迷人狮城 热带岛国

新加坡古时候被称为“海城”。关于这座“海城”，之所以改称为新加坡，有许多传说。在叙述了马六甲王国繁华历史的《马来年代纪》一书中，有这样一则事故。有一个传说：苏门答腊岛巴邻旁国的王子有一次来到“海城”狩猎。他一连几天在岛上四处走动。一天，突然发现一种奇异的动物，如山羊般大小，头黑而胸白。它看到王子一行人后，立即消失得无影无踪。随从们大叫“狮子”（狮子的马来语发音为“Singa”），王子于是将此岛改名为“Singapore”（Pore为“都市”之意）。     

Voluntary Disclosures as a Mechanism for Defining Entity Status in Australian Not‐for‐Profit Organisations

This study examines managerial efforts to portray an entity's not‐for‐profit (NFP) status based on voluntary disclosure practices. The annual report text of 61 NFPs are analysed in accordance with Salamon and Anheier's (1997) NFP definitional framework. Results indicate a predominant application of the structural‐operational definition. Furthermore, the ‘organised’ attribute of this definition prevails over the ‘non‐profit‐distributing’ criterion that has been advocated by various parties. Standard‐setting bodies may want to consider: (1) NFP management perspectives in any revised NFP definition; and (2) greater clarity in conceptual framework and standard‐setting arrangements to improve overall transparency in NFP reporting practices.     

CEO optimism and forced turnover

We show theoretically that optimism can lead a risk-averse Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to choose the first-best investment level that maximizes shareholder value. Optimism below (above) the interior optimum leads the CEO to underinvest (overinvest). Hence, if boards of directors act in the interests of shareholders, CEOs with relatively low or high optimism face a higher probability of forced turnover than moderately optimistic CEOs face. Using a large sample of turnovers, we find strong empirical support for this prediction. The results are consistent with the view that there is an interior optimum level of managerial optimism that maximizes firm value.     

Principles for Economic Recovery and Renewal

Over the past year, substantial progress has been made on the path to economic recovery. Yet, as true with most recessions induced by a financial crisis, recovery is going to be long and slow. This is particularly true for employment. Moreover, there is evidence that indicates there are structural as well as cyclical concerns about this recovery's slow employment growth. The personal as well as macroeconomic costs of this slow growth mean that there is no higher public policy priority than economic recovery and job creation. This address presents and discusses three guiding principles for economic policy: restoring confidence, increasing aggregate demand, and achieving broader and deeper education.     

Examining the influence of different levels of sexual-stimuli intensity by gender on advertising effectiveness

Abstract

Sexual appeals grab attention and elicit emotional responses, yet the existing literature surrounding this area of research has yielded inconsistent findings with regard to their ability to influence consumer liking and preference. Little attention has also been given to investigating sexual appeals beyond the scope of the effects of gratuitous sexual stimuli (nudity), and as such, most of what is known about sexual appeal advertising is centred on the effects of nudity alone. The current study examines sexual-stimuli intensity (explicit vs. mild) in print advertising and assesses its influence on advertising effectiveness and how this varies by gender for Australian consumers. An experiment is conducted as a test of the hypothesised relationships, with findings indicating that the level of sexual-stimuli intensity in print advertising is more effective in influencing consumers’ attitudinal and behavioural responses when depicted at a mild intensity level than at an explicit intensity level. These findings offer important insights for marketers in the design and configuration of sexual appeals used in advertising to maximise the effectiveness of ads to achieve favourable consumer behaviour outcomes.     

Taking a Moment to Teach Engineering Economy

The acquisition of knowledge can be facilitated when previous knowledge or experience can be applied to the learning process. This article describes an approach for teaching engineering economy that utilizes knowledge from previous courses, statics and mechanics of materials, to improve learning. The concept of moments from these engineering mechanics courses was adapted and used to explain the concept of equivalence in engineering economy. Initial results after one semester indicated less time required for learning the concepts without adverse effects on student exam scores. Results after four semesters show higher course grades with the mechanics-based approach as well as improved student attitudes and higher teaching evaluations.     

Wie wirken sich Steuersysteme auf die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Volkswirtschaften aus?

Durch die zunehmende Globalisierung verst?rkt sich der Wettbewerb der Staaten untereinander. Diese konkurrieren durch ihre institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen, wobei das jeweilige Steuersystem eine gro?e Rolle spielt. Jessica ?lschl?ger untersucht Zusammenh?nge zwischen der Wettbewerbsf?higkeit und dem Verh?ltnis von direkten und indirekten Steuern in einer Volkswirtschaft.     

Information barriers, export promotion institutions, and the extensive margin of trade

This paper assesses the role played by export promotion institutions in shaping the extensive margin of Latin American and Caribbean countries’ exports over the period 1995–2004. We find that the presence of offices of export promotion agencies abroad favors an increase in the number of differentiated goods that are exported, whereas a larger number of diplomatic representations in the importer countries seem to be associated with exports of a larger number of homogeneous goods.     

Quality in religious services

Despite intensive research into service quality, the Church appears to have been overlooked. Using a tailored measurement tool, this paper examines those aspects of the Church that respondents feel are important in their assessments of service quality. Results indicate that the three most important service quality dimensions are responsiveness, credibility and commitment. The more often that consumers visit church, the more demanding they are in terms of their importance ratings overall. Female churchgoers consider most of the service quality dimensions to be more important than do male customers, while other demographic factors have little or no impact on perceived service quality. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications