Communities Of Practice, Foucault And Actor-Network Therory

The paper discusses some of the main contributions to the theory of communities of practice (COP theory), especially as it relates to organizational learning. The paper does not attempt a full overview but concentrates on the notion of power relations. Early COP theory was formulated as part of situated learning theory, and promised to work on issues of social context and unequal power relations. Foucault's work and actor-network theory (ANT) is introduced and forms the basis of a constructive critique of COP theory. The paper argues that COP theory and ANT can enrich each other and together make a stronger contribution to our understanding of organizational learning. Specifically, these perspectives question the value in viewing organizations as formal, canonical entities as far as learning and change are concerned.     

Nonparametric Estimation of Returns to Scale: Method and Application

The paper describes a method of estimating variable returns to scale in production that adaptively fits spline functions, using model selection criteria, to determine the appropriate number and location of break points for a fixed factor of production. Unlike other approaches, the method obtains nonparametric estimates of variable returns to scale for small samples while ensuring global curvature and flexibility properties are maintained. An application of the method is presented using data from the British Columbia sablefish fishery.
Les auteurs décrivent une méthode d'estimation des variations de rentabilité en fonction de l'échelle de production susceptibles de s'ajuster è des fonctions spline, utilisant des critéres modèles de sélection pour déterminer le nombre et la situation des seuils de rentabilité pour unfacteur de production fixe. À la différence d'autres avenues d'analyse, la méthode permet d'obtenir des valeurs non paramétriques de la rémunération variable selon l'échelle, è partir de petits échantillons, tout en garantissant le maintien de la courbure générale et de la souplesse d'application. Les auteurs proposent une application de la methode, utilisant les données des pêches de morue charbonnière en Colombie-Britannique.     

Retail Leasing: The Determinants of Shopping Center Rents

The determinants of lease rentals are of fundamental importance to real estate researchers and practitioners. Retail leases are unique in that they typically have two rental components: a base rent and an "overage" rent equal to a percentage of the tenant's gross sales above some threshold level. In this paper, we develop and test a simple cash flow model of retail lease valuation that predicts that base rents are lower with higher percentage rent rates and are higher with greater threshold levels of sales. Using a sample of shopping center leases, regression analysis indicates that these tradeoffs are observed in the market.     

Interpersonal Stress Reactions and Service Quality Responses among Hospitality Industry Employees

Work stress is now recognised as a major issue in the human resource management arena, for both staff and management. Within the hospitality industry context, service quality issues are beginning to assume major importance in the success of many operations. This study has sought to understand interpersonal conflict work stress responses associated with hospitality industry employee-management conflict, together with approaches to service quality issues among a sample of Australian hospitality industry domain was the sole predictor of the clearer and more autonomous work role stress response, and the management service quality domain was the predictor of the better management communication stress response. Better communication by management presented as the dominant stress response, and was found to be particularly associated with femalae hospitality industry employees. Implications of these findings for both hospitality industry employees and for hospitality industry management are explored.     

Power, Development, and Institutional Change: Participatory Governance in the Lower Mekong Basin

One of the central challenges for the multitude of actors concerned with the governance of transboundary river basins is how to produce meaningful mechanisms for promoting the participation of a broad cross-section of actors in resource planning and management decisions. This paper elucidates recent efforts to enhance policies of public participation within the context of governance in the Lower Mekong basin. The paper concludes that while the obstacles to institutionalizing public participation are substantial, some modicum of genuine participation, that may in time contribute to a broader project of transformation, can emerge within intergovernmental development institutions, albeit through surprising means.     

Evaluating the Relative Impact of Fiscal Incentives and Trade Policies on the Returns to Manufacturing in Taiwan, 1955–1995*

In the present paper, an integrated cash flow model is developed to examine the relative impact of tax incentives, financial subsidies, and macroeconomic variables on the profitability of industrial investments. It allows for the variables in the model to interact with each other. An application of the model is carried out for Taiwan, which has implemented a variety of fiscal incentives over the past 40 years. The principal policy conclusion is that trade and macroeconomic policies are much more important than income tax incentives or subsidized finance policies in determining the success of Taiwan's industrialization process. The effects of all of the fiscal incentives are found to be much smaller than those of the trade policies or the fundamental trends in macroeconomic variables such as the movement of the real exchange rate and the real wage rate.     

Virtual schools

Virtual schools have already made their appearance. This paper examines the factors which promote or slow the spread of virtual schools. Technological change, economic rationalism, and the suitability of conventional schools for the information age are identified as reasons for the continued growth of virtual schools. Conversely, the identification of an appropriate pedagogy, the lack of required teaching skills, concerns for the reshaping of human values, socialisation, and the continued need for student supervision are seen as reasons why virtual schools will not rapidly overtake conventional ones. It is concluded that virtual schools will continue to increase in the 21st century, and that appropriate planning must be made for their impact.