ICT Statistics at the New Millennium—Developing Official Statistics—Measuring the Diffusion of ICT and its Impact

The paper gives a short and very rough overview of the ongoing work in the field of statistics relating to the development of information and communication technology (ICT) and its impacts on the economies and on the society as a whole. It introduces three slightly different approaches with different emphasis on describing the emergence and diffusion of ICT and the respective economic and social change. These are termed the indicators approach, the new economy approach and the intellectual capital approach. The paper also discusses the basic requirements for the establishment of a new statistical system, as well as the present obstacles and problems of this work. Finally, some remarks are presented regarding further statistical co-operation in this field.     

Self‐help in housing and chengzhongcun in China's urbanization

This article focuses on the housing issues of rural migrants arising from urbanization, with particular reference to chengzhongcun, a topic with considerable impact on policymaking. An attempt is made to understand the underlying rationale of self‐help in housing and the important role of chengzhongcun in sheltering rural migrants in the context of China's rural‐urban dichotomy. As demonstrated in this study, chengzhongcun accommodate, with little in the way of government resources and assistance, millions of rural migrants because of their social accessibility and affordability. While not denying their social problems, we argue that chengzhongcun in fact act as an innovative and positive agent to promote urbanization in present day China by housing massive numbers of rural migrants and assimilating them into cities. Current government policies towards chengzhongcun have generated a wide range of interest conflicts and confrontations. The consequences of such conflicts show that the government policies were problematic and unworkable, as they violated basic market principles as well as citizen rights. Policy strategy towards the redevelopment of chengzhongcun must acknowledge their credibility in the Chinese road to urbanization and requires more thoughtful and prudent consideration of migrants' demands for affordable housing.     

Effect Sizes in Qualitative Research: A Prolegomenon

The American Psychological Association Task Force recommended that researchers always report and interpret effect sizes for quantitative data. However, no such recommendation was made for qualitative data. Thus, the first objective of the present paper is to provide a rationale for reporting and interpreting effect sizes in qualitative research. Arguments are presented that effect sizes enhance the process of verstehen/hermeneutics advocated by interpretive researchers. The second objective of this paper is to provide a typology of effect sizes in qualitative research. Examples are given illustrating various applications of effect sizes. For instance, when conducting typological analyses, qualitative analysts only identify emergent themes; yet, these themes can be quantitized to ascertain the hierarchical structure of emergent themes. The final objective is to illustrate how inferential statistics can be utilized in qualitative data analyses. This can be accomplished by treating words arising from individuals, or observations emerging from a particular setting, as sample units of data that represent the total number of words/observations existing from that sample member/context. Heuristic examples are provided to demonstrate how inferential statistics can be used to provide more complex levels of verstehen than is presently undertaken in qualitative research.     

Changes in food provision in Russian households experiencing perestroika

The purpose of this article is to describe how households in Novgorod the Great, Russia, deal with food provision in everyday life. The study focuses on changes experienced in food provision and consumption in Russian society, in order to illustrate how households respond to the transformation towards a market economy. The study reflects women's perspective on food provision. Students from Novgorod the Great visited 105 households and asked the women in the household to answer a questionnaire. Results from the study show that in order to cope with changes in society related to economic reforms, Russian households had changed both their food consumption and food production patterns. There was no big difference between urban and rural households. Nearly all of the households were self‐sufficient in the provision of vegetables and potatoes. Many households had a ‘dacha’ (plot), where they produced most of what they needed. Among the changes experienced during recent years (i.e. during the end of the 1990s), a decade after perestroika was initiated, households mentioned the rise in food prices and the decrease of income. Households reported that they consumed less fruit and/or meat. Some households also mentioned that the quality of nourishment had decreased, thereby indicating lower general quality, lower nutrition value, or less healthy foodstuffs.     

DURATION MOMENTS AND YIELD CURVE MOVEMENTS

In this paper we will analyze the relationship between the value and duration moments of a cash flow and movements in the yield curve. We will show that for changes in the yield curve which can be related to tⁿ , the 1st order changes in the net present value of a cash flow are linearly dependent on the n + lth duration moments, and that the 2nd order changes are dependent on the sum of duration moments of order 2 n + 1 and 2 n + 2. We will use this relationship to tilt tracking portfolios so as to protect them against specific changes in the yield curve.     

Strategy as Simulacra? A Radical Reflexive Look at the Discipline and Practice of Strategy*

ABSTRACT Over the past three decades strategic management has become a crucial aspect of business education and practice. At the core of strategic management – linking technique to worldview – is modelling (e.g. value chain, SWOT analysis) whereby the complex elements of strategic thinking are simplified. This accounts in large part for the apparent popularity of strategic management as complex interrelationships are pursued through relatively simple models. Yet has the field of strategic management realized the third order of simulacra? Is strategic management a model of simulation whereby reality has been replaced by hyperreality? A review of the extant literature on strategy explores the study and practice of strategy as a discourse, engulfed by its own truth effects. An examination of the concepts of reflexivity demonstrates the value of a postmodern radical reflexive account through the application of Baudrillard's (1983 , 1988 , 1991 , 1994 ) simulation and simulacra. It is through the development of a radical reflexive discourse of strategy as simulacra, this paper critically examines the study and practice of strategy and the lessons we can take from this perspective.