The Rise and Rise and Fall and Fall of the Dollar

Has the dollar finally come to rest? Nigel Healey of the Policy Research Unit of Leeds Polytechnic examines the recent history of the dollar in the foreign exchange markets.     

The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization

Abstract . ‘Savages,’ as Europeans considered the Americans of ancient times, never built the great Mayan centers. The builders of great cities in Meso-America were a well-organized group with an adequate land base and a rather sophisticated technology. From 300 B.C. to 900 A.D. the Maya developed and perfected an agriculture-based economy with a well developed commerce, writing, art, science, religion and government, as well as an advanced architecture of monuments, palaces, temples and pyramids. Their civilization reached intellectual heights unique in the Western Hemisphere. What conditions caused its decline and fall? Interpreting the geographic and historical record in the light of the relevant social sciences, one can say a complex of circumstances: ecological abuse, exploitation of the working population, mismanagement, militarism, bad weather, famines, and epidemics.     

PPG的陨落与VANCL的崛起

2007年3月底,国内的投资圈和互联网圈都在打听一家名为“PPG”的神秘公司。仅凭呼叫中心和互联网,这家公司每天能卖掉1万件左右男式衬衫,而同期市场占有率第一的雅戈尔的数字是1．3万件．但是需要说明的是雅戈尔拥有零售网点1500多个     

The Rise and Fall of the South African Industrial Colour Bar

Why was the South African government forced to negotiate with the AN C? John Gardner argues that the apartheid system was in the process of being destroyed by the pace of capitalist economic growth.     

The Rise and Fall of Slacks: Comments on Quasi-Malmquist Productivity Indices

Journal of Productivity Analysis - The Malmquist productivity index has been based on ratios of radial Farrell efficiency scores. Calculating these relative to piecewise linear production frontiers...     

The Rise and Fall of Autonomous Group Working in the British Coal Mining Industry

The group organization of work in the British coal mining industry brought to the workers involved significant levels of autonomy; the ability to define the social relations of work; high levels of control over the labor process; and a strong and lasting commitment - to the group. This autonomy was to survive a series of managerial attacks, in the form of changed payment systems and the introduction of new technologies, and was not finally lost until the imposition of full automation that included surveillance systems that made the labor process transparent.     

Do Wages Rise or Fall Following Merger?*

This paper provides a systematic empirical analysis of the effects of merger and acquisition activity on profitability and firm‐level employee remuneration in the UK, using a specially constructed database for the period 1979–91. It finds that both profitability and wages rise following acquisition, and firms that merge within the same industry division experience larger increases in profitability and pay their workers higher wages than those engaged in unrelated acquisitions; i.e. in part, the result of an increase in the efficiency with which labour is used following related acquisition.     

Unionism and the public sector

It is incorrect and misleading to speak of unionization as a ‘human right’. The only human right is ‘self-ownership’, i.e. to pursue goals with one's own abilities but with no force or fraud against others. Government cannot dispense rights, only privileges and protections to some at the expense of others. A minimal degree of coercion exercised by government is unavoidable. But labor unions are not governments. Government has granted significant privileges to unions in the private sector, but such are not appropriate for public sector unions.     

The State of Public Sector Unionism: Challenges and Opportunities

The face of unionism in the United States is becoming increasingly public sector. On the surface, public sector unionism appears as a bright spot for labor. A more careful examination of the data, however, reveals that such unionism is at a standstill. Absolute growth has been insufficient to offset losses in private industry, and it is largely tied to increases in public employment. Public employee unions face numerous serious challenges, and questions have been raised in the federal service about the very legitimacy of union representation. Future scenarios suggest that public sector unionism as a whole will likely remain in a more or less stagnant position.     

‘The Rise and Fall of TQM’: the Vision,Meaning and Operation of Change

The vision of TQM promises unity, teamworking, autonomy and empowerment. This article explores how this vision was contradicted by organisational restructuring and the hierarchical imposition of redundancies and contingent employment insecurity in a medium sized bank. As a result it was found that the meaning and legitimacy of TQM for both employees and many managers was called into question.     

一种测量电动栏杆机起落时间的测试装置及方法

测试装置采用延时时间继电器模块在发出栏杆机抬杆信号(即计时开始信号)之后为激光漫反射光电开关延时供电,避免栏杆臂抬起时产生的光电信号干扰计时器计时,将激光漫反射光电开关的感应信号作为栏杆机起落时间计时的中止信号。测试结果表明,测试装置测量电动栏杆机起落时间的精密度明显优于国家标准中所规定的人工手动秒表测量方法。