Productivity at the post: its drivers and its distribution

We study the productivity, financial and distributional performance of the United States Postal Service subsequent to its 1971 reorganization. We investigate the magnitude and the economic drivers of productivity change (technical change, change in cost efficiency, and scale economies), and we investigate the distribution of the financial benefits of productivity change (among consumers of postal services, postal employees and other resource suppliers, and residual claimants). We find improvements in technology to have been the main driver of, and diseconomies of scale to have been the main drag on, productivity change. We find labor to have been the main beneficiary, and consumers of postal services the main losers, from postal reorganization.      

Business strategies and the transition to low‐carbon cities

Cities are key drivers of global climate change, with the majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being tied to urban life. Local actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change are essential for stabilization of the global climate and can also help to address other urban ecological problems such as pollution, decreasing biodiversity, etc. Companies are important urban actors in the development of low‐carbon cities because they provide a multitude of goods and services to city populations and directly influence urban carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. This is a new area of research. While studies on corporate sustainability are numerous, there is little, if any, existing research that examines the role of companies in climate change adaptation and mitigation within specific urban areas. Urban ecologists also have not examined how corporate activity affects urban systems. Taking a multi‐disciplinary systems approach, we present a conceptual model of the role of companies in managing urban interactions with the climate system. We also present empirical findings illustrating how one company ‘partners’ with the city of Rotterdam to test electric vehicles as a pilot project for urban climate adaptation and mitigation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Waiting time probabilities in the M/G/1 + M queue

We consider an M/G/1 queueing system where the customers may leave the queue if their services do not commence before an exponentially distributed random time. The (conditional) offered waiting time distribution is approximated by a gamma distribution via matching the first and second moments of the actual waiting time. A simulation study is conducted to assess the accuracy of the approximation and it reveals that the approximation performs satisfactorily under general conditions on service time distributions.     

Exploring human capital: putting ‘human’ back into strategic human resource management

The field of strategic human resource management has seemingly rediscovered human capital with increasing research focused on human capital as a mediator in the relationship between HR practices and performance. In this paper we review human capital definitions and measurement approaches within this literature. We then identify some of the issues emerging with human capital research. Finally, we propose some future directions for research on human capital in organisations.     

基础设施资本对经济增长贡献的研究进展--生产函数法综述

在影响经济增长的各种因素中,基础设施资本是一个重要的因素.本文在简单回顾基础设施资本与经济增长关系的理论研究发展历史的基础上,对国际上有关基础设施资本影响经济增长(总产出)的效应的研究文献进行了回顾,重点对生产函数法在研究中的应用进行了综述.本文分为3个部分.1、引言;2、生产函数法的应用研究;3、总结和评价.     

浅谈健美操运动对大学生心理健康促进作用

健美操作为一种新型的体育项目,体现出了独特的魅力和特色,从而对广大的大学生产生了极大的吸引力。同时目前不少大学生由于各种因素的影响存在一定的心理问题。本文以健美操运动为切入点,从四个方面的内容浅谈健美操运动对大学生心理健康的促进作用。     

面向服务外包的软件工程人才培养模式研究

文章通过我国软件工程服务外包人才培养现状及人才需求的分析,总结出软件工程外包人才应具备的基本素质;以西安工业大学计算机学院人才培养改革创新为依托,从课程体系设置、实践教学和校企合作等方面探索了软件外包人才培养的新模式。     

赛达航空:"服务到家"的精细化运作模式实践者

赛达航空是一家以航空代理为主业的小型企业.航空代理业是一个业务相对简单、竞争异常激烈的行业,生存在这个行业中的企业要想培育自己独特的竞争优势就变得非常困难.创造并成功实施一种好的商业模式是培育企业竞争优势的一种可行的途径.作为一家小型企业,在信息时代里,同时面对传统的航空代理企业和便捷的网络航空代理商的双重竞争压力,赛...     

Further evidence on finance-growth causality: A panel data analysis

This paper reassesses the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth. Using recently developed panel methods on a data set of 71 developed and developing countries over the period 1960-2004, our study confirms previous results of a bidirectional causality between finance and growth. In addition, we show significant differences among country groups when considering both long-run and short-run causality. While in low and middle income countries there is no supportive evidence of short-run causality between financial development and economic growth, in high income countries economic growth significantly affects financial development.