Personal Versus Collective Quality of Life And South Africans' Evaluations of Democratic Government

In this paper, we examine the political consequences of quality of life, focusing on the link between perceived well-being and people's support for democratic government. We make two key distinctions. First of all, with regard to quality of life, we distinguish between assessments of personal, or household, quality of life, and assessments of collective (national, community) quality of life. Secondly, we follow David Easton in distinguishing between specific support (attitudes about specific leaders, parties and policies) and diffuse support (attitudes toward the political system in general). We find that personal quality of life is only weakly and inconsistently connected to specific or diffuse support. Perceptions of collective quality of life, however, are strongly related to both specific and diffuse support. Thus, South Africans are holding their government accountable to their perceptions of national well-being. Of greater concern, however, is that they also appear to be holding the democratic system accountable to such developments. Teaching people to distinguish between their evaluations of a specific government and their evaluations of the larger system of democratic government appears to be a key challenge confronting the development of a democratic political culture in South Africa.     

Where I Belong: Identification Processes of Young Volunteers in Super-Diverse Cities

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - In the context of super-diverse cities, scholars and policy makers are increasingly interested in the potential of...     

Formalisation and flexibilisation in organisations – Dynamic and selective approaches in corporate innovation processes

A classic problem in organising corporate innovation projects is the tension between formalisation and flexibilisation. Connecting this discussion to the younger debate on ambidexterity, this paper asks how organisations balance informal and formal, flexible and inflexible ways of working in their innovation projects. It derives a way to break down formalisation and flexibilisation into the dimensions of power, communication and trust and connects them to learning. By unhinging formalisation and flexibilisation from the organisational level and looking at them at the small-scale level of specific projects and functional arenas instead, the paper sheds new light onto the various fashions in which formalisation and flexibilisation do not contradict, but complement each other. An empirical account based on 100 qualitative expert interviews illustrates this.     

BASE als Programm zur Pr?vention von (Rücken-)Beschwerden in der betrieblichen Gesundheitsf?rderung

Common occupational health problems, especially low back pain, are associated with physical demands of work, like lifting heavy weights. The study examined a multidimensional methodological approach (BASE) to reduce physical stresses in a logistic company in three stages: (1) theoretical background and implementation of the program, (2) evaluation of outcome-effects of a box lifting training (10 weeks) and (3) learning and lasting effects of workers?? knowledge and behaviour with regard to ergonomic box lifting. Video analysis and questionnaires were used for breakdown analysis. Stage (2) and (3) collected intervention effects with a controlled pre?\post test design (N?=?41 males; 37.8?±?10.8 y.). The breakdown analysis revealed low back pain (65?%) as a result of repeated manual lifting processes. Participants of the intervention showed a more ergonomic movement initiated by a more functional cognitive representation in long term memory. We suggest that especially this group of employees, with little motivation to participate in health promotion, benefit from the whole methodological approach of the BASE-program.