Electronic Computers – The Challenge to Management

The potentialities of computers have not been fully exploited in the U.S. because management has underestimated the task of putting them to proper use. Management has believed that computers themselves are automation. But automation places a premium on good management. Without careful management planning, business resources are wasted in terms of managerial and technical time and abilities. Since computers are capable of handling many tasks simultaneously, it is only by casting aside the departmental concept and substituting the integrated systems approach that the true value of these machines begins to be appreciated. Automatic data processing provides for the tighter control that is important in competitive markets. The key to the whole problem of putting automation to work is education of personnel. Knowledge of equipment and techniques is not enough. Automation, by permitting handling of many jobs simultaneously, is in direct conflict with the concept of division of labor. The businessman, faced with wholesale reorganization of work, must train more basically and broadly. Current training for this field is largely dependent upon specialized courses offered by the manufactures of computers. The responsibility for training these people is largely that of private business, and it is a larger task than most managers realize. If a businessman is to feel confident that his company’s data processing is not just a gamble, he must accept this new challenge to management. Reprint of a paper from elektronische datenverarbeitung 1(1)1959:20–23. This article is also available in German in print and via http://www.wirtschaftsinformatik.de: Diebold J (2008) Elektronische Computer – Eine Herausforderung für die Unternehmensleitung. WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK. doi: .

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黑龙江挠力河国家级自然保护区环境教育现状与发展对策

环境教育是实现保护区资源保护的一种有效途径,虽然在挠力河自然保护区内开展过相关的环境教育,但形式单一、不成规模。通过对游客进行问卷调查,可见游客对保护区开展的环境教育满意度不高,感知程度并不明显。基于对环境教育开展情况的相关调查的结果,提出针对挠力河自然保护区的环境教育对策。     

农村留守儿童发展困境：成因与破局之策

农村留守儿童发展是社会主义和谐社会建设和新农村建设进程中面,J盘的一个重要课题。当前留守儿童发展问题困境的成因：区域与城乡经济发展不平衡与制度缺失是根本原因,“新读书无用论”是主观原因,农民工收入有限与职业不稳定是客观原因,家庭教育缺失与学校教育不足是直接原因。破局之策：需要以“爱”心为中心,发挥政府职能,破除留守儿童教育问题的制度障碍;建立家庭式学校,强化学校对留守儿童的管理角色;重铸“爱巢”,弥补留守儿童家庭教育的缺憾;倡导爱心行动,最大限度获得社会各界对留守儿童教育的关注和支持。     

Quantile regression with sample selection: Estimating women's return to education in the U.S.

This study uses quantile regression techniques to analyze changes in the returns to education for women. The data used is the March Current Population Survey for the years 1968, 1973, 1979, 1986 and 1990. The first step in estimating the single (linear) index selection equation uses Ichimura's (1993) semiparametric procedure. To correct for an unknown form of a sample selection bias in the quantile regression, the second step incorporates a nonparametric method, using an idea similar to one developed by Heckman (1980) and Newey (1991) for mean regression, and Buchinsky (1998) for quantile regression.  The results show that: (a) the returns to education increased enormously for the younger cohorts, but very little for the older cohorts; (b) in general the returns are higher at the lower quantiles in the beginning of the sample period and higher at the higher quantiles by the end of the sample period; (c) there is a significant sample selection bias for all age groups at almost all quantiles; (d) toward the end of the sample period there is a significant convergence of the returns at the various quantiles, especially for the younger cohorts and age groups; and (e) the semiparametric estimates of the selection equation are considerably different from those obtained for a parametric probit model.     

农民工教育与职业的匹配及其工资效应——基于城市规模视角

农民工教育与职业的匹配状况对提高劳动力资源利用、增加劳动供给质量具有重要意义。本文使用中国流动人口动态监测调查2011～2016年微观数据,基于城市规模视角分析了农民工教育与职业的匹配状况对工资效应的差别。研究发现:人口规模越大的城市,农民工教育与职业的错配比例越高;中小城市农民工教育过度对工资的影响呈现工资嘉赏效应,大城市农民工教育过度对工资的影响以工资惩罚为主;而教育不足对农民工工资则普遍存在负向影响。农民工教育与职业不匹配对工资影响的理论机制表明,中小城市支持人力资本理论模型,而大城市和特大城市则支持分配理论模型。这意味着,农民工在中小城市表现出学历越高人力资本回报越高的特点;而在大城市,教育与职业适配则更为重要。因此,改善城市层面的教育-职业的适配性,让农民工在城市劳动力市场上自由流动和工作转换,进一步增强城市间劳动力资源的流动是相关政策调节的重点。     

The economic returns to schooling for Italian men. An evaluation based on instrumental variables

We study the relationship between (log) hourly earnings and schooling for male household heads in Italy, using cross-sectional data from the 1993 and 1995 waves of the Bank of Italy (BI) survey on the income and wealth of Italian households. In line with international evidence, we find that OLS under-estimate the return to schooling. When the endogeneity of schooling is taken into account, the return to an additional year in school increases from 4.8% to 5.6%. This estimate is lower than the estimates tabulated by Card [Card, D., 1994. Earnings, Schooling and Ability Revisited. NBER Working Paper no. 4832.] for the United States. We also find evidence that this return increases with higher levels of educational attainment.     

Local community reaction to the ‘no-take’ policy on fishing in the Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa

Fishing in the Tsitsikamma National Park has officially been halted since 2001. However, the desire to fish in the Marine Protected Area remains high among the local communities in Tsitsikamma. This has led to illegal fishing practices in the park. Consequently, the reaction of the local communities was measured using semi-structured questionnaires, informal interactions, personal observations, and through a key informant workshop that was organized in the Tsitsikamma National Park. It was found that responses from local communities to fishing within the park were defined by their residence status, ethnicity, gender, income, and educational level. There is a general understanding by local communities that the purpose of the Tsitsikamma National Park is to conserve nature within its boundaries. However, there is a mismatch in the understanding of the term ‘conservation’ between the local communities and conservation officials of the South African National Parks (SANParks). Local communities consider conservation to include sustainable utilization while conservation officials from the practice pursue absolute protection of the marine fisheries resources. The majority of local communities in Tsitsikamma resent this SANParks ‘no-take’ policy on fishing. They would like access to the fisheries resources in the Tsitsikamma National Park for both subsistence and recreational purposes.