DETERMINANTS OF TAIWANESE INVESTMENT IN CHINA: AN AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES-BASED PERSPECTIVE

We investigate the impact of agglomeration economies on the distribution of Taiwanese investment in China for the period 1996-2005. We find that the uneven distribution of Taiwanese investment can be explained by agglomeration economies related to industrial linkages, labour-market pooling and monitoring costs. Furthermore, we find evidence that the nature of agglomeration forces attracting Taiwanese investment not only differs across regions but also changes over time. Importantly, we find mild evidence that this investment is affected by a `market crowding effect', or that the benefit from agglomeration decreases once the market size exceeds a critical threshold.Agglomeration economies; China; Taiwanese investment

Agglomeration economies and the location of Taiwanese investment in China

We investigate the effect of agglomeration economies on Taiwanese greenfield investors' location choice in China from 1996 to 2005. Using a nested logit model, we find that Taiwanese investors first select a region in China where he or she wants to invest, before selecting the best province within that region. Furthermore, we find evidence that, since 2000, market access, industrial linkages and monitoring costs have become important agglomeration forces driving Taiwanese investors' location choice in China. Finally, we discover that the nature of agglomeration economies varies extensively for Taiwanese investors across different industries. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Chinese government must formulate region-wide development strategies and industry-specific policies if it wants to attract more Taiwanese investment in the near future.Agglomeration economies; China; Nested logit model; Taiwanese investment

Determinants of Taiwanese investment in China: An agglomeration economies-based perspective

We investigate the impact of agglomeration economies on the distribution of Taiwanese investment in China for the period 1996-2005. We find that the uneven distribution of Taiwanese investment can be explained by agglomeration economies related to industrial linkages, labour-market pooling and monitoring costs. Furthermore, we find evidence that the nature of agglomeration forces attracting Taiwanese investment not only differs across regions but also changes over time. Importantly, we find mild evidence that this investment is affected by a market crowding effect, or that the benefit from agglomeration decreases once the market size exceeds a critical threshold.Agglomeration economies; China; Taiwanese investment

Measuring and modeling the trajectory of visual spatial attention.

In a novel choice attention-gating paradigm, observers monitor a stream of 3 3 letter arrays until a tonal cue directs them to report 1 row. Analyses of the particular arrays from which reported letters are chosen and of the joint probabilities of reporting pairs of letters are used to derive a theory of attention dynamics. An attention window opens 0.15 s following a cue to attend to a location, remains open (minimally) 0.2 s, and admits information simultaneously from all the newly attended locations. The window dynamics are independent of the distance moved. The theory accounts for about 90 % of the variance from the over 400 data points obtained from each of the observers in the 3 experiments reported here. With minor elaborations, it applies to all the principal paradigms used to study the dynamics of visual spatial attention. We explored a method of measuring the trajectory of spatial attention that is analogous to measuring the trajectory of subatomic particles in a Glaser bubble chamber (Gray & Isaacs, 1975). In the bubble chamber, a three-dimensional space is filled with a super-heated liquid. A particle traveling through the liquid causes rapid localized boiling—microscopic bubbles—along its path. The bub

Is Android or iPhone the Platform for Innovation in Imaging Informatics

It is clear that ubiquitous mobile computing platforms will be a disruptive technology in the delivery of healthcare in the near future. While radiologists are fairly sedentary, their customers, the referring physicians, and the patients are not. The need for closer collaboration and interaction with referring physicians is seen as a key to maintaining relationships and integrating tightly with the patient management team. While today, patients have to settle for their images on a CD, in short time, they will be taking them home on their cell phone. As PACS vendors are moving ever outward in the enterprise, they are already actively developing clients on mobile platforms. Two major contenders are the Apple’s iPhone and the Android platform developed by Google. These two designs represent two entirely different architectures and business models

Learning at a Distance: Engaged or Not?

Distance learning is the fastest growing segment of postsecondary education. Almost 3 million students took at least one online course in fall 2005, an increase of more than 800,000 over the previous year (Allen and Seaman 2006). At the same time, questions persist about the quality of online learning. In one recent study, about two-fifths of senior academic officers at U.S. degree-granting higher education institutions expressed a belief that distance learning is inferior to face-to-face learning (Allen and Seaman 2006). Although some studies show that distance education learners benefit from their experiences to the same degree as campus-based learners (Dutton, Dutton, and Perry 2002; Neuhauser 2002), most of the work demonstrating positive outcomes in distance learning has focused on older students, who are often more motivated and have the self-discipline to manage effectively the unstructured nature of the distance learning environment (Dibiase 2000; Hardy and Boaz 1997)

An absorption event in the X-ray lightcurve of NGC 3227

We have monitored the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3227 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) since January 1999. During late 2000 and early 2001 we observed an unusual hardening of the 2-10 keV X-ray spectrum which lasted several months. The spectral hardening was not accompanied by any correlated variation in flux above 8 keV. We therefore interpret the spectral change as transient absorption by a gas cloud of column density 2.6 10^23 cm^-2 crossing the line of sight to the X-ray source. A spectrum obtained by XMM-Newton during an early phase of the hard-spectrum event confirms the obscuration model and shows that the absorbing cloud is only weakly ionised. The XMM-Newton spectrum also shows that ~10% of the X-ray flux is not obscured, but this unabsorbed component is not significantly variable and may be scattered radiation from a large-scale scattering medium. Applying the spectral constraints on cloud ionisation parameter and assuming that the cloud follows a Keplerian orbit, we constrain the location of the cloud to be R~10-100 light-days from the central X-ray source, and its density to be n_H~10^8cm^-3, implying that we have witnessed the eclipse of the X-ray source by a broad line region cloud.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS letter

An Application of the Utah State University Watershed Simulation Model to the Entiat Experimental Watershed, Washington State

To study the effects of a forest fire on runoff characteristics, the Utah State University Watershed Simulation Model (USUWSM) has been applied to three small drainage areas in the Entiat Experimental Watershed which is located within the Wenatchee National Forest of central Washington. Each component of the USUWSM has been described in the report, including structural changes to the model that were necessary to achieve reasonable agreement between observed and simulated runoff hydrographs. Lack of information on the spatial distribution and precipitation due to the absence of an adequate precipitation gaging network on or close to the study area was a severe handicap to the simulation study. Only a very short period of post-fire streamflow record was available and thus it was possible to make only qualative conclusions regarding the effects of the forest fire on runoff characteristics

Hydrologic Model Studies of the Mt. Olympus Cove Area of Salt Lake County

Urban development on any natural drainage basin causes marked changes in the runoff characteristics of the basin. Urbanization alters natural drainage channels and reduces average infiltration rates. Thus, flood conditions are enhanced both within the urbanizing area itself and at downstream locations, where existing channels might not be able to cope with the increased rates of water flow. The Olympus Cove area in Salt Lake County is undergoing rapid urban development, and potential flood hazards within the area and at downstream locations are thereby increasing. Recognizing this situation, officials of the Sale Lake County took the initiative in organizing an ‘ad hoc’ interagency technical team to study and evaluate the problem. The particular responsibilities which were undertaken by the representatives of the Utah Water Research Laboratory on this study team were to synthesize all existing information, and what which might be developed during the study period, and on this basis to formulate computer models to represent the hydrology of the area. The report describes the model development process and discusses the application of the models to the three source areas being considered, namely: (1) the Neff’s Canyon drainage; (2) the northern slopes of Mt. Olympus; and (3) the urbanizing area of Olympus Cove. Runoff from the short-term, high-intensity, convective storms is emphasized. Hydrologic response was found to be particularl

Examination of the Relationship between In-Store Environmental Factors and Fruit and Vegetable Purchasing among Hispanics.

Retail food environments have received attention for their influence on dietary behaviors and for their nutrition intervention potential. To improve diet-related behaviors, such as fruit and vegetable (FV) purchasing, it is important to examine its relationship with in-store environmental characteristics. This study used baseline data from the "El Valor de Nuestra Salud" study to examine how in-store environmental characteristics, such as product availability, placement and promotion, were associated with FV purchasing among Hispanic customers in San Diego County. Mixed linear regression models indicated that greater availability of fresh FVs was associated with a $0.36 increase in FV purchasing (p = 0.01). Placement variables, specifically each additional square foot of display space dedicated to FVs (p = 0.01) and each additional fresh FV display (p = 0.01), were associated with a$0.02 increase and $0.29 decrease, respectively, in FV purchasing. Introducing FV promotions in the final model was not related to FV purchasing. Exploratory analyses indicated that men reported spending$3.69 fewer dollars on FVs compared to women, controlling for covariates (p = 0.02). These results can help inform interventions targeting in-store environmental characteristics to encourage FV purchasing among Hispanics