The effectiveness of government spending on education and health care in developing and transition economies

Recent studies show that corruption is associated with higher military spending [Eur. J. Polit. Econ. 17 (2001) 794] and lower government spending on education and health care [J. Publ. Econ. 69 (1998) 263]. This suggests that policies aimed at reducing corruption may lead to changes in the composition of government outlays toward more productive spending. However, little empirical evidence has been presented to support the claim that public spending improves education and health indicators in developing and transition countries. This paper uses cross-sectional data for 50 such countries to show that increased public expenditure on education and health care is associated with improvements in both access to and attainment in schools, and reduces mortality rates for infants and children. The education regressions are robust to different specifications, but the relationship between health care spending and mortality rates is weaker.     

The lexicographic composition of abstract games

The lexicographic composition of reflexive and complete binary relations (which are often called abstract games) is studied. The necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for a lexicographic composition of quasi transitive relations to be quasi transitive.The case of acyclicity of lexicographic composition of two relations is also investigated. Received: September 25, 2000; revised version: November 28, 2000     

生育政策的地区差异与儿童营养过剩关系研究

近年来,中国的肥胖儿童不断增多。由于该现象发生在“独生子女”政策开始实施以后,后者被认为是前者之因。然而,实证研究的缺乏使生育政策与儿童营养过剩之间的关系尚不明确。使用“中国健康和营养调查”数据,探讨政策与儿童(0-12岁)营养过剩之间的关系。多层模型和纵向分析结果显示,其一,儿童营养过剩的比例在90年代持续攀升,但增长速度较慢。其二,虽然生活在一孩生育政策地区的儿童营养过剩的比例高于其它地区儿童,独生子女营养过剩的比例超过非独生子女,但在其它条件同等的情况下,生育政策的地区差异和姊妹结构与儿童营养过剩概率无显著关联。分析结果并不支持“独生子女政策造成了儿童肥胖”的公共观点。影响儿童营养过剩的主要因素包括父母的体重、母亲的教育、社区发展水平和省份。     

野生纤维之王——罗布麻

文章阐述了罗布麻纤维的物质组成、形态结构,探索了提取罗布麻纤维的初加工工艺流程,分析了其药用价值和纺织保健开发价值。     

菱角壳的化学成分和药理活性研究进展

近年来对菱角壳的研究主要分为化学成分和药理活性研究两个方面,其中化学成分方面的研究可以概括为生物碱、酚酸类、萜类和甾体、多糖类、黄酮类5个方面;药理活性方面的研究可以概括为抗癌活性、抗氧化活性、降低α-葡萄糖苷酶活性、保肝护肝活性、抗菌活性5个方面。目前在化学成分方面的研究较弱,从研究结果来看,没食子酸及其衍生物是菱角壳的主要药用成分。最后就菱角壳的开发利用提出了几点建议。     

Auditors' Responses to Workload Imbalance and the Impact on Audit Quality*

Using detailed data for fieldwork hours and audit hours by rank from audit engagements in Korea, we examine whether audits conducted under workload imbalance, proxied by busy‐season audits, impair audit quality, and how auditors adjust staff assignments for busy‐season audits. We generally find that busy‐season audits are associated with lower audit quality, and that audit firms reduce the involvement of senior auditors during busy‐season audits. In addition, the greater the involvement of senior auditors and junior auditors, the lesser the deterioration in audit quality. Finally, although there is no increase in interim audits in response to workload imbalance during busy seasons, increasing interim audits can mitigate the negative impact of busy‐season audits on audit quality. Our results are relevant to auditors and regulators, who have expressed concerns about the adverse effects of workload imbalance on audit quality.     

Optimizing station location and fleet composition for a high-speed rail line

This paper proposes a new strategic planning model for high-speed rail ventures. It is a mixed-integer optimization model that applies to a given line and focuses on two key strategic decisions: station location and fleet composition. Our purpose is to improve on previous station location models by including fleet composition decisions. In the new model, we additionally take into account in an approximate fashion the interrelationships between strategic and subsequent tactical decisions, regarding line planning, train scheduling and fleet assignment issues. The usefulness of the model is demonstrated for a case study involving a planned Lisbon-Oporto high-speed rail line.     

TEM4之作文错误分析及其对教学的反拨作用

学生写作中经常出现词汇、语法、措辞等方面的错误,教师在教学中应分析其错误形成的原因,正确对待其错误,努力改进教学方法和评价手段,鼓励学生自主学习,以提高学生文化修养和作文质量。     

英语作文评语中的合作原则

英语作文评语是教师对学生作文创作的鉴赏性工作,在英语教学中发挥着重要作用。近几年来由于我国英语教育的师资力量有限、教师英语作文批改量大等原因,师生在对待作文评语的问题上出现消极应付、感情缺失的现象。从Grice的经典合作原作出发,结合实例分析大学英语作文评语中存在的诸多问题,由此探索评语写作的新思路,以激发学生的写作兴趣,提高英语写作水平。     

A review of research on personality in teams: Accounting for pathways spanning levels of theory and analysis

Over the last half century there has been a great deal of interest in the role of personality in teams. In this article we review the theoretical and empirical research on this topic to summarize what we have learned and also to provide a foundation for future research necessary for application of this knowledge to human resource management decisions. We describe research that emphasizes both team- and individual-levels of analysis and theory, and we discuss recent efforts that attempt to bridge these two levels. We conclude by identifying several issues that should take precedence in research in order to advance our understanding of the role of personality in teams.