From the Editor

Sociological Forum -     

中国劳动力构成与劳动力市场

中国经济改革中劳动力构成及劳动力市场究竟有什么变化，这是国际学界共同关心的问题。本文从中国劳动力市场发展的趋势出发，具体讨论有关产业和政治的涵义，并就中国劳动力市场所处的国际背景进行分析。     

From the Editor

Sociological Forum -     

Re-Figuring Marked Bodies on the Borders: Breast Cancer and “Femininity”

The author discusses writings by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Kathleen Martindale, Audre Lorde, and Barbara Rosenblum on their experiences with breast cancer, and explores their articulations of the impact mastectomy has had on their sense of femininity in relation to their own identities and body images, and in relation to cultural expectations, and how others perceive them. Their identification of the body as socially produced, and as a site of contestation and multiple struggles, offers a strategic site from which to engage with the violent gender-inflected notion of the ideal female body. Themes addressed include: the process of writing embodied experience to make it real, the body's role in the process of identity formation, the culturally constructed significance of appearance to the individual's sense of femininity, the value of the female body in a capitalistic society, and heterosexism in society and in the health care system.     

‘I Became a Mom’: Identity Changes in Mothers Receiving Public Assistance

ABSTRACT

This phenomenological study used individual, semistructured, face-to-face interviews to explore motherhood experiences among 15 women receiving public assistance in a large urban area on the West coast. A primary phenomenon observed was that motherhood was described as an experience of identity change, with resulting emotional, behavioral, and sense-of-self changes. Within this broad theme, two categories emerged: the experience and process of change, and consequences of change. It was concluded that motherhood may serve as an important catalyst for change in some women and that the context of poverty is essential for understanding the motherhood experience. These results suggest that interventions aimed at leveraging emerging motherhood identities may be beneficial in setting women on the path out of poverty, drug addiction, and incarceration. Future research should examine the consequences of maternal change within the specific context of the stages of change documented in the recovery process from drug addiction.     

Confucian values and the implications for international HRD

Abstract

The consideration of cultural issues has become increasingly important in scholarly inquiry and explorative practice in international human resource development (HRD). We review and explore the core characteristics of Confucian-based culture in relation to organizations and unfold how these Confucian values may affect organizational and management practices in China and other Asian countries. Five major aspects of Confucianism are examined. They are: (a) hierarchy and harmony, (b) group orientation, (c) guanxi networks (relationships), (d) mianzi (face) and (e) time orientation. The impact of these values on management practices in the Chinese organizational context is presented in four areas: (a) working relationships, (b) decision-making processes, (c) ruling by man (ren zhi) instead of by law (fa zhi) and (d) HR practices. Implications for organizations and international HRD are also discussed.