Beyond unemployment: Informal employment and heterogeneous motivations for participating in street vending in present-day China

Urban Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 2743-2761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gengzhi Huang ◽  
Hong-ou Zhang ◽  
Desheng Xue
Keyword(s):  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Street Vending ◽  
Urban Street ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Potential Part ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
Formal Business

The proliferation of urban street vending in developing countries is generally viewed as being as a result of unemployment. Using a theoretical approach based on mainstream perspectives on informal employment and first-hand material from 200 semi-structured vendor interviews in Guangzhou, we challenge this view by revealing the heterogeneity of people’s motivations for participating in street vending in present-day China. Various types of labourers, including wage workers, farmers, the unemployed and small businesspeople, participate in street vending with diverse motivations, but in a common attempt to improve their livelihoods. Such motivations are driven both by the labourers’ responses to multiple socio-economic forces including unemployment, the low quality of waged jobs, rural poverty, the difficulties of maintaining a formal business and the poor remuneration of jobs in cities, and by their desire to achieve autonomy and flexibility. Street vending is mainly argued to be an effective strategy of ordinary labourers to cope with the unfavourable situations they face amidst socio-economic transformation. It should not be seen as a problem, but a potential part of the solution to the problems arising from socio-economic transformation in post-reform China.

Assessing the Quality of Management of Transformation Processes in Economic Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 952-956
Author(s):  
M. V. Malyshkina ◽  
M. V. Miroslavskaya
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Organizational Transformation ◽  
Quality Criterion ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Transformation Processes

Aim. The presented study aims to develop the methodology for assessing the quality of management of organizational transformation processes. Tasks. To achieve the set aim, the authors solve the following problems: determine the essence and content of socio-economic transformation, formulate quality assurance principles for the management of transformation processes, draw attention to the problem of selecting a unified quality criterion for the management of organizational transformation processes. Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition, including analysis and synthesis. It also applies a systems approach to identify the major problems of assessing the quality of management of transformation processes, including the problem of selecting a unified quality criterion for the management of transformation processes and formulating the principles of ensuring the quality of management of transformation processes. Results. The global problem of managing transformation processes in the economic system consists in the complexity of the managed processes, which increases due to the multidimensionality, mutual influence, and the resulting uncertainty of interactions between the elements of the system. It is concluded that the methodology for assessing the quality of management of transformation processes is based on the principle of integrating separate measures to improve the quality of management of system elements into a single system of management actions and the principle of ensuring that management actions are primarily aimed at preventing possible negative consequences of the transformation of economic systems, i.e. reducing the potential impact of unfavorable events and their consequences. To assess the effectiveness of targeted management actions and productive actions aimed at organizing, controlling, and guiding the transformation process, the authors actualize the problem of selecting an adequate quality criterion for the management of transformation processes in economic systems and put forward a hypothesis about a possible unified criterion of management quality. Conclusions. The principle of integrating separate measures to improve the quality of management of system elements and the principle of ensuring that management actions are aimed at preventing possible negative consequences lie at the core of the methodology for assessing the quality of management of transformation processes in economic systems. The quality assessment methodology should be developed in the direction of finding a unified quality criterion for managing transformation processes in economic systems.

Governance of Informal Public Space in Urban China: A Post-modern Critique of Spatial Formalization of Urban Street Vending

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Gengzhi Huang ◽  
Desheng Xue ◽  
Kongdan Xu ◽  
Yanshan Yang ◽  
Kunlun Chen
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Street Vending ◽  
Urban Street

Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanisław Mazur
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Quality Of Governance ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
The 2008 Financial Crisis ◽  
The Impact

In the early 1990s, the Central and Eastern European countries (CEE countries) saw the collapse of communist regimes and an unprecedented political and economic transformation that resulted in the establishment of democratic, law-governed states and market economies. Administrative reforms, which became an important milestone in this transformation, were considerably influenced both by administrative legacies predominant in the countries and by the Europeanization processes associated with their accession to the European Union. The administrative legacies, which combine elements of various traditions (e.g., German, Napoleonic, and Anglo-American) are still strongly affected by what is left of the communist era. Conversely, the impact of Europeanization processes on public administrations in CEE countries has proved to be much weaker than initially expected. The process of building a professional and apolitical civil service in CEE countries has been plagued by discontinuity and inconsistency, owing to the specific administrative culture of the region, the weakening pressure to modernize EU institutions, and the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis, as well as growing populist tendencies in the region. All these factors encouraged the belief that political control over public administration needs to be tightened in order for the effectiveness and quality of governance mechanisms to be improved. The quality of governance and public management varies widely across the CEE countries. What they have in common—at least to some extent—is the fairly high dynamics of change, including the reversal of the effects of previously implemented reforms. The latter factor may be interpreted as a search for country-specific reform paths, partly due to disappointment with the values and models prevailing in Western Europe, and somewhat as a consequence of growing populist tendencies in the region.

scholarly journals Inclusion and Integration of the Disabled into the Labor Market Against the Background of the New Regulations in Germany

Equilibrium ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 79-101
Author(s):  
Lilianna Jodkowska
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Quality Management System ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Social Code ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
New Criteria

The aim of the article is to present new regulations introduced by the Third Book of the Social Code in Germany that concern a reform of the labor market's active instruments gathered under the name "Instumentenreform".  One of the main objectives of the reform is to improve the quality of programs and projects that activate the unemployed, but also to make efforts to include in the labor market groups that have not been activated in such a way so far. One of such groups are the disabled trained and employed in Invalids' Cooperatives.  One of the further, and at the same time new, criteria for all organizations and institutions receiving and applying for funds to realize programs of the labor market and vocational trainings is the introduction and certification of the quality management system. The aim of the paper is to compare the activity of Invalids' Cooperatives in Poland and Germany. This aim will be carried out by analyzing the regulations and as far as possible the data available (the regulations became effective in two stages: in April 2012, and since 01.01.2013 onwards).  The findings of the article have been collected in the form of a description of the situation and forecast for 2013.

Anti-Models for Universitary Education

2014 ◽  
pp. 43-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco V. Cipolla-Ficarra ◽  
Valeria M. Ficarra
Keyword(s):  
Interactive Design ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Visual Context ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Heuristic Evaluation ◽  
Active Population ◽  
Excellence In Education ◽  
The Unemployed

In this work of heuristic evaluation, the authors present the state-of-the-art and the results of an analysis of university educational systems to detect anti-models, which have increased the number of the unemployed in the active population of Southern Europe, especially in Catalunya (Spain). The results of this analysis have allowed the authors to carry out a first table of heuristic evaluation called Evaluation of the Excellence in Education (EEE). The table serves to detect the quality of the academic offer in computer science and multimedia. The authors also present a set of strategies stemming from semiotics and the categories of interactive design to detect the lack of credibility of online information through the analysis of the online textual and visual context.

Developing University-School Partnerships to Support Students and Teachers in Rural Schools

2020 ◽  
pp. 295-318
Author(s):  
Cheryl Y. Lambert ◽  
Lori Allen ◽  
Lisa Barron
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Rural School ◽  
School Partnerships ◽  
Children In Poverty ◽  
University School Partnerships ◽  
Support Students

This chapter examines the potential for positive impact from partnerships between rural school districts and universities, currently underexplored and overlooked. The challenges facing rural schools offer opportunities for school districts and university partners to develop, organize, and implement strategies for productive collaboration. Examining the rural, educational landscape through the lens of children in poverty, this chapter offers a view of urgency for educational reform. This chapter examines the challenges of high-poverty, rural schools; the rationale for building university-school partnerships with rural schools; insight into building trust with rural school leaders and teachers; and suggestions for developing practical programs which benefit children in rural poverty. Practical suggestions for improving the quality of the educational experiences of children in poverty are included in this chapter.

Counseling Families and Children in Rural Poverty

2021 ◽  
pp. 183-205
Author(s):  
Michele Mahr
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Mental Health Counseling ◽  
Health Counseling ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Cycle Of Poverty ◽  
Medical Access ◽  
Preventative Approach

This chapter discusses the unique needs and barriers that families and children living in rural poverty face regarding mental health counseling. It provides a literature review and specific statistics relevant to why this is a significant societal concern. Recommendations, resources, strategies, and techniques are provided for educators and counselors to implement in order to move forward to assist this marginalized population by using a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to assist the families who struggle with emotional, social, and cognitive needs. Once counselors and educators are aware of what defines poverty and the consequences of this global issue, we can move forward to progress towards a proactive and preventative approach to stop the cycle of poverty. Addressing how to decrease the number of families who are negatively affected by the lack of resources, decreased medical access, limited social support, and low self-efficacy may contribute to a better quality of life.

Development and inequality in the African lions

2020 ◽  
pp. 786-800
Author(s):  
David Potts
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Systemic Analysis ◽  
National Economic ◽  
African Lions

Ghana’s national economic transformation has been widely celebrated; but what about the role of the country’s cities in this transformation? Typically, the contribution of cities in Ghana to the country’s transformation is seen as negative, or non-existent to negligible. This characterization is quite common for cities in Africa for which The State of Africa Cities reports mostly brand as rural poverty-driven settlements. None of these claims, however, is based on a systemic analysis of what contribution cities in Ghana have made to the country’s economic transformation. This chapter, seeks to provide a more careful analysis of the existing statistical and historical evidence. using a heterodox spatial political economy methodology. The chapter argues that most urban residents are either born in cities or are attracted to them from the countryside; but urbanization cannot be explained as ‘poverty driven’, especially when rural poverty in the country has been falling and the urban economies of many cities are booming.

Social Software for Business Process Modeling

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-322
Author(s):  
Agnes Koschmider ◽  
Minseok Song ◽  
Hajo A Reijers
Keyword(s):  
Business Process ◽  
Process Modeling ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Social Software ◽  
Modeling Process ◽  
Single Person ◽  
Formal Business

Formal models of business processes are used for a variety of purposes. But where the elicitation of the characteristics of a business process usually takes place in a collaborative fashion, the building of the final, formal process model is done mostly by a single person. This article presents the design and Implementation of a Recommendation-Based Process Modeling Support System with ‘social features.’ A process builder using this system will receive recommendations to complete or edit a formal business process model on the basis of previous usage of modeling fragments by her peers. Such features potentially Improve the modeling process and, as such, the modeling outcome, that is, the quality of the process model. This article also contains an evaluation of the system's usage and effectiveness, which builds on an experimental design. It is shown that process builders are inclined to follow up on the provided recommendations and that this will improve the semantical quality of the created model. However, Information on peer usage of modeling fragments does not play a big role in selecting the recommendations being followed up. This article fits within a stream of research that puts emphasis on the modeling process, rather than on the model artifact.

Career Counseling Process Quality Promotes Reemployment

2019 ◽  
pp. 089484531988473
Author(s):  
Peter Behrendt ◽  
Anja S. Göritz ◽  
Katharina Heuer
Keyword(s):  
Career Counseling ◽  
Process Quality ◽  
Unemployment Benefits ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Career Intervention ◽  
Career Counselor ◽  
Counseling Process ◽  
Administrative Process ◽  
The Unemployed

One-on-one career counseling has been established as the most effective type of career intervention. Prior research results have suggested that process quality determines counseling success. In this multilevel study, career counseling process quality is validated as a predictor of job seekers’ reemployment at three Swiss job centers. Supervisors’ evaluations of the process quality of mandatory counseling sessions predicted faster reemployment of the 444 counseled job seekers by 18.9 working days on average. This effect equals yearly savings of 418 million Swiss Francs CHF (US$ 422 million) in Swiss unemployment benefits. While in many countries, the counseling of the unemployed is predominantly an administrative process, the findings should encourage investments in process quality of career counseling to promote reemployment. Furthermore, the study calls for further research on the underlying factors of career counseling process quality and the respective career counselor behaviors.

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