Home and away: the residential care, education and control of children in historical and political context

Children — particularly adolescent boys — may be placed residentially by a variety of agencies in Britain, and there is a strong tradition among the upper middle classes of boarding at private fee-paying schools. The number of children involved, however, is diminishing, though this is as much caused by shorter stays as fewer admissions. The factors influencing this decline in residence vary from sector to sector. However, the emergence of viable alternatives to residence and the increased readiness of potential customers to exercise choice in the placement of their children is a common thread.     

Conflict of interest and the university

This essay provides an analysis of conflicts of interest (COIs) that arise in university relationships with private industry and articulates the concept of an "institutional" COI. It compares personal and institutional COIs in order to shed some light on the difficulties universities face in managing their own COIs. The essay discusses some proposed strategies for responding to institutional COIs, such as developing independent boards to monitor and oversee the university's COIs, building firewalls between various parts of the university to prevent financial interests from affecting university functions, creating independent research institutes, and prohibiting some types of university investments.     

Ideas, private institutions and American welfare state 'exceptionalism': the case of health and old-age insurance, 1915–1965

Traditional theories of welfare state development divide into two camps: societal accounts and institutional accounts. The aim of the present article is to amend and enrich the institutional approach to US social policy by reconsidering key aspects of the genesis of the American welfare state: 1) showing that concepts such as 'policy feedback' and 'path dependence' need to be extended to encompass the effect of private social policies; and 2) taking policy paradigms and agenda setting more seriously than is the norm in institutional scholarship. The empirical analysis is divided into two parts. The first part explores the activities of the American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) in the decade beginning in 1910 and the genesis of Social Security in the 1930s, while the second part examines the effect of the private benefit developments on policy choices between 1935 and 1965.     

The frequency of Mislabelled chemicals from commercial suppliers

This essay provides an analysis of conflicts of interest (COIs) that arise in university relationships with private industry and articulates the concept of an "institutional" COI. It compares personal and institutional COIs in order to shed some light on the difficulties universities face in managing their own COIs. The essay discusses some proposed strategies for responding to institutional COIs, such as developing independent boards to monitor and oversee the university's COIs, building firewalls between various parts of the university to prevent financial interests from affecting university functions, creating independent research institutes, and prohibiting some types of university investments.     

政府补助与民营企业研发投入

在关于政府研发补助政策对企业研发投入影响效应的争论背景下,本文通过分析第9次全国民营企业抽样调查数据,发现政府研发补助政策对中国民营企业研发投入具有激励效应,但这一效应受到企业决策者、企业资源禀赋结构以及企业环境等企业系统相关属性的影响。本文认为,为了进一步推动企业创新研发活动,政府需要继续改善市场环境,并在补助政策上向那些在企业决策和资源禀赋结构上更趋向于自主研发创新的民营中小企业倾斜。     

The effects of autonomy support and psychological capital on readiness for independent living through personal growth initiative among youth in out‐of‐home care

This study explored the effects of the factors on independent living readiness among youth under out‐of‐home care. Specifically, this study focused on the effects of caregivers' autonomy support and psychological capital on independent living readiness through personal growth initiative. A total of 215 youth who were expected to be discharged from caring institution within three years were gathered for the survey, and the final sample was 194 after excluding incomplete responses. Structural equation modeling with Mplus (version 7) was used to test research model and hypotheses in the study. Results showed that the research model was appropriated with several fit indices satisfied and that all the hypotheses were supported. Also, direct and indirect effects of independent variables were fully supported. However, the indirect effect of psychological capital was marginally significant. The results implicate that both caregiver's autonomy support and psychological capital are important for increasing personal growth initiative and that personal growth initiative served as a motivation to facilitating the readiness for independent living among children under institutional care.     

中小民营企业衰退现象的经济伦理学研究

我国民营企业在经历急剧发展后其中不少中小企业迅速步入了衰退期。义利关系认识的缺陷以及诚信文化的缺失从内部为其衰退准备了条件;政府经济伦理意识模糊所导致的不健全的法律政策及歧视性的融资制度则从外部加速了其衰退进程。因此,只有从民营企业经济伦理及相应制度建设、政府经济伦理及相应制度建设两方面入手,才能有效阻止我国民营企业衰退现象的发生。     

一般信任模式的跨部门差异及其中介机制: 基于2010年中国综合社会调查的研究

本文基于“市场”与“国家再分配”两种不同制度环境的讨论，利用中国综合社会调查2010年的数据，运用倾向值匹配方法处理潜在的选择性误差，考察了不同部门中个体的一般信任水平。结果显示，相比私有部门（外资企业和私营企业），在公共部门中工作的个体呈现了更高的一般信任水平。进一步的分析表明，政治参与水平和相对剥夺感作为中介于工作部门与一般信任水平之间的解释机制是显著的，在公共部门中工作的个体不仅在态度上对内在政治效能感有更高的认定，而且也能积极参与居委会社区的选举。这些特征极大提升了他们的一般信任水平。此外，公共部门中的个体在社会地位与经济地位上所持有的较低的相对剥夺感也有助于其建立更高的一般信任水平。     

The distributive impact of private pensions in the context of the institutional designs of public pension systems across OECD countries

Income inequality has been increasing across the developed world for the last few decades. The welfare state has played an important role in reducing income inequality, but it has now entered into an era of transformation. The shift from public to private pension schemes is one of the main policy instruments in this shift. An increase in private pensions is expected to create an increase in income inequality. Therefore, using data from OECD SOCX, this study examined how the effect of private pensions on income inequality might be changed by the institutional design of public pension systems. The results suggest that the effect of private pensions differs when the institutional design of the public pension system is considered. An increase in private pensions is related to an increase in income inequality when the public pension has a low level of coverage and a high level of earnings‐relatedness.     

中国人的信仰认同模式:以儒教信仰为中心

英语中的“宗教”,就西方基督教而言,是一种制度宗教;汉语中的“宗教”,则不一定指称宗教制度。中国儒教当然不等同于西方语义中的制度宗教,但无疑是一种具有宗教特征的信仰结构。杨庆堃所谓“扩散宗教”的概念,与本文讨论的中国“信仰”,及其在权力秩序和制度宗教之外那种私人、扩散式的信仰认同模式非常相似。为此,本文把儒教的信仰认同模式作为个人信仰与他人信仰、儒教信徒与其他社会成员的互动结果,并以信仰“认同”作为儒教的行动单位,同时亦作为一种分析工具,经由对儒教信仰认同规则的考察,讨论儒教信仰及其信仰群体的建构逻辑,进而分析儒教信仰经纬中中国社会的模式及其演变路径。     

Associations among Maternal Behavior,Delay of Gratification,and School Readiness across the Early Childhood Years

This study examined the developmental pathways from maternal behavior to school readiness within a sample of 1007 children, with a specific focus on the mediating role of delay of gratification (DoG). Maternal behavior across the first 36 months of age was explored as a predictor of children's DoG at 54 months as well as their behavioral and academic competence in kindergarten. Results support sensitivity as a predictor of children's DoG and indicate significant associations between DoG and teacher‐reported externalizing behavior, social skills, and academic skills. Moreover, DoG partially mediated the associations between maternal sensitivity and school readiness skills, with the highest percentage of mediation reported for social skills. Findings indicate maternal sensitivity and DoG as potential targets for efforts aimed at enhancing school readiness among young children.     

Bidirectionality in kindergarten children's school readiness and emotional regulation

This study examined the longitudinal associations of emotional regulation and school readiness among Chinese kindergarten children. Data were collected from 523 children (mean age at time 1 = 52.42 months; 52.9% male) at two time points separated by approximately 1 year in Hong Kong, China. At times 1 and 2, children's school readiness was assessed by their teachers and parents while their emotional regulation was directly tested. Teachers also rated children's emotional regulation at both time points. The results from the two reciprocal path models showed that, controlling for the corresponding autoregressive effects, school readiness at time 1 was predictive of emotional regulation at time 2. However, emotional regulation at time 1 did not emerge as a significant predictor of school readiness at time 2. Theoretically, these results underscored children's school readiness as a potential contributor to their emotional regulation. Practically, these findings suggested the utility of supporting children's school readiness to foster their emotional regulation.     

The Organization of Decision-making and the Dynamics of Policy Drift: A Canadian Health Sector Example

This historical‐institutionalist case study of public–private change in the rehabilitation health sector in Ontario, Canada, seeks to build on literature about the politics of policy drift, particularly with respect to health care systems. Rather than turning to higher‐order institutional factors, such as federalism and overall financing agreements between states and the medical profession, or to economic indicators such as change in expenditures, however, it posits that the particularities of how welfare‐policy sectors are organized with respect to their decision‐making contribute to drift. Such organization is framed by two factors. The first is the set of rules by which the public–private boundary is drawn, and the second is the structuring of public institutions that set legislation and regulation, and organize the policy networks attendant on them, around these boundaries. The degree of coordination or fragmentation among these, this case suggests, is a factor in the politics and dynamics of drift.     

Ideas and Institutional Change in Social Security: Conversion,Layering, and Policy Drift*

Objectives. In recent years, social scientists such as Kathleen Thelen and Jacob Hacker have introduced new concepts to assist in the understanding of institutional change. Fostering some of these concepts, this article proceeds to augment the theoretical debate on institutional change in social science and policy research. A discussion of Social Security development in the United States advances the article's main objective: to uncover the relationship between ideational processes and policy development. Methods. Qualitative and historical analysis is offered to examine three major policy episodes: the enactment of the 1939 amendments, the first mandate of the Nixon Administration (1969–1972), and the push for Social Security privatization that emerged in the 1990s. Results. First, the analysis suggests that, through the process of institutional conversion, the 1939 amendments and the Nixon‐era reforms altered the nature of Social Security. Second, the discussion on Social Security privatization stresses the impact of layering and policy drift on public and private pensions. Conclusions. The concepts of conversion, layering, and policy drift receive further empirical support through the presented analysis. Moreover, this article suggests that, for a full understanding of institutional change, a systematic analysis of ideational processes is necessary.     

Political risk and pension privatization: The case of Argentina (1994-2008)

Proponents of pension privatization in Latin America argued that systems of private fully pre-funded defined-contribution individual accounts would be better insulated from politics than was the case with public pay-as-you-go pension systems. However as the Argentinean case demonstrates, most recently with the 2008 nationalization of its private individual accounts system, transferring pension management and investment to the private sector does not necessarily reduce or eliminate political risk. In fact, the implementation of systems of individual accounts creates a new set of political risks, in part because they are a potential financial resource for governments, especially during times of economic stress. This article describes the range of political risks inherent to individual account pension systems, with specific reference to Argentina's 1994-2008 experience with privatization.     

Economics of public policy in health care systems

Externality arises when the private economy lacks incentives to set up a potential market in some commodity and when the nonexistence of this market results in a Pareto-suboptimal allocation. How can this idea be modified in the setting of the public benefits model of health care? This article argues that the equilibrium level of expenditure on health care is likely to vary markedly, depending on the institutional arrangements for its provision—public, mixed private-public, or purely private—but in none of these is the level of expenditure necessarily Pareto-optimal.     

The extent and limits of solidarity in Dutch health care

Solidarity and equal access are twin principles in the Dutch health care system: solidarity between the rich and poor and among people with high and low risks formally guarantees equal access to health care services. However, in the past few years government policies, guided by the ideology of market reform and free choice, have resulted in patterns of inequality that favour privately insured over sickness fund insured. In the meantime, the level of public support for the principles of solidarity and equal access is dropping. A significantly larger portion of the Dutch people now believes that it would be too costly to grant everyone the right to all medical treatments possible. An important reason for the decline of solidarity and equal accessibility is the scarcity of resources. The scarcity of resources and the waiting lists resulting from it will reduce the extent of the benefits package and the access to the care services of the health system. The better-off will have the resources to receive care services that are not part of the basic package. Moreover, the scarcity of resources will affect the readiness in society to provide informal care. Opposed to the compulsory macro solidarity of the health insurance system, informal care is based on a voluntary kind of solidarity in which personal choice plays an important role. Waiting lists and diminishing professional support weaken this readiness, as such support is a necessary condition for informal carers to keep caring for their relatives and friends. Because the informal care system is a necessary supplement to the formal system of care, the lack of help offered by the latter will in the end endanger the solidarity not only in informal care, but in the institutional care system as well.     

Institutional academic industry relationship: results of interviews with university leaders

The purpose of this study was to explore qualitatively the nature, consequences and management of institutional academic industry relationships (IAIRs) in the life and health sciences. The results of our interviews suggest that in the institutions we visited IAIRs are common and deeply embedded in the academic enterprise both among institutional officials and the organization itself. Many believe these relationships have potential benefits for the research and education mission while creating the potential for conflicts of interest. Further tracking and study of the IAIRs is required to understand and anticipate the full effects of these relationships on the scientific enterprise in the United States.     

Institutional Academic Industry Relationship: Results of Interviews with University Leaders

The purpose of this study was to explore qualitatively the nature, consequences and management of institutional academic industry relationships (IAIRs) in the life and health sciences. The results of our interviews suggest that in the institutions we visited IAIRs are common and deeply embedded in the academic enterprise both among institutional officials and the organization itself. Many believe these relationships have potential benefits for the research and education mission while creating the potential for conflicts of interest. Further tracking and study of IAIRs is required to understand and anticipate the full effects of these relationships on the scientific enterprise in the United States.     

论人力资源管理中的制度激励

制度激励的基础或根本出发点是经济人理性假定,激励是针对每个人追求自身预期收益最大化经济行为,通过规范的制度安排来引导和约束企业员工,为实现组织目标而努力。在人力资源管理实践中,激励之所以往往成为"问题",很多情况下都与制度安排密切相关。制度激励问题的典型表现形态就是"搭便车"问题与"代理成本"问题,后者解决办法无外乎在如下四种方法之间做折中选择:直接监督解决法;契约完善解决法;股权激励解决法;声誉机制解决法。通过员工持股计划(ESOP)、管理者收购(MBO)或经理股票期权(ESO)等途径和方式实现人力资本股权化,是现代企业制度激励的必然选择。