A cognition paradigm clash: Simon,situated cognition and the interpretation of bounded rationality

Simon’s notion of bounded rationality is deeply intertwined with his activity as a cognitive psychologist and founder of so-called cognitivism, a mainstream approach in cognitive psychology until the 1980s. Cognitivism, understood as ‘symbolic information processing,’ provided the first cognitive psychology foundation to bounded rationality. Has bounded rationality since then fully followed the development of cognitive psychology beyond symbolic information processing in the post-Simonian era? To answer this question, this paper focuses on Simon’s opposition during the 1990s to a new (paradigmatic) view of cognition called situated cognition, which has since put into question the entire view in cognitive psychology of humans as symbolic information processors. This paper then reads the cognitivism/situated cognition debate through the lens of current bounded rationality research in economics, in order (i) to inquire into whether it has tackled the issues in that controversy; (ii) to envisage possible new foundations for a cognitive psychology-based bounded rationality.     

What is extreme about Mises’s extreme apriorism?

There is something extreme about Ludwig von Mises’s methodological apriorism, namely, his epistemological justification of the a priori element(s) of economic theory. His critics have long recognized and attacked the extremeness of Mises’s epistemology of a priori knowledge. However, several of his defenders have neglected what is (and what has long been recognized by his critics to be) extreme about Mises’s apriorism. Thus, the argument is directed less against Mises than against those contributions to the secondary literature that assert his methodological moderation while overlooking what the most prominent critics have found extreme about Mises’s apriorism. Defending Mises as a merely moderate apriorist because he held only a narrow part of the foundation of economics to be a priori is a straw-man defense against criticisms of his apriorism as epistemologically extreme.     

OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE AND FIRM EXIT ROUTES

ABSTRACT

Our study presents empirical evidence about the role of ownership structure for firm exit probability by explicitly differentiating between distinct exit routes (bankruptcy and forced liquidation, voluntary liquidation, mergers and acquisitions – M&A, and removal from the court register). Based on the population of Slovenian firms in the 2006–2012 period and using multinomial probit, our findings support the predictions of agency theory. Ownership concentration, share of the largest owner, and the difference in shares between two largest owners all decrease the likelihood of exit for all studied exit routes but M&A. The magnitude of their impact is largest for exits, in which owners play a decisive role, i.e. voluntary liquidation and removal. The link between the number of primary owners and exit likelihood is U-shaped with the lowest exit probability for firms with around two owners.     

Third-party certification and post-IPO acquisitions

ABSTRACT

We explore the link between third-party certification (venture capital backing, analyst following and having a top underwriter), and post-IPO acquisition activity through the reduction in valuation uncertainty channel. In a sample of 2,424 U.S. IPOs, we find that third-party certification facilitates post-IPO acquisitions. The certified firms are both more likely and conduct acquisitions sooner after the IPO. Our results support the notion that third-party certification reduces post-IPO valuation uncertainty and thereby facilitates a more efficient acquisition strategy.     

建章宫“一池三山”之仙山形态试探

建章宫“一池三山”的布局源于汉武帝的神仙信仰。受此影响，其中的仙山形象应是上广中狭的台状构筑物。此种台状仙山与汉代慕拟自然的假山形象并行发展，成为后世皇家园林“一池三山”的主要表达方式。通过对汉代图像资料中的仙山形象进行梳理，并结合相关的文献记载，对“一池三山”的仙山形态进行探究。进而分析了这一仙山形态在古典园林仙境景观中的发展演变，及其与汉代园林中用于迎仙的台的区别与联系，为进一步理解早期园林中的景观内容提供新的线索。     

除霜除雾风管及格栅的设计方法

文章介绍了一种除霜除雾风管及格栅的设计方法,主要从除霜风管、格栅位置与角度及重要的结构原则进行阐述,并以实例说明了这种设计方法的可行性,供同行参考。     

Assessing French nursing home efficiency: An indirect approach via budget-constrained DEA models

In this paper, data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques are applied to the French nursing home industry in order to address two policy issues. The first involves nursing home size and returns to scale, while the second deals with the potential effects of a change in nursing home reimbursement from a flat rate to one based on the severity of case-mix. To accomplish this, our analysis expands on the existing nursing home literature to analyze technical and allocative efficiency along with budget-constrained models rather than the more common direct input-based distance function. Technical efficiency is evaluated via an indirect output distance function while allocative output efficiency is computed with a cost indirect revenue function. The findings suggest that system-wide efficiency and equity may result from coming reforms since payments would more accurately reflect resource use.     

Unit root testing via the stationary bootstrap

A nonparametric, residual-based stationary bootstrap procedure is proposed for unit root testing in a time series. The procedure generates a pseudoseries which mimics the original, but ensures the presence of a unit root. Unlike many others in the literature, the proposed test is valid for a wide class of weakly dependent processes and is not based on parametric assumptions on the data-generating process. Large sample theory is developed and asymptotic validity is shown via a bootstrap functional central limit theorem. The case of a least squares statistic is discussed in detail, including simulations to investigate the procedure's finite sample performance.     

基于AHP的A公司内外因素权重选择研究

通过介绍A公司的现状并以A公司为研究对象,针对A公司今后的战略选择问题,运用层次分析法对A公司的内外因素权重进行了计算和选择;得出了A公司存在的不足和需要改进的地方,对公司自身在进行因素确定和选择提供了一种可借鉴并且可行的方法,为公司考虑物流战略或运营方式选择提供了参考.     

1998年中国上市公司并购实践的效应分析

对上市公司的收购是中国股市近些年出现的新现象 ,本文以 1 998年深沪两市发生的全部 67家公司的并购为样本 ,以公司净资产收益率 (NROA)和主业利润率(CROA)为指标 ,将所有样本根据并购原因划分为 6类 ,以并购前 2年和并购后 3年的数据为基础 ,系统分析了并购的效应与得失。在此基础上 ,还讨论了国有企业与民营企业作为收购方的并购效应和并购的有偿转让与无偿划拨方式的不同结果。文章的结论是 :业绩较差的公司较愿出让控股权 ;多数并购是战略性的 ,获上市地位是主要的并购动力 ;并购后主业得到明显加强 ;市场化的战略性并购效果较好 ,有偿并购的效果也较好。