On the public commitment of intellectuals in late socialist China

This article investigates the intense debate on the figure of ??Chinese public intellectuals,?? which has gained increasing importance, both inside and outside Mainland China, during the last decade. The climax was reached in the year 2004, when the debate on the search for and against a role for the ??public intellectuals?? became the litmus test of the intellectual intersections between the State actors and the public. Through a close reading of the crucial documents, this article critically engages with the terminology and the interpretive paradigms employed. Thus the article highlights the contribution of the scholars examined to a dialogue on the role of critical thinking within China as well as globally. In fact, the exploration of the diversity of contemporary Chinese thought on the topic of ??public intellectuals?? can be inscribed within the framework of the following questions: How is the social category of ??public intellectuals?? used and why? And, ultimately, what does it really means to be an intellectual for the public in China today? In this sense, the article sheds light on the indigenous and foreign understandings of ??public?? and ??intellectual.??     

Much Ado About Nothing? Macro-Prudential Ideas and the Post-Crisis Regulation of Shadow Banking

Post-crisis, macro-prudential ideas have challenged the epistemic authority of private risk management technologies, declaring them to be pro-cyclical contributors to systemic risk. This discursive challenge has been most critical of the shadow banking system, where private risk management instruments are central. This challenge, however, has not been translated into regulatory tools which reflect these convictions. This paper studies this process of discursive challenge to (failed) regulatory intervention for the case of the repo-market, the heart of the current shadow banking system. It traces regulatory efforts on the global and EU level from regulatory statements to (lack of) action, documenting both the persistent articulation of macro-prudential ideas challenging private risk-management systems and timid to no regulatory intervention. It links this hiatus to international coordination problems, the need for macro-prudential action to span regulatory communities, involving banking and financial market authorities and disagreements between micro- and macro-prudentially oriented regulators. The lack of evidence and the difficulty to generate it are identified as major impediments for regulatory consensus, further aggravated by ambiguities about the goals of anti-cyclical regulation. Beyond governance problems and the persistent appeal of private risk-management systems, the paper thus points to difficulties operationalizing macro-prudential ideas as a major explanatory factor.     

Evolution of Equity Market Risk During the Crisis: Europe, Americas and Asia

A set of regional and country??s equity indices have been evaluated and analysed in their Value at Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) in this paper, using computational methods based on the Johnson systems. Comparing the main statistics and the values of the two cited measures of financial risk obtained using a roll-over mechanism in the period January 2008?CJuly 2012, the impact of the crisis on equity market risk can be shown. It seems that for all regions and countries the patterns are very similar: there is a peak of all the risk measures adopted at the beginning of the crisis (September 2008?CFebruary 2009) and another turbulent period in 2011 (from July to December). In other terms, the global patterns of the main financially relevant countries and their regional aggregations demonstrate that ??One Financial system??, and just one, is already at work, in theory and in practice. On the other hand, the scale of the risk measures differs from one country to another: e.g., with a probability of 1?%, the potential daily loss on an equity position in Latin America in the worst period arrives to about 25?%, the Emerging Markets as a whole show values around 20?% and Asia arrives to 15?%, while the US and European corresponding values are below 14?%. This is true whatever the risk measure and whatever the confidence interval (which, again, influences strongly the scale of the risk values). Looking in detail to the last period (April 2012?CJuly 2012), a general improvement could be appreciated: the risk measures are all around 4?% if not on one hand Italy and Spain (around 6?%), Greece (around 10?%) and on the other hand the ??virtuous?? Chile (around 1.5?%), again with reference to a probability of 1?%. Nevertheless, indices of performance (expected return over risk measure) have been evaluated and compared. They give sometimes different answers to the risk measures themselves.     

The effects of 9/11 on intermarriage between natives and immigrants to the U.S.

The existing literature generally finds a negative impact of the 9/11 tragedy on immigrants?? labor market performance, consistent with increased discrimination in the labor market and stricter immigration policies. In this paper, we examine the impact of this tragic event on a particular measure of immigrants?? social outcomes??marriage with a native or intermarriage. We find that the tragic event actually increases Hispanic immigrants?? probability of being married to a native. We suggest that our results could be explained by that after 9/11, the deteriorated labor market conditions, along with tightened immigration policies, may have led to increased incentives of immigrants to marry natives. This effect is large relative to the potential discrimination effect, if any, that could reduce natives?? willingness to marry an immigrant. We also find that the magnitude of the effect is much smaller in the years immediately following 9/11 and becomes larger over time; and that there exists a large, statistically significant gender difference in the effects of 9/11 on intermarriage outcomes. Finally, we conduct indirect tests of proposed explanations; and our results imply existence of economic gains from intermarriage, and that discrimination may indeed exist.     

A theory of income taxation where politicians focus upon core and swing voters

We construct an equilibrium model of party competition, in which parties are especially concerned with their core and swing voters, concerns which political scientists have focused upon in their attempts to understand party behavior in general elections. Parties compete on an inifinite-dimensional space of possible income-tax policies. A policy is a function that maps pre-fisc income into post-fisc income. Only a fraction of each voter type will vote for each party, perhaps because of issues not modeled here or voter misperceptions of policies. Each party??s policy makers comprise two factions, one concerned with maximizing the welfare of its constituency, or its core, and the other with winning over swing voters. An equilibrium is a pair of parties (endogenously determined), and a pair of policies, one for each party, in which no deviation to another policy will be assented to both its core and swing factions. We characterize the equilibria: they have the property that both parties propose identical treatment of a possibly large interval of middle-income voters, while the ??left?? party gives more to the poor and the ??right?? party more to the rich. An empirical section uses the data of Piketty and Saez on taxation in the US to assess the model??s predictions. We argue that the model is roughly confirmed.     

Raising the Titanic: Rescuing Social Work Documentation from the Sea of Ethical Risk

Abstract

One of the most contentious issues in social work practice concerns what should be written about people who access social work services, how comprehensively, and in what format social work assessments, interventions, and outcomes should be documented. The present paper describes a structured approach linked to an action research project that was undertaken by hospital-based social workers to identify and minimise problems associated with documentation in the medical record. The Social Work Ethics Audit provided social work staff with a risk-management tool that highlighted documentation as a key area of ethical risk. Through a process of evaluating existing recording practices, social workers were able to meet the challenge of improving social work recording in medical records, returning it to its proper place as a vital component of clinical and ethical practice rather than an administrative task submerged beneath competing priorities. It was anticipated that the social work documentation proforma that resulted from the ethics audit process would have applicability in other health care settings.     

Does Social Work Need a “Practice Doctorate”?

In the past few years, new ??practice doctorate?? programs have been mounted by some schools of social work with traditional Ph.D. programs. This trend is explored in relation to the purposes of doctoral education, specifically preparing stewards of the discipline as compared to ??stewards of the enterprise.?? Arguments advanced for and against this development in social work education are reviewed in the context of the emergence of practice doctorates in psychology, nursing and public health. Characteristics of these new doctoral programs in social work, which all focus on clinical social work, are described. Wider discussion of the concept and purposes of the ??practice doctorate?? in social work is needed in order to safeguard the gains made in research education at the doctoral level and to advance practice-based knowledge and scholarship for the future.     

What money can’t buy: The psychology of financial overcompensation

When a financial damage has been inflicted, perpetrators can satisfy victims’ outcome related concerns by providing a financial compensation. Few studies have investigated, however, whether overcompensation (i.e., compensation that is greater than the damage suffered) is more beneficial than equal compensation (i.e., compensation that covers the exact damage suffered). The results of four studies show that overcompensation offers no effects in addition to the impact of equal compensation, and that it even provokes negative outcomes. More specifically, overcompensation is attributed to occur because of a lower level of moral orientation on the part of the perpetrator (Study 2 through 4), leads to less favorable perceptions of the perpetrator (Study 2 and 4), and lower levels of trust in the perpetrator (Study 3 and 4) than equal compensation. No significant differences between overcompensation and equal compensation appeared for relationship preservation and cooperation (Study 4). These results show that while overcompensation may rebuild cooperation (albeit not more effectively than equal compensation), it does so at a monetary and relational cost that limits its effectiveness as a tool to promote true interpersonal trust. The present studies thus show that a large financial compensation does not provide any surplus value in terms of psychological outcomes and relationship continuation, even though such compensation best satisfies a victim’s economic needs.     

Die wahrgenommene Gerechtigkeit des eigenen Erwerbseinkommens: Geschlechtstypische Muster und die Bedeutung des Haushaltskontextes

The rise in female labor market participation and the growth of ??atypical?? employment arrangements has, over the last few decades, brought about a steadily decreasing percentage of households in which the man is the sole breadwinner, and a rising percentage of dual-earner households. Against this backdrop, the paper investigates how household contexts in which the traditional ??male breadwinner?? model still exists or has already been challenged affect individuals?? subjective evaluations of the justice of their personal earnings. In the first step we derive three criteria used by individuals to evaluate the fairness or justice of their personal earnings: compensation for services rendered, coverage of basic needs, and the opportunity to earn social approval. In the second step, we apply considerations from household economics and new approaches from gender research to explain why men??s and women??s evaluations of justice are determined to a considerable degree by the specific situation within their household. The assumptions derived regarding gender-specific patterns in justice attitudes are then tested on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) from 2007 and 2005. The results support our central thesis that gender-specific patterns in the evaluation of personal earnings are both reduced and increased in dual-earner households. They are reduced because women in dual-income households tend to have higher income expectations that challenge the existing gender wage gap. At the same time, gender-specific patterns are increased because men evaluate the equity of their personal income in relation to their ability to fulfill traditional gender norms and thus their capacity to live up to corresponding notions of ??masculinity.??     

��Sustainable consumption�� as a new phase in a governmentalization of consumption

With the rise of environmental themes and the increasing support of the ??sustainable development?? objective, public institutions have shown a renewed interest in the sphere of consumption. During the 1990s, a new dimension in public regulation was developed for the more downstream part of economic circuits, precisely to eliminate the negative effects of consumption and to be able to subject it to criteria of ??sustainability.?? The initiatives taken thus far have in fact mainly targeted the general population, primarily considered as a set of individual consumers. The latter are expected to become aware of their share of responsibility in the pressures exerted on natural resources and environments, and thus of the need to adapt their consumption habits in order to improve the situation. This article proposes to seize this dynamic, which seems to be expanding. It examines the discursive and programmatic frameworks, which together redefine the role of both the consumer and the citizen to arrive at an individual who can be interested and mobilized in favor of new recommendations. It analyzes the logic from which an effort attempting to make acts of consumption conform to renewed requirements has been established in its wake. This allows for a better understanding of the institutional devices that have been favored, in particular insofar as they appear to be the result of a constrained space of possibilities. In brief, it is a governmentality that tends to be deployed, although it is also likely to give rise to tensions.     

Financial stress, family relationships, and Australian youths’ transitions from home and school

We analyze the effect of mothers?? and youths?? reports of family financial stress and relationship dissatisfaction on Australian youths?? transitions into adult roles. We find that mothers?? reports of financial stresses and borrowing constraints are associated with earlier transitions to inactivity, while youths?? reports of financial stresses are associated with earlier nest-leaving. Youths reporting unsatisfactory relationships with parents leave school and move out earlier than their peers, while unsatisfactory relationships between parents are associated with youths making later transitions. Overall, financial stress and dissatisfaction have independent associations with youths?? transitions and youths?? perspectives have different consequences to those of their mothers.     

Leisure in Japan, 1986–2006: A Revival?

Japan is famous for long working hours. For decades the Japanese government has tried to influence how people spend their free time. In 5-yearly surveys since 1986 the government has surveyed ??quality of life,?? gauging how much time people spend daily in various activities, including ??leisure.?? Analyzing results from these time use surveys, from 2006 back to 1986, and controlling for labor market conditions, this study determines whether time spent on leisure activities has actually changed. Gains in some types of leisure have been fleeting. Yet in other respects leisure has been enhanced, with significant increases occurring in active recreational pastimes. Nevertheless, leisure remains elusive for mid-career employees. Moreover, there is a pronounced gender gap for leisure time.     

Cognitive abilities,self-efficacy,and financial behavior

This paper investigates the effect of cognitive abilities on financial behavior among older adults. Using the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, I find that cognitive abilities significantly affect financial behavior through two channels: ability and self-efficacy. People with higher cognition scores achieve better financial outcomes. This positive association is especially strong in tasks having high demand of cognitive abilities, which confirms the ability channel of the cognitive ability effect. In addition, there is evidence for the self-efficacy channel as a secondary source of cognitive influence. Lower cognitive abilities decrease people’s sense of self-efficacy, which, in turn, significantly decreases financial management efficiency. The findings have important policy implications, specifically that more effort is needed to assist the growing older population through the cognitive aging process and that noncognitive skills, as a secondary source of influence, also warrant attention.     

Are income poverty and perceptions of financial difficulties dynamically interrelated?

An individual’s economic ill fare can be assessed both objectively, looking at one’s income with reference to a poverty line, or subjectively, on the basis of the individual’s perceived experience of financial difficulties. Although these are distinct perspectives, income poverty and perceptions of financial difficulties are likely to be interrelated. Low income (especially if it persists) is likely to negatively affect perceptions of financial difficulties and, as recently suggested by the behavioural economics literature, (past) subjective sentiment may in return influence individual’s income generating ability and poverty status. The aim of this paper is to determine the extent of these dynamic cross-effects between both processes. Using Luxembourg survey data, our main result highlights the existence of a feedback effect from past perceived financial difficulties on current income poverty suggesting that subjective perceptions can have objective effects on an individual’s behaviour and outcomes.     

Paths of Local Development: Culture, Context, Power, and the Role of Nongovernmental Organizations

This article challenges the perception that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are immune from attributes commonly associated with political parties, such as clientelism. Through a case study of an NGO and a political party in semi-urban Argentina, this article demonstrates that despite associational differences with local political party network, these two associational networks produced similar social outcomes??such as, dependency, exclusivity, and paternalism??a phenomenon traced to the NGO??s and political parties?? similar structures and tactics. Contrary to the prevailing positive view of the NGO, held by scholars, the media, and development practitioners, it was guided by financial interests and a continual focus on locating external funding sources to facilitate its goals. Not surprisingly, the political party was dominated by politically oriented interests and an ever-present focus on obtaining votes. However, these seemingly different associations had a similar objective, i.e., the continual effort to obtain sources of support thus demonstrating how powerful structures can still dominate poor communities even when forms change.     

Kompetenz- und karrieref?rderliches Führungsverhalten: Zum Stand der Forschung

The direct manager which has close contact with his employees is suited to challenge and support them according to their interests and abilities. This paper provides a summary of the empirical literature about the meaning and mechanism of different leadership behaviors influencing employees?? competencies and career advancement. The leader??s behaviors are divided in two ways of support. The direct contact (feedback, training measures, promotion, trust and expectations, objectives?? management, social support, role model behavior) and support by providing competence and career enhancing tasks and job design (delegation of challenging tasks, job control, person-job-fit). Thereby a particular focus is placed upon gender-specific outcomes. Based on the actual research findings, additional recommendations for the career enhancement in practice and for future research are provided.     

Irrationality and Regulation: Constructing Mad Cow Knowledge in the US–South Korea FTA

This article explores the scientific rhetoric by which United States has attempted to promote its preferred Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or ‘mad cow disease’) risk-management policies with several key Asian trading partners. When Korean civil society rejected its government's decision to resume full trade of US beef products following Free Trade Agreement negotiations in 2008, the US government called these expressions ‘irrational’ and refused to address questions about the uncertainty and contested knowledge regarding its beef safety. Rather, the US government dismissed Korean citizens’ concerns over the safety of US beef through the use of scientific and technocratic rhetoric, as a way to obscure the US’ particular political and economic interests. Through investigation of the US' campaign to change international standards on BSE-related trade and the comparative shortcomings of the US' domestic BSE regulatory practices, this article presents the trade conflict as a conflict between competing cultures of risk: the United States used an economically driven risk assessment model while its Asian trading partners favored a more precautionary approach. Thus, the politicized, value-laden nature of the US' claims failed to persuade the Korean public. This paper also considers how the presence of the Free Trade Agreement negotiations and the particular pro-American stance of the Korean president weakened the Korean state's accountability to public protests, in contrast to the continued precautionary approach of China, Taiwan, and Japan.

Este artículo explora la retórica científica por la que los Estados Unidos ha tratado de promover su política de manejo de riesgo de la encefalopatía espongiforme bovina (EEB, o “mal de las vacas locas”) con varios socios comerciales claves del Asia. Cuando la sociedad civil coreana rechazó la decisión de su gobierno de reanudar completamente el comercio de los productos de carne de res siguiendo las negociaciones del Tratado de Libre Comercio en 2008, el gobierno estadounidense llamó a estas expresiones “irracionales” y se rehusó a abordar las preguntas sobre la incertidumbre y la controversia del conocimiento respecto a la seguridad de su carne de res. Por el contrario, el gobierno estadounidense buscó “cientifizar” su posición, difiriendo con reclamos tecnocráticos y científicos y poniendo en duda la legitimidad de los estándares de seguridad internacionales, para opacar sus intereses económicos particulares sobre los riesgos de salud inciertos, percibidos por los ciudadanos coreanos. A través de una investigación de la campaña estadounidense para cambiar los estándares internacionales AQ1 sobre la EEB, relacionada con el comercio y las deficiencias comparativas de las prácticas reguladoras domésticas de la EEB, este artículo presenta el conflicto comercial como un conflicto entre culturas competitivas de riesgo: Estados Unidos usó un modelo de evaluación con una visión de riesgo económico, mientras que los socios comerciales asiáticos favorecieron un enfoque de mayor precaución. De tal manera que los reclamos estadounidenses cargados de valores y de naturaleza politizada, fallaron en persuadir al público coreano. Este artículo también considera cómo la presencia de las negociaciones del Tratado de Libre Comercio y la postura pro-americana de la presidencia de Corea debilitaron la obligación del estado coreano a responder a las protestas públicas, en contraste con el constante enfoque de precaución de la China, Taiwan y Japón.

本文探讨美国一直试图向其亚洲贸易伙伴推销美国喜好的“疯牛病”（Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy（简称BSE） 风险管理政策而使用的科学修辞（scientific rhetoric） 。当韩国的公民社会驳斥他们的政府伴随着2008年的自由贸易谈判而决定恢复美国牛肉产品的全面贸易时,美国政府声称这些驳斥为“非理性”且拒绝回答有关美国牛肉安全的不确定性和检测知识方面的问题。反而,美国政府诉诸“科学化”其立场,怠慢科学和技术的观点以及国际安全标准的正当性,以便在韩国市民感到的不确定的健康风险上隐藏其特殊经济利益。通过对美国的改变AQ1关于疯牛病贸易的国际标准和美国的国内BSE调控惯例的比较缺点的调查,本文认为贸易冲突是竞争中的不同风险文化之间的冲突：美国使用经济驱动的风险评估模式,而其亚洲贸易伙伴则喜欢预警的方式。因此,美国的主张的政治化的、价值倾向的性质难以劝说韩国公众。本文也考虑到自由贸易协定以及特定的亲美的韩国总统的存在如何弱化了韩国国家的对公众抗议的责任,比较起来,中国、台湾和日本则是采取持续的预警方式。

? ?? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??? ???(BSE) ?? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ????. 2008? ??? ????? ???? ??????(FTA)? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?, ?? ??? ??? ??? ‘????’??? ???, ??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?????. ??, ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???/??? ??? ?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ????. ? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? AQ1 ????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????: ??? ???? ? ? ????? ??? ?? ???, ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ????. ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ???. ?? ? ?? ??, ??? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ???.

В статье исследуется научная риторика, с помощью которой Соединенные Штаты попытались продвигать свои предпочтения в политике управления рисками коровьей губчатой ??энцефалопатии (BSE или "коровьего бешенства") во взаимодействии с несколькими ключевыми азиатскими торговыми партнерами. Когда корейское гражданское общество отклонило решение своего правительства возобновить торговлю говядиной из США в полном объеме, после Соглашения о Свободной торговле на переговорах в 2008 году, правительство США, назвав эти проявления "иррациональными", отказалось ответить на вопросы о неопределенном и спорном знании о безопасности своей говядины. Скорее всего, правительство США стремится научно обосновать свою позицию, откладывая научные и технократические претензии и легитимность международных стандартов безопасности для того, чтобы скрыть превалирование своих частных экономических интересов над неопределенными рисками здоровью корейских граждан. Посредством исследования кампании США по изменению международных стандартов торговли AQ1 на коровью губчатую энцефалопатию и при сравнительных недостатках внутренней практики регулирования BSE - методов в США, статья представляет торговый конфликт как конфликт между конкурирующими культурами риска: США использовали модель оценки степени риска ведомую экономически, в то время как ее азиатские торговые партнеры одобрили более осторожный подход. Таким образом политизированный, ценностный характер претензий США не убедил корейскую общественность. Также статья рассматривает, как присутствие Соглашения о Свободной торговле, переговоры и особая проамериканская позиция корейского президента ослабили ответственность корейского государства перед общественными протестами, в отличие от длительного предупредительного подхода Китая, Тайваня и Японии.     

Gender differences in risk behaviour in financial decision-making: An experimental analysis

This paper examines whether gender differences in risk propensity and strategy in financial decision-making can be viewed as general traits, or whether they arise because of context factors. It presents the results of two computerised laboratory experiments designed to examine whether differences in risk preference and decision strategies are explained by the framing of tasks and level of task familiarity to subjects. The results show that females are less risk seeking than males irrespective of familiarity and framing, costs or ambiguity. The results also indicate that males and females adopt different strategies in financial decision environments but that these strategies have no significant impact on ability to perform. Because strategies are more easily observed than either risk preference or outcomes in day to day decisions, strategy differences may reinforce stereotypical beliefs that females are less able financial managers.     

Transformational Leadership, Organizational Culture, Organizational Effectiveness, and Programme Outcomes in Non-Governmental Organizations

This study examines whether transformational leadership influences organizational culture that furthers NGOs?? effectiveness. It also examines whether transformational leadership at the top directly influences NGOs?? effectiveness. Further, it tests whether NGO effectiveness improves the programme outcomes in terms of health, income, education, and happiness of villagers. Data were collected from 312 NGOs in Jharkhand state (India). Transformational leadership, organizational culture, and NGO effectiveness were assessed from NGO personnel using standard instruments, and programme outcomes on health, income, education, and happiness were evaluated from villagers using wooden cubes. Findings reveal that transformational leadership builds organizational culture that furthers NGO effectiveness. Transformational leadership does not influence directly NGO effectiveness but it enhances NGO effectiveness promoting organizational culture. Furthermore, NGO effectiveness improves the outcomes of programmes undertaken by NGOs in terms of better health, income, education, and happiness of beneficiaries.