Western Liberal Democracy: The Struggle of Muslims for Freedom,Equality and Dignity

The increasingly multicultural fabric of Western liberal democracies has given rise to the issue of the presence of Muslim minorities in the West, as rising hatred and hostility toward Islam and Muslims in the West undermine the three guiding principles of freedom, equality and dignity that underpin the foundation of liberal democracy, human rights and multiculturalism. Today, Muslims in the West struggle for freedom, equality and dignity to ensure their ethnocultural survival and full and equal participation within the mainstream society. Therefore, it would be quite correct to say that the endurance of liberal democracy, human rights and multiculturalism built on the Western civilization depends on the eradication of Western Islamophobia.     

A qualitative study on participants’ perceptions of child development accounts in Korea

ABSTRACT

In 2007, Korea implemented Child Development Accounts (CDAs) for institutionalised children in child welfare systems. Since then, the target group and a matching cap of CDAs in Korea have evolved. The target group expanded to include poor children receiving welfare, whereas the matching cap increased from KRW 30,000 (US$26.53) to KRW 40,000 (US$35.38), which is matched at a 1:1 rate. Despite the expansion, there is little empirical evidence examining the extent to which CDAs have influenced the life of participants. Using a content analysis method with a sample (N = 22), this study examines how CDAs have changed children’s mindsets, saving habits, education, future planning and sponsorship. The findings suggest that CDAs have multiple positive influences on children. This study concludes with policy implications for the inclusive and progressive development of CDAs in Korea.     

Afterschool programs that support homeless youth: igniting hope and opportunities in the midst of trauma,uncertainty, and displacement

Across the United States, many afterschool and out-of-school time programs are making constructive and lasting impacts on the lives of homeless children and youth by providing expanded learning opportunities and positive youth development outcomes in a safe space. In this brief, we profile two youth-serving organizations and the After School Division of the California Department of Education to illustrate how afterschool programs can be part of the solution for homeless children and youth. Staff from these organizations shared their practices, successes, challenges, and lessons learned. Most importantly, they shared a message of hope and a vision for what is possible in the midst of trauma, uncertainty, and displacement.     

Double shrinkage estimators for large sparse covariance matrices

Covariance matrices play an important role in many multivariate techniques and hence a good covariance estimation is crucial in this kind of analysis. In many applications a sparse covariance matrix is expected due to the nature of the data or for simple interpretation. Hard thresholding, soft thresholding, and generalized thresholding were therefore developed to this end. However, these estimators do not always yield well-conditioned covariance estimates. To have sparse and well-conditioned estimates, we propose doubly shrinkage estimators: shrinking small covariances towards zero and then shrinking covariance matrix towards a diagonal matrix. Additionally, a richness index is defined to evaluate how rich a covariance matrix is. According to our simulations, the richness index serves as a good indicator to choose relevant covariance estimator.     

Substance‐dependent women becoming mothers: breaking the cycle of adverse childhood experiences

Parenting may be particularly challenging for substance‐dependent mothers who have grown up with parents who themselves had substance use disorders (SUDs). The aim of this study was to explore how substance‐dependent mothers describe their childhood experiences with substance‐abusing parents and the association between these earlier experiences and their own role as caregivers. Using purposeful sampling, mothers admitted for 1 year to a family ward at a substance abuse clinic were approached. Through in‐depth, qualitative interviews, nine substance‐dependent mothers described their lives in the form of present, past and future tense. The findings indicate that substance‐dependent women, who have experienced SUDs in their families of origin, face several major challenges when they become mothers. Some describe having lived their whole lives ‘on the edge of society'. This makes their rehabilitation process more complex. All mothers work to abstain from substances, process traumatic experiences and integrate their family into society. They need help to build supportive social networks and to establish a safe and predictable family environment for themselves and their children. The therapeutic implications of these findings will be discussed.     

网络表达自由视域下高校思想政治教育刍议*

网络表达自由使高校思想政治教育机遇与挑战并存，大学生网络表达也存在理性与非理性两个方面。论述了网络表达自由背景下高校思想政治教育面临的挑战和机遇，并据此提出相应对策。     

Ridge Regression: Degrees of Freedom in the Analysis of Variance

It appears to be common practice with ridge regression to obtain a decomposition of the total sum of squares, and assign degrees of freedom, according to established least squares theory. This discussion notes the obvious fallacies of such an approach, and introduces a decomposition based on orthogonality, and degrees of freedom based on expected mean squares, for non-stochastic k.     

自由还是平等——诺奇克和罗尔斯的正义观比较

分析了诺奇克和罗尔斯看待平等、国家的功能和分配问题上的不同观点,指出诺奇克主张的正义是尊重人们选择权的程序性的正义,罗尔斯主张的正义是有利于最少受惠者的实质性的正义。二者揭示了正义的两个性质。     

当代我国出版自由研究

当代我国的＂出版自由＂,应着眼于法律如何保障出版自由和如何规制出版自由。即现阶段我国＂出版自由＂的内涵是：出版自由是公民在宪法、法律规定的范围内,将作品编辑、加工并复制后向公众传播,以出版的形式发表意见来参与管理国家、公共等事务的权利。研究＂出版自由＂时应正确区分出版自由和政治自由、表达自由、新闻自由、议论自由的区别与联系。我国现行的法律法规有明确的《中华人民共和国著作权法》,却没有＂出版自由法＂,其实＂出版自由权＂与＂著作权＂有着至关重要的关系,出版自由权是著作权的前提和保证,而著作权则是出版自由权得以落实和具体化的司法手段。     

略论宗教在社会主义和谐社会建设中的积极作用

构建社会主义和谐社会是一项浩繁的事业,需要社会各界共同奋斗。宗教教义中蕴涵许多有关和谐的思想资源,我们应积极挖掘这些资源,采取多种方式和途径,动员信教群众努力为建设社会主义和谐社会做出贡献。