Expatriate contact with a local host: an intervention to increase social support

Social capital is a crucial factor for expatriates to employ as they cope with the demands of an international assignment. This longitudinal study used a mixed method approach to examine the social support benefits of expatriate contact with a local host. Western expatriates in the Netherlands were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group (n = 33), that had contact with a Dutch host during 9 months, and a control group (n = 32) with no host. Qualitative methods such as interviews and diaries were included to shed light on the various types of social support that occurred. Results show that local hosts offered all four types of social support: social companionship, informational support, emotional support, and instrumental support. Furthermore, expatriates with a host increased their social capital; they received significantly more social support from host nationals than did those without a host. This study shows that HRD professionals may develop the social capital of expatriates by bringing them into contact with a local host, which can produce more social support from host nationals. Increased social capital may lead to a higher performance at both the individual and organisational levels.     

Structuring composite local governance indicators

The importance of good governance is praised by many academics and practitioners. The prominence of the subject suggests that measurement is important. However, setting out to measure the quality of governance empirically is controversial. Doubts regarding the feasibility and meaningfulness of this undertaking are widespread in the literature. Recognizing the potential caveats, the current article discusses a set of guidelines for structuring a theoretically sound local governance assessment tool based on the Decision Analysis and Operational Research literatures. The authors argue that using a multi-criteria model which employs several objective (quantitative and qualitative) indicators and relies on a participatory method to aggregate them is a suitable way of developing sensible Local Governance Indicators. The purpose here is to provide a detailed roadmap for any country (or region, or locality) willing to engage in the assessment of the quality of local governance. The real-world implementation of a model developed according to these guidelines could help raise awareness, promote good practices and increase the ‘governance literacy’ of citizens. By operationalizing good governance, analysts may also be able to further investigate the relationships between local governance practices and several socio-economic factors.     

中国地方NGO生成机制的制度分析

地方NGO作为一种具体制度安排,其生成机制主要是在外在制度环境的作用下,以潜在利益为基本诱因,外在制度需求与内在制度供给相互契合推进,从而激励地方公民合作创设NGO制度安排的复杂过程。这是中国地方NGO生成的简要逻辑。从制度需求与制度供给的视角分析,在中国地方NGO的生成机制中,国家与市场对NGO制度安排的供给、市民集体行动的理性选择、地方制度转型的适应性安排、地方政府之间的制度竞争、地方知识精英的主导性介入与网络等科学技术进步的推动是六个关键性因素。特别是国家与市场的博弈过程与中国地方NGO的发展壮大过程相伴相生。分析中国地方NGO的生成机制,可以窥见中国公民社会的生长与发展轨迹。     

新形势下增强大学生就业能力的对策研究

外语教育政策与国家或地区的政治经济发展需要密切相关。外语教育政策反映社会需要,为地方经济发展服务。广西的外语教育所培养的人才无论在数量还是质量上还不能适应新形势的需要。面对中国一东盟自由贸易区即将建立的机遇和挑战,广西必须适度调整其外语教育政策,增强大学生的就业竞争能力。     

影响大学生就业观的因素探索

从目前大学生就业观念中存在着许多不能适应社会变化所带来的就业问题入手,对于影响和制约这些问题的社会、学校、家庭和学生个人等方面的原因进行深入探究、思考分析,提出有益于大学生就业的对策。     

河北省体育教育专业毕业生就业状况调查分析

采用文献资料、访谈及问卷调查等方法,对河北省体育教育专业毕业生就业状况从就业准备、就业意识、就业意向、就业主动性、就业消费、就业挫折以及就业教育上进行了调研。结果表明：相当数量毕业生就业准备不够充分;就业意识还有待加强;就业意向存在理想化倾向;就业的主动性还需进一步加强;就业消费较低．且消费项目分散,同时毕业生应理性面对就业消费不断增加的现实;就业烦恼主要来自用人单位要求学历较高、社会需求较少、恋人同城理想难以实现和都市情节;就业教育相对滞后,就业指导工作还需要进一步加强。     

职业院校思想政治教育应重视“五结合”

论述了职业教育在经济社会发展中具有不可替代的重要作用。指出我国职业教育在实施中存在更多地关注了学生专业能力和技术的培养,相对忽视了一些非智力、非技术性的品质、素养的塑造与提高等问题。针对职业院校学生的实际情况,提出了结合学生心理、结合学生专业、结合顶岗实习、结合社会实践、结合学生就业等加强学生思想政治教育的措施,以增强德育教育的科学性、针对性、实效性,全面提升学生的综合素质。     

试论地方院校学科建设的策略——以西部地区一所医学本科院校为例

学科建设在高校发展过程中的地位和作用极其重大。作为西部地区的一所本科院校,只有制定出适合自身特点与需要的学科建设战略和策略,才能促进学科建设的健康发展。从学科建设战略与策略的内涵、实践中遇到的问题及其解决办法出发,对这一问题进行思考,能够对今后的工作开展有所启迪。     

近代证券市场与西部发展的关联：以重庆为例

近代重庆证券交易所是西部唯一的证券市场,它的建立既是西部金融近代化的反映,更是西部经济开发的重要体现。在抗战之前的重庆证券市场的建立与发展,既是政府发行公债解决财政赤字的结果,也是以重庆为中心的西部经济、金融发展的产物。而战时对于重庆证券市场的恢复与建立的种种论争,则是大后方工商业经济发展的集中体现,是西部开发的真实写照。在认识上,推动了中国华商证券市场从以政府公债为主体的财政证券市场向以企业股票、债券为主体的产业证券市场的转变,昭示了战后中国证券市场的发展方向。     

地方立法听证探析

立法听证是一种重要的民主立法形式.我国把立法听证纳入地方立法程序,于促进我国的民主化进程具有非常重要的意义.但由于地方立法听证制度在我国实践的时间短,存在着许多不足.这就严重影响了我国地方立法听证的发展,进而影响着地方立法的民主化.针对其存在的问题,本文提出了相关制度建议.