Family meals and disparities in global ecosystem dependency. Three examples: Ghana,Russia and Sweden

This article highlights globalization in terms of dependency on local and global ecosystems when it comes to family diets. In an exploratory case study, one typical meal in three household settings in different parts of the world: Ghana, Russia and Sweden, is examined. Food paths are traced to compare the scale of ecosystem dependency. The result shows that ecosystem dependency varies greatly with implications for environmental impact. The Swedish household, as opposed to the Ghanaian and the Russian, is not dependent on local ecosystems for food provision, but increasingly on global systems. Opportunities and constraints for lowering environmental impacts related to diets in different economies are discussed. It is concluded that it is of great importance to create awareness in high‐income countries of the dependency on the global ecosystem and the resulting environmental impacts. It is in these countries that opportunities are available for change towards more sustainable diets. It is suggested that further research need to explore in greater depth how ecosystem dependency differs and how that translates into broad spectra of environmental impacts, considering other dimensions of sustainable development as well.     

基于GARCH类模型的人民币汇率非线性依赖关系研究

利用三类不同结构的基本 GARCH 类模型对四个不同时间跨度上人民币汇率序列进行拟合和效度检验;并进一步结合窗口检验程序,借助相关性 C 统计量和双相关 H 统计量对实证对象的 GARCH 类非线性结构的稳定性及 GARCH 类模型中有关非线性相关的基本假设进行检验。结果表明,人民币汇率系统是一个典型的非线性动态复杂系统,人民币汇率序列中的 GARCH 类非线性结构表现出了非持续和瞬时性的特点。     

Parisian types of ruin probabilities for a class of dependent risk-reserve processes

For a rather general class of risk-reserve processes, we provide an exact method for calculating different kinds of ruin probabilities, with particular emphasis on variations over Parisian type of ruin. The risk-reserve processes under consideration have, in general, dependent phase-type distributed claim sizes and inter-arrivals times, whereas the movement between claims can either be linear or follow a Brownian motion with linear drift. For such processes, we provide explicit formulae for classical, Parisian and cumulative Parisian types of ruin (for both finite and infinite time horizons) when the clocks are phase-type distributed. An erlangization scheme provides an efficient algorithmic methods for calculating the aforementioned ruin probabilities with deterministic clocks. Special attention is drawn to the construction of specific dependency structures, and we provide a number of numerical examples to study its effect on probabilities.     

A Multivariate Time‐Series Examination of Motor Carrier Safety Behaviors

Motor carriers’ operational safety affects multiple stakeholders including truck drivers, motor carriers, insurance companies, shippers, and the general public. In this article, I devise and test theory regarding motor carriers’ longitudinal performance for three classes of safety behaviors linked to carriers’ accident rates—Unsafe Driving, Hours‐of‐Service Compliance, and Vehicle Maintenance—tracked by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as part of the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) program. Specifically, I draw on core concepts from sociological agency theory and resource dependency theory to devise middle‐range theory that generates never‐before‐tested hypotheses regarding carriers’ longitudinal safety performance for these classes of safety behaviors after the start of the CSA program. The hypothesized predictions are tested by fitting a series of multivariate latent curve models to four years of panel data for a random sample of 484 large, for‐hire motor carriers operating in the United States. The empirical findings corroborate the theoretical predictions and remain after robustness testing. These findings have important implications for scholars, motor carrier managers, procurers of motor carrier transportation services, and public policy makers.     

The relationship between networks,institutional development,and performance in foreign investments

This paper empirically examines the relationship between the external business network of a country business unit (CBU) of a multinational firm, its performance, and the unique institutional characteristics of the foreign market in which it operates. We develop hypotheses about the CBU network structure associated with operating margin given different levels of institutional development, and the categories of network contacts associated with CBU operating margin. We test the hypotheses using social network analysis in 54 CBUs in two different business segments within one multinational company. Results show that the CBU network structure associated with higher operating margin depended partially on the level of the country's institutional development, and that network composition related strongly to CBU operating margin. We identify implications for research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

IT采用对SCM关系治理行为及其绩效的影响研究

信息技术(IT)的发展为供应链(SCM)合作伙伴之间建立跨组织的信息共享提供了支持,促进了现代供应链管理理念的实现以及企业间关系的转变,信息技术在促进供应链中制造商和供应商之间关系治理过程中具有重要的作用。从资源依赖和环境动态视角出发,以资源依赖和环境动态变化为调节变量,以关系治理行为作为中介变量,构建了信息技术采用对供应商合作伙伴关系治理行为的影响因素模型,并进行了实证研究,研究结论为企业供应链关系治理行为的改善和企业绩效提升提供理论参考及实践指导。     

The state as the investor of last resort: a comparative study of banking crises in Denmark and Sweden

This article addresses the role of the state in bailouts, i.e. government objectives and measures during banking crises. Our main question concerns the incentives and measures that governments pursue in a state of a systemic banking crisis, and why they are launched. What have been the objectives and operations when a government has decided to act as an investor of last resort and take control of commercial banks? The answer is limited to cover the financial history of two countries. The study unveils government interventions in the latest crises in Denmark and Sweden, and critically analyse which objectives justified the setting up of organisations for financial stability. The two country-cases differ in terms of historical experience, context, and time-period. We compare intrinsic principles and perceptions for government intervention, with a focus on bailouts and state-owned banks. We argue that the implementation of measures dates back to the early phases of capitalism in the 19th century i.e. is part of a historical institutional pattern. The similarities shown indicate that there is an international standard for a public–private arrangement ensuring financial stability. Our results relate to the discussion of launching effective and legitimate state policies during and after a systemic banking crisis.     

中国摆脱依附式发展与中美贸易冲突根源

中美贸易冲突根源的探寻不应停留在国际贸易层次,而是应该从当下的国际分工结构和国际生产关系中去寻找。作者从马克思主义国际政治经济学角度出发,认为国际分工及其相应的国际生产关系是决定国家在世界舞台上政治经济地位与利益的基础。发展中国家在传统的国际分工结构中长期处于外围、在生产关系上处于依附地位的根本原因在于生产力落后,特别是技术水平落后。20世纪70年代以来,全球生产链作为一种新的国际生产组织方式逐渐形成并发展起来。在这一新的国际分工生产中,发展中国家的依附地位并没有改变,但是具体的依附形式不同于历史上的依附形式,呈现出“技术—市场”依附的特点。在这种新的依附形式下,广大参与全球生产链分工的发展中国家只能从中获得微薄的附加值,进而形成一种依附式发展,而西方发达国家的跨国企业却能够主导全球生产进程并从中获得高额的附加值。中国要实现现代化强国的目标,就需要摆脱依附式发展模式,实现在全球生产链中从中低端向中高端的攀升。近年来中国在发展高新技术产业和提升世界市场地位方面的努力及其获得的相应成就触动了美国作为现有国际分工主导者的既得利益。为了维护其霸权的经济基础,美国不惜发起贸易战以遏制中国的发展有其必然性。中国摆脱依附式发展以及美国相对衰落所导致的国际分工格局现实和潜在的变化正是中美贸易冲突爆发的根源所在。     

Vulnerability of Rural Communities to Change in an Ecosystem Service Provision: Surface water supply. A Case Study in the Northern Andes,Colombia

The understanding of how socio-ecological systems respond to environmental change is an essential issue in land use planning processes. Vulnerability analyses in the context of socio-ecological systems are a useful tool to this end. The study of social vulnerability seeks to analyze how the characteristics of beneficiaries of ecosystem services and their relation to the ecosystems, determine their sensitivity and their capacity to adapt to changes in the provision of said services. In this paper, we evaluate the social vulnerability of rural communities in the face of changes in the levels of the provision of surface water in the Riogrande basin, which is located in the Northern Andes in Colombia. Social vulnerability is evaluated based on two components. First, the initial, inherent vulnerability, which depends on parameters such as current level and the change in the level of benefits, types of needs met by the ecosystem service analyzed, and the capacity for substitution. The second component is the final, inherent vulnerability that considers the beneficiary’s adaptive capacity determined by individual and institutional characteristics. The information was collected through semi-structured interviews and site-level surveys, as well as the use of available existing data for the area of study. The results show that beneficiaries of the ecosystem service which was analyzed have a low vulnerability to changes in the levels of water supply given their high substitution capacities and medium-high adaptive capacity.