Assessing the Efficiency of an Insurance Provider—A Measurement Error Approach

The purpose of this paper is to compare the cost efficiency of private and public property insurance providers in Switzerland. The most commonly used measure for this kind of exercise is the claims-premium ratio. We argue that this measure may give strongly biased results. We develop a simple model to test whether the elasticity of premiums with respect to claims is less than unity. We address the fact that premium income is relatively stable across time, while claims are not, using estimation techniques that correct for measurement error. We develop tools to cope with heteroskedasticity in such measurement errors and apply the model to a data set on 19 firms in housing insurance markets in Switzerland. We show that the public insurance providers are about 20% more cost efficient than their private counterparts.JEL Classification No.: C21, D21, L84     

XML实现电子商务数据交换

通过系统分析国内外EDI的发展现状，根据我国国情和国际趋势，研究了基于Internet网的EDI的优势，提出了一种基于XML数据交换技术的电子商务应用系统的客户机假务器技术架构。     

The Effect of Demand on Stock Prices: Evidence from Index Fund Rebalancing

I examine the effect of demand on stock prices by analyzing the conversion of the TIPs 35 and TIPs 100 exchange‐traded funds into the i60 Fund. This conversion occurred at the Toronto Stock Exchange on March 6, 2000. Forty stocks of the TIPs 100 Fund that were not members of the new units of the i60 Fund were sold to complete this conversion. I find that a decrease in demand produced a permanent stock price decline, which was accompanied by significant abnormal trading volume. The results provide support for the downward‐sloping demand curve hypothesis.     

Comparisons and Contrasts Between Elementary/Primary ’School Situated Design’ and ’Workplace Design’ in Canada and England

There is a lack of evidence that examines, together, the triad of how teachers in elementary/primary schools are translating curriculum requirements for teaching design, within technology frameworks, in their classrooms, how their students then proceed with design, and how ’school situated design’ relates to ’workplace design’. This paper explores the relationships between designerly thinking and behaviours situated in classrooms and in the workplace, beliefs about how designing is learned in schools and in the ’real world’, and children’s, teachers’ and designers’ understanding of design. These are be illustrated by extracts from interviews with teachers, children and designers and evidence of designing in classrooms and in the workplace. Similarities and differences between evidence from ’school situated design’ and ’workplace design’ and from Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluating the Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility for Different Industries

Measurement plays a significant role in Six sigma program. Usually, the gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) study needs to be conducted prior to the process capability analysis for verifying the accuracy of measuring equipments and helping organizations improve their product and service quality. Therefore, how to ensure the quality of measurement becomes an important task for quality practitioners. In performing the GR&R study, most industries are using the acceptance criteria of Precision to Tolerance(P/T) ratio as stipulated by QS9000. However, the adequacy of applying the same acceptance criteria to different manufacturing processes is very questionable. In this paper, a statistical method using the relationship between GR&R and process capability indices is proposed for evaluating the adequacy of the acceptance criteria of P/T ratio. Finally, a comparative analysis has also been performed for evaluating the accuracy of GR&R among three methods (ANOVA, Classical GR&R, and Long Form). Hopefully, the results of this research can provide a useful reference for quality practitioners in various industries.     

GC/MS法测定苯乙烯中阻聚剂对叔丁基邻苯二酚的含量

建立GC/MS测量乙烯中阻聚剂对叔丁基邻苯二酚含量的方法.苯乙烯样品直接进样,通过毛细管柱(HP-130m×0.32mm×0.25μm)分离,由EI源于SIM模式下进行检测.结果表明,对叔丁基邻苯二酚浓度在5～50mg/kg范围内线性好(r2=0.9987),回收率高,与ASTM D4590中的分光光度测量法比较具有操作简捷、准确度高的特点.     

网络组织的收益分配模型研究

企业间合理的收益分配机制是保证网络组织高效运转的关键因素之一。通过对网络组织收益分配的基本原则进行定性分析和数理描述,提出了收益分配模型,并采用逐一比较法和模糊综合评价法相结合对模型中关键变量风险系数进行了科学计算。最后通过实证分析以说明模型的有效性。     

分析同轴／径向线转换的简易方法

本文利用格林函数法求解出同轴线激励的径向线内场分量的表达式,并用稳态公式给出了同轴/径向线转换在同轴端的输入阻抗的表达式。其结果不仅简单,而且各项的物理含义明确。理论计算的结果与已有文献的计算值是吻合的。     

An International Investigation of the Factors that Determine Conditional Gold Betas

We investigate the unconditional and conditional gold betas of four country‐based gold industry portfolios. First, we document the similarity of unconditional gold betas across countries. Second, we find that the factors affecting conditional gold betas are different in the Australian and South African gold sectors relative to their North American counterparts. Only the gold bullion return volatility shows a negative association with conditional gold betas in Australian and South African gold mining firms. Moreover, gold price does not appear to play a systematic role in determining Australian or South African conditional gold betas. We discuss possible explanations for these findings.     

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT: MEASURE SELECTION BASED UPON FIRM GOALS AND INFORMATION REPORTING NEEDS

Performance measurement is critically important to business success. Collecting and responding to information that does not provide management with guidance to meet established goals is counterproductive and potentially injurious to the success of the firm. This research develops a framework that allows individual firms to assess unique measurement needs in light of their stated goals, and to select performance measures most suited to addressing those measurement needs.