Evolving 'Discoarse' into Discourse: Ubuntu as a Normative Basis

Democratic discourses are increasingly devolving into mudslinging matches where communicators attack their opponents—sometimes in crude and hostile ways. Underlying this type of discourse is the normative assumption that human affairs are inherently conflicting and best governed through struggles and contests. When considering why some discourses warrant re-examination and how this can be achieved, the role of culture and ethics becomes apparent. While our prevalent culture of adversarialism unearths many important facets of discussion, its discourses can also obscure valuable insights and foster division where collaboration is possible and quite possibly desirable. As such, contrasting normative approaches are worth considering. The African philosophy of ubuntu offers such an alternative as it espouses a harmonious and cohesive way of relating to fellow human beings that contrasts and complements individualist facets. It provides the space to evolve discourses in ways that support cooperative societal structures and practices.     

The Effects of Blaming Others for Legislative Inaction on Individual and Collective Evaluations

Legislators commonly blame others for gridlock. We posit that legislators may engage in this type of rhetoric to minimize the individual reputational risks associated with legislative inaction or to boost the relative standing of their party. In a series of six survey experiments, we find that blaming others for inaction undermines voters’ evaluations of individual legislators who engage in this rhetorical strategy. This effect is particularly pronounced among out-partisans and independents. However, blaming rhetoric can also enhance the standing of the blamer’s party relative to the opposing party across all groups (including out-partisans), in large part by undermining the reputations of these other actors. Ultimately, we show that when an individual legislator engages in blaming rhetoric, the immediate net electoral effects are null. This suggests that coordinated efforts by a party to blame opponents may improve the party’s relative standing, while imposing few costs on those engaged in blaming.     

Exporting to China and ASEAN countries： Perceived advancement in marketing competencies and export performance

Malaysians firms have made inroads into the non-traditional export markets. Such ventures are expected to result in increased knowledge about the marketing systems that are posited to be different from the traditional export markets. This paper reports on the perceived improvement in marketing competencies of Malaysian exporters. The results of data analysis show that there are five dimensions of marketing competency. In ranking order, segmenting and targeting competency is ranked highest followed by product management, export management, product differentiation and promotion. Multiple regression analysis was performed to test the explanatory power of each marketing competency on export performance of firms exporting to China and ASEAN countries. The result revealed that none of the marketing competency explained the variation in export performance for the China market. However, among exporters in ASEAN countries, it was noted that promotion competency resulted in a negative impact on both measures of export performance. Product competency is positively associated with financial measure of export performance. Competencies in segmenting and targeting, and export management are positively associated with non-financial performance.     

Communication uncertainty and the fictional role of organizational culture

This theoretical investigation aims to critically analyze the concept of organizational culture as an example of ＂organizational fiction＂. In order to benefit from unveiling organizational fictions, it is necessary to be aware of how illusion is linked to stability and predictability. It is here proposed to consider communicational uncertainties as positive qualities in flexible organizations, where communicative flows between organizational spheres and individual spaces of employees or managers engender new ideas and foster creativity. Thus, a strong organizational culture, especially in intercultural contexts, may be a barrier to organizational health, but a strong and unified corporate identity is necessary to guarantee organizational stability and cohesion. The solution is the interplay between stability and contingent openness toward external influences.     

论中等收入群体发育的社会条件

我国当前中等收入群体发育的社会条件主要有：产业结构的变迁是中等收入群体发育的社会结构基础;以市场为取向的改革是中等收入群体发育的社会内在机理;现代教育,尤其是现代高等教育的发展是中等收入群体发育的直接“引擎”。     

人本行政裁量权之实现理路探析

人本行政裁量权的精义在于尊重与保障人权。实现人本行政裁量权的主要理路有：在实体上的利益衡量中行政主体应保障诸种利益的均衡;在程序上的裁量过程中行政主体应保障有效的利益沟通;在对行政裁量的司法审查中法院应保障权利的相应救济。     

《德意志意识形态》中“交往理论”的深层透析及其现实意义

"交往理论"是《德意志意识形态》中一个非常重要的理论。马克思和恩格斯在科学实践观的基础上对交往进行了系统阐述,并首次创建了马克思主义的交往理论。今天,我们重温"交往理论",对全面建设小康社会,构建社会主义和谐社会以及构建和谐世界,都具有重大的理论意义和实践意义。     

跨文化交际与英语教学

学习一种语言,交际是目的,语言是方法,文化是背景。为达到此目的,我们不但要学习语言本身,而且更应该了解以文化为基础的交际形式。本文初步总结了中西方文化在语义、语用中的若干文化差异,以加深学习者对语言本质的理解,避免交际中的文化冲突,以期顺利地完成交际。同时,努力为从事英语教学的工作者提供一些思路,使他们在英语教学实践中选择更好的方法和策略,以适应现代英语教育的需求。     

Verschafft die direkte Demokratie den Benachteiligten mehr Gehör? Der Einfluss institutioneller Rahmenbedingungen auf die mediale Präsenz politischer Akteure

Dieser Aufsatz untersucht den Einfluss politisch‐institutioneller Kontextfaktoren auf die Artikulationschancen politischer Akteure in der Öffentlichkeit. Als empirische Grundlage dient eine Inhaltsanalyse der Schwangerschaftsabbruchdebatte in der Schweiz im Vergleich mit Deutschland und den USA über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahrzehnten. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass institutionell bedingte Machtdifferentiale ‐ vermittelt über mediale Selektionslogiken ‐ in hohem Masse die öffentliche Präsenz der Akteure, ihr mediales Standing, bestimmen. Dies benachteiligt insbesondere zivilgesellschaftliche Herausforderer, wie etwa soziale Bewegungen. Direktdemokratische Verfahren, so wird weiter argumentiert, wirken in der Schweiz diesem Effekt jedoch entgegen, indem sie den Aussenseitern Möglichkeiten zur Profilierung und Etablierung bieten. Davon profitieren ebenfalls die Parteien, welchen in der Schweiz ansonsten eine schwache institutionelle Stellung attestiert wird. Mit seinen Ergebnissen stützt der Aufsatz schliesslich die Forderung nach einer Kontextualisierung politischer Kommunikationsforschung im Sinne eines “institutional turn” und zeigt das Potenzial einer komparativen Vorgehensweise auf.