“Cultures of populism: institutions and hegemonic practices” – a brief introduction

ABSTRACT

This short Introduction sets the context for the nine articles included in Safundi’s special issue on “Cultures of Populism: Institutions and Hegemonic Practices” (Vol. 21, no. 3) by establishing connections with the colloquium of the same name that was hosted at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg from 10th until 13th July 2019. At the conference, populism (whether of the political right or the left) was examined in relation to democracy, the role of elites, and possible futures for the Humanities. Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives, papers considered the diverse histories of populism, as well as varied occurrences of this phenomenon across the globe.     

An institutional assessment of the public interest and accountability committee (PIAC) in Ghana’s oil and gas sector

ABSTRACT

Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management Act 815 (amended to Act 893 in 2015) established the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) in 2011 with the mandate to ensure accountability and transparency in the management and usage of oil and gas revenue. This paper critically examines the activities and operations of the PIAC from 2011 vis-à-vis its legally reposed mandate. It points to severe deficit in accountability but improvements in transparency in the management of oil and gas revenues in spite of the existence and operations of the PIAC. After eight years of operation, the PIAC continues to suffer monumental challenges that undermine its effectiveness in serving as an accountability and transparency initiative in Ghana’s oil and gas sector. The paper makes some recommendation based on the empirical challenges of the PIAC identified to strengthen the PIAC to deliver effectively on its mandate.     

浅谈新时期高校思想道德修养教育的创新

随着我国经济、政治、文化、教育以及人们的思想观念发生的深刻变化,新时期高校思想道德修养教育应进行四个方面的创新:加强对思想道德修养教育重要性的认识,力求观念创新;根据大学生成长需求,力求内容创新;注重教育效果,力求手段和方法创新;开创思想道德教育新局面,力求机制创新。     

论制度后发优势的实现机制

制度后发优势实现的核心问题,是正式制度模仿、非正式制度模仿及其关系问题。本文认为正式制度是可移植的,但又受到宪法秩序、关联制度、非正式制度等的内在制约。同时,非正式制度内在于传统和历史沉淀,其可模仿性就差得多,但在开放条件下非正式制度的变迁不可能封闭进行。制度模仿的过程,是新的正式制度与本土非正式制度相互作用与融合的过程,是引进制度的本土化过程。     

高等学校加强创业教育探讨

如何认识和加强高校创业教育是目前社会各界尤其是教育界关注和研究的热点。本文在梳理了创业教育的概念基础上,从整个社会的就业形势、学生就业对高校自身发展的重要性以及目前大学生创业素质的现状三个角度讨论高校加强创业教育的紧迫性,进而对如何加强创业教育提出了若干策略。     

论以人为本的教育管理

本文阐述了以人为本教育管理的内涵,分析了我国高等教育在以人为本的教育管理过程中存在的一些问题,论述了以人为本教育管理的实施方略,认为树立以人为本教育理念既是对教育本源的回归,更是当今我国教育可持续发展之必需.     

高校教学管理人员作用的再认识和素质要求的几点思考

教学管理人员在组织正常教学工作、沟通师生之间和教师之间发挥着重要的纽带作用，也正是在这种过程中，他们成为大学教育体系中重要的组成人员。本文在分析我国目前高等院校教学管理队伍中存在问题的基础上，对如何认识教学管理人员也同样是大学教育工作者提出了新的解释，即从全员教育的角度对其作用重新作了诠释。并且对如何提高教学管理人员素质提出了几点建议。     

论高校知识产权保护

高等学校是我国知识产权的最大创造者和拥有者,但是高校在知识产权的管理中却存在诸多问题。面对这些问题,应营造良好环境,提高高校师生科研的积极性;健全知识产权管理制度和机构,形成科技创新的激励机制;培育高等学校自主知识产权科技产业等,以实现和促进高校知识产权的发展。     

“命案招标”——我国刑侦体制改革的逻辑错位

作为我国刑侦体制改革的一项新成果,"命案招标"的出现赢得了媒体的一片赞扬.然而从我国刑侦体制改革整体呈现的逻辑来看,这项举措或许在伦理价值层面和经济效率层面与其有所背离,进而会损害我国刑侦体制的健康发展.     

Corporate Ownership by Industrial Foundations

Industrial foundations are self-governing, non-profit institutions that own business companies. This ownership structure is found in a fair number of Northern European companies, some of them successful world-class competitors. Standard agency theory would predict foundation-owned companies to be relatively inefficient since they lack monitoring by residual claimants and access to equity finance from the stock market. Nevertheless, empirical research (Thomsen 1996) has found that Danish foundation-owned companies do no worse in terms of profitability and growth than companies with dispersed ownership or family ownership. The paper considers and tests alternative explanations of this paradox. Explanations based on tax incentives, alternative control mechanisms and product-market advantages are rejected, but some support is found for performance advantages related to family control and long-term business commitment.