Suchergebnisse

Nowadays, improving the efficiency of electric vehicles is a tremendously important aspect that has many manufacturers working fiercely. Taking into account the electrical range limitations of EV in comparison to ICE vehicles, it is key to be able to increase the autonomy of these vehicles. This study aims to state the main components of electric vehicles, review the most important aspects of the legislation regarding the homologation procedure and design a simulator capable of predicting the electric range of an EV, in this case the Nissan Leaf MY19. In addition, it will be depicted what applications the simulator has, and how it can be used in a real scenario. Therefore, how to improve the electric range of the Nissan Leaf through changes in its specifications will be explained.

Nonprofit organizations that engage in rebranding strategies face challenges reconciling normative (social or mission driven) and utilitarian (business driven) identities of their organizations. This research examines the interplay between rebranding processes and dual identities of 10 rebranded charitable organizations, in particular how these identities are reflected in managers' narratives and subsequently shape rebranding strategies. The study reveals four types of rebranding strategies and the potential drivers for their adoption. Pressure to secure resources can lead nonprofit organizations to emphasize utilitarian identities in rebranding, and so surface hidden tensions among stakeholders reluctant to relinquish established normative identities. In managing the process of rebranding, senior managers engage in practices of justifying, re-visioning, and influencing to reduce emerging tensions. The research suggests that both utilitarian and normative identity concerns need to be addressed during the process.

Abstract:Most powerful analytical tools used in the social sciences are well suited for studying static situations. Static and mechanistic analysis, however, is not adequate to understand the changing world in which we live. In order to adequately address the most pressing social and environmental challenges looming ahead, we need to develop analytical tools for analyzing dynamic situations – particularly institutional change. In this paper, we develop an analytical tool to study institutional change, more specifically, the evolution of rules and norms. We believe that in order for such an analytical tool to be useful to develop a general theory of institutional change, it needs to enable the analyst to concisely record the processes of change in multiple specific settings so that lessons from such settings can eventually be integrated into a more general predictive theory of change.

The organizations in Indian context like others have been forced to initiate certain changes in their HR practices due to the cut-throat competition created by opening up of the Indian economy and changing employee demographics and psychographics. The present study attempts to make a significant contribution by determining the level of adoption of the selected HR practices in the selected Indian organizations as perceived by the employees working in these organizations along with assessing their relationship with employee demographics. The results reveal that higher attention has been paid to practices aimed at improving employee competencies than those influencing employee behaviors. It has also been found that younger and less experienced employees have perceived the organizations surveyed to be low on adoption of selected HR practices.

▪ Abstract  In recent years, the concept of boundaries has been at the center of influential research agendas in anthropology, history, political science, social psychology, and sociology. This article surveys some of these developments while describing the value added provided by the concept, particularly concerning the study of relational processes. It discusses literatures on (a) social and collective identity; (b) class, ethnic/racial, and gender/sex inequality; (c) professions, knowledge, and science; and (d) communities, national identities, and spatial boundaries. It points to similar processes at work across a range of institutions and social locations. It also suggests paths for further developments, focusing on the relationship between social and symbolic boundaries, cultural mechanisms for the production of boundaries, difference and hybridity, and cultural membership and group classifications.

Presidential address presented to the Society for the Study of Soc Problems, Washington, DC, Aug, 1970, which, in the light of anti-war riots on the U campus & the subsequent repression by the instit's of the free 'ability to inquire,' discusses 'applying sociol to the policy of governing the academic community.' The anti-war feelings of the students are discussed with reference to the student power movement which focusses on 2 issues: sharing the authority, is, allowing students to take part in the decisions which affect their lives, & 'restructuring the U so that students have responsibility commensurate with their power.' The author points out that in the weeks following the campus disruptions of May 1970 when about 760 campuses across the country had strikes or demonstrations, the students were involving themselves with discussion, the holding of meetings, & the creation of new courses of action. These are the real functions of an academic community. In another sense the students are very revolutionary in that 'for a privileged class to seek responsibility is surely revolutionary.' It is for the U's to encourage this trend, to recreate the 'ivory tower' in the sense of the U as a place to work on improving the quality of human life. H. Lachs.

In the past 20 years, Political Science research has increasingly focused on urban and local politics. We systematically review this literature and find that smaller cities are disproportionally underrepresented, particularly outside the United States. Smaller cities exhibit economic, social, and political patterns that differ from those in large metropolitan areas. Using administrative data and existing research, we show how cities of different sizes vary in their demographic characteristics; citizens' preferences; resources and capacity; intergovernmental relationships; and electoral politics. These patterns indicate the potential to update existing theories in Political Science, including those about gender and political participation, second-order elections, and intergovernmental relationships. We suggest that scholars consider how smaller cities might differ from larger cities and include smaller municipalities in their case study research. We also highlight political issues unique to small cities as new areas of inquiry.

The purpose of this study was to examine paid sick leave (PSL) practices among large municipal governments in the United States. Results of a national survey suggest that over 90% of these governments offer PSL. Few reported making any post-recession changes, and in fact, most governments continue to allow employees to rollover unused sick leave from year to year, cash out unused sick leave upon termination, and/or include unused sick leave in pension calculations despite the sometimes significant cost of such policies. Documentation is required in 70% of governments, but formal auditing of PSL occurs in less than one third of responding governments. Type of government, employee classification (e.g., public safety vs. general staff), collective bargaining, and whether the government requires public hearings for public employee benefit changes were significant factors in determining certain PSL practices.

In an increasingly materialistic society, are Chinese people still interested in politics and state affairs? More importantly, which type of people tend to be more interested in politics in China? This paper answers these two central questions. A study of these two questions carries both theoretical and practical implications. Based on a cross-regional survey of Chinese urban residents in ten Chinese cities, it was found that Chinese urban respondents are still interested or very interested in politics and state affairs. It was also found that people who show more interest in politics tend to be people who are dissatisfied with government policy performance and favour a multiparty political system and further political reform in China. The implication is that, if given the opportunity, the anti-regime people are more likely to participate in conventional and unconventional political activities. (China/GIGA)

In this series of essays, Fred Moten and Stefano Harney draw on the theory and practice of the black radical tradition as it supports, inspires, and extends contemporary social and political thought and aesthetic critique. Today the general wealth of social life finds itself confronted by mutations in the mechanisms of control: the proliferation of capitalist logistics, governance by credit, and the management of pedagogy. Working from and within the social poesis of life in THE UNDERCOMMONS, Moten and Harney develop and expand an array of concepts: study, debt, surround, planning, and the shipped. On the fugitive path of an historical and global blackness, the essays in this volume unsettle and invite the reader to the self-organised ensembles of social life that are launched every day and every night amid the general antagonism of THE UNDERCOMMONS.

Within a longitudinal study of children with congenital rubella, 85 Deaf Only adolescents, 85 Deaf Multihandicapped, and 34 Normal controls were studied with respect to impulsivity. The majority of the deaf group had severe or profound hearing loss. Prevalence of impulsivity and self abuse clearly differentiated Deaf Only from Deaf Multihandicapped. In adolescence, one-fifth of the Deaf Only and three-fifths of the Deaf Multihandicapped showed impulsivity; only Deaf Multihandicapped were self abusive. For both the Deaf Only and the Deaf Multihandicapped groups, impulsivity at adolescence was a continuation of this trait from earlier developmental periods. In contrast, self abuse was a transient behavior for the Deaf Only but was persistent for the Deaf Multihandicapped from early childhood. A meaningful discussion of impulsivity in deaf children necessitates differentiation of Deaf Only from Deaf Multihandicapped.

Health care services are an essential component of South African government policy and this is regulated by the Health Act, Act 61 of 2003. The study explores the services offered by the Provincial Hospital KwaZulu Natal, South Africa in relation to service delivery and management practices. The key participants to the study are the patients and staff of the hospital. A structured questionnaire to the patients and departmental heads of the hospital was applied. A structured interview was conducted with strategic level management of the hospital. The results of the study were organized thematically and were triangulated between the results of the various data collecting instruments. A presentation of graphs and tables would be used to facilitate the results of the data. The paper provides sound conclusions and recommendations for efficient and effective management and service delivery within the provincial hospital and which are applicable to many of the provincial hospitals in the country.