Connectivity and work dominance: Panacea or pariah?

Does technologically-supported work connectivity help young managers and professionals under the age of 45 deal with the pressing demands of their work, or does the presence of work-connecting technologies exacerbate the tendencies of this talent force to engage in more work and longer working hours? Utilizing both surveys and follow-up focus group interactions, this study found that while work-connecting technologies permitted a greater range of options regarding when and where work was done, this same connectivity provided constant availability to work and often drove expectations that more must be done, thereby increasing the likelihood of longer work hours and—surprisingly—leading to a diminished sense of flexibility. Study participants offer insights regarding the thought processes behind these outcomes. Perspectives on how emerging leaders and their organizations can effectively manage and achieve the potential of enhanced connectivity are provided. A four-phased approach is recommended. First, we discuss key cultural dynamics. Second, the role of organizational expectations and practices is emphasized. Third, we consider a set of responsibilities for organizational leaders, whose actions and cues provide the most vivid clarity for young managers attempting to decide where to draw the work/life balance line. Finally, the challenge and responsibility of personal accountability is presented. Consideration of a work paradigm that reorients our thinking about traditional “face time,” and strives to bridge the gap between the potential and pervasive impact of work-connecting technologies, is also included.     

Changes of Thai economy since 19701 1

Within the last 30 years, the number of Thai population increased from 35 million to 62 million, the general price level went up 6 times, and Thai currency baht devaluated 2.2 times against the dollar. The industrial production increased 36 times nominally. The biggest industry of Thailand changed from agriculture to manufacture, and the total value of exports jumped by 192 times and that of imports grew by 95 times. Thai current account balance had recorded a deficit every year from 1970 to 1996. During the same period of time, however, the capital account balance had shown surplus. The inflow of foreign capital was the only stronghold of Thai economy at that time. In 1997, Thailand suddenly experienced a total change of its external environment From then on, Thai current account shifted from a deficit to a surplus and Thai capital account turned from a surplus to a deficit. The conclusion of this paper indicates that the future of Thai economy is heavily dependent on whether the amount of surplus in Thai current account could surpass the deficit in Thai capital account     

基本养老金替代率合意水平研究——以上海市城镇居民为例

社会保障制度是人类社会文明进步的标志,社会养老保险是其中一项重要制度,其建立对社会的平稳发展有重要影响.在人口老龄化日益深化的时期,及时有效地对社会养老保险制度进行改革势在必行.在改革过程中,对基本养老金替代率的合意水平进行研究具有深远意义.以上海市城镇居民为例,建立基本养老金收支平衡模型,将计算出的合意供给替代率与现实需求替代率进行对比.结果对比发现,需求与供给难以匹配,对不匹配的基本原因进行分析,并在此基础上提出相应对策.     

Energy balance climate models and general equilibrium optimal mitigation policies

In a general equilibrium model of the world economy, we develop a two-dimensional energy balance climate model featuring heat diffusion and anthropogenic forcing driven by global fossil fuel use across the sphere of the Earth. This introduces an endogenous location dependent temperature function, driving spatial characteristics, in terms of location dependent damages resulting from local temperature anomalies into the standard climate-economy framework. We solve the social planner's problem and characterize the competitive equilibrium for two polar cases differentiated by the degree of market integration. We define optimal taxes on fossil fuel use and how they may implement the planning solution. Our results suggest that if the implementation of international transfers across latitudes is not possible then optimal taxes are in general spatially non-homogeneous and may be lower at poorer latitudes. The degree of spatial differentiation of optimal taxes depends on heat transportation. By employing the properties of the spatial model, we show by numerical simulations how the impact of thermal transport across latitudes on welfare can be studied.     

绩效评估的研究取向概述

当前的绩效评估研究主要有三种主流取向,即个人差异观点、情景观点和绩效管理观点。这三种思路的关系并不是孤立的,它们之间存在着联系,实际应用过程中,往往是结合其中的两种甚至三种观点展开研究的。以后的研究中应该在组织绩效研究、绩效概念的科学界定、基于胜任特征的绩效研究、以及结合平衡记分卡的绩效研究等方面继续展开。     

External adjustment

Gross stocks of foreign assets have increased rapidly relative to national outputs since 1990, and the short-run capital gains and losses on those assets can amount to significant fractions of GDP. These fluctuations in asset values render the national income and product account measure of the current account balance increasingly inadequate as a summary of the change in a country's net foreign assets. Nonetheless, unusually large current account imbalances, especially deficits, should remain high on policymakers' list of concerns, even, for the richer and less credit-constrained countries. Extreme imbalances signal the need for large and perhaps abrupt real exchange rate changes in the future, changes that might have undesired political and financial consequences given the incompleteness of domestic and international asset markets. Furthermore, of the two sources of the change in net foreign assets—the current account and the capital gain on the net foreign asset position—the former is better understood and more amenable to policy influence. Systematic government attempts to manipulate international asset values in order to change the net foreign asset position could have a destabilizing effect on market expectations. JEL no. F21, F32, F36, F41     

探索传统与现代之间的平衡支点

对于当代大学生来说,在对待IT及其相关专业与思想政治理论教育方面存在着一个“热情选择”的问题。MMD人试图用“平衡支点”这一概念,对当代大学生如何面对这二者所代表的传统与现代之间存在的必然张力作一探索。     

人民币"币值低估"的实证探讨--从出口贸易角度的解析

最近一段时期,人民币遭遇升值压力,面对这种压力,我们需要回答的关键问题是人民币是否存在如美日等国所强调的“币值低估”问题。本文运用计量经济学的方法,通过对实际数据的检验分析来说明中国出口贸易的增长与长期以来贸易顺差的实现,并不是由人民币币值低估所致。因此,我国政府应当采取以汇率政策为主导,财政政策和货币政策为辅助的多种策略搭配,来缓解人民币升值压力,确保人民币币值稳定。     

用加重方法完全平衡平面机构惯性力的条件

在平面杆机构的设计中 ,惯性力的平衡是经常遇到的问题。本文经推导给出了用加重法完全平衡平面杆机构惯性力的条件     

GDP growth and currency valuation: The case of the dollar

One popular view on the strength of the US dollar around the turn of the century is that the higher growth in the US compared to Europe had stimulated foreigners to buy American assets, thereby driving up the exchange rate. In this paper a modified portfolio balance model is presented, in which it is shown that the impact of output growth on the exchange rate depends crucially on the origin of this growth. An improvement of the output gap is shown to actually depress the exchange rate whereas an increase in potential output growth leads to an appreciation, especially if this improvement is likely to be persistent. In an empirical example, it is shown that the equilibrium real dollar rate is indeed positively affected by high trend growth in the US, whereas it is negatively affected by a positive output gap. The model outperforms the random walk in forecasting future real dollar rates one to eight quarters ahead.