High Performance Expectations: Concept and Causes

Employees contribute more when they are aware of their leaders’ high performance expectations (HPE), but how can leaders successfully convey HPE? Here it is argued that both transformational and transactional leadership behaviors involve goal-setting, which can affect employee-perceived HPE. Using a leadership training field experiment with 3,730 employees nested in 471 organizations, the findings support that training in transformational, transactional and combination leadership training significantly increased employees’ HPE relative to a control group. Furthermore, transformational leadership and pecuniary rewards seem to be important mechanisms. This implies that public leaders can affect HPE through leadership and thus potentially organizational performance.     

Do Online Ads Influence Vote Choice?

Do online ads influence vote choice? We partner with a German party to evaluate the effectiveness of online ads using a cluster-randomized experiment. During the 2016 Berlin state election, 189 postal districts were randomly assigned to (a) emotional ads; (b) factual ads; or (c) no ads. Analyzing electoral results at the postal district level, we find that the overall campaign weakly increased the party’s vote share by 0.7 percentage points (p-value = 0.155). We also estimate a negative effect of the campaign on the vote share of the party’s main competitors of 1.4 percentage points (p-value = 0.094). Turning to the mechanism of persuasion, we find that the factual ads, if anything, fared slightly better than the emotional ads. Our evidence thus provides tentative support that online ads positively affect vote choice.     

A field experiment on ethnic discrimination among local Swedish public officials

This study presents an innovative field experiment exploring ethnic discrimination in contacts between local public officials and members of Swedish society. Using a correspondence study design, fictitious individuals with Arabic- and Swedish-sounding names contacted Swedish municipalities via email, asking questions about access to preschools. The findings indicate disadvantageous treatment of individuals with Arabic-sounding names in terms of the informal tone of the replies, as Swedish-sounding names were replied to in a friendlier, more welcoming way. Regarding the more formal aspects of the emails – i.e., whether they were replied to at all and the questions posed were directly answered – no statistically significant signs of discrimination emerge (although differences were of some substantial size, to the disadvantage of Arabic-sounding names). Still, informal disadvantageous treatment is sufficient cause for concern and noteworthy in the case of Sweden, considering its reputation as being egalitarian, immigration friendly and democratically well functioning.     

Teacher Glenn: how a political scientist educated a peace researcher

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that the nonkilling political scientist Glenn D. Paige could be seen as an extraordinary peace educator. It will be organized through three words – reading, writing and talisman. It begins with a brief discussion of the method used in understanding political scientist Glenn D. Paige’s life as a teacher. Then, the author’s ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ experiences, from taking courses with him, and writing a PhD dissertation under him, will be examined. The way in which political science education could perhaps be considered a form of peace education will be discussed. The concluding section on ‘talisman’ advances Paige’s central idea of politics in terms of making decisions, especially to choose alternatives which could mitigate the killing effects and enhance nonkilling possibilities.     

语言思想:语言学研究的一个新领域

经过语言人类学家的梳理,“语言思想”已经逐步形成了语言学研究的一个新兴领域,吸引着越来越多学者的研究兴趣:重新确定语言学的研究对象,改变几十年来主导语言学界的语言思想,重新审视一些核心观念并构筑新的理论框架。对于语言思想的研究也应脱离同质性的文化模式,并把它作为一种社会过程,挖掘在这种过程中存在于同一语言社区的不同理念及差异、在特定的社会历史条件下是如何经过相互竞争而形成或改造的原因。     

身体认知的结构和功能分析

长期以来,许多人都无视身体的认知功能和价值,只把认知归功于大脑,对认知能力的探索、研究、测试、训练和保养也是聚焦于大脑的结构和机制;没有认识到我、自我或主体等能指、主词或概念所指谓的就是我的身体。其实,正是人的整体性身体结构、以及由此形成的身体场、知觉场、实践场、身体的意向性、认知冲动、尝试性的探索行为、身体的感知能力、认知的超越功能、概念化和范畴化作用、发明创造活动、以及诸如此类的身体智能、身体思维等要素和属性,一起构成认知和才智的源泉。因此身体才是人类从事社会实践、获得知识、成就事业、创造历史、完善人性的根本。人们只有把人的本质性存在身体放在一切认知和社会实践的最高位置,才更加有利于推动人的智力和自身的全面发展。     

论和谐医患与医药商业贿赂的关系

建立和谐医患关系与治理医药商业贿赂是当前医药卫生体制改革语境中的关键词。医患关系与医药商业贿赂之间不是简单的引起与被引起的关系,而是存在着现象之间的牵连并渗透着唯物辩证法矛盾运动的基本原理。二者联系的普遍性与特殊性决定了解决这两个问题可以采取共通的对策。     

布迪厄的"场域-惯习"理论在社会福利研究中的运用

布迪厄的“场域-惯习”理论在社会福利研究中具有重要的方法论意义。福利场域不仅是现代社会中一个相对独立的子场域,而且具有独特的惯习,即福利惯习,全面理解福利场域与福利惯习之间的辩证关系对于我国的社会福利制度建设实践具有重要的指导意义。     

我国公共服务改革政策探析

公共服务改革只有得到改革环境、组织、制度和社会的支持，才具有可行性：公共服务改革能够确保公共服务的充足与高质量的供给，确保公共服务的供给能够满足公众的需求。公共服务民营化、公共服务供给竞争化、公共服务的电子化、服务标准化是我国公共服务改革的策略选择。     

社会工作视野中的贫困大学生救助工作之改进

从社会工作的视野来考察,贫困大学生的形成有着家庭、社会、经济、政治等多方面的原因。因此,贫困大学生救助工作不能采取封闭式的救助;根据社会救助开始有偿救助的新趋势,贫困大学生救助工作应该采取开放的、强调贫困大学生自立自强的、有偿救助和能力开发相结合的新型救助模式。