bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Publication productivity: from frequency distributions to scientometric indicators
Authors: Braun T. , Glänzel W. , Schubert A.
Published: March 2007

A new approach to scientometric indicators which is based on frequency distribution characteristics is presented. The pub lication productivity of ten major OECD countries during the 1981-1985 period is studied. A stochastic "cumulative ad vantage" process having a Waring-type stationary limit distri bution is assumed to underlie the publication process. This model makes it possible to estimate such indicators as the "Publication Potential" and the "Cumulative Advantage Coef ficient" which indicate the number of potential and of factual authors and the effect of the "success-breeds-success" phenom enon, respectively. A discussion of the publication behaviour of the scientific elite based on indicators of the distribution tail concludes the comparative evaluation.
The intersection of information, economics and universality In the financial world of the 1990s
Authors: Kleinbart Paul
Published: March 2007

In the 1980s three separate elements: economics. information and universality, converged to form the founda tion upon which the 1990s will be built As exemplified by an international securities clearing system, which by definition is he embodiment of the three aforementioned elements, the ssay considers various aspects of the interrelation between conomics, information and universality and particularly their mpact on the financial world
Information design and information science: a new alliance?
Authors: Orna Elizabeth , Stevens Graham
Published: March 2007

Information design is broadly defined as everything that we do to make ideas visible so that others can make them their own and use them for their own purposes The history of human efforts to "store information beyond the brain" sug gests that there is common ground between those who today pursue the separate specialisms of managing information and designing information

Examination of what information designers actually do leads to the conclusion that they and information professionals could usefully work together, and make a "benevolent col onisation" of new areas. Their cooperation could help, in particular, to rectify many of the difficulties which modern information technology puts in the way of information users Some first ideas are advanced for co-operation, and for ini tiatives in integrated education
Agricultural library and information systems in China
Authors: Qiaoqiao Zhang
Published: March 2007

The development of agriculture, and the reform of the rural economy in China in the last decade has brought about great changes, which have raised increased demand for information and highlighted the madequate performance of existing agricultural library and information systems. An effec tive system calls for systematic allocation of information re sources. and efficient information dissemination, which implies sound information policies to ensure cooperation, resource sharing and networking among libraries and information services. A critical overview of China's agricultural library and information systems is given, with particular emphasis on the future importance of networking.
Pricing of the SDI service at ICRISAT
Authors: Jotwani D. , Haravu L.J.
Published: March 2007

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) provides a monthly SDI service to 364 users in over 50 countries The service costs about US $25,000 per year and is funded partly by a special project and partly by core funds. Cuts in core and project funds have forced the Institute to consider charging for the SDI service in order to offset as much as possible the cost of providing the service without hampering its accessibility to users who cannot pay This paper identifies potential user segments who can be charged for the service using criteria such as capacity to pay, purpose of seeking information (profit-making is public good), and availability of information services in the institution or country of users. It discusses different pricing objectives and pricing techniques, and describes the formula used to arrive at a price for users from the private sector.
The use of microcomputers in Nigerian libraries and information centres
Authors: Adeniran O.R. , Adigun T.A. , Okoh M.I.
Published: March 2007

This study provides information on microcomputer resources scatter and reveals some of the uses in Nigerian libraries. Data collection was by structured questionnaire and follow-up interview. Of the 157 questionnaires sent out, 53% useable returns were recorded. The returns scatter covered twenty of the then twenty-one states in the Federation.

Results revealed that on the average, one out of every two libraries has a microcomputer in Nigeria. The total of 43 microcomputers in Nigerian libraries is spread over 22 such centres. A few libraries have computerised some traditional functions such as cataloguing and indexing. Computers are used mostly for administrative functions such as word process ing. IBM and its compatibles, and Epson brands have been more popular in the spread of microcomputers and printers in Nigeria.

Recommendations emanating from the study include Aca demic libraries need not wait until they acquire minis or mainframe computers before they computerise. Using a net work of microcomputers with a super microcomputer as a server can be very useful. The running cost of such a system can be sustained by an average budget. Research libraries that give in-depth and useful service to their patrons have been more successful in their automation projects. To remain rele vant in the scheme of things, research libraries must continue to rely on computer power to enable them to provide useful services. Public libraries in developing economies should move with the times and improve their services by providing pack aged and simplified research results on health, agriculture and socio-economics for true development among the grass- root people they serve. To be able to carry this out effectively, they would certainly need the services of computers. IBM microcomputers and their compatibles have come to stay Libraries should consider acquiring these for their automation projects. Networking them is the in-thing now—a better op tion than acquiring a mini or a mainframe computer. Libraries automating their services should seek advice from other li braries that have automated at every stage of their computeri sation projects in order to avoid unnecessary mistakes and waste of scarce funds.
International scientific collaboration: cooperation between Latin America and Spain, as seen from different databases
Authors: Narváez-Berthelemot N. , Almada de Ascencio M. , Russell J.M.
Published: March 2007

Three databases were used to analyse documents written in collaboration between Latin America and Spain from 1984 to 1988, and to determine how the choice of databases affects results. A total of 402 documents was regis tered in the Science Citation Index while 149 documents were found in two Spanish databases, ICYT and IME, covering national journals in science and technology, and medicine, respectively. Studies relating to fields of basic research were more likely to be published in the Journals included in SCI while research in applied fields tended to appear in the national Journals covered by the Spamsh databases. Our re sults suggest that authors of collaborative papers prefer to publish in mainstream Journals rather than in Spanish jour nals, even those covered by SCI.
Measuring the 'information market(s)': a personal experience
Authors: Schwuchow Werner
Published: March 2007

This paper focuses on some fundamental methodological problems: how to define 'information markets'? What are suitable 'statistical units' to measure the activities in these markets? How to approach these units and to measure their activities (survey methodologies, problems of identification of statistical populations, statistical indicators, etc)? How to draw conclusions from the survey results? How to organise surveys of information services markets in different countries (with comparable results from country to country)? How to transfer the results of the market studies to the right people at the right time?
Technology transfer: technocultures, power and communication - the Australian experience
Authors: More Elizabeth , Irwin Harry
Published: March 2007

Given the significance of globalised technology for innova tion in contemporary and future organisations in the Asia- Pacific region, the role of technology transfer is a central variable in current organisational capital. This is critical for Australia, as it has the potential to become much more internationally competitive in high technology industries, particularly those of aerospace, information technology and communications. While there is some political and economic analysis of this phenomenon, little attention has been paid to it by communication and management scholars. This seems surprising given that international technology transfer involves not only the traditional problems of communicating between technocultures (that is, between scientists/engineers and business managers) but also those of intercultural communication (communi cation between people with different national/cultural iden tities).
Incorporating real-time scheduling methods into database management systems
Authors: Ulusoy Özgür
Published: March 2007

Many database applications today are characterised by the requirement of timely access to data. This requirement leads to an increasing trend towards adapting real-time scheduling techniques to the management of data access requests. In this paper, we summarise and stimulate devel opments of time-cognisant scheduling techniques for data base management systems. In particular, we review briefly the methods used in mapping timing constraints of trans actions into priorities, and the priority-based protocols used for concurrency control. We also suggest useful directions for future research.
Psychological approach to indexing: effects of the operator's expertise upon indexing behaviour
Authors: Bertrand Annick , Cellier Jean-Marie
Published: March 2007

Studies of indexing have shown significant variation in the indexing terms chosen by several indexers to represent the same document. In our opinion, this variability depends on various indexing strategies used by the indexers with different expertise. Professional and novice indexers were asked to index eight books; they had to express the topics and to choose the indexing terms from an indexing language. The factors which influenced the indexing were: expertise in the indexing task, expertise in the use of an indexing language and familiarity with the subject domain. The criteria were: the number of indexing terms chosen, the rate of the intra-indexer consistency, the types of transformation made on the concepts, the indexing procedures and the objectives pursued during the task. The findings identified three indexing strategies which depend on indexers' exper tise. The first is characterised by a search for indexing terms from the document analysis stage. The second consists of identifying the generic terms in the document that allow them to quickly access the indexing language. The third strategy is characterised by a precise analysis. These results raise questions about the compatibility between knowledge representation produced by the indexing languages and the operators' representation produced by the text in order to specify assistance to indexing work.
Problems of communication and information-handling among scientists and engineers in Saudi universities
Authors: Al-Shanbari H. , Meadows A.J.
Published: March 2007

A questionnaire survey has been carried out of nearly 500 scientists and engineers working at four universities in Saudi Arabia. It was aimed at establishing their communication and information-handling practices, so that these could be compared with the corresponding activities of scientists and engineers in British universities. Particular attention has been paid to the role of information technology. The results of the survey show that communication and information- handling via traditional channels is subject to considerably greater limitations in Saudi Arabia than in the UK. However, networking is developing rapidly in Saudi Arabia, and is beginning to make a significant impact on academic infor mation activities. A detailed examination of current devel opments suggests that increasing employment of information technology may alleviate some of the informational problems presently experienced in the Saudi academic world.
Accounting information and the quality of financial managerial decisions
Authors: Iselin Errol R.
Published: March 2007

Accounting information is an ingredient in most, if not all, financial managerial decisions. In developed economies, these decisions are worth billions of dollars each year. In some cases, the decisions are lacking in quality. Con sequently, if research can improve decision making through improved information, society will benefit. This paper argues that, in management decision-making, accounting information affects decision quality via three intervening variables: uncertainty, information load and data load. The paper discusses the effects accounting information has on these variables, and the effects they, in turn, have on decision quality. The paper goes on to discuss the future research that is needed in the area before the current knowledge can be applied in practice with any precision.
Strategic issues in quality management: I. Theoretical considerations
Authors: Johannsen Carl Gustav
Published: March 2007

Strategic management has been an important topic in library and information services (LIS) since the 1980s. In the 1990s, quality management has played a similar role. This paper examines the relationship between these two management concepts in a LIS sector setting. After the presentation of different conceptual frameworks, a new strategic quality management (SQM) framework - inspired by the Japanese hoshin kanri or policy deployment approach - is developed, emphasising that strategic management and total quality management (TQM) should be treated as one integrated management process. Then TQM-based and strategic man agement methodologies are compared in order to identify common traits and differences. Finally, it is discussed how the theoretical considerations made may influence the validity of practical managerial advice found in the library management literature.
Acceptance and use of computer-mediated communication by information students
Authors: McMurdo G. , Meadows A.J.
Published: March 2007

Current trends in information technology developments mean that computer-mediated communication (CMC) systems can be expected to become progressively more versatile, widespread and significant both for work and for education. All students and staff of the Department of Communication and Information Studies at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, have used CMC systemati cally for more than five years. This has made it possible to carry out detailed longitudinal studies of the impact of CMC on academic users, and of the value they derive from it. Results are presented here of a survey of student use, including levels and patterns of messaging as well as perceptions of, and attitudes towards, CMC activities. Despite rapid changes in technological capabilities, there appears to be some stability of reactions to CMC, with students particularly valuing administrative and course- orientated uses.
Economic and Institutional Conditions for Successful Employee Action: Ten Cases in the French Textile Industry
Authors: Erbès-Seguin Sabine
Published: March 2007

The aim of the research presented in this article was twofold: to try to assess the impact of legal intervention in the economic sphere in France, and to analyse the relation between the strategies of employers in cutting their workforces and worker action on employment issues. The intention was to evaluate the chances of, and the conditions for, the emergence of a right to work, which at present can only be considered an 'antiright'. One of the most clear-cut findings was the verification that the treatment of problems of employment varies according to the type of economic process occurring in the enterprise, and according to the particular aspect of employment affected.
Gender and Organizations: A Selective Review and a Critique of a Neglected Area
Authors: Hearn Jeff , Parkin P. Wendy
Published: March 2007

This paper has two linked tasks: one strategic, the other tactical. The first is to provide a critical review of the state of knowledge within organization theory of the topic of gender and organizations. This is seen as a necessary project both because of the relative neglect of the topic and the scatter and variety of relevant literature. A second task, that is tactical in nature, is the reapplication of the typology of organizational analyses developed by Burrell and Morgan. The topic is reviewed in terms of functionalist, interpretive, radical structuralist, and radical humanist paradigms, together with the consideration of feminist critiques. Specific discussion is given to the questions of work and the division of labour, power and authority, and sexuality. The paper is concluded with a brief analysis of the implications of this literature for the general development of organization theory, and the specific implications for women and men researchers.
Portmanteau Ideas for Organizational Theorizing
Authors: Das T.K.
Published: March 2007

Many writers in recent years have called attention to the need for creative approaches to organizational theorizing, and have proposed various ways of injecting this creativity. Toward the same end, a proposal is made in this paper for the generation of a class of inter-idea ideas designated here as 'portmanteau ideas'.
Ecology and Society: a Lesson for Organization Theory, from the Logic of Economics
Authors: Robins James A.
Published: March 2007

Recent work on organizational ecology has helped to clarify the discussion of organiza tion-environment relations by providing a precise analytical distinction between the organization and its environment. However, the clarity of the distinction also exposes serious problems in the population perspective on organizations. The fact that ecology has been wedded to evolutionism cripples it in dealing with some of the central issues of organizational analysis.

This paper looks at ways in which the precision of ecology may be combined with social and economic theories other than evolutionism to provide a powerful analysis of the organization in its social environment. Neoclassical economics serves as a model for the sort of theory that can be used to replace evolutionism. The paper concludes by examining the underlying axiomatic structure of neoclassical economics and outlining the general logic required to link ecological and social theories for the purposes of organizational analysis.
Porter's (1980) Generic Strategies and Performance: An Empirical Examination with American Data
Authors: Miller Danny , Friesen Peter H.
Published: March 2007

Porter's (1980) three generic strategies have received a great deal of attention recently in the literature on strategic management. In this, the first of two papers, we employ methods of taxonomy on the PIMS data base of consumer durable business units to determine whether Porter's differentiation, cost leadership and focus types occur with any degree of regularity. Then, in a sequel paper to appear in O.S. we examine whether the types differ among each other and between types not displaying differentiation or cost leadership in their growth and ROI performance.
Managing Human Resources in China: An Empirical Study
Authors: Warner Malcolm
Published: March 2007

This paper deals with management, industrial training and human resources develop ment in six Chinese business corporations, in both heavy and light industrial contexts in the post-Cultural Revolution period. It covers organization, training, apprenticeship, promotion, grading and rewards. It concludes that greater professionalism and specialization now characterize Chinese firms, partly based on structural responses from before the Cultural Revolution, but also partly based on the needs of the new economic reforms of the 1980s.
Recognizing Deep Structures in Organizations
Authors: Bowles Martin L.
Published: March 2007

The understandings of classical science are now increasingly under threat from twentieth century physics. The machine model of organization, informed by classical science, is therefore in need of review. Analytical psychology is used as a framework for re-assessing and providing new insights into the nature and management of organizations in contemporary society.
The Nature of Managerial Work in the Chinese Enterprise Reforms. A Study of Six Directors
Authors: Boisot Max , Xing Guo Liang
Published: March 2007

This paper applies a conceptual framework, developed by Boisot (1986), to an analysis of the behaviour of Chinese enterprise managers. In a replication of Mintzberg's 1973 study of US managers, six Chinese enterprise directors were time studied over a period of six days, and the findings analyzed using the framework.

It appears that although Chinese enterprise managers in the sample share many behavioural characteristics with their US counterparts, they do so in an institu tional setting that places a different construction on their behaviour. In particular, the analysis suggests that the Chinese firm is not available to them as an extension of their managerial prerogative and, if anything, is institutionally designed to constrain it.

In such a setting, opportunistic behaviour expresses a personal survival strategy rather than a quest for personal gain.
News From Behind My Hand: Gossip in Organizations
Authors: Noon Mike , Delbridge Rick
Published: March 2007

This paper offers an interpretation of the importance of organizational gossip. It draws together theory and research from various disciplines in order to explore four main propositions: that gossip is a phenomenon worthy of serious study/analysis; that gossip in organizations has been under-researched; that ana lysis of gossip reveals important aspects about the social organization of work; and that gossip is a social process that helps to protect and perpetuate organiza tions. It concludes that gossip is intrinsic to organizational life. Gossip offers the individual escapism and social mobility and has been undeservedly avoided in organizational analysis. Consequently, as a subject, it demands greater attention in the future in terms of theory and empirical research.
Societal Effect, Organizational Effect and Globalization
Authors: Mueller Frank
Published: March 2007

This paper argues that traditional contrasts between countries as depicted by the societal effect approach, among others, may have been over-emphasized. Diverse evidence suggests that aspects of work organization, government policies and training arrangements have changed substantially over the last decade or so, and multinational companies have been effective in diffusing best practices across borders. One implication is that organizational and globalization effects may complement or even counteract the societal effect. This suggests that some cases, where the presumption has been that societal effects are dominant, may be open to a modified analysis.
Collective Centring and Collective Sense-making in the Stories and Storytelling of One Organization
Authors: Boyce Mary E.
Published: March 2007

A vivid illustration of shared storytelling, collective centring, and collective sense-making appears in this study of one non-profit organization. Organiza tional members identify two stories that express the collective sense and allow centring on the shared meaning. Sense-making in a structurally closed organ ization is demonstrated. Organizational dynamics and root metaphors are examined and several approaches to the analysis of organizational myth and story are utilized. Dissonance between organizational members and the presid ent is apparent even though the organization is rooted in a unitary reality.
Socialized Economic Action: A Comparison of Strategic Investment Decisions in China and Britain
Authors: Lu Yuan , Heard Rachel
Published: March 2007

This paper examines six strategic investments occurring in three Chinese state enterprises and three British firms matched, by types of products, with their Chinese equivalents. In both China and Britain, the form of decision processes in these large business organizations have exhibited a similar bureaucratic style, in terms of complex approval procedures, asymmetric power relations along hierarchies, multiple vertical channels for communication, and negotiat ing between senior and operational managers. In China, however, managerial autonomy was strictly limited by the domination of planning authorities who controlled resource allocation. The involvement of multiple external agencies, who were responsible for the economy, technology, society, and national demands, introduced a disparity of interests into investment decision-making. In Britain, managers enjoyed more autonomy to formulate investment strat egies, and British firms appeared to pursue the target of profitability more explicitly, though social obligations and the perceived requirements of man agers' personal careers were also critical in decision-making. These findings suggest that strategic investment decision-making is contingent on (1) the intrinsic nature derived from problem-solving processes and resource depend ency ; and (2) the context rationality set by both the institutional environment and culture, which pre-sets the manner of resource mobilization, regulates the role of actors, configures networks between institutions and organizations, and shapes the mode of interaction between individual and group actors.
Rhetoric, Discourse and Argument in Organizational Sense Making: A Reflexive Tale
Authors: Watson Tony J.
Published: March 2007

It is argued that rhetoric is a key element in both the thinking and communicat ive processes of ordinary human actors and that this applies as much to the writer of this paper as to the two organizational actors whose words are closely analyzed. Following a rhetorical analysis of a dialogue between two managers encountered within a participant observation research project, two broad dis courses are identified within the organization and these are said to provide sets of discursive resources which are variously drawn on by managers in making sense of their managerial work and in pursuing interests.
Managing Understandings: Politics, Symbolism, Niche Marketing and the Quest for Legitimacy in IT Implementation
Authors: Brown Andrew D.
Published: March 2007

This paper focuses on the political processes through which legitimacy was sought for a large information technology system by its sponsors and key supporters. It is suggested that this was accomplished by means of a niche marketing campaign in which key stakeholder groups were fed radically differ ent explanations regarding the motivations which prompted investment in the system and its likely implications for them and the organization. The system was legitimated by a combination of 'rational' arguments which appealed to stakeholder self-interest and cultural norms, control over the flow of informa tion, and symbolic action. The research contribution this paper makes is to illustrate the symbolic and political processes, some of which can be inter preted as hypocritical, by which a select group attempted to manipulate other actors' understandings of a large and complex IT system.
Knowledge, Knowledge Work and Organizations: An Overview and Interpretation
Authors: Blackler Frank
Published: March 2007

There is current interest in the competitive advantage that knowledge may provide for organizations and in the significance of knowledge workers, organ izational competencies and knowledge-intensive firms. Yet the concept of knowledge is complex and its relevance to organization theory has been insuf ficiently developed. The paper offers a review and critique of current approaches, and outlines an alternative. First, common images of knowledge in the organizational literature as embodied, embedded, embrained, encultured and encoded are identified and, to summarize popular writings on knowledge work, a typology of organizations and knowledge types is constructed. How ever, traditional assumptions about knowledge, upon which most current speculation about organizational knowledge is based, offer a compartmental ized and static approach to the subject. Drawing from recent studies of the impact of new technologies and from debates in philosophy, linguistics, social theory and cognitive science, the second part of the paper introduces an altern ative. Knowledge (or, more appropriately, knowing) is analyzed as an active process that is mediated, situated, provisional, pragmatic and contested. Rather than documenting the types of knowledge that capitalism currently demands the approach suggests that attention should be focused on the (culturally located) systems through which people achieve their knowing, on the changes that are occurring within such systems, and on the processes through which new knowledge may be generated.
Managerial Learning in the Transformation of Eastern Europe: Some Key Issues
Authors: Child John , Czeglédy André P.
Published: March 2007

Eastern Europe has experienced economic and political reforms of immense proportions since 1989. The restructuring of economic organizations in the countries concerned has been an integral component of institutional change. Managerial learning has been a key element in this reconstruction process. The problematics of managerial learning in this context reflect the trauma of adjustment that Eastern European societies as a whole have experienced. West ern advice has not been inconsequential, nor therefore have the perspectives on which it is founded. It is possible to distinguish between a view of lineal 'transition' towards a given model of the open, market economy and a more open-ended 'transformation' perspective. The implications of these two per spectives are examined, as are other questions addressed in this Special Issue including the definition of appropriate managerial learning for Eastern Europe, the sources of such learning, and the contextualization of the meanings attached to it. The contributions offered by each of the following articles are then summarized.
Prerequisites To Ministerial Careers in Japan 1885-1980
Authors: Tomita Nobuo , Baerwald Hans , Nakamura Akira
Published: March 2007

Japan adopted a Cabinet form of government in 1885. In the intervening 100 years, different sets of criteria prevailed in selecting cabinet ministers. Initially (1885 until 1918), precedence was given to individuals who came from those fiefs ( han) whose leaders had engineered the Meiji Restoration (1868). From the end of World War I until the end of World II, having graduated from certain higher schools or universities was a crucial prerequisite. During the first half of the Occupation (1945-1948), General MacArthur's headquarters strongly influenced eligibility. Prime Minister Yoshida, during his second tenure (1948-1954), tended to select ex-senior bureaucrats. For the last quarter century, during which the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) has governed Japan, the number of times one has been elected to the Diet (parliament) and one's factional affiliation inside the LDP have proven to be the key variables determining one's being selected to hold a ministerial appointment. There is a correlation between the strength of a faction and the number of cabinet posts its adherents obtain.
The Use of in Vivo and Laboratory Experiments in the Study of Elections
Authors: Laponce J.A.
Published: March 2007

This article introduces the present issue of the IPSR and is a review of the use of experi ments in political science since the pioneering studies of Gosnell in the 1920s and of Hartman in the 1930s. The review shows a marked though declining reluctance of the discipline to adopt the experimental mode of analysis. That reluctance is attributed to an overriding concern with the sociological rather than the psychological, as well as to a constraining conception of the "real" world where territorial, institutional, and social boundaries play the dominant role. However, the evidence indicates that the experimental method can be easily and usefully added to the battery of techniques by which political processes are studied, particularly so in the field of election research.
The Personality and Procreative Behavior of Trial Judges
Authors: Cook Beverly B.
Published: March 2007

A great many of the putative psychological and behavioral differences between males and females have never been scientifically established. Thus, it is plainly inappropriate for students of political behavior simply to assume such differences. The theoretical status of the sex variable must be wholly reconsidered. In that spirit, the present research examined the psychological and behavioral differences between matched samples of male and female judges serving on major state trial courts. Significant personality differences were not found. Declining differences in reproductive success were evident. On the whole, it seems that sex is less influential with respect to the behavior central to the judicial role than are many other biological and psychological factors.
Collective Learning in Ongoing Political Conflicts
Authors: Pitcher Brian L. , Hamblin Robert L.
Published: March 2007

Analyses of political conflict typically concentrate on various structural dimensions and neglect the underlying dynamic processes. In this research, we depart from that practice and take the collective learning process inherent in large-scale and ongoing social conflict as our focus. A mathematical model and its theoretical rationale are developed and evaluated. The model, derived from well-grounded behavioral propositions, assumes that the trend in success/failure rates in this type of conflict is accounted for by the relative learning rates of the parties in conflict. In tests involving several sets of data on conflicts between government and opposition groups in Latin America from 1946 through 1975, the model quite accurately describes the distribution of outcomes.
Philosophie des Valeurs et Theorie Politique
Authors: Vlachos Georges C.
Published: March 2007

Traditionnellement, la science politique étudie le problème des valeurs politiques en se fondant essentiellement sur la métaphysique, la morale, la psychologie, et le droit. Or, s'il existe vraiment des valeurs proprement politiques, leur contenu et leur signification ne sauraient être mis en évidence qu'à la lumière de la théorie politique elle-même et selon des concepts qui liu sont propres. La théorie des valeurs politiques se situerait ainsi au prolongement d'une théorie politique générale qui aurait démontré préalablement en quel sens précis l'homme peut être qualifié de zoon politikon et comment se déroule fondamentalement le processus de politisation de l'individu dans le contexte dynamique et changeant de la société qui l'entoure. La présente étude envisage un certain nombre de points susceptibles de faciliter la recherche dans la direction indiquée ci-dessus.
Scientific and Technological Relations
Authors: Pilari Dirk , Wahl Dietrich
Published: March 2007

Scientific and technological relations between the GDR and developing countries occupy an important position in their overall relations. The GDR considers the establishment and strengthening of scientific and technological relations with developing countries as a contribution to supporting the anti-imperialist struggle and to overcoming economic and social problems in the interest of the masses and as a factor to strengthen their own economic potentials. Essential basic principles of these relations are as follows: the respect of sovereignty of states, and full equality of all partners and the development of relations for mutual benefit. In this context, the GDR supports the establishment of an indigenous material and technological base in developing countries on the basis of available resources, industrialization, the development of agriculture, and the efficient training of appropriate national cadres.
Recent Trends of the Nation-State in Contemporary Latin America
Authors: Kaplan Marcos
Published: March 2007

The nation-state in contemporary Latin America has increasingly tended to its growth, autonomization, and supremacy as an apparatus, an institution, an embodiment of public élites, and as the main agency of the structure, operation, and development of national societies. This process has coexisted recently with a crisis of the state threatening its autonomy and capacity. The causes, characteristics, and consequences of the state's ascent, its interventionism and autonomization, and its limits and crises are analyzed. The weight of historical heritage, the contemporary factors and processes, both international and internal, and their interactions are considered. The hypothesis is advanced that the crisis of the nation-state does not exclude, and on the contrary reinforces, the possibility of its continuity and increased interventionism and autonomization under a variety of political types and forms.
Models of Spatial Variation in Political Expression
Authors: Agnew John
Published: March 2007

Two perspectives have dominated the analysis of regionalist movements in Western Europe: the uneven structural development perspective on the one hand, and the individualist electoral approach on the other. A third perspective is proposed here, one based on the concept of place. This last approach is used to analyze Scottish nationalism. It shows that local territorial cultural settings explain, in part, variations in the support obtained by the Scottish National Party.
Religious Ethnicity in the World of Islam
Authors: Kassis Hanna E.
Published: March 2007

A study of the tensions between a universalistic and nonterritorial ideology-Islam-and the needs for self-identity of the ethnic groups that live under Moslem rule in Lebanon.
The Contemporary Relevance of the Concept of the State
Authors: Von Beyme Klaus
Published: March 2007

The article begins with a critical review of the use or non-use of the concept of state among contemporary authors, in particular Olson, Crozier, Cassese and Lowi. The notion of state as a mediator of a variety of interests is asserted to be particularly use ful to the neo-corporatists but appears useful also to the neo-Marxists.
New Communications Technologies
Authors: Hudson Heather
Published: March 2007

In the information society, the distinctions among countries that are "information rich" or "information poor" may be more important than other traditional indicators of development. This article examines problems faced by developing nations as they strive for access to, and control of, communications satellite technologies, and raises issues likely to recur as these and other communications tools play increasingly critical roles in development prospects.
Political Socialization Studies in Scandinavia
Authors: Gustafsson Gunnel
Published: March 2007

From the middle of the 1960s to the middle of the 1970s there was great interest in the field of political socialization in Scandinavia as well as elsewhere in the international political science community. After this period of rapid advance, the interest in the subject stalled considerably. Instead of directly trying to explain why, this paper presents (1) a brief sketch of approach developments and (2) an illustration of the fruitfulness of political socialization research by analysing some new empirical data on children's and adults' reactions in connection with the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. Following the murder of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Professor Roberta S. Sigel carried out a study of children's reactions to the President's death. Despite that there are more than 20 years between the two assassinations, and that Swedish and US cultures differ greatly, the results from the two cases resemble each other in several respects.
Yoshida Shigeru and the Japanese Transition to Liberal Democracy
Authors: Macdougall Terry Edward
Published: March 2007

Yoshida Shigeru,1 Prime Minister of Japan during the early postwar years, expounded a vision of Japan as a "Commercial State" dedicated to liberal principles in association with the United States. The vision put highest priority on Japan's economic growth, integration into the Western free-market trading system, non-involvement in overseas conflicts, and allegiance to the democratic and peaceful principles of the postwar Constitution. Resisting pressure from more nationalistic conservatives and from the political Left, Yoshida's moderate conservative economism became institutionalized through his efforts to establish a non-punitive peace treaty and bilateral security treaty that would recognize Japan's strategic importance to the West, to construct a political-bureaucratic-business interaction conducive to capitalistic development, and to develop a network for recruiting political successors who could carry forth his vision.
American Political Humor: Touchables and Taboos
Authors: Boskin Joseph
Published: March 2007

The historical view of political humor in America maintains that the humor adheres to democratic theory and practice, viz., its dimension boundless, its character egalitarian, its substance encompassing and its expression open. In short, the position embraced both by the popular and academic cultures is that the humor is unrestricted and removed from taboos. A perusal of its content, however, suggests the contrary. Political humor reflects the nexus of power relationships and is sharply bounded by an ideology on the one hand and by corporate structure on the other. The primary focus is rather on the political official as the flaw in the system while the system itself and its underlying theory remain unexamined within the culture of humor.
Fewer Guns and Cheaper Butter
Authors: Allan Pierre , Luterbacher Urs
Published: March 2007

The classical guns vs. butter trade-off is changing: what are the consequences of a liberalization of Swiss agriculture coupled with disar mament measures? This paper addresses these issues with the help of an empirical politico-economic model. The overall consequences are positive for Switzerland as a whole: the economy would be significantly stimulated, and these major policy changes appear politically bearable. Consumers would benefit most from the direct and indirect effects of these policies. Our scenarios postulate that the government makes large transfer payments to minimize discontent. These payments can be readily made, given the agricultural liberalization policies and a "peace dividend."
The Resolution of Ethnic Conflict: Towards a Typology
Authors: Coakley John
Published: March 2007

The set of policies adopted by states to deal with their ethnic minorities, ranging from genocide, population transfer, and boundary alteration to assimilation and accommodation, is presented in a typology. The nature of the policies adopted depends on such characteristics as the source of differentiation of the minority, its relationship to other groups in the state in demographic terms, the nature of the cultural division of labour, the tradition of the state in terms of its recognition of individual and group rights, and the state's autonomy in the international domain. The issue of which strategies are appropriate in dealing with ethnic questions is ultimately a political one.
Bulgaria's National Roundtable Talks and the Politics of Accommodation
Authors: Melone Albert P.
Published: March 2007

The dominant paradigm predicts that the creation of a democratic polity must be sown in the fertile ground of a strong economy, a large middle class with a supportive civic culture and a competitive party structure. However, in Bulgaria the necessary conditions for democracy were not present. This article applies the micro-political approach of Giuseppe Di Palma to the Roundable talks held in 1990. A fundamental agreement was forged there that guarantees a continuing role for reform elements within Bulgaria's Communist Party and the creation of democratic institutions. Although fragile, these institutions are shaping the manner and nature of political discourse and leading civil society to a stable and vigorous existence.
Ethnonational Rebellions and Viable Constitutionalism
Authors: Riggs Fred W.
Published: March 2007

Pioneering work by Karl Deutsch on the dynamics of national ism, rooted in its evolution as a modern European phenomenon, helped to pave the way for an understanding of the post-imperial development of ethnonationalist movements in contemporary states of the Second and Third Worlds. The eruption of such movements in multi-ethnic societies is a modern and growing phenomenon. It reflects both the widespread acceptance of self-determination as a democratic ideal and the availabil ity of contemporary communications technology, organizational skills, and weapons of mass violence. The brutal realities of authoritarianism and anarchy in many countries contradict the hopes raised by modern dreams of democracy and economic prosperity. In this context, we need to under stand that viable systems of constitutional government—where power is exercised responsibly and effectively—offer the only hope that ethnona tional violence can be replaced by the nonviolent politics of ethnic compe tition. External interventions designed to resolve violent communal conflicts are less likely to succeed than are systemic transformations that replace authoritarianism with constitutional governance—but both pose a huge challenge to the will and capabilities of the more advanced indus trial democracies.
Individualism, Technology, and Sport: the Speedway Nexus
Authors: Barendse Michael A.
Published: March 2007

This study investigates automobile racing in American Society as a sport with meaning and impact beyond the content of any one event or contest. Noting the need for symbols of individual identity and accomplishment in an increasingly mechanical and bureaucratic culture, the paper asserts that domination of mechanistic forces through the medium of auto racing provided identity both in direct form to the driver, and vicariously to the spectator. I n addition, the sport offers a sense of "place" or"belonging" to participants in the form of communities of interest. Similar patterns are noted in other automotive sports such as motocross racing. The fact that racing is a sport is significant because sport is public activity, making the symbols and vicarious experiences available to large numbers of people.
Cultural Diversity on Campus: a Look At Intercollegiate Football Coaches
Authors: Anderson Dean
Published: March 2007

Those who attempt to increase cultural diversity in social organizations need to consider perceptions of access or opportunity for prestigious and visible positions. This research investigated career option viability for the positions of college athletic director and football coach through the examination of social characteristics of persons holding these positions at a sample of NCAA Division I-A institutions. Eighty-eight of the 105 institutions contacted supplied a copy of their 1990 football media guide. From these media guides, data were compiled for athletic directors, head football coaches, and full time assistant football coaches. Results clearly show that blacks were underrepresented at the athletic director, head coach, coordinator, and assistant coach positions. Additional results examining centrality ofposition played and position coached suggest that racial discrimi nation is institutionalized. Consequently, the pattern is likely to continue in the absence Of meaningful interventions. These data indicate that career opportunity is restricted for blacks by institutionalized discrimination in intercollegiate sport.