This article addresses some of the lessons learned from analysis of the adaptation of foreign models in Latin American policy reform. The author revisits the theoretical issues raised in the book's introduction, then discusses how foreign models are adapted to fit a country's particular circumstances & how models impact decision making. Finally, the author discusses potential costs & benefits of policy emulation in Latin America countries. References. B. Boyce
Discusses how the adoption of new information & communication technologies (ICTs) is creating a need for changes in labor market policies in the global information society, focusing on the countries of the European Union & the role of the public employment service (PES). It is argued that traditional measures designed to combat chronic unemployment are too passive; more active strategies are needed in light of new forms of industrial organization. Such active labor market policies must emphasize training & retraining the workforce to meet the demands of ICTs; data from several such policy-based training programs are reviewed, highlighting the importance of job search assistance. The costs of such policies & strategies for their implementation are outlined, identifying the critical role of the PES; suggestions for change are made based on the experience of private-sector enterprises with practices such as on-line recruitment of job candidates. 2 Tables. K. Hyatt Stewart
Examines elements of New Public Management (NPM) reform in Tanzania & Uganda -- including performance management & incentives, autonomous executive agencies, & contracting of services -- aimed at improving the public finances of both countries. The NPM model was adopted after traditional administrative reforms had failed to achieve better quality in public service. Innovations agreed on by political leaders & Western donors were adapted to fit local conditions. Tanzania, eg, chose basic reforms to pay structures with organizational performance targets & incentives, rather than individual performance pay. Uganda initially achieved a revenue increase of 4% of GDP, but as older practices & problems returned, improvements stagnated. The Uganda Management Instit was placed within a commercial framework, & Tanzania used the British model to establish a successful executive agency program. With the exception of the health sector, privatization has been less successful. The improvement of public service salaries & organizational efficiency is viewed as a good first step, along with delegation, decentralization, & privatization, the regulation of which yet needs action as the countries progress through a significant learning curve. 5 Tables, 4 Figures, 20 References. L. A. Hoffman
Der Beitrag liefert eine Momentaufnahme des aktuellen bürgerschaftlichen Engagements in amerikanischen Schulen und beschreibt die Vielzahl kommunaler Organisationen und Einzelpersonen, die zum Nutzen der staatlichen Schulen viel Zeit und Ressourcen in die persönliche Entwicklung der Schüler investieren. So beleuchtet das erste Kapitel zunächst die Situation bürgerschaftlichen Engagements und gemeinschaftlicher Freiwilligenarbeit in den USA. Das zweite Kapitel beschreibt sodann das bürgerschaftliche Engagement von Personen und Organisationen, die ihre Kompetenzen und ihre Erfahrungen in die Schule einbringen. Dieser soziale Einsatz wird anhand von Beispielen verdeutlicht. Das dritte Kapitel thematisiert durch Service-Learning-Programmen, in welcher Form bürgerschaftliches Engagement Eingang in den Lehrplan amerikanischer Schulen gefunden hat. Betrachtet man die heutigen Anforderungen an die Schüler und die Herausforderungen unserer Gesellschaft, so wird nach Ansicht der Autorin deutlich, dass die Amerikaner in großem Maße ihre Zeit und ihr Wissen einsetzen, um die Qualität von Bildung zu verbessern. Sie unterstützen die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Kommune und Schule durch die Förderung des bürgerschaftlichen Engagements. (ICG2).
Global & regional trade agreements have huge potential impacts on higher education around the world by promoting the commodification of higher education & its incorporation as an industry in the world trading system. Provisions for higher education in the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade & the General Agreement on Trade in Services within the World Trade Organization are reviewed. The higher education industry has become increasingly important to the economy of the US & other countries & public higher education is increasingly subject to the rules of international trade. Trade liberalization helps other advanced countries to challenge US predominance in higher education. Among the barriers to trade in higher education are lack of student mobility, national licensing constraints, & visa & material restrictions. The emergence of new institutions (for-profit & corporate universities) & new delivery methods, eg, Internet-based learning, are discussed. Opposition to globalization may offset trade liberalization in higher education as well as in other industries. 1 Table, 61 References. M. Pflum
Global & regional trade agreements have huge potential impacts on higher education around the world by promoting the commodification of higher education & its incorporation as an industry in the world trading system. Provisions for higher education in the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade & the General Agreement on Trade in Services within the World Trade Organization are reviewed. The higher education industry has become increasingly important to the economy of the US & other countries & public higher education is increasingly subject to the rules of international trade. Trade liberalization helps other advanced countries to challenge US predominance in higher education. Among the barriers to trade in higher education are lack of student mobility, national licensing constraints, & visa & material restrictions. The emergence of new institutions (for-profit & corporate universities) & new delivery methods, eg, Internet-based learning, are discussed. Opposition to globalization may offset trade liberalization in higher education as well as in other industries. 1 Table, 61 References. M. Pflum
Introduces selected papers concerned with the discovery of HIV in the blood supply in six West European countries. With the discovery that HIV was in the blood supply & was being transmitted to hemophiliacs & recipients of blood transfusions, policymakers had to change regular routines & standard operating procedures in an atmosphere of fast adaptation that involved quick learning not typical of government bureaucracies. Prompt action was required in a situation of great uncertainty & amidst contradictory information. Within four years, the advanced industrial nations had adopted preventive measures. Both the speed in stopping the transmission of a disease & the controversy raised were unprecedented. Contributors seek to discover why such an apparent medical success could be considered a political failure & why the blood crisis was considered a political failure in some countries, but not others. 2 Tables. L. A. Hoffman
The presence of HIV in the blood supply in France created probably the biggest political scandal of the 20th century; three former ministers (including the prime minister), doctors, scientific experts, & government advisers have stood trial or have trials pending. The structure of the system contributed to what was also a global failure in technical risk management: (1) Political forces had worked to promote solidarity with the gay victims of the epidemic, rather than to defend public health concerns. (2) Cost containment became important, & the health ministry was subordinated to the ministry of social affairs & could not obtain a budget for AIDS. (3) Decision-making competence shifted from ministers to advisory staff, further marginalizing the power of the central health administration. While France controlled the risk within the normal time frame of other Western countries, the scientific advance in HIV research & the public service structure of the entire blood sector could have could saved more lives. The political fallout was considered a policy failure, but the learning process from the investigations created long-term policy success as the public demanded accountability from public authorities & politicians. L. A. Hoffman
Investigates ways in which the new information society might contribute to economic development at the regional level & help to lessen the gap between central & peripheral regions. Reports & policy statements by the Commission of the European Communities are optimistic that combining information-based goods & services with diffuse electronic networks can help offset the "tyranny of geography" that has relegated certain areas to the nether regions of social & economic participation. Here, the development of a telecommunications infrastructure in various European regions is outlined, exploring how the adoption of new information & communications technologies gives peripheral regions enhanced work mobility by (1) industrializing the service sector, (2) creating a spatial separation of production & consumption, & (3) allowing firms to manage at a distance. Barriers to such development are identified, & the concept of "learning region" is introduced to describe the prerequisites necessary to successful adoption of information & communication technologies at both the individual & organizational levels. 2 Tables, 1 Figure. K. Hyatt Stewart
The banking crisis of the Credit Lyonnais required several bailouts from the French government, & bad debts reaching $24.22 billion dollars. Many considered the bank's problems to be caused by policymakers deeply associated with the heart of the state. Credit Lyonnais was the last of three banks owned by the state, & its president had held the most prestigious post in the French finance ministry & had crafted the banking reform polices & financial market regulation in the 1980s. However, blaming individuals ignores the changing market situation & the rapid innovations in financial services being put in place to compete in a highly innovative & emerging globalizing market; it also ignores the contemporary failures of banks in other countries. The absence of a full investigation of the fiasco, however, has left the world without the benefit of policy learning for similar crises. This study strengthens the argument that the Fifth Republic of France is adapted for agenda-setting & policy design, but has difficulty in policy implementation & evaluation phases. L. A. Hoffman
Investigates the impact of educational policies & practices on immigrant children in NJ, drawing on a survey of 161 school districts concerning their immigrant student population & programs to serve that population, supplemented by in-depth case studies of 12 school districts with promising programs & services. No coherent immigrant education policy exists at either the federal or state level. This has meant that education of these students is shaped by a series of legislative & judicial mandates handed down at both the state & federal levels. School districts tend to concentrate on the language needs of students, to the neglect of other economic, social, cultural, & psychological factors that influence the learning process. As NJ's immigrant population becomes more diverse, & children's educational needs become more complex, school districts will have to create better programs to assist these students. The federal government is encouraged to allocate more money for professional development, & researchers are urged to develop more creative & effective solutions to problems faced by school districts in this area. 8 Tables, 2 Appendixes, 19 References. D. M. Smith
Business enterprises are increasingly regarded as key actors of sustainable development. The development towards sustainable business is even more fostered by the spreading of business rankings based on corporate sustainability indexes, which assess the overall sustainable performance. But despite these trends the awareness of the necessary sustainability shift within business enterprises is rather moderate. At least to some extent this can be explained by the lack of instruments to teach sustainable development in business schools and in advanced business training. This holds especially true for the ethical questions of sustainability. This is amazing since the concept of sustainable development is strongly bound to moral principles (e.g. social justice, dignity of man, human rights, ethical concepts of a good life and of solidarity). Relying on these implicit principles sustainability indexes demand for sustainable products and services, for ecological management, for social reporting, for codes of conduct for suppliers, for equal rights and non-discrimination etc. Consequently some business enterprises have started to establish corporate value management to cope with theses challenges. Taking the ethical demands for sustainable corporate performance serious practising and teaching sustainability has to comprise ethical reflections on the relevant moral ideas for sustainable development, too. Thus this paper wants to put forward neo-Socratic dialogue (NSD) as a didactic method to teach fundamental ethical questions of sustainable development for business enterprises. A NSD is an inquiry into ideas, originally meant to find consensus on some topic through a joint deliberation and weighing-up of arguments. The dialogue aims at visioning, explaining values and clarifying fundamental concepts. It implies a systematic investigation of our assumptions, reasons and viewpoints, and a cooperative testing of their validity. In the dialogue participants attempt to formulate legitimate principles and develop a shared and inspiring perspective. A second aim of the NSD is to learn to have a dialogue instead of a discussion. This requires adequate command of a number of dialogical roles, skills and attitudes, especially suspending judgements and keeping a balance between taking position and resigning. Both aims are intimately connected to the development of strategy, organisational learning and knowledge management. The NSD has been successfully applied so far in medical ethics, university teaching, organisational learning, business ethics, as well as in primary education. A NSD is focussed on a single fundamental ethical question. A NSD is applied to a concrete experience of one of the participants that is accessible to all other participants. Systematic reflection upon this experience is accompanied by a search for shared judgments and underlying reasons for these. In the case of sustainable development examples for such fundamental questions are the following: What does it mean to conduct a good life? Is luxury unnecessary? What does participation in the context of business enterprises mean? How can business enterprises realize solidarity? What is basically Socratic in the NSD is the method of rigorous inquiry into the thoughts, concepts and values we hold as true. The NSD is a joint investigation into the assumptions we make when we formulate our thoughts. The proposed paper will give an overview on this method and its application for teaching ethical questions of sustainable development. The article will elaborate especially the business applications of NSD to teach sustainability. Besides describing the more theoretical background of NSD, the paper will present a case study of a NSD held with an interdisciplinary group of students studying sustainable development at the University of Vienna.
