(When) Is job-finding via personal contacts a meaningful concept for social network analysis? A comment to

Chua (2011) argues that in a meritocratic context, institutions restrict the usefulness of social networks in exerting influence on job seekers’ earnings. Regressing job-finding via personal contacts on earnings, he finds negative effects of influence via personal contacts, especially for the well-educated and individuals working in the state sector. In this comment, I argue that these results are ambiguous because (1) the analysis does not sufficiently distinguish between job ‘search’ methods and job ‘finding’ methods, (2) job-finding method indicates information flow rather than a personal contact's influence, and (3) it remains unclear whether Chua's analysis reflects the effect of network usage in job search per se or the effect of self-selection into network usage by individuals with low earning potential.     

基于社会服务项目的儿童福利资源整合

当前,我国儿童福利资源存在资源匮乏、供给分散、可获得性弱等问题,而社会服务项目则是解决这些问题的一种路径。以福利治理为理论视角,尝试以一个留守儿童社会服务项目为例的研究发现,该项目通过不同形式的合作整合了来自政府、军队、群团组织、社会组织、企业、社区等资源,提高了福利资源的供给效率,满足了留守儿童多元化的福利需求,但是,由于项目本身的周期性、制度保障的缺乏等限制,导致了项目难以持续发挥作用。因此,基于社会服务项目的福利资源整合只是一种基于实践基础上的暂时的整合,而最根本的还需要在福利制度上进行整合。     

部分省市国有创投企业实地调研与启示

上海国有创投企业与深圳、苏州、广东等创投公司基本上同时起步,但近年来实力差距拉大。碉研认为,上海应通过集团化发展整合现有的国有创投企业,建立上海科技金融集团,并通过机制创新,解决国资管理与市场化经营的冲突问题,使上海国有创投业成为服务上海科技创新战略、新兴产业发展和转变经济发展方式的有力抓手。     

A Quantitative Estimate of the Dominant Position of Public Ownership in China and Trends in Its Development

以不同生产资料所有制的经营性资产价值量作为衡量主次地位的边界标准，估算第一产业公有制与非公有制的资产规模及其比重变化，并在前人估算的基础上，延伸估算第二和第三产业两种所有制的资产规模及其比重变化。结果发现：截至2012年，中国三次产业经营性总资产约为487．53万亿元，其中公有制经济的资产规模是258．39万亿元，占53％；第二、三产业非公有制经济占增加值和就业规模的比重分别为67．59％和75．20％。这表明，公有制资产仍占主体，非公有制经济贡献占优，中国社会主义基本经济制度充满活力，从而为我国社会主义初级阶段的所有制改革和坚持“两个毫不动摇”的政策提供了理论依据。     

The governance of social enterprises: Mission drift and accountability challenges in hybrid organizations

We examine the challenges of governance facing organizations that pursue a social mission through the use of market mechanisms. These hybrid organizations, often referred to as social enterprises, combine aspects of both charity and business at their core. In this paper we distinguish between two ideal types of such hybrids, differentiated and integrated, and we conceptualize two key challenges of governance they face: accountability for dual performance objectives and accountability to multiple principal stakeholders. We revisit the potential and limitations of recently introduced legal forms to address these challenges. We then theorize about the importance of organizational governance and the role of governing boards in particular, in prioritizing and aligning potentially conflicting objectives and interests in order to avoid mission drift and to maintain organizational hybridity in social enterprises. Finally, we discuss future research directions and the implications of this work for rethinking traditional categories of organizations, namely business and charity.     

Young People Leaving Care: Participatory Research to Improve Child Welfare Practices and the Rights of Children and Young People

Abstract

This paper discusses participatory research with young people who are leaving public care in Finland to begin independent lives. The aim of the research, organised by SOS Children's Villages International, was to bring about change in alternative care arrangements, particularly those involving young people's transition to independence. The project used a participatory research design based on employing care-leaving peers as co-researchers. This paper adheres to the methodological principles of empowerment in analysing the personal experiences of young people leaving alternative care with the goal of informing good practice. The findings suggest that the peer research method can be an effective means of empowering young people to develop research skills and to be involved in knowledge production, as well as serving as a means of promoting improved services for “care-leavers”, those young people who are leaving either foster care or institutional care. The participatory and peer research method challenges the traditional understandings of expertise and knowledge production. Although the hierarchy between adult researchers and young people as co-researchers is still evident, the method provides possibilities for better understanding the social- and health-service systems and their challenges and pitfalls from a user's perspective.     

全国及省际人力资本水平存量估算

估算全国和省际人力资本水平是经济增长研究所不能回避的问题。当前的研究主要采用教育年限法、物质投入法、生产函数法、人力资本回报法、人力资本特征与收入法和J-F终生收入法等六种方法。多角度比较和判别,可以验证生产函数法测算的各年相对人力资本水平较为可靠。使用生产函数法估算全国和各省的1952-2008年的人力资本存量,可刻画统一单位衡量的全国和各省人力资本水平。总体来说,全国和各省人力资本水平呈增长状态,各省人力资本存量以及增长速度存在明显差异。     

Connecting for success: Egocentric network types among underrepresented minority students at college

This study investigates the egocentric networks of underrepresented minority students. Adjustment to college for underrepresented minority students often means balancing between the origin (i.e., low-status family) and host (i.e., academic) environments, requiring students to develop different coping strategies. The analysis included 124 Roma university students. We employed the contact diary method and the EgoNet program for mapping students’ egocentric networks. We explored classification among egocentric networks by cluster analysis based on the network proportion of the origin, fellow, and host groups. Three clusters were distinguished. The Host-based cluster proved to be the most advantageous, while the Balancing cluster appeared to be the most disadvantageous in terms of network resources, well-being, and trust. Partners’ ethnicity and educational attainment showed a strong connection with cluster membership. Our results highlight that small fellow communities can successfully interconnect the origin and host groups in students’ egocentric networks.     

社会资本与身心健康--概念辨析基础上的关系再检验

社会资本与健康研究领域存在核心概念界定不清与理论解释欠缺两大不足。文章在社会网络的视角下对社会资本、社会凝聚和社会支持三个相互杂糅的概念进行辨析区分，并在此基础上以调查数据实证检验了社会资本对身心健康的作用效果与影响机制。结果显示，在控制社会凝聚和社会支持作用的条件下，社会资本依然对自评健康和心理健康存在显著的独立影响，但其对两种健康在影响因素和影响方向上呈现一些差异。其中，网络规模和网络顶端对自评健康和心理健康都具有显著的正向作用，而心理健康同时还受到网络差异的负向影响。从这个角度而言，社会资本对个体身心健康的影响并不必然是积极正向的。