Service contracts—An instrument of international logistics supply chain: Under United States and European Union regulatory frameworks

Service contracts have emerged as an important instrument to secure a long-term relationship between carriers in the container shipping industry and shippers requiring scheduled services covering a global market. This contract, entered into largely on an individual and confidential basis, continues to enjoy anti-trust immunity under current United States and European Union regulations. It will continue to be in place even after the EC Council Regulation 4056/86 is repealed in October 2008 although it may operate in a modified way because of the absence of the common external conference tariff. This article examines the implications of this instrument on the international supply chain and explores its future role in defining efficiencies in international trade flows.     

Contracts and member checks in qualitative research in human geography: reason for caution?

Contracts with, and member checks by, research participants are increasingly recommended in qualitative research in human geography. However, differences in qualitatively researching 'the powerful', as opposed to researching 'down' mean that contracts and member checks may need to be approached with caution regarding the former. The possibility of the censorship of critique by powerful research participants is exemplified in this article, and a number of more general dilemmas in qualitatively researching 'up' are also discussed. Finally, some choices which might help address possible difficulties in qualitatively researching the powerful are outlined.     

Vulnerability,Partnerships and the Pursuit of Survival: Urban Livelihoods and Apprenticeship Contracts in a West African City

This paper analyses local level apprenticeship contracts and networks to highlight informal urban livelihoods within the context of socio-economic vulnerability and wider contemporary changes taking place in Koforidua, Ghana. It does so by specifically examining the complex entanglements of interpersonal relationships that characterize apprenticeship contracts within which home-based entrepreneurs and artisans in Koforidua engage in to sustain both current livelihoods, as well as to shore themselves against socio-economic vulnerability triggered in part by adjustment. As a result of the changing geography of the city, network entanglements, comprising resilient ties and egalitarian relations, have become vital to urban livelihoods in this community. However, apprenticeship contracts and the networks they engender can be a double-edged sword. For instance, demands of reciprocity or support from co-network members, neighbours and family, can be so taxing that some individuals opt out of the network. This tension notwithstanding, this paper contends that apprenticeship contracts and the network spaces they create have created a new social cohesion and community that transcend the traditionally known spaces of social support, i.e. ethnic ties, family ties or even institutional support.     

区块链安全综述

区块链技术提供了一种在开放环境中存储数据、执行交易和处理业务的新方法,具有去中心化、防篡改等优势.从以比特币为代表的1.0时代,到以以太坊为代表的2.0时代,区块链技术已经对金融、物联网、供应链等行业产生了革命性的影响.然而由于技术和管理等方面的问题,目前区块链技术仍面临着很多安全挑战.首先,本文从信息安全、系统安全和隐私安全3个角度讨论了恶意信息攻击、51%攻击、智能合约攻击、拒绝服务攻击等8种区块链技术面临的攻击,分析了这些攻击的原理、执行过程和破坏性.接着,从以上3个角度详细讨论了智能矿池、Securify分析工具、混合技术、零知识证明等12种区块链安全保障技术,分析了这些安全保障技术的原理、执行过程、优点和局限性.最后,对区块链技术的未来研究方向进行了展望.     

新《劳动合同法》下劳动关系管理理念的转变

2008年1月1日颁布的《劳动合同法》是社会主义市场经济条件下全面调整劳动关系的一部重要法律。它通过倾向性地保护处于弱势地位的广大劳动者,规范了劳动关系双方各自的权利与义务,使劳动合同长期化,使劳动争议处理更加人性化,随着新《劳动合同法》下劳动关系管理理念的转变,使三方协商机制有法可依,为构建和谐稳定的劳动关系创造条件。     

股权再融资、现金流量操纵与盈余管理

盈余管理是当前财务学和会计学研究的核心问题之一。从经营现金流量角度,利用2001—2006年股权再融资上市公司数据,考察了再融资过程中的盈余管理行为。研究表明,上市公司再融资过程中存在着对经营现金流业绩操纵的盈余管理行为,从而导致上市公司再融资后经营现金流业绩普遍下降。同时,检验了对经营现金流业绩操纵的主要手段,如延迟货款支付等。