Публичное красноречие и политическая власть в поздней Римской Республике

В книге освещается роль, которую играл публичный политический дискурс в процессе распределения власти между сенатом и народом в Риме эпохи поздней Республики. В противоположность сторонникам «олигархической» и «демократической» модели интерпретации государственно-политического устройства Рима этого периода, Роберт Морстейн-Маркс подчеркивает постоянное воспроизводство политической власти через массовую коммуникацию. В книге анализируется идеология республиканского публичного красноречия в институциональном и историческом контексте «народных сходок» (contiones), на которых заслушивались публичные речи. Исследуются конциональные речи (главным образом, Цицерона и Саллюстия) с использованием современных политических теорий и результатов эмпирических исследований общественного мнения и средств массовой коммуникации. This book highlights the role played by public, political discourse in shaping the distribution of power between Senate and People in the Late Roman Republic. Against the background of the debate between “oligarchical” and “democratic” interpretations of Republican politics, Robert Morstein-Marx emphasizes the perpetual negotiation and reproduction of political power through mass communication. The book analyses the ideology of Republican mass oratory and situates its rhetoric fully within the institutional and historical context of the public meetings (contiones) in which these speeches were heard. Examples of contional orations, drawn chiefly from Cicero and Sallust, are subjected to an analysis that is influenced by contemporary political theory and empirical studies of public opinion and the media, rooted in a detailed examination of key events and institutional structures, and illuminated by a vivid sense of the urban space in which the contio was set.Список сокращений: с. XIII-XIV. Ссылки: с. 288-305. Индекс: с. 306-313. Рецензию см., например: http://elar.uniyar.ac.ru/jspui/handle/123456789/1373

Logical Implications of GASB’s Methodology for Valuing Pension Liabilities

It is well known that the funding status of state and local government defined benefit pension plans, as measured by the accounting methodology prescribed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), improves when the plans take on more investment risk. This paper documents several lesser known logical implications of the GASB methodology. In particular, I show that GASB accounting is susceptible to the “Yogi Berra fallacy,” under which a pizza is less filling when sliced into fewer pieces: GASB gives different “valuations” for the exact same assets and liabilities when they are partitioned differently among plans. Moreover, the marginal valuation of assets can be negative under GASB. In such cases a plan can improve its GASB funding status literally by burning money. Finally, I show that GASB’s methodology is exactly equivalent to fairly valuing plan liabilities, but accounting for stocks at more than twice their traded prices, and further crediting a plan an additional dollar for each dollar of stock that it intends to buy in the future.

Bidder Collusion

Within the heterogeneous independent private values model, we analyze bidder collusion at first and second price single-object auctions, allowing for within-cartel transfers. Our primary focus is on (i) coalitions that contain a strict subset of all bidders and (ii) collusive mechanisms that do not rely on information from the auctioneer, such as the identity of the winner or the amount paid. To analyze collusion, a richer environment is required than that required to analyze non-cooperative behavior. We must account for the possibility of shill bidders as well as mechanism payment rules that may depend on the reports of cartel members or their bids at the auction. We show there are cases in which a coalition at a first price auction can produce no gain for the coalition members beyond what is attainable from non-cooperative play. In contrast, a coalition at a second price auction captures the entire collusive gain. For collusion to be effective at a first price auction we show that the coalition must submit two bids that are different but close to one another, a finding that has important empirical implicationsauctions, collusion, bidding rings, shill

Mutual Interference in the Microchemical Determination of Ore Minerals

The use of microchemical methods is spreading rapidly, both for the qualitative and quantitative determination of elements. Microchemistry offers a decided advantage over "bulk" methods, not only because of the greater speed with which the determinations can be carried out, but also because of the very small amounts of material required for a test. Microchemical methods are particularly valuable in determining the composition of the small inclusions in ores and metallurgical products. Most of the reagents used are sufficiently sensitive to show the presence of 0.005 per cent or less of the desired element. Needless to say, if such minute quantities of an element are to be identified, it is essential that the procedure of the test be carefully followed and the utmost caution taken that there is no pollution of the reagent or the test drop. Despite such care, it frequently happens that the test obtained is not wholly satisfactory. Either the color of the precipitate is unusual, the form is changed or entirely different, or sometimes no test is obtained when previous observations have indicated that the element should be present. When such changes occur-and they occur frequently, even in the hands of skilled technicians-the observer is never certain whether they are due to variations in the PH of the solution, concentration of reagent or solution, or to the presence of some interfering anion or cation. The first two variables can be controlled by proper attention to the procedure of the test; in many cases the last variable-presence of an interfering anion or cation-is beyond control. Often, much time could be saved by recognizing that a given variation in the precipitate is caused by the presence of another element. In fact, some of the interferences are as characteristic of the interfering element as any other known test. The presence of a variety of elements in the test drop is due either to a poor sample or to a complex mineral. A poor sample is obtained if the original area of the mineral or inclusion is too small. In this case, allowance can usually be made for the presence in the solution of elements of the host mineral, although their presence may cause notable interferences. Where the mineral varies in composition there may be no hint of the presence of elements, other than those expected in the mineral, until trouble is encountered in the testing.</p

Buy High Sell Low: Redefining Bean Counting in the Coffee Industry for a Sustainable Future

Charles Manz returns to the JVBL providing ‒ together with several fellow researchers/writers ‒ a case study of a socially responsible business within the coffee industry. Familiar CSR concepts are examined such as Fair Trade and sustainability which foster parity in dealing with buyers while maintaining product quality and reasonable income. The practices of Dean’s Beans, a progressive coffee organization, are examined as a notable demonstration of how a business can fiscally succeed while maintaining a commitment to the triple-bottom-line considerations of people, planet, and profits