The contingent nature of best practices in national competitiveness: The case of American and Japanese innovation processes

We propose that the differences in competitiveness of companies from different countries is not just a question of the adoption of ‘better’ management models, as conventional wisdom would have us believe; rather, we contend that national competitiveness can change radically over time without significant changes in management practices. Contrary to much of the management literature we hold that changes in the global business environment often determine to a large degree the competitiveness of companies. Based on our assumptions we offer four specific lessons of how companies can increase their competitiveness within the constraints of the socio-cultural context in which they operate.     

委托代理视角下杭州市民间组织参与居家养老服务的实践研究

民间组织参与居家养老服务是一种具有多层级特征的间接委托代理模式。针对各地普遍面临的委托代理问题,杭州市近年来探索形成了"以老年人需求为本、政府主导、社区协助、民间组织具体运作"的居家养老服务模式。该模式实践中的创新主要体现在地方政府职能角色定位、老年人权利强化、民间组织功能激发等方面。优化民间组织参与居家养老服务实践尚需进一步采取强化对地方政府和民间组织的激励和向老年人增权等措施。     

The Symptom of Insomnia in University Students

Abstract

The treatment of insomnia in a university health setting is discussed. Transient, stress-related insomnia is distinguished from chronic insomnia, and methods of treatment for each condition are presented. The causes of chronic insomnia include depression, conditioned-arousal insomnia, anxiety, chronic overwork or stress, the Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, and abuse of alcohol and drugs. The author reviews medications used for the treatment of insomnia, emphasizing the importance of communicating to the patient that medication use is to be short term and that the aim of treatment is to restore the ability to sleep without drugs. A list of suggestions designed to help patients encourage normal sleep is included.     

The Japanese Touch

ABSTRACT

Touch, as it is conventionally conceived, appears to be lacking in everyday Japanese intimate relationships. Here, the “touching spaces” between Japanese people are explored, challenging assumptions about closeness and intimacy. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Japan, this review suggests that “finite” conceptions of touch, body, and subjectivity limit our understanding of experiences of closeness in a Japanese cultural context. Instead, how the space between people is inhabited, and the feelings in this space, seems much more significant. In sum, Japanese experiences of touch, particularly in a familial context, should best be seen as a tangible and sensuous connection that is not just felt in the body. Focusing on two body practices, this review explores the connection and embodied experience of closeness in the Japanese family vis-à-vis co-bathing and co-sleeping. It ends with a summary of the design of these sites of intimacy and some ways in which communication and bonding can be enhanced.     

Fictions and Facts about Parents and Parenting Older First-Time Entrants to Foster Care

Knowledge about the parents of older first-time entrants into foster care is embedded in fictions created by media images, anecdotal stories of professionals in the child welfare system, as well as reports and observations of youths who have experienced foster care. Even though there are caring and effective nonrelatives who are foster parents, the public perception of non-relative foster parents is sometimes quite negative. In order to separate some of the facts from some of the fictions about the parents/caregivers of older first-time entrants to foster care, this article will describe the parents and relative caregivers (grandparents and others) of older first-time entrants to foster care in an urban public welfare agency by examining maltreatment data.     

The L'Arche Program for Persons with Disabilities

The International Federation of L'Arche is made up of intentional, ecumenical, faith-based communities where people with and without developmental disabilities live together. Data on the worldwide federation offers an understanding of L'Arche communities that celebrate and encourage diversity and solidarity. Characteristics of clients and assistants as well as the daily running of homes reveal the inner workings of the program. Through assessing strengths and weaknesses, it is shown that even though L'Arche is a small movement that cannot serve every person with a developmental disability by providing a home and a place of belonging, this program offers a program model with many strengths that should be replicated.     

House-building tradition of the shtetl in memorials and memories (based on materials of field studies in Podolia)

This study examines house-building traditions in the Podolian shtetl, as evidenced by surviving buildings and by the folk memory of building practices. Using oral sources, taken from extensive field research in Ukraine, the study considers the extent to which members of remaining Jewish communities in the former Pale of Settlement function as “carriers” of this folk memory, and what they can tell us about the manner in which Jewish houses in the shtetl were constructed and their meaning as socio-cultural spaces.     

大学英语听力网络自主学习环境中教师的角色定位——基于学生期望与教师实际课堂教学行为差异比较

通过对基于网络的大学英语自主学习环境中教师角色定位的实证研究,结果发现：在网络自主学习中,学生希望自己的老师担任“倡导者、指导者、监控者、评估者和心理协调者”的角色.虽然教师和学生的信念一致,但学生的期望和教师的实际课堂教学行为之间存在显著性差异.造成差异的主要原因在于传统的教学观念、模式、方法、评估方式以及教师的素质.有鉴于此,从树立信念、提高素质、传授策略、监控和评估过程、重视学生心理情感因素等5个方面,对学校和教师提出了建议.     

Distinctive alcohol cultural practices amongst Niuean men living in Auckland,New Zealand

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe some of the distinctive cultural practices evident in Niuean men's drinking behaviours. The paper is also intended to illustrate that alcohol is an integral aspect of the Niuean culture and part of the system of cultural exchange. Alcohol has become an integral component of Niuean cultural rituals to the extent that celebrations and festivals are thought to be incomplete if alcohol is not present. Alcohol is used as a tool for expressing cultural values such as fakaalofa (gifting), generosity, respect, status and host obligations. Finally, alcohol is used as a symbol of ‘being Niuean’ and being a ‘real’ Niuean man. This paper will describe how practices specific to Niuean men such as drinking the ‘Niuean way’ and kalaga are symbols that help to reinforce men's cultural identity, enhancing their feeling of communal identity. It is important to emphasize that it is difficult to divorce the ‘cultural’ components of Niuean men's drinking styles from their drinking and behaviour more generally. Culture shapes people's values and behaviours. Although this paper points to some of the specific and distinctively ‘cultural’ aspects of Niuean drinking, we must recognize that all of the participants’ drinking behaviours and attitudes are likely to have been shaped by their cultural and social context. Furthermore, this paper provides only a brief snapshot of how culture and alcohol are intertwined for Niuean men. Educational programmes and host responsibility guidelines need to be culturally appropriate to suit the needs of the Niuean community. Further work is needed to elucidate this complex topic.     

城镇一体化进程中农村人力资源开发现状及对策研究

当前我国正处于城乡一体化进程的稳步发展时期,而影响其最终结果的核心因素之一就是农村人力资源开发情况的完备程度。然而对于拥有巨大人力资源的中国农村来说,劳动力的开发还十分有限,这也在一定程度上限制了我国社会的总体发展。分析了当前我国农村人力资源开发的现状,并就存在的问题提出了相应对策。