PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM IN DUTCH HIGHER EDUCATION: THE ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE UNIVERSITY

During the past few decades traditional state‐centred governing arrangements have been critiqued and replaced by alternative modes of governance. Higher education is one of the public sectors where such shifts in governance have been seen. As a consequence of the reshuffling of authority and responsibilities across the different levels in Dutch higher education, universities as organizations have become important foci of attention in the system’s coordination. The main question addressed in this article is to what extent we can speak of an organizational transformation of Dutch universities. Based on conceptual ideas from researchers such as Greenwood and Hinings (1996), Ferlie et al. (1996) , and Brunsson and Sahlin‐Andersson (2000) , we use a framework that focuses attention on the concepts of the construction of identity, hierarchy and rationality to systematically analyse the various aspects of transformations of professional organizations.     

论承包土地稳定与流动的关系

当前许多地方对承包土地有一个片面的理解 ,认为承包土地稳定 ,就是不能动 ,动了就会违背国家的政策 ,其实这是对国家政策的一种误解 ,承包土地应在流动中稳定 ,在稳定的基础上流动。目前 ,应规范、完善和稳定农民的承包权 ,在稳定承包权的基础上 ,推进土地有序流动     

Day Breaks in China’s Logistics Industry简

正MENTION logistics,and p e r h a p s a b u s y p o r t comes to mind.We may then recall how Rotterdam was unarguably once the world’s busiest port,for 40 years.Yet,in just a few years this logistical crown was usurped by Singapore,among the most thriving of countries in Asia.Soon,Chinese cities such as Shanghai,Ningbo,Shenzhen,Qingdao,Guangzhou and Tianjin also began to contend.     

对合议庭合议的理性思考

合议庭的组成形式是功能理性的反映,但在实践中其功能则难以强化,有必要从改变审批制、集体参与一贯制等方面进行改革。     

AT A SNAIL'S PACE: ON THE LIMITED EUROPEANIZATION OF DOMESTIC CONSULTATION PRACTICES

Consultation of major interest groups is a widespread administrative practice in many EU member states. To date it is unclear, however, how advancing European integration influences domestic consultation practices. This article examines the impact of European integration on domestic consultation practices by conceptualizing how the underlying rationales of government–interest group interactions and the level of involvement of interest groups are affected by European integration. The study draws on original survey data on senior civil servants in Britain and the Netherlands to empirically examine these effects. European integration is related in a limited way to domestic consultation practices, both in Britain and the Netherlands. This small but significant effect is mostly observed during the process of domestic preference formulation in EU‐level policy making. Our findings suggest that intra‐organizational processes, for example organizational routines and task‐specialization, potentially play a greater role than has thus far been appreciated in Europeanization studies.     

基于Rough集的交通事故黑点成因分析

交通事故黑点的形成原因多种多样，每一个事故黑点都有其形成的最大诱因。作为交通安全管理工作的重要任务，交通事故黑点的鉴别与整治是预防交通事故发生，减少交通事故损失的有效手段。针对交通事故黑点成因的复杂性和多样性，提出通过粗集对交通事故黑点形成因素进行筛选，找到造成事故黑点的最大诱因，从而有针对性的进行整治，能够有效地节约时间和金钱，避免不必要的人力物力的浪费。     

Reversed Solidarity in Pension Plans

There is a unexpected phenomenon in the majority of complementary pension plans in the Netherlands. Unlike other arrangements that are the result of collective bargaining and decision making, these pension plans increase the inequality in the distribution of (lifetime) income. In those plans, persons without a career contribute to the payment of pension provisions of those with a career. Generally speaking, this implies that blue-collar workers and women pay for the pensions of white-collar workers, who are mostly men. For some of the contracting parties, the terms of the pension contract seem to be disadvantageous and suboptimal. The question arises as to why these contracts are being concluded and how they can survive in a competitive environment. Moreover, since the pension plans are the result of collective bargaining between the organisation of employers and the labour unions, the question arises as to how reversed solidarity fits the alleged redistributive goal of the labour unions. The analysis leads to the following conclusions. Firstly, that information and transaction cost, collective agreements, legal barriers and market failures on substitute arrangements prevent the conclusion of optimal contracts. Secondly, employers would find the pension plan attractive because it discourages shirking, enhances productivity and the process of job matching and reduces labour turnover. Thirdly, a pension plan based on final salary is in the interest of the median voter in the labour union, who is older and earns a higher seniority wage than junior workers. Furthermore, in the given circumstances the pension plan enlarges union membership and the dues income of the union and endows the union leadership with more prestige and influence. Individual union members would not oppose such a pension plan for reasons of informational asymmetry, transaction cost and the inability to capture the full benefits of their actions.A comparison of the pension schemes of Belgium, Germany, France and the UK shows that there are large differences in the structure and content of retirement provisions. Reversed solidarity may also be part of the pension plans in Belgium and the UK.     

The Value of Majority Status: The Effect of Jeffords's Switch on Asset Prices of Republican and Democratic Firms

Using the change in party control of the Senate that resulted from Jim Jeffords's 2001 change in party affiliation, we compare competing partisan and partyless legislative theories. We offer a reconceptualization of agenda control that provides a new and promising basis for studying parties and policymaking in the Senate. Also, we present a novel methodology—an “event study”—to test partisan and partyless hypotheses. Our results show that, when Jeffords switched, the stock prices of Republican‐supported energy firms dropped and prices for Democrat‐supported firms rose, supporting the hypothesis that the majority party influences Senate decisions.     

BORROKA—The Legitimation of Street Violence in the Political Discourse of Radical Basque Nationalists

The present article analyzes the discourse employed by the left-wing nationalist movement in Spain's Basque Country to legitimize the use of street violence for political ends. I distinguish four “faces” of legitimation (“ex ante” vs. “ex post,” “for us” vs. “for others”) and argue that in a situation of radicalization of politically inspired (terrorist) violence, the discourse developed to justify violent action is principally meant for the organization's own following, and less to communicate with the outside world. Basque militants claimed that their strategy of political and military radicalization in the 1990s had been responsible for recent political successes of their movement.     

The Compound Machinery of Government: The Case of Seconded Officials in the European Commission

This article explores the compound machinery of government. Attention is directed toward decision making within the core executive of the European Union—the European Commission. The article studies seconded national civil servants (SNEs) hired on short‐term contracts. The analysis benefits from an original and rich body of surveys and interview data derived from current and former SNEs. The decision‐making dynamics of SNEs are shown to contain a compound mix of departmental, epistemic, and supranational dynamics. This study clearly demonstrates that the socializing power of the Commission is conditional and only partly sustained when SNEs exit the Commission. Any long‐lasting effect of socialization within European Union's executive machinery of government is largely absent. The compound decision‐making dynamics of SNEs are explained by (1) the organizational affiliations of SNEs, (2) the formal organization of the Commission apparatus, and (3) only partly by processes of resocialization of SNEs within the Commission.