Negotiating Gendered Subjectivity in the Enterprise Culture: Metaphor and Entrepreneurial Discourses

An enterprise culture is one in which ‘certain enterprising qualities — such as self reliance, personal responsibility, boldness and a willingness to take risks in the pursuit of goals — are regarded as human virtues and promoted as such’. Work is not seen as a constraint upon the individual but rather as an opportunity for self‐fulfilment. The pervasiveness of enterprise culture has led to observations that it influences aspects of social life beyond the workplace. However, the kind of self that is imagined in enterprise culture is also a male self, with female entrepreneurship measured against a male norm. In this article, then, we present evidence of metaphor as a strategy for coping with the gendered expectations embodied by life in enterprise culture. We show how metaphor is simultaneously an index of and a resource for understanding gendered subjectivities in enterprise culture.     

扁平世界中的学习型社区:对中国的分析

中国崛起为先进经济体的可能性为其他国家提供了颇为有趣的发展机遇.本文将主要探讨在地域辽阔、人口众多的中国,能否应用知识政策缩小发达地区和欠发达地区之间的种种差异.本文尤为关注发展学习型社区能否填补知识的鸿沟,弥补发展的差距.根据扁平世界理论,世界可以转化为一个公平的游戏场.中国历史悠久,地缘政治复杂,中国的历史教训为发展中国家众多怀抱梦想的社区提供了各种各样的经验教训.基于这一原因,我们将中国加以个案考察.中国发明了印刷术、火药,开启了足球运动(兹不一一列举),却在其巅峰时期建造了长城(本身就是一个工程上的奇迹),与世隔绝,此后日渐衰微,直至欧洲列强的火炮打开了国门,在沿海设立通商口岸,惊醒了中国人.事实上,已有学者论述,是邓小平的改革开放扭转了这一悲惨状态.此种观点未免过于简单,本文不敢苟同.本文认为,旧中国的衰败,并非由于国门的开放或关闭,而是由于缺少知识和衡量知识的标准.     

白先勇小说同性恋者的悲剧命运探微

白先勇的小说脍炙人口,其中不乏以同性恋为题材的小说。1988年,白先勇公开了自己的性取向。因此,从白先勇的小说看同性恋的世界,不再是雾里看花。白先勇以他独特的小说技巧描述同性恋者的悲剧命运。同性恋者的命运是充满悲剧的,同性恋者一生被流在血液里的生理欲望孽魔纠缠。年轻俊美时,尚能容易满足生理欲望孽魔的需要;随着时光流逝,年岁增长,面容逐渐衰老,再也无法轻易满足生理欲望孽魔的需要。为此,老同性恋者得奔波劳碌、伺机寻找可以满足他们生理欲望孽魔需要的青春鸟,不少的同性恋者也因着得了爱滋病而离开世界。同性恋者一生的命运是悲哀的,白先勇悲天悯人的情怀让读者更深入地了解了同性恋者的世界和他们黑暗的国度。     

Outcomes assessment of role-play scenarios for teaching responsible conduct of research

We describe the summative assessment of role-play scenarios that we previously developed to teach central topics in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) to graduate students in science and engineering. Interviews with role-play participants, with participants in a case discussion training session, and with untrained students suggested that role-playing might promote a deeper appreciation of RCR by shifting the focus away from wanting to simply "know the rules." We also present the results of a think-aloud case analysis study and describe the development of a behaviorally-anchored rating scale (BARS) to assess participants' case analysis performance.     

Outcomes Assessment of Role-Play Scenarios for Teaching Responsible Conduct of Research

We describe the summative assessment of role-play scenarios that we previously developed to teach central topics in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) to graduate students in science and engineering. Interviews with role-play participants, with participants in a case discussion training session, and with untrained students suggested that role-playing might promote a deeper appreciation of RCR by shifting the focus away from wanting to simply “know the rules.” We also present the results of a think-aloud case analysis study and describe the development of a behaviorally-anchored rating scale (BARS) to assess participants' case analysis performance.     

Patriarchy and the Horror of the Monstrous Feminine

This paper compares the gender politics expressed in Ringu and The Ring, paying particular attention to specific and noteworthy distinctions and crucial underlying cultural differences that structure and shape the gender politics articulated in the two films. While highlighting the divergences in the films' narratives and examining how their depictions of female characters reveal the fundamental historical, cultural, social and ideological forces that structure Eastern and Western views of femininity, women, and their roles in society, this paper argues that although both films reflect a misogynist patriarchal perspective in their depiction of evil, violent, destructive females, it is the American remake that is ultimately more conservative and reactionary in its simplistic alignment of women, the feminine and maternity with evil and monstrosity. In comparison, the Japanese original offers a more ambiguous treatment of a key female character, the mysterious and deadly Sadako, allowing her to emerge as a potential figure of resistance against conservative patriarchy, an element that is distinctly absent in the American remake.     

An arborescent inventory model in a supply chain system

This study develops an arborescent (tree-like) inventory model with a constant demand rate. By considering the integration of the producer, distributors and retailers, a mathematical model and an economic ordering policy are developed. It can be shown that the integrated approach results in an impressive cost-reduction compared with an independent decision by the partial party. A numerical example of an arborescent inventory system is attached to demonstrate the economic ordering policy with the help of mathematical software - Maple V.     

A quick response production strategy to market demand

The reason for considering the quick response production strategy to market demand is due to the rapid technology change, which results in decreasing market price and obsolescence. This study considers a production strategy of locating final production line in response to the changes in market demand and the continuous deterioration in stock. The demand rate is assumed to decrease exponentially with time while the price is assumed to decrease linearly with time. The purpose of this study is to derive the most economical site of final-production line that assembles products with short life cycle. The model considered in this research takes into account the sales revenue, the deteriorating cost, the carrying cost, the variable cost and the fixed cost of production. Although there is a higher labour and material cost when the production site is located near market point, the total profit increases due to quicker responsive time, smaller import tax, lower inventory and lesser deteriorating cost.     

Exploring the effects of workplace support on work-life experience: a study of Malaysia

To date most studies of workplace support and work-life experience have been of contexts where government policies and legislation to protect employee work-life balance interests are well established, such as US, UK, and other European countries. Little scrutiny has been given to these issues in less developed economies, where support and protection in terms of work-life policies and legislation at the national level is rather limited. Malaysia, the setting of this study, provides such a context. Two types of organizational support, work flexibility and superior support, are studied for their impact on work-life experience of Malaysians. The findings of this study are based on a national survey of working adults in Malaysia. Work-life experience is conceptualized to capture conflict and enrichment aspects, as well as bidirectional effects between work and nonwork. Results show that work flexibility and superior support lower work-life conflict marginally but facilitate greater work-life enrichment among Malaysians. The paper also draws out implications of these findings for human resource development professionals operating in workplace settings within national contexts with limited mandatory work-life provisions.