WORK–FAMILY CULTURE IN FOUR ORGANIZATIONS IN FINLAND

The main objective of this study was to examine work–family culture in four organizations in Finland (n=1,114). Specifically, we attempted to clarify whether perceived work–family culture would vary according to gender, economic sector and type of organization. Furthermore, we investigated whether these perceptions would be related to employee self-reported well-being. The study data were gathered during 2001 by a questionnaire filled in by personnel from four different organizations, i.e. a municipal social and healthcare department (n=496), a municipal education department (n=232), a paper mill (n=183) and an IT organization (n=199). The first two organizations represented the public sector and the latter two the private sector in the Finnish economy. The results showed, first, that work–family culture was assessed more positively within the public sector organizations than in the private sector. Second, the work–family culture was experienced least positively in the paper mill and most positively in the municipal education department. Third, there were also variations between same-sector organizations, i.e. the paper mill and the IT organization. Finally, it emerged that poorer perceptions of work–family culture were related to decreased work–family balance, job satisfaction and positive job-related mood experiences.     

La sociologie du travail en Amérique latine : un essai de périodisation

Even though some areas in Latin America were already industrialized in the 1930s, labor sociology did not appear there till after WW II. Although this discipline followed in the tracks of its North American or European predecessors, the region’s history has affected its development. Three historical phases over the past half century draw attention: industrialization by replacing imported merchandise with goods produced by national firms; the authoritarian governments or military dictatorships that put a halt to the developing homeland economy; and the competitive restructuring that is programming the abandonment of public firms and advocating an export-driven economic model. During each phase, new questions have arisen but without making ideas from the preceding phase obsolete. — Special issue: Latin America.     

布什政府提升美台关系的背后

海峡两岸经济整合的步伐近年来大大加快 ,台湾经济对大陆的依赖日渐加深 ,加入世贸组织后 ,两岸经济整合获得了新的推动力 ,前景看好。但与此同时 ,布什政府以霸权主义心态 ,从“美国至上”的利己主义出发 ,为从战略上防范中国 ,策略上支持民进党当局 ,稳定政权 ,拖延统一 ,大幅调整对台政策 ,不断提升美台实质关系 ,这无疑给政治根基薄弱的民进党“当局”注入了一针强心剂。岛内的台独势力据此挟洋自重 ,活动日益猖獗 ,气焰十分嚣张 ,中国统一大业面临新的挑战。     

Optimal adaptive sequential designs for crossover bioequivalence studies

In prior works, this group demonstrated the feasibility of valid adaptive sequential designs for crossover bioequivalence studies. In this paper, we extend the prior work to optimize adaptive sequential designs over a range of geometric mean test/reference ratios (GMRs) of 70–143% within each of two ranges of intra‐subject coefficient of variation (10–30% and 30–55%). These designs also introduce a futility decision for stopping the study after the first stage if there is sufficiently low likelihood of meeting bioequivalence criteria if the second stage were completed, as well as an upper limit on total study size. The optimized designs exhibited substantially improved performance characteristics over our previous adaptive sequential designs. Even though the optimized designs avoided undue inflation of type I error and maintained power at 80%, their average sample sizes were similar to or less than those of conventional single stage designs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国小额贷款公司“双赢”机理研究

分析了小额贷款公司的性质没有阻碍反而促进了小额贷款公司发展并达到"双赢"的原因,并对小额贷款公司再融资的潜在风险,以及市场上出现的再融资方式,如小额再贷款公司的建立进行了研究。中国经济发展的不平衡性,信贷资金供需缺口的普遍存在,传统金融机构的低效率以及中国微型金融市场的扭曲是小额贷款公司"双赢"的条件。只要小额贷款公司保持"只贷不存"等性质并在合理考虑成本和利润的前提下提供短期小额贷款,就能实现"双赢"。并运用网络模型研究认为,小额再贷款公司在短期能缓解小额贷款公司后续资金不足的问题,但无法长期解决此问题。     

Methodological challenges in the implementation and evaluation of social welfare policies

As social reality is quite elusive, even regarding seemingly well-recognized everyday concepts and objects, there are always methodological challenges underlying assessments and evaluations of implementation policies. The present article addresses this area of concern by presenting the results of a rereading of an empirical study of elderly home care services. Our results reveal the emergence of a dissolution of common and professional key concepts and objects in these welfare services to a degree that challenges both the implementation policy and the evaluation of policy. We claim that this has methodological implications for evaluation of implementation policies in general.     

Regranting identity to the outgraced – narratives of persons with learning disabilities: methodological considerations

Good research should be relevant and useful, it may even be enlightening or symbolic, but it can also be emancipatory. Qualitative research can be useful in challenging structures, policies and practices that disempower and marginalize segments of the population. However, could it be that the empowerment of the participant ends where the weakness of the researcher begins? In qualitative studies the researcher seems to have a number of favourite interviews. In a study on the relational and sexual experiences of 46 people with learning disabilities, 12 interviews were withdrawn from the general data on the basis of lack of relevance. It is important to re‐examine why the voice of some people fell out of the in‐depth analysis and whether this was justified. In this article some methodological opportunities and pitfalls to re‐grant identity to these silenced narratives are considered and discussed.     

Les carrières de cadres au cœur des restructurations : la recomposition des effets de genre ? L’internationalisation d’un groupe français en Angleterre et en Hongrie

The effects of corporate restructuring on managerial careers have not often been analyzed, especially not from a gendered perspective. As two cases of mergers and acquisitions studied in England and Hungary show, new windows of opportunity might open for women's careers, but a reinforced model of “masculine-neutral” activity hardens the glass ceiling for those (in particular women) who are unable to comply with its expectations.