Techniques in Innovative Policy Making: Example of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India

The problem of social ills such as unemployment, poverty, and accelerating pace of rural-urban migration is not only enormous in magnitude, but also complex by nature in developing countries. This article introduces an innovative regulatory approach that addresses the complexity and scale of such problems. An analytical and decision-making model is presented. This model prescribes reflecting on two or more problems simultaneously. Such an approach is expected to create a fresh opportunity for policy makers and scholars in solving problem scenarios, bringing their vantage point to bear on pressing social matters. The model presented in this article is applied to analyze the NREGA or National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 in India. This Act represents a novel approach to policy-making and demonstrates the positive role governments can play in labor markets. The design, implementation, and promising initial results clearly challenge existing wisdom on how to make effective policy decisions. The framework presented in the article best explains various facets of this remarkable policy and shows how governments can intervene in the labor markets and correct for imperfections. Pioneering future applications to other social and economic challenges are suggested. Also, implications for research and policy are provided.     

新生代农民工就业存在的问题及其对策

作为城市化进程中的特殊群体,新生代农民工已经成为我国经济社会建设中的主力军.本文分析了新生代农民工在就业方面遇到的问题,并提出应从建立健全法律法规体系、完善和健全社会保障体系、改革户籍制度、搞好教育培训工作等方面来解决新生代农民工就业问题.     

劳动力派遣中劳动者权益保护之探索

劳动力派遣就是一种新型用工关系,劳动力派遣涉及到派遣机构与劳动者之间的特殊劳动关系,用工单位与劳动者之间的关系,以及派遣单位与用工单位之间的关系。企业、事业单位违规使用劳务派遣工,逃避劳动合同责任,侵犯劳动者合法权益的现象时有发生。劳动力派遣中劳动者权益如何保护,劳动力派遣关系如何进行法律规制,是促进我国劳动力派遣制度完善并切实保护被派遣劳动者合法权益的重要课题。     

Student conduct,restorative justice,and student development: findings from the STARR project: a student accountability and restorative research project

The STudent Accountability and Restorative Research (STARR) Project is a multi-campus study of college student disciplinary practices in the USA, comparing traditional conduct hearings that use restorative justice practices alongside traditional college student misconduct hearings. A coherent set of learning goals in college student conduct administration and a robust data-set capable of measuring student learning across different types of disciplinary practice, in particular, comparing traditional ‘model code’ practice with emerging restorative justice processes are examined. Integrating several student development theories, we identify six student development goals: just community/self-authorship, active accountability, interpersonal competence, social ties to institution, procedural fairness, and closure. The STARR Project includes data from 18 college and university campuses across the USA. We analyzed 659 student conduct cases based on surveys of student offenders, conduct officers, and other participants in the conduct processes. Using multiple regression to control for a variety of influences, we determined that the type of conduct process used is the single most influential factor in student learning. In addition, restorative justice practices were routinely found to have a greater impact on student learning than model code hearings.     

Automation of a screening polygraph test increases accuracy

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of automating the Relevant–Irrelevant (RI) psychophysiological detection of deception test within a mock-screening paradigm. Eighty participants, recruited from the local community, took part in the study. Experimental design was a 2 (truthful/deceptive) by 2 (human/automation) factorial. Participants in the deceptive conditions attempted deception on two items of an employment application. Examinations conducted with the automated polygraph examination were significantly more accurate than examinations conducted by the human polygraph examiner. Statistical analyses revealed different patterns of physiological responses to deceptive items depending upon the automation condition. Those results have potentially interesting theoretical implications. The results of the present study are clearly supportive of additional efforts to develop a field application of an automated polygraph examination.     

Beyond Formal Equality: Closing the Gender Gap in a Changing Labour Market – A Study of Legislative Solutions Adopted in Canada

This article looks at the position of women in the Canadian labour market and at the legislative measures adopted to address their segregation in terms of occupation, wages and working conditions. Federal and provincial legislators have, with relative success, attempted through a series of measures to respond directly to the issue of discrimination against women in the workplace and in the labour market. They have, however, remained relatively insensitive to other factors that make the situation of working women precarious, such as the rise of ‘non-standard’ work. These inequalities are not peculiar to Canada and legislative responses to these questions vary according to specific national realities and legal traditions. A study of the legislative evolution in Canada serves to illustrate some of the challenges faced to redress this gender gap.     

Revisiting gender issues: continuing police reform

This paper will discuss continuing police reform and gender issues and how the organizational culture can be moved from misogynist to inclusive. In addition, it will discuss how the community policing philosophy has caused special populations, (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender), who under the professional model were often marginalized, can be dealt with in a manner devoid of bias or prejudice. The role of police women in the twenty-first century will also be discussed in relation to the feminist writers’ perspective as the police accept that their role has a duty of care and is not solely about crime fighting.     

What goes around comes around: Perceived vulnerable employment and economic voting in developing countries

Voters who perceive the economy to be weak are generally less likely to support the incumbent government. Yet there is a debate over whether all people respond equally to economic shifts or if the state of the economy is more salient for those who feel economically vulnerable. This article examines whether insecure employment situations and employability concerns strengthen responses to the government's economic record. Data from Latin America and Eastern Europe confirm that workers who feel anxious about being fired or who believe it would be difficult to find a new job place significantly greater weight on sociotropic evaluations than do those with more secure employment situations. Thus incumbents who create risks for vulnerable workers are sanctioned, while those who create opportunities are rewarded most.     

《就业促进法》语境下的女大学生就业促进之思考——以龙岩学院为例

女大学生就业难是近几年我国高校普遍面临的社会问题,随着全国招生规模的扩大,这个问题越来越突出,日益受到社会的关注。经济因素、社会因素、教育因素和个体因素导致了女大学生的就业难题。为破解这一难题,政府、社会、学校和女大学生自身都必须付出努力,形成四位一体的促进女大学生平等就业的良好机制和氛围。     

谈公安院校教师队伍建设的途径与改革措施

从公安院校教师队伍建设中存在的问题分析入手,提出了建立和健全教师培养制度、实行“轮值轮训”教师实践锻炼模式、新教师参加初任警培训和任教岗前培训、完善公安院校教师交流制度,探索教官制,加强公安院校间的合作等一系列关于公安院校教师队伍建设的途径与措施.