Idiosyncratic use of credit facilities by consumers in an emerging economy

A worldwide increase in household debt since the turn of the century has created considerable concern about the indebtedness of households, especially those in emerging economies that have been hit particularly hard by the global economic slump. In this study, the credit consumption of consumers in Swaziland (N = 264) was investigated by means of a survey that aimed to identify and describe factors that encouraged consumers' use of credit, the influence of credit on their buying behaviour when choosing major household appliances or furniture as well as consumers' knowledge of the conditions of credit facilities that were available for their use in retail. Findings revealed that consumers unequivocally appreciate the convenience that is associated with credit, specifically to cope with unexpected purchases, to benefit from special offers and opportunity to afford expensive goods. These advantages apparently negate the negative consequences such as high interest rates and strain on household budgets. Mean scores that were obtained in the knowledge test that only reflected upon credit agreements that respondents have actually entered into in the past, confirmed their ignorance pertaining to their contractual obligations and their consequent vulnerability. Consumers' age and gender seem to have noteworthy consequences for efforts to enhance informed consumer decision‐making. Younger females were significantly better informed that their older counterpart while the reverse was true for males, although differences were not significant. The significant inverse relationship between income and the LS‐means for the credit knowledge test differ from findings in developed countries and provide valuable opportunity for further investigation.     

灌片节水配套改造工程的必要性和可行性研究

文章以4个灌片为例,探讨了灌片节水配套改造工程的必要性和可行性。通过对项目区渠系水利用系数极低、实灌面积严重缩减以及水资源供需平衡进行分析,得出灌片节水配套改造工程的必要性;通过对典型工程的实际设计,得出灌片节水配套改造工程的可行性。     

电气自动化技术在火力发电中的应用

火力发电是我国电能生产的重要形式,随着科学技术的不断发展,先进的火力发电技术得到了广泛的运用。电气自动化技术推广到火力发电厂之后,企业必须重视自动化技术的重要性。电气自动化技术凭借其高效率的使用性能在火力发电中的运用更为广泛,企业需顺应技术发展需要开展电气自动化研究。电气自动化技术的推广促进了火力发电模式的革新。针对这一点,文章分析了电气自动化模式的实际运用。     

南方医科大学南方医院住院病人退药情况分析及其对策

目的:了解我院住院病人退药情况,分析退药原因,为减少并规范临床退药提供参考。方法:收集我院2011年1-4月的住院病人退药申请单1341张,对退药原因,退药科室和药品种类进行统计分析。结果:消化科,普外科和血液科居前三位;病人临时出院,医生更改医嘱和医嘱录入错误是主要原因;抗微生物药的退药频次最高。结论:应规范医疗行为,加强用药管理,建立健全的退药制度,加强医、药、护、患的沟通,减少退药发生。     

论单位犯罪中追诉时效制度的适用

根据刑法原理,单位犯罪应适用追诉时效制度。在现行刑法规定下,单位犯罪中单位的追诉时效期限应以单位责任人员中最长的追诉时效期限来确定;单位责任人员的追诉时效期限应以自然人的追诉时效期限来确定。从立法的角度来看,单位犯罪的追诉时效制度还有待通过刑法的修订来进一步完善。     

供热系统中平衡阀的性能与用途

本文主要阐述了供热系统中手动平衡阀、自力式压差控制阀、自力式流量控制阀、自力式流量控制阀的选择、自力式流量控制阀在暖通工程中的应用等问题。     

MTBE行业供需现状及市场前景

近年来在汽油高标号需求大幅增长的推动下,国内MTBE产量随着产能大幅增长,但仍未能满足国内MTBE的需求,MTBE市场整体呈现"供不应求"局面,依靠部分进口资源填补国内的空缺。后期随着国内汽油质量的不断升级及调和技术的不断成熟,MTBE用于调和的量将会不断增多。另外MTBE用于化工各行业存在生产高技术含量、附加值高、需求稳定,今后对MTBE的消费量将会有较大的增加,具有较好的市场前景。     

Cost-effective compensation to avoid carbon emissions from forest loss: An approach to consider price-quantity effects and risk-aversion

Analyses were carried out on financial compensation to avoid loss of tropical forests and related carbon (C) emissions when marginal financial yield declined for land-use options with extended areas, and when a risk-averting perspective (modeled according to financial theory around the capital asset pricing model) is assumed. The approach in this study was to consider natural forest, forest plantation, pasture, and cropland simultaneously to investigate how an optimized land-use distribution may reduce the amount of compensation necessary to avoid C emissions from forest loss.The financial compensations derived were as high as US$ 176 per hectare per year when comparing natural forests only with the most profitable alternative (croplands). However, compensation decreased to US$ 124 for risk-neutral decision-makers, who would strive for optimized land-use allocation, and to only US$ 47 per hectare per year for risk-avoiders, who would look to maximize the reward-to-variability ratio. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the compensation under risk-aversion increased much less than under risk-ignoring when increased productivity of agricultural land-use or growing demand for agricultural products was simulated. It was concluded that considering appropriate diversification strategies and the well documented human behavior to avoid risks is an important step in developing cost-effective compensation policies.     

The economic and environmental performances of rural districts in Italy: Are competitiveness and sustainability compatible targets?

This paper analyses the economic performances of the rural system and the level of land sensitivity to degradation in Italy. Three indicators (district value added, share of agriculture on total product, and a composite index of land sensitivity) were used to classify 784 Italian local districts into eight performance classes. Four classes share a combination of high environmental quality (in terms of land degradation), high (or low) economic performances, and high (or low) productivity of the primary sector. The remaining four are characterised by a combination of low (and declining) environmental quality, high (or low) economic performances, and high (or low) productivity of the primary sector. The eight classes were grouped into four ‘environmental quality’ types and four ‘target performance’ categories to discriminate among high- and low-performance districts by considering twelve additional variables within a Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). 148 high environmental performance districts (18% of total) were identified mainly across the Alps and Apennine while 314 districts (41%) were classified in the lowest performance class and concentrated in flat areas of southern Italy. The districts with high environmental performances were characterised, on average, by medium to low district value added, moderately low economic weight of the primary sector, and tourism specialisation. Districts with high economic performances and low environmental performances were characterised by high sensitivity to LD, low district value added, high share of agriculture in total product, and the lowest productivity of labour in all economic sectors. In these districts the risk of entering a downward spiral of rural poverty and environmental degradation is potentially high.     

财政分权、政府竞争与土地价格结构性偏离

财政分权背景下地方政府的财政约束和政府竞争是导致土地价格结构性偏离的根本原因。地方政府存在拉升商业用地和居住用地出让价格的倾向,金融宽松环境和投机行为盛行会使这两种土地出让价格存在正向偏离其理论地价的可能;而地方政府对流动性税基的争夺过程会导致工业用地出让价格低于其理论价格。工业用地价格与商业和居住用地价格正是在政府这两种反作用力量的作用下出现结构性偏离。