A study on the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in NUTS3 regions within the framework of digital agenda for Europe

This paper investigates the high-speed broadband situation in the EU and its prospects. It uses a deployment model to estimate the investment required to meet the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) broadband targets set by the European Commission in its Europe 2020 strategy at different stages: as of 2016, after expected operators’ deployment, after public subsidies and leveraged investment, and as expected in 2020. The model uses data at the NUTS3 level, which is the most granular level that has data available on the status of broadband deployment, to arrive at a coherent and comparable framework. From the different perspectives on the investment to meet DAE targets, the paper concludes on the need for an appropriate combination of incumbent and alternative operators investments, public subsidies and leveraged investments, and new investments, both public and private and non-existing as of 2016, examining their feasibility and the impact of different regulatory, technical, and policy strategies.     

The fortunes of air transport gateways

The paper explores the idea that the fortunes of some gateway cities are changing as airlines use modern aircraft to respond to new market opportunities. It uses data on inter-city journeys between Australia and Asia to identify a hierarchy of gateway cities, and then shows how the connections between them has changed over the 2000–2013 period. Results show that secondary, and smaller, gateways in both Australia and Asia have played more important roles in passenger movements over this time. In Melbourne in particular, stronger growth in the demand for international travel in that city along with more use made of the smaller long-haul aircraft by airlines, has strengthened its role as a gateway city relative to Sydney. These results confirm that the geography of inter-continental air networks are changing which may have important implications for the air transport roles of some cities in the immediate future.     

Do SMEs in deprived areas find it harder to access finance? Evidence from the UK Small Business Survey

Encouraging enterprise in deprived places is an important objective of the UK government policy. Evidence on the perceptions of entrepreneurs suggests that access to finance may be harder for firms in deprived areas, who may have fewer contacts, less collateral or worse access to mainstream banks. Yet there is little empirical evidence on whether this is actually the case. This paper investigates whether firms in deprived areas are more likely to find it hard to access finance than other firms, using a sample of around 3500 UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). We find that firms in deprived areas are more likely to perceive access to finance is a problem. However, controlling for SME characteristics, firm growth, credit scores and selection effects, we find no evidence that they actually do find it harder to obtain. The results suggest that geographical disparities in access to finance are unimportant for the average firm.     

基于云计算的民族地区高校教育信息化平台建设研究——以贵州省为例

教育信息化程度成为了国家教育现代化程度的风向标,本文以"云计算"技术为抓手,从教育工作的流程出发,设计教育资源及教育管理两个平台。通过两个云平台的建设,夯实智慧教育基础,为智慧教育的应用开发提供强有力地保障。     

基于工作过程的“冲压模具设计与制造”课程学习领域开发

基于工作过程的培养模式为主线,研究开发一种全新的冲压模具设计与制造课程学习模式。开发过程以学生获得职业能力为目标,结合当地制造业特色,选取典型岗位任务,分析职业能力,设计学习情境,进而设计教学活动。     

Impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods: Evidence of giant panda biosphere reserves in Sichuan Province,China

Given the debates about whether Protected Areas (PAs) exacerbate local poverty or might contribute to poverty alleviation, there is a critical need for evidence to examine the impacts. In this study, we have conducted a household investigation of 560 rural households in 7 PAs of Sichuan province of China. We used matching method to value impacts of PAs on local livelihoods. The results showed that compared to the Average Treatment Effect, the results of traditional regression model exaggerate the negative impacts of the PAs. However, we should notice that the overall impact of PAs on local household wealth was still negative. Households inside the PAs had more Non-timber Forest Products gathering income and compensation, but fewer crop production income and forestry income. Better conservation policies need to be initiated to realize the harmonious and concurrent development of ecological objectives and livelihood objectives.     

Interregional trade network analysis for road freight transport in Greece

This paper suggests a flexible decision support framework for the strategic planning of a freight transport hub network in Greece. The proposed methodology treats practical aspects related to the optimal number, location and geographical covering of hubs, through the network analysis of interregional trade, based on original survey data for road freight flows during 2004–2012. The results offer insights into the hierarchical structure of the network and related investment priorities, as the hub role of a prefecture is found to be strongly influenced by high population densities and manufacturing specialization, and its location along highway corridors.     

山区变电站竖向设计初探

文章阐述了变电站总图设计中竖向设计的4种形式和影响变电站竖向设计的因素,并通过实例分析指出适宜山区变电站采取的竖向布置形式。     

Start-up and hiring practices of immigrant entrepreneurs: An empirical study from an evolutionary psychological perspective

Strong social ties embedded in ethnic communities of immigrant populations have been considered key assets for immigrant entrepreneurs. However, little research has been done on how biological kinship and the biological theories of altruism influence the behavior of ethnic entrepreneurs. In this study, we have applied a neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory of kinship to examine adaptive functions of kin and ethnic altruism in business start-up and hiring practices of Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in the United States. We confirmed that the patterns of help received by Korean entrepreneurs for business start-ups were congruent with an evolutionary perspective on altruism. However, the results for hiring patterns suggested that customer ethnicity trumped kin and co-ethic interests. We close by offering suggestions for future research.     

A meta-analysis of consumer ethnocentrism across 57 countries

The concept of consumer ethnocentrism was introduced more than 30 years ago, and since then it has received keen interest among academic researchers. However, empirical evidence in published studies has been inconclusive and many macro-drivers of consumer ethnocentrism received cursory attention. This study meta-analyses 240 studies from 57 countries and tries to understand the key drivers of consumer ethnocentrism. The results indicate that consumer ethnocentrism is a universal phenomenon and is driven by culture and the interaction of economic and ethnic diversity variables. Challenging popular beliefs, the findings suggest that neither globalization nor economic threats are unconditional drivers of consumer ethnocentrism. Their effects are conditional on cultural values and economic situation. Results provide evidence that multi-ethnic societies tend to be more consumer ethnocentric when the culture of a country is not strong in egalitarianism. Finally, the paper presents evidence that consumer ethnocentrism affects the imports of consumer goods in a country.