Equality of competition: A consistent approach to equality of opportunity in sport

Accepting the principles of equal treatment and equality of opportunity as standards means that individuals should have the same chances and receive the same rewards. If there is no reason to maintain that these principles should not be decisive in the domain of sport, the consequences of accepting them must be accepted. Equality of opportunity, in particular, which may with respect to sport be termed ‘equality of competition’, raises some issues that are examined.     

Networks,homogeneity and gender in Icelandic business elites

This paper examines business elites in the context of social networks, identity and residential homogeneity. Our focus is gender diversity in business elites and how social activities conducive to networking interact with residential homogeneity. We find that the greater the involvement of top managers in local social activities, the greater the residential homogeneity. This relationship is stronger for women than for men, even though the individual measures are similar for both genders. We suggest that local social activities may foster a shared identity that is especially important for women, as they lack a shared gender identity with men in the group. The paper adds to both theoretical and practical knowledge on the lack diversity in business elites.     

Work goals among male and female business students in Canada and China: the effects of culture and gender

The work goals of 374 male and female business students in Canada and China were compared along six dimensions: simplicity/routine, extrinsic rewards, organizational influence, intrinsic rewards, balanced life and moral congruence. Compared with Canadians, the Chinese exhibited a weaker concern for balanced life, an equal attention to extrinsic rewards and organizational influence, and a stronger interest in intrinsic rewards, simplicity/routine and moral congruence. The young educated women in the two countries appear to face similar challenges of balancing their career and family interests. Canadian and Chinese women, while giving higher priority to the goals of balanced life and simplicity/routine than their male counterparts, were as concerned about their career success as the latter, in terms of both materialistic and intrinsic rewards. The pattern of sex differences in work goals was, however, not entirely identical between the two countries. While no sex difference existed with respect to organizational influence in Canada and moral congruence in China, Chinese women assigned less importance to organizational influence than their male counterparts and Canadian women focused more on moral congruence than their male counterparts. For Western multinational firms in China, the results of this study suggest that, even though the Chinese male and female professionals give very high priority to career success, the special needs of the Chinese women should not be overlooked. To compete effectively for the talents of professional women in China, these firms need to consider providing their Chinese employees some of the 'family-friendly' organizational initiatives, such as flextime and part-time work, which are already made available for many of their North American employees.     

The gender pay gap in the transition from communism: some empirical evidence

This short paper investigates the gender pay gap in a number of former communist countries of eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The main findings are that, in general, the gender pay gap has not exhibited an upward tendency over the transitional period to which available data relate. Most of the gender pay gap is ascribed to the ‘unexplained’ component using conventional decompositions and this may partly be attributable to the proxy measure for labour force experience used in this study. Quantile regression analysis indicates that in all but one country, the ceteris paribus gender pay gap rises as we move up the wage distribution.     

The prospect for gender diversity in Japanese employment

Economic growth during the second half of the twentieth century was not accompanied by an improvement in the position of women in the Japanese labour market. The peripheral position occupied by women was due, in large part, to the substantial barriers created by the internal labour market with its employment practices such as ‘lifetime’ employment, seniority promotion, and on-the-job training. In the past decade, the use of such practices has declined and the corresponding erosion of the internal labour market, coupled with a predicted skill shortage, was seen as an opportunity for women to gain a degree of equality in the workplace. Yet, the changes to the structure of the internal labour market have not been able to overcome the discriminatory work practices are that are embedded in the way work is organized. It is this contest that is explored and analysed in this paper.     

The relative importance of facial attractiveness and gender in Hong Kong selection decisions

This field experiment found that Hong Kong human resources management specialists were influenced by the attractiveness bias in evaluating short-listed candidates for an entry-level trainee position. Zero order, stepwise and hierarchical regressions showed that perceived attractiveness of the candidates was more related to their work experience and work-related skills than to grade-point average and public examination results. Women candidates were generally preferred over male candidates. Further research is suggested to determine if the influence of attractiveness extends over a wider range of jobs and to measure more precisely the influence of attractiveness in different cultures and for men and women.     

Optimal control theory and the reelection problem: The rise of a political business cycle

Riassunto In questo lavoro gli autori si propongono di evidenziare, tramite tecniche di controllo ottimo, l'insorgere di un ciclo politico economico nell'andamento del sistema economico, cioè l'eventuale manipolazione da parte del governo della situazione economica al fine di essere rieletto per il successivo mandato.Il modello proposto prevede una funzione di costo-popolarità, che determina la rielezione, lineare-quadratica rispetto al reddito nazionale e all'inflazione. La formalizzazione quadratica sia rispetto alla variabile di stato che alla variabile di controllo è motivo di alcune complicazioni analitiche del tutto estranee alla letteratura esistente sul terna. Il modello, da un punto di vista economico, si presenta più ricco e completo rispetto a quelli riportati in letteratura: in esso infatti, oltre alla curva di Phillips, sono presenti anche le equazioni IS-LM. Questa caratteristica rende possibili alcune considerazioni riguardo al ruolo dei fattori monetari e della spesa pubblica all'interno del ciclo politico economico.Dall'analisi svolta nell'articolo risulta confermato l'insorgere, sotto alcune condizioni, di un ciclo politico economico. Per determinati valori dei parametri del modello il comportamento può comunque anche essere caratterizzato da oscillazioni smorzate o da una continua espansione economica.     

The impact of racial and gender diversity in management on financial performance: how participative strategy making features can unleash a diversity advantage

How does racial and gender diversity in the management ranks affect the bottom line? Our findings indicate that participative strategy making (PSM) positively moderates the relationship between both racial and gender diversity in management and firm performance measured as return on assets. Specifically, PSM strengthens the positive relationship that exists between racial diversity in management and firm performance. Although no main effect is observed for gender diversity in management, our results reveal that gender diversity in management is positively related to performance when PSM is high. However, we find that gender diversity in management is negatively related to performance when PSM is low, while gender homogeneous management experience superior performance. We offer implications for diversity research to embrace and consider the role of PSM and ‘inclusiveness’.     

Inequality in Exchange: The Use of a World Trade Flow Table for Analyzing the International Economy

Whether or not the terms of trade between two countries may be unequal is a controversial question in the theory of international economics. In practice, the issue is resolved through statistical observation of the terms of trade. This measurement of the terms of trade follows a long tradition and produces impressive detail. It is, however, restricted in scope, because the first derivative, the change of the terms over time is observed only. Absolute levels depend on which year is chosen as the base year, a choice that is rather arbitrary and carries no theoretical meaning. Equality in the levels of terms of trade remains thus undefined. More precisely, it is always assumed to exist implicitly for whichever base year is being nominated. The paper proposes an answer to this ambiguity based on the relatively new statistical tool of international purchasing power compilation. The terms of trade are crucially dependent on the rate of foreign exchange (for which exports are traded against imports), which is predominantly governed by financial rather than commodity markets. Hence, the paper proposes to separate the two factors of influence and to call terms of trade ‘equal’ if the effective real exchange rate (as derived from the nominal exchange rate by means of purchasing power parities) equals one. On that basis a world trade flow table is constructed, putting the compiled equalities and inequalities in trade into a coherent, global perspective.     

The glass ceiling in context: the influence of CEO gender,recruitment practices and firm internationalisation on the representation of women in management

This study examines macro‐level organisational determinants of women in management. Specifically, we examined organisational characteristics and strategies, including firm levels of internationalisation, firm foreign ownership, chief executive officer gender and the active recruitment of women, as predictors of an organisation's level of representation of women in management. Results from a survey of 278 firms indicated that the presence of a female chief executive officer and an organisation's active recruitment of women are positively associated with a firm's percentage of women in management while firm internationalisation and firm foreign ownership are negatively associated with the representation of women in management. Overall, these findings suggest that although firms exercise discretion with respect to hiring and promoting women, they are also constrained by the external environment and organisational characteristics. For example, firms with higher levels of firm internationalisation and that are foreign‐owned may limit their efforts and investment in the advancement of women into management.     

Automation and artificial intelligence in business logistics systems: human reactions and collaboration requirements

Increasing application areas and depths of autonomous systems in logistics provide a new level of challenge for the analysis and design of human–machine interaction concepts. Due to scarce high-skilled personnel in several regions and the objectives of efficiency and sustainability improvement, logistics operators have to pursue technological progress like automation with all means. In order to distinguish between more or less performing human–artificial collaboration systems in logistics ex ante for investment decision purposes, a multi-dimensional conceptual framework is developed. A comprehensive case study regarding automated truck driving in logistics is provided in order to test the concept concerning practical implications. Results include the notion of four distinctive and increasing resistance levels before finally an efficient ‘trusted’ collaboration between human operators and artificial intelligence systems can be achieved. This is important for the design of many automated systems in logistics, among others for driving and piloting professions regarding autonomous driving supervision.     

Government involvement in entrepreneurship and new business creation in Australia: A quantitative analysis of public perceptions and opinions

In order to determine the range of Australian perceptions on new venture creation at the end of the decade of the 1980s, and in particular attitudes towards government involvement in fostering entrepreneurship, a major quantitative study was conducted. The survey involved more than 1500 Australians in face-to-face interviews (300 in each mainland capital city) chosen on a random basis.

An analysis of the data provides an assessment of the Australian general public&s perceptions in three key areas: their understanding of the word ‘entrepreneur’ their rating of importance of new venture creation; their belief in government involvement in fostering new venture creation.

It is believed to be the first study attempting to quantify an entire nation&s perceptions in three areas vital to creators of national economic and industry policies.     

Urbanization and the City Image in Lowry at Tate Britain: Towards a Critique of Cultural Cityism

This article explores cultural cityism at a time when a more expansive, ‘planetary’ urbanization is argued to have superseded ‘the city’ as the dominant urban form. It takes an essentially Lefebvrian problematic and works this through an examination of one aspect of contemporary metropolitan culture, the L.S. Lowry exhibition at Tate Britain, held in the summer of 2013. The article scrutinizes the juxtaposition of Lowry's images of the industrial city with the image of ‘global’, corporate London provided by Tate Britain itself. The exhibition is presented as evidence of Lefebvre's argument that although the urban core has imploded and exploded, through images the city ‘can perpetuate itself, survive its conditions’. Taking stock also of the preponderance of city images in culture more widely, it is argued such images make a fetish of the city, producing also an ‘urban pastoral’ that obscures the defining characteristics of urban life today. Finally, Benjamin's concept of the ‘dialectical image’ and Rancière's notion of the ‘sentence image’ are invoked to capture the flashing together of past and present city images and the opportunities for critical reflection this constellation presents.     

The retraining and mobility motivations of key personnel: dependencies in the Finnish business environment

Key personnel's long-term commitment to an organization will soon become a fiction unless companies really begin to pay attention to improving it. To a great extent the cause of this development is the increasing uncertainty in the permanence of one's job, which leads those interested in career advancement to unexpected career changes. This paper studies the retraining and mobility motivations of 726 key personnel in Finnish companies, by endeavouring to discover possible correlations, on one hand, with the key person's background and set of values and, on the other, with various company-related factors. Most of those with both retraining and mobility motivations turned out to be dynamic young people either at the early or mid-stages of their career, although mobility motivation at least appeared to last throughout. Strong career commitment was linked with mobility motivation, whereas a commitment to personal and professional development was linked with retraining motivation. Thus, objective career development is promoted primarily by mobility, and subjective career development by retraining. Both motivations were linked with the company's poorly implemented career management programme. Consequently, companies should look upon this as an important covert personnel risk and endeavour to turn this into a personnel development opportunity through internal mobility or training, in order not to lose its key personnel with highest competence and development potential.     

走向三方合作的伙伴关系:西方城市更新政策的演变及其对中国的启示

西方城市更新政策经历了从1970年代政府主导、具有福利主义色彩的内城更新,到1980年代市场主导、公私伙伴关系为特色的城市更新,向1990年代以公、私、社区三向伙伴关系为导向的多目标综合性城市更机关报转变.一个内涵更加多元化的城市更新现念,以及一个以多方伙伴关系为取向、更加注重社区参与和社会公平的城市更新管治模式,正代表着城市更新政策的新路向.这对我国制定城市更新政策有重要启示,包括:要提高对城市更机关报多维本质的认知,加强社区民众参与,建立以人为本的城市更新制度,以及强化政府在城市更新中的协调、引导和促进功能,等.     

Institutions and Joint Ventures in the Mid dle East and North Af rica: The Case of Jor dan

Abstract

Many Mid dle East ern and North Af ri can (MENA) coun -tries are mak ing val iant ef forts to re form their eco nomic sys tems to boost growth and liv ing stan dards. Mul ti na tional Com panies (MNCs) are generally thought to have a ma jor part to play in help ing these coun tries to de velop. The prob lems caused by gov ern men tal sys tems that placed legal and bu reau cratic ob sta cles and pro hi bi tions in the way of For eign Direct In vest ment (FDI) ac tiv i ties are un der at tack in many coun tries. The World Bank (WB) and the In ter na tional Mon e tary Fund (IMF) in sist on the adop tion of busi ness-friendly pol i cies for those coun tries that seek their aid. More over, mem ber ship of the World Trade Or ga ni za tion (WTO) also re quires coun tries to re form their gov ern men tal sys tems. The prize at the end of the pain ful re form pro cess is higher growth of ten driven by FDI ac tiv i ties. In re cent years, FDI to de vel op ing and for mer com mu nist coun tries has con sid er ably in creased. How ever, some de vel -op ing coun tries (no ta bly, Af rica and large parts of the Mid dle East) have not bene fited to the same ex tent as many Asian and Cen tral and East Euro pean coun tries. More over, MNCs have fo cused on In ter na tional Joint Ven tures (IJVs) as the main means of en ter ing these coun tries. This form of en try may not be the best method to trans fer tech nol ogy and to ob tain the best re sults of the in ter ac tion be tween MNCs and host coun tries. This pa per seeks to ex plore this is sue by use of a qual i ta tive study of IJVs in Jor dan. The pa per uses a new in stitutional eco nomic framework that high lights the im por tance of in for mal in sti tu tional sys tems for the de cision on mode of en try. The re sults of the study in di cate that MNCs in Jordan would pre fer to use fully-owned sub sid iar ies, but the char ac ter is tics of the in for mal in sti tu tional sys tem in Jor dan re sults in high trans ac tion costs that can best be re duced by the use of IJVs. Thus al though Jor dan has un der gone sig nif i cant re form to her eco nomic sys tem, the prob lems caused by the na ture of in for mal in sti tu tional sys tems have lim ited the growth of what might have been more ben e fi cial FDI. [Ar ti cle cop ie s available for a fee from The Haworth Doc u ment De liv ery Ser vice     

“逃遁”主题在美国文学中的体现——以《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》和《麦田里的守望者》为例

"逃遁"是美国社会生活中一个不容忽视的现象,美国文学中以"逃遁"为主题的文学作品异彩纷呈。马克·吐温笔下的哈克贝利·费恩与杰罗姆·大卫·塞林格笔下的霍尔顿是美国不同时期文学作品中逃遁者形象的代表。本文试从《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》和《麦田里的守望者》两部作品中主人公形象、逃遁原因及作品的现实意义三方面出发,进行分析,以展示美国文学中的"逃遁"主题。