Hybrid Organizations: No Cause for Concern?

Hybrid organizations mix the characteristics of state, market, and civil society. Critics have suggested that such organizations pose severe risks to the public sector, both financially and culturally. However, these assertions are based mostly on theoretical claims or single case studies. No systematic evidence has been collected to support them. The findings of a large research program in The Netherlands in several policy fields show that the concerns over hybrid organizations appear to be overstated, since theoretically defined risks have not materialized. Conditions such as the presence of active regulators and a high degree of professionalism appear to dampen the risks.     

Tyrone Grainger and the dilemma of blackness in London

Europe as terminus of Black dispersal holds much significance for the study of Black identity in the Diaspora due to its role in colonizing the African continent. More specifically, England was a major contender in the race to take control of human and natural resources in Africa and the Caribbean prior to and after the European slave trade. During the first 50 years of the twentieth century, Great Britain successfully lured Black West Indians to its shore with hopes of social, cultural, and economic freedom denied them in their homelands. This article explores the dilemma of Blackness and formation of African Diasporan identities in London during the twentieth century. It also examines the complexities of transnationalism and the impact of cultural memory and globalization on identity formation in Beryl Gilroy's novel Boy Sandwich (1989) through the experiences of Tyrone Grainger.     

Cultural dimensions of South African employees and internal organisational communication satisfaction

Abstract

This article aims to help communication practitioners know which cultural dimensions are associated with communication satisfaction. The meta-theoretical framework is the Excellence Theory of Public Relations and Communication Management (Dozier, Grunig and Grunig 1995, 35). The conceptual theoretical framework; cultural dimensions by Geert Hofstede (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 39) and communication satisfaction by Downs and Hazen (1977, 68) and Gray and Laidlaw (2004, 427) fit into the Excellence Theory of Public Relations and Communication Management. The research design was a quantitative survey with an online questionnaire as a data collection method distributed among a random sample. Validity was improved through pilot tests and the sampling technique. In terms of reliability this survey's scores sufficed as accurate and consistent, scoring above the acceptable score of 0.7 (Van Heerden 2001); 0.72 for national culture and 0.83 for communication satisfaction. Regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between cultural dimensions (independent variables) and communication satisfaction (dependent variable). The findings clearly showed that national cultural dimensions have significant relationships with communication satisfaction. The implication was that internal communication practitioners could now be informed about the dynamics of the interaction between the cultural dimensions prevalent amongst South African employees and internal organisational communication satisfaction.     

On the use of play theory in analyses of online public commentary

Abstract

The concept of play mediates between deliberation as a mode of reason and resistance as a mode of culture, thus opening a way to think about hostile comment (e.g., ‘flaming’) on online news forums as normal patterns of behaviour, instead of a departure from the received view of how citizens ought to consider matters of public interest. The play concept corresponds with current thinking around the notion of cultural citizenship. To illustrate the relevance of play theory in the analysis of online political discourse, this article uses an example from recent posts concerning the Protection of Information Bill (POIB) in the online site of the South African Mail & Guardian newspaper. The cogency of play theory to the concept of citizenship is argued through a discussion of how citizenship has been understood from the 1930s to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the improved capacities of information and communications technologies (ICTs) made online deliberation a normal site for citizenship to be exercised.     

World Championship in Negotiation? The Role of Competitions in Negotiation Pedagogy

The last decade has seen the emergence of several new negotiation competitions around the world. We think the two major drivers of this development are a general trend toward the increasing internationalization of higher education and a recognition of the specific benefits of competitions for negotiation pedagogy. These benefits include: the high level of student commitment generated by participation in a competition, which enhances the quality of negotiation; the opportunity that the competitions give students to experience authentic cultural diversity; and the networking opportunities for students and instructors that the competitions create. This article focuses on the role that negotiation competitions can play in negotiation pedagogy. We first present an overview of the currently most important international negotiation competitions. This is followed by an outline of the specific benefits of negotiation competitions for pedagogy. We then take a closer look at the organization and outcome of negotiation competitions and discuss the opportunities for their development and growth.     

黑河市与俄罗斯文化交流的现状、问题与对策

近年来,黑河以"中俄文化大集"为平台,使官方对俄文化交流进入常态化、规范化;以黑河龙江国际文化展览有限公司的成立为契机,使民间对俄文化交流实现跨越升级;以黑河学院为龙头,使对俄教育交流确立了"桥头堡"和"枢纽站"地位。黑河对俄文化交流存在明显须解决的问题:对俄文化交流仍处于实践与探索中,没有上升到理论层面;对俄文化交流的领域广泛,但发展不均衡,一些领域须加快发展。为了加快推进黑河与俄罗斯的文化交流工作,黑河应采取如下举措:创办高峰发展论坛、加大对俄研究力度、加强图书馆建设。     

中国农村部分地区教育缺失问题探究——以布迪厄《资本形式》为分析视角

教育是着眼于他人的素质、能力而进行的影响其精神世界或心理状态的信息传播活动。教育是充实人民生活、发展国计民生不可或缺的重要因素。近年来,政府尤其重视农村教育,然而,农村教育缺失问题在部分地区依然存在。中国农村教育缺失问题有很多,原因也各不相同。本文以布迪厄《资本形式》为分析视角,对中国农村部分地区教育缺失问题及其原因进行了分析,希望以此引起政府相关部门的重视,加大对农村教育的投入力度。     

扎实推进社会主义文化强国建设思想的价值逻辑——建构中国特色社会主义文化话语体系的理论特色

党的十八大报告把中国特色社会主义文化建设推向了一个新的高度。＂扎实推进社会主义文化强国建设＂思想凝结着中国共产党文化建设思想的智慧,体现了建构中国特色社会主义文化话语体系理论特色的价值逻辑。其蕴含的新观点、新精髓、新思路、新提法,丰富了建构社会主义文化话语体系的先进特色、民族特色、和谐特色、时代特色的重要理论内涵。新观点体现了建构中国特色社会主义文化话语体系先进特色的价值目标。新精髓形成了建构中国特色社会主义文化话语体系民族特色的理论核心。新思路体现了建构中国特色社会主义文化话语体系和谐特色的发展导向。新提法体现了建构中国特色社会主义文化话语体系时代特色的实践创新。     

Outrunning the Past: European Influences in Building Cultural Policies in Romania and the Role of the Romanian Cultural Institute

ABSTRACT

Europeanization challenged the post-Communist countries with a series of difficulties and opportunities regarding the process of cultural policymaking. The exchange of information took place simultaneously with the process of national policymaking, influencing it. The article tackles this two-fold process and its implications in an endeavor to embrace sociocultural diversity on the one hand, and the attempt to harmonize national systems on the other hand. Culture is deeply linked to the perception of national identity, tradition, representation, and policy. Romanian culture and cultural policies have progressed through different stages in the last few decades: from Communist censorship and the disturbing period after the Revolution, to European pre-accession and post-accession, when cultural policies aimed to comply with the European directives for culture.     

EU Integration and Cultural Diplomacy in Times of Crisis: The Case of Greece

The economic crisis challenges the integration policies of the European Union (EU) and reduces its soft power. Developing from a discussion on cultural values, cultural diplomacy is proposed as a way for the EU and its member states to address the negative effects of the crisis on their soft power and integration process. Cultural values, identity issues, top-down and bottom-up stakeholders, policies, and prospects for cultural diplomacy are explored with a focus on Greece. A proposal based on the balancing of sociocultural with economic principles is presented as a conclusion that would address soft power deficits and further EU integration.