Religion as capital: Christianity in the lives of Anglo-Indian youth in India

Religion is an important marker of identity for India’s Anglo-Indians. It distinguishes them within the principally non-Christian context and is integral to socializing youth to their distinct Anglo-Indian culture and heritage. This can be observed in Anglo-Indian practice—attending Christian schools, church-going, celebrating religious festivals, making pilgrimages—which forms a significant part of a matrix through which young Anglo-Indians learn how to perform their Anglo-Indianness. Our recent research (2013–2014) looked at the role of religion in the lives of Anglo-Indians intergenerationally and transnationally, through a survey, interviews, and participant observation. The results suggest that the performed religiosity of Anglo-Indian youth in India yields certain benefits for this group. It constitutes a capital which has the potential to make an enormous difference to their lives—socially, culturally, and otherwise. For example, Christian practice provides them with access to élite Christian educational institutions and the career possibilities that follow from such education. This article describes our research, focusing upon the findings related to Anglo-Indian youth in India. In particular, it argues that in various ways, the practice of Christianity both acts and is recognized by young Anglo-Indians as a source of capital in their lives, which is not to say that religion is practised for the purpose of acquiring capital. Rather, religious practice is a part of being Anglo-Indian that in India accrues capital.     

论农村卫生服务的内部市场

市场性是农村卫生服务的特征之一,而另一特证———“内部性”却被普通忽略,这导致了把农村卫生服务的市场性推向极端。确立并构建农村卫生服务内部市场,将使卫生院方补偿机制、员工分配机制以及卫生院的积累方式发生变化,对农村卫生院的运行产生根本性的影响。     

知识资本、人力资本与伦理价值的资本化问题初探

知识资本是知识经济的灵魂,在知识资本化的条件下,伦理价值也会随着知识的功能扩张而扩张,伦理“知识”也会物化为资本。人力资本理论的诞生为伦理价值的资本化提供了条件和途径,使伦理价值资本化成为现实。伦理资本除了具有人力资本的一般特征外,还有自己的特殊性。     

Demographic Imperatives and Religious Markets: Considering the Individual and Interactive Roles of Fertility and Switching in Group Growth

Two models seeking to explain the growth and decline of religious groups are prevalent in the literature. The religious market approach emphasizes the role of intergroup competition and in doing so focuses on religious switching. Another perspective emphasizes demographic mechanisms, particularly fertility. Research to date has not considered how switching and fertility interact as mechanisms of growth. Switching and fertility share a significant role in the growth trajectory of a religious group. Early success in gaining members through switching has an important long-term impact which fertility alone cannot produce. The age of those switching into a group can also have significant consequences for the effects of fertility.     

市场、价值取向、政府之于医疗卫生

分析了现代医疗卫生服务的消费品属性并将其划分为3大部分,由此形成的不同供给渠道,决定了医疗卫生服务的市场运作方式的必然性,但必须坚持始终如一的正确的价值取向——社会公众利益最大化的医疗卫生服务的基本目标。强势的政府主导是医疗卫生改革与发展的关键,提出了当前政府主导作用的具体意见和建议。     

Bonding social capital and collective action: Associations with residents' perceptions of their neighbourhoods

Neighbourhood perceptions have important implications for individual well‐being, yet there is limited research focused on variables that predict these perceptions. This study proposes that previous engagement in collective action mediates the relationship between neighbourhood bonding social capital and neighbourhood perceptions. Structural equation modelling with a large, nationally representative sample (N = 25,370) is used to test the hypotheses. The findings suggest that bonding social capital has a positive, direct effect on both neighbourhood perceptions and collective action. Collective action has a negative, direct association with neighbourhood perceptions and bonding social capital has a negative, indirect effect on neighbourhood perceptions via collective action. Although the full model explains 28% of the variance in neighbourhood perceptions, bonding social capital only explains 5% of the variance in collective action.     

Discrimination based on gender and ethnicity in English and Polish housing markets

Discrimination in the housing market is associated with decreased social integration and is costly at both social and individual levels. Here, we studied discrimination in English and Polish housing markets. In line with previous research, we expected ethnic‐ and gender‐based discrimination to occur in both housing markets. Conducting a preregistered field experiment of discrimination in the housing market, we sent e‐mails with inquiries about advertisements for 960 rentals in England and Poland. Inquiries were signed with Arabic‐, English‐, or Polish‐sounding male and female names. As a measure of discrimination, we calculated the proportion of answers that we received. In the English housing market, there was no statistically significant difference between the proportions of responses received for inquiries signed with Arabic, English, or Polish male or female names. In the Polish housing market, we received fewer responses to inquiries signed with Arabic male names than inquiries signed with any other names. The study shows discrimination against Arabic men in the Polish housing market, but there was no evidence of ethnic‐ or gender‐based discrimination in the English housing market. The results are discussed against the subordinate male target hypothesis as well as the current social and political situations in both countries.     

Cognitive adjustment and psychological capital influences on expatriate workers’ job performance: An Ethiopian study

This study examined the relationship between cognitive adjustment and expatriates’ performance in the foreign host-country, and the moderating role of psychological capital in this relationship. The expatriates (N?=?1 229; female?=?32%; mean international tenure?=?2.99, SD?=?4.44) completed measures of cognitive adjustments (work and non-work related), psychological capital, job-performance, and organisational culture. Results from the data analysis, using the product least square method, indicate expatriates’ cognitive adjustments (work and non-work related) and psychological capital to singularly predict job performance. Psychological capital partly moderated the relationship between cognitive adjustment (work related) and expatriates’ performance.     

Are Religions for Sale? Evidence from the Swedish Church Revolt Over Same‐Sex Marriage

Religious leaders sometimes condemn progressive social norms. This article revisits David Hume's hypothesis that secular states can “bribe” churches into adopting less strict religious doctrines. The hypothesis is difficult to test due to reverse causality: more liberal theologies may attract more political support in the first place. The empirical strategy used to circumvent this problem focuses on a theological conflict over same‐sex marriage within the Church of Sweden and takes advantage of political regulations that effectively make some parishes shareholders of the church's state‐protected property. The shares used for statistical identification are tied to property rights assigned more than 300 years ago, and they cannot be sold, traded, or amended by the individual parishes. The results show that priests in shareholding parishes are less likely to publicly oppose same‐sex marriage. The impact of political protection is stronger in parishes with more conservative members. The results are consistent with a model of clerical opportunism, in which income protection makes priests less likely to pander to the stricter followers.     

Social Capital and Organizational Commitment

Organizational scientists have been investigating the role of human relationships vis-à-vis firm productivity for some years. Recently, Social Capital has been theorized to play a central part in the reduction of organizational transaction costs. We briefly position Social Capital among several theories claiming a role for interpersonal capital, review its theoretical nuances, and test this theoretical structure using a sample of 469 sales professionals from a leading medical services firm. Our findings indicate that trust, communication, and employee focus have significant direct and moderate indirect affects on organizational commitment.