The forthcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution: Its impact on society and firms

The impact of the industrial and digital (information) revolutions has, undoubtedly, been substantial on practically all aspects of our society, life, firms and employment. Will the forthcoming AI revolution produce similar, far-reaching effects? By examining analogous inventions of the industrial, digital and AI revolutions, this article claims that the latter is on target and that it would bring extensive changes that will also affect all aspects of our society and life. In addition, its impact on firms and employment will be considerable, resulting in richly interconnected organizations with decision making based on the analysis and exploitation of “big” data and intensified, global competition among firms. People will be capable of buying goods and obtaining services from anywhere in the world using the Internet, and exploiting the unlimited, additional benefits that will open through the widespread usage of AI inventions. The paper concludes that significant competitive advantages will continue to accrue to those utilizing the Internet widely and willing to take entrepreneurial risks in order to turn innovative products/services into worldwide commercial success stories. The greatest challenge facing societies and firms would be utilizing the benefits of availing AI technologies, providing vast opportunities for both new products/services and immense productivity improvements while avoiding the dangers and disadvantages in terms of increased unemployment and greater wealth inequalities.     

The living commons of West Tyrol,Austria: Lessons for land policy and land administration

A right of commoners to pastures existed since the Early Middle Ages in Anglo-Saxon England and the European mainland, including Tyrol in Austria. Lowland commons institutions were largely dissolved by the 19th century; however, in the European Alps contiguous commons remain alive. Some two thousand alpine commons institutions are registered in the Tyrolean parcel cadaster and land registry. A specific study of West-Tyrolean commons (known as Agrargemeinschaft or AGMs), framed by Ostrom's design principles is presented. General lessons for land policy and land administration are extracted. An interview period was split between the Inn valley and the Ötztal. Roughly half are considered independent: others are regulated by the Tyrolean Agricultural Authority. Some AGMs hold the full bundle of land rights: others only hold pastoral and forestry rights. AGMs consisted either of a single cadastral parcel or several contiguous parcels. In the Inn valley villages the pastoral commons were owned by the municipalities, while in the researched Ötztal, AGMs are frequently the full owners of the commons. AGM membership ranges between 5 and 60 farm households. The number of livestock units pastured was in most cases stipulated in approved regulations. Alpine commons larger than 200 ha are also hunting-zones: revenue is collected from the lease of hunting rights. Most of the alpine commons are designated and used as ski-zones. Upper portions of two alpine commons in the Ötztal are state protected natural areas. The number of farms with pastoral rights is declining at District and State level. Key lessons for land policy and land administration include: Ostrom's design principles being a precondition rather than a panacea; commons institutions requiring one clear ownership party; both public and collective ownership producing success; publically owned commons requiring a local representative; small membership numbers being preferable; small shareholdings not being preferable; decentralized governance being beneficial; internal democratic elections being beneficial; internal boundary records being superfluous; explicit sanctions being superfluous; mixed economies being acceptable; and geography being a significant influence on the longevity of pastoral commons.     

中小企业融资难的新解读

中小企业融资难问题已成为制约我国市场经济体制改革的重要因素。对主要发达国家经验的梳理,可以得到解决该问题的一般规律。基于我国中小企业发展的特点、金融系统结构失衡、政府职能错位三个方面的解读,可以发现我国中小企业融资难问题具有特殊性。本文提出的建议,包括构建"银政合作"模式,推进金融体制改革,创建中小型金融机构。     

株洲市农村养老保障情况调查及思考

中国已步入“未富先老”的老龄化社会,农村养老保障问题日趋凸显,株洲市更是进入了非常重要而又十分特殊的社会转型时期.本文分析了株洲市农村养老保障的现状、存在的主要问题以及产生问题的根源,针对这些问题提出了相应的对策建议.     

英国技术前瞻研究工作全景

英国的技术前瞻研究工作发源于1994年的技术预测计划,现已成为英国政府的一项常规工作。英国技术前瞻研究组挂靠在商业、创新和技能部下属的政府科学办公室,有优秀的研究队伍和稳定的经费支持,其开展的项目涉及新兴科学和技术面临的挑战和机遇以及围绕科技能发挥作用的重大社会问题,例如,全球变化、应对肥胖和洪涝灾害等。技术前瞻研究项目的研究报告和提出的有关建议,不仅对英国政府制定政策提供了重要参考,也对国际社会关于一些重大问题的判断和应对措施产生了较大影响。通过对英国技术前瞻研究工作的由来、已经完成和正在开展的项目、核心研究团队、项目的遴选标准和特点等进行系统介绍,并以案例的形式阐述了其前瞻研究项目对政府部门的影响,旨在为我国开展相关工作提供参考借鉴。     

Collaboration strategy decision-making using the Miles and Snow typology

Engaging in collaboration may be the best way for a firm to enhance its competitive advantages, since this can offer faster access to both resources and capabilities. This study aims to develop a framework for making collaboration partner choice decisions. The authors design a strategic game model of collaboration using Miles and Snow typology. An empirical data set collected from the S&P COMPUSTAT database is adopted to verify the model, and several managerial implications are derived. This model helps a company choose a competitor as a collaborative partner and helps in the selection of a collaboration strategy.     

高职院校《铁路线路与站场》课程建设思考

根据我国高等职业教育"以能力培养为主导"的教育方针,铁路高职院校开设《铁路线路与站场》课程也应积极做出调整,进行课程的改革建设,使课程更贴近铁路现场实际,更符合工作岗位职业能力的要求。对此,本文阐述了课程建设的几点思考。     

浅谈公路改建设计

结合作者以往工作经验,对公路升级改建设计时应注意的问题做简单探讨。     

云计算相关问题及其在高校中的运用价值

云计算是计算机科学技术与网络互联技术结合创新发展的产物,已经成为引领未来世界信息产业的关键性技术和手段。云计算在教育领域体现出了很大优势,改进学习方式,改造学习环境,同时可以降低IT成本,对于提高高校现有资产的效率、利用率和灵活性具有重要影响意义。     

加强施工机械设备管理

为了进一步提高劳动生产率、提高企业经济效益,根据施工单位机械设备数量不足、严重老化、技术性和配套性落后等问题,进行分析和探讨解决的方法及措施。