Regulation,recession, and bank lending behavior: The 1990 credit crunch

This article utilizes a pooled time-series and cross-section sample of banks to investigate the causes of the credit contraction which occurred during the 1990–1991 period. The methodology involves an econometric model which recognizes that banks' decisions regarding lending and capital are simultaneously determined. Bank lending behavior is modeled as being determined by a combination of economic conditions, loan quality problems, and capital growth. The results of the econometric tests are consistent with a multiplicity of factors contributing to the reduction in lending. The evidence suggests that the credit contraction of 1990–1991 cannot be explained solely as a result of recession and low capital levels. Changes in the supervisory climate and in bank capital regulation, perhaps coupled with independent changes in bankers' assessments of the risk climate, were likely responsible for a substantial part of the credit contraction.     

Pharmacy discount card programs: catching up with the health markets

Pharmacy costs continue to rise, as does the number of senior citizens. One of the ways of containing costs may be the pharmacy discount drug card program, for both seniors and the general population.     

Going for Gold: Atlanta's Bid for Fame

This article explores the importance of image to the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996. It suggests that the event must be seen as an example of the use of the propagation of selected images designed to boost the standing of the city in an increasingly competitive interurban environment. The intersection of major sporting spectacles, big business and vastly increased television coverage provides an important new medium through which boosterists can put their city on the world map. However, as the Atlanta case reveals, the ‘semiotics of the successful city‘ involves a highly ideological construction which often presents urban areas as conflict‐free zones. In Atlanta, potentially negative images were removed both physically and symbolically from the urban landscape, while the actual experience of the Games suggested that the city had some way to go in material terms to match its often hyperbolic self‐promotion. The article suggests that the staging of events such as the Olympics is a necessarily high‐risk venture for cities, one that, as in the case of Atlanta, may not have been ultimately worth the effort. Cet article examine l'importance de l'image dans le cadre des Jeux Olympiques d'Atlanta de 1996. Il propose de considérer l'événement comme un exemple de la diffusion d'images sélectionnées, conçues et utilisées afin de promouvoir la réputation de la ville dans un contexte interurbain de plus en plus concurrentiel. L'intersection entre des spectacles sportifs exceptionnels, de grandes entreprises et une couverture télévisuelle considérablement étendue constitue un moyen novateur grâce auquel les promoteurs de cette dynamique peuvent positionner leur ville sur la carte du monde. Cependant, comme le montre le cas d'Atlanta, la ‘sémiotique d'une ville gagnante’ implique une construction idéologique très forte qui présente souvent les zones urbaines comme des espaces non conflictuels. À Atlanta, les images à potentiel négatif ont étééliminées à la fois physiquement et symboliquement du paysage urbain, tandis que les Jeux eux‐mêmes laissaient à penser que la ville devait progresser sur le plan matériel si elle voulait correspondre à son auto‐promotion souvent hyperbolique. L'article suggère que la mise en scène d'événements tels que les Jeux Olympiques est une opération nécessairement très risquée pour des villes, opération qui, à l'instar de l'expérience d'Atlanta, peut finalement ne pas justifier les efforts réalisés.     

Does telic/paratelic user mode matter on the effectiveness of interactive internet advertising? A reversal theory perspective

Drawing on reversal theory (Apter, 2007), the current research proposes that internet users' metamotivational state (telic vs. paratelic) determines advertising interactivity's effectiveness. An online field experiment involving 141 Facebook and Twitter users tests this proposition. Research findings support telic state consumers form more positive attitudes toward a low-level interactive ad, whereas paratelic state consumers form more positive attitudes toward a high-level interactive ad. Further, this research shows that an arousal seeking tendency mediates the metamotivational state's impact on ad attitude.     

意法半导体大手笔重组

2005年初,当Pasquale Pistorio在担任意法半导体公司首席执行官18年之后退休时, Carlo Bozotti接过了这一重任。Pistorio帮助这家法意合资的芯片制造商一跃成为充满平衡感、精妙之处和多样性的全球半导体工业巨人。接替Pistorio将面临极大的困难。现年53岁的Bozotti要面临重建公司增长、削减公司成本和鼓励公司创新营销等接踵而来的重任。简而言之, Bozotti的工作就是重组这家欧洲最大的芯片制造商,使其在比以往更加以消费者市场为导向的半导体行业中抓住更多的机会。