Estimating the Direction of Innovative Change Based on Theory and Mixed Methods

In predicting the direction of innovative changethe question arises of the valid measurement ofyet unknown variables. We developed and applied aresearch method that combines qualitativeand quantitative elements in one interview formatand an analysis tool suitable for these data. Animportant characteristic of the method is the useof a model based on more universal forcesunderlying the direct interests in a product ofthe stakeholders in a system. This allows directedstatements, with a provocative and sometimes atrade-off character, on which the opinion ofstakeholders is asked on a quantitative scale andwhich are further probed in a standardisedqualitative way. A modified spider-web model isdeveloped to present the results in an orderlyand comprehensive way. The method is validatedon research on the strategic development ofthe market of scientific communication andinformation as it is presently developing on theInternet.     

Label performance and the willingness to pay for Fair Trade coffee: a cross‐national perspective

In this paper, we investigate how label information detailing the performance of the Fair Trade labelling programme with respect to coffee affect consumers' willingness to pay in the US and in Germany. We provide respondents (university students in the US and Germany) information regarding the hypothetical benefits of the Fair Trade coffee programme on its intended beneficiaries on the production side [the revenue gains to participating marginal farmers (scope of the programme)] and, using stated preference conjoint methods, test how this performance criterion relates to the willingness to pay for Fair Trade coffee. Our empirical results identify a ‘threshold’ property of performance‐based labels. In effect, the willingness‐to‐pay for performance‐based Fair Trade labelled coffee exhibits an inverted U shape in the sense that the willingness to pay is positively related to the scope of the programme, but only up to a critical level. Thereafter, the willingness to pay declines as the income gains to participating growers increase further. Interestingly, this inverted U property is exhibited by both the US and German respondents with different critical thresholds.     

高校人事制度管理中不宜实行末位淘汰制

末位淘汰制是众多员工激励手段的一种,既有优点,也有缺陷;成功地实行末位淘汰制需要具备公平、公正、公开的游戏规则和可以随时补充的后备资源。由于目前高校难以满足成功实行末位淘汰制的两个条件,因此, 高校不宜实行末位淘汰制。     

Do Foreign Experts Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms?

While most countries welcome (and some even subsidize) high‐skilled immigrants, there is very limited evidence of their importance for domestic firms. To guide our empirical analysis, we first set up a simple theoretical model to show how foreign experts can affect the productivity and wages of domestic firms. Using matched worker–firm data from Denmark and a matching difference‐in‐differences approach, we then find that firms that hire foreign experts instead of domestic experts become more productive, in the sense that they pay higher wages to high‐skilled co‐workers.     

Informal household preparedness: methodological approaches to everyday practices

Abstract

Despite increasing attention to individuals’ everyday lives in the literature on risk, few studies investigate household preparedness within the everyday life context. Preparedness is most often regarded as a predefined set of capacities for dealing with emergencies. This article presents methodological approaches for studying what I suggest calling informal preparedness activities that are performed as part of daily life in households. Starting with the assumption that everyday life is enacted through culturally and socially shared practices, it is argued that preparedness is interwoven into these practices. Contrary to studying preparedness as the degree to which households are aware of and act according to a formal definition of preparedness, informal household preparedness focuses on preparedness as embedded in the routinised practices that make up everyday life. The study of informal household preparedness is based on three methodological approaches that explore these practices: (i) Performance of everyday practices, where interviews that focus on performance ask questions about what practitioners actually do; (ii) materiality, where walk-alongs are used to connect performance interviews to the material surroundings; and (iii) visualisation, where the material aspects of informal preparedness are documented. These approaches were carried out in a study of Norwegian households’ management of and preparedness for electricity and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure breakdowns. Addressing informal and formal preparedness activities expands our understanding of household preparedness and should help policy makers recognise the active role of households and their actual resources and constraints in future preparedness planning.     

安全人机工程学教学改革的探索与研究

安全人机工程学的教学内容要切合教学对象的培养目标,展现学科发展前沿,适当增加煤矿安全人机工程学案例与实践,提高学生的实践能力。教学方法应多样化,多种教学方法有机结合,充分发挥学生的积极性、主动性,实现课堂教学的高效开展。课程考核力求公开、公平、公正,并适当加大课堂综合表现的比重,为良好的课堂教学的实施保驾护航。     

A life history approach to perceptions of global climate change risk: young adults’ experiences about impacts,causes, and solutions

Although the general acceptance of human-influenced global climate change within the technical sphere of science is important to consider, public perceptions of global climate change risks, impacts, causes, and solutions are as important to policy actions as scientific findings. Yet, studies analyzing climate change risk perceptions suffer from a number of limitations or use only a handful of approaches. Using a limited life history approach, this article answers calls for additional qualitative approaches in risk perception research. This article (1) introduces risk perception researchers to the limited life history method; (2) discovers that young adults articulate climate change solutions at the individual level, often as consumers, and blend their responses to climate change risks and advocacy for solutions with a general, environmentally friendly orientation, a ‘green posture;’ and (3) contends the key sources informing young adults’ perceptions about climate change risk have changed significantly from previous studies.     

ADVERSE SELECTION IN DYNAMIC MATCHING MARKETS

We study the Akerlofian adverse selection problem in a dynamic matching model where the competitive situation varies across different meetings. The ‘lemons principle’ is shown to limit the high quality sales within a wider range of quality distributions than in the Walrasian benchmark. High quality goods can nevertheless be traded, albeit less frequently than the low quality goods. For certain quality distributions, there exists a ‘partially pooling’ steady state where high quality sellers are active whenever at least two buyers compete for the good. Otherwise, the model features cycles in a sense that high quality goods are traded only in non‐consecutive periods.