A systematic mapping study of process mining

This study systematically assesses the process mining scenario from 2005 to 2014. The analysis of 705 papers evidenced ‘discovery’ (71%) as the main type of process mining addressed and ‘categorical prediction’ (25%) as the main mining task solved. The most applied traditional technique is the ‘graph structure-based’ ones (38%). Specifically concerning computational intelligence and machine learning techniques, we concluded that little relevance has been given to them. The most applied are ‘evolutionary computation’ (9%) and ‘decision tree’ (6%), respectively. Process mining challenges, such as balancing among robustness, simplicity, accuracy and generalization, could benefit from a larger use of such techniques.     

A multidimensional scale of activity attachment for leisure tourists

Although the concept of activity attachment has been studied previously, the existing scales of activity attachment used only a single dimension or did not embody the discussion on behavioral domain. Furthermore, no previous studies have followed rigorous scale development procedures to explore the nature of activity attachment. In an effort to address this gap, this study aims to develop and validate a multidimensional scale of activity attachment for leisure tourists based on attachment theory. First, initial questionnaire items were generated from literature reviews and expert discussions. Second, exploratory factor analysis was conducted and four underlying dimensions were identified: emotion-symbol attachment, functional attachment, word-of-mouth intention attachment, and actual behavior attachment. Third, confirmatory factor analysis was employed and the result showed that the multidimensional activity attachment scale with four dimensions and 18 items has good fit, reliability, and validity. Implications of these findings for practical applications and future research are also provided.     

Internet Access and Farm Household Income – Empirical Evidence using a Semi‐parametric Assessment in Taiwan

There is considerable literature examining individuals’ behaviour with respect to Internet use, but less attention is paid to farm household use of the Internet. Among the few studies on farm households, the emphasis is on the correlation between socioeconomic factors and the adoption of the Internet. Thus, relatively little is known about the association between Internet use and farm household well‐being. In an effort to fill this void, this paper investigates Internet access among farm households and examines the effects of Internet access on farm household income. Given the observed income gap between Internet users and non‐users, we then investigate the extent to which socioeconomic factors may be associated with this income gap. Using a nationwide survey of farm households in Taiwan, a novel econometric model is proposed and estimated employing a semi‐parametric technique. Our results support the conclusion that Internet use improves farm household income. Most of the income gap between adopters and non‐adopters can be explained by the differences in the return of the socioeconomic factors.     

境内外机构投资者与会计稳健性:谁参与了公司治理?

异质性机构投资者的投资风格和持股动机差异,可能导致对会计稳健性的不同需求和影响。基于对境内外机构投资者中最具代表性的投资基金和QFII的分析,探讨二者对公司治理的影响,实证研究机构持股与会计稳健性的关系。研究发现,基金持股显著降低了上市公司的会计稳健性,而QFII持股则有助于改善公司治理水平,其从个体治理和机构互动两个方面促进了会计稳健性水平的提升。研究证明了异质性机构投资者对公司治理机制的不同效用,提供了QFII参与公司治理的证据,拓展了对机构间互动关系影响公司治理的理解。     

束缚与自由

本文从哲学和文学的双重角度,探讨束缚与自由这一对既相互矛盾又相互依存的概念。从哲学上讲,世界具有对立统一的性质。自由的存在,也就必然有其对立的另一面。自由要受到束缚的制约,束缚又给了自由的真正自由。从文学的角度探讨人如何在规则束缚下发挥最大的自由。     

The economics of land fragmentation in the north of Vietnam*

Land fragmentation, where a single farm has a number of parcels of land, is a common feature of agriculture in many countries, especially in developing countries. In Vietnam, land fragmentation is common, especially in the north. For the whole country, there are about 75 million parcels of land, an average of seven to eight plots per farm household. Such fragmentation can be seen to have negative and positive benefits for farm households and the community generally. Comparative statics analysis and analysis of survey data have led to the conclusion that small‐sized farms are likely to be more fragmented, and that fragmentation had a negative impact on crop productivity and increased family labour use and other money expenses. Policies which allow the appropriate opportunity cost of labour to be reflected at the farm level may provide appropriate incentives to trigger farm size change and land consolidation. Policies which tip the benefits in favour of fewer and larger plots, such as strong and effective research and development, an active extension system and strong administrative management, may also lead to land consolidation.     

First-best tax policy,congestion, and imperfect competition

In the presence of imperfect competition and externalities -increasing returns to diversity and congestion -competitive equilibria are not efficient. Thus, the inefficiency can be modified by the introduction of appropriate fiscal policies. Under the consideration of an optimal fiscal policy, the results of this paper show that the government should pay a subsidy to labor and capital income in order to correct the production inefficiency. Furthermore, the optimal subsidy to fixed costs depends on the degree of increasing returns to diversity and the degree of congestion, and it decreases with the latter effect. (JEL: E62, H41, L16)     

Pacific Basin stock markets and international capital asset pricing

In this paper, we follow Harvey (1991) to investigate whether rates of return on Pacific Basin stock markets can be explained by conditional version of International Capital Asset Pricing Model (ICAPM), which allows for time-varying expected returns, variances, and covariances. The results show that most individual Pacific Basin markets can be described by the conditional ICAPM. However, the multiple markets' tests do not support the conditional ICAPM formulation, and the estimates of world reward to risk ratio are not the same across these markets. Furthermore, the Ghysels and Hall test (Ghysels & Hall, 1990a, 1990b) shows that the estimates of parameter are also unstable in the conditional ICAPM formulation. This implies that it is difficult to use world return to describe the relationship between expected return and risk for the Pacific Basin stock markets.     

Team control mode,workers' creativity,and new product innovativeness

Scholars of creativity and innovation argue that successful innovations originate from the creative ideas of workers. However, few studies have empirically examined how management mechanisms, such as the control mode adopted by the new product development team, may work together with workers' creativity to deliver a successful new product. Drawing on the theory of opposing action strategies of team innovation, we propose that different team control modes may work together with team members' creativity to jointly influence the innovativeness of teamwork outcomes. With survey data collected from different sources in new product development teams, we find that restrictive control can effectively help teams composed of very creative members to successfully develop innovative new products. Conversely, promotive control can effectively help teams composed of less creative members to deliver innovative new products.