The Impact of Knowledge Sharing on Work Performance: An Empirical Analysis of the Public Employees' Perceptions in South Korea

This article examines the impact of knowledge sharing on individual work performance by analyzing perceptions of 323 public employees in South Korea. An analytical model is drawn from an extensive review of literature on knowledge management and sharing from which nine exogenous variables are identified as antecedents of knowledge sharing that affect individual work performance. The results indicate that four exogenous variables—employee training, reward systems, support from the top management, and openness in communication—are perceived to have a positive influence on employees' knowledge sharing, which, in turn, improved individual work performance. Perceived trustworthiness between individuals involved in knowledge sharing has also positively influenced both knowledge sharing and individual work performance. These results imply that individual work performance may be dependent on the effective use of knowledge sharing.     

Vulnerability to Multidimensional Poverty: Findings from Households in Melanesia

This paper examines vulnerability in two Melanesian small island developing states: Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. With large proportions of the population living semi-subsistence lifestyles in rural areas, consumption poverty is notoriously difficult to measure. The paper therefore departs from the standard approach and assesses household vulnerability to multidimensional poverty. The paper employs cross-sectional data from a household survey. Results indicate that vulnerability is more widespread than poverty and that vulnerability stems more from excess volatility in expected wellbeing than a particularly low expected level of wellbeing, per se. Results point to a pressing need for formal social protection policies to be implemented.     

Battle for Perceptions: Projecting Russia in the West

The article provides an analysis of Russia's image that the Kremlin has been projecting in Western countries in the years of Vladimir Putin's presidency. The negative character of Russia's image in the West was recognised as one of the major security threats for the country, and an energetic public relations campaign was launched to improve it. The article explores the core elements of this ‘constructed’ image, and examines how they are related to the self-images of Russia held by Russian political elites. Finally, it considers the implications of the ambition to create this ‘desired’ image for Russian foreign policy.     

Determinants of Performance in Government: Focusing on the Effect of Organizational Politics and Conflicts in Organizations

Conflicts and politics in organizations are common in both the public and private sectors. However, there are few comprehensive studies regarding the relationship between politics, conflicts, and outcomes in the public sector. Therefore, this study sought to empirically explore the relationships between organizational performance, organizational conflicts, and organizational politics in the public sector. To analyze the effects of organizational politics and conflicts on performance in government organizations, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed. The results indicated that organizational politics and relationship conflicts negatively affect organizational performance.     

Conversion of Ajarians to Orthodox Christianity: Different Narratives and Perceptions

Abstract

Based on field research and interviews conducted in both Ajaria and Tbilisi, this article focuses on the different interpretations of the conversion of ethnically Georgian Muslim Ajarians to Orthodox Christianity. It is argued that Orthodox Christianity is an important aspect of self-identification and the national narrative of all Georgians. For many Muslim Ajarians, conversion appears to be a pragmatic act, with the ultimate goal of being recognised as ‘fully Georgian’ by both state and society.     

Perceptions of foreign threats to the regime: From Lenin to Putin

During his second term, Putin's foreign policy was strongly influenced by the belief that the West's hostility could help the opposition change the current regime, as the West had done in Ukraine and Georgia. A regime change would deprive the ruling elite, mostly people from the security police and army, of their power and illegally acquired wealth. Moscow restored, in early 2000, the ideology of Russia's “encirclement” from the 1920s, which suggested that the country was surrounded by enemies in order to legitimize the regime. At the same time, as in the past, Moscow tried to punish the Western governments for their disrespect for the regime with an aggressive and uncooperative foreign policy.     

Councillor Perceptions of the Boundary Review Process: Recommendations for Future Practice

Local ward boundary reviews are designed to equalise electorates within each local authority, thereby satisfying the requirement of ‘one vote, one value’. In 2010 this responsibility was passed to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England which has sought to engage with key stakeholders about the process generally. The main actors affected by this process are incumbent councillors who frequently find their own ward boundaries have altered significantly. Such changes may prompt some councillors to stand down before the new boundaries are implemented but others continue and represent new wards. Using data gathered from a survey of councillors whose boundaries were reviewed the paper examines their attitudes towards the principle of boundary revision and the period that should elapse between one review and the next. Councillors are clearly divided over the respective merits of electoral equalisation and communities of local interest when constructing new boundaries. Those serving in the most rural authorities value more the relationship between ward and community boundaries while councillors in the most urbanised areas are more willing to support the strength of argument favouring electoral equality. The paper concludes with a recommendation that there should be more research undertaken immediately after each future review is completed in order to assess the extent and reasons why some councillors choose to stand down and others continue to stand for election to the new wards. This research should also measure more precisely the subsequent impact on councillors in terms of their workload when new electoral boundaries are introduced.     

印度对华安全认知的维度

印度对华安全认知是多维的,分别涉及到共同邻国、地区和全球安全、中国国防现代化、核不扩散和国际核控制机制等方面.印度对华政策与行为深受其安全认知的影响.中印关系的改善,双边互信的增强,在很大程度上取决于印度对中国发展战略的正确理解和对华安全认知的调整.     

The Institutional Context of Market Ideology: A Comparative Analysis of the Values and Perceptions of Local Government CEOs in 14 OECD Countries

During recent decades, various versions of market practices have, in most nation states, diffused into the public sector. We analyse variations in the adoption of market ideologies and examine plausible explanations for these variations. Four managerial ideal types are constructed, based on their attitudes towards two dimensions of market ideology. Managerial attitudes and perceptions are conceived as embedded in a global process of diffusion highly affected by varying institutional preconditions. The impact of five types of institutional contexts is examined: the national context, the organizational context, the context of interaction, the context of socialization and the norms of the manager.     

深化战略对话 聚焦中国模式 推动全球实现可持续发展——可持续发展问题研讨会综述

五月的北京和风拂面,鲜花灿烂。2009年5月15日,中国共产党与社会党国际共同举办的可持续发展问题研讨会如期举行。来自五大洲的朋友们齐聚一堂,怀着关切人类命运的拳拳诚意和切切期待,携手探寻未来全球可持续发展之路。中联部部长王家瑞,国家发改委副主任解振华,中联部副部长张志军,中国气象局副局长沈晓农,社会党国际主席、希腊泛希社运主席帕潘德里欧,     

Estimation of Vulnerability to Poverty Using a Multilevel Longitudinal Model: Evidence from the Philippines

Using the panel data for the Philippines in 2003–2009, we estimate a three-level random coefficient model to measure household vulnerability and to decompose it into idiosyncratic and covariate components. We correct heterogeneity bias using Bell and Jones’s ‘within-between’ formulation. A majority of the poor and 18 per cent of the non-poor are found to be vulnerable to unobservable shocks, while both groups of households are more susceptible to idiosyncratic shocks than to covariate shocks. Adequate safety nets should be provided for vulnerable households that lack access to infrastructure, or are larger in size with more dependents and less-educated heads.     

Status conflicts between Russia and the West: Perceptions and emotional biases

This article looks at the status conflicts between Russia and the West and asks: why do these conflicts exist despite attempts to avoid them? If status conflicts refer to merely a symbolic recognition, then they should arguably be easier to solve than conflicts stemming from competition for power and resources. Yet, status conflicts can be difficult to solve even when they were not conceived as zero-sum games. The article argues that status conflicts cannot be understood without the interplay of perceptions and emotions. First, what really matters is not objective status but perceptions thereof and there seems to be a gap how Russia and the West perceive status in general. Secondly, the perceptions of when status is gained or lost seem to be emotionally loaded. Russia is more willing to understand its relative status when military or economic issues are at stake, but if the dispute deals with international norms and questions of justice Russia is more likely to interpret Western action as violating its status and conversely, it is more likely to interpret its own action as enhancing its status when it is defending such values differently from the West.