The enabling role of institutional entrepreneurs in the adoption of IPSAS within a transitional economy: The case of Estonia

In the light of neoinstitutional theory and by adopting case study research methodology, this article explains the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards for modernizing public sector accounting in Estonia. This article reveals that the smooth—yet gradual—adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards‐compliant accounting systems was enabled by the involvement of powerful actors (i.e., institutional entrepreneurs) with foreign and/or business backgrounds. In addition, the change in public sector accounting in Estonia was facilitated by the developments in its international positioning, characterized by the transition from a Soviet communist to a market economy and subsequent European Union membership and by the absence of past accounting practices, which could potentially hinder the change.     

White collars and labour history: the contractual regime in Italy from the Liberal to the Fascist era, 1919–1945

This article aims to re-examine the history of non-manual labour, beginning with an analysis of the evolution of general norms governing the contracts of private sector workers in Italy, from the post-First World War period up until the creation of the fascist corporate system in the 1930s. The starting point is the 1919 law that defined the specific characteristics of white-collar workers, expressed as a bond of trust and delegation on the part of employers, from whom legally established and binding guarantees were issued. These guarantees included the offer of permanent employment and the right to compensation should said employment be terminated. This law was reformed during the fascist era, but continued to influence the collective labour agreements stipulated by unions under the regime, contributing to the sustained social status of white-collar workers, particularly in comparison to manual labourers. This article will highlight the difficulties in applying these standards, and the legal and union disputes they generated, exploring an area rarely discussed by historians, while also, as a case study, scrutinizing the more advanced situation of employees in the banking sector – a sector which, from a regulatory and contractual point of view, represented the white-collar élite, as it would continue to do for a long time after the Second World War.     

Approaching the socialist factory and its workforce: considerations from fieldwork in (former) Yugoslavia

The socialist factory, as the ‘incubator’ of the new socialist (wo)man, is a productive entry point for the study of socialist modernization and its contradictions. By outlining some theoretical and methodological insights gathered through field-research in factories in former Yugoslavia, we seek to connect the state of labour history in the Balkans to recent breakthroughs made by labour historians of other socialist countries. The first part of this article sketches some of the specificities of the Yugoslav self-managed factory and its heterogeneous workforce. It presents the ambiguous relationship between workers and the factory and demonstrates the variety of life trajectories for workers in Yugoslav state-socialism (from model communists to alienated workers). The second part engages with the available sources for conducting research inside and outside the factory advocating an approach which combines factory and local archives, print media and oral history.     

Like a Deer in the Headlights: The Paralysis of Stuckness

When describing how they experience moments of not-knowing, youth workers often talk about a sense of paralysis, as though their uncertainty becomes physically constraining. This chapter describes the first of five themes associated with youth workers' experiences of not knowing what to do: the paralysis of stuckness. In addition to describing and investigating the dominant theme of paralysis, this chapter discusses its three variations, as described by youth worker participants: (a) It's just me, and that's not enough, (b) It's like a mental freefall, and (c) That crushing becomes your world.     

浅谈落实党的工人政策——学习党的十八大工作报告的体会

党的十八大报告,是夺取中国特色社会主义新胜利和全面建成小康社会的纲领性文件,是代表人民、为人民谋利益的政策指南。报告就实现好、维护好、发展好工人劳动者的积极性和创造性方面重申和提出了许多方针和政策性要求。改革开放30多年的实践中,我们在依靠工人阶级方面也出现了一些杂音和问题。贯彻落实党的十八大报告精神,必须坚定不移地贯彻宪法,切实落实工人劳动者的主人翁地位;必须进一步贯彻党的"依靠"方针,更好地形成"劳动光荣"、"尊重劳动"、落实工人劳动者合法权益的良好社会环境,积极推进工人劳动者逐步实现自身的现代化;同时还要重视和发挥工会组织代表维护工人劳动者合法权益的职能作用,使党的工人政策真正落在实处。     

论工会在推进新生代农民工城市融入中的作用

与老一代农民工相比,新生代农民工城市融入愿望更为强烈。然而,受到城乡二元结构的限制与自身文化、技能的制约,新生代农民工城市融入水平较低。工会作为党联系职工群众的纽带和桥梁,作为职工利益的代表者和维护者,理应发挥组织优势,加快推进新生代农民工城市融入。     

关于制造业工会工作的调研与思考

朝阳区制造业工会2013年成立后,为夯实工作基础,全面了解基层企业工会组织工作现状,探索促进制造业工会工作健康发展的新路子,对行业所辖44家基层企业工会进行逐一实地走访,围绕企业状况、工会组织建设、民主管理、职工权益维护和技术创新、文体活动及职工需求等工会重点工作内容进行了专题调研,获得了大量一手信息与数据,发现了制造企业工会存在的普遍问题,并对破解问题进行了思考.     

西部大开发进程中新生代农民工的法治保障

当前,新生代农民工成为农民工群体的主体,在社会经济发展和城市建设中扮演着重要角色。随着西部大开发进程的推进,这一群体有向西部地区回流聚集的趋势,并因此产生了新的特点和需求。在此背景下,基本民生权利保障不足、刑事犯罪率控制不严、市场经济服务不够,成为困扰这一群体的主要问题。因此,有必要针对新生代农民工的特点,构建健全合理的法治保障体系,以保障他们的合法权益,维护社会稳定,促进科学发展。     

农民工工伤维权中完善立法之思考

农民工这一特定时期的特定群体与具有城市户口的工人在劳动保障、医疗保障等社会保障方面存在着极大差别,由于他们与用人单位很少签订劳动合同,导致其人身、财产权益侵害,寻求司法救济时困难重重,因此就农民工工伤维权中存在的诸多问题进行分析,从而提出完善立法,从制度上切实保障这一弱势群体的合法权益。     

关于培训第二代农民工之思量

第二代农民工积极参加针对性强、有效度高的培训,是提高其综合素质的良方,国家的建设、经济的繁荣,特别是进一步推进我国城镇化建设,需要大批具有较高素质和能力的农民工。接受良好培训是提高农民工综合素质,使之更多、更好的给力于社会发展的不二选择。