COMPARING PPP WITH TRADITIONAL PROCUREMENT: THE CASE OF SCHOOLS PROCUREMENT IN IRELAND

Advocates of public‐private partnerships (PPPs) argue that they can deliver public infrastructure more efficiently than traditional procurement through timelier completion and superior value for money. Despite these claims comparative analysis of the performance of both procurement methods has received scant attention in the PPP literature to date. This paper addresses this issue by providing an in‐depth, case‐based comparison of PPP versus traditional procurement in the schools sector in Ireland. Through detailed semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders and an examination of the available documentation, we assess whether the key objectives of using PPP have been achieved. Overall, we find no evidence that PPP leads to faster delivery of infrastructure when the overall procurement process from contract notice to delivery is accounted for. In addition, we find only limited evidence to suggest that PPP results in better value for money.     

How much are electric vehicles driven?

The prospect for electric vehicles as a climate change solution hinges on their ability to reduce gasoline consumption. But this depends on how many miles electric vehicles are driven and on how many miles would have otherwise been driven in gasoline-powered vehicles. Using newly-available U.S. nationally representative data, this paper finds that electric vehicles are driven considerably fewer miles per year on average than gasoline-powered vehicles. The difference is highly statistically significant and holds for both all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, for both single- and multiple-vehicle households, and both inside and outside California. The paper discusses potential explanations and policy implications. Overall, the evidence suggests that today’s electric vehicles imply smaller environmental benefits than previously believed.     

某面板堆石坝沉降观测资料反馈分析

根据某面板堆石坝施工期、蓄水初期以及几年来的沉降观测资料，对坝体填筑材料计算参数进行反馈分析，得出了能够反映坝体实际变形的弹塑性应力变形计算参数，有利于今后建立大坝变形预报模型，更准确地把握大坝实时运行状态。     

浅谈东深供水改造工程的设计监理工作

施工图阶段设计监理工作的内容归纳起来主要是对设计质量进行控制.依据<水利建设工程招标、施工图阶段设计监理试行规定>,其具体工作内容仅限于设计成果的合法性和安全性,没有充分发挥设计监理作用,对施工图阶段设计质量的理解是不全面的.施工图阶段的设计质量不仅仅是提交合法和安全的图纸,而且图纸的提交时限性、可实施性及经济性也应是考核设计质量的重要组成部分,为此东深供水改造工程的设计监理工作内容确定为"五项控制"和"两项权利",全面地对施工图阶段的设计质量进行控制.     

图书在版编目研究

简述了英、美等国图书在版编目的发展和中国实施在版编目的意义、作用及特点,对中国实施图书在版编目提出了设想和建议。     

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.     

Identifying “best” applicants in recruiting using data envelopment analysis

Selecting the most promising candidates to fill an open position can be a difficult task when there are many applicants. Each applicant achieves certain performance levels in various categories and the resulting information can be overwhelming. We demonstrate how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be used as a fair screening and sorting tool to support the candidate selection and decision-making process. Each applicant is viewed as an entity with multiple achievements. Without any a priori preference or information on the multiple achievements, DEA identifies the non-dominated solutions, which, in our case, represent the “best” candidates. A DEA-aided recruiting process was developed that (1) determines the performance levels of the “best” candidates relative to other applicants; (2) evaluates the degree of excellence of “best” candidates’ performance; (3) forms consistent tradeoff information on multiple recruiting criteria among search committee members, and, then, (4) clusters the applicants.     

公司业绩与财务杠杆

本文从实证角度分析了我国上市公司的财务杠杆对公司业绩的影响。结果表明,往年财务杠杆和当年财务杠杆对当年公司业绩的影响截然相反。财务杠杆对公司的息税后收益和息税前收益均有影响。长期负债率和长期借款率对公司业绩的影响分别比同年的流动负债率和短期借款率对公司业     

抗洪抢险措施及效果

结合“９８”抗洪抢险实例，对多种险情作了具体分析，通过汛后调查，对抗洪抢险消险措施和效果进行了总结，为今后进一步做好防洪消险工作提供了经验。     

Negotiation support using the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution

The Graph Model for Conflict Resolution is a flexible methodology for systematically studying strategic conflicts in the real world, and is therefore a natural tool for negotiation support. The basic definitions underlying the graph model are reviewed, and the techniques for analysis and interpretation are discussed. The modeling and analysis of a case study, an international trade negotiation concerning the export of Canadian softwood lumber to the United States, are used to demonstrate the practical application of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution as a negotiation support tool. The modeling and analysis is carried out using the GMCR software system. The ability of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution to provide insights and advice to negotiators is emphasized.