Financial Socialization of First-year College Students: The Roles of Parents,Work, and Education

This cross-sectional study tests a conceptual financial socialization process model, specifying four-levels that connect anticipatory socialization during adolescence to young adults’ current financial learning, to their financial attitudes, and to their financial behavior. A total of 2,098 first-year college students (61.9% females) participated in the survey, representing a diverse ethnic group (32.6% minority participation: Hispanic 14.9%, Asian/Asian American 9%, Black 3.4%, Native American 1.8% and other 3.5%). Structural equation modeling indicated that parents, work, and high school financial education during adolescence predicted young adults’ current financial learning, attitude and behavior, with the role played by parents substantially greater than the role played by work experience and high school financial education combined. Data also supported the proposed hierarchical financial socialization four-level model, indicating that early financial socialization is related to financial learning, which in turn is related to financial attitudes and subsequently to financial behavior. The study presents a discussion of how the theories of consumer socialization and planned behavior were combined effectively to depict the financial development of young adults. Several practical implications are also provided for parents, educators and students.     

ASEAN at 40: Prospects for Community Building in Southeast Asia

In 2007, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations attempted to celebrate its 40^th founding anniversary with a bang as it was about to set another milestone, which is the signing of the ASEAN Charter. However, the celebration was overshadowed by the political crisis in Myanmar following the military's crackdown on protesting monks and their democratic supporters. The inability of ASEAN to influence events in that country became the focus of public attention in the region and the international community. Even the much-vaunted milestone of finally having an ASEAN Charter was a major disappointment for many in Southeast Asia as the final document signed by ASEAN leaders was everything but bold, forward-looking, and transformative. It became an object of criticism mainly by some think tanks and civil society groups in the region because it paled in comparison to the recommendations of the Eminent Persons Group that drafted the blueprint of what the ASEAN Charter should look like.

This article describes the major milestones and turning points of ASEAN's regionalism project over the last forty years. It also attempts to identify the major issues and challenges to ASEAN's community building efforts in the future. The main argument of this article is that ASEAN's continuing relevance to the people of the region can be ensured only if it seriously opens up to greater participatory regionalism. Only then can ASEAN be transformed into a truly people-centered organization.     

Political Integration, the Limited State, and the Philosophy of Postmodernism

From the standpoint of its critics, postmodernism represents the disintegration of the modern philosophical and ethical tradition into relativism and corrosive scepticism. But it may also be seen in a more positive light. I do not mean the light shed by the uncritical optimism of defenders who identify it with openness and true toleration. I mean, rather, that it may be seen as a step towards a more modest conception of man and of politics than has characterized the past two centuries. This modesty as yet assumes only a precarious form in postmodern thought, but ways are suggested here by which it may be reinforced. In particular, so far as politics are concerned, the postmodern stress upon difference appears to point towards a rediscovery of the contemporary relevance of the classical ideal of civil association. It is this ideal which represents the most effective means of coming to terms with the 'new politics' which postmodernism represents the politics, that is, of 'inclusion', devoted to hitherto excluded sexual, racial, and ecological issues. In so far as this interpretation of postmodernism is a plausible one, it lends some support to the view of Agnes Heller and Ferenc Feher that we may be entering an era of 'settling in', following upon the era of ideology. To give their precise words: 'If modernity is the drama of permanent revolution, postmodernity may be characterized as the epic of settling-in.' (The Postmodern Political Condition, p.158.) Out of the disintegration of philosophy and the critique of liberal foundational doctrine, then, it may be that the way is being paved for a more viable framework for limited politics.     

EU update: Baker & McKenzie’s regular article tracking developments in EU law relating to IP, IT & telecommunications

This is the latest edition of Baker & McKenzie's column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. Additional commentary is also provided in relation to a few select areas of particular interest. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside web sites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

How Do Public Organizations Learn? Bridging Cultural and Structural Perspectives

How do public organizations learn? The organizational learning literature suggests distinct cultural and structural routes to learning. However, such categorizations oversimplify. Leaders seeking to foster learning should recognize that most relevant organizational variables combine structural and cultural aspects, which are mutually dependent on one another. The strongest influences are the existence of work groups that are purpose driven and incorporate the views of all members, including dissenting views. Such learning forums can be fostered through formal requirements, but they need appropriate cultural characteristics to succeed. Mission orientation, decision authority, information systems, and resource adequacy are also positively related to improved organizational learning.