A model of cross-cultural training in the transfer of technology

During the past few decades, many aspects of the transfer of technology from developed to less-developed countries have been examined in detail. Although much of the transfer has been done by transnational corporations (TNCs), one area that has received scant attention in the literature is the cross-cultural training of workers in the host country. A model is developed to show how critical training the worker is to the success of the TNC in the host country. This model emphasizes the need for workers to be trained to understand and use the new (foreign) technology and to understand the culture of the foreign corporation. Thomas S. Barker is a Ph.D. student in higher education with a concentration in management and economics at the University of North Texas.     

Books in review

He is co-editor (with Kenneth W. Thompson) of Truth and Tragedy: A Festschrift for Hans J. Morgenthau,and editor of The Political Morality of the IMF.He is currently writing a book on U. S. foreign policy.     

The Impact of Social Security Reforms on Female Unemployment Compensation Claimants in Ireland

As a result of Ireland's accession to the EU, a series of social security reforms establishing equality of treatment of females and males with regard to entitlement to and rate and duration of receipt of unemployment compensation was implemented during the period 1973 to 1986. Using modern time series econometrics we estimate their impact on the transitions to and from the female unemployment compensation claimant state. The results indicate that the changes had important implications for the level of take-up of unemployment compensation; and for the level, and responsiveness to the determinants, of its relinquishment.     

A Matter of Fairness: The Equity of Urban General Assistance

General assistance is the "safety net" of the welfare system, γet, most general assistance programs reflect the goals of cost containment more clearly than the goal of equity. Data from a 1982 survey of general assistance programs provide the basis for a causal analysis. The substantial variation across states seems based on willingness to provide services, rather than need. State welfare commitment is the most influential explanation on general assistance coverage, although per capita income, percent metropolitan, political culture, and percent unemployment also have some effect. Perhaps centralization at the federal level will provide equitable coverage; however, the current political environment makes such an outcome unlikely without major changes in public opinion.