A comparison of opinion and regression forecasting for an industrial product

Opinion-based forecasting techniques are widely used by industrial marketers. Rarely, however, are the results of these forecasts compared with alternative forecasting techniques and/or evaluated against actual operating results. In this study, opinion-based forecasting results for an industrial equipment manufacturer are evaluated against actual sales data. Further, the opinion-based predictions are compared with the predictions of a naive regression model. The results of these analyses suggest that the current opinion-based forecasting system is deficient.     

创新创业社团高质量运行的关键要素调查与实证研究

近年来，各高校纷纷开设创新创业必修课程，双创社团高质量运行成为关注热点。基于生态系统理论与学习、行动、塑造三位一体的创新创业理论框架，通过问卷调查，实证研究创新创业社团高质量运行的影响因素并对相应机制进行深入分析。结果发现：创新创业社团高质量运行受到吸纳成员广度、学生自治程度、内容丰富程度、突出专业特色、教学配合紧密度5个因素的影响与共同作用；相比于研究生与已毕业人员，本科生更愿参加双创社团并且将社团活动丰富程度作为首要考虑因素。     

Higher aims fulfilled: The Social Capital Academy as a means for advancing underrepresented students in comprehensive university business schools

Current research underscores how a college education can reflect broader social inequality via the disproportionate flow of resources to elite universities and advantaged students. In contrast, underresourced comprehensive universities disproportionately serve minority, first-generation, and working-class students. This article argues that the comprehensive university is uniquely positioned to reduce social inequality and that the comprehensive university undergraduate business school (CUUBS) should test a new approach to education. The article also advocates a substantive response to social inequality by (1) focusing on undergraduate business education within comprehensive universities rather than MBA programs in well-funded, elite business schools, (2) implementing a strategic emphasis on career-related jobs (CRJs) for underrepresented students, and (3) helping students pursue CRJs via the development of a Social Capital Academy (SCA). This article describes the benefits of an SCA for underrepresented students, its requirements and benefits for universities and business communities, and the possibilities for scaling the program to address social inequality. Future applications of the SCA to STEM-related fields are also explored.