The new logic of Japan's young generations

Through daily use of computer games and advanced cartoonized learning, the lower teen generation in Japan has developed an unprecedented ability for instantaneous contextual gestalt-based decision making and high-speed multidimensional simultaneous thinking. This is a radical departure from the sequential logic of older generations. This is a conclusion we can reach after examining the voluminous data available from a new research institute in Japan. The data also indicate that the young adult generation has developed unique strategies of life, which are fascinating but difficult to understand in the framework of our traditional logic but make sense as a transition to the logic of the lower teen generation.     

Industrial life cycles and learning curves: Interaction of marketing and production

The price-oriented experience curve has been widely utilized as a model to design marketing strategies. Yet, it is cost over which many firms exercise the most control. This article explores the cost-oriented learning curve in conjunction with the product life cycle model as joint strategy constructs. Implications of variations in the learning curve parameters are examined.     

Optimizing the credit term decisions in supply chain finance

We study a credit term determination problem in the context of a supplier-buyer supply chain. The supplier's credit term decision is simultaneously made with its production and inventory decisions, and most importantly, it is impacted by the buyer's order quantity. We present a new game-theoretic framework to model this problem, which captures the interaction between the supplier's credit term decision and the buyer's order decision in a multi-period setting. An exact method based on nonlinear programming is implemented to obtain the optimal solutions. We apply our methodologies on a real world case. The computational results show that our approach significantly outperforms the heuristics with fixed credit terms, and either a short or a long credit term can be sub-optimal for the supplier in profitability. Our work offers the first data-driven model and solution approach that assists purchasing and supply managers to make optimal dynamic credit term decision in conjunction with production, ordering and inventory decisions in a game-theoretic setting.     

Structural holes and hedge fund return comovement: evidence from network-connected stock hedge funds in China

Using data from a new hedge fund database, we examine the impact of social networks on the return comovement of stock hedge funds in China. We use structural holes in the college alumni networks of managers to measure the managers’ social network positions. We perform an empirical analysis on a sample of 3,012 hedge fund products in China from 2010 to 2017. We find that greater structural holes are associated with higher return comovement. The positive impact of the structural holes on return comovement is not affected by market cycles, a manager's major in college, or his or her abilities.     

基于模因论的大学英语教学策略探讨

模因论为英语教学的研究提供了一个新的视角。基于模因论的英语教学策略认为,教师们在组织课堂教学时,应该根据语言模因传播的不同阶段,来组织教学内容。文章从模因传播的四个阶段——同化、记忆、表达和传播来探讨大学英语教学策略。     

The impact of relative residence times on the distribution of heavy drinkers in highly distinct environments

Alcohol consumption is a function of social dynamics, environmental contexts, individuals' preferences and family history. Empirical surveys have focused primarily on identification of risk factors for high-level drinking but have done little to clarify the underlying mechanisms at work. Also, there have been few attempts to apply nonlinear dynamics to the study of these mechanisms and processes at the population level. A simple framework where drinking is modeled as a socially contagious process in low- and high-risk connected environments is introduced. Individuals are classified as light, moderate (assumed mobile), and heavy drinkers. Moderate drinkers provide the link between both environments, that is, they are assumed to be the only individuals drinking in both settings. The focus here is on the effect of moderate drinkers, measured by the proportion of their time spent in “low-” versus “high-” risk drinking environments, on the distribution of drinkers.A simple model within our contact framework predicts that if the relative residence times of moderate drinkers are distributed randomly between low- and high-risk environments then the proportion of heavy drinkers is likely to be higher than expected. However, the full story even in a highly simplified setting is not so simple because “strong” local social mixing tends to increase high-risk drinking on its own. High levels of social interaction between light and moderate drinkers in low-risk environments can diminish the importance of the distribution of relative drinking times on the prevalence of heavy drinking.     

Tracking Can Be More Equitable Than Mixing

Parents and policy‐makers often wonder whether and how the choice of a tracked or mixed educational system affects the equality of opportunity. I answer this question by analyzing the influence of peers on future educational results. I define an equal opportunity policy as one that maximizes the average lifetime income of the worst‐off type of individuals in society (i.e., students from disadvantaged backgrounds). I find that tracking maximizes average lifetime income if the opportunity cost of college attendance is sufficiently high.     

大学英语整体语言教学的理论与实践

整体语言教学强调能力的培养和发展是整体的,同步训练输入和输出技能,注重将语言知识的传授融于语言运用活动中,有利于培养学生听、说、读写能力、学生交际能力和英语综合应用能力。     

大学英语词汇教学策略研究

词汇学习是大学英语学习的难点。教师应帮助学生摆脱母语干扰,注重语境学习,强调正确发言,分辨词汇,把握构词法,扩大词汇量,科学记忆词汇,指导正确使用词典,传授背景知识,帮助学生正确理解和使用词汇。