A comparison of Japanese and American business negotiations

The determinants of the outcomes of business negotiations in two cultures are investigated in a laboratory experiment. The most important causal factor in Japanese negotiations was found to be the role (i.e., buyer or seller) of the negotiator. Japanese buyers consistently achieved higher bargaining solutions than Japanese sellers. The primary causal factor in negotiations between Americans was the information content of bargaining strategies. Americans to whom bargaining partners gave information more freely achieved higher bargaining solutions.     

Mindshift: The mental revolution we are in

It is by now a commonplace to say that today the world is in the midst of a revolution as profound as any we have ever experienced. It is, however, much less of a commonplace to specify precisely of what this revolution consists. The contention of this article is that the revolution is more than a mere shift in our industrial or technological base. Fundamentally, it is a change in underlying mental attitudes—how we conceive of the world. It is thus a shift in our values but at the same time much more basic than this alone.This article describes the nature of the change that is occuring in mental attitudes. However, it does not do so in a traditional way. Primarily, it does it by means of a fable. The reason is that the shift we are experiencing is also in part a shift in our aesthetic vision, that is, in the styles of discourse that we use to describe reality. In short, different conceptions of the world require different stylistic forms. The full nuances of a new era can not be captured by the forms of the past.     

Transboundary Pollution in the Black Sea: Comparison of Institutional Arrangements

This paper analyses the transboundary pollution between Romania and Ukraine, coastal states along the Black Sea, and studies the welfare consequences of institutional arrangements for controlling this problem. To achieve this goal, we use a dynamic and strategic framework. We compare in terms of total welfare for two countries a first-best case with three different institutional arrangements: the non-cooperative game of countries, the uniform emission policy and the constant emission policy as proposed by the Black Sea Commission. Our findings indicate that the non-cooperative game provides a better level of total welfare than the other rules.     

南海地区红树林资源的利用现状及生态保育对策

南海地区是全球红树林分布的中心之一,该区红树林面积大约占全球的28%,红树植物的多样性为世界最高,共有46种真红树分布于此。由于人口增加和经济发展的巨大压力,南海地区红树林资源破坏严重,退化趋势明显。本区红树林的平均年损失率为1.7%,比全球平均损失率高35%。本文在对南海地区红树林资源的利用现状和退化原因进行分析的基础上,提出南海地区红树林资源保护与管理的对策,以期能在双边和区域的层面上共同协作,采取适当的措施去扭转南海地区红树林生境的退化趋势。     

State intervention and economic growth in Southern Italy: the rise and fall of the ‘Cassa per il Mezzogiorno’ (1950–1986)

In the second half of the twentieth century, the Italian government carried out a massive regional policy in southern Italy, through the State-owned agency ‘Cassa per il Mezzogiorno’ (1950–1986). The article reconstructs the activities of this agency, making use of its yearly reports and of national and local archives. The Cassa was effective in the first two decades, thanks to substantial technical autonomy and, in the 1960s, to a strong focus on industrial development; however, from the 1970s it progressively became an instrument of waste and misallocation. At the local level, we find significant differences between the southern regions, and correspondence between the quality of state intervention and the regional patterns of GDP and productivity.     

Linking the ecosystem services approach to social preferences and needs in integrated coastal land use management – A planning approach

Coastal zones with their natural and societal sub-systems are exposed to rapid changes and pressures on resources. Scarcity of space and impacts of climate change are prominent drivers of land use and adaptation management today. Necessary modifications to present land use management strategies and schemes influence both the structures of coastal communities and the ecosystems involved. Approaches to identify the impacts and account for (i) the linkages between social preferences and needs and (ii) ecosystem services in coastal zones have been largely absent. The presented method focuses on improving the inclusion of ecosystem services in planning processes and clarifies the linkages with social impacts. In this study, fourteen stakeholders in decision-making on land use planning in the region of Krummhörn (northwestern Germany, southern North Sea coastal region) conducted a regional participative and informal process for local planning capable to adapt to climate driven changes. It is argued that scientific and practical implications of this integrated assessment focus on multi-functional options and contribute to more sustainable practices in future land use planning. The method operationalizes the ecosystem service approach and social impact analysis and demonstrates that social demands and provision of ecosystem services are inherently connected.     

新疆南疆三地州冷链建设对林果产业发展的支撑作用

本论文通过对南疆三地州林果种植与发展现状综合分析的基础上,就目前制约其林果产业化发展的关键问题进行了深入的探讨,提出了加强冷链建设是南疆三地州林果产业化发展的必由之路的观点和具体途径。     

Transport and Logistics Developments in the Baltic Sea Region until 2025

The aim of this article is to chart likely futures of transport and logistics in the Baltic Sea Region in 2025. The research draws on a Delphi study data collection process, which included an international panel of experts. Several sector-related factors are identified that affect competitiveness of the region by 2025 from transport and logistics perspective: fuel and operational efficiencies, technology diffusion, labor productivity, low-cost country subcontracting, under-capacity in road and rail infrastructure, blue-collar labor scarcity, and sector regulation. Competitiveness oriented policy recommendations are presented accordingly.     

International Versus National Actions Against Nitrogen Pollution of the Baltic Sea

Large nitrogen loads to the Baltic Sea play an important role for currentdamages caused by eutrophication: large sea bottom areas without anybiological life, low stocks of cods, and toxic blue green algae. In spite of therelatively large supply of biological and physical data on the sea,difficulties remain with respect to linking costs of nitrogen reductions withthe dispersion of associated benefits among countries. The purpose of thisstudy is therefore to analyse and calculate efficient nitrogen reductionsand associated net benefits under international co-ordination of nitrogenreductions and single country actions for two different specifications ofmarginal benefits: uniform and differentiated. Further, comparisons aremade with the current ministerial agreement of 50 per cent nitrogenreduction to the Baltic Sea. The empirical results show that total netbenefits under internationally co-ordinated actions are considerablyhigher than when countries act on their own. Another result is thatdifferentiated benefits give higher total net benefits than uniform, and alsoimply larger differences in net benefits among countries. However, resultsindicate that uniform marginal benefits generate net benefits for allcountries from co-ordinated actions as compared to single country actions.     

关于南岳旅游文化发展的若干问题探讨

旅游文化成为现代旅游业发展的灵魂。南岳旅游文化资源类型齐全,文化特色鲜明,但南岳旅游产品的开发大都处于较低层次。因此开发南岳旅游文化资源对加快南岳现代旅游业的发展具有必要性和紧迫性。我们认为,当前南岳旅游文化发展有两个特点：一是围绕南岳旅游文化优势资源进行深度开发,把南岳区建成有特色的旅游文化城市。二是大力发展有地方情调的动态旅游。为实现这一战略重点,必须实施若干相应的基本措施。