Problems of Measurement of the Relationship Between Civil Society and Democracy When Using Survey Data

Social Indicators Research - Over the last three decades, it has become accepted wisdom that membership in civil society organizations enhances civic participation and encourages democratic...     

Early traces of the Second Demographic Transition in Bulgaria: A joint analysis of marital and non-marital union formation, 1960–2004

We explore trends in first-union formation in Bulgaria from 1960, using data from the national Gender and Generations Survey of 2004. We analyse jointly the transition into cohabitation and directly into marriage. The standardized marriage rate falls dramatically from the early 1980s; the corresponding rate of entry into cohabitation has already increased from the early 1960s but (surprisingly) falls moderately toward the end of our period. Cohabitation also tends to last progressively longer in more recent periods. The analysis shows that a pregnancy leads to a dramatic increase in the rate of both kinds of union formation: the increase is by a factor of almost 20 for marriage formation and about 10 for entry into cohabitation, ceteris paribus. Our findings suggest that, in Bulgaria at least, some manifestations of the Second Demographic Transition can be detected as early as the 1980s.     

Challenges of Appraising Intangible Outcomes with Unclear Objectives: Performance Management Issues in Local Government in Ontario

This article discusses the challenges of performance management on social assistance program. These challenges include measuring intangible outcome against unclear organizational objectives, de-coupling of performance management and performance enhancement, stressing on administrative accountability over out-come oriented culture. Then, strategies are suggested to handle these challenges in order to shift the performance management system from merely an auditing mechanism to an engine of change.     

Pour de nouveaux indicateurs des droits au travail: méthode de construction et tendances 2000–2015

Les auteurs proposent une nouvelle méthode pour mesurer l'état de la liberté syndicale et de la négociation collective, qui repose sur un codage des atteintes repérées dans neuf sources documentaires, dont six rapports du BIT et des textes du droit national. Leurs indicateurs, disponibles pour 185 États Membres de l'OIT, ont été publiés en 2015 par le Center for Global Workers’ Rights de l'Université Penn State, en association avec l'Université ouvrière mondiale. Dans une résolution d'octobre 2018, la Conférence internationale des statisticiens du travail recommande l'adoption de cette méthode pour mesurer l'indicateur sur les droits des travailleurs (8.8.2) associé aux objectifs de développement durable.     

In Sizing Civil Society,Wording and Format Matter

Social Indicators Research - For six decades the civil society and democracy thesis has generated great interest. How dependably can the relationship of associational membership to democracy be...     

Vestiges of the medical model: a critical exploration of the Ontario Disability Support Program in Ontario,Canada

Although ample literature exists on workfare in Ontario, Canada, research on the social assistance programme for disabled people, the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), is relatively scant. What we do know points to similar shortcomings. We present a critical disability study considering four policy domains to explore how disabled people are identified and accommodated in Ontario. Discussing the principles of universal design, we argue for policy design that meets the needs of as many individuals as possible, while accounting for significant human variability. We conclude that the ODSP, in failing to adopt a rights-based framework, violates the dignity and rights of disabled people.     

Selective Decisions: Challenging Orthodox Analyses of the Hiring Process

Employee recruitment and selection decisions are increasingly framed in terms of explanatory variables and interactions that span multiple levels of analysis. This paper reviews the gradual transition in thinking from predominantly micro-level explanations, to frameworks more accepting of the importance of both micro- and macro-level explanations. The latter accommodate the influences of and interactions between, for example, the individual characteristics of candidates; the cognitive processes of key actors or decision-makers; organisational characteristics; collective processes; and wider environmental contextual factors which constrain and shape an organisation's or manager's decision alternatives. The result is more complex cross-level theorising about the hiring process. The paper also goes beyond cross-level interactions between multiple variables in considering selection as a social relational phenomenon. Meso-level theories present epistemological alternatives to the dominant micro-level research tradition in selection and potentially more parsimonious and powerful micro–macro bridging concepts than cross-level interactionist perspectives. It is argued that cross-disciplinary perspectives, although still problematic, are valuable additions to the individualistic paradigm which is conventionally used to understand employee recruitment and selection.     

An integrated lean and green approach for improving sustainability performance: a case study of a packaging manufacturing SME in the U.K.

Abstract

Competitive landscape, informed consumers and stringent regulations have forced many manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to focus on operational efficiency along with sustainability issues in recent years. While many manufacturing organisations have been taking lean initiatives for the past few years for operational excellence, an impulsive rush to adopt lean without a strategic deployment vision has led to scattered implementation of lean tools and projects without desired success. Many researchers and practitioners prescribe value stream mapping as a foundation for lean transformation initiatives; however, little empirical work is available on the symbiosis of lean and green paradigms to reap maximum benefits. This research, through a systematic methodology and a novel tool called Green Integrated Value Stream Mapping (GIVSM), integrates both paradigms in a case study on a U.K. packaging-manufacturing SME. Applying the GIVSM demonstrates that simultaneous deployment of lean and green paradigms have synergistic effect for improving both operational efficiency and environmental performance. In addition, continuous improvement framework with sustainable procurement is proposed to overcome the lean-green misalignments. This study also provides a guiding reference for practitioners to undertake similar improvement projects and identifies opportunities to expand this academic research on integrated lean-green approach into other industry sectors.     

Changes in the Value of Life, 1940–1980

We present the first nationwide value of life estimates for the United States at more than one point in time. Our estimates are for every ten years between 1940 and 1980, a period when declines in fatal accident rates were historically unprecedented. Our estimated elasticity of value of life with respect to per capita GNP is 1.5 to 1.7. We illustrate the importance of rising value of life for policy evaluation by examining the benefits of improved longevity since 1900. Our estimated elasticity implies that the current marginal increase in longevity is more valuable than the large increase in the first half of the twentieth century.     

A theory of technophysio evolution, with some implications for forecasting population, health care costs, and pension costs

We argue that over the past 300 years human physiology has been undergoing profound environmentally induced changes made possible by numerous advances in technology. These changes, which we call technophysio evolution, increased body size by over 50%, and greatly improved the robustness and capacity of vital organ systems. Because technophysio evolution is still ongoing, it is relevant to forecasts of longevity and morbidity and, therefore, to forecasts of the size of the elderly population and pension and health care costs.