Consumption,identity and space‐time

Offering an affirmative reading of work suggesting a strong association between postmodern society and consumer society, this paper provides an account of consumption and identity through an initial consideration of modern and postmodern conceptions of space‐time. Rather than addressing the detail of various critiques of work promulgating a strong association between the postmodern and consumerism; and rather than considering directly the degree of overlap or synonymy of the two terms; the paper works with an understanding of the modern /postmodern distinction that allows the problem (or, rather, aporia) of identity, and its increasingly important relation to consumption, to be brought to the fore. The connections between modernity, postmodernity, space‐time, identity and consumption are shown to possess a strong theoretical coherence‐recognition of which is extremely limited in those critiques expressing incredulity with respect to the association of consumerism and postmodernity, to which this paper obliquely responds.     

1948 and not nineteen eighty-four

This article marks the return of I.F. Clarke to the pages of Futures. Those readers who have followed Futures since our first number in September 1968 will recall his long-running series on the development of futuristic fiction and the coming of modern forecasting techniques. He likes to be known as the oldest inhabitant of Futures so far. Professor Clarke was once described, with some accuracy, as ‘Mr Future’ by a Glasgow newspaper. The style recognized the work he has done in the investigation of the many ways in which our ideas about the future have evolved and have found expression in science fiction, imaginary wars, ideal states, Orwellian nightmares and in the proliferation of futurological studies that have swept the world since Ossip K. Flechtheim coined the term futurologist in 1943. This specially commissioned article on Orwell's true place in futures studies serves as an hors d'oeuvre to a new series in Futures by Professor Clarke: “An almanac of anticipations” will begin in the next issue.     

What Determines Australia's Response to Emergencies and Natural Disasters?

This article examines the determinants of Australia's response to emergencies and natural disasters. It examines the response from the Australian public by examining contributions made to the appeals of the country's largest Non‐Governmental Organisation: World Vision of Australia. It also examines the response of the Australian Government. The data include 43 emergencies and natural disasters since 1998. Results suggest that the responses from both the public and government are positively associated with the number of people affected, media coverage, and the level of political and civil freedom in the country where the event occurred. The type and location of the emergency or disaster are important for the public's response. Differences between public and government donations exist: support from the Australian Government is positively associated with smaller countries and there is some evidence that the public donates more to events occurring in larger and poorer countries.     

Maximum‐revenue versus Optimum‐welfare Export Taxes: a Delegation Game*

In the Eaton and Grossman (1986 ) Bertrand duopoly model of strategic export taxes, both countries may be better off if they both delegate to policymakers who maximize tax revenue rather than welfare. However, both countries delegating to policymakers who maximize tax revenue is not a Nash equilibrium unless the degree of product substitutability is sufficiently high. For a wide range of values for the degree of product substitutability, the game is a prisoner's dilemma where both countries are better off delegating to policymakers who maximize tax revenue but both will delegate to policymakers who maximize welfare in the Nash equilibrium.     

滚动需求预测

Stead发起并耐心支持了这一极富挑战的变革,而对他的回报是该部门价值的提升。公司因此而拥有更高的估值水平,这一切都要归功于滚动需求预测提供的高质量信息保证