Effects of compound messages on global characteristics of Galileo spaces

The present article investigates the effect of messages compounded of many assertions on the overall size of a Galileo space. A Galileo space is a space within which objects and attributes are arrayed in such a way that the differences in meaning between any two objects in the space is given by the distances between those objects. Thus attributes that seem to be similar are located close to each other, and objects which are seen to embody a given attribute are located close to that attributes. Similarly, objects thought to be similar to each other are located close to each other. Results show that, following approximately a ten hour latency period, the space shows a substantial increase in size, followed by a return to its original dimensions. There is some indication that the expansion of the space may be periodic, which gives rise to the possibility that human beliefs and attitudes may be modelled as a damped oscillating system. Should this be the case, human cognitive processes, such as attitude and belief changes, might be modelled by the equations for dampled oscillations.     

Global peace as a professional concern,III

This paper proposes that global peace should be a professional concern because the issues are complex and require critical and creative thinking, and because professionals have status enabling them to convey information to empower others. Professionals must examine priorities in society's needs for application of their particular knowledge areas, and must each make their own unique contribution towards a more peaceful, less threatened planet.Dr. Joanna Santa Barbara is a child psychiatrist practising in Hamilton, Ontario and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University. She is a member of Canadian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and the Harvard Center for Psychological Studies in the Nuclear Age. She teaches an undergraduate course in Introductory Peace Studies at McMaster University.The articles by Thomas L. Perry, Gilles D. Hurteau, and Joanna Santa Barbara are the result of a three-person panel presentation and therefore appear under the same title. At the publisher's discretion, roman numerals have been included to distinguish these articles.     

Cost analysis of a food insurance scheme for developing countries

The authors describe a proposed tool to alleviate the food insecurity problems of developing countries: an international food insurance scheme. Their discussion includes details on the mechanics of the scheme, consideration of whether to include a buffer stock, funding possibilities, and cost projections.     

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Information bundling and securities litigation

We exploit the exogenous shock of a 2005?U.S. Supreme Court decision on securities class action loss causation requirements to examine two ways that firms bundle information with restatements: “positive bundling” of good news and “noise bundling” of additional bad news. We find that positive bundling offsets price declines and results in less litigation. In contrast, noise bundling magnifies price declines, but nevertheless deters litigation by confounding which bad news caused a decline. Non-bundled restatements are 5.94 times more likely to result in litigation. Bundled restatements have 8.17 times higher dismissal rates and $21.17 to $23.45 million lower settlement amounts.     

Tax reforms and the underground economy: a simulation-based analysis

This paper studies the effects of several tax reforms in an economy where taxes are partially evaded by means of undeclared work. To this purpose, we consider a two-sector dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated to Italy which explicitly accounts for underground production. We construct various tax reform scenarios, such as ex ante budget-neutral tax shifts from direct to indirect taxes, and tax cuts on labor and business financed by decreases of government spending. Our results indicate that neglecting the existence of the underground sector may lead to severely miscalculating the macroeconomic effects of tax reforms. Further, the dimension of the underground sector is permanently and considerably reduced by changes in the tax mix that diminish the labor tax wedge. Reductions of the business tax prove to be highly expansionary in the presence of a sizable informal sector.     

金融自由化、危机和救助:拉美和东亚对中国的启示

拉美和东亚国家多数存在金融压制问题,在发展过程中,这些国家普遍开始进行金融自由化,拉美和东亚各国的金融自由化指数显示了各地自由化的不同特点。自由化可能造成新型的双重危机,即银行危机和货币危机同时或相继发生,危机发生后,政府有多种援助手段可用,但与之相关的各种成本很高,危机的影响也将持续数年,中国应吸取拉美和东亚邻国在金融自由化和危机处置方面的经验教训,从而在金融自由化过程中保持稳定。     

What every leader needs to know about followers

Countless studies, workshops, and books have focused on leaders--the charismatic ones, the retiring ones, even the crooked ones. Virtually no literature exists about followers, however, and the little that can be found tends to depict subordinates as an amorphous group or explain their behavior in the context of leaders' development. Some works even fail to sufficiently distinguish among varying types of followers--barely registering the fact that those who tag along mindlessly are a breed apart from those who are deeply devoted and consciously, actively involved. These distinctions have critical implications for the way leaders should lead and managers should manage, according to Kellerman, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, today's followers are influenced by a range of cultural and technological changes that have affected what they want and how they view and communicate with their ostensible leaders. In this article, Kellerman explores the evolving dynamic between leaders and subordinates and offers a typology that managers can use to determine and appreciate how their followers are different from one another. Using the level of engagement with a leader or group as a defining factor, the author segments followers into five types: Isolates are completely detached; they passively support the status quo with their inaction. Bystanders are free riders who are somewhat detached, depending on their self-interests. Participants are engaged enough to invest some of their own time and money to make an impact. Activists are very much engaged, heavily invested in people and process, and eager to demonstrate their support or opposition. And diehards are so engaged they're willing to go down with the ship--or throw the captain overboard.