Gendered Labour Migrations in Europe and Emblematic Migratory Figures

This paper explores the dichotomies and gendered invisibilities underpinning the concept of the knowledge economy and society through a closer examination of two emblematic and contrasting figures working in Information and Communication Technology and domestic/care work as bearers of different configurations of knowledge and skills in the contemporary circuits of globalisation. Such knowledge can be broken down into different types—such as embrained, encoded, embodied and encultured—which are valued differentially and with consequences for gendered labour markets. These gendered differences are reflected in current immigration policies which privilege migrants in scientific and information technology sectors and discount those engaged in care work, associated with embodied knowledge and skills. The impact of these differences has been reinforced during a period of economic recession when immigration has become increasingly restricted, even amongst the skilled.     

社会养老服务机构的法律规制

我国养老服务机构存在分类混乱、资金匮乏、管理体系不明、人员缺乏、风险巨大等发展困境,迫切需要法律规制和引导。新修订的《老年人权益保障法》针对上述问题对社会养老服务机构作出了相应规范,但在社会养老服务机构的称谓、分类、监管和法律责任方面仍略显不足。可以考虑在《老年人权益保障法》中对社会养老服务机构的界定、分类标准、准入、管理等作系统规定,并完善相应配套法规。     

论《阳光灿烂的日子》中的反成长叙事

反成长叙事虽然也借用了青春成长的叙事方式,遵循了相似的结构模式,却又呈现出截然相反的情节走向。即故事主人公未能按照社会理性预设的道路成长,而是对成长的彻底否定。《阳光灿烂的日子》堪称中国青春类型电影中反成长叙事经典作品,它以“文革”为背景,社会权威、家庭权威与教育权威的缺失,形成了以主角被抛弃、对成长的怀疑和对现实的迷茫为内涵的反成长叙事,象征着在市场经济语境下,意识形态整合功能减弱造成了当代中国人的价值迷茫。     

Developing emotional intelligence through workplace learning: Findings from a case study in healthcare

This study of UK and US lone parents with sole care-giving responsibility for dependants (children, ageing parents, grandparents, etc.) focused on the influence, if any, this responsibility has on her/his ability to give 'total commitment' to their work/career. One hundred and thirty-four lone parents participated in the survey. Gender distribution was 64 per cent female, 36 per cent male. Country of residence was 25 per cent UK, 75 per cent US. Females report greater past than present hindrance to their careers (48 per cent past, 33 per cent present). Similarly situated males report career hindrance as 18 per cent past, 21 per cent present. Lone parents in the UK appear to be more negatively impacted upon in their job careers by their care-giving responsibility than their counterparts in the US and would also appear to be more concerned about their economic and emotional future. This survey confirms that care-giving responsibilities can limit the realization of employment potential for either female or male. Care-giving responsibilities, rather than gender or race, may be the glass ceiling of the new millennium.     

IT Governance Characteristics,Electronic Medical Records Sophistication,and Financial Performance in U.S. Hospitals: An Empirical Investigation

As a result of a recent federal government mandate, an increasing number of hospitals have decided to adopt electronic medical record (EMR) systems. This initiative is expected to lead toward more efficient and higher quality health care; however, little is known about governance characteristics and organizational performance for EMR adopters. Our goal is to inform theory and practice by examining hospitals with a sophisticated EMR and comparing those hospitals to similar hospitals (with a less sophisticated EMR) to understand the association between information technology (IT) governance characteristics and the implications on financial performance. Leveraging elements of the upper echelon theory, we posit that hospitals in which the chief information officer (CIO) reports to the chief executive officer, CIO turnover is low, and an IT steering committee is present are more likely to have a sophisticated EMR. We argue that EMR sophistication leads to improved financial performance. Our results underscore the importance of continuity in the CIO position on successful EMR implementations. Results also show that hospital size and financial performance are strongly associated with EMR sophistication. In addition, we find that a sophisticated EMR appears to be a fundamental element in improving hospitals’ revenue cycle management. Moreover, we find that hospitals with a sophisticated EMR appear to be more profitable. Finally, we observe that total payroll expense adjusted by total discharges drops among the sophisticated hospitals, potentially due to an increase in employee productivity. These insights can serve as a basis for tempering expectations relative to the financial impact of EMR adoption.     

Informal care and support for carers in Sweden: patterns of service receipt among informal caregivers and care recipients

This study describes and analyses the kinds of support received by different categories of informal carers, and the kinds of help that care recipients receive in addition to that provided by various categories of carers. Data were collected in a Swedish county in 2000, by means of telephone interviews. The net sample consisted of 2,697 individuals 18–84 years old, and the response rate was 61%. The results showed that relatively few carers in any care category received any kind of support aimed directly at them as carers. The most widespread form of support received by providers of personal care was relief services. Those most likely to be receiving care from the public care system were people also receiving personal care from an informal caregiver. Nevertheless, the majority of those receiving personal care from an informal carer did not receive any help from the public care system or from voluntary organizations or for-profit agencies. These results indicate that social policy and social work need to clarify the aims of the services they provide. They also need to take the needs of both caregivers and recipients into account when discussing support systems.     

Why Health Care Reform Now? Strategic Framing and the Passage of Obamacare

Economic reform and health care reform were both focal points outlined in President Obama's policy agenda, with increasing pressure to address economic and social insecurity given that President Obama entered office during the Great Recession (2007–09). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly known as ‘Obamacare’) successfully passed in March 2010 in the context of the economic crisis. We argue that the strategic framing of the economic crisis, through reasoning and arguments linking health care reform with economic downfall, is important in understanding the successful passage of Obamacare, and that this is reflected through strategic frames in speeches delivered by the President on health care reform. Health care reform has been successful not in spite of but rather because of the economic crisis of 2008, that allowed President Obama to use a strategic frame focusing on costs and economic problems. The two main frames identified are the ‘market’ and ‘rights’ frames. President Obama's strategic frames specifically surrounding the economic and cost‐containment priority of health care reform are categorized as a ‘market’ frame in this article. He used this frame until the passage of the law in 2010, when the frame shifted to ‘rights’ frames, largely portrayed through anecdotes and focused on the concept of ‘access’ to care rather than the ‘cost’ of care. This is observable through tracking speeches and statements made in support of health care reform between 2009 and 2013.     

Strategic Purchases of Bundled Products in a Health Care Supply Chain Environment*

Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal summarize the state of business practice in American hospitals by shedding light on the state of supply chain management practices and foci in today's health care supply chains. In health care, the single largest cost after labor is materials, and it has been documented that health care facilities can reduce the environmental impacts of the products and services they consume before regulatory problems arise or waste disposal costs increase by focusing on their upstream activities. Health care systems around the country consume significant quantities and varieties of products within the health delivery processes. Solving these environmental problems requires a much broader view involving collaborative efforts of professionals from different areas of health care to meet these challenges. The purchasing function bridges the gaps by providing a healthy dialogue on key environmental attributes within the health care supply chain. The concept of bundling new with refurbished products is gaining a lot of attention in the health care supply chain. This research describes a health care purchasing problem for bundling new and refurbished products of the type facing a growing number of large health care providers, and then proposes a methodology for evaluating the complex tradeoffs involved in bundling decisions for refurbished health care products. By exploiting some useful properties of the problem structure, our results provide buyers with useful insights for examining and selecting suppliers who are willing to offer bundles of new and refurbished products.     

从“圣瓦伦丁节”在中国的盛行透析“七夕节”的生存困境与出路

作为中华民族历史文化长河所积淀的产物,七夕传统节日承载着丰富而深厚的文化内涵。以乞巧为主要内容的节日习俗已不能满足当今社会转型时期人们的精神需求,七夕节面临着生存困境。西方圣瓦伦丁节在中国的盛行,对中国传统节日七夕节礼俗文化造成极大的冲击。挽救七夕节,不能盲目效仿西方情人节。只有官民合力,采取有效措施,才能共同实现七夕传统节日在现代社会的创造再生。     

新生代农民工精神文化生活质量的调查与分析

三次系列调研表明,新生代农民工精神文化生活水平较低。个中原因包括:他们的经济条件较差、休闲时间较少、参与有益文化活动的积极性不强以及企业和社区提供的精神生活食粮不足。当前政府应该实施新生代农民工"人文关怀工程",以促进他们的精神健康。