Excess capacity,production technology and technical inefficiency in hospitality sector

This article examines the effects of excess capacity on the production cost and technical inefficiency of hotels and restaurants in Norway. The dataset includes a daily unbalanced panel of 94 hotels and restaurants from 2003 to 2014. To accommodate inefficiency, we use an input distance function (IDF). Inefficiency in the IDF means that if inputs are overused by k% then production cost is also increased by k%. We also allow inefficiency to differ across locations and regions by using them as determinants. The results indicate that excess capacity considerably affects the cost and increases inefficiency. The marginal effect on cost increases with excess capacity, but the effect on inefficiency sets in when it exceeds 50 percent. Furthermore, we find less overuse of inputs by firms in small metro towns and the Northern region causing them to be more efficient [except for the Southern and Western regions] than their counterparts.     

Rural tourism and gendered nuances

Research findings on rural residents’ attitudes towards tourism are often contradictory, in part due to a lack of data examining the often divergent perspectives of particular subgroups. Regional survey data from the Intermountain Western United States is used to provide an improved understanding of rural tourism attitudes as they are linked to community involvement and changes, while also exploring both intragender and intergender differences. Group differences in levels of community involvement, perceptions of tourism and various other issues are observed. While differences emerge, there is also widespread agreement on the importance of preserving local culture and the opposition to sale of agricultural land for development.     

An Ecofeminist Narrative of Urban Nature Connection

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore meanings, experiences, and perceived impacts associated with an urban nature connection program as narrated by mothers of program participants. “Project Connect”, a charity organization established in 2008, delivers the program investigated in urban parks and green spaces in Toronto, Canada. Drawing on ecofeminism and narrative inquiry, the study reveals a community narrative that depicts how Project Connect serves a group of mothers as an incubator of relationships spanning social and environmental domains, and which enable resistance of status quo forces that shape contemporary cityscapes. Nature connection in this sense is very much a political and cultural process that opens opportunities to challenge but also reproduce aspects of the dominant nature-related discourses. Accordingly, this study prompts consideration of the power of mothers and an ethics of care to transform human-nature relationships, and weaves critical consciousness and cautious re-valuing around the nature narratives we tell.     

论政府对现代物流发展的干预

在指出我国现代物流发展中存在政府职能缺失问题的基础上,结合西方国家政府干预现代物流发展的经验,提出了我国现代物流的发展在建立中国特色的物流管理体制;制定现代物流总体发展规划;营造有利于物流业发展的环境;发挥物流协会等中介组织的作用;推动我国物流业的信息化和标准化等方面需要政府适度有效的干预。     

中国股票市场的三因子时变风险溢价模型研究

Fam和French(1993)提出的三因子模型,已经被国外很多学者证明能较好的解释股票的收益率差异.本文正是在其理论基础上,采用了类似的验证方法来检验中国的股票市场是否能用三因子模型解释,结果发现在大部分行业,它也同样能适用于中国的股票市场.     

Human resources in Sino-foreign joint ventures: selected case studies in Shanghai,compared with Beijing

This article examines HRM in joint ventures (JVs) in Shanghai compared with those in Beijing using a case-study approach. It focuses primarily on issues relating to labour contracts, rewards and benefits, social insurance, trade unions and personnel policies, and describes current developments in China in each of these areas. In order to place these JV human resource practices in context, we also draw on interviews in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Shanghai and Beijing. Taking as a starting point a summary of traditional SOE 'iron rice-bowl' ( tie fan wan ) practices in the management of personnel, we ask to what extent HRM in the present JV sample differs from traditional methods and to what extent 'iron rice-bowl' practices continue despite foreign ownership. The extent to which HR practices in JVs are distinct from those in contemporary SOEs is also examined. We conclude that, although, as one would expect, foreign ownership has modified traditional practice, the degree and extent to which this is true varies widely. There is strong evidence of institutional and organizational continuity in 'iron rice-bowl' practices in both JVs and SOEs. Finally we propose a framework for categorizing the companies investigated in terms of their distance from traditional 'iron rice-bowl' HR practices and proximity to 'imported' practices. This consists of two 'pure' and two hybrid categories: pure 'iron rice-bowl'; hybrid I (predominantly local); hybrid II (predominantly imported): and, finally, pure imported. In this schema, the companies examined do not however group neatly according to whether they are JVs or SOEs.     

悬臂构件承载力不足的补偿方法

针对有些悬挑构件后来增加立柱支顶的实际工程问题，作者提出了简便合理的承载力补偿方法，并通过进一步的力学分析，证实其可行性和合理性，可供处理类似工程问题参考。     

面向能力培养的男装课程教学方法

本文以温州大学服装设计与工程专业为例,以温州大学人才培养模式创新实验区为依托,结合温州男装人才市场的实际需求,提出了面向能力培养的服装类院校男装课程体系教学改革方法。针对男装课程的具体特点和要求,在分析授课内容,总结实践教学经验的基础上,提出以课程项目为驱动,开展专项性与综合性相结合的教学设计,以此提升学生的学习兴趣,提升学生对男装的设计整合能力。     

不同内嵌材料加固钢筋混凝土梁抗弯性能试验研究

分别对内嵌CFRP板、内嵌CFRP筋、内嵌BFRP筋加固钢筋混凝土梁,以及未加固梁进行静力受弯试验,并对试件承载力、荷载-应变曲线以及试件的裂缝形态进行分析。试验结果表明:内嵌CFRP板比内嵌CFRP筋以及内嵌BFRP筋可以更好地提高梁的抗弯承载力;内嵌CFRP板、内嵌CFRP筋以及内嵌BFRP筋都可以较好的约束裂缝的开展。     

Estimating effects of cooperative membership on farmers’ safe production behaviors: Evidence from pig sector in China

This research studies the determinants of pig farmers’ participation in farmers’ cooperatives and the effects of farmers’ cooperatives on pig farmers’ behaviors in adopting safe production practices using data from a household survey of 540 cooperative farmers and 270 non-cooperative farmers from four main pig production provinces in China. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was adopted to deal with possible self-selection bias associated with farmers’ participation in farmers’ cooperatives due to observables, which is further supplemented by a sensitivity analysis to assess the degree to which the PSM results are robust to the presence of unobservables. The PSM results show that the cooperative membership has significant and positive influence on farmers’ propensity to adopt safe production practices and the effects are heterogeneous across a number of key cooperative, farm and household attributes. Specifically, the membership effects tend to be bigger for cooperatives led by Investor-owned firms (IOFs) and farms of small production scale. And the effects tend to be greater for households (1) of medium and high level of education, (2) of less than 10 years of pig production experience, (3) of no off-farm job experience, and (4) that are specialized in pig production. The sensitivity analysis further increases our confidence in the results for the feed use and the breed use, however, the results for vaccination, drug use and waste disposable are more sensitive to the influence of unobservables, therefore should be interpreted with caution.