的发展有促进作用,但滞后期抑制了低碳经济的有效进行.进一步对碳排放模型进行分区域分析后发现,我国碳排放的区域性差异较为明显,且东部地区的正动态性最大而中部的正动态性最小.文章最后分析产生这些结果的原因并提出了相应对策.     

Five direct marketing strategies for nonprofit organisations

This paper outlines five direct marketing strategies which nonprofit organisations are following; Donation-led, Intimacy, Audience-led, Product-led and Multi-product. The purpose in identifying these strategies is to show that nonprofit organisations have a greater range of strategic choices than is often assumed. The second part of the paper looks at the building blocks for a successful direct marketing strategy and shows how they differ between the five strategies. Direct marketing is used as a generic term throughout this paper. Relationship marketing is used to indicate relationship building, as opposed to simply communicating directly.     

Electronic mail as a fundraising tool

The World Wide Web has attracted considerable attention and investment in the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, but electronic mail (e-mail) alone can be one of the most effective online fundraising and marketing tools. Its use in fundraising appeals is considered and its relationship to traditional direct mail fundraising discussed. Other more innovative methods of incorporating e-mail into a fundraising mix are explored, including the basic applications of an e-mail signature to the more advanced uses of automated e-mail response systems. This paper is based on research carried out by the author at City University during 1994 and 1995 as part of an MSc course in Information Science and published as ‘Electronic sources of fundraising information for UK nonprofit fundraisers’.     

The Effect of Follow-up Mailings on The Response Rate and Response Quality in Mail Surveys

Numerous experts have demonstrated that the increase in the number of contacts produces a “lengthening” of the field work, although this lag in the analysis of the data is “compensated” by the increase in the response rate that is achieved through this second, third, and successive “contacts”. However, can it be said that these interviewees respond with the same dedication as those who responded from the initial contact? Or could it be that they will try to respond “hastily” so as not to be “harassed” further? The aim of this study is to try to find some answers to these questions by giving the results of the first ever research carried out in Spain using the TDM of Dillman in mail surveys.     

巧用Word批量制作中职毕业生入学考试准考证——邮件合并和域功能的应用

文章介绍了运用Office办公软件中Excel和Word来联合制作中职毕业生入学考试准考证。Excel提供数据源文件,在Word中应用邮件合并和域功能来生成主准考证。实践表明：Excel和Word的联合,不仅可以批量制作准考证,还可以制作类似的文档内容,即由固定部分和变化部分组成的工资条、录取通知书等,大大提高了工作效率,达到事半功倍的效果。     

Deciding to recruit only donors with high lifetime values

This paper argues that it is important to choose the right donors to recruit, in order to boost average lifetime donation values. This choice needs to be made by making decisions, before donor recruitment, based on data that are available in the market. A case history is shown, based on a group of charities asking for cash donations, to demonstrate how such decisions may be reached. Finally, there is a discussion about implications for direct mail, other recruitment media, and for charities' fundraising organisations.Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications.     

The private equity business model and associated strategies for HRM: evidence and implications?

Are private equity firms significant actors in the UK market for corporate control? Do they represent a new organizational form befitting a new business model? What are the direct and indirect pressures on management that flow from the diffusion of this business model and its associated organizational form? In terms of human resource management does acquisition by private equity have a significant or negligible effect? This paper looks at the development and diffusion of private equity and the ‘take private’ private equity business model (PEBM) and the effects of these on the management of HR. In addition to this the paper evaluates the PEBM within comparative institutional approaches to international business and HRM.     

Integrated donor management: Using telemarketing to increase donor affinity and fundraising income

This paper introduces the concept of integrated donor management (IDM). This is defined as combining two or more development methods to maximise a donor's affinity to an organisation. With IDM, all activities are designed to educate, cultivate and appreciate donors. The telephone is considered within this framework and specifically its relationship is explored with direct mail, major donors, planned giving and donor acknowledgement. Guidelines are provided for using the phone responsibly to increase donor affinity and fundraising income.     

"And the winner is..."

Premiums and incentives have long been used in fund-raising direct mail. Here's a look at what works and what fails--and how to make what works work better--from two long-term experts in creative direct-mail formats.     

Leadership: The effective use of power

Feeling powerless is a major cause of tension in organizations. This paper looks at five techniques that facilitate the effective use of power — in both managers and subordinates.     

Workplace participation and employee influence: a study of managers and shop stewards

This article looks at de facto and de jure participation in decision-making, as well as the degree of direct as opposed to indirect influence wielded by the parties involved. It asks whether the perceptions of those on ‘different sides’ of the industrial fence, such as shop stewards and managers, largely differ and on what issues.     

An Alternative Perspective On Information Asymmetry; Implications For Consumer Authority In Physician Services Markets

This paper looks at the impact of patient knowledge on utilization and quality in physician services markets, developing a theoretical framework based on an alternative to the "market failure" perspective first proposed by Arrow (1963) . Specifically, this paper looks at how outcomes in physician services markets are determined by whether patient and physician knowledge are substitutes or complements in health production. Empirical testing of the theoretical predictions indicates patient and physician knowledge have changed from substitutes to complements in recent years, and that this change may be hindering a more consumer-driven market from ensuring high quality outcomes.     

A latent class poisson regression model for heterogeneous count data

In this paper an approach is developed that accommodates heterogeneity in Poisson regression models for count data. The model developed assumes that heterogeneity arises from a distribution of both the intercept and the coefficients of the explanatory variables. We assume that the mixing distribution is discrete, resulting in a finite mixture model formulation. An EM algorithm for estimation is described, and the algorithm is applied to data on customer purchases of books offered through direct mail. Our model is compared empirically to a number of other approaches that deal with heterogeneity in Poisson regression models.     

How much are new donors worth? Making donor recruitment investment decisions based on lifetime value analysis

Donor lifetime value analysis can be an extremely powerful tool in not‐for‐profit marketing. Many organisations are yet to use this tool to its full value because of practical difficulties with definition and implementation. This paper outlines how Sight Savers International has defined lifetime value and the limitations and problems that needed to be overcome to use the technique effectively as a means of informing decisions about new donor recruitment. The paper introduces the concept of time‐based lifetime value and how it can be developed to measure return on investment of each type of donor recruitment activity. The results of the analysis as applied to Sight Savers are shown; these reveal that some current assumptions, such as that which says cold direct mail produces the best donor lifetime value, may need revising. Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications     

The art of saying thank you: A case study on the bushfires in New South Wales,Australia

This paper looks at the response from charitable organisations to donations sent after the bushfires in New South Wales. Thank you letters from the various charities are given in full and their contents analysed.