Using paradata to collect better survey data: Evidence from a household survey in Tanzania

Data are a key component in the design, implementation, and evaluation of economic and social policies. Monitoring data quality is an essential part of any serious, large‐scale data collection process. The purpose of this article is to show how paradata should be used before, during, and after data collection to monitor and improve data quality. To do this we use timestamps, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, and other paradata collected from an 800‐household survey conducted in Tanzania in 2016. We demonstrate how key paradata can be used during each phase of a research project to identify and prevent issues in the data and the methods used to collect it. Our results corroborate the importance of collecting and analyzing paradata to monitor fieldwork and ensuring data quality for micro data collection in developing countries. Based on these findings we also make recommendations as to how researchers can make better use of paradata in the future to manage and improve data quality. We argue for an expansion in the understanding and use of varied paradata among researchers, and a greater focus on its use for improving data quality.     

同辈群体对大学生学习心理的影响--以南昌高校为例

从同辈群体的基本特征出发,通过问卷调查与访谈,研究大学生同辈群体之间的学习心理特点,论述了同辈群体对大学生在认知、情绪、行为等方面的影响力,以期高校教育工作者积极引导这种影响力,正确发挥同辈群体的作用,进一步提升大学生的学习心理素质。     

Can innovation shocks determine CO2 emissions (CO2e) in the OECD economies? A new perspective

ABSTRACT

This study has attempted to address prior knowledge gaps in the environmental economics literature by integrating the innovation shocks into the Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) equation for twenty-six OECD economies using data from 1990 to 2014. Foreign direct investment (FDI), exports (EXP), renewable energy consumption (REC), and GDP per capita were included as control variables. The results from multiple empirical analyses indicated that positive shocks to innovation improve, but the negative shocks disrupt environmental quality. Data analyses also showed that a positive correlation exists between income per capita of OECD economies. From the negative coefficient of income per capita (squared) and the existence of a negative nexus between FDI and CO2e, both the EKC and the Pollution Halo Hypothesis (PHH) were confirmed in sampled economies, respectively. The paper offers empirical support for the favourable impacts of REC on the quality of the environment and calls for the adoption of innovation shocks as a policy instrument to formulate better environmental policies for a sustainable future.     

Economic policy uncertainty and firm investment: evidence from the U.S. market

This paper examines the impact of economic policy uncertainty on firm-level capital investment, by not only delving into the long-term investment-uncertainty relation like previous studies, but also analyzing the short-term investment-uncertainty relation for the U.S. market. The empirical investigations show that firms decrease short-term, long-term, and total firm investments when encountering higher economic policy uncertainties. The research also explores the non-linear investment-uncertainty relation based on various theories. Our findings present a U-shaped relationship between short-term, long-term, and total investments and uncertainties. Policy implications are provided from our empirical results.     

基于QFD方法的服务型制造企业服务质量改进研究

构建基于QFD方法的服务型制造企业服务质量改进研究模型,通过SPSS软件,对实例Y公司顾客需求的权重进行主成分分析,在此基础上运用灰色理论和模糊数学相结合的灰色模糊方法对Y公司服务质量进行评价,然后结合测评结果运用QFD方法,找到Y公司应该着力加强的服务措施。研究结果表明,权重分数较高的服务措施要素是进行服务补救、信息系统、员工素质、办事效率和培训,即要Y公司满足客户质量需求必须关注的要素,这些要素的好坏,直接决定了企业客户需求是否得到了满足。这类研究方法,对类似的服务型制造企业服务质量改进的研究,同样有很大的借鉴意义。     

中国经济扭曲的表现及形成机制:一个奥地利学派的角度

中国经济发展过程中存在某种形式的扭曲已是不争的事实,既往发展模式的不可持续性也已逐渐显现,但对造成该扭曲的深层次原因在理论上仍然存在分歧.从奥地利学派的角度吸取合理的部分可以更深刻地认识中国经济发展历程.中国经济扭曲最突出的表现是在城市化过程中,政府主导式发展制约了全体公民共同参与,而在发展思路上则过于强调需求管理的短期政策,忽视了供给在长期经济发展中的核心作用,经济的健康发展应是一个分工和专业化不断深化的过程.     

民办普通高等学校加强大学生创业教育的探析

民办普通高等学校多以培养应用型人才为己任,而创业教育是培养应用型人才的重要途径。但是,目前多数民办普通高等学校开设创业教育的时间并不长,还存在诸多问题。分析了民办普通高等学校大学生创业难的制约因素,在借鉴国外先进的创业教育经验的基础上,提出提升创业教育质量的建议。     

Ambient Taxes Under m-Dimensional Choice Sets, Heterogeneous Expectations, and Risk-Aversion

We consider the design of ambient taxes forrisk-neutral and risk-averse polluters whenpolluters and the regulatory agency haveasymmetric information about environmentalrelationships and probabilities associatedwith random events. Unlike prior work, we showthat under these conditions, optimal ambienttaxes must be firm-specific, and accompaniedby additional incentives to influencepolluters' choices of abatement techniques.     

Masterful Meisters? Voluntary Certification and Quality in the German Crafts Sector

Voluntary certification systems potentially reduce search costs in markets with imperfect information. Service markets with many heterogeneous firms – such as the crafts market – are prone to information imperfections and can therefore potentially benefit from such informational mechanisms. We examine if the Meister qualification in the German crafts sector improves service quality as perceived by consumers. We find a significant and positive relationship between the Meister title and consumer ratings and conclude that the certificate is a credible sign of quality.     

素质教育背景下大学生政治理论课创新探析

21世纪以来随着高校素质教育的不断推行与增进,我国大学生综合能力逐步提升,思想政治教育作为素质教育的核心部分,发挥着重要的作用。在对高校思想政治教育工作的现状进行深入调查的基础上,对思想政治教育工作的内容、方法、对象、队伍、管理机制等进行了全面系统的分析研究,并根据素质教育的基本要求,提出了一系列创新思想政治理论课的建议。