Efficient Intertemporal Allocations with Recursive Utility

In this article, our objective is to determine efficient allocations in economies with multiple agents having recursive utility functions. Our main result is to show that in a multiagent economy, the problem of determining efficient allocations can be characterized in terms of a single value function (that of a social planner), rather than multiple functions (one for each investor), as has been proposed thus far (Duffie, Geoffard and Skiadas (1994)). We then show how the single value function can be identified using the familiar technique of stochastic dynamic programming. We achieve these goals by first extending to a stochastic environment Geoffard's (1996) concept of variational utility and his result that variational utility is equivalent to recursive utility, and then using these results to characterize allocations in a multiagent setting.

Empirical investigation of relational social capital in a virtual community for website programming

A virtual community of interest has a specific and narrow topic of discussion. Therefore, these communities attract registered members who are focused on knowledge sharing. The current research examines whether network ties, which are an aspect of structural social capital that can be categorized into strong and weak social ties, can provide a non-trivial explanation for members? trust, reciprocity, and identification in a virtual community for website programming interest. This relationship enables us to examine a context in which members share a common goal of resolving programming problems through knowledge sharing in contrast with other community settings where only general topics are discussed (e.g., societal and emotional issues). Data were collected through a survey of a virtual community for website programming composed of 69 members. Affirming conventional perception, results of the study indicate that weak ties affect the level of generalized trust and facilitate group identification. Remarkably, the number of members? strong ties is not significantly related to the degree of their perceived norms regarding generalized reciprocity. Reciprocity refers to a mutual expectation that a benefit granted at present should be repaid in the future. The results suggest two key points. First, even for a virtual community of interest, weak ties overshadow strong ties in explaining the outcome variables. Second, reciprocity is not guaranteed even in a focused form of discussion with a non-social topic that involves specialized knowledge. Therefore, virtual community members should be cautious even if ties are strong. Overall, results imply that virtual community administrators, particularly those who manage specialized communities, should be attentive to the strong and weak ties that exist among the community members

Designing A Scalable Intervention for Adult Learners’ Negative Academic Self-concept

Information technology is key to developing efficient tools in traditional education. Little is known, however, about how information technology should be leveraged in continuing education, which is of increasing importance in recent years. This paper aims to meet this research gap by extending a design science research model to continuing education. Specifically, we follow the DSR model to design a scalable intervention targeting negative academic self-concept in continuing education, a key challenge confronting adult learners. This intervention design will leverage augmented reality to deliver a growth mindset of intelligence. On the one hand, augmented reality contributes to active information processing, benefiting adult learners to efficiently build a growth mindset of intelligence. On the other hand, augmented reality provides adequate scalability and flexibility for repeat, relieving the implementation limitation. To summarize, by presenting the way to leverage information technology in continuing education, this study makes both theoretical contributions and practical implications

The Influences of Political Institutional Resources on IT Entrepreneurial Firm Performance in Emerging Economies

In emerging economies, political institutions (i.e., government and its agencies), act as a major force in defining and mobilizing resources. IT entrepreneurial firms endeavor to obtain resources from political institutions, named as political institutional resources (PIRs), to overcome insurmountable handicap of resource deficiency. However, how PIRs matter remains unclear. Acknowledging this gap, this study examines the influences of PIRs on IT entrepreneurial firms in emerging economies. Drawing on the institution-based view, we first present a comprehensive typology of PIRs in emerging economies. Moreover, we develop a theoretical model to explain how PIRs shape the performance of IT entrepreneurial firms. We further provide more deep insights to see whether the impacts of PIRs depend on IT entrepreneurial firm’s internal R&D resources. This study has important contributions to the theory development of the institution-based view and the practices of IT entrepreneurship in emerging economies

The Electoral Authoritarian's Subtle Toolkit: Evidence from Singapore

Table of Contents: Introduction Parliamentary Elections in Singapore Key Arguments - Changing Ethnic Electoral Geography Through Ethnic Housing Quotas - Effects of Manipulating District Magnitudes - Specific Electoral Boundary Manipulation - Electoral Secrecy - Malapportionment Conclusion: Electoral Rules and Gerrymandering to Preserve Dominant Parties Looking to the futur

Biosynthesis of Glutamic Acid

An unknown microorganism was isolated from the soil by using defined selective medium. It could synthesize glutamic acid from glucose and urea. When subjected to repeated ultra-violet light and X-ray irradiations, and after process of screening, the organism had increased the yield of glutamic acid biosynthesis up to 10 mgm per ml of broth. The pathway of glutamic acid biosynthesis is unknown. Evidence indicated that the TCA cycle was probably not involved. The microorganism could be a new species of Micrococcus

The Information Systems Academic Discipline in Singapore

The global downturn in demand for IT skills has not left Singapore unscathed. While the demand for information systems graduates has not been as adversely affected as that for traditional computer science ones, there appears to be a drop in the entry quality of students seeking to do information systems degrees. While there appears to be some turnaround on the horizon, to better prepare for the future it is timely to examine the current state of IS as a discipline in Singapore and understand what might be the driving forces that shape it. Using Whitley\u27s theory of scientific change as a theoretical framework [1984a, 1984b], this case study seeks to explore the degree of professionalization and the maturity of IS as a discipline in Singapore through analysis of data gathered from in-depth interviews and secondary data sources. It is found that of the four constructs proposed by Whitley for determining if a discipline is a mature, distinct scientific one, the IS discipline in Singapore clearly satisfies three: the discipline has a high level of professionalization, strong scientific reputation, and well-established research competence and skills. While the IS researchers agree that the discipline has a common vocabulary with which to communicate with one another, they also agree that it is not unknown to the researchers outside the discipline and thus, in this aspect, the discipline only satisfies part of the fourth construct in Whitley\u27s theory