理事会的选择 USSC画廊标识设计比赛得奖者

美国注册理事会(USSC)2008年标识设计比赛的11个类别吸引了约200个参赛公司。评审包括Levittown公司的设计副总裁基思丹尼,SA Intl公司营销总监朱迪哈福特,和SignAd公司的总经理克里斯。SA Intl公司生产Flexi EnRoute和其他与标志设计相关的软件,而SignAd公司则制作赌场标识,路标和外部图形。     

建设环境 建筑招牌在建筑主题中如何找到自己的位置?

22年以来,社会环境图形设计社会(SEGD)一直举行设计大奖的颁布活动,并且它为进入环境图形设计这个圈子铺了一条道路。     

The WTO and the rights of the individual

The WTO agreements comprise a system of obligations and rights for member governments. None of these apply directly to individual actors. Nevertheless, the WTO does reach into the nation-state to guarantee rights to individuals. The following article explores this little-noted dimension of international economic law and proposes ways that a new WTO trade round could build on developments so far in order to strengthen private rights. The views expressed are those of the author.     

Retail Image as Seen through Consumers' Eyes: Studying International Retail Image through Consumer Photographs of Stores

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore how retail store image is perceived by consumers from different cultural backgrounds and with different degrees of awareness and experience of the retailer. The subject is IKEA, a retailer recognized as having a global approach to the markets in which it operates, resulting in a highly standardized approach to store branding. However, rather than employing traditional methodologies to elicit consumer perceptions of store image, we attempt to capture consumer perceptions through interpretations of the visual images generated by the participants themselves. The photo-elicitation method employed captured the different interpretations and meanings attached to commonly identified elements of store image and reinforced the central role played by the store itself in retail image formation.     

Globalized New Public Management and its Impact on Scientific Research Activity in New Zealand

Since the early 1980s the concept of New Public Management (NPM) has had a considerable impact on both theoretical debate and practical management in the public sector. Within this debate issues of efficiency and productivity are critical when discussing the performance of publicly funded organizations. The concept of NPM is also relevant to the issues surrounding privatization and deregulation. New Zealand has been in the vanguard of these changes from the early 1980s and this contribution investigates how changes in government funding mechanisms have affected the organizational structure, culture and human resource management strategies and practices of one Crown research institute in New Zealand. The case study shows how difficult it is not only to change a public sector organization to one that is more ‘market-focused’, but also how this is compounded in a research and development institute.     

Convenience Stores in Northern Ireland Steve Worthington*

The concept of the convenience store has been a subject of much enthusiasm among observers of the United Kingdom retail scene, many of whom see the C-store as a counterpoint to the expansion of the large multiple retailers. There is, however, evidence to suggest that the nationwide spread of the convenience store format will not be as uninhibited as has been that of the grocery supermarket. One reason for this is the local differences in retailing patterns that exist throughout the United Kingdom. This article looks in particular at Northern Ireland, exploring some of the unique features of C-store trading in this region.     

The rebound effect: Microeconomic definitions, limitations and extensions

The rebound effect results in part from an increased consumption of energy services following an improvement in the technical efficiency of delivering those services. This increased consumption offsets the energy savings that may otherwise be achieved. If the rebound effect is sufficiently large it may undermine the rationale for policy measures to encourage energy efficiency.The nature and magnitude of the rebound effect is the focus of long-running dispute with energy economics. This paper brings together previous theoretical work to provide a rigorous definition of the rebound effect, to clarify key conceptual issues and to highlight the potential consequences of various assumptions for empirical estimates of the effect. The focus is on the direct rebound effect for a single energy service — indirect and economy-wide rebound effects are not discussed.Beginning with Khazzoom's original definition of the rebound effect, we expose the limitations of three simplifying assumptions on which this definition is based. First, we argue that capital costs form an important part of the total cost of providing energy services and that empirical studies that estimate rebound effects from variations in energy prices are prone to bias. Second, we argue that energy efficiency should be treated as an endogenous variable and that empirical estimates of the rebound effect may need to apply a simultaneous equation model to capture the joint determination of key variables. Third, we explore the implications of the opportunity costs of time in the production of energy services and highlight the consequences for energy use of improved ‘time efficiency’, the influence of time costs on the rebound effect and the existence of a parallel rebound effect with respect to time. Each of these considerations serves to highlight the difficulties in obtaining reliable estimates of the rebound effect and the different factors that need to be controlled for. We discuss the implications of these findings for econometric studies and argue that several existing studies may overestimate the magnitude of the effect.     

How Persistent is Stock Return Volatility? An Answer with Markov Regime Switching Stochastic Volatility Models

Abstract:  We propose generalised stochastic volatility models with Markov regime changing state equations (SVMRS) to investigate the important properties of volatility in stock returns, specifically high persistence and smoothness. The model suggests that volatility is far less persistent and smooth than the conventional GARCH or stochastic volatility. Persistent short regimes are more likely to occur when volatility is low, while far less persistence is likely to be observed in high volatility regimes. Comparison with different classes of volatility supports the SVMRS as an appropriate proxy volatility measure. Our results indicate that volatility could be far more difficult to estimate and forecast than is generally believed.     

Risk, Wealth, and Sectoral Choice in Rural Credit Markets

We model the role of the informal credit sector in developing countries. The informational advantage of informal lenders is portrayed as the ability to monitor borrowers. Monitoring reduces the incentive problem and allows for contracts with lower collateral. This enables informal lenders to serve both individuals who cannot post the collateral required by the formal sector and those who are able but do not want to post collateral. The model is consistent with the conventional view of the informal sector as recipient of spillover demand from the formal sector. It also shows that the informal sector may provide partial insurance as the lower collateral requirement implies greater consumption smoothing for borrowers.