基于广义虚拟经济的国际不平等交换案例研究

本文从广义虚拟经济的视角揭示了在北京高档酒吧2001年相同容量的一瓶百威啤酒售价是青岛啤酒的4倍,而到2011年差价变为1.4倍现象的深层原因是国人对百威啤酒的心理需求产生变化,即两者虚拟价值变化必然带来价格差距的缩小,这也使中国在啤酒行业的国际交换中不平等的程度减弱。     

The shrivelled USA: representing time–space in the context of metropolitanization and the development of high-speed transport

On the one hand the present globalisation process has only been made possible through a reduction in time–distances allowed by high-speed transport, and particularly through the development of air transport. On the other hand the metropolitanization process seen as the urban counterpart of globalisation is deeply associated with the development of air transport.Understanding distances between places is a fundamental task for the geographer, while the representation of distances constitutes one of the major functions of cartography.Among the types of maps invented to represent time–space, distorted projections were supplemented with time–space relief cartography in the 1990s. This paper proposes a representation of the time–space relief of the USA considering terrestrial and air modes. This constitutes a key innovation in this type of cartography, giving the possibility of creating a representation of global time–space. The metaphors associated with the images proposed are then discussed evoking the shrinking, the crumpling and finally the shrivelling of time–space. The shrivelling metaphor takes account of the complicated contraction/expansion movement that high-speed transport impacts on space and allows for a rich interpretation of the time–space relief map of the USA in the perspective of the processes of globalisation and metropolitanization.     

Structural information in recursive VAR orderings

This paper investigates structural models that will permit a Cholesky decomposition of the covariance matrix of VAR residuals to identify some structural impulse response functions. Cholesky decompositions are found to be useful identification tools for the set of partially recursive structural models. A partially recursive structure is defined as any block recursive system where the equations in one block can be recursively ordered and where the structural shocks are uncorrelated. Using this class of models, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the moving average representation from a Cholesky decomposition to identify structure. The paper concludes by discussing implications of these results for empirical research.     

Representative dissonance: India’s Self and Western Image

Western media have often been criticized for portraying Third World destinations through a colonial prism via images of primitiveness and exoticism. Contrastingly, some destinations have begun to resist those representations with media campaigns of their own. The purpose of this study was to critically construe the differences between ways that India is represented in American tourism media and how it is represented by the Indian government itself. The findings revealed that these two representations are different in ways that reflect the colonial nature of international tourism and the postcolonial stage of India’s nationalism. Moreover, the study of representative dissonance is proposed as a tool for understanding the conflicting ideological forces that shape destination images.     

Moral Choice in an Agency Framework: The Search for a Set of Motivational Typologies

Moral choice, as a precursor to behaviour, has an important influence on the success or failure of business entities. According to Rest, 1983, Morality, Moral Behavior and Moral Development (John Wiley & Sons, New York), moral choice is prompted, amongst other things, by a motivational component. With this in mind, data obtained from a sample of four hundred financial sector operatives, employed in a rapidly developing region of China, was used to construct a relatively stable set of motivational typologies which could be used to predict choice within an agency-based context. A non-egoist version of the agency theory was developed, which permitted the modelling of alternative heuristic patterns. Altruists and persons identified as bordering on the verge of being classified as psychological egoists, refused to reorganize their motives when responding to a problem that included both moral hazard and adverse selection criteria. It was also possible to identify certain personal and contextual issues which discriminated between the typologies. Gordon Woodbine, Ph.D., FCPA is Senior Lecturer employed in the School of Accounting, Curtin University of Technology teaching undergraduate and post-graduate students in auditing, business ethics and governance. He has taught for extended periods overseas and is published in several refereed journals including Journal of Business Ethics, Asian Review of Accounting and Journal of Consumer Behaviour. Dennis Taylor Ph.D., FCPA is Chair Professor in Accounting at University of South Australia. Previously, he held professorial, associate dean, and head of school appointments at University of Adelaide, Curtin University of Technology and City University of Hong Kong. He is the author of over 100 publications in areas of corporate financial disclosures and public sector accountability.     

Should governments mandate more female board representation? Possible intended and unintended consequences

Using data on more than 4,000 product recalls, we recently found that firms whose boards of directors include more women are significantly faster to recall dangerously defective medical products. More specifically, adding just one female director to a board with no women did not speed recalls, but increasing from one female director to two, from two to three, and so on led to increasingly faster recalls. This provides initial evidence that consumer safety can be improved through including more women on companies’ boards. Assuming data from other settings support our findings, it is tempting to conclude that governments should mandate a certain level of female board representation, especially for firms in consumer product sectors such as medical devices, food, toys, and automobiles. We suggest, however, that policy makers need to carefully think through the possible intended and unintended consequences of dictating board composition in terms of gender. Meanwhile, wise companies will recognize the benefits of greater female board representation and will pursue it without government intervention.     

外部非局部自相似先验的图像去噪

针对在噪声水平比较高的情况下难以从噪声图像本身提取准确先验信息的问题,提出一种从外部干净图像数据集学习非局部自相似先验信息的图像去噪方法。首先用高斯混合模型学习外部干净图像的非局部自相似先验信息,其次利用最大后验概率估计的方法找到与噪声图像块最匹配的外部先验信息,最后利用外部先验对噪声图像块进行稀疏表示。实验对比表明,所提算法在去除噪声的同时可以较好地保留图像的细节信息,使图像数据集的平均峰值信噪比提高0.18 dB以上。     

Online representations of RVing neo-tribes in the USA and Australia

Road trips in recreational vehicles (RVs) are popular ways to experience freedom, warmer climates and flexibility in the USA as well as Australia. Ownership of such vehicles is increasing in both markets. Nevertheless, very little is known about the individuals who engage in RVing activities and about the neo-tribes that they form and organise through clubs. Also, cross-regional comparisons of RVers are currently missing from the literature. This article conducted analyses of the text (words and images) of websites belonging to two RV clubs in the USA and two clubs in Australia as well as of the websites of the countries' respective RV advocacy groups. The goal was to examine the specific neo-tribes as they were represented on these websites. The results revealed similarities but also clear differences, with the USA RV clubs appearing to be much more focussed on delivering the defining aspects of neo-tribes, such as fellowship, organisation of online scenes, and the facilitation of an RVing lifestyle.     

Implications of the EU Information and Consultation Directive and the Regulations in the UK – prospects for the future of employee representation

The EU Directive on informing and consulting employees (I&C Directive) is now established on the employment relations agenda with the provisions coming into force in the UK in April 2005. The I&C Directive potentially has far reaching consequences for the way UK employers inform and consult employees over a wide range of organizational issues, with the potential to transform the UK industrial relations environment. The initiatives contained in the I&C Directive and the subsequent introduction of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations will take place in an employment relations environment in a period of significant change. Pressures of globalization have intensified competition in product and labour markets, emphasizing the need for greater efficiency and productivity. This has led to a greater focus on the link between employee participation practices and business strategy and organizational performance in search of an elusive (or illusory) fit? This paper is a commentary on the origins and rationale of this new legislation in the UK context, drawing on existing knowledge and academic debates in the area. In addition, the paper discusses the potential implications of the I&C Directive and the likely impact of the ICE Regulations on UK representative voice arrangements.     

地理信息可视化技术研究与实践

本文简要介绍了地理信息可视化的定义及作用,重点阐述了笔者在这个领域的实践和探索。