Forced to work and liberated from work

The work-welfare nexus is essential in all social policy regimes. The question is in what situations individuals should be entitled to social welfare benefits and in which situations they should be obliged to work. Social welfare law and administrative practices define mechanisms that separate the deserving poor from people able to work. This article analyses the functions and character of these "separation mechanisms" in Sweden during three periods in history: a) in rural society in the late 19th century; b) in industrial society during the successful years of the Swedish model from World War II until the late 1970s; and c) the present, including the period of welfare retrenchment and reconsideration since the early 1980s. The conclusion is that Swedish social policy has always been strongly work-oriented, but the specific form and content of the work ethic has varied under the influence of different ideologies and handled in different social policy institutions. Under specific conditions the work line has been either generous or restrictive and it has been based on structural attempts to improve the opportunities to work as well as on attempts to strongly pressure the individual to work. The work line of today is seen as an interesting attempt to combine an effort to create good work through improved work conditions and an effort to reinforce elements of work enforcement in the social insurance system.     

隋炀帝时科技上的成就

本文提出了隋朝经济空前发展的又一重要原因，是隋炀帝时科技生产力重视的新观点，并论述了大业年间科技上的巨大成就。     

Making ends meet: perceptions of poverty in Sweden

During the era after the Second World War, Sweden has built a welfare system based on labor market participation and income maintenance. Low unemployment and decent wages are supposed to guarantee people a labor market income or income maintenance, which in turn should provide a proper standard for everyone. However, a rapid increase in unemployment and economic problems have made the future of the Swedish welfare state more uncertain than ever. These circumstances have, among other things, led to the suggestion that Sweden should abandon the income maintenance policy and create a social policy system with the more limited ambition of guaranteeing everyone a minimum income. In that case, one central question must be answered: what constitutes a decent minimum income in today's Sweden? Where should we draw the poverty line under which people will not be forced to live? These questions are central in the current debate. The consensual poverty line method is used in this article to derive a poverty line relevant for today's Sweden. The results shows that more than every fifth household has an income below the consensual poverty line. That is, they have an income that most Swedes would argue is too low to make ends meet. The level of the consensual poverty line was compared with the National Board of Health and Welfare's guidelines for social assistance. The consensual poverty line was shown to be more generous to small households and the norm for social assistance was more generous to larger households. Finally, the expenditure for guaranteeing all Swedish household a minimum income equal to the consensual poverty line was estimated: more than SEK 25 billion per year. The results in the article casts serious doubt on the ability of the Swedish welfare state to secure a decent income to all citizens.     

A Process for Incorporating Comparative Risk into Environmental Policymaking in Louisiana

The goal of Louisiana's 1990–1991 comparative risk project, also called the Louisiana Environmental Action Plan (LEAP), was to incorporate risk assessment into state environmental planning and policymaking. Scientists, government officials, and citizens were brought together to estimate the relative risk to human health, natural resources, and quality of life posed by 33 selected environmental issues. The issues were then ranked according to their relative estimated risks. It was hoped that this ranking of "comparative risks" would enable state policymakers to target the most important environmental problems and allocate scarce public resources more rationally and efficiently. As a result of the project, the governor issued an Executive Order forming a permanent Public Advisory Committee to continue this type of comparative risk assessment in Louisiana.     

Employment and filial relations: Is there a conflict?

Since children, particularly daughters, are among the most important sources of help and support for older Americans, it has been suggested that women's increasing employment will affect filial relations. Empirical evidence on this issue is inconsistent, in part due to the use of nonprobability samples. Few studies have measured effects for men. We attempt to broaden the scope of this question beyond help to the frail elderly by asking whether employment affects filial relations in general. We examine effects of hours employed on telephone contact, visiting, feelings of closeness, filial attitudes, and assistance to biological parents, for an area probability sample of men and women over 40. There are no effects of employment for men or women on contact, closeness, or assistance. For the vast majority of this population sample, contact and assistance involve few hours per week, and thus do not seem to conflict with employment.     

社会科技化和加强社会主义精神文明建设

科技社会化是现代社会发展的必然 ,加强科技文明建设是社会主义精神文明建设的重要内容。本文在分析了社会科技化在社会主义精神文明建设中的重要作用的基础上 ,进而具体探讨了科技文明建设的内涵     

我国研究型教师队伍建设的对策研究

建设研究型教师队伍在实施“科教兴国”战略方面具有基础性的重要作用。我国应当采取切实的措施，建设好数量充足的高素质科研师资队伍，为实施素质教育，培育创造型人才奠定师资基础。     

信息时代行政法规的传播体制改革

20世纪 90年代 ,美、英等西方国家提出并建立的公共行政信息网络 ,有效地促进了政府行政立法、执法及社会公众进行行政监督 ,成为一种新的社会发展趋势。为此 ,借签西方国家的有益经验 ,提出加强我国公共行政信息网络建设的对策     

唐人小说叙事意象的美学功能

唐人小说叙事意象的美学功能体现为其对叙事主题的凝聚,对叙事结构的贯通,以及对叙事节奏的调控,这一极具文化意味和美学意味的叙事方式,从另一角度呈现了唐代小说家“有意为小说”的主体创作意识。     

提高高校道德教育实效性的思考

中国优秀传统文化是先进文化,它对中国历史前进和人类社会发展具有重大的推动作用。要加强大学生优秀传统文化教育,从而增强高校道德教育的实效性。