Tournaments with Ex Post Heterogeneous Agents

This paper compares relative performance evaluation via tournaments to absolute performance evaluation via piece rates when agents are heterogeneous ex post, to make the point that agent heterogeneity compromises the insurance function of tournaments. In particular, we show that the more heterogeneous agents are the less insurance can be offered through tournaments and the less dominant tournaments are over piece rates. Thus, absolute performance piece rates should be preferred when agents are highly heterogeneous. However, even with heterogeneous agents, tournaments become more desirable when the number of agents or the uncertainty about the common shock increases sufficiently.piece rates

On the Semiosphere, Revisited

The semiosphere is frequently described as a topos of complexification, namely discontinuous or heterogeneous, recursive or self-reflexive, stochastic, radically subjective, and capable of simultaneous multiple perspectives. While the topos of complexification describes the gross morphology of a model, it is not a model adequate for explaining phenomena or making predictions. The ecological theory of dual hierarchies is proposed as a framework for developing models of the semiosphere that are appropriately limited in scope and scale. In particular the semiosphere is modeled as a dual hierarchy of semiotic spaces, the dual hierarchies corresponding to the semiosis that is occurring within the dual hierarchies of ecological organization. This framework immediately solves several theoretical problems, such as clearing up conceptual inconsistencies in Lotman's concept of semiosphere

Erratum to: The hyperfine excitation of OH radicals by He

Hyperfine-resolved collisions between OH radicals and He atoms are investigated using quantum scattering calculations and the most recent ab initio potential energy surface, which explicitly takes into account the OH vibrational motion. Such collisions play an important role in astrophysics, in particular in the modelling of OH masers. The hyperfine-resolved collision cross sections are calculated for collision energies up to 2500 cm-1 from the nuclear spin free scattering S-matrices using a recoupling technique. The collisional hyperfine propensities observed are discussed. As expected, the results from our work suggest that there is a propensity for collisions with ΔF = Δj. The new OH−He hyperfine cross sections are expected to significantly help in the modelling of OH masers from current and future astronomical observations

Some remarks on exp-function method and its applications

Recently, many important nonlinear partial differential equations arising in the applied physical and mathematical sciences have been tackled by a popular approach, the so-called Exp-function method. In this paper, we present some shortcomings of this method by analyzing the results of recently published papers. We also discuss the possible improvement of the effectiveness of the method

New ab initio potential energy surfaces for the ro-vibrational excitation of OH(X-2 Pi) by He

International audienc

Family enterprise and technological innovation

Family enterprises in China have significant impact on China’s social and economic development. Yet did technological innovation in Chinese family enterprise play a role on this impact? We examine the role that technology innovation played in the rise in importance of Chinese family businesses. We analyze the impact of family enterprises on companies’ technological innovation through both family ownership and family management involvement. We further scrutinize how Chinese family-owned business internationalization strategies affected their technological innovation activities. The authors show that family ownership without family management involvement has a negative relations with companies’ technical innovation. We further demonstrate that family ownerships with family management involvement have a positive relations with enterprises’ technical innovation. Our study provides some effective measures to increase the investment in firms’ technical innovation and minimize the disadvantages of family business. The research result has practical significance in the governance of family enterprises