Using the budget constraint to monetarise impact assessment results

Recent developments in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) provide a basis for reducing the uncertainty in monetarisation of environmental impacts. The LCIA method “Ecoindicator99” provides impact pathways ending in a physical score for each of the three safeguard subjects humans, ecosystems, and resources. We redefine these damage categories so that they can be measured in terms of Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) for impacts on human well-being, Biodiversity Adjusted Hectare Years (BAHYs) for impacts on ecosystems, and monetary units for impacts on resource productivity.The monetary value of a QALY can be derived from the budget constraint, i.e. the fact that the average annual income is the maximum that an average person can pay for an additional life year. Since a QALY by definition is a life-year lived at full well-being, the budget constraint can be determined as the potential annual economic production per capita at full well-being. We determine this to be 74,000 EUR with an uncertainty estimate of 62,000 to 84,000 EUR. This corresponds well to the 74,627 EUR willingness-to-pay estimate of the ExternE project. Differences to other estimates can be explained by inherent biases in the valuation approaches used to derive these estimates.The value of ecosystems can be expressed in monetary terms or in terms of QALYs, as the share of our well-being that we are willing to sacrifice to protect the ecosystems. While this trade-off should preferably be done by choice modelling, only one such study was found at the level of abstraction that allows us to relate BAHYs to QALYs or monetary units. Stressing the necessity for such studies, we resort to suggest a temporary proxy value of 1400 EUR/BAHY (or 52 BAHY/QALY), with an uncertainty range of 350 to 3500 EUR/BAHY.The practical consequences of the above-described monetarisation values has been investigated by combining them with the midpoint impact categories of two recent LCIA methods, thus providing a new LCIA method with the option of expressing results in both midpoints and an optional choice between QALY and monetary units as endpoint. From our application of the new method to different case studies, it is noteworthy that resource impacts obtain less emphasis than in previous LCIA methods, while impacts on ecosystems obtain more importance. This shows the significance of being able to express impacts on resources and ecosystems in the same units as impacts on human well-being.     

Exploring the future of ecological genomics: Integrating CTA with vision assessment

Interactive approaches to technology development provide opportunities for the development of innovative technologies which clearly connect with social practices and address the positive and negative effects as perceived by relevant actors. The challenge is to start an interactive approach early in the development of new technologies, when many options are still open for exploration and there are good possibilities for steering. Early involvement of societal actors is, however, challenged by the absence of concrete applications on which they can develop their own visions from the perspective of their own needs, interests, norms and values. Integrating Constructive Technology Assessment (CTA) with vision assessment is proposed as an approach to overcome this dilemma in the field of ecological genomics and bridge the knowledge gap between parties closely involved with ecogenomics research and other relevant actors. We present, evaluate and discuss the process of identifying guiding visions of the technology developers as a first step in this approach and end with some suggestions on how desirable futures for ecogenomics can subsequently be assessed from the perspectives of different actors.     

When Philosophy and Business Professors Talk: Assessment of Ethical Reasoning in a Cross Disciplinary Business Ethics Course

Can instructors with apparently divergent approaches to the goals and methods of teaching business ethics agree upon a core set of course objectives? Can they agree upon a common method of assessment for measuring student performance against shared standards? This paper reports the results of a project intended to address these questions. The goals of the project were threefold: (1) to identify a shared set of core competencies for all students in business ethics; (2) to adopt a common assessment of ethical reasoning (neutral to disciplinary bias) for measuring student performance in core competencies; (3) to determine whether students show improvement in core competencies over the course of a semester. Our findings suggest that it is possible to find common ground in measurable objectives and to expect instructors to interpret, apply, and teach to these objectives effectively without infringing upon their disciplinary differences.     

国际货币基金组织CGER方法介绍及评述

本文介绍了国际货币基金组织CGER汇率评估方法产生的背景以及CGER的三种汇率评估方法:宏观经济均衡法、均衡实际有效汇率法和外部可持续法。作者从样本结构、计量技术及全球一致性等方面分析了三种方法的贡献和缺陷以及CGER汇率评估对中国的影响,预测了CGER方法运用于未来国际汇率评估的趋势。     

林业现代化评价方法探讨

论述了林业现代化评价指标数据的来源与取得方法、指标设计的基本思路，并且建立了林业现代化的评价模型。认为林业现代化评价指标的标准值应该以中等发达国家相应指标的实际值平均数为主，以专家咨询法（Delphi）定为辅；林业现代化评价指标的权重必须采用层次分析法（AHP）和专家咨询法确定。此外，还详细阐述了林业现代化评价指标权重的计算过程、计算公式和国内外常见的5种现代化评价标准。     

基于模糊综合评价模型的森林生态旅游项目风险研究——以山西禹王洞森林公园为例

从系统性出发,指出森林生态旅游项目经营开发中面临两大类风险:内部风险和外部风险,运用模糊隶属函数定量描述不同风险因子风险等级,通过构建模糊综合评价模型分析其内部风险和外部风险水平,进一步研究指出其主要风险因子,提出应根据不同风险具体情况采取有针对性的风险控制措施。最后以山西禹王洞森林公园为例进行了实例研究。     

基于模糊综合评价的企业自主创新风险研究

随着全球化竞争的不断加剧,自主创新的成败与否,对企业的国际和国内竞争地位具有重大影响。然而风险的存在,限制了企业自主创新活动的规模和强度。本文试图通过建立一个企业自主创新风险的模糊综合评价体系,以达到降低风险,提高企业自主创新能力的目的。     

A conceptual model to imply a negative innovation assessment framework on consumer behaviors through the electronic business platforms

Online retail platforms significantly impact consumers' purchasing decisions. Satisfaction, purchase intent, and repeat online shopping drive the platform's purchasing decisions. In contrast, individuals do not purchase products due to dissatisfaction and lack of purchasing intent. It will cause hesitation and spread negative feedback to influence online consumer behaviors. This research proposes a conceptual model incorporating the Status Quo Bias (SQB) and the Negative Online Purchase Decision-Making Process (NOPDMP) to suggest a new framework for evaluating the maintained consumer behavior of online shopping platforms. The questionnaires following the proposed conceptual model were collected from the sample data from participants of 384 experienced respondents using online shopping platforms. Data were analyzed for the causal relationship using Structural Equation Model. The implications of the assessment framework that incorporates the influence of negative factors can weigh the decision to purchase products and improve and reduce shopping cart abandonment on e-commerce platforms. This framework can also describe instances of negative perspectives regarding incentive alignments with actual behaviors.     

Empowerment of SME websites—Development of a web-empowerment scale and preliminary evidence

The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web has been argued to fundamentally reshape economic conditions and business practices of firms. It is seen as a promoter of rapid internationalisation of companies, particularly small and medium enterprises. In the aftermath of the burst of the electronic-bubble business practitioners and academics look with scrutiny on successful web-strategies, relevant dimensions of online-success and try to identify viable website practices which enable long-term rewards. The literature offers a rather patchy pattern for successful web-strategies and consumer perspectives on what is expected from websites is hardly available. Within this paper, we introduce the dimension “web-empowerment”. This is a multidimensional construct comprising of consumer views on various dimensions of relevant and successful websites. The web-empowerment scale is based on a large sample from Austria, and developed according to scale development procedures. The relevance of this construct and practical issues in the context of a cross-country sample of SME’s is empirically examined. The paper concludes by offering implications for SME practitioners and for research.     

Developing and assessing critical thinking skills in marketing students: The power of making explicit problem-solving processes

Applied research is a course that has been taught to develop and effectively assess critical thinking skills in marketing students. A modified version of the problem-solving model using explicit problem-solving processes is employed in the design of course material and delivery. Assessment data support students’ ability to critically think at both lower and higher levels. Assignments include creative and timely experiential exercises to reinforce important marketing concepts, encourage student interest, and develop critical thinking skills.