bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Do You Assess a Manager’s Decision‐Making Abilities? The Use of Situational Inventories
Authors: Howard Alan , Choi Max
Published: March 2003

Decision‐making capabilities are absolutely crucial to a manager. Unfortunately, existing methods of assessing managers in this area for selection and development purposes (in‐tray exercises, situational interviews, ability tests, etc.) leave a lot to be desired. This article focuses on an alternative for assessing managerial decision making – the situational inventory – and presents research findings and information on practical applications. Detailed findings are also presented for ‘Scenarios’, the UK’s first published situational measure of managerial judgement.

Situational inventories work by presenting participants with realistic but difficult real‐life management scenarios. Each scenario is accompanied by a number of possible responses which participants rate for effectiveness in dealing with the scenario. Participants’ ratings are then scored against a set of ideal answers, producing an assessment of current decision‐making ability. Decision‐making ability can be developed in individuals, making feedback invaluable to participants.

Evidence that has been accumulating in the United States and the UK for at least 15 years is presented to support the general situational inventory approach. Additionally, specific evidence is presented for ‘Scenarios’. It was found to correlate significantly with a number of managerial performance and responsibility indicators while appearing to be largely separate from existing psychometric (ability and personality) tests.
A great leap towards liberalism? The Hungarian welfare state
Authors: Lelkes Orsolya
Published: March 2003

The article analyses the changing role of the Hungarian state by examining the principles and boundaries of government commitment in income maintenance. I test the hypothesis that the welfare regime is liberal and is becoming increasingly more so. The empirical analysis addresses three major issues: the reliance on universal schemes in family support, the nature of poor relief assistance, and the institutional structure of the pension system. I find that these different programs do not add up to constitute any specific type of welfare regime. Rather, the emerging, and still transitory welfare system appears ‘‘faceless’’. I claim that a static welfare typology cannot be applied to the Hungarian welfare system and therefore reject the liberal hypothesis.
Cross‐national comparisons of poverty: reconsidering methods
Authors: Spicker Paul
Published: March 2003

This paper discusses methods by which indicators of poverty can be compared between different countries. Comparisons of this type are important politically; they may affect the ability of developing countries to attract funding from international organisations. Poverty, however, is a complex, disputed concept. No simple comparison, such as a headcount based on a measure of income, can cover the major areas of concern. Composite indices are widely used, but they have problems with the quality of basic indicators and the assumptions required for quantification. This paper offers a worked example of a different approach, intended to avoid some of the major pitfalls: the use of poverty profiles. The method makes it possible to compare a range of issues in different countries. It can also be used to examine the implications of redistributive policies and social protection in different contexts.
The two paradoxes of welfare democracy
Authors: Fitzpatrick Tony
Published: March 2003

This article has three objectives. First, to apply the debate concerning deliberative or discursive democracy to the subject of social policy in order to renew and update the long‐standing attempt to go beyond the paradigm of welfare‐state capitalism. The ‘crisis of universalism’ is outlined and this is then explained in terms of the traditional welfare state’s ‘democratic deficit’. Second, to suggest that applying these debates reveals two paradoxes that bear implications not only for social policy but also for the entire project of discursive democracy. The first paradox refers to the need to combine proceduralist and pluralist theories of deliberative democracy, despite the ultimate irreconcilability of these philosophies. The second refers to the problem of social transition and the fact that democratisation and social equalisation require one other. The third objective is therefore to suggest that welfare traditionalists have nothing to fear from what are here called ‘post‐universalist’ critiques.
Social work in South Africa at the dawn of the new millennium
Authors: Gray Mel , Mazibuko Fikile
Published: March 2003

The article examines recent developments in social policy and its implications for social work education and practice in South Africa. It traces the changes from the birth of democracy in South Africa to the dawn of the new millennium as these crucial years marked the beginning of a new era in South Africa’s welfare history. It examines the challenges to social work and provides an example of the integrated, holistic developmental interventions, which are needed to combat social problems such as crime, AIDS and poverty. It ends with an examination of the implications of developmental welfare policy for social–work education as social workers are called to address mass poverty, unemployment and social deprivation through greater use of diverse social work methods, such as advocacy, community development, empowerment, consultation, networking, action research and policy analysis.
Communicative or strategic action – an examination of fundamental issues in the theory of communicative action
Authors: Kihlsrtöm Anita , Israel Joakim
Published: March 2003

The study focuses on two types of social action – communicative and strategic – and examines whether they have different effects on the competence to act. Competence is understood here as a feeling of being able to handle a situation, which includes the participants’ interpretation of the situation at hand, ‘concealing of their action’ and the intention to perform the act. Communicative action is a consensus–oriented process built upon the parties’ mutual definitions of how to reach a goal. Strategic action is a way to more directly reach a goal where influencing and manipulating the other can take place. This thesis was investigated by means of an experimental study. The results indicate that communicative action seems to be connected with openness to diversity and individual experiences. It was also shown how the subtle expression of unaccepted power can disturb feelings of being capable and disturb the balance between one’s self–respect and the other person’s authority. This disturbance is caused not only by the content of the dialogue but also by the manner in which the encounter takes place. The results give partial confirmation to the thesis underlying the theory of communicative action.
Major workforce and workplace trends influencing the training anddevelopment field in the USA
Authors: Rothwell William J , Kolb Judith A
Published: March 2003

A recent research study sponsored by the US‐based Society for Human Resource Management identified six key workforce and workplace trends facing HR managers. These trends focused around changes in technology, globalisation, cost containment, speed in market change, knowledge capital, and change. This article examines the implications of these trends for training and development professionals.
Competence‐based management development in small and medium‐sized enterprises: a multi‐stakeholder analysis
Authors: Loan‐Clarke John , Boocock  , Smith Alison , Whittaker John
Published: March 2003

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered increasingly important for economic growth (Wilson, 1995) and effective management of them is regarded as essential for their survival and success (Jennings and Beaver, 1995). This study adopted a multi‐stakeholder perspective in order to explore the promotion, via Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs); provision and (potential for) purchase of competence‐based management training and development (MTD) in the SME sector in the United Kingdom. Survey data from (551) and interviews with (12) SMEs; plus interviews (6) with TECs and interviews (29) with providers of MTD are reported. ‘Product’ deficiencies in competence‐based MTD are identified and recommendations for promotion made.
Developing managerial learning styles in the context of the strategic application of information and communications technologies
Authors: Holtham Clive , Courtney Nigel
Published: March 2003

This article reports on collaboration between a research university and a consortium of leading public and private sector organisations to enable their senior executives ‘to get our arms around this thing called IT’. The project started in 1995 and ran for almost four years. The learning materials were developed with the participants at face‐to‐face meetings mediated by group decision support software. The initial requirement for paper‐based out‐puts was soon augmented with bespoke software, CD‐ROM and online databases accessed via an extranet and then an interactive website. An action research approach was used to observe and measure the effectiveness of a theoretical model – the Executive Learning Ladder. During one 12‐month period, 50 events involved 561 executives. Analysis of the results indicated that sense‐making was accelerated when conducted within peer‐groups before being ‘cascaded’ to less experienced managers. Senior executives preferred metaphors that triggered connections whereas their subordinates tended to display an appetite for extensive case study portfolios. The report concludes with a discussion of the successes and failures of the Executive Learning Ladder and its potential as a generalisable model for executive development in the ICT domain.
Factors Influencing the Choice of Initial Qualifications and Continuing Development in Australia and Britain
Authors: Miller Linda , Kellie Deborah , Acutt Bruce
Published: March 2003

This article presents the outcomes of an exploratory study into the factors that influences individuals' choice of different types of qualification at stages throughout their employment history. The survey of individuals in Australia and Britiain sought information on individuals' training and education decisions between school and employment; after gaining employment; and of their future intentions for further study. There were few differences between Australians and British respondents at the school‐leaver stage, but once in work differences emerged between the two countries. Few differences were observed between males and females. Comparison of those opting into academic and vocational programmes indicated that those who choose academic programmes are motivated by a cluster of mainly internal factors while those opting for the vocational route were more likely to have been influenced by their manager and the possibility of funding. Implications for the marketing of qualifications are discussed.
Book reviews
Authors: HäuBermann Hartmut , Brenner Neil , Pickvance Chris , Fujita Kuniko
Published: March 2003

Harloe, Michael The people's home? Social rented housing in Europe & America

Hitz, Keil, Lehrer, Ronneberger, Schmid and Wolff (eds.) Capitales Fatales: Urbanisierung und Politik in den Finanzmetropolen Frankfurt und Zürich

Ascher, François (ed.) Le logement en questions

Shapira, Philip, Ian Masser and David W. Edgington (eds.) Planning for cities and regions in Japan
St Petersburg's Progress Towards the Market
Authors: Kudrin Aleksei
Published: March 2003

This paper discusses the progress of economic reform in St Petersburg. It first discusses several difficulties, legacies of the previous system and problems of the transition, which are having to be overcome. Despite these, and with the aid of an advantageous tax system, significant foreign investment is being attracted. The development of an effective banking system supports these investments, although there was a large scale banking crisis in 1995. There has also been a radical liberalization of the restrictions which particularly affected small business growth. However, an inadequate city budget provided an obstacle to further economic development. A reform of the city's tax system was implemented in 1994–5. This did not increase the aggregate tax burden but increased tax on property and decreased taxes on profits and incomes. Nevertheless, because of high inflation the city is having to meet increasing proportions of the costs of housing and transport. Further changes are now occurring following the election of a new city government in 1996.

Cet article examine le progrès de la réforme économique à Saint Pétersbourg. Il commence par examiner plusieurs difficultés, legs du système précédent et problèmes de cette transition, qui doivent être surmontées. Malgré ces difficultés, et avec l'aide d'un système fiscal avantageux, des investissements étrangers considérables ont été suscités. Le développement d'un système bancaire efficace supporte ces investissements, bien qu'il y ait eu une importante crise bancaire en 1995. Il y a aussi eu une libéralisation radicale des restrictions qui affectaient particulièrement l'expansion des petites entreprises. Néanmoins, le budget insuffisant de la ville a empêché les développements économiques supplémentaires. Une réforme du système fiscal de la ville a été mise à exécution en 1995. Ceci n'a pas augmenté la charge totale des impositions fiscales mais a augmenté l'impôt foncier et diminué l'impôt sur les bénéfices et sur les revenus. Néanmoins, à cause du taux d'inflation élevé, la ville doit payer une proportion de plus en plus importante du coût du logement et du transport. D'autres changements sont en cours à la suite des élections d'un nouveau gouvernement de la ville en 1996.
The Hong Kong Government’s Strategy for Promoting Home Ownership — An Approach to Reducing the Decommodifying Effects of Public Housing Services
Authors: Yu Sam Wai Kam
Published: March 2003

The Hong Kong Government is a well‐known believer in laissez faire values and capitalism. However, it provides massive public housing programmes. In order to reduce the adverse effects of the public housing programmes on capitalism, it has tried to promote the recommodification of public housing by encouraging and assisting public housing tenants to become home owners. The aim of this paper is to study the Hong Kong Government’s measures for promoting home ownership. It is argued that these measures are not very effective in reducing the decommodifying effects of the public housing services. Despite the fact that these measures aim to reduce people’s dependence on the government and to help them to re‐establish their relation with the private market, they are paradoxically also a kind of decommodification — people can enjoy some benefits independently of how they perform in the private market. Hence, it can be said that the government’s measures for promoting home ownership serve more to change the form than to reduce the degree of the decommodification of the public housing services.

Le gouvernement de Hong Kong est un partisan bien connu du laissez‐faire et du capitalisme. Il fournit néanmoins des programmes massifs de logement public. Afin de réuire les effets adverses que les programmes de logement public ont sur le capitalisme, il a essayé de promouvoir la recommercialisation du logement public en encourageant et en aidant les locataires du logement public à devenir propriétaires. Le but de cet article est d’étudier les mesures que le gouvernement de Hong Kong a prises afin de promouvoir l’accès à la propriété. Cet essai soutient que ces mesures ne sont pas très efficaces pour réduire les effets de décommercialisation qu’ont les services de logement public. Bien qu’elles aient pour but de réduire la dépendance des habitants du gouvernement et de les aider à rétablir leur rapport avec le marché privé, elles sont aussi, paradoxicalement, une espèce de décommercialisation — dont les gens peuvent bénéficier indépendamment de leur performance sur le marché privé. On peut donc dire que les mesures prises par le gouvernement pour promouvoir l'accès à la propriété servent plus à changer la forme de la décommercialisation des services de logement public qu’à en réduire leur niveau.
Post‐Communist Borders and Territories: Conflicts, Learning and Rule‐Building in Poland
Authors: Bafoil François
Published: March 2003

In the post‐Communist period, the territory — which under communism was an expression of the sovereignty of the centralized state — now carries the founding aspirations of local or regional communities which are determined to reconstitute political relations on a different basis. This is illustrated by focusing on negotiations to define cross‐border (Oder‐Neisse) economic privileges and on political competences in the region of Upper Silesia. An examination of these themes allows us to define the post‐Communist identity as a construct of collective action, based on the reinvestment of various historical resources and on the formation of cleavages directed at redefining relations between the centre and the political periphery. Several features of the old political order have been reconstituted in this way.

—

Dans la période post‐communiste, le territoire — qui sous le communisme était une expression de la souveraineté de l’état centralisé— supporte maintenant les aspirations fondatrices des communautés locales ou régionales qui sont résolues à reconstituer les relations politiques sur des bases différentes. Une examination des négociations pour définir des privilèges politiques à travers la frontière (Oder‐Neisse) et pour les compétences politiques dans la région de Haute‐Silésie illustre ceci. L’exploration de ces thèmes nous permet de définir l’identité post‐communiste comme une construction de l’action collective, basée sur le réinvestissement de diverses ressources historiques et sur la formation de divisions orientées vers la redéfinition des relations entre le centre et périphérie politique. Plusieurs traits de l’ancien ordre politique ont ainsi été reconstitués.
The Comparative Economics of EU ‘Subsidiarity’: Lessons from development/regional economic debates
Authors: Cameron John , Ndhlovu Tidings P.
Published: March 2003

The term ‘substantive subsidiarity’ characterizes a radical position in the major debate in the European Union (EU) on how to structure territorially‐based power in a closely interlinked economy. A similar debate took place in the period between the 1950s and the early 1990s over the need for radical reform of spatial economic and power structures in Canada and less developed countries. The difficulty in constructing supporting arguments from economics for both these positions can be better understood by looking at the whole range of economic thought on spatial structures. A characterization of this range into three models reveals how economics generally supports centralizing tendencies. The assumptions required to make a case for stronger, more local authorities in the EU, Canada or less developed economies are shown to be restrictive. The article concludes that the case for substantive subsidiarity in the EU, which calls for radical decentralization to more local levels of government, claiming efficiency and equity gains, faces a similar challenge to that faced by earlier economists writing on less developed economies.

L’expression ‘subsidiarité rélle’ définit une position radicale dans le grand débat qui anime l’Union Européenne sur la manière de structurer un pouvoir sur un territoire, dans une économie interdépendante. Entre les années 1950 et le début des années 1990, des discussions similaires se sont déroulées sur la nécessité de réformer profondément les structures spatiales du pouvoir et de l’économie au Canada et dans des pays sous‐développés. Dans les deux cas, on peut plus aisément appréhender la difficulté de trouver dans l’économie une source d’arguments favorables, si on observe l’éventail des pensées économiques sur les structures spatiales; en ramenant cette palette à trois modèles caractéristiques, on peut établir que l’économie penche généralement vers la centralisation. Par ailleurs, l’article démontre la nature restrictive des hypothèses permettant de dépeindre des autorités à la fois plus fortes et plus locales dans l’UE, au Canada ou dans des économies en développement. L’article conclut que la défense d’une subsidiarité réelle au sein de l’UE – appelant à une décentralisation radicale à des niveaux plus locaux de gouvernement, tout en revendiquant des gains d’efficacité et d’équité– est confrontée à un défi similaire à celui qu’ont rencontré les économistes passés quand ils écrivaient sur les économies en développement.
The Innovative City in History
Authors: Mazza Luigi
Published: March 2003

Book reviewed in this article:

Peter Hall, Cities in civilization. Culture, innovation, and urban order
VW’s modular system and workers’ organization in Resende, Brazil
Authors: Ramalho José Ricardo , Santana Marco Aurélio
Published: March 2003

This article discusses the changes taking place in the Brazilian vehicle assembly industry of the 1990s with particular reference to the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It focuses upon a case study of Volkswagen’s bus and truck assembly plant, opened in 1996, and its workers at Resende. The experience of the `modular system’ of production has been presented as a major development in vehicle assembly. The article analyses the originality of VW’s new form of organization of production and the strategy of the firm to look for localities with weak labour unionism. It also argues that despite the difficulties the local union faced in its attempts to intervene in the process of wage bargaining and to influence the management of aspects of production, there has been a rapid process of mobilizing the new workers for effective labour union action.

L’article traite des transformations intervenues dans l’industrie automobile brésilienne dans les années quatre–vingt dix, avec une attention particulière pour l’Etat de Rio de Janeiro. Il s’attache à l’usine d’assemblage que Volkswagen ouverte en 1996 à Resende pour y assembler des véhicules industriels. Cette expérience de production modulaire a été présentée comme une innovation organisationnelle majeure dans l’industrie automobile mondiale. Le texte met en évidence les spécificités de la nouvelle organisation de la production et la stratégie de localisation de la firme fondée sur la recherche d’espaces d’implantation à faible activisme syndical. Il montre que malgré sa faiblesse initiale et une intervention réduite dans la négociation salariale et l’organisation du travail, une mobilisation rapide des nouveaux travailleurs a permis la reconstitution d’un mouvement syndical actif.
Book Review
Authors: Young Christabel
Published: March 2003

Book reviewed:

Jose Alvarado and John Creedy, Population Ageing, Migration and SocialExpenditure
Metropolitan Labour Markets, Peripheral Labour Markets and Socio‐economic Outcomes among Immigrants to Israel
Authors: Semyonov Moshe , Lewin‐Epstein Noah , Yom‐Tov Anat
Published: March 2003

This article focuses on the impact of the local opportunity structure on socio‐economic outcomes of recent immigrants to Israel. Specifically, it examines the extent to which metropolitan labour markets versus peripheral labour markets differentially affect socio‐economic incorporation of recent “Russian” immigrants who arrived in Israel after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1989.

Using the 1995 Israeli Census of Population, the analyses address the following questions: (1) were recent immigrants differentially sorted to local labour markets; (2) do local labour markets differentially affect socio‐economic attainment; and (3) do modes of socio‐economic attainment and patterns of ethnic inequality differ across metropolitan and peripheral labour markets?

The analyses reveal that immigrants from the European republics and of lower education are more likely to settle in peripheral labour markets than in metropolitan labour markets. Peripheral labour markets, compared with metropolitan labour markets, have detrimental consequences for the socio‐economic outcomes of immigrants.

The data do not provide strong support for the thesis that patterns of socio‐economic attainment and inequality differ much across labour markets. The rules according to which socio‐economic attainment of immigrants is determined are, for the most part, similar across labour markets. In general, occupational status and earnings of immigrants are likely to increase with the passage of time, education, European origin; and to decline with age regardless of type of the local labour market. However, the socio‐economic outcomes of immigrants are considerably higher in the metropolis than in the periphery.

The findings suggest that the local labour market plays a major role in the determination of immigrants' socio‐economic rewards and outcomes.
On the Information Content of Bank Loan‐loss Disclosures: A Theory and Evidence from Japan
Authors: Gibson Scott
Published: March 2003

We develop a model in which banks use loan‐loss disclosures to signal private information about the credit quality of their loan portfolios. The cross‐sectional predictions generated by the model are shown to help to explain previously documented counterintuitive empirical regularities for US banks. We also take advantage of a recent Japanese regulatory policy shift, which first forbade the reporting of restructured loan balances and then forced full disclosure. This policy shift allows us to address a common difficulty in testing signalling theories, in that we are able to construct a timely proxy for the private information that we allege is being signalled. Consistent with our signalling model, we find that banks taking the largest write‐offs turn out later to be the strongest banks, with the fewest restructured loans.
The Marxist approach
Authors: Hirszowicz Maria
Published: March 2003

The Marxist conception of man, rooted in the anthropocentrism of the Enlightenment, has three basic elements: recognition of the right to individual development, a joint social responsibility for the satisfaction of individual wants, and the rationalization of social relationships. After summarizing portions of Marxist sociology, the author goes on to discuss the emerging principle of unity of theory and practice, and the continued relevance of Marxist analytical approaches in dealing with problems of modern industrial society.
Some problems in the characterisation of violence in politics: the example of fanaticism and its causes
Authors: Gautier Claude
Published: March 2003

After commenting on the term ‘extreme violence’ and some of the difficulties inherent in it, the author argues for the usefulness of taking another look, with a view to understanding radical acts of violence and making them an object of study, at earlier historiographical ventures concerning major instances of violence: civil wars, wars of religion, revolutions, etc. Secondly, a particular illustration is offered, based on Hume's interpretation of the events that began the first civil wars of seventeenth‐century England.
The anthropology of extreme violence: the crime of desecration
Authors: Nahoum‐Grappe Véronique
Published: March 2003

The aim here is to examine whether or not the crime of cruelty, or the crime of profanation, is a distinctive form of political violence. What spurred this inquiry was the testimony (on which I have worked) of the surviving victims of ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. “Cruel” crimes appear to belong to a non‐historical and non‐political stratum of meaning; they form part of the ordinary fabric of “trivial” events in times of peace and seem far removed from any historical significance. We therefore have to examine whether there is an anthropo‐logical difference between two violent acts, or between two possible meanings of the same act of violence, seen within their specific context. For such purposes, a look at literature is extremely useful for the ethnologist of crimes of profanation who is out to supplement the legal definition of crimes against humanity. This applies to some of the writings of Chateaubriand.
Netherlands: The context of change: Social Security Reform in the Netherlands
Authors: Van Wirdum Renée
Published: March 2003

abstract
The Impact of European Law on the Development of Social Security Policies in the United Kingdom
Authors: Ditch John , Spicker Paul
Published: March 2003

The United Kingdom joined the European Community in 1973, since when there has been a growing awareness of the international context to the making and delivery of social security. Obligations imposed under the Treaty of Rome to allow for the application of equal opportunities and the free movement of workers were bound to require changes to social security entitlements. It may have been hypothezised that membership of the European Community would promote the convergence of social security systems: the coming together of policies and the equalization of benefit levels. In the event, bilateral agreements between countries remain important and, with the important exception of the decisions of the European Court of Justice, the impact of the European Community (latterly European Union) on policy and practice in the United Kingdom has remained limited.
Structural pressures, social policy and poverty
Authors: Mäkinen Tiina
Published: March 2003

The purpose of this article is twofold. The first aim is to examine 15 OECD countries from the point of view of the so‐called third‐generation studies, analysing if the development of poverty and income transfers has been uniform in countries classified under the same welfare state models. This has been done to test how appropriate it is to use welfare state models as an analytical tool in comparative welfare state research. The second aim is to examine the effect of different structural factors on poverty and income transfers. Obtained results indicate that two demographic variables studied behave somewhat differently. The share of older people in the population is – not very surprisingly – connected to an increase in income transfers. In the case of younger population groups, the results are the opposite. The results show that the greater the proportion of older people in the population, the lower the poverty rates. Social policy has in many countries consisted primarily of pension policy, and investments in the elderly population are now beginning to bear fruit. Good pension schemes diminish the immediate poverty risk of older people. As a consequence of their increased well‐being, the overall poverty rate will fall. In addition to demographic factors, the results indicate that the unemployment rate is connected, on the one hand, to growth in income transfers and, on the other hand, also to increases in poverty. However, unemployment’s effect on poverty is not straightforward. The direct effect is indeed an increase in poverty but, if income transfers are taken into account, the indirect effect is a decrease in poverty, since unemployment increases income transfers (unemployment benefits), which on their side alleviate poverty.
High Employment and Social Security: Vision or Illusion in a Globalized World?
Authors: Walwei Ulrich
Published: March 2003

This article addresses two issues in the context of globalization. First it considers whether the goals of successful employment policy and social equilibrium are at all reconcilable. Second it looks at ways in which the labour market prospects of workers who are at a competitive disadvantage, prospects which are poor in many countries, can be improved on a lasting basis. Using the example of export‐oriented countries such as Denmark or the Netherlands, it shows that a social State which offers help but expects something back can be an integral part of an effective strategy to generate jobs. This is particularly true where earlier generous transfers are maintained while targeted incentives create the conditions for a flexible economy and a flexible labour market.
Social health insurance in developing countries: A continuing challenge
Authors: Carrin Guy
Published: March 2003

This paper addresses the issue of the feasibility of “social” health insurance (SHI) in developing countries. SHI aims at protecting all population groups against financial risks due to illness. There are substantial difficulties in implementation, however, due to lack of debate and consensus about the extent of financial solidarity, problems with health service delivery, and insufficient managerial capacity. The transition to universal coverage is likely to take many years, but it can be speeded up. Adopting a “family” approach to financial protection, sustained financial support from governments and donors, and deconcentrating the development of SHI may slash several years from the time needed to achieve full universal protection against healthcare costs.
Social protection in Europe: A European trade union perspective
Authors: Hutsebaut Martin
Published: March 2003

Governments and social partners in the European Union (EU) look for ways and means to adapt welfare systems to new needs, to keep expenditure under control, and to find alternative and supplementary financial resources in order to cope with future financial commitments. The EU is actively involved in the search for solutions to these common problems. It becomes more and more evident that only an active economic, budgetary, taxation and social policy mix can provide a solid base for safeguarding social systems. The author presents the most recent figures relating to actual and future social protection expenditure in the EU, disaggregated according to function and showing significant differences between gross and net figures. Attention is also paid to coverage and replacement rates of social benefits and to the availability of social infrastructures. The article then shows the shifts in implicit tax rates on labour in comparison with the rate on other factors. The conclusion outlines a European trade union view on the future of social protection in Europe and suggests possible issues for social benchmarking.
Perspektiven der Alterssicherungspolitik in Deutschland – Über Konzeptionen, Vorschläge und einen angestrebten Paradigmenwechsel
Authors: Schmähl Winfried
Published: March 2003

The paper outlines different concepts for designing pension policies linked to current reform proposals in Germany. The role of the state, mandatory or voluntary savings for old age and the primary objectives and types of income redistribution aimed at by the design of pension schemes are central. In contrast to the economic debate which is dominated by the topic pay-as-you-go (PAYG) versus funding, the author argues that it is especially important to deal with changes within the major German PAYG-financed scheme in order to realize positive economic and social effects, especially by a close contribution±benefit link as part of a broader reform concept. There are, however, limits to an overall reduction of the pension level in such a pension scheme, if a close contribution±benefit link is to remain politically acceptable. Here this is demonstrated by current reform proposals for substituting a major part of PAYG pensions by funded pensions in Germany. The paper also points out some hidden, implicit and long-term effects of such a strategy. Finally, the author refers to some often neglected effects in mainstream proposals for a major shift towards funding. 430
Alternativen der parlamentarischen Demokratie
Authors: Blankart Charles B. , Mueller Dennis C.
Published: March 2003

It is often said that the parliament should represent the opinions found in the population and that the government should be held accountable for its political program. It is shown in the paper that these two functions rely on two different basic models of democracy which are not fully compatible with each other: the model of a pure representative democracy and the model of a pure two party competition. Unaccountable governments, voter alienation, strategic voting, and governmental instability are shown to be consequences of this institutional mix. These problems may be avoided with reforms towards one or the other basic model.
Welfare Economics bei endogenen Präferenzen: Thünen–Vorlesung 2001
Authors: Weizsäcker C. Christian von
Published: March 2003

The lecture develops a theory which provides a basis for welfare economics after we give up the assumption of fixed preferences. It formulates a mathematical theorem by which the following can be developed. The concept of „progress“ can be maintained even in a world of endogenous preferences, i.e. in a world in which the measuring rod changes with the object to be measured. It is then shown that under the assumption of „adaptive preferences“ and certain other assumptions a complete ordering of the commodity space is possible according to the concept of progress. In other words: despite the endogenously changing normative measuring rod for states of the economy it is still possible to maintain the concept of progress. It is then shown how such welfare economics can be used in „evolutionary“ environments. Generalisations of the theory are discussed as well as the empirical validity of adaptive preferences in view of the new empirical and experimental findings concerning human behaviour. Finally it is shown that all modern social philosophy implicitly rests on an assumption which is basically identical to the assumption of adaptive preferences.
The effects of preexposure‐test and conditioning‐test intervals on the magnitude of latent inhibition
Authors: Ishii Kiyoshi , Yamada Yuko , Hishimura Yutaka , Haga Yasuaki
Published: March 2003

Using the conditioned taste aversion paradigm, two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of the interval between preexposure and test and that between conditioning and test on the magnitude of latent inhibition. Experiment 1 revealed that the degree of latent inhibition was attenuated when rats were given a 21‐day interval between preexposure and test. It was also found that this attenuation was more marked in subjects which were given conditioning immediately after preexposure than those which were conditioned shortly before the test. Retention interval between preexposure and test was reduced to 12 days in Experiment 2, and exactly the same pattern of results as those found in Experiment 1 was obtained. These findings suggest that the memory of conditioning as well as that of preexposure decreases its retrievability after a long retention interval, although the former is more retainable than the latter.
The role of state self‐esteem in positive mood effects on person impression: When does a positive mood lead to a favorable view of others?
Authors: Ikegami Tomoko
Published: March 2003

Subjects in a positive or a neutral mood were engaged in an impression formation task (Experiment 1), and in a word fragment completion task (Experiment 2). A self‐referent versus other‐referent sentence completion task was used to induce a positive mood state. As a result, the subjects exhibited mood congruent effects on impression ratings in the self‐referent but not in the other‐referent mood induction condition. Word completion data, however, indicated that relevant traits (i.e., friendly traits) had been equally activated across the two mood induction conditions. It was also demonstrated that the self‐referent induction procedure was effective in enhancing the level of self‐esteem, whereas the other‐referent one was not. The results converged to suggest that the enhancement in state self‐esteem accompanying the self‐referent procedure might be relevant to positive mood effects on person impression. This indicates the limitation of the mood priming model.
Afterimage oscillation after a brief light flash
Authors: Taya Raiten , Ohinata Satoko
Published: March 2003

Abstract: To investigate whether oscillation might appear not only in brightness but also in color dimension, we performed the following two experiments. In Experiment 1 subjects were asked to observe a moving dim light slit in the darkness with their right eye focused on a fixation point, which resulted in an afterimage appearing like a comet’s trail after the slit. The trail oscillated rapidly in brightness (four/five times), and soon disappeared. In Experiment 2, an afterimage generated by an intense color disc (S1) was projected onto a dim white disc (S2) after a controlled period of interstimulus interval. The white disc appeared oscillating slowly between the similar color and the complementary color, at least twice in approximately 40 s. The results of these experiments led us to infer that afterimage oscillations occur in both brightness and in color dimension. These oscillations are closely correlated with those caused by two physiological mechanisms: the magnosystem generating the brightness oscillation, and the opponent‐color site of the parvosystem generating the color oscillation.
Comparisons of rats' choice behavior among three different radial‐maze tasks
Authors: Haga Yasuaki
Published: March 2003

The present study compared rats' behavioral changes on three tasks on the radial‐arm maze. In the free‐choice task (0Fo/8Fr; no forced choice/eight free choices), rats performed efficiently with the simple response pattern of sequential adjacent‐arm choices. In the two forced‐choice tasks (3Fo/5Fr and 5Fo/3Fr), rats performed as efficiently as 0Fo/8Fr but showed no particular response patterns. The frequency of arm investigation was the highest in 5Fo/3Fr, and was higher in 3Fo/5Fr than in 0Fo/8Fr. The probability of correct rejection, avoiding re‐entry to visited arms after investigation, was also higher in 3Fo/5Fr and 5Fo/3Fr than in 0Fo/8Fr. These results suggest that the rats could adjust their behavior to the task demands.
Utility and fairness concerns in policy evaluation among Japanese people
Authors: Imazai Kei‐ichiro , Ohbuchi Ken‐ichi
Published: March 2003

The purpose of this research was to examine the cognitive process involved in policy evaluation among Japanese people, focusing on three recent political issues in Japan (the Jusen problem, consumption tax rate and the U.S. Marine maneuvering fields). We mailed a questionnaire to 3,000 Japanese people over the age of 20, and obtained 993 responses. Although utility concerns were dominant in the evaluation of all the policies, we found fairness concerns affected it independently of utility concerns. We determined people's political attitudes by the political parties they supported. The results showed the predominance of utility concerns across all the supporter groups, but fairness concerns also affected policy evaluation in all the groups except supporters of the Japanese Communist Party
Constraint on word‐learning constraints
Authors: Imai Mutsumi
Published: March 2003

Many researchers have agreed that word learning in young children is guided by so‐called “word‐learning principles.” However, these principles may make it difficult to learn a substantial part of the lexicon unless they are appropriately controlled. To learn proper names, the taxonomic assumption and/or the shape bias must be overridden; to learn names for substances, withdrawal of the whole‐object assumption and/or the shape bias is required; and to learn lexical hierarchies, the mutual exclusivity assumption must be suspended. In certain languages, syntax can provide useful information in this situation. For example, if a novel noun is given to an object for which the name is known in the syntactic frame “This is X,” English‐speaking children may assume the noun to be a proper noun, and this will help them override the taxonomic assumption. However, this information is not available to Japanese children, since the Japanese language does not have grammatical markers to flag the distinction between count nouns and mass nouns, or the distinction between proper nouns and common nouns. In this paper, I discuss how Japanese children get around this problem.
The acquisition of Japanese numerical classifiers by 2–4‐year‐old children: The role of caretakers' linguistic inputs
Authors: Naka Makiko
Published: March 2003

Numerical classifiers (NCs) are the inflections used with numbers when counting objects, frequencies, and in assigning orders. The aim of this paper is to show how Japanese NCs are acquired by young children in the socio‐linguistic context. In Study 1, conversations between two 2‐year‐old children and their mother at a dinner table, longitudinally recorded for one year, were analyzed. In Study 2, conversations between 2–4‐year‐old children and their mothers in a pseudo‐snack scene were examined. The results show that the caretakers' inputs are well adjusted to the linguistic level of their children, which seems to help the children's long‐run acquisition of the NCs. The findings are discussed from the viewpoint of the interplay of inner constraints and linguistic inputs.
Linguistic intergroup bias in Japan
Authors: Tanabe Yoshiko , Oka Takashi
Published: March 2003

This study examined linguistic intergroup bias in Japan. Linguistic intergroup bias is the tendency to describe positive in‐group and negative out‐group behaviors more abstractly than negative in‐group and positive out‐group behaviors. Participants were 26 Japanese high school students. Fans of the participants' favorite professional baseball team were employed as in‐groups and those of their least‐favorite professional baseball team as out‐groups. The students described the negative behaviors of out‐groups more abstractly than the negative behaviors of in‐groups, but there was no intergroup bias with regard to positive behaviors. It is suggested that linguistic intergroup bias contributes to the formation and maintenance of negative out‐group stereotypes in Japan.
The effectiveness of a skills‐based program in reducing public speaking anxiety
Authors: Pribyl Charles B. , Keaten James , Sakamoto Masahiro
Published: March 2003

Research was conducted to test the effectiveness of a skills‐based program as a method for reducing anxiety during public speaking. Twenty‐five Japanese college sophomores were exposed to a systematic approach for developing a presentation that was theoretically linked to mechanisms to reduce communication apprehension (CA). Students gave four presentations that were graded by both teacher and peer evaluation. Results indicated that the experimental group reported a significantly greater drop in public speaking anxiety than did a control group of 86 students.
The Caterpillar’s Question: Contesting Anti‐Humanism’s Contestations
Authors: Porpora Douglas
Published: March 2003

The caterpillar’s question is the question Wonderland’s caterpillar posed to Alice: Who are you? This is a question Alice finds she cannot answer. According to postmodernist anti‐humanism, Alice cannot answer the question because there is no coherent Alice there to answer it, no unitary subject of consciousness.

This paper contests the anti‐humanist denial of a coherent subject of experience. While it is conceded that phenomenologically, we may have difficulty today identifying who we are essentially, it is argued that, conceptually, we cannot do without the ontological category of the person as a unified center of consciousness.
Foucault’s Apology
Authors: Touey Daniel
Published: March 2003

I read Foucault’s essay “What is Enlightenment?” as his apology. Responding perhaps, to those who claim his work undermines Enlightenment thinking, Foucault sketches a way to continue that liberatory tradition, offering his own genealogical critique as an heir to Kant in the promotion of human freedom. This recovery is questionable. In commenting on Kant’s version of the Enlightenment, Foucault fails to examine the archaeology of the key notion of public reason. I attempt a Foucauldian reading of Kant’s essay as an assertion of power rather than of the freedom of thought from power, Foucault’s silence here makes conspicuous the relations of critique. This silence is not fatal, but his apology must be depended for a recovery of critique. The emerging aporia, that in order to criticize power we must first be invested by and implicated in it, is a profound, but not unanswerable, challenge to any contemporary attempt to retain the liberatory promise of Enlightenment thinking.