Why Ants Do but Honeybees Do Not Construct Satellite Nests

Synopsis: Ants and honeybees are both social insects that share many characteristics in common. But there is a fundamental difference between ants and bees. Ants can and do construct main nests with satellite nests, whereas bees construct only a main nest with no satellite nests. In this paper we explain the difference between the socio-economic organization of ants and bees: ants can identify nest-mates from satellite nests because ants leave odor trails connecting main nests to satellite nests so that fellow nest-mate from satellite nests smell the same. Bees, on the other hand, cannot leave odor trails in the air, and hence are unable to identify bees from another nest; bees from another nest with different pheromone smells are stung to death by guard bees in the main nest. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Investors in People: how a large public sector organisation in the UK dealt with a new national training initiative

This research constitutes a study of the Investors in People (IIP) initiative. It presents a case study of the implementation of the initiative in a UK public sector organisation, the Bene‐fits Agency, which administers social security payments on behalf of the UK government. The initial premise is that the claims made on behalf of IIP should not go unchallenged and that a critical analysis of the initiative is required in order that an informed debate should take place. Building on that premise the research seeks to inform that debate. The relevant literature, academic and non‐academic, is surveyed and a discussion on the most suitable research methodology to increase the stock of knowledge is conducted. The selected methodology is that of case study and the research consisted of eleven semi‐structured interviews with managers within the Benefits Agency. The data collected from these interviews is presented and then analysed with reference back to the literature.     

A lifestyle analysis of female consumers in greater China

This study compares the lifestyles of female consumers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China, which together make up Greater China. The investigation revealed that significant differences exist among the three groups of female consumers in nine different areas. These are (a) women's role and perception, (b) family orientation, (c) home cleanliness, (d) brand consciousness, (e) price consciousness, (f) self-confidence, (g) addiction to work, (h) health consciousness, and (i) environmental consciousness. Although the women studied in the three groups were found to be heavily influenced by Confucianism, they were also affected by western culture to varying degrees. Thus, the three groups were found to have a mixture of traditional and modern values. Hong Kong women were found to favor a more modern view of the role of women than their counterparts in China and Taiwan. However, women in China, especially the younger ones, were quickly adopting new values and Western ideas. The authors foresee that female consumers in Greater China will become increasingly similar in their lifestyles in the near future. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Chinese IPO activity,pricing, and market cycles

We examine the activity, pricing, and market cycles of 1,380 Chinese A share IPOs over the period 1991–2005 and find initial underpricing of 238%. The government restrictions on IPO offer price and quota allocation cause pricing structural breaks and attribute more than half of initial underpricing. A multifactor model that includes firm’s characteristics, excess demand for IPO shares, and the government restrictions explains cross-sectional initial returns, after controlling for industrial differences and stock market conditions. In addition, monthly IPO volume and average initial return are highly correlated. A VAR model indicates that initial return leads IPO volume by 6 months.     

农村金融服务的困境与规范创新的路径选择

文章分析了我国农村金融服务中存在的问题,我国农村金融服务的发展水平不高,金融效率低,与农村经济发展相比相对滞后,农村金融改革不是规范与创新的秩序之争,而应是规范与创新并举。     

跨国公司研发机构中国区位选择因素的实证分析

相对于跨国公司在中国直接投资的研究,学者关于跨国公司对中国研发投资的研究并不多。本文是以加入WTO以后市场规模日益增大的中国市场为研究对象。通过建立多元线性回归模型对影响跨国公司研发投资区位选择三大基础因素进行实证分析,以期验证影响和决定跨国公司研发机构在中国区位分布的各个基础经济变量的有效性。     

从瑷珲－腾冲线的形成看人口迁移对我国人口分布的影响

东南部人口稠密,西北部人口稀少是我国人口分布的基本特点.以瑷珲-腾冲线对我国东西两壁人口分布状况的划分为依据,结合影响人口分布的主要因素及我国古今的人口分布状况的差异,分析历史上多次大规模的人口迁移对我国东西两半壁人口分布格局形成的影响.     

长箭显军威--纪念抗日战争胜利60周年漫话导弹包装

导弹是国家强盛的标志，也是国家安全的保证，全世界有100多个国家装备有导弹。在纪念反法西斯战争和抗日战争胜利60周年的时候，为了世界和平，我们研究导弹包装发展史，就更具有特别重要的意义。     

Optimal hedging with a regime‐switching time‐varying correlation GARCH model

The authors develop a Markov regime‐switching time‐varying correlation generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (RS‐TVC GARCH) model for estimating optimal hedge ratios. The RS‐TVC nests within it both the time‐varying correlation GARCH (TVC) and the constant correlation GARCH (CC). Point estimates based on the Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng index futures data show that the RS‐TVC outperforms the CC and the TVC both in‐ and out‐of‐sample in terms of variance reduction. Based on H. White's (2000) reality check, the null hypothesis of no improvement of the RS‐TVC over the TVC is rejected for the Nikkei 225 index contract but is not rejected for the Hang Seng index contract. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 27:495–516, 2007     

Management Control Systems in a Non-Enterprise Network: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative

This article is based on the action research project of a multi-stakeholder collaboration formed to produce the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This non-enterprise cross-sector collaboration had two sets of problems: the first being the ideological differences of the stakeholders, who had differing interests and agendas regarding the production of standards. The second set relates to the practical problems of enabling 300 people from different organisations and time zones, with different levels of resource access and no clear financial goal or endpoint, to work together. To overcome these issues three types of management control systems were developed: strong planning processes, administrative and governance structures, and socio-ideological controls. The result of the collaboration is a set of greenhouse gas accounting standards that have widespread acceptance internationally. This study contributes to both practice and research on management control systems (MCS) by outlining how alternative forms of MCS can be designed for non-enterprise cross-sector collaboration.