Digital Communication between Local Authorities and Citizens in Denmark

Today options for digital communication exist in all Danish municipalities. But are local councils aware of the democratic potentials of the new forms of political communication? This article focuses on the democratic dimensions of web design. To what extent do the websites improve access to information on public affairs and stimulate participation of citizens in local politics? To answer these questions, a screening of all 275 Danish municipal websites was carried out on two dimensions: information/transparency and contact/dialogue. The findings show great variation between best and worst practice in terms of democracy. Furthermore, the findings show that size and income per inhabitant explain some of the variation, whereas the political colour of the party in office has no significance.     

论市场经济与越南社会主义的关系

关于社会主义与市场经济是否能够兼容,学界一直存在不同观点。该文从马克思、恩格斯、列宁等经典作家的理论出发,结合社会主义国家发展的历史进程,指出发展市场经济是越南这样的后发国家建立社会主义的必经之路。而发展什么样的市场经济,如何发展市场经济,则取决于每个国家和民族的历史条件和独特环境。该文分析了越南发展社会主义定向的市场经济的过程,研究概括了其基本特征,试图回答如下问题:越南要建立一个什么样的社会,政府应在此过程中发挥什么样的作用,各种经济成分之间的关系如何等。     

The Relationship between Delegation and Formalization in the Public Sector

In drawing on adaptive theory, this article discusses the relationship between delegation and formalization in the public sector. While traditional and contemporary views suggest that these concepts are either negatively or positively correlated, or that they should be balanced, this study hypothesized that they are dynamically related to each other, and therefore the relationship would be best described as curvilinear (inverted U-shaped). This hypothesis was supported through hierarchical regression analyses of data collected from a police organization that has traditionally pursued formalization, but lately has been urged to pursue a strategy of delegation. Practical and theoretical implications are provided.     

Forms of Communication between Large-scale Farms and Local Administrative Authorities in Russian Villages: About Benefactors and Sponsors

This article investigates the forms of communication emerging between local administrative authorities and large-scale agricultural enterprises with regard to public service provision in two Russian villages. Using a systems theory approach and conceptualising Soviet society as an organisational society, privatisation and local government reform may be observed as attempts to disentangle former collective farms and local authorities and adjust them to the logics of functional differentiation. Empirical evidence from a former kolkhoz and an agro-holding shows that both react to the contradiction between global transformation imperatives and local expectations, using a specific combination of formality and informality as a condition of their reproduction in the villages.     

The Relationship between Major East Asian Countries and the Arctic Council

In recent years,with the debate over rights in the Arctic regions among coastal and world’s major countries,the Arctic issue has rapidly become a hot spot of global concern.The East Asian countries should also give active responses towards this issue.Given that the Arctic Council,as an intergovernmental organization consisting of eight Arctic countries,plays a significant leading role in Arctic affairs, by providing an overview of the work and developing trend of the Arctic Council, this paper analyzes the necessity and feasibility for East Asian countries(mainly referring to China,South Korea and Japan)of their participation in the Council and also proposes the suggestions on this basis to promote these countries’position and their role in Arctic affairs.     

苏联模式与中国社会主义建设的关系

中国对待苏联模式的态度经历了一个从"以苏为师"到"以苏为鉴"的曲折过程,开始时接受苏联模式主要是一种自觉的行为.中国社会主义建设的失误,不仅仅是苏联模式造成的,也有与我们在学习进程中未能充分吸收其精华、抛弃其糟粕有关.     

中国与中亚国家边界演变与思考

边界地区的稳定、发展、繁荣是中国和中亚国家共同追求的目标。中国的可持续发展需要中亚,中亚的繁荣也需要中国。切实把中国和中亚国家之间的边界建成一个和平、稳定、友好合作的边界,符合两国人民的根本利益。     

The Financial Crisis of the Local Authorities in Israel: A Resource-Based Analysis

The financial crisis affecting many of the local authorities in Israel has a significant influence on their ability to supply municipal services of an appropriate amount and quality. So far, studies have been addressed to the financial crisis from a political approach by discussing aspects such as the problematic interrelation between central and local governments together with resource allocation. In this paper we investigate the financial crisis of many local authorities in Israel from a strategic point of view. However, this is by no means to argue that other approaches such as institutional and political ones are not important. Rather, the paper investigates whether the financial crisis affecting many Israeli local authorities is a result of their own strategies and practices.
Specifically, we have used the resource-based approach to explore the nature of their joint crises and the potential strategic responses that the local authorities should adopt in order to move into a more favourable state. In particular, we examine three resource-based systems: customer-oriented, organizational culture, and human resources, as the strategic roots of this crisis. We also examine the way they could produce a sustainable competitive advantage and could lead local authorities from the present position to a better one. The article recommends that the heads of local authorities should move to a resource-based strategy in order to perform both more efficiently and effectively.     

Knowledge Management and Open Innovation in United Kingdom Local Authorities

The article examines the performance of UK local authorities in relation to knowledge management and open innovation. Data were acquired using a mail survey of non-metropolitan local authorities in England and Wales. The results indicate that certain factors influence the effectiveness of the knowledge management process. Authorities engaged in open innovation have developed more effective knowledge management processes. Hence, of instead of implementing a strategy solely based upon cutting services and reducing staffing levels, local authorities seeking to survive in the face of government spending cuts might also consider the benefit from optimizing the effectiveness of their knowledge management processes and participation in open innovation.