Municipal Finance in Poland,the Slovak Republic,the Czech Republic and Hungary: Institutional Framework and Recent Development

The recent process of political and economic transition in eastern European countries has not only contributed to the decentralisation of political structure but also significantly enhanced the fiscal autonomy of municipalities in these countries. In this context many similar types of public activities have recently been assigned to local governments, and some taxes were also declared to be local taxes. To be sure, this type of fiscal decentralisation has caused some additional problems, particularly for safeguarding the quality of publicly provided goods and services and for co-ordinating intergovernmental fiscal transfers between the central and local governments. For instance, some criticise that many small-sized municipalities in the transition economies have suffered from financial bottlenecks and have not been able to receive sufficient financial support from the central government. However, such a fiscal devolution trend appears to continue. This study primarily deals with issues surrounding the impact of national fiscal policy and the regulatory framework on local governments' expenditure behaviour and their ability to mobilise necessary revenues under the particular consideration of the institutional and administrative co-operation with the central government and of the less well-developed financial market in Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary.     

云财务共享服务模式设计——以费用报销流程为例探讨

在企业数量增加的同时,企业之间所具有的竞争情况也愈发激烈。其中,财务共享服务是目前企业提升运营效率、降低运营成本的一项重要方式。本文中就以企业的费用报销流程为例对云财务共享服务模式进行一定的研究与设计。     

共享住宿平台消费者信任的形成机制 ——基于扎根理论的案例探究

消费者信任是影响共享住宿平台运营的关键因素.基于吉登斯的信任理论,运用扎根理论方法,对共享住宿平台数据进行编码和建模,研究共享住宿平台消费者信任的形成机制.共享住宿平台消费者信任的形成遵循"住前准备→实际体验→住后评价"这一基本路径.消费者对共享平台的信任主要包括系统信任与人际信任两类,且系统信任会促进人际信任的形成.     

Analysis of Shared and Sustainable Value Creation of Companies Providing Energy Solutions at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP)

This study was conducted to analyze the shared and sustainable value creation (SSVC) of 33 energy companies selling energy solutions at the base of the pyramid (BoP) markets. SSVC by selling energy technology solutions directed to address the cooking and lighting needs of BoP consumers were the main focus of analysis. Result showed that achieving profitability and affordability is affected by the kind of energy solution that is offered as well as the investment and level of commitment required. However, companies that fulfilled the profitable and affordable solutions were also able to deliver social and environmental sustainability benefits. Social sustainability benefits point to the ability of alleviating poverty by improving productivity or offering cost‐savings. Environmental sustainability benefits point to the energy savings. The findings show that inclusive business strategy is not necessarily required to reach the poor people profitably but a suitable business strategy depends on the type of energy solution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Dually sustainable urban mobility option: Shared-taxi operations with electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) are energy efficient and often presented as a zero-emission transport mode to achieve long-term decarbonization visions in the transport sector. The implementation of a sustainable transportation environment through EV utilization, however, requires the addressing of certain cost and environmental concerns such as limited driving range and battery-charging issues before its full potential can be realized. Nevertheless, a specific type of use of EVs, namely in taxi services, may elicit positive public opinion, as it promises a commitment toward sustainability in urban life. In light of this, this study proposes an integrated approach that combines EV operation with a conceptual design for shared-ride taxi services. As some productivity loss may be naturally expected due to the time spent in charging, it is important to look at whether such performance loss from the passenger and system standpoints can be offset with ingenuity in operational design. In this study, an EV taxi charge-replenishing scheme that can be coupled with a real-time taxi-dispatch algorithm is designed. The proposed EV charging schemes for taxi services are studied via simulations and the effects of the limited driving range and battery-charging details are examined from a system performance viewpoint. The simulation study also reveals illustrative results on the impact of the EV taxi fleet's operation on the charging system. Next, a real-time shared-taxi operation scheme that allows ride sharing with other passengers is proposed to maximize the operational efficiency. The simulation results suggest that the shared-taxi concept can be a viable option to improve on the limitations caused by EV operation. In addition, the importance of projected charging demands and queue delays at different charging locations are also addressed. Some limitations and a future research agenda are also discussed.     

工业遗产推动城市可持续更新的杰出 案例：马萨诸塞州当代艺术博物馆 MASS MoCA

中国正面临工业遗产保护和城市可持续更新的双重 挑战。分析美国工业遗产再利用与城市复兴相结合的成功案 例——马萨诸塞州当代艺术博物馆MASS MoCA。MASS MoCA是通过当代艺术,推动位置偏远的中小型后工业城市 成功转型为区域文化创意产业集群发展中心的经典案例。认 为MASS MoCA成功的方法在于共享遗产理念下城市遗产与 城市更新的相互促进,即基于价值共享、空间共享、利益共 享下的可持续更新路径。MASS MoCA的案例研究将为我国 以文化创意为导向的工业遗产再利用和中小型工业城市转型 提供借鉴。     

基于MA2IDDPG算法的异构多无人机协同突防方法

为了形成智能化异构多无人机协同突防策略,提出了基于多智能体异步模仿深度确定性策略梯度算法的异构多无人机协同突防方法。首先,基于典型DDPG方法,采用异步并行框架进行改进,提高经验的收集效率。其次,分别构建基于专家经验知识的牵引性奖赏函数和基于任务结果的描述性奖赏函数。再次,通过分阶段训练后,使得深度神经网络产生的协同突防策略能够快速达到专家经验知识水平后,进一步提高对抗水平。最后,在仿真实验中,构建了异构多无人机协同突防环境,对改进方法和典型DDPG方法的对抗效果进行了对比。实验结果表明,MA2IDDPG方法能够有效产生多无人机协同突防策略,并且在训练阶段表现更为稳定且对抗效果更优。所设计的创新性MA2IDDPG方法框架可有效应用于无人机群控制领域,特别是对异构无人机群的智能控制方法研究具有重要参考意义。     

基于价值网的科技资源共享服务模式研究

科技资源作为社会的公共资源,需要在全社会各个行业领域中开放共享,以提高科技转化为生产力的效率。近年来,国家将技术市场一体化发展作为助推经济增长和科技创新的重要举措,如何通过创新共享商业模式,整合制造业优势资源,开展共享服务已经成为目前企业管理研究的重要课题。于是提出一种资源共享与协同服务模式,可以以获取价值为目的、以闲置技术资源转让为方式,实现技术资源高效利用、社会共享和价值增值。     

Collaborative cost-cutting: productive efficiency as an interdependency between public organizations

Collaboration between public sector organizations is typically understood as a response to complexity. Agencies collaborate in order to address complex, cross-cutting policy needs that cannot be met individually. However, when organizational size is a constraining factor in public service efficiency, collaboration can also reduce costs by capturing scale economies unavailable to organizations of sub-optimal size. Using organization theory, the article conceptualizes these two different triggers for public sector collaboration, and builds a framework for tracing their wider impact upon the formation, operation, and outcome of inter-agency partnerships. The framework is illustrated, and its implications for future research are explored.     

The shared environmental responsibility principle: new developments applied to the case of marine ecosystems

Estuaries provide advantageous sites for both harbors and fish habitats. In many countries, harbor expansion in estuaries contributed to the decline of fish populations with impacts at the global scale. Restoring these habitats is important to prevent a global biodiversity crisis but is costly and potentially unaffordable for polluters under the Polluter Pays Principle. Such affordability issues prompt decision-makers to reduce environmental targets of restoration programs. Harbor infrastructures destroy fish habitats but generate benefits for society and contribute to the public interest, raising some questions on who is responsible for environmental degradations and who can afford environmental restoration costs? One way to allocate restoration costs is to analyze the amount of harbor services consumed by economic sectors. This paper addresses these questions by computing burden sharing scenarios with an input–output matrix. These scenarios are simulated under the shared responsibility principle to distribute restoration costs among stakeholders in the Seine estuary, France.